Hunters have through May 22 to apply for special hunting permits for fall deer, elk, mountain goat, moose, bighorn sheep, and turkey seasons in Washington state.

Permit winners will be selected through a random drawing conducted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) in late June. The special permits qualify hunters to hunt at times and places beyond those authorized by a general hunting license.

To apply for a special hunt permit, hunters must purchase an application and necessary hunting licenses for each species they wish to hunt.

Applications and licenses are available from license vendors statewide or on WDFW’s website at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wdfw/special_permits.html. Applications must be submitted on that website or by calling 1-877-945-3492 toll-free.

Most special hunt permit applications cost $7.10 for residents, $110.50 for non-residents, and $3.80 for youth under 16 years of age.

The exception is the cost for residents purchasing applications for mountain goats, any ram and any moose, as well as “quality” categories for deer and elk. Those applications cost $13.70.

Instructions and details on applying for special-permit hunts are described on pages 86-87 of the 2013 Big Game Hunting Seasons & Regulations pamphlet, available at WDFW offices, license vendors, and online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations. Additional information is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/permits/faq.html.

Dave Ware, WDFW game division manager, reminds hunters to update their email and mailing address in the system when purchasing their special hunting permit applications and licenses. Each year, hundreds of special hunting permits are returned due to invalid addresses.

Results of the special-permit drawing will be available online by the end of June at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wa/specialhuntlookup. Winners will be notified by mail by mid-July.

Despite cool and windy weather in many parts of the state, anglers had a lot of success reeling in large trout on opening day of this year’s lowland lakes fishing season.

Based on creel checks conducted at 98 lakes around the state, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) estimates that anglers caught an average of 4.6 trout on opening day, April 27.

“We saw a lot of limits caught at lakes around the state and many anglers happy with the large trout,” said Chris Donley, WDFW’s Inland Fish program manager. “Late morning and early afternoon windy weather blew folks off of some waters, but not before they caught lots of fish.”

For most lakes, the daily limit is five fish. Donley said the 4,076 anglers contacted by WDFW on opening day retained an average of 2.8 trout – up from 2.3 fish in recent years. The rest of the fish were released.

Great trout fishing throughout Washington gets under way April 27, when several hundred lowland lakes  stocked with millions of fish open for a six-month season. Hundreds of thousands of anglers are expected to turn out for the big day. Although many waterways are open year-round, the last Saturday in April marks the traditional start of the lowland lakes fishing season.

“The start of the lowland lakes season is the biggest fishing day of the year,”  said Phil Anderson, director of WDFW, “Lakes in every county are well-stocked, so families can keep travel costs down by enjoying good fishing close to home.”

To participate, anglers must have a current Washington freshwater fishing license valid through March 31, 2014. Licenses can be purchased online; by telephone at 1-866-246-9453; or at hundreds of license dealers across the state.