Re: WDFW Q & A Thread - Questions for Stacie Kelsey, WDFW
Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 6:42 pm
Still waiting....................patiently.
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For your question about the Spokane Arm of Lake Roosevelt:soberg wrote:Stacie, I have a couple questions regarding the new Sturgeon and Spokane Arm Walleye regulations. Will we be allowed to catch and release sturgeon after we have caught our 2 fish annual limit? I fish the Snake River below Lower Granite. My next question is I have read that the Spokane Arm of Lake Roosevelt will be open year round starting May 1st 2013, so does this mean it will close april 1st and reopen May 1st?
I have been told that unfortunately, it’s not straight forward in WAC 220-56-282. The WAC only singles out that circumstance for areas of the Columbia River downstream of the border between Washington and Oregon (just upstream of McNary Dam), where catch-and-release is allowed after retaining a daily or annual limit (see (7)(g)). It doesn’t specifically say that it isn’t permitted in other areas in the state, which generally are open to catch-and-release year-round unless being restricted to open seasons for salmon or game fish. I believe that (7)(g) was adopted a number of years ago to maintain concurrent regulation with Oregon, which suggests it isn’t permissible elsewhere. The following is from the version of the WAC just recently revised:soberg wrote:Well I had not recieved a reply about wether or not we will be allowed to catch and release sturgeon after we reach our 2 fish limit so I decided to call the regonal office here in Spokane and to my dismay, they could not answer my question either..... It used to be you could on the Columbia River anywhere it divided Wa and Or but not the anywhere else. I just love how the WDFW doesn't even know themselves. Makes me very nervouis about many our fish and game laws.
I would sure like to see a catch and release season only on Lake Roosevelt. I think I am dreaming there. We see the sturgeon Jumping on the north end of the lake from time to time and once in a while on the Spokane River around Little Falls in the fall whe the Kokanee are spawning.
The answer is clear on Lake Roosevelt sturgeon, WAC 220-56-282, sub-paragraph (5),soberg wrote:Thank you geljocky! I appreciate your attemp to answer my question. Your right it is not clear. I guess I better keep one a yr so I can cotinue to catch and release to be safe. I was really hopeing they would allow a catch and release season on lake roosevelt also this yr.I would sure would be glad to tag the sturgeon I catch and release for the WDFW to help determine their population and movement. The WDFW would benifit if they started a program that involved us advid fisherman.
That means you cannot catch and release Sturgeon ABOVE the Bonneville Dam.Please Note: Sturgeon fishing 2014
Effective January 1, 2014: catch-and-release fishing ONLY in the Columbia River from Bonneville Dam downstream, coastal, and Puget Sound waters including their tributaries.
Lake Roosevelt (section of Columbia River above Grand Coulee dam)RUFUS WOODS LAKE (Douglas/Okanogan Co.)
STURGEON CLOSED
Lake Roosevelt Tributaries, pg 79:ROOSEVELT LAKE (Columbia River from Grand Coulee Dam to U.S.- Canadian border) including Hawk
Creek downstream of the falls at the Hawk Creek Campground, the Spokane arm downstream of SR 25 Bridge, and
Kettle arm downstream of Barstow Bridge
• see also: Hawk Creek, Kettle River, Spokane River, and Roosevelt Lake tributaries
• for San Poil Arm of Lake Roosevelt, see San Poil River, page 80
STURGEON CLOSED
San Poil Arm, pg 80:ROOSEVELT LAKE TRIBUTARIES between Grand Coulee Dam and State Hwy. 25 Bridge at Northport - except
Barnaby Creek, Nancy Creek and tributaries listed elsewhere in Special Rules
STURGEON CLOSED
Spokane Arm, pg 81:SAN POIL RIVER (Ferry Co.) Refer to map. Recreational fishing between Boundary A to Boundary C requires a Washington State Freshwater License. The Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT) asserts that a tribal license is required in this area. Anglers may be checked by tribal enforcement officers for a tribal license. All waters upstream of Boundary C (above the 1310 mean sea elevation) and within the CCT Reservation boundary are under the regulatory authority of the CCT.
Refer to Map: Boundary A to Boundary B – STURGEON CLOSED
Refer to Map: Boundary B to Boundary C - STURGEON CLOSED
2013 Sport Rules Pamphlet, pg 10:SPOKANE RIVER (Spokane Co.) from mouth (SR 25 Bridge) to 400' below Little Falls Dam
STURGEON CLOSED
from Little Falls Dam upstream to the boundary of the Plese Flats Day Use Area (Riverside State Park), except Long Lake, formed by Long Lake Dam
STURGEON CLOSED
from the upstream boundary of the Plese Flats Day Use Area (Riverside State Park) to Monroe Street Dam
STURGEON CLOSED
2013 Sport Rules Pamphlet, pg 12 under the paragraph titled YOU MAY NOT, first item listed:Closed Waters A body of water where fishing is prohibited
In short, sturgeon is a CLOSED fishery in any section of the Columbia River above Chief Joseph Dam and fishing for them in this section of the Columbia is illegal.Fish in closed waters.