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Target lakes for free fishing weekends
Rivers, streams and beaver ponds opened statewide Friday to fishing, but anglers might want to stick with their favorite lakes for a while longer.
In particular, the Tucannon lakes north of Dayton have been restocked and Rainbow Lake - closed earlier this month when a diversion screen failed and endangered chinook salmon smolt poured in - is close to reopening, perhaps early next week.
The popular manmade impoundment along the Tucannon River will get 2,000 rainbow trout next week in anticipation of the annual Kids' Fishing Derby on June 10, part of National Fishing Week from June 3-10 and the state's Free Fishing Weekend from June 9-10.
On those two days, no license is required to fish or gather shellfish in Washington, regardless of residency or age.
However, anglers must stick to waters open to fishing, and all other rules, such as size and bag limits, remain in effect.
Also, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife's mandatory Access Stewardship Decal will not be required on Free Fishing Weekend.
But every other day of the year, anglers, wildlife watchers, hunters and anyone else using state lands must have the yellow decal displayed on the rear of their vehicle.
The $10 decals are issued free when buying a hunting, fishing or shellfish license. The penalty for failure to display the decal is $66.
The Rainbow Lake derby, for kids 14 years and younger, runs 8 a.m. to noon. There will be prizes for specially tagged fish and a casting contest. Free hot dogs and pop will be available to all children registered.
Volunteers will be on hand to help kids bait hooks and offer fishing tips, as well as instruct parents and kids on the ethical use of our natural resources. There also will be volunteers to demonstrate how to properly clean trout for the table.
And, if you don't have any fishing tackle, don't worry. Extra fishing gear will be available.
The event is sponsored by the Pomeroy Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Asotin County Sportsmen and a host of volunteers.
Doug Maxey, Tucannon Fish Hatchery manager, said most of the 5-inch salmon smolts have been flushed out of the lake and into the Tucannon River and the intake system has been repaired.
"Rainbow Lake likely will be open for the kids' derby, and we plan to add another batch of rainbows averaging 9 to 11 inches," he said.
Besides Rainbow, Maxey said fishing is still fair-to-good at several other Tucannon Lakes, including Curl, Spring, Blue and Watson.
"Dry-fly anglers are having a lot of fishing in the evening as there's been a good hatch of insects, including stoneflies," he added.
Bennington Lake in Walla Walla also will be restocked with 2,800 trout for Free Fishing Weekend and the Bennington Lake Kids' Fishing Derby on June 10. Bennington Lake is 2 miles east of Walla Walla on Reservoir Road. The derby runs 7 a.m. to noon.
As for the Touchet and Tucannon rivers, now open to trout fishing, neither water is stocked by the state with catchable-size rainbow because of threatened species concerns.
On the Touchet, however, hatchery steelhead are planted downstream of the confluence of the north and south forks. Several thousand of those do not migrate to the ocean and are available to anglers as part of daily catch.
Residual hatchery steelhead are also in abundance on the Tucannon, with the Marengo area being a popular access point.
Most of these fish range from 8 to 10 inches and most have a missing adipose fin, denoting their hatchery origin.
However, because the state is releasing an increasing number of wild steelhead stock on the two Blue Mountain tributaries, anglers may catch steelhead smolt they assume are trout.
Fish and Wildlife department biologists also note there is some natural rainbow trout reproduction on both streams, and even the Touchet's once-prized German brown trout populations are stubbornly hanging on and no doubt will show up in angler's creels.
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