One of the busiest weekends of the year is coming up. Thousands of anglers will be visiting their favorite lakes, and there might be a tagged trout worth a prize in them. It looks like there will be very favorable weather conditions for the long weekend, which is for many the last hurrah for the summer.

I wanted to remind those who will be taking their fishing gear along this weekend that the annual Washington State Trout Derby is still going on.

Anglers who catch a tagged trout can still turn it in for a wide range of prizes. If you are interested in participating all you need is a Washington State fishing license. There is no entry fee. There are over 100 lakes across the state that have been planted with tagged trout. You can find a list of those lakes by visiting the derby website at www.wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/contests/trout-derby. There is also a form on this page where you can claim your prize. There are over 800 prizes available this year, with a value of over $37,000. Most years at least 50 percent of the prizes have been claimed. I think this is the fourth year of the derby and it has been very popular. It was the brain child of Larry Phillips, who was the Inland Fisheries Manager for the WDFW at that time. The Derby runs through October 31st, so there is still time to catch one of these tagged trout and win a prize.

I was very bummed because I had planned to fish the Brewster Pool with my buddies James and Ryan, but my truck was still stuck in the shop, and I had to cancel. I even called Mike Mauk, one of the organizers of the Brewster Salmon Derby to see how the fishing was going up there. He reported that they are still catching very good numbers of sockeye. He said he was out the other day, and two guide boats passed him going back to the launch at 8:30. Their boats were full of clients, and they had limits of sockeye. There are some anglers focusing on the kings and fishing is pretty good for them, too. I did miss this trip, but I want to get up to that area very soon. When we get a big run of summer salmon the fishing in the Bridgeport area can be terrific. I have fished this stretch for many years for kings in the summer and fall and know some great spots to troll Super Baits. Back trolling plugs can be excellent, too. This is shaping up to be one of the years that Bridgeport could be hot!

Fishing is far from over in the Brewster Pool, but people are already looking forward to the fishing further down the Columbia. This is a very popular fishery, and I would recommend booking a guide service sooner rather than later. An estimated 89,000 adult fall chinook are expected to return to the Hanford Reach this fall, which would be 11% below last year’s numbers (100,310). There is expected to be a strong proportion of larger chinook in this year’s return of four and five year old’s. This will be the second year of adult coho returns to Ringold Springs Hatchery. In 2021 3,000 coho returned to the hatchery. RSH coho are expected in late October through November. The daily limit is six salmon, but anglers are limited to two adult salmon. Anglers must stop fishing when the adult limit is retained. Anglers can harvest fall chinook and coho, both hatchery and wild. Anglers can use barbed or barbless hooks when fishing for salmon in this area of the Columbia River. Anglers may fish with two poles for any species except sturgeon if they have purchased the two-pole endorsement. Party fishing is not allowed when fishing for salmon in this section of the Columbia River. Steelhead fishing is currently closed above the Highway 395 Bridge. This week’s photo is of me with a nice king I landed fishing with my wife just below Priest Rapids Dam in a past season.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) hunter education classes are available now. WDFW schedules classes statewide, but due to instructor and facility availability, challenges may arise in locating a class. “Summer is a great time to enroll in hunter education class because as fall hunting seasons draw near, seats in these courses fill up quickly,” said David Whipple, WDFW hunter education section manager. “Beat the fall rush and sign up today, especially before school and related activities begin.”

WDFW offers both traditional and online options to complete the hunter education requirement. The traditional classroom experience includes direct person-to-person instruction from certified volunteer instructors. This format is especially beneficial to younger students, as well as those seeking more time with our highly qualified and passionate instructors. The online course offers the same content and can be completed according to the student’s schedule. Students aged 17 and younger who take the online course are required to complete an in-person field skills evaluation led by certified instructors. As hunting season approaches, field skills evaluation classes can fill very quickly. Currently, students 18 years and older can complete the online course, which includes a virtual field day, to become certified. However, those students 18 years and older who complete the online course will almost always benefit from attending an in-person field skills evaluation with certified instructors. To learn about hunter education requirements or find a course, new hunters should visit the WDFW hunter education webpage. Hunters born after Jan. 1, 1972, must show proof of completion of hunter education before buying their first Washington hunting license.

I ran into a friend who recently retired and has a strong interest in fly fishing. I told him about my last trip on the upper Icicle and he wants to go right away. This gives me the excuse to spend an afternoon splashing around in the cool waters of the creek and catching double digit numbers of small rainbow. I hear there are others that would like to try this, and I wanted to share some of my favorite flies. I like to cast Parachute Adams, Parachute Caddis, Parachute Hoppers, Stimulators and Renegades. I like the parachutes as they are easy to see while bobbing down the riffles.

Have fun and be safe this coming weekend.