Salmon fishing on the mainstem Columbia River from the Highway 173 Bridge at Brewster to the Highway 17 Bridge at Bridgeport will close Oct. 16, reminds WDFW Okanogan district fish biologist Bob Jateff.
     WDFW enforcement officers recently cited three anglers for fishing during the closed season on the Okanogan River in Omak, said Jateff. The three were found in possession of five Chinook salmon and a hatchery steelhead.
     An upper Columbia River steelhead season opened Oct. 4 under and emergency rule change.
     Trout fishing also looks promising.
     "Selective gear lakes in Okanogan County have experienced good trout fishing in the last several weeks with cooling water temperatures," Jateff said.
     "Best bets are the Big and Little Twin in the Winthrop area and Blue Lake in the Sinlahekin," he said. Blue Lake has both brown and rainbow trout up to 18 inches, and Big and Little Twin have rainbows in the 15-17 inch range."
     Chopaka Lake near Loomis has had very good fishing for rainbow trout 15-17 inches, Jateff said. Chopaka is a fly-fishing-only lake, and should provide good fishing until it closes Oct. 31.
     Year-round Patterson Lake near Winthrop has been producing catches of yellow perch throughout the summer and fall. Jateff encourages anglers to retain as many perch as possible from this lake.
     Jameson Lake, south of Mansfield in Douglas County, re-opened this month (Oct. 1-31) for rainbow trout that usually average 11 inches, with carryovers to 15 inches.
     For hunters, seasons for California quail, Chukar and gray or Hungarian partridge opened Oct. 4 and will run through Jan. 19.
     Modern firearm deer hunting opens Saturday, Oct. 11.
     WDFW Okanogan district wildlife biologist Scott Fitkin reports buck deer availability for the western half of Okanogan County will be down from what it was a few years ago.
     He that is due to three consecutive winters with higher than average fawn mortality, he explained.
     "However, last December's post-season ratio of 16 bucks per 100 does remained above the minimum management threshold of 15," Fitkin said. "This represents decent carryover, so there should be some nice bucks taken despite an expected drop in overall buck harvest."
     Mule deer appear to be faring well in Ferry County's GMU 101, reports Dana Base, WDFW northeast district wildlife biologist in Colville.
     His most recent surveys show a depressed buck-doe ratio of just 24 bucks per 100 does.
     "Don't expect a banner year for whitetails in northeast Washington," said Base, who said "pocket populations" are faring better in Stevens and Pend Oreille Counties (especially GMUs 108, 111, 117 and 113).
     Fitkin reminds coyote hunters to be sure of their target, given the newly confirmed presence of a wolf pack in Okanogan County. The gray wolf is protected as a federal and state endangered species.
     Sandhill cranes are migrating through Okanogan County towards the Basin in large numbers.
     WDFW warmwater fish biologist Mike Schmuck confirms the crane spectacle, testifying that a mass migration recently flew overhead near Ephrata. "We witnessed a fly over that continued for over two hours," he said.
     Small Canada geese, primarily Lesser's and Taverners, are arriving in the Columbia Basin in small numbers. They should begin picking up in numbers over the next couple weeks, reaching tens of thousands later in the month.
     White-fronted geese have also been moving through. Numbers of early migrating waterfowl such as American wigeon, northern pintail, and green-winged teal have also been increasing.