HOOK AND FUR By Bob Brown The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced last week that recreational spot shrimp fishing will open May 14 in Puget Sound. This year's shrimp fishing seasons will be similar to last year's fishery, but quotas will be lower in some areas, said Mark O'Toole, a shellfish biologist for the WDFW. "Last year, we had a higher turnout than anticipated in south Puget Sound, where we typically have seen very little fishing effort,GÇ¥ O'Toole said. "For that reason, Marine Area 13 is scheduled to be open only four days in 2016.GÇ¥ O'Toole noted that other areas, such as Marine Area 7 south, will have longer seasons in 2016. Last January, WDFW announced all seasons will start on May 14 GÇô one week later than usual due to extremely low tides on the first Saturday in May. For the latest information on spot shrimp seasons, or for a description of marine areas, visit the department's Recreational Shrimp Fishing website.
Packwood closure and other fishing news
" WDFW has created a small sanctuary for fish at a release site on the upper Cowlitz River. Because fish tend to temporarily congregate at release sites after being released, effective April 9 until further notice, the department closed the area 50 feet downstream of the Skate Creek (Franklin) Bridge in Packwood to all fishing. The reason for the closure is to prevent over-zealous anglers from snagging the fish before they can disperse. " The first phase of the lower Columbia spring chinook sport fishery closed April 8. The closure was one day earlier than previously scheduled based on projections the catch of upriver chinook would reach the initial 7,515-fish harvest guideline a day early than scheduled. The closure includes fishing for salmon, steelhead and shad in the 145-mile section of the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam. The closure does not affect fisheries from the dam upriver or any of the river's tributaries. "Fisheries in the lower Columbia could reopen later this spring if the number of spring chinook passing Bonneville Dam in the coming weeks reaches or exceeds preseason expectations,GÇ¥ said Ron Roler, Columbia River policy coordinator for WDFW. "For the next few weeks, all eyes will be on the number of spring chinook passing Bonneville Dam,GÇ¥ Roler said "Fishing has been good so far this year, but the count of spring chinook at the dam lagged until just a week ago. The next few weeks will tell the tale or whether we can reopen the fishery.GÇ¥ Prior to the season, fishery managers anticipated 188,800 upriver spring chinook would return to the Columbia River. " Steelhead catches have been very good for Cowlitz River boat anglers the last couple of weeks. Sampling during March 3-April 3 showed 155 boat anglers kept 132 steelhead, 15 adult chinook and released four steelhead; 153 bank anglers had 20 steelhead and 18 adult chinook kept. The trout hatchery was best for steelhead, while the chinook were being caught throughout the river. Last week, Tacoma Power recovered 700 winter steelhead, 900 adult spring chinook, 27 jacks and one cutthroat trout during five days of operation at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator. Under permanent rules, night closure and anti-snagging rule is in effect from Mill Creek upstream to barrier dam through November. Only fish hooked inside the mouth may be retained. River flows were 6,820 cubic feet per second on April 4.
Bob Brown lives in Roy and is a freelance outdoors writer. He can be reached at robertb1285@centurylink.net
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