State fisheries officials are proposing mandatory retention of hatchery-origin steelhead caught in every stream in Southwest Washington beginning in July 2015.
Release of hatchery steelhead would be unlawful in the Lewis, East Fork Lewis, Cowlitz, Washougal, Wind, White Salmon, Klickitat, Kalama, Toutle, Elochoman and Grays rivers plus many smaller streams including Salmon, Hamilton and Rock creeks.
The proposal is designed to keep hatchery steelhead off spawning grounds used by wild steelhead to the greatest extent possible. Research has shown when hatchery fish breed with wild fish the offspring survive at a lower rate than when two steelhead mate.
To view all the proposed sport-fishing rules and comment online, go to http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/rule_proposals.
Mandatory hatchery steelhead retention already is in place in some tributaries upstream of Priest Rapids Dam on the upper Columbia River, said Cindy LeFleur, regional fish program manager for the Department of Fish and Wildlife in Southwest Washington.
Washington’s catch-record card allows for an annual harvest of 30 hatcheries steelhead, but a second fishing license and catch card can be purchased if an angler is highly successful.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife hosted a public meeting in late August on the proposed 2015-16 angling rules in Vancouver, although no one attended.
Public comment is being accepted through Oct. 16. State Fish and Wildlife Commission members will have a public hearing on the proposals on Nov. 7 and 8 in Olympia.
Among other proposals for 2015-16 are:
Stream strategy — Every stream open to sport fishing would be assign one of six categories. The categories determine minimum-size limit, daily bag limit, whether bait is allowed, whether selective gear rules apply and if catch-and-release is required.
Any stream not listed with a strategy would be closed to fishing.
The stream strategy already has been adopted for coastal and Puget Sound streams.
Cowlitz River — Two rods and barbed hooks would be allowed in June and July in the Cowlitz from the mouth to the boundary at the salmon hatchery barrier dam. The proposal is intended to permit a larger catch of hatchery summer steelhead.
Elochoman/South Toutle/Green rivers — Barbed hooks would be allowed from the first Saturday in June through July 31 in the three watersheds when hatchery summer steelhead are the only fish available for harvest.
Swift Reservoir — The maximum size limit on trout and landlocked salmon would be 15 inches. The goal is to protect wild salmon and steelhead being reintroduced into the upper basin of the North Fork of the Lewis River.
Walleye — The statewide walleye rules would change to a minimum-size of 12 inches and a daily limit of eight fish. The change would simply the walleye fishing regulations.
South Rowland Lake — The portion of Rowland Lake in west Klickitat County between state Highway 14 and the BNSF railroad tracks would be open all year.
The lake is managed for warm-water fisheries and, as such, needs no opening and closing dates.
