HOOK AND FUR By Bob Brown Catching a trophy-size fish is the pie-in-the-sky for most fishermen. That came true for David Hickman of Richland July 26 while fishing Curlew Lake in Ferry County. Hickman caught a 37.88-pound. 50.3-inch tiger muskie using a white spinner. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) confirmed the fish set a new state record. Hickman said, "Sometimes you can tell by the shape and width of the head that a fish is big. I wasn't thinking about whether it was record-size. I just kept thinking I hope my line doesn't break.GÇ¥ The new record exceeded the previous record weight by more than six pounds. That record was held by John Bays of Chehalis on a fish caught in Lewis County's Mayfield Lake in 2001. Tiger muskies are aggressive predators that are bred to be sterile. WDFW manages the hybrid for trophy fisheries with a low daily limit and a high minimum size. Two sculpin records also fell this summer. On July 1, Shaylynn Bird Sullivan, from Sierra Vista, Ariz., caught a 0.45-pound prickly sculpin from the Columbia River in Chelan County. The fish was caught trolling shrimp approximately a quarter mile below the Rocky Reach Dam. The previous record was a 0.41-pound fish caught by Jeff Frederick in in Grant County in 2008. Nine GÇôyear old Josiah Brenner of Vashon also broke a state record when he caught a 0.76-pound Pacific staghorn sculpin out of Tramp Harbor in King County on Aug. 3. Brenner caught the staghorn while fishing with herring. His fish was half a pound heavier than the previous record, which had been set by John Moore in 2000 out of Padilla Bay, Skagit County. Other fishing news
" WDFW has announced Cowlitz River anglers can retain up to three hatchery steelhead, through Oct. 31. The department said there has been a strong showing of hatchery summer-run steelhead on the Cowlitz. Through midGÇôAugust, nearly 7,000 summer steelhead have returned to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery. Also this year, a limited number of steelhead is being recycled downstream to provide additional angling opportunity. Joe Hymer of the WDFW reported that during Aug. 11-17, summer steelhead were mainly being caught from Mission Bar upstream. During that week, 1,284 summer steelhead, 115 spring chinook adults, 17 jacks, 87 mini-jacks, two fall Chinooks and one jack, one sockeye and 10 cutthroat trout returned to the Cowlitz hatchery. Two-hundred summer steelhead were recycled downstream to the Interstate 5 boat launch " Effective Sept. 1, salmon season opens in Mayfield Lake. The daily limit is six with no more than two adults may be retained. Also, Sept. 1GÇôOct. 31, night closure and anti-snagging rules will apply in the Tilton River from its mouth to the West Fork. When the anti-snagging rule is in effect, only fish hooked inside the mouth may be retained. The night closure and anti-snagging rules also go into effect Sept. 1 on the Cowlitz from the posted PUD sign on Peters Road to the mouth of Ohanepecosh and Muddy Fork. " Hymer reported Buoy 10's best checks of the season for fall chinook (so far) was Aug. 16 with just over a fish per boat. Coho catches are also beginning to increase again. Effort is heavy with over a one-hour wait to launch a boat at times. In the lower Columbia, 1,862 salmonid anglers (including 340 boats) were sampled with 62 adult and six jack fall chinook, 542 steelhead and two adult coho. All of the adult chinook and 291 954 percent) of the steelhead were kept. Both of the adult coho were wild and released. Bob Brown is a freelance outdoors writer. He can be contacted at robertb1285@fairpoint.net
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment