Again we are being teased. The temperature, as this is being written, is standing at 40 degrees and this is at 4:40 p.m. It is as if a light switch had been flipped. The forecast for the next 10 days calls for lows in the high 30s and highs in the low 40s. This is much more acceptable to late-winter and early-spring fishing.

A week from today is the March 1 opener, which means Martha Lake, one of the more popular lakes, will be crowded, with anglers pulling in limits from 12 midnight of the first.

Now to hedge the past statement a bit, it all depends upon the weather and we all know we could be ice fishing at Martha again this year. OK, we will stick our necks out a bit. We expect pleasant weather on March 1 with lots of fishing fun for anglers of all ages.

For the next month, suggest anglers give Medicare Beach a try. This is just below Perch Point. Go out Road M, heading south, to Road 6 and take a right. Travel to the point where the road begins a bend to the right. At this point take a dirt road to the left down to the edge of the water.

This is a popular fishing spot where anglers are known to catch nice-size trout. Remember to have fun, but stay warm and be careful out there.

The spring turkey season will open in April.

Public hearing on proposed sportfishing rules scheduled

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will take public comment on proposed changes to the state's sportfishing rules during a public meeting Feb. 8-9 in Olympia.

Fish and Wildlife is recommending that nearly 70 proposed sportfishing rules move forward for public comment, including proposals that would: Allow the use of two fishing poles, with the purchase of a two-pole endorsement, on 50 additional lakes throughout the state.

Also remove the daily catch limit for channel catfish and the daily catch and size limits for bass and walleye in portions of the Columbia and Snake rivers and their tributaries to assist recovery efforts for salmon and steelhead. A second option under that proposal would also remove existing daily limits for those fish, but restrict anglers to three bass larger than 15 inches in length and one walleye larger than 24 inches in length. The proposed changes are designed to increase the harvest of abundant bass, walleye and channel catfish, which prey on juvenile salmon and steelhead that are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Increase catch limits for walleye on Lake Roosevelt and the Spokane Arm of Lake Roosevelt, where there is an overabundance of the species. The proposed change is designed to allow a variety of other fish species to grow in numbers by reducing the walleye population through an increase in recreational fishing opportunities.

To review the proposed rules, as well as the comments already received, visit WDFW's website.

Commission approves policy to revamp Columbia River fisheries

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission today unanimously adopted a policy that establishes a new management framework for salmon fisheries on the lower Columbia River.

The commission took action after completing a series of public meetings that began in October 2012. In all, the commission received about 1,000 public comments on the broad-based proposal.

Key provisions of the new policy will allocate more of the catch to sport fisheries, gradually shift non-tribal commercial gillnets to off-channel areas stocked with more hatchery salmon, and spur development and use of new selective gear for commercial fisheries on the mainstem Columbia River.

The new policy also requires anglers to use barbless hooks when fishing for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River.

The new policy is designed to support conservation of wild salmon and expand the economic benefits the state derives from sport and commercial fisheries.

The changes are based on recommendations made by representatives from the Washington commission and its Oregon counterpart and comments received during the extensive public review. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission approved a similar management framework for Columbia River fisheries last month.

For nearly 100 years, the two states have managed Columbia River fisheries under a reciprocal agreement. Without a common framework, effective management of those fisheries would be impossible.

The changes outlined in the policy will allocate more salmon and steelhead to recreational fisheries, but will not necessarily reduce the incidental catch of wild salmon and steelhead protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

In other business, the commission approved the sale of the state's Colville Fish Hatchery to Stevens County, which plans to use it as an educational and vocational learning center. Fish and Wildlife closed the 95-year-old facility last June in response to state budget cuts and plans to sell it to the county for its appraised value of $150,000.