If you haven’t satisfied your desire to catch steelhead this winter, you may want to consider a trip to the Tucannon River in Columbia County. This is a very small river, but it is loaded with hatchery steelhead and they need to be caught. Anglers are able to keep three hatchery steelhead through April 15th on the Tucannon. I haven’t fished the Tucannon myself but I have met people who rave about this small river, and the quality of the steelhead they have taken from it. There is a mandatory hatchery steelhead retention rule in place for the balance of the season, and only fish that are going to be kept may be removed from the water. Anglers should also be aware only barbless hooks are allowed for this fishery. All fish other than hatchery steelhead must be released. Fishing from the Tucannon Hatchery Road Bridge upstream is closed. The Tucannon is a tributary of the Snake River and enters the Snake near the town of Tucannon. Highway 261 parallels the river for a good deal of its length. Anglers should be able to find good fishing water near the town of Starbuck.