RESERVOIRS — The level of Lake Roosevelt was 1243.30 at 10 a.m. today as it continues to rise slowly.

“The prediction calls for the level of the lake to be in the 1245-1246 range for this weekend,” the Bureau of Reclamation says. “Next week the level of the lake is predicted to rise less than 1 foot per day resulting in the lakel level being in the 1250-1252 range over Memorial Day weekend.”

Daily lake level forecast by phone: (800) 824-4916.

Better yet, check out this new NOAA site with Roosevelt levels and a list of boat launching elevations on the same page.

SALMON FISHING — The spring chinook fishery will reopen this weekend (May 19-20) for two days of fishing on a section of the Columbia River stretching 163 miles upstream from Bonneville Dam, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this afternoon.

Anglers fishing those waters will be allowed to keep two marked hatchery adult chinook per day. All wild, unmarked chinook must be released unharmed.

Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon agreed to the two-day opening after the run forecast for upriver spring chinook was raised from 202,000 fish to 216,500 fish. (The original forecast recently was downgraded by nearly a third).

Cindy LeFleur, WDFW Columbia River policy manager, said the two states will meet May 22 to consider additional openings – both above and below Bonneville Dam – if the estimated size of this year’s spring chinook run continues to rise.

“All eyes are on the fish counts at Bonneville Dam right now,” LeFleur said. “This run is one of the latest on record, so we really have to gauge from one week to the next how many spring chinook are still coming.”

This weekend, boat and bank anglers can fish from the Tower Island powerlines to the Washington/Oregon state line, 17 miles upriver from McNary Dam. Bank anglers can also fish from the powerlines downriver to Bonneville Dam.

Those waters have been closed to fishing since May 6, pending a run assessment.

• WDFW emergency regulations are posted online.
• Click here for details on Washington fishing seasons and regulations.
• Check the WDFW Fishing hotline for the latest rule information, (360) 902-2500, press 2 for recreational rules. 

SALMON FISHING — The spring chinook salmon fishing season on the Icicle River in Chelan County will open Saturday (May 19), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this afternoon.

The closing date, subject to change, is July 31.

Daily limit:  Daily limit two salmon, minimum size 12 inches. 

Location: Icicle River, from the closure signs located 800 feet upstream of the mouth to 500 feet downstream of the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery Barrier Dam.

Read on for details.

SALMON FISHING —  Snake River spring chinook fishing will close one hour after sunset Friday (May 18) below Ice Harbor Dam and near Little Goose Dam.  

The closure does not affect spring chinook fisheries in the six miles below Lower Granite Dam, or in the Clarkston area. Both will remain open until further notice, according to an announcement just released by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife fishery managers.

“Because wild salmon in the run are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, these fisheries must be managed within the ESA guidelines,” said John Whalen, WDFW’s eastern region fish program manager. “Based on the most recent chinook run estimate, the catch rates we are seeing, and the projected harvest, the allowable salmon catch for the Snake River will be reached sooner than we estimated.”

Read on for the details about the season closures:

FISHING – Sign-up is underway for limited openings in a two-session fishing clinic for adults who haven’t been introduced to the sport.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and volunteers from the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council are teaming to teach non-fishing adults age 16 or older. 

The clinic involves an evening session on June 7 followed by a session at an area lake on June 9, which is free fishing weekend in Washington – no fishing license required.

Sign up: 892-1001 or email teamspokane@dfw.wa.gov.

Read on for more details.

SALMON FISHING — Fishing for spring chinook on the lower Snake River could close after fishing hours on Friday because of the downgrading of the forecast from about 314,000 to 220,000 fish up the Columbia.

Anglers have been catching springers in the Snake, and they may be close to their quota given the reduced numbers of fish coming upstream.

Look for an announcement, possibly late today, that would close the Snake from Little Goose downstream on Friday night.

Fishing upstream in the Snake would likely close after the weekend, according to John Whalen, regional fisheries manager, who said fish managers would be meeting Monday to go over the numbers again.

FISHING IN YOUR DREAMS — Alaska Airlines and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute on Monday unveiled the world’s largest king salmon. Stretching nearly 129 feet, the fish-themed design will adorn a Boeing 737-800 this fall.

The new “Salmon-Thirty-Salmon II” design is derived from an earlier version of the paint scheme Alaska Airlines unveiled on a 737-400 in 2005, which was re-painted with the carrier’s traditional Eskimo livery last year.

The new design is about nine feet longer than the original ’salmon plane’ and also features fish scales on the winglets and a salmon-pink colored “Alaska” script across the fuselage.

“This airplane celebrates Alaska Airlines’ unique relationship with the people and communities of Alaska and underscores our air transport commitment to the state’s seafood industry,” said Marilyn Romano, Alaska Airlines’ regional vice president of the state of Alaska.

Last year, Alaska Airlines flew nearly 25 million pounds of seafood from Alaska to markets in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

And it flew a lot of fishermen back and forth, too.

SALMON FISHING — Two sections of the Yakima River will open this week to fishing for hatchery-reared spring chinook salmon, under regulations announced late this afternoon by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Wednesday, May 16, the lower Yakima River will open to fishing for hatchery spring chinook from the Interstate 182 Bridge in Richland to the Grant Avenue Bridge in Prosser.

Saturday, May 19, the salmon fishery will expand to the upper Yakima River from the Interstate 82 Bridge at Union Gap to the railroad bridge below Roza Dam.

John Easterbrooks, regional WDFW fish program manager, said the lower river is expected to remain open through June 30, while fishing in the upper section will likely continue through July 31.

“The springers are running late this year, but they’re finally moving into the Yakima River,” said Easterbrooks, noting that fishery managers are predicting a return of approximately 5,000 adult hatchery chinook to the Yakima River.

Read on for details.

FISHING — Coeur d’Alene attorney Denny Davis will share photos and stories from his trip to Russia starting at 7 p.m. May 16 at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave.

Davis’ free program, “Moscow and Fishing in the Russian Far East,” is one in a series of Novel Destinations programs sponsored by the Library Foundation as an opportunity for area residents to share photos from unique places around the world.

TOURNAMENT FISHING — Mark Kendall, teamed with Doug Wood, caught the 34-inch tiger musky (above) to top the 11 anglers Saturday in the Silver Lake Mountain Muskies Tiger Musky Tournament in Spokane County.

The second place team of Herb Zielke and Don Grove wwere just a half an inch shy with one musky measuring 33.5 inches

Those were the only two tigers the 11 anglers caught during the day-long tournament, reports Douglas Wood, president of the local Mountain Muskies chapter of Muskies, Inc.

Both of the fish were released.

“Many more were seen, but not caught,” Wood said.

OUTDO – A group of anglers is trying to get all Spokane River anglers speaking the same legal language about the fishing restrictions designed to protect the struggling native redband trout.

The group has worked with the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department to tanslate important rules into Russian for signs to be posted along the river.

The issue is about fish conservation, but the fundraising event to raise money for the signs is all about art and painting.

The Tipsy Muse event, set for Saturday (May 19), 1 p.m.-4 p.m. at Arbor Crest Winery, features participants getting  chance to work on a painting alongside a professional artist.  The participants get to keep their painting and everybody enjoys sipping wine and bidding on fly fishing trips, casino packages and other items.

For years, concerns have simmered about illegal fishing among Eastern European-Russian immigants, said Tyler Comeau, an Eastern Washington University student. Comeau has been working on the project with the Spokane Falls Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Fish and Wildlife police confirm that language barriers often are given as excuses for poaching activity on the river.

Cost: $45 (includes tasting fee) or $10 for spectators (non painting, but also includes tasting fee)

Limited tickets are available online only:

FISHING — A standing offer to replicate the first 50-inch tiger musky caught and released in a Washington tiger musky tournament was honored this week.

In September, Chris Gades of St. Maries caught a 50-incher in Muskies Inc. tourney at Curlew Lake. It wasn’t just big for the area. According to Muskies Inc., it’s the biggest tiger musky recorded in North America in 2011.

Gade, a Colvile native, unhooked the fish, measured it, posed it for a photo and released it unharmed in the lake, as required in the tournament.

Lax Reproductions of Conover, Wis., came through with its promise to honor this milestone fish. Using the photos Gades provided, the company prepared a replica of the lunker, which was presented to Gades by Doug Wood of Spokane, president of the Mountain Muskies Chapter.

A tiger musky is a sterile cross between a northern pike and a muskellunge.  The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has planted the hybrids in seven lakes in the state to control rough fish and provide a trophy fishing opportunity.

Washington rules require any tiger musky less than 50 inches long to be released alive, but tournament anglers release all of their fish.  

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RESERVOIRS — After a fairly rapid rise in early May, the level of Lake Roosevelt was 1238 at 8 a.m. today and  predicted to stay at fairly stable levels for a while.

“Inflows have decreased over the last week, but are expected to increase slightly in the coming week,” the Bureau of Reclamation says. “At this time, the prediction is that the lake level will remain fairly stable over the weekend and rise slightly next week. At this time we anticipate a daily rise from 0-1/2 foot (6 inches). If the weather warms or there is increased precipitation, then there may be an increase in the daily rise of lake levels.

Daily lake level forecast by phone: (800) 824-4916.

Better yet, check out this new NOAA site with Roosevelt levels and a list of boat launching elevations on the same page.

FISHING RECORDS — The 13.75-pound state record tiger trout caught in Spokane County’s Fish Lake on May 27, 2008, by local angler Evan Roda has finally met its match.

The vetting and paperwork isn't complete, but Washington Fish and Wildlife department officials say it looks likely that a 15.04 pounder caught in Roses Lake of Chelan County will be the new record.

Kirk Herrin, a painting contractor from Manson, landed the big brook trout/brown trout hybrid last month while fishing for bass. He was casting a Fluke — a soft swim-bait lure.

The only tiger on the books, from anywhere, larger than Herrin's fish is the IGFA all-tackle world record of 20 pounds, 13 ounces, caught in Lake Michigan 34 years ago.

Read more details in this Everett Herald story.

SALMON FISHING — Shortly after the 2012 spring chinook run expectations were downsized, the surge in a late-holding run finally began. Biologists are watching closely; anglers are baiting up.

The largest single-day count of spring chinook of the last nine years climbed over Bonneville Dam on Wednesday.

Andy Walgamott of Northwest Sportsmen shucked out a few more numbers:

The surge of 18,436 fish is the fifth largest going back through the early 2000's renaissance of the run and sixth largest back to the late 1930s, he said.

The former figure itself is higher than totals for every day of this year's return except Tuesday and Wednesday.

And Wednesday's aggregate brings the three-day total to 39,517 springers, meaning almost half of 2012's run, which now is up to 81,863, has come through the dam since Monday.

The top five all-time best days are April 18, 2001 (27,020), April 30, 2002 (25,631), May 1, 2002 (20,847), April 29, 1972 (19241) and April 15, 2001 (19,192).

In recent years, the best single day has been May 1, 2011, when 15,766 went through.

Washington and Oregon fish managers are watching the returns closely. Any run adjustments most likely would be made on Monday.

Meanwhile, expect a crowd at Drano Lake and Wind River. Anglers and salmon are all showing up at once.

RIVERS — A federal study released Tuesday found more than 100 toxic substances from everyday life are making their way through wastewater treatment plants into the Columbia River.

What this means, according to details of the report, is that chemicals thoughtless people are pouring down their drains are getting through water treatment plants, into the river — and into the fish sportsmen eat. 

Wonderful.

Read the Seattle Times story.

FISHING CONTESTS — The first annual “Trippin’ With the Triploids” fishing derby is set to begin on Lake Rufus Woods Saturday, (May 12) beginning at 5:30 a.m..

Derby contestants have a chance to win a $40,000 boat  and other cash and prizes.

Tickets: adults $50, kids under 18, $30.

All contestants get a t-shirt and barbeque dinner at the awards ceremony.

Proceeds go to buying more triploid rainbows for release into Rufus Woods, the reservoir downstream from Grand Coulee Dam, said NancineLorz, derby coordinator.

 Read on for details:

FLY FISHING — Looking to upgrade your fly rod or reel, but you can't justify your purchase to your significant other?

Want the latest and greatest from your favorite rod company, but need some money to help purchase it?

Wanna get your cheap buddy into the sport?

These reasons and more will be prompting area anglers to sell and buy used gear at the annual Fly Fishing Gear Swap Event sponsored by Silver Bow Fly Shop, 13210 E. Indiana Ave., in Spokane Valley.

Read on for details on selling and buying.

FLY FISHING — The upper reaches of the St. Joe River Road are still plugged with snow, but Sean Visintainer of Silver Bow Fly Shop found decent fishing in the lower river.  The river was clear and dropping and fish were keying on Brown Drakes, a hatch that's usually a bust for fly fishers because of runoff.

Still, he said the he caught the most fish fast-stripping streamers.

Click here for Sean's full report.

In case you didn't notice, the cutthroat he'spreparing to release on Sunday stretches from his forefinger to his elbow.