FISHING -- The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission this morning voted to eventually increase the limit of hatchery-marked rainbow trout from five a day to 10 a day at Lake Roosevelt.

Wild redband trout with intact adipose fins would have to be released, with an exception -- one wild fish over 18 inches long could be kept.

Changes in seasons around the mouths of some spawning areas will be enacted.

The exact date the rule will take effect hasn't been determined, but it could be July 1 when Washington's 2016-17 fishing rules pamphlet goes into effect. Or maybe sooner.  Stay tuned on that.

The new rule was proposed by the Colville and Spokane tribes as a way to increase survival of the unique native redbands upstream from Grand Coulee Dam while increasing rather than reducing fishing opportunity for anglers.

The explanation for the rule change is detailed in my column from last week.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife commission voted on the rule by conference call.

The idea is to let anglers catch more of the 750,000 net pen rainbows released into the Columbia River reservoir each year while reducing the number of native redbands killed by angling each year. 

The redbands are unique, found nowhere else, with genetics worth preserving, say fish managers from the tribes and state.