After some serious number crunching and arm twisting steelhead seasons have reopened on the Wenatchee, Icicle and Methow rivers. Fish managers were eager to get these streams opened to remove excess hatchery-reared steelhead and increase the ability of wild fish to spawn. All of these rivers are selective fisheries, no bait, and the daily limit of hatchery-reared steelhead is two per day. All steelhead with an adipose fin must be immediately released without being removed from the water.

In the news release announcing the opening of the Wenatchee and Methow rivers, the department reminded anglers that fishing for whitefish is also allowed. The season is tentatively scheduled to run through March 31st, but will be carefully monitored and my close prior to that date if impacts on wild steelhead reach annual federal limits. I would advise anglers to visit the department's web site to get the details on the boundaries of the fisheries and other details.

All of these fisheries are made possible by fees generated by the Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement Stamp program. Anglers are an important management tool in the recovery of our steelhead runs and must keep all hatchery-reared fish they catch.