OLYMPIA - The Methow River was closed to fishing Saturday, Sept. 26, by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
     The catch-and-release fishery originally was scheduled to run through Sept. 30. Early closure was necessary to avoid additional incidental catching of protected wild steelhead, department regional Fish Program Manager Jeff Korth said.
     "We've recently seen an increase in the number of steelhead returning to the Methow, as well as in the number of anglers on the river," Korth said. "That combination has resulted in quickly reaching the catch-and-release fishery's (Endangered Species Act) limit for incidentally caught wild steelhead."
     Korth said fishery managers are assessing the steelhead run to the region and - based upon wild and hatchery returns - could open a fishery this week for hatchery steelhead on portions of the upper Columbia River and some tributaries.
     That hatchery steelhead fishery would be allowed under a separate federal permit.