March is rapidly winding down, and if you want to get in some last licks on steelhead on our area rivers, better get to it. I continue to get good reports from those who are fishing the Methow, Okanogan and the main stem Columbia River. Some of the fish being taken are really showing their spawning colors and I remind anglers that adipose fin clipped steelhead must be retained. I know it’s tough, taking fish that are “over the hill”, but keeping these hatchery-reared steelhead is the basis of the management of the fishery. If we do not remove these fish from the system, we will lose the ability to fish for steelhead—period. So, do your job as an angler and a contributor the management of our steelhead fisheries; keep the adipose fin clipped fish, within the daily bag limit. Enough of this lecture, let’s talk about the “April Fools Opener” on the first of April. This should be the best one in years, due to the warm weather we’ve had. I have learned that Lower Hampton should out produce Upper Hampton this year, and aside from that good to excellent fishing is expected at the Seep Lakes.