Field Reports: Pend Oreille River fish surveyed at night
FISHING – State fisheries biologists will conduct a fisheries survey in the Box Canyon Reservoir portion of the Pend Oreille River from Monday through Friday.
Crews will be on the river during the day and night setting nets and using electroshocking boats to census all of the river’s fish species.
The Kalispel Tribe has completed a state-authorized pike suppression effort after removing 3,965 of the non-native species from the 55 miles of the reservoir March 6-May 2.
Similar pike suppression netting removed 6,452 pike in 2013 and 5,808 in 2012.
The pike come downriver from Montana and Idaho. Washington fish managers have decided to target the pike to slow their movement into the Columbia River where they could do serious damage to salmon fisheries.
Lake Pend Oreille kokanee limit upped
FISHING – The limit of kokanee anglers can catch at Lake Pend Oreille has been increased from eight to 15.
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission approved the increase at a meeting in Lewiston on Thursday, effective immediately.
Increasing the catch limit is a signal that fish managers believe the kokanee have made a remarkable recovery from near collapse 14 years ago. Costly efforts to reduce the invasion of lake trout starting in 2006 allowed the kokanee to make a comeback.
Kokanee fishing on the lake was closed in 1999 and reopened in 2013.
Remington rifle recall backed by father
GUNS – A Montana man who sued Remington Arms Co. said the manufacturer should be commended for recalling the model rifle he claims was responsible for the death of his 9-year-old son.
Remington issued a nationwide recall in April of its Model 700 and Model Seven rifles equipped with the X-Mark Pro trigger that were manufactured between May 2006 and April 9, 2014.
Some rifles may have excess bonding agent that could cause them to accidently fire, the company said.
Richard Barber filed a lawsuit in the death of his son Gus, who was shot when a Model 700 bolt-action rifle discharged as the boy’s mother was unloading it in 2000. His lawsuit led the company to recall 2.5 million rifles in 2002 to modify a safety on bolt-action rifles made before 1982.
Remington insisted in 2010 in response to new lawsuits and a cable television documentary that the trigger mechanism “has been free from any defect since it was first produced.”
Barber, from Manhattan, Montana, told the Billings Gazette the new recall is important because it signifies that Remington may be coming around.
“I support them in this. They shouldn’t be persecuted. They should be commended,” he said.
Remington spokesman Teddy Novin said the manufacturer has confidence in the design of the rifles’ trigger mechanism.
A 2010 CNBC report found that more than 75 lawsuits had been filed against the company alleging the trigger was prone to fire without being touched. The documentary prompted additional lawsuits claiming problems with the assembly.