HOOK AND FUR By Bob Brown Tanwax Lake will open for a Heroes on the Water fishing event on April 16. This is the second year for the one-day event hosted by the Northwest chapter of the non-profit organization. On the day of the event, pre-registered veterans only will be permitted to fish throughout the lake from boats captained by Heroes on the Water volunteers. The lake will be stocked with over 2,000 five-pound, hatchery-raised trout, and fishing licenses will be required. Interested individuals can obtain more information on this event by contacting Tara Livingood-Schott, Region 6 fix biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), at 360-628-4223. Speaking of Tanwax, local anglers will be pleased to learn a long overdue event will happen April 23. On that date, Tanwax Lake will become a year-round fishing lake. Lowland fishing derby planned
There is one thing to be said about WDFW: Unlike other state agencies that seemingly only know how to spend money, our fishing and wildlife agency, while not bashful about spending money, knows how to make it. Case in point is the WDFW's recent money-making venture. To accelerate fishing license sales, the department has initiated a first-time lowland lake fishing derby. The derby will begin April 23 and run through Sept. 6. Anglers with an applicable 2016 freshwater or combination fishing license who catch one or more of the 700 tagged fish can claim prizes worth $20,000 that will be provided by 130 licensed dealers located across the state. Children 14 years of age and under don't require a fishing license to enter. A list of the lakes with prize fish and details on how to claim prizes are available on the department's "Our Derby Website.GÇ¥ " WDFW is busy stocking lowland lakes across the state, getting ready for the April 23 opener of the general fishing season. The department has already stocked 16.9 million trout and kokanee in 560 water bodies across the state. For the 2016 trout fishing season, 2.2 million catchables will be stocked throughout the state. In previous years, catchables averaged eight inches in length; this year, they will average 11 inches, according to WDFW. The department will also release 161,000 jumbo trout averaging 14 inches in length and one pound or larger in weight. Included in the jumbos will be 33,000 triploid trout that average 1.5 pounds each.
Fishing reports
" If anglers want to catch a spring chinook or late winter-run steelhead, the Cowlitz River is the place to go. According to Barrier Dam Campground personnel, a lot of boat anglers have been limiting on late winter-run steelhead. Catches of spring chinook have also been good and apparently getting better throughout the river. Bankers have also been doing well catching both species. Angler pressure has been heavy at times, with a flow of 8,200 cubic feet per second holding pretty steady. Since the use of barbed hooks have been outlawed in the river, a lot of anglers have turned to the use of Grabber hooks, with numbers 3 and 4 being the preferred sizes. " Salmon angling effort has been high on the Columbia River, but unfortunately ,the catching hasn't been that good. Tanna Takata, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, reported anglers in the Gorge averaged lesss than one chinook caught per boat, while in the Portland to Westport area, the average was 0.23 spring chinook per boat. T WDFW reported that on March 26, 1,500 boats were counted on the river below Bonneville Dam. About half were in the Vancouver area. Nearly 50 boats were in the Multnomah to Horsetails Falls area.
Bob Brown lives in Roy and is a freelance outdoors writer. He can be reached at robertb1285@centurylink.net
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