Top Trout At Derby Worth Boat, Motor

More than $40,000 in prizes will be awarded to the top anglers in the Spring K&K Challenge Derby April 27-May 5 at Lake Pend Oreille.

A 20-foot boat, with a 120-horsepower engine equipped for fishing, will be the grand prize for the angler who catches the largest rainbow trout during the derby, said the Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club, sponsor of the event.

Cash also will be awarded to the largest brown trout, kokanee, perch and crappie, plus an award for the most pounds of squawfish.

Youth categories are included, plus special sportsmanship awards for the largest fish caught and released. Entry forms are available at most marinas and fishing shops in the region. Info: (208) 264-5031.

Sullivan switches methods

The reservation system for the group camping site at Sullivan Lake has been changed this year from a lottery to a first-come, first-served telephone system.

Beginning today, campers can reserve the group site, as well as other camping sites, through the National Recreation Reservation System at (800) 280-2267.

Call 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday or 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays. Reservations will be accepted for May 20-Sept. 15.

The group campsite can accommodate up to 30 people and has a boat launch and beach. The fee is $25 per day, plus a $15.75 reservation fee.

Time to clam up on coast

The spring razor clam season opens Thursday on two Washington coastal beaches.

Kalalock Beach opens through May 23.

Twin Harbors Beach opens through May 9.

Both beaches will be open for digging on morning tides of odd-numbered days.

Long Beach and Copalis Beach are scheduled for a short season on May 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Fisher misses list

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has declined a petition to list the fisher, a cat-sized relative of the weasel, under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Evidence shows the fisher is declining in California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming, said Jasper Carlton of the Biodiversity Legal Foundation in Boulder, Colo.

Carlton filed the petition in December 1994, suggesting the fisher be listed as a threatened species. The service said the petition failed to show that the fisher in the western states is “discrete” from the fisher in the eastern states and Canada.

In 1991, however, the service determined that the fisher in Washington, Oregon and California was “distinct” from other populations.

The service agrees that the fisher is sensitive to habitat fragmentation.

Auction set in Lewiston

The Idaho Department of Fish & Wildlife will hold its annual fur, antler, hide and animal parts auction on March 30 at the Clearwater Regional Office in Lewiston.

Viewing at the auction begins at 8 a.m., with bidding to begin at 10. Info: (208) 799-5010.

, DataTimes