May 15

Spring salmon runs have been on the rebound on the Yakima River for several years now, and two sections of the river are open to fishing again this season. One is from the I-82 Bridge in Richland to the Grant Avenue Bridge in Prosser, about 1,000 feet below the Prosser Dam. This section is open through June 30. The other section is from the I-82 Bridge in Union Gap to Railroad Bridge about 500 feet below Roza Dam. This section is open until from May 18 to July 15. There is a pretty good list of special rules and reminders that anglers should review before heading for the river. These can be found on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife web site. I would look under "Latest News" to find the news release with the details. Also, it has been announced that Upper Wheeler Reservoir, near Wenatchee, is now a fly fishing only lake. Through an agreement with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wenatchee Heights Irrigation District and the Wenatchee Valley Fly Fishers public access has been granted. It will be open to fishing from May 18 to September 14.

May 17

The Quincy Valley Tourism Association's annual Pikeminnow Derby kicks off this weekend, and if you haven't registered for the event you still have time. Registrations will be taken at the Crescent Bar Derby Headquarters until 5:30 today. This popular event not only offers a weekend of fishing fun on the Columbia River, there are two boats being raffled and over $9,000.00 worth of cash and prizes awarded to those who participate. It also serves another important purpose. It will help remove hundreds of northern pikeminnows from the Columbia River, and they are a primary predator of salmon and steelhead smolt making their way down the river to the ocean. Anglers not only experience the fun of fishing, they get a chance to win some cash and prizes and really help out our fisheries. Everybody wins with this one. I want to remind folks that there some great fishing events for kids coming up soon. One is the annual Fishing Kids event at the National Fish Hatchery in Leavenworth. To register for the events just click on the Pepsi logo on my web site and follow the links. Don't miss this one!