Our thanks go to longtime local fisherman Bill Heinze who emailed the question that is on most fishing minds lately- "Are we going to have a salmon season this year?" My Magic 8-Ball is cautiously optimistic, returning responses that ranged from "Signs point to yes," then "Outlook good" and finally "Ask again later." The real answer to that question is dependent on a number of environmental and scientific factors, as well as a number of Government entities. The California Department of Fish and Game will make a recommendation to the federal Pacific Fisheries Management Council, who consults with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service to make a decision that is handed down to the California Fish and Game Commission, and thence to the California Fish and Game Department for final implementation. In shorthand, that is DFG to PFMC to NOAA/NMFS, then back to the CA FGC and finally a return to the CA DFG. Take a breath. Salmon activist James McCarthy from Alameda hopefully informs us "we might get something like a normal season in 2011." The fall salmon return counts in the Sacramento River system came in at 166,000 fish. This is a vast improvement over last year where the count stalled at 53,000. The large number of "jacks," or immature salmon counted last year held a promise of a better year in 2011, and a limited recreational season was allowed last year. Based on that recent history, the various government offices will likely approve a season for this year. Steve Carson, Director of the Penn Fishing University, reminds us "the DFG will hold a public meeting about the California salmon population, and the 2011 ocean and river salmon fisheries. The meeting will be held from 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM on March 1 at the Sonoma County Water Agency Building at 404 Aviation Blvd. in Santa Rosa." Public input will be accepted at that meeting. Carson adds that results from the meeting will be brought to the PFMC on March 5-10 in Vancouver WA, where a broad range of season alternatives will be negotiated. The final decision regarding the 2011 salmon season may not be available until April1. The entire process remains sluggish and top heavy. Local retailers and charter operations cannot make vital business decisions until the very last minute in terms of scheduling and purchasing inventory. We remain cautiously optimistic, looking forward to the possibility of a more robust salmon season this year for recreational as well as commercial salmon anglers. Catch Bushnell's live fishing report on KSCO 1080AM Friday mornings at 6:45am. Send comments, questions and photos to scruzfishing@yahoo.com.

Caption: A few lucky anglers managed to troll up some kings during the 2010 salmon season. Here's Ed Burrell from April 2010.