A 17-mile stretch of the Columbia River between Bridgeport and Brewster is about to become a hotspot for triploid trout fishing. It’s a long trip up into Douglas County, but it may well be worth the drive.
About 117,500 triploid rainbow trout escaped from a net-pen facility on Rufus Woods Reservoir in June through a breach in a net pen. Many of those fish run 4 to 5 pounds each.
From now until Aug. 31, anglers will be allowed to catch and keep triploid rainbow trout in the mainstem Columbia River from the Highway 173 Bridge in Brewster to the Highway 17 Bridge in Bridgeport, under a new regulation issued by WDFW.
“Anglers have been catching those fish in Rufus Woods Reservoir for the past couple of months, which is great,” said Jeff Korth, a WDFW fish biologist. “But we do have some concerns about the growing number of triploids turning up below Chief Joseph Dam, because they could interfere with juvenile steelhead downstream.”
Korth said the triploids are “voracious” eaters and could pose a threat to juvenile steelhead.
Under the new rule, the daily limit will be four triploid rainbow trout, with a minimum size 12 inches. All steelhead must be released, and must not be completely removed from the water.
Most steelhead do not start arriving in the area until September, but Korth said anglers should be aware of the differences between a steelhead and a triploid rainbow trout. Signs will be posted at all boat launches that list distinguishing features of the two types of fish. The fishery will be heavily monitored, Korth said.
“The differences are pretty obvious,” he said. “Triploids are big and fat, while steelhead are long and skinny. But if there’s any doubt, anglers should release the fish back into the water.”
Check the regulations before you head out. Call the WDFW Fishing Hotline at (360) 902-2500 for emergency rules changes.
Rivers and Streams
“The pinks and silvers are in north Puget Sound,” said Charles McElroy, sporting goods clerk at the Sunbird Shopping Center.
Marshall Borsom, of Fish Country in Ethel, said there are plenty of fish moving through the Cowlitz River, but the anglers he has talked to are having trouble getting them to bite.
Karen Glaser, Barrier Dam Campground, said the guides that are staying at her campground have been bringing home fish, but the bank anglers aren’t having near the luck.
“They just don’t seem to be biting,” Glaser said. “The bank fisherman are having to put in a lot of time. For the amount of people fishing and the time they are putting in, we just aren’t getting the numbers.”
Mark Hoffmann, owner of the White Pass Sports Hut in Packwood, said the water flowing through the Skate Creek area has started to slow down and fishing is starting to pick up.
“It’s been relatively slow compared to last year,” Hoffman said.
Lakes and Ponds
“Fly fisherman have been very successful using the black carpenter ant on the high lakes,” said Hoffmann. “The trout bellies are full of ants when they cut them open.”
Becky Pogue, of Offut Lake Resort, said they are pulling a lot of perch, bluegill and bass out of the lake, but the trout have slowed down significantly due to the warmer weather.
“But the weather is nice, so if you aren’t getting fish, then it’s time to go swimming,” Pogue said.
Riffe has picked up and Mayfield Lake is still hit and miss, according to Borsom.
On the Beach and Ocean
Crab fishing is still underway in most areas of Puget Sound.
Under new rules adopted earlier this year by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, all marine areas of Puget Sound will be open for crabbing Thursday through Monday of each week. The daily catch limit in Puget Sound is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition with a minimum carapace width of 6¼ inches.
The crabbing reports coming out of the Hoods Canal area have been excellent. One friend caught his limit of crab every day for five days, but wouldn’t share the exact location.
Buoy 10 salmon fishery runs through Aug. 28 at the mouth of the Columbia River. A big run of 776,300 fall Chinook is expected to return to the big river this year, and fishery managers predict that anglers will catch approximately 11,000 of them between Buoy 10 and Rocky Point, 16 miles upriver.
“Drift a herring and a bobber off the jetty at Illwaco,” recommends McElroy.
As of yesterday, the marine waters off of Westport (Marine Area 2) are open to salmon fishing seven days a week, joining the three other ocean areas already open daily. Anglers fishing in ocean waters off La Push (Marine Area 3) and Neah Bay (Marine Area 4) can keep up to two Chinook salmon as part of their two-salmon daily limit. Anglers fishing marine areas 3 and 4 are also allowed one additional pink salmon each day.
The new Chinook bag limit apply to marine areas 3 and 4. Anglers fishing off Ilwaco (Marine Area 1) and Westport will continue to be limited to one Chinook as part of their two-salmon daily limit.
Pat Pattillo, salmon policy coordinator for WDFW, said the department initially set a coastwide daily limit of one Chinook and limited the number of days open at Westport to ensure that the salmon fishery would not reach the quota too quickly and have to close early.
“Our goal is to provide a full season of salmon fishing in the ocean,” Pattillo said. “It’s still early, but after looking at the catch rates we’re now confident we can go to two Chinook per day in the northern ports and allow fishing seven days a week at Westport without much risk of shortening the season.”
