Action:   Close the recreational halibut fishery in Marine Area 1.

Effective Dates:   11:59 p.m. Sept. 30, 2011.

Species affected: Pacific halibut.

Location: Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco/Chinook).

Reason for action: Federal regulations allow the Pacific halibut fishery to remain open in this area until the quota is taken or Sept. 30, whichever occurs first.  There is sufficient quota to allow the recreational halibut fishery to remain open through Sept. 30.

Other information: Daily limit one halibut, no minimum size limit.  The possession limit is two daily limits of halibut in any form, except the possession limit aboard the fishing vessel is one daily limit.

CORRECTION: Removes reference to the spring chinook salmon opening on the lower Yakima River. That opening has not yet been set.

Fishing options sprout in May for trout, shrimp, lingcod, halibut

This is the time of year when new fishing opportunities start popping open like daffodils in the afternoon sun. On various dates in May, shrimp and lingcod fisheries open in Puget Sound and halibut seasons get under way there and off the coast.

But none of those fisheries draw bigger crowds than the lowland lakes trout-fishing season, which opens April 30 statewide. With 300,000 anglers predicted to turn out that day alone, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has been busy stocking 20 million trout in lakes and ponds from the Olympic Peninsula to the Palouse.

Millions more trout, ranging from eight-inch “catchables” to five-pound jumbos, will be planted during the season, which runs through October, said Jim Uehara, WDFW inland fish manager.

“We stock lakes with trout for the whole season, not just opening day,” Uehara said. “Trout fishing should be most productive in lowland lakes through June, and then again in September. Fishing should be good in the higher-elevation lakes, and those stocked with kokanee, right through the summer.”

For most anglers, a valid 2011-12 fishing license is required to participate in any of these fisheries, now that 2010-11 licenses have expired. The exception is young people under age 15, who fish for free in Washington state.

Licenses and permits are avaiIable online , by phone (1-866-246-9453) and from sporting goods stores and other retail license dealers around the state. A list of license vendors is available online and from local WDFW offices.

Key dates for fisheries opening in May include:

• May 1 – Halibut fishing opens in Marine Area 2 off the south coast (Westport and Ocean Shores) and Puget Sound opens for lingcod.
• May 5 – Halibut fishing opens in Marine Areas 6-10 in Puget Sound, and in Marine Area 1 off the south coast (Ilwaco).
• May 7 – Shrimp fishing opens in areas of Puget Sound.
• May 12 – Halibut fishing opens in marine areas 3 and 4 off the north coast (La Push/Neah Bay).
• May 16 – Fishing opens for hatchery steelhead, sockeye salmon and shad on a section of the lower Columbia River.

Fishing regulations and other information about fisheries scheduled or under way around the state are available in Weekender Regional Reports and in the 2011-12 Fishing in Washington rules pamphlet posted on WDFW’s website.

Meanwhile, anglers should be aware that Catch Record Cards for last year’s fishery are due to WDFW by April 30. Card holders are required to report their catch of salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and halibut, whether they caught fish or not. The completed cards should be mailed to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Fish Program, Catch Record Cards, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia WA 98501-1091.

• Open Thursday May 5, three days per week, Thursday-Saturday until 70% of the quota is achieved, or July 17, whichever is earlier. The fishery will then re-open on Friday August 5, three days per week, Friday-Sunday until the remaining quota is taken, or September 30, whichever occurs first.

Bottomfish Restrictions

The retention of bottomfish, except sablefish and Pacific cod, with halibut onboard is prohibited from May 1 through September 30.  The retention of yelloweye and canary rockfish is prohibited.