CLALLAM COUNTY – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife on Friday announced that they will reopen the Dungeness and Gray Wolf rivers to all species of fishing, effective Saturday, October 22.
The rivers were closed last week because of the unseasonably dry weather and extreme low water conditions. But the expected rain and a forecasted rise in river flows will allow fish to move upstream to spawning grounds, so fishing can reopen.
Keep in mind that fishing access in the lower Dungeness River is limited at this time due to river restoration projects. Anglers are advised to avoid all active construction sites, including at the Old Schoolhouse, where levee construction is in progress.
Towne Road, between the Schoolhouse and the Dungeness Valley Creamery, is closed.
The Old Corps Dike is closed from the Creamery downstream.
And there’s a construction site off Fish Hatchery Road, just downstream of the Dungeness Hatchery.
Chinook salmon have finished spawning in the Dungeness River, but concerns remain that the eggs in the gravel are vulnerable. Anglers are requested to avoid stepping on Chinook salmon redds, which appear as depressions in the gravel.