Got your passport yet? If you’re partial to flicking a fly over a trout lake in the Kamloops area, or prefer angling for jumbo chinook at Rivers Inlet, and you get there by air, you’re going to need a U.S. passport to fly back into this country from British Columbia after Jan. 23. That’s the date new and more stringent border control rules go into effect, requiring a passport for all air travelers entering the U.S. from Canada, Mexico and all other foreign countries.
Tim Brooks, vice president for flight operations at Kenmore Air in Seattle (425-486-1257) said the new rules probably will affect his firm’s substantial floatplane traffic to and from fishing camps on the B.C. coast.
“There will almost certainly be some impact,” Brooks said, “but we’re hoping it will be fairly minimal. We communicate directly with the various fishing camps, and they are busy informing all their regular customers about the new rules.”
Brooks said flight sales to Vancouver or Victoria probably will be affected to a greater degree because travelers to those destinations tend to be more casual. Only a little over a quarter of all Americans have passports, according to U.S. State Department data.
“The fishing and eco-camping folks know where they’ll be going, are organized and (are) probably more prepared,” Brooks said.
If the passport expense (just under $100 and good for 10 years) or the hassle turns you off, the obvious alternative is Alaska. But so far, at least, charter fishing operators in Sitka haven’t noticed any increase in border-wary angler reservations for this spring and summer.
“Our bookings are coming along pretty much normally,” said Robert Suarez, manager of Kingfisher Charters in Sitka. “I haven’t talked to anyone who is looking to Alaska deliberately as an alternative to B.C.”
The Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce’s Web site is www.sitkacoc.com; phone number 907-747-8604. Kingfisher Charters is 1-800-727-6136; Angling Unlimited is 1-800-297-3380.
The passport requirement is scheduled to go into effect for land traffic on June 1, 2009.
Hewescraft repair: Reader and avid angler Don Betts of Warm Beach said he bought the second Hewescraft River Runner aluminum sled used on the Snohomish River system, back in 1975, from Ed’s Surplus in Lynnwood. The boat came with a jet-pump-equipped 70 horsepower Johnson outboard, a top, and an EZ Loader trailer, all for $4,200.
But over the years the boat deteriorated, and Betts said he started looking around for someone to make the needed repairs.
“No one wanted to touch it,” he said. “Everybody wanted to sell me a new one.”
Apparently, repairing aluminum hulls – and especially riveted aluminum hulls – is, as the Brits would say, a bit of a sticky wicket.
Betts wasn’t interested in sinking $18,000 or so in a new river boat, so he persevered.
He finally called the Hewes production facility in Colville and company officials told him that while they weren’t in the repair business, they knew someone who was.
“Turned out,” Betts said, “that a guy who had worked for the company for 20-plus years had retired and started a small, two-person, repair business in the same town.”
That would be Steve Stone, who told Betts to “bring ‘er on over.” The repairs were carried out as promised, Betts said, promptly and efficiently.
“They completely refurbished my boat,” Betts said. “They replaced the transom, replaced the floor boards, replaced the seat covers, and replaced every loose rivet, all for $2,600.”
Betts said there probably are a bunch of older River Runner owners out there interested in repairs for a reasonable price.
“The guys told me the boat was generally in great shape,” he said, “well worth fixing up, because it had been well-made, out of good, heavy-gauge aluminum.”
The man, again, is Steve Stone. His firm is Colville Boat Repair (509-685-2388).
New Fish and Wildlife Commission chair: Jerry Gutzwiler, an orchard owner from Wenatchee, has been elected chairman of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, the nine-member citizen panel that sets policy for the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Gutzwiler replaces Ron Ozment of Cathlamet, who is leaving the commission after six years, the past two as chairman.
An avid hunter and fisherman, Gutzwiler is a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Safari Club, the North American Moose Foundation, and the Wenatchee Sportsmen’s Association. He is also a member of Ducks Unlimitted and has fished or hunted in Africa, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, Alaska and a number of other western states.
Commission members are appointed by the governor – three from the eastside, three from Western Washington, and three at-large.
Blackmouth: When weather permits, blackmouth fishing in the southern end of Saratoga Passage and around Hat Island has been fairly productive. Bob Ferber at Holiday Market Sports in Burlington said customers have been finding hatchery keepers in Elger Bay, along with wild fish and a lot of shakers.
Five anglers checked by state personnel at the Camano State Park ramp on Sunday had two blackmouth, and 13 contacted at the Port of Everett ramp on Saturday had four fish.
A lot of salmon anglers are looking forward to the Feb. 1 opening of Marine Area 7 and, even more so, Marine Area 9.
Derbies: Just 15 spots are left for the prestigious Roche Harbor Salmon Classic Invitational, scheduled for Feb. 8-10, with a prize list of over $25,000 in cash and merchandise. The entry fee is $600 per boat, with four anglers to a vessel. The event is limited to 100 entries. Contact Debbie Sandwith at Roche Harbor Market, 800-451-8910 ext. 739; or 360-378-5562; e-mail market@rocheharbor.com; Web site www.rocheharbor.com.
A new kid moves onto the block with the inaugural Anacortes Salmon Derby, scheduled for March 10-11 out of Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes. Tickets are $50, which includes moorage and a fisherman’s banquet, and are available at Holiday Market Sports in Burlington, and Ace Hardware in Oak Harbor and Anacortes. Top prize for the event, which will fish Marine Area 7, is $5,000.
Seminar: A Halibut Seminar is scheduled for Jan. 20 at Three Rivers Marine in Woodinville. The seminar focuses on the Neah Bay area. Doors open at 9 a.m. to limited seating. For more information, call 425-415-1575.
Brant hunt: Enough brant were counted in Skagit County to allow a seven-day hunt this winter, two days longer than last year. Hunting days are today, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Jan. 25, 27 and 28, with a daily bag limit of two geese. About 6,100 birds were counted on Fidalgo, Padilla and Samish bays in August, just enough to allow the hunt, according to state waterfowl manager Don Kraege in Olympia.
Padilla Bay waterfowl open house: The state has been buying wetlands, bayfront and other land along the south side of Padilla Bay in Skagit County to enhance wetlands and fish and wildlife habitat, and thereby offer recreational opportunities for waterfowl hunters and bird watchers. An overview of the substantial project will be presented at an open house from 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday at the Padilla Bay Interpretive Center in Bayview (10441 Bayview-Edison Road).
The state recently purchased a 45-acre parcel and a 62-acre site in the area, according to the agency’s regional wildlife program manager, Lora Leschner, in Mill Creek, and is negotiating for other acquisitions.
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