Hunters say state promises not kept

Published 10:56 pm Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Controversial work by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to turn portions of the Skagit Wildlife Area back into estuarine salmon habitat is progressing. But state promises to mitigate hunting, boating and birdwatching opportunity lost to the projects are not, according to Rone Brewer, longtime president of the Northwest Chapter, Washington Waterfowl Association.

And if the state doesn’t make a solid commitment, soon, to provide funds and to follow mitigation priorities made by a citizen panel last year, Brewer said via e-mail he will try to stop part of the work by citing violation of Skagit County shoreline management policy.

“For nearly 15 years I have donated countless volunteer hours getting state to address the losses of recreational access that have occurred and continue to occur as a result of fish restoration projects (on the Skagit delta),” Brewer said. “If the citizen-established priority mitigation items — a boat ramp and moorage — plus a minimum of $260,000 of other recreational mitigation work is not completed, I will attempt to stop the Wiley Slough project.”

He indicated he would cite violation of the shoreline substantial development exemption permit and the Skagit County Shoreline Management Master Program. He said he would try to stop Wiley Slough “until such time as adequate recreational mitigation funding is obtained and mitigation is completed.”

Some of the hunting opportunity lost to estuary restoration work will include pheasant release sites at the so-called “headquarters unit” of the Skagit Wildlife Area, on Fir Island west of Conway, and on Leque Island, west of Stanwood. State Region 4 wildlife program manager Lora Leschner, at the agency’s Mill Creek office, is the person charged with, among other mitigation work, finding new release sites. She said both restoration projects are scheduled to be completed, and the release sites lost, later this summer.

Leschner hosted a public meeting May 20 in Mount Vernon to discuss potential pheasant release sites on public and private land in Skagit and northern Snohomish counties. She said she could not specifically identify the possible sites, because negotiations with landowners are in progress, but said, “one is along the I-5 corridor, one is in the Sedro-Woolley area, and one is in the Arlington-Oso area, plus a couple of other possibilities.”

Leschner said John Garrett, manager of both the Skagit and Snoqualmie Valley wildlife areas, had seen the possible sites and said they seemed larger and safer than the ones currently used on the delta.

Leschner’s phone number is 425-775-1311, Ext. 121.

Skagit chinook

Expect a crowd Monday morning on the lower Cascade River at Marblemount, and to a lesser degree on the upper Skagit between Rockport and the Cascade, as the popular hatchery spring chinook season opens to run through July 15. Anthon Steen at Holiday Sports in Burlington said he talked to Marblemount Hatchery manager Steve Stout, who told him there were already chinook in the hatchery trap a week ago, and that there were also fish holding in the Cascade.

Eggs and floats are probably the most popular setups for bank drifters, Steen said, while boaters on the Skagit backtroll plugs or diver/egg combinations.

The Skykomish also opens Monday for chinook, between the Lewis Street bridge in Monroe and the mouth of the Wallace, and the whole river up to the forks for summer steelhead. The predicted chinook run, according to biologist Chad Jackson at Mill Creek, is probably not as strong as the past couple of years, but he said there should still be fair numbers of fish available. Weather and water conditions, as usual, will be critical to angler success, as will be learning the substantial differences in favored holding water between kings and steelies.

Icicle chinook

Springers were late to the Icicle River at Leavenworth, as they were to most Columbia tributaries, and so the season opener was delayed until May 22 this year. State biologist Art Viola said a fairly solid run of about 5,000 hatchery kings was predicted for the Icicle, with about 1,000 needed for brood stock. The river is open from 800 feet above its confluence with the Wenatchee, up to 500 feet below the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery barrier dam, to two fish per day.

Most of the fishing is done from the bank below the hatchery deadline, but drift boats are also used to float the river. No report was available about success or lack of it over the first weekend, although the better fishing normally comes a little later in June.

Shad

The counts over Bonneville, at about 6,000 fish on Monday, don’t indicate enough shad pushing up the Columbia yet to warrant a fising trip, but it won’t be long. A state flight on Saturday counted 51 boats and 185 bank anglers working shad on the Washington side, most in the Camas/Washougal area and upstream.

Snohomish access

The Snohomish County Sportsmen’s Association cleaned up, repaired, and re-signed the Thomas’ Eddy boat access on the Snohomish River Tuesday, according to association spokesman Bob Heirman, “reclaiming” it, he said, from the party crowd. The access is rough, suitable only for small, carry-in craft, Heirman said.

Jamieson Lake

Is this big Douglas County lake showing any signs of returning to its golden days as arguably the state’s best single trout fishery? Or not?

State biologist Bob Jateff said the fishing is certainly better than it was last year at this point, citing creel checks a week ago at about 3 trout per rod, averaging a foot in length and with a sprinkling of fish to 15 or 16 inches. He added that water quality appears somewhat better than it has been.

But turned around?

“I’m not ready to say that,” he said.

Grimes Lake

The smallish lake north of Jamieson opens Monday for its big Lahontan-strain cutthroat, and it’s a stable fishery which usually produces some beautiful cutts to 5 or 6 pounds or better. Take a cartopper or a belly boat and fly fish or troll with big black leech patterns.

Roses Lake

Anyone planning a trip to Lake Chelan in the next few weeks might want to take the kids, bobbers, and a can of worms, for a bluegill/perch extravaganza on Roses Lake, outside Manson. Lots of panfish, bass, and trout, and usually something on the bite. Fish just off the cattails.

Mackinaw

And speaking of Lake Chelan, guide Anton Jones said visitors from this area scored well recently: Ron Angel and Darla Hulbert of Snohomish took 9 nice macs on Saturday morning; and Pat and Brook Mitchell, with sons Duncan (10) and Nick (7), of Bothell, and grandfather Dave Mitchell of Everett, boated 11 fish on Monday.

Columbia kings

Guide and Brewster resident Rod Hammons (randr@swift-stream.com) said a few chinook are coming over Wells Dam already, and in about a month fishing should be hot off the mouth of the Okanogan River at Brewster. The fish will average 15 to 25 pounds, with a few pushing 40, he said. Boaters troll diving plugs, or herring on downriggers, at 20 feet or so.

Gun and ammo shortage

Charter Arms had planned to introduce its new and innovative rimless revolver this spring, but a nationwide run on guns and ammunition forced that aside for the time being. The company said the feeling that the Obama administration will make gun ownership more difficult, and the subsequent surge in purchases of guns and ammunition, has forced it to forego introduction of new products, as production of current models has its production lines at capacity.

Anthon Steen at Holiday Sports in Burlington said he is still having difficulty keeping ammunition in stock. He received a delivery last week of .22LR, .380 Auto, .45 Auto, .40 S&W, .357 Magnum, .38 Special, 9mm and some other hard-to-get calibers, plus a couple of cases of CCI primers. The small rifle primers sold out immediately, and most of the large rifle primers. Keep checking if you’re looking for anything, he said, at 360-757-4361.