Published: Thursday, August 19, 2010
Prospects for waterfowl seasons are mixed
The duck hunting shouldn't be too bad this fall, but the snow goose season could be a little less than top drawer. That's a thumbnail sketch of prospects for the upcoming waterfowl seasons according to state Department of Fish and Wildlife waterfowl program manager Don Kraege in Olympia.
Kraege said the forecast is for good fall flights of birds from the north, particularly those from Alaska, but for duck populations to be a little below those of last season.
"Statewide, we expect duck numbers maybe 8 or 9 percent below last year's counts," he said. "Mallards in the Columbia Basin should be up perhaps 2 percent from last year, but still about 7 percent below the long-term average."
Most of the state's better duck-producing areas experienced a wet spring and good production, so early-season hunting for local birds, before northern flights arrive, could be good. The Yakima Valley, especially, is a top prospect, Kraege said.
Last year's duck season was a good one, he said, with a harvest of about 440,000 birds. That was up substantially from the 2008-09 season and about 5 percent above the long-term average.
Reports from Wrangell Island, however, indicate a poor production year for snow geese, Kraege said. "Biologists up there expect fewer than 5 percent juveniles making up the flight," he said.
Juvenile snow geese tend to be less wary than adult birds, providing much of the fall harvest in this area.
SALMON
The selective chinook fishery in Marine Areas 9 and 10 slows a little each week, but remains surprisingly productive for this late in the season, according to local experts.
Talk show host and Lake Stevens resident Tom Nelson said "The fishery is holding up well, and the last I heard the state was talking about just letting the season run; that they're not too worried about overshooting a quota."
Nelson added that an unusual event is taking place on Possession Bar, which, because of all the bait in the area, remains the best bet for a king or two.
"A lot of those clouds of bait we're picking up on the sounders are composed of juvenile hake, not herring," said Nelson, a trained fishery biologist. "It's been years since we've seen that much hake activity on the bar."
Because the hake are smaller, Nelson said, he's been having better luck on 3.5-inch Kingfisher Lite spoons (cookies 'n cream is a good pattern) behind a chartreuse Jim's breakaway flasher, as opposed to the plugs that were effective earlier and still are in parts of the area.
All Star Charters owner/skipper Gary Krein agreed with Nelson.
"Possession Bar is still the go-to place for chinook," Krein said. "I've talked to people trying other spots, but the bar is still the most consistent producer."
He said the schools of small hake do indeed call for smaller lures, particularly around the lower end of what regular bar fishermen call the "tin shed," but that a concentration of 6-inch herring along the bar's east edge still calls for larger plugs.
State creel checks Saturday at the Shilshole ramp in Seattle showed 221 fishermen with 45 chinook and 15 coho, and at the Port of Everett ramp on Sunday, it was 215 anglers with 26 chinook and four coho.
Anglers finally started hitting decent fishing on the lower end of the Columbia about Sunday, said state biologist Joe Hymer in Vancouver. Checks of fishermen in the "buoy 10" fishery that day showed 65 boats and 164 anglers with 21 chinook and five coho, Hymer said. Reports also were good on Monday morning's high slack tide.
"It was a slow start and the fish seem to be a little late, but that varies year to year," Hymer said.
The Baker Lake sockeye fishery is still rated fair to good, according to Stuart Forst at Holiday Market in Burlington. Most of the fish are coming from the Noisy Creek area, about two-thirds of the way up the lake's northern arm, up or down from 35 to 40 feet of water. Forst said a pink mini-hoochie is probably a better bet than the popular bare hook setup.
Sockeye are still available on Lake Wenatchee, as well, and at the time of this writing nothing was in the immediate works to close the fishery. State biologist Art Viola took his wife fishing Sunday and they nailed two limits of sockeye, according to a spokesperson at the agency's Wenatchee office (509-662-0452). Any closure information will be placed on the state's website.
Chinook fishing in the San Juans remains disappointing.
Chelan resident Anton Jones, owner of Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service (1-866-360-1523), said summer chinook fishing in the Brewster Pool on the upper Columbia has been slow off the mouth of the Okanogan, but he predicted a more aggressive bite as spawning time nears and more fish congregate in the pool. A popular rig, he said, would be a plug-cut Super Bait, filled with tuna or fish cat food, in hot tamale pattern, behind a big Hot Spot Flasher.
A spokesman at the Hoodsport Salmon Hatchery said the beach fishery at the hatchery for chinook is slow so far, but he expects fishable numbers of kings to show up at any time.
And Jerry Beppu at Linc's Tackle in Seattle said chinook have yet to show to any substantial degree off the mouth of Issaquah Creek at the south end of Lake Sammamish.
WOW STRIKES AGAIN
Washington Outdoor Women is in its 13th year of offering its popular fall outdoor skills workshop, and spots are going fast for the Sept. 17-19 event at beautiful Camp River Ranch in Carnation. There are even a number of $75 scholarships available, according to WOW director Ronni McGlenn, who added the event is a tremendous opportunity for single moms, students and others "living lightly."
The non-profit group, backed by such savvy organizations as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Washington Wildlife Federation, has gathered an expert group of instructors (95 percent women) and provides training, accommodations, meals and a T-shirt for a fee of $235. There are 20 course choices, including backpacking, basic freshwater fishing, Dutch oven cooking, outdoor photography, fly fishing, starting a hunting dog and more.
Visit WOW's excellent website for more information, click "Registration," then click "Fall Weekend Workshop," or call McGlenn at 425-455-1986.
Washington scout wins fishing contest
Jonathan Dawes, 13, of Tacoma, caught a 5-pound, 1-ounce catfish to win the fishing competition at the recent National Scout Jamboree of the Boy Scouts of America, held July 26-Aug. 4 at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia. The hefty cat was worth an all-expense-paid fishing trip to Alabama for Jonathan and his father with Berkley pro and TV celebrity Hank Parker.
This year's Jamboree marked the 100th anniversary of the BSA and drew more than 30,000 scouts, 9,000 staff and more than 30,000 visitors.
Whitetail management
A proposal to restrict the harvest of whitetail bucks to deer with four antler points or better is one of the possible changes to be discussed by state personnel this month at four public meetings. The proposals address management in northeastern Washington Game Management Units 117 and 121.
The closest meeting remaining is scheduled for Aug. 26 in Room A of the Yakima Convention Center (10 North Eighth St.).
Kraege said the forecast is for good fall flights of birds from the north, particularly those from Alaska, but for duck populations to be a little below those of last season.
"Statewide, we expect duck numbers maybe 8 or 9 percent below last year's counts," he said. "Mallards in the Columbia Basin should be up perhaps 2 percent from last year, but still about 7 percent below the long-term average."
Most of the state's better duck-producing areas experienced a wet spring and good production, so early-season hunting for local birds, before northern flights arrive, could be good. The Yakima Valley, especially, is a top prospect, Kraege said.
Last year's duck season was a good one, he said, with a harvest of about 440,000 birds. That was up substantially from the 2008-09 season and about 5 percent above the long-term average.
Reports from Wrangell Island, however, indicate a poor production year for snow geese, Kraege said. "Biologists up there expect fewer than 5 percent juveniles making up the flight," he said.
Juvenile snow geese tend to be less wary than adult birds, providing much of the fall harvest in this area.
SALMON
The selective chinook fishery in Marine Areas 9 and 10 slows a little each week, but remains surprisingly productive for this late in the season, according to local experts.
Talk show host and Lake Stevens resident Tom Nelson said "The fishery is holding up well, and the last I heard the state was talking about just letting the season run; that they're not too worried about overshooting a quota."
Nelson added that an unusual event is taking place on Possession Bar, which, because of all the bait in the area, remains the best bet for a king or two.
"A lot of those clouds of bait we're picking up on the sounders are composed of juvenile hake, not herring," said Nelson, a trained fishery biologist. "It's been years since we've seen that much hake activity on the bar."
Because the hake are smaller, Nelson said, he's been having better luck on 3.5-inch Kingfisher Lite spoons (cookies 'n cream is a good pattern) behind a chartreuse Jim's breakaway flasher, as opposed to the plugs that were effective earlier and still are in parts of the area.
All Star Charters owner/skipper Gary Krein agreed with Nelson.
"Possession Bar is still the go-to place for chinook," Krein said. "I've talked to people trying other spots, but the bar is still the most consistent producer."
He said the schools of small hake do indeed call for smaller lures, particularly around the lower end of what regular bar fishermen call the "tin shed," but that a concentration of 6-inch herring along the bar's east edge still calls for larger plugs.
State creel checks Saturday at the Shilshole ramp in Seattle showed 221 fishermen with 45 chinook and 15 coho, and at the Port of Everett ramp on Sunday, it was 215 anglers with 26 chinook and four coho.
Anglers finally started hitting decent fishing on the lower end of the Columbia about Sunday, said state biologist Joe Hymer in Vancouver. Checks of fishermen in the "buoy 10" fishery that day showed 65 boats and 164 anglers with 21 chinook and five coho, Hymer said. Reports also were good on Monday morning's high slack tide.
"It was a slow start and the fish seem to be a little late, but that varies year to year," Hymer said.
The Baker Lake sockeye fishery is still rated fair to good, according to Stuart Forst at Holiday Market in Burlington. Most of the fish are coming from the Noisy Creek area, about two-thirds of the way up the lake's northern arm, up or down from 35 to 40 feet of water. Forst said a pink mini-hoochie is probably a better bet than the popular bare hook setup.
Sockeye are still available on Lake Wenatchee, as well, and at the time of this writing nothing was in the immediate works to close the fishery. State biologist Art Viola took his wife fishing Sunday and they nailed two limits of sockeye, according to a spokesperson at the agency's Wenatchee office (509-662-0452). Any closure information will be placed on the state's website.
Chinook fishing in the San Juans remains disappointing.
Chelan resident Anton Jones, owner of Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service (1-866-360-1523), said summer chinook fishing in the Brewster Pool on the upper Columbia has been slow off the mouth of the Okanogan, but he predicted a more aggressive bite as spawning time nears and more fish congregate in the pool. A popular rig, he said, would be a plug-cut Super Bait, filled with tuna or fish cat food, in hot tamale pattern, behind a big Hot Spot Flasher.
A spokesman at the Hoodsport Salmon Hatchery said the beach fishery at the hatchery for chinook is slow so far, but he expects fishable numbers of kings to show up at any time.
And Jerry Beppu at Linc's Tackle in Seattle said chinook have yet to show to any substantial degree off the mouth of Issaquah Creek at the south end of Lake Sammamish.
WOW STRIKES AGAIN
Washington Outdoor Women is in its 13th year of offering its popular fall outdoor skills workshop, and spots are going fast for the Sept. 17-19 event at beautiful Camp River Ranch in Carnation. There are even a number of $75 scholarships available, according to WOW director Ronni McGlenn, who added the event is a tremendous opportunity for single moms, students and others "living lightly."
The non-profit group, backed by such savvy organizations as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Washington Wildlife Federation, has gathered an expert group of instructors (95 percent women) and provides training, accommodations, meals and a T-shirt for a fee of $235. There are 20 course choices, including backpacking, basic freshwater fishing, Dutch oven cooking, outdoor photography, fly fishing, starting a hunting dog and more.
Visit WOW's excellent website for more information, click "Registration," then click "Fall Weekend Workshop," or call McGlenn at 425-455-1986.
Washington scout wins fishing contest
Jonathan Dawes, 13, of Tacoma, caught a 5-pound, 1-ounce catfish to win the fishing competition at the recent National Scout Jamboree of the Boy Scouts of America, held July 26-Aug. 4 at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia. The hefty cat was worth an all-expense-paid fishing trip to Alabama for Jonathan and his father with Berkley pro and TV celebrity Hank Parker.
This year's Jamboree marked the 100th anniversary of the BSA and drew more than 30,000 scouts, 9,000 staff and more than 30,000 visitors.
Whitetail management
A proposal to restrict the harvest of whitetail bucks to deer with four antler points or better is one of the possible changes to be discussed by state personnel this month at four public meetings. The proposals address management in northeastern Washington Game Management Units 117 and 121.
The closest meeting remaining is scheduled for Aug. 26 in Room A of the Yakima Convention Center (10 North Eighth St.).
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