Regulations & Seasons

Sport Fishing Regulation News

May 2013

• Spring chinook, steelhead fishing to reopen on lower Columbia River
• Public meeting on Cowlitz River fisheries, hatcheries scheduled May 29 in Centralia
• Last razor clam dig of the season set for May 24-26 at Twin Harbors
• Columbia River anglers get four days to catch sturgeon in Bonneville Pool
• Two sections of Yakima River to open
  for hatchery spring chinook fishing
• WDFW approves razor clam dig starting next week at two beaches

Apr 2013

• Snake River spring chinook fishery will get under way Friday (April 26)
• Hundreds of lakes open April 27 for biggest fishing day of the year
• Ban on barbed hooks expands on Columbia River, tributaries May 1
• WDFW seeks comments on Puget Sound cabezon season
• Razor clam dig cleared for April 24-30; diggers asked to steer clear of plovers
• Washington’s salmon fishing seasons set for 2013
• Anglers limited to 1 salmon per day in San Juan Islands
• One razor clam beach opens April 9, three other beaches follow April 12
• Columbia River spring chinook fishery extended through April 12
• WDFW announces new 'Fish Washington' logos; plans to build web resource for anglers

Mar 2013

• Halibut seasons shorter in Puget Sound, provide extra weekend day on south coast
• Annual statewide catch limit for white sturgeon reduced to two fish beginning April 1
• Columbia Basin fisheries discussion scheduled March 27 in Kennewick
• Razor clam dig starts March 28; more digs tentatively set for April
• Fish and Wildlife Commission amends four sportfishing rules
• Shrimp sport fishery opens May 4 in Puget Sound with longer seasons
• Federal council adopts options for ocean salmon sport fisheries
• South Puget Sound salmon discussion scheduled March 19
• Commission adopts new sportfishing rules, approves land transactions
• Anglers limited to 1 salmon per day in Admiralty Inlet
• Abundant runs of Columbia River chinook, Puget Sound pink and coho salmon projected
• Next razor clam dig starts March 7 - and don’t forget Daylight Saving Time

Feb 2013

• Commission to accept comments on proposed hunting regulations, consider sportfishing rules
• Northern pike removal resumes next month in northeast Washington
• Evening razor clam dig approved Feb. 23-24 at Twin Harbors, Long Beach
• WDFW trolling for opinions on new 'Fish Washington' logo
• Public meeting on salmon forecast kicks off season-setting process
• With one razor clam dig under way, more tentatively set through March

Jan 2013

• Commission to hold public hearing on proposed sportfishing rules
• Next razor clam dig set to begin Feb. 7
• Columbia River spring chinook
  season anticipates smaller run
• Updated state hatchery genetic management plans available for review
• Second razor clam dig of month Ok’d for Jan. 25-27
• Commission approves policy to revamp Columbia River fisheries
• First razor clam dig of 2013 starts Jan. 8

Dec 2012

• End the year digging razor clams; check out tentative dates in 2013
• Barbless hooks required Jan. 1 on large portion of Columbia River
• Puget Sound sport crabbing to close Dec. 31; winter catch reports due by Feb. 1
• Commission hears testimony, schedules vote on new Columbia River fishery policy
• Commission invites public comments on lower Columbia River fishery restructuring
• Public-comment deadline extended on proposed state sportfishing rules
• WDFW approves razor clam dig starting Dec. 11 on favorable tides

Nov 2012

• Fishing for steelhead, whitefish to close Dec. 1 on several rivers in the Upper Columbia Basin
• Recommendations to restructure lower Columbia River fisheries available for review
• Month’s second razor clam dig starts Nov. 26 at one beach, others follow
• WDFW considers ban on hunting octopuses off Seattle beach
• Evening razor clam dig approved for Nov. 13-17
• Fish Black Friday for big rainbows stocked in southwest Washington lakes

Oct 2012

• Commission invites public comments on fishery restructuring, livestock compensation
• King County’s Beaver Lake to receive 2,000 large hatchery rainbow trout
• Razor-clam dig approved for Oct. 27-30
• WDFW announces tentative schedule for razor clam digs through December
• Upper Columbia, several other rivers to open for hatchery steelhead fishing
• Most areas of Puget Sound reopen Oct. 13 for late-season crab fishing
• Razor-clam dig approved for Oct. 13-18

Sep 2012

• Commission meeting will include updates on wolf management, fishery reforms
• First razor-clam dig of the season tentatively scheduled next month
• WDFW seeks comments, schedules public meetings on sportfishing rule proposals
• WDFW seeks public comments on razor-clam season options
• Coho catch limit off Westport raised to two fish, as in other ocean areas
• New weeklong fishery for hatchery chinook opens Monday on the lower Columbia River

Aug 2012

• Anglers fishing off Ilwaco, Westport can keep wild and hatchery coho; Westport coho limit changed
• Most of Puget Sound closing to crabbing; summer catch reports due by Oct. 1
• Anglers allowed two chinook salmon off Ilwaco
• Chinook salmon fishing will close early in two areas of central Puget Sound
• Anglers allowed two chinook off Westport and Neah Bay
• Snake River fishery will open Sept. 1 for hatchery chinook as well as steelhead

Jul 2012

• Westport opens daily for salmon fishing Aug. 3
• North coast bottomfish fishery will remain open through Labor Day
• Recreational bottomfishing will close off north coast
• Anglers fishing off Neah Bay limited to one chinook a day beginning July 16
• State managers schedule public meetings to discuss Columbia River sturgeon fisheries

Jun 2012

• Sturgeon season will close early in the Columbia River estuary
• Most of Puget Sound opens for sport crab fishing July 1
• Anglers above McNary Dam asked to return sturgeon tags
• WDFW seeks public comment on updated hatchery plan for Elwha River chinook
• Halibut fishery to close off Westport; reopen on north coast for one day

May 2012

• WDFW planting trout for Father’s Day fishing
• Spring chinook fishery will be open this weekend on lower Columbia River
• Halibut fishery on north coast will reopen May 31 and June 2