WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/ July 7, 2011
Contact: Pat Pattillo, (360) 902-2705
Ron Warren, (360) 249-1201
Skokomish River salmon fishery opens in August
with similar regulations as last year
OLYMPIA - The recreational salmon fishery on the Skokomish River will get under way Aug. 1 downstream of the Highway 106 Bridge and Aug. 2 upstream of the bridge to the Highway 101 Bridge under regulations similar to last year.
State and tribal co-managers recently reached agreement on salmon fisheries in the river after several weeks of discussions, said Pat Pattillo, salmon policy coordinator for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
Earlier this year, the state and Skokomish Tribe were unable to reach agreement on the fisheries during the annual salmon season-setting process, known as North of Falcon. Instead, the co-managers agreed to continue negotiating.
"While it took us a little longer than usual, we reached agreement on fisheries that meet conservation objectives for wild salmon and still provide meaningful opportunities for anglers," Pattillo said.
Like last year, the daily bag limit on the Skokomish will be two salmon for anglers fishing from the mouth of the river to the Highway 101 Bridge through Sept. 30. Anglers must carefully release any wild chinook salmon they catch. They also must release chum salmon through Oct. 15.
Anglers will be required to release any salmon not hooked inside the mouth and must retain the first two legal salmon they catch. In addition, single-point barbless hooks are required and a night closure and anti-snagging rule will be in effect.
Pattillo said the Skokomish River from the Highway 106 Bridge upstream to the Highway 101 Bridge will be closed to recreational fishing on designated Mondays and Tuesdays to avoid potential gear conflicts with treaty tribal fishers. Those closures are scheduled for Aug. 1, 8-9, 15-16, 22-23, 29-30 and Sept. 6.
Recreational fishing downstream of the Highway 106 Bridge will remain open seven days a week through the fishing season.
For more information, see the fishing rule change at
https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/erule.jsp?id=1066 .
