Birding

Recent space restrictions have prevented the following birding report from appearing in this column. The sightings are indeed unusual and worthy of note. Read on.

Cecelia and Delbert Ratliff enjoyed a unique bird sighting adventure. When traveling north from Nevada into Oregon, they spotted a golden eagle. The first one was in Nevada, but they spotted six more in Oregon, within 10 miles of the first one.

Wow, such a sighting is something to remember and pass along to others. So now we know golden eagles enjoy Oregon better than Nevada, correct?

We have only seen a few golden eagles around here. One was on the ice, beside Highway 17 near Steamboat Rock. Thanks for passing along the information, Cecelia and Delbert.

Results of the April 1 fishing opener are still pending. We will pass them along as soon as they are available.

Spring turkey season

The general spring turkey season, the one for the rest of us, is scheduled from April 15 through May 31. Turkey hunters in both seasons should be prepared for limited access due to lingering low elevation snowpack.

Hunting hours are one half hour before sunrise to sunset during spring seasons. Legal birds are gobblers and turkeys with visible beards only.

Bag and possession limit

A total of three turkeys may be taken in the spring season with following restrictions: Only two turkeys may be taken in eastern Washington and only one of those may be taken in Chelan, Kittitas, and Yakima counties combined; only one turkey may be taken in western Washington per year. Two turkeys may be taken in Klickitat County.

Additional turkey tags may be purchased at any time. In appropriate areas, two turkeys can be harvested in one day.

In addition, the following regulations apply: Spring turkey season is open for shotgun (10 gauge or under capable of holding 3 or fewer shells or muzzleloader with shot) and bow-and-arrow hunting only. Crossbows are allowed in firearm restricted areas.

A valid hunting license and an unaltered, unnotched turkey transport tag are required for hunting turkey. Immediately after killing a turkey, hunters must validate their own tag by completely removing notches for month and day of kill and securely attach tag to carcass. It is unlawful to use dogs, electronic calls or electronic decoys to hunt turkeys.

Baiting game birds is illegal. Turkey hunters must use Number 4 shot or smaller. It is illegal to possess in the field or transport game birds unless a feathered head is left attached to each carcass, except falconry-caught birds.

Turkey hunters must report their hunting activity whether or not they harvest an animal. Hunters not reporting by January 31 will be subject to a $10 penalty, which must be paid before they can purchase a license for the following year. One hunter report is required for each tag acquired.

Hunters who harvest an animal should file a report within 10 days of taking the animal. Unsuccessful hunters must also report their hunting activity, including location and days hunted. The information will be used by

Fish and Wildlife to better monitor hunter effort, distribution, harvest, and trends.

Eight more days added to lower Columbia 

chinook fishery

Columbia River anglers will get at least eight more days to catch hatchery-reared spring chinook salmon below Bonneville Dam under a decision announced today by fishery managers from Washington and Oregon.

This popular fishery, which closed for a catch assessment April 4, will reopen to fishing Friday, April 8, and continue through Friday, April 15. Fishery managers will meet again April 14 to determine whether to allow additional fishing time.

The eight-day extension will give anglers another chance to catch hatchery-reared spring chinook still available for harvest. Fishing conditions on the Columbia River have been pretty rough in recent weeks, leaving the sport catch well below the harvest guideline. The extra fishing days will give anglers some time to make up for the high water and turbid river conditions that have undercut catch rates to date.

Through April 4, anglers had caught and kept a total of 4,500 spring chinook. Approximately 3,800 were upriver fish, compared to a 7,700-fish harvest guideline for upriver chinook set at the beginning of the season.

The area set to reopen for spring chinook fishing April 8 extends from Buoy 10 upriver to Rooster Rock for boat and bank anglers and to the fishing boundary below Bonneville Dam for bank anglers only. When the fishery is open, anglers can retain one marked, hatchery-reared adult chinook salmon as part of their daily limit.

Anglers may also retain shad and hatchery-reared steelhead when the spring chinook fishery is open. However, all wild salmon and steelhead not marked as a hatchery fish by a clipped adipose fin must be released unharmed. 

Along with the eight additional fishing days, lower-river anglers could get another chance to catch spring chinook in May, once fishery managers update the run forecast. While the preseason forecast projected a return of 198,400 upriver fish, the fishery has been managed with a 30 percent buffer to guard against overestimating the run.

The fishing extension starting April 8 does not affect the spring chinook season above Bonneville Dam, which is open seven days a week through April 24 between the Tower Island powerlines below The Dalles Dam and the Washington/Oregon state line, 17 miles upriver from McNary Dam.

Bank fishing is also allowed from Bonneville Dam upriver to the powerlines located about 6 miles below The Dalles Dam through April 24.

Anglers fishing above Bonneville Dam can retain up to two marked, hatchery-reared adult chinook salmon or hatchery steelhead as part of their daily limit.

Sport-caught sturgeon between John Day Dam and McNary Dam must be released

The sport fishery for white sturgeon between John Day Dam and McNary Dam on the Columbia River will close to retention effective 12:01 a.m., April 10 through Dec. 31, 2011.

The area affected is the Columbia River and tributaries from John Day Dam upstream to McNary Dam. 

The closure date for retention of sturgeon was adopted because Washington and Oregon fish managers estimate that the harvest guideline of 500 fish will be reached on April 9, 2011.

Catch-and-release fishing for sturgeon will still be allowed between John Day and McNary dams, and between Bonneville and The Dalles dams. The section of the Columbia River and tributaries between The Dalles Dam and John Day Dam remain open to sturgeon retention until the harvest guideline for that reservoir is reached. The spawning sanctuaries from the Highway 395/I-82 bridge upstream to McNary Dam and from the Rufus grain elevator upstream to John Day Dam will be closed to all sturgeon fishing May 1 through July 31.

Fort Flagler State Park sport clam and oyster season opens early

The sport clam and oyster fishing season at Fort Flagler State Park will open on April 15.

The Fish and Wildlife Commission has approved a clam and oyster season at this beach from April 15 through July 31, but, as always, there is a "or until further notice" clause always attached. Surveys indicate that clam populations have increased, and will support a fishery that is one month longer than in 2010.

Fort Flagler State Park is located in Jefferson County near Port Townsend. 

More halibut this year for sport anglers

This year's recreational halibut seasons will be similar to 2010 in Puget Sound, but may allow for more days of fishing off the coast under new catch quotas adopted by the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

This year's quota for Washington, Oregon and California is 910,000 pounds, up 12 percent from 2010. In Washington, sport anglers will be allowed to catch 216,489 pounds of the big flatfish compared to 192,699 pounds last year.

In Puget Sound, where the sport catch has exceeded area harvest guidelines for the past two years, this year's higher sub-quota also helped to avert further cutbacks in fishing opportunities.

This year's catch quota for Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca is 58,155 pounds, up from 50,542 pounds in 2010. Like last year, most areas of the Sound will be open for halibut fishing three days a week, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with exceptions. See the fishing regulations for specifics.

This year's coastal quotas are up by more than 17,000 pounds. Depending on catch rates during the course of the season, that could translate to extra time on the water in some areas.

All areas open to fishing have a one-fish daily catch limit, with no minimum size, a possession limit of one fish while on the vessel and a possession limit of two fish in any form once the angler is on the shore.