Gulp! Another Big One Gets Away

A Post Falls fisherman has eaten his way out of the prize money in the Lake Pend Oreille Spring K&K Challenge Derby.

John Bowman was in second place early this week with a 19.12-pound mackinaw he caught on Sunday.

Bowman was understandably happy, considering the second-place fish is worth $2,000 in the annual fishing contest sponsored by the Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club.

But instead of taking the fish home and putting it on ice until the close of the derby this weekend, as the rules require, Bowman cleaned the brute and readied it for the dinner table.

The fish has been disqualified.

The leader in the mackinaw division is a 21.15-pounder caught at the south end of the lake on Monday by Stephanie Rief of Sagle, Idaho.

The top rainbow is a 17.8-pound fish caught Saturday near Cottage Island by Carl Bartz of Hope, Idaho.

The biggest fish caught by a youth is a 13.14-pound mack taken Saturday by Jeremy Shuler of Lind, Wash.

The largest trout caught from the lake before the derby closes Sunday is worth $5,000.

Grandy Creek hatchery delayed again

A judge has ruled that the state’s environmental impact statement for a proposed steelhead hatchery is biased and incomplete.

The ruling by King County Superior Court Judge Philip Hubbard Jr. means construction of the controversial and long-delayed Grandy Creek hatchery likely won’t begin until at least the middle of next year. It would be located on a tributary of the Skagit River.

Hubbard’s ruling said the Department of Fish and Wildlife study failed to adequately disclose risks that the hatchery’s steelhead could harm wild fish by interbreeding, competing with or preying on them, or by drawing added fishing pressure and natural predation.

Money for the $4.5-million hatchery has been approved by the state Legislature since 1991.

Many state lawmakers view hatcheries as the best way to offset declines in wild fish stocks, while some environmental groups oppose them as costly and often harmful to wild fish.

Idaho gets tough with poachers

What’s a trophy big-game animal worth? Well, lots more than it used to be. The 1998 Idaho legislature approved a law that puts real penalties into the state code for “flagrant” violations involving trophy animals.

Senate bill 1499 will become law July 1, setting up definitions of trophy animals and stiff civil penalties, which multiply with repeat offenses.

Acting chief of enforcement Jeff Wolfe says Idaho now probably has the toughest wildlife crime penalties in the country.

A flagrant violation is defined as:

Taking a big-game animal after sunset by spotlighting, night vision devices or artificial light;

Unlawfully taking two or more big game animals in 12 months. Killing the second illegal animal would also be a felony;

Taking a big-game animal with a rimfire or centerfire firearm during an archery- or muzzleloader-only hunt;

Hunting, fishing or trapping when your license has been revoked;

Taking a big-game animal when every season for any species is closed.

Most of these offenses carry the possibility of jail time and mandatory license revocation for anywhere from one year to a lifetime. With the value of the animal set at more than $1,000, the crimes become felonies, giving the poacher a permanent felony record.

Record book shows 38 new entries

The latest edition of the Idaho Big Game Record Book adds 38 new entries to the old list of 978.

Two of the new entries take the top spots on their species lists: the new record for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep was set by horns scored at 197-7/8, picked up in Nez Perce County in 1996, while the record typical mule deer was taken by J. Larry Barr of Bonneville County in 1996. Barr’s buck scored 216.

Minimum scores for making the book have edged downward for this edition, following a similar move by Boone and Crockett, which sets the standards.

Basin gets trout boost i

Crowds of anglers are flocking to lakes that opened last Saturday, but year-round lakes still offer good fishing.

Moses Lake received 60,000 10- to 11-inch rainbow trout last week and Potholes Reservoir received 80,000 8- to 10-inch rainbows to spice the catch.