{"id":754,"date":"2013-03-15T16:37:37","date_gmt":"2013-03-15T23:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flyfishersproshop.com\/blog\/?p=754"},"modified":"2013-03-15T16:37:37","modified_gmt":"2013-03-15T23:37:37","slug":"methow-and-chewuch-rivers-to-close-for-steelhead-and-whitefish-fishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flyfishersproshop.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/15\/methow-and-chewuch-rivers-to-close-for-steelhead-and-whitefish-fishing\/","title":{"rendered":"Methow and Chewuch rivers to close for steelhead and whitefish fishing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;\">WDFW FISHING RULE CHANGE<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\">Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife<br \/>\n600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/wdfw.wa.gov\/\">http:\/\/wdfw.wa.gov<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>March 15, 2013<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: large;\"><strong>Methow and Chewuch rivers to close<br \/>\nfor steelhead and whitefish fishing<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Actions:<\/strong>\u00a0Close the Methow and Chewuch Rivers one hour after sunset on March 17, 2013 to fishing for steelhead and whitefish.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Species affected:<\/strong>\u00a0Steelhead and whitefish.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Locations and effective dates:<\/strong>\u00a0One hour after sunset on March 17, 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Methow River:<\/strong>\u00a0From the mouth (Hwy 97 Bridge in Pateros) to the falls above Brush Creek.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Chewuch River:<\/strong>\u00a0From the mouth (Winthrop) to Pasayten wilderness boundary.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Reason for action:<\/strong>\u00a0Recent analysis of the current whitefish and steelhead fisheries within the Methow and Chewuch river systems indicates that the maximum take limits on natural origin steelhead have been met. In addition, take limits for the Chewuch and upper Methow River whitefish fisheries have been reached as well, necessitating a closure on whitefish as well as steelhead angling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Areas that will continue to be OPEN for steelhead angling until one hour after sunset on March 31, 2013 will include:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Mainstem Columbia River:<\/strong>\u00a0From Rock Island Dam to boundary markers below Wells Dam and from Hwy 173 Bridge at Brewster to 400 feet below Chief Joseph Dam.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Wenatchee River:<\/strong>\u00a0From the mouth to 400 feet below Tumwater Dam, including the Icicle River from the mouth to 500 feet downstream of the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery Barrier Dam.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Okanogan River:<\/strong>\u00a0From the mouth to the Highway 97 Bridge in Oroville, except closed one hour after sunset on March 17th from the first powerline crossing downstream of the Hwy 155 Bridge in Omak (Coulee Dam Credit Union Building) to the mouth of Omak Creek, and from the Tonasket Lagoons Park boat launch to the Tonasket Bridge (4th Street).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Similkameen River:<\/strong>\u00a0From the mouth to 400 feet below Enloe Dam<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>GENERAL RULES<\/strong>\u00a0for all locations open to steelhead fishing:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\">Mandatory retention of adipose fin-clipped steelhead, daily limit two (2) hatchery steelhead, 20 inch minimum size. Hatchery steelhead are identified by a clipped adipose fin with a healed scar in its location. Adhering to the mandatory retention of adipose clipped steelhead is vital in allowing the fishery to continue and to provide the maximum benefit to natural origin fish.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\">Adipose present steelhead must be released unharmed and cannot be removed from the water prior to release.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\">Night closure and selective gear rules are in effect, except bait is allowed in mainstem Columbia River.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\">Whitefish anglers must follow selective gear rules in areas open to steelhead fishing, no bait is allowed. Daily whitefish limit is fifteen (15) fish.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Other information:<\/strong>\u00a0Anglers are required to possess a Columbia River Salmon\/Steelhead Endorsement as part of their valid fishing license.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\"><strong>Information contacts:<\/strong>\u00a0Jeff Korth, Region 2 Fish Program Manager (Ephrata), (509) 754-4624; Bob Jateff, District 6 Fish Biologist (Methow, Okanogan), (509) 997-0316; Travis Maitland, District 7 Fish Biologist (Wenatchee, Entiat), (509) 665-3337.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Fishers must have a current Washington fishing license, appropriate to the fishery. Check the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/wdfw.wa.gov\/fishing\/regulations\/\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">WDFW &#8220;Fishing in Washington&#8221; rules pamphlet<\/span>\u00a0<\/a><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">for details on fishing seasons and regulations. Fishing rules are subject to change. Check the WDFW Fishing hotline for the latest rule information at (360) 902-2500, press 2 for recreational rules. For the Shellfish Rule Change hotline call (360)796-3215 or toll free 1-866-880-5431.<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WDFW FISHING RULE CHANGE\u00a0 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091 http:\/\/wdfw.wa.gov March 15, 2013 Methow and Chewuch rivers to close for steelhead and whitefish fishing Actions:\u00a0Close the Methow and Chewuch Rivers one hour after sunset on March 17, 2013 to fishing for steelhead and whitefish. Species affected:\u00a0Steelhead and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wdfw-fishing-rule-changes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p27r3u-ca","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flyfishersproshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flyfishersproshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flyfishersproshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flyfishersproshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flyfishersproshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=754"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.flyfishersproshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":756,"href":"https:\/\/www.flyfishersproshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754\/revisions\/756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flyfishersproshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flyfishersproshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flyfishersproshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}