Ordinarily, summertime and fishing in Washington are almost synonymous. Not this year. First, there's not enough water in Washington's rivers and creeks. Second, the water remaining is becoming too hot for fish - especially salmon - to survive.
The Washington Department of Fish and Game has shut down or severely restricted fishing on upper Columbia River basin tributaries that feed the main river - the Wenatchee, Icicle, Okanogan and Similkameen Rivers, and Lake Wenatchee. It's closed fishing on most Yakima River feeders, and has sharply cut back fishing hours on most southeastern Washington streams, including parts of the Spokane and Little Spokane Rivers.
Where fishing has not been closed altogether, the reduced hours - they call them "Hoot Owl" closures - prohibit fishing from 2 o'clock in the afternoon to midnight.
The idea is to leave fish alone during the hotter daytime hours, when they're most stressed from higher water temperatures.
And the restrictions are not only in the parched eastern Washington areas. Puget Sound rivers and tributaries are also closed for salmon and most other fishing.
In sum, unless conditions improve rapidly - something that's highly unlikely in this year's severe drought and heat - fishing for fun this summer is a bust.
2015 Fishing restrictions: https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/freshwater_select.h