A VICTORY FOR West End lake anglers is in the works.
Public comments are sought on a plan to acquire via donation a small parcel of private land that would restore access to 48-acre Wentworth Lake near Forks.
Approval is likely for the donation, which would provide lost fishing opportunity for the lake, which features rainbow trout — many of them stocked in past years by Fish and Wildlife — along with coastal cutthroat and kokanee.
Rumor has it bass and blue gill also are potential fishing targets at the site.
The idea of a land donation began when Rayonier, which owns much of the neighboring forest land near the site, locked its gates to the public and imposed a $30 access fee.
Rayonier’s decision was made to stem a tide of illegal dumping and various untoward activities taking place on Rayonier’s landholdings. These illegal dumps, mostly trash, but some of which contain hazardous drug paraphernalia such as used needles, are becoming more and more of an issue for private industry, private landowners and those in charge of state land holdings.
“When Rayonier shut off access, a private landowner up there said he would provide access through a piece of property he owned,” Fish and Wildlife Real Estate Section Manager Julie Sandberg said.
“The department learned that the original landowner had recently sold his property, but the new landowner is still willing to donate about 1.5 acres to provide public access to the lake.”
Sandberg didn’t know the monetary value of the property intended for donation.
“Fish and Wildlife staff determined internally that acquiring this parcel would be very valuable to our recreational fishing opportunities,” Sandberg said.
“We want to determine if the public agrees, so the process we posted on the web is to determine if we want to work with the new landowner and accept the property.”
After acquisition of the parcel, Wentworth Lake will resume being planted with trout by Fish and Wildlife, providing a boost to lake fishing on the West End.
The Wentworth Lake acquisition is one of 12 such land conservation projects for which Fish and Wildlife is seeking public comment.
Descriptions of each of the projects, which range from restoring salmon habitat at the mouth of the Skagit River to expanding recreational access to grasslands in Columbia County, is available at tinyurl.com/PDN-LandTargets.
To comment on the Wentworth Lake donation, email lands@dfw.wa.gov by March 13.
Bottomfish changes
Changes to recreational bottomfish fisheries will come to pass when ocean marine areas re-open March 11 to fishing for species such as lingcod and rockfish.
Fish and Wildlife is making the changes to help ensure rockfish catches align with harvest limits adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. The council is responsible for establishing conservation measures in ocean waters three to 200 miles off the Pacific coast.
Changes in effect beginning March 11 for the 2017-18 fishing season include:
• Rockfish daily limit: Reduces the daily limit on rockfish to seven, from 10, in Marine Areas 1 (Ilwaco), 2 (Westport), 3 (La Push), and 4 (Neah Bay, west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line).
• Canary rockfish daily limit: Anglers fishing in Marine Areas 1 and 2 can retain one canary rockfish as part of the seven rockfish daily limit.
• Bottomfish daily limit: Reduces the overall daily limit on bottomfish to nine, from 12, in Marine Areas 1 through 3 and Marine Area 4, west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line. Rockfish count toward an angler’s overall bottomfish daily limit. Anglers will be able to retain two bottomfish, such as lingcod or cabezon, in addition to their daily limit of seven rockfish.
• Lingcod minimum size: Removes the 22-inch minimum size for lingcod in Marine Areas 1 through 3 and Marine Area 4, west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line.
• Deepwater lingcod closure: Reduces the size of the deepwater lingcod closure in Marine Area 1 by moving the southern boundary five miles north (to 46° 28.00’ N. Lat. from 46° 33.00’ N. Lat.).
Fish and Wildlife is implementing the changes to daily catch limits to help ensure the conservation objective for black rockfish is met, said Michele Culver, intergovernmental ocean policy manager for the department.
“The black rockfish population remains healthy in Washington’s ocean waters,” Culver said.
“However, we’ve seen an increasing number of anglers fishing for rockfish in recent years, which means more fish are being harvested than what we had estimated.”
Meanwhile, anglers fishing in Marine areas 1 and 2 now will be able to retain one canary rockfish as part of the daily limit for rockfish. Retention of canary rockfish previously had been prohibited in these areas to protect the species.
“Fortunately, the population of canary rockfish has rebounded and is now sufficient to allow harvest in areas 1 and 2,” said Culver.
“Anglers are still prohibited from keeping canary rockfish in Marine Areas 3 and 4, but that may change in the future.”
In all four marine areas, anglers will now be able to retain lingcod regardless of fish size.
Lingcod are abundant and removing the minimum-size requirement is not expected to have any effect on the species’ population, Culver said.
The change also should benefit the yelloweye rockfish population, which is still rebuilding, by reducing encounters with the species while anglers are fishing for lingcod, she said.
Lastly, Culver said anglers should be aware that beginning July 1, they’ll need to have a descending device onboard their fishing vessel in all marine areas, including the coast.
Quilcene’s Ward Norden, a former fisheries biologist and owner of Snapper Tackle Company, feels the lingcod rule change was a long time coming.
“Lingcod are the major predator of juvenile rockfish in deep water, and lingcod breed like flies and grow like weeds,” he said.
“Increasing the harvest of lingcod will hasten the recovery of rockfish populations..
“Here in the [Puget] Sound and Straits they should do away with any maximum size limit for lingcod and move the season to begin in March when the biggest lingcod are in shallow water. Regs in our inland waters are essentially protecting the biggest threat to rockfish recovery, large lingcod, while the agency claims to support rockfish recovery.”
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
