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Richland club offers seminar on Potholes If you are a newly transplanted Mid-Columbia Basin hunter or angler, it would be worth your time to attend Tuesday's meeting of the Richland Rod and Gun Club. Dave, Mike and Levi Meseberg will discuss the wide variety of fishing and hunting opportunities available on Potholes Reservoir near Othello. Whether your interest is crappie, perch, bluegill, walleye, trout or smallmouth and largemouth bass, the 28,000-square-acre Potholes Reservoir, has it all. And let's not forget ducks, geese and upland birds in the fall. The Mesebergs have owned and operated popular Mar Don Resort on Potholes Reservoir for 30 years. Mike Meseberg said he's thrilled to tell people about the great fishing opportunities available at Potholes, a fact well known to thousands of sportsmen around the state. "Grant County - including Potholes Reservoir - is the most heavily fished county in the state for freshwater fish species," Meseberg said. In fact, 63 percent of all freshwater fishing licenses are bought by anglers headed to the state's Region II, and mostly those waters in Grant County. Meseberg said one segment of the sportsmen's meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Richland Maintenance Facility off Queensgate Drive, will be a discussion of Mar Don's highly successful 6-year-old net-pen trout rearing project, a cooperative effort with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. More than 160,000 trout have been released at the reservoir each of the last three years, he said. "While the trout we release start off on the small side, they've grown quite large over the past few years," he added. Anglers plying the reservoir regularly report landing rainbow trout ranging in size from 14 to 25 inches, with some up to 10 pounds. Meseberg said the largest trout caught at Potholes this year weighed 12 pounds. As for numerous other species finning about the reservoir, walleye typically range from about 1 to 10 pounds, while bass average about 2 pounds. Levi, Mike's 23-year-old son and a licensed hunting and fishing guide, will outline the top gear and tactics used on Potholes Reservoir. He also will discuss fall upland bird and waterfowl hunting on Potholes and surrounding farmland, which are among the best in the state. Elsewhere on the fishing front, the Fish and Wildlife Department reported that fishing effort during last Saturday's opener of the statewide lowland lake trout fishing season appeared to be significantly less than last year. John Hisata, regional fish manager in Spokane, said cool, wet weather across much of the state dampened the turnout. However, for those who braved the less-than-springlike weather, most managed to catch close to their limits. Anglers at Chelan County's Beehive Reservoir had to contend with 7 inches of snow the eve of the opener but managed to catch nearly five fish a rod. In Grant County, Blue and Park lakes north of Soap Lake produced about two fish an angler, with rainbow averaging 13 to 16 inches. Around Spokane, Fishtrap Lake booted out 3.7 rainbows a rod, ranging from 8 to 15 inches. Badger Lake gave up about 3.3 fish per angler, with trout averaging 9 to 18 inches. Other good bets are Clear, Fish, West Medical and Williams lakes in Spokane County. Hisata said the lower-than-usual turnout should offer outstanding fishing prospects in the coming weeks. * * * Turkey hunters have until May 15 to wrap up their spring gobbler hunt and then plan their fall outing. Mick Cope, the state's upland game section manager, said the turkey season started off well, with more hunters afield than last year. "Because of the increase in hunters, I expect to see even more birds harvested this season," he said. Last year, hunters bagged about 2,400 wild turkeys. Hunters who have not killed two turkeys in Eastern Washington have until June 23 to apply for the limited number of fall, either-sex turkey permits. The permit application costs $5. Cope said 575 fall permits were issued last year, all of which were in Eastern Washington and the majority allocated for Stevens County. He added that because turkey populations are growing, the department is recommending an increase in the number of total permits, to perhaps 1,400. Cope said the final number will be determined next month by the state Wildlife Commission. In 2001, the fall harvest was 219 turkeys out of the 575 permits issued. |
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