Northwest Sportsman Mag - Dec 2024

FISHING • HUNTING • NEWS

NWSPORTSMANMAG.COM

Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource

Volume 17 • Issue 6 PUBLISHER James R. Baker EDITOR Andy “extra reporting effort on a Friday night” Walgamott THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS Dave Anderson, Jillian Garrett, Scott Haugen, Jeff Holmes, MD Johnson, Randy King, Sara Potter, Buzz Ramsey, Bob Rees, Sharon Trammell, Dave Workman, Mark Yuasa GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak SALES MANAGER Paul Yarnold ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Janene Mukai, Tom St. Clair DESIGNERS Kha Miner, Gabrielle Pangilinan PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Emily Baker OFFICE MANAGER/COPY EDITOR Katie Aumann INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER Lois Sanborn WEBMASTER/DIGITAL STRATEGIST Jon Hines ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@nwsportsmanmag.com CORRESPONDENCE Email letters, articles/queries, photos, etc., to awalgamott@media-inc.com.

ON THE COVER Wyatt Lundquist shows off a rather rotund Rufus Woods Reservoir triploid rainbow he caught in January 2021. The popular bank and boat fishery puts out trout into the 20-pound range in winter.

(JAMIE THOMSON)

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES Like us on Facebook, follow us on X and get daily updates at nwsportsmanmag.com.

MEDIA INDEX PUBLISHING GROUP 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120 Renton, WA 98057 (206) 382-9220 • (800) 332-1736 Fax (206) 382-9437 media@media-inc.com mediaindexpublishing.com

10 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

US DOLLAR IS WORTH $1.30 IN CANADA! GET MORE FOR YOUR MONEY!

“BEST KEPT SECRET ON THE WEST COAST OF VANCOUVER ISLAND”

FULL LIMITS ON KINGS, SILVERS, HALIBUT, LINGCOD & MUCH MORE!

SCAN TO SEE OUR VIDEO

“BRING YOUR LARGE COOLERS. YOU WILL NEED THEM WHEN YOU FISH WITH US!”

EARLY BIRD SPECIALS BRING YOU OWN BOAT OR FISHING/CATCHING CHARTER & LODGING PKGS

MAR. 15-SEPT. 30 ASK FOR AVAILABLITY

4 Nights LODGING, 3 Full Days of GUIDED FISHING + ALL MEALS $2759 CA/$2000 US

We are one of the only regions on the west coast of Canada that has FULL LIMITS for SALMON, HALIBUT & LINGCOD

BOOK NOW while dates are still available info@westviewmarina.com

% DEPOSIT TO GET THIS DEAL! MUST BE BOOKED BY JANUARY 31 WITH A 20%

250-287-1394

BOOK YOUR CANADIAN FISHING/CATCHING ADVENTURE NOW! info@westviewmarina.com | westviewmarina.com

Tour Moses Lake W A S H I N G T O N

For a list of hotel/motels, restaurants, and other attractions, visit www.tourmoseslake.com

just a gas tank away

135

CONTENTS VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 4

DON’T BE A WIMP, CATCH RUFUS WOODS BLIMPS!

Wanna catch winter rainbows but have zero interest in ice fishing? Check out the Upper Columbia’s Rufus Woods Reservoir, home to voracious triploid trout that will never ever become Ozempic mascots! Mark Yuasa details the fishery that’s good from bank and boat.

ALSO INSIDE 47

GEARING UP FOR LATE GOOSE Don’t put away those shotguns just yet, kids – there’s still late goose opportunities to take advantage of in parts of the Northwest. MD Johnson shares tips on decoys, calling and more – as well as an early heads up on how next season’s hunt will be different.

66

CAP OFF UP UPLAND SEASON WITH A BANG With good production last spring and summer and hunting for chukars and other game birds extending deep into January, here’s where and how to hunt the last month of season.

108 STEADY AS B’S GO Steelhead have been steadily moving into the Clearwater this season, providing good fishing that’s expected to continue into January. Jeff Holmes gets the lowdown from guide Travis Wendt – and also details this month’s new Steelhead Expo.

119 LICENSE UP, HEAD OUT FOR CHROME With a whole new calendar comes a whole new fishing license year in Oregon. After you get your paperwork in order, the coast’s a’calling for broodstock and wild winter-run steelhead. Bob Rees spotlights those and other top January ops!

147 HAVE YOU EVER SWAM FOR YOUR BOAT? Sharon Trammell and her adoptive dad didn’t know it, but the new drift boat they bought last September came with some unexpected adventures and lessons to learn. She shares the hazards as well as the joys of being a beginner.

(AUSTINSNORTHWESTADVENTURES.COM)

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Go to nwsportsmanmag.com for details.

NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. Periodical Postage Paid at Portland, OR and at additional mail offices. (USPS 025-251) POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northwest Sportsman, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. Annual subscriptions are $39.95 (12 issues), 2-year subscription are $59.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Index Publishing Group, or call (206) 382-9220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues may be ordered at Media Index Publishing Group offices at the cost of $5 plus shipping. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2025 Media Index Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 13

55

GUN DOG

Enjoying The Bittersweet Finale It’s hard for Scott and his gun dogs to leave the duck marsh, but they do make the most of January. He shares how they stretch these last glorious weeks of season.

(SCOTT HAUGEN)

COLUMNS 59

OUTDOORS MD End Duck Season On A High Note If your duck season is suffering from the blahs, better call the doctor – in this case, our MD Johnson. With the 2024-25 hunt winging towards its end, he has your prescription for wringing better results out of this last month of season.

79

ON TARGET New Year, New Gear, New Guns And Lingering Ops The big Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show is still a couple weeks away, but some firearms companies have already been rolling out new products. Dave W. eyes up wares from shotgun, rifle, ammo and scope makers.

85

BECOMING A HUNTER Hunting Resolutions: Ideas For Beginners, Old Pros Dave A. can give you 11 good reasons – five points on one side, six on the other – why setting and holding yourself to hunting resolutions should not just be some passing fancy. He has slates of goals for both beginners and veteran sportsmen.

91

CHEF IN THE WILD The Legend Of The King Family Hoof Toss Move over horseshoes and hand grenades, there’s another game where close enough is good enough FTW! Chef Randy shares why his family started tossing the hooves of deer and elk they’d just killed at random objects, then back in the kitchen, he details how to cook a reverse-seared venison backstrap.

124 FOR THE LOVE OF THE TUG Them And I A multiday trip to an Oregon Coast river last winter was not only the perfect getaway for Sara and her kiddos, but served up a “delight of bites.” She relives their magical escape – and reveals an interesting technique that had the steelhead snapping.

141 BUZZ RAMSEY River Whitefish An Overlooked Winter Option Believe it or not, Buzz actually fishes for species beyond salmon, steelhead and trout – whitefish, for one. Load up on little brown and black flies, real or fake maggots and head out to catch fixin’s for a fish fry – recipe included!

14 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

22

THE BIG PIC

The Ruckelshaus Report And How It Impacts You No doubt Washington’s Fish and Wildlife Commission has become “dysfunctional,” but a think tank’s findings may be used to dissolve it instead of fix the issues, and that should worry Evergreen State hunters, anglers and trappers. Jillian Garrett reports.

DEPARTMENTS 19

THE EDITOR’S NOTE The next battle

33

READER PHOTOS What’s silver, brown and iridescent? The fall catches and kills of Northwest sportsmen!

39

THE DISHONOR ROLL Clam overlimiters caught on cam; Spree big game shooter in SW WA? Jackass Of The Month

41

OUTDOOR CALENDAR Upcoming fishing and hunting openers, season dates, events, deadlines, more

43

2025 BOAT AND SPORTSMEN’S SHOW CALENDAR Event schedule, venues, show links

(DAVE WORKMAN)

Custom Boat Trailers Reliable Quality Service & Craftsmanship For Over 50 Years!

• NMMA Certified • All Steel Weld Frame, Fenders & Bunks • 2 YEAR WARRANTY

343 Thain Rd., Lewiston, Idaho • www.gateway-materials.com • 208-743-0720 16 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

SEASPORTBOATS.COM

28’ COMMANDER

BUILT DIFFERENT HANDMADE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST CUSTOM BUILT TO FISH ANY CONDITIONS

26’ KODIAK

24’ EXPLORER

26’ KENAI

FIND YOUR NEAREST PACIFIC NORTHWEST DEALER ALASKA MINING & DIVING Anchorage, AK 907-277-1741

ALBERNI POWER & MARINE Port Alberni, BC 250-724-5722

SEASPORTBOATS.COM/DEALERS

MASTER MARINE Mt. Vernon, WA 360-336-2176

Y MARINA, INC. Coos Bay, OR 541-888-5501

Y MARINA, INC. Florence, OR 541-590-3313

A particularly heated moment during a June 2022 Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting on wolves. (TVW)

THEEDITOR’SNOTE

T

his month begins the next battle over the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the future of critter oversight in the Evergreen State.

Lawmakers convene in Olympia on January 13 for the long legislative session, and they’ll have in their hot little hands a new report (see The Big Pic, page 22) that describes the commission as being widely viewed as “dysfunctional.” Ahem, that should be clear from the reporting I’ve done the past few years due to gubernatorial appointments and fish and wildlife management reformists who see fertile ground in Washington. The catch is, while killing off the commission – one of three options in the report – might sound like a fantastic idea to fellow sportsmen fed up with hatchery, predator, regulatory and other issues, it might not be that great because another option would put WDFW under the thumb of the governor.

RIGHT NOW, THERE’S a degree of independence from politics in the director’s seat, but the goal of some of our fiercest rivals is to do away with that slim barrier and effect much bigger changes by making WDFW a cabinet agency. Appointed by the governor, the director would carry out that person’s (and their contributors’) agendas. Under that structure, it’s highly unlikely the director would tell the governor to mind his own business like Kelly Susewind essentially said to Jay Inslee about downlisting wolves (Susewind and his wildlife biologists and wildlife managers were for it; Inslee et al against).

As much as the commission drives me batsh*t crazy, it’s worth keeping around, albeit with some necessary tweaks, such as those Marie Neumiller, senior Northwest coordinator for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, mentioned to me last month.

“The issues facing the current commission can be fixed by commissioners simply honoring the mandate, working with department staff in a respectful manner, creating meaningful working relationships with tribal co-managers on applicable policy discussions, restored decorum and rules of order, following their code of conduct, following state meeting regulations, and respecting public records requests,” said Neumiller, who was previously the director of the venerable Inland Northwest Wildlife Council.

WHAT BECOMES OF the commission is just one front to watch. “My concern is the legislature uses the report as an excuse to modify the mandate of the Department,” Brian Blake, former chair of the House of Representatives’ natural resources committee, warned me in December. The mandate, of course, is that directive to simultaneously “preserve, protect, perpetuate, and manage” fish, shellfish and wildlife and “attempt to maximize the public recreational game fishing and hunting opportunities.” It’s a positive feedback loop, the mandate is, but some would focus it far more on the preserving part to the detriment of opportunity and the funds those generate.

I know it’s a big ask to digest this, have you read Jillian Garrett’s article on that report a few pages from here and, what’s more, consider acting on all of it, but at a minimum, part of being a Northwest sportsman is to be informed. That’s what I ask. –Andy Walgamott

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 19

LIGHTWEIGHT. The lightest 200-hp four stroke on the market LIGHTWEIGHT. The lightest 200-hp four stroke on the market POWERFUL. 2.8L displacement and Variable Camshaft Timing give it the best power-to-weight ratio POWERFUL. of any 200-hp four stroke 2.8L displacement and Variable Camshaft

Timing give it the best power-to-weight ratio of any 200-hp four stroke

COMPACT. COMPACT. Nearly 120 pounds lighter than our Nearly 120 pounds lighter than our four-stroke V6 F200 four-stroke V6 F200

THE F200 IN-LINE FOUR.

FORWARD THINKING. FORWARD THINKING. THE F200 IN-LINE FOUR.

Show the water who’s boss with the F200 In-Line Four. Incredibly light, responsive and fuel efficient, it serves up plenty of muscle to handily propel a variety of boats. On top of that, its 50-amp alternator offers Show the water boss the F200 In-Line Four. Incredibly responsive and fuel efficient, the power to addwho’s a range of with electronics, and its 26-inch mounting light, centers and compatibility with either itmechanical serves up plenty of muscle to handily propel a variety of boats.

On top of that, its 50-amp alternator offers or digital controls give you the flexibility to easily upgrade your outboard or rigging.

Experience the power to add a range of electronics, and its 26-inch mounting centers and compatibility with either legendary Yamaha reliability and the freedom of forward thinking, with the F200 In-Line Four. mechanical or digital controls give you the flexibility to easily upgrade your outboard or rigging. Experience legendary Yamaha reliability and the freedom of forward thinking, with the F200 In-Line Four.

OREGON

WASHINGTON

COOS BAY Y Marina (541) 888-5501 www.ymarinaboats.com

CHINOOK Chinook Marine Repair, Inc. (800) 457-9459 www.chinookmarinerepair.com

EVERETT Everett Bayside Marine (425) 252-3088 www.baysidemarine.com

MOUNT VERNON Tom-n-Jerry’s Boat Center, Inc. (360) 466-9955 www.tomnjerrys.net

EUGENE Maxxum Marine (541) 686-3572 www.maxxummarine.com

EDMONDS Jacobsen’s Marine (206) 789-7474 www.jacobsensmarine.com

MOUNT VERNON Master Marine Boat Center, Inc. (360) 336-2176 www.mastermarine.com

OLYMPIA US Marine Sales & Service (800) 455-0818 www.usmarinesales.com

MADRAS Madras Marine (541) 475-2476 www.madrasmarine.com

YamahaOutboards.com/F200InLine

Follow Yamaha on Facebook® and Twitter™

REMEMBER to always observe all applicable boating laws. Never drink and drive. Dress properly with a USCG-approved personal

YamahaOutboards.com/F200InLine

Follow Yamaha on Facebook® and Twitter™

intended to be an endorsement.

2013 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved.

REMEMBER to always observe all©applicable boating laws. Never drink and drive. Dress properly with a USCG-approved personal intended to be an endorsement. © 2013 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved.

20 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

SHELTON Verle’s Sports Center (877) 426-0933 www.verles.com

end of the year

blowout sale

WINTER PRICING AT ITS LOWEST of THE YEAR ALL 2023 AND 2024 MUST GO - UP TO 50% OFF! we sell fifth wheels, toy haulers, Destination trailers, small-large travel trailers, new and used inventory

509.925.9545 2502 W. Dolarway Rd. Ellensburg , WA 98926

The Ruckelshaus Report And How It Impacts You Think tank’s deep dive into ‘dysfunctional’ Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission might be used by legislature to dissolve the citizen oversight panel instead of correct recent years' issues.

Washington hunters, anglers and trappers would be advised to keep their eyes on Olympia during the upcoming 105-day legislative session for any sign that the William D. Ruckelshaus Center’s report on the Fish and Wildlife Commission will be used to eliminate rather than correct the citizen panel and move the state Department of Fish and Wildlife under direct control of the Governor’s Office. (DAVE WORKMAN) 22 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

By Jillian Garrett

I

f you haven’t already heard about the recently completed Ruckelshaus report, you are going to get very familiar with it in the coming months. It will play a major role in the continued battle over Washington wildlife management, and the decisions made based on this report will have far-reaching consequences for the future of hunting, angling and trapping as we know it.

But first, a little bit of backstory …

THE RUCKELSHAUS REPORT has its origins in the $23 million bipartisan biodiversity funding package that Washington legislators granted the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in April 2023. Seemingly at the last minute, a rider was attached to that biodiversity bill – like a legislative lamprey on a salmon – to provide a $300,000 grant to review WDFW’s governance structure, funding model, mandate and, most importantly, the Fish and Wildlife Commission. This rider, designated 32(b) on page 430 of the passed 2023-25 operating budget, wasn’t in the initial proposals from the House and Senate, and came as a shock to many of the organizations that had previously supported the biodiversity package.

Dan Wilson, board co-chair for the Washington Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, said, “It is beyond disheartening that the efforts of so many (to pass the biodiversity bill) were coopted by a fringe element

that seeks to undermine the Department of Fish and Wildlife and its people through a reform movement targeting the most successful model of wildlife management in the world. Beyond that, it is truly a shame that critical dollars needed for our most imperiled species are being diverted to serve the special interest agenda of myopic activists willing to go to the extreme.”

The origins of that bill rider do indeed seem suspect, as one doesn’t exactly push through an expensive study without plans to do something with it. In fact, about a month prior to the passage of that bill, Washington Wildlife First and 49 other preservationist affiliates sent a letter to the state’s budget writers requesting that $300,000 of that biodiversity package be earmarked for a “WDFW Accountability and Reform Study,” which these groups wanted to be performed by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, run by Evergreen State College in Olympia. In the end, lawmakers instead chose Washington State University and the University of Washington’s William D. Ruckelshaus Center for the review, but they folded much of the draft language from that letter straight into the final budget rider – except with an even firmer imperative to come up with recommended changes.

Organizations like WWF have long advocated for massively reforming the way that the state manages its fish and wildlife.

According to WWF’s founder, Claire Davis, the organization has already been “very involved in the commission appointment process and working with the Fish and Wildlife Commission to bring about better policies,” yet their push to include the bill rider

would suggest that they are still looking for further methods of restructuring the current system of management.

While the report’s 75 pages are well worth a general perusal, the gist of the analysis will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the last few years of Washington’s wildlife management politics: The Fish and Wildlife Commission was deemed to have “dysfunctional elements” and a “lack of accountability.”

What really matters to consumptive users can be found in the three recommendations put forth by the Ruckelshaus report for dealing with a “dysfunctional” commission: 1) Do nothing (“Maintain the Status Quo”); 2) Dissolve the commission, create a governor-appointed director, and turn the WDFW into a cabinet agency; 3) Or keep the commission, but with comprehensive reforms to address the issues with it.

Let’s take a look at these options and see what the consequences of implementing each might entail.

OPTION 1: DO NOTHING Anyone who has been following the antics of the commission for the last few years will understand that this is not a recommendation so much as a front-row seat to an inevitable train wreck. By allowing the commission to maintain the status quo, we will only see more of the same “dysfunctional elements” identified by the review. Without changing anything when it comes to adding in guardrails or some form of accountability, it’s unreasonable to expect to see the commission alter its behavior in the future without the “comprehensive reform” suggested by the Ruckelshaus report.

If history has taught us anything, it’s that allowing the commission to continue as-is will lead to further increases in polarization, lost hunting/angling/trapping opportunities, poor wildlife management decisions (such as in the case of the Blue Mountains elk herd), lack of transparency, conflicts of interest and even more contention when it comes to commissioner appointments. (Terms of three members, including two hunter- and angler-friendly nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 23

The Ruckelshaus Center was commissioned by state lawmakers to review WDFW and the commission’s mandate and governance structure via a 2023 budget proviso that surprised fishing and hunting groups that had been supportive of an overarching $23 million biodiversity package. (JILLIAN GARRETT) commissioners, technically ended December 31, though they can continue to serve until replaced.) If left unchecked, the commission will continue to berate and lose valuable staff and scientists, and petitions (such as the one around cougar hunting regs) could potentially become the new norm for deciding wildlife management.

Doing nothing will continue to result in ongoing contention between the commission and the tribes, as was seen with the draft Conservation Policy, as well as a general tendency to ignore the Boldt Decision, which recognizes the sovereignty of tribal governments and their treaty right to have an equal say in salmon and steelhead management decisions. In fact, the Ruckelshaus report noted that interviewees thought it troubling and inappropriate that the commission attempted to engage with tribes using the same methods that it used for the general public (such as through public comment periods), instead of recognizing that tribes are not stakeholders but in fact sovereign governments requiring government-to-government consultations.

The longer someone or something remains in power without accountability, the more egregious their behavior tends to 24 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

become. Doing nothing won’t fix any of the current problems, and in fact may result in an eventual implosion of the commission if it continues along this path, with devastating impacts to both wildlife and the cultural values – including consumptive use – of the state’s constituents. While we really didn’t need the Ruckelshaus report to tell us any of this, it’s at least an official confirmation that something needs to change. The question is: How – and how much?

OPTION 2: DISSOLVE THE COMMISSION, CREATE A GOVERNOR-APPOINTED DIRECTOR, AND TURN WDFW INTO A CABINET AGENCY This is the most extreme – as well as most alarming – recommendation. It calls for a radical revision in how WDFW is structured and funded. In essence, it would completely dissolve the commission and instead put the decision-making for all wildlife policies into the hands of a single governor-appointed director. WDFW, instead of maintaining its current autonomy, would be morphed into a cabinet agency, thus be forced to compete for funding with dozens of other agencies in the governor’s cabinet.

Currently, members of the commission are all appointed by the governor and can

only be recalled by the governor. Without a better process for vetting potential appointees, it is all too easy for seats to be filled based on political influence as opposed to legitimate qualifications. In that same style, a governor-appointed director could potentially be even worse, as there would not be other commissioners to help keep what little balance remains in check, and all the policies and regulations that are currently set by our commission would now instead be in the hands of one director.

As politicians generally loathe being wrong, removal of a “problem” director by the governor could prove very difficult, meaning that there may not be an effective mode of authority for addressing issues with an appointment.

Additionally, it would be far too easy for well-funded preservationist groups to do political campaigning and influence the governor’s pick, thus manipulating wildlife management decisions for the foreseeable future and removing representation from Washington’s diverse constituents. As Claire Davis stated after the Ruckelshaus review rider was approved,“That solves a lot of these problems for us,” in reference to reforming the current system of management into one with more oversight from elected official(s).

Currently, Washington’s politics tend to be decided by just a few populated counties, while the effects of those decisions are felt by all residents, including its rural ones (who also tend to be the most impacted by wildlife management policy).

The commission’s present structure calls for three commissioners to be from west of the Cascades, three from east of the mountains and three “at large,” with no two members residing in the same county. Theoretically, this helps to increase the representation of Washington’s residents, including those living in the more remote eastern areas.

That representation would be effectively eliminated if the commission was dissolved and replaced with a single director.

Meanwhile, morphing WDFW into a cabinet agency would force it to compete for funding with more than 20 other agencies, drastically decreasing its autonomy for budget (as well as management) decisions.

Numerous interviewees for the Ruckelshaus report spoke against this option, citing how it can be beneficial to remain independent

of the Governor’s Office, including having greater flexibility to make budget requests, work with individual legislators and maintain better involvement with the public and special interest groups.

Though a few states have already gone the route of rolling their wildlife management into a cabinet agency with a single governor-appointed director (Utah is one example that comes to mind), none – at least to my knowledge – did so at the elimination of their wildlife commission.

This makes sense: Commissions are there to provide a system of checks and balances, which would be sorely needed with a single politically appointed position such as this. The fact that Washington would be removing that form of oversight entirely is cause for serious alarm. To drive the point home: Imagine your least favorite commissioner as the new director, answerable to no one except the governor when it comes to regulating wildlife policy.

While current Washington’s Fish and Wildlife Commission was first implemented in the mid-1990s, the actual structure of wildlife commissions was fashioned as far back as the 1930s. It came about as part of the Model Game Law, which outlined a basic system for establishing state commissions and giving them power over policy, budget and selection of an administrative director who would be free to carry out those policies and programs as decided by the commission. The commission would be made up of a panel of dedicated citizens who served staggered terms, thus helping to insulate wildlife management decisions from swings in politics and provide overall stability – something that is sorely needed when it comes to the successful implementation of wildlife conservation research and habitat restoration projects.

It’s a telling fact that only about three states currently lack a wildlife commission.

When structured correctly – and with the necessary modes of accountability in place – commissions are an effective way to avoid the undue intrusion of politics into management, ensure citizen and tribal participation and representation 26 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

in establishing policy, and maintain stewardship of the resource.

To quote Commissioner Stephen Parker of Yakima during a recent commission meeting, “The first step in collaboration is to recognize that there are other windows and that the view from those windows is just as important to the people looking through them, and that we not insist that everybody look out the same window.”

Without a commission structure left in place, we lose oversight, broad-scale representation and hope for collaboration on state wildlife issues. It’s important to note that Ruckelshaus only advises utilizing this option as a last resort, if “there is not sufficient political will or interest” in making the reforms outlined in the next option.

More than 110 people – members of hunting and fishing organizations, tribal leaders, environmental groups, commercial fishing and ranching interests and others – were interviewed by the Ruckelshaus Center, and many described the commission as “dysfunctional.” The citizen panel overseeing WDFW policy and its director has been packed by the Governor’s Office as fish and wildlife management reformists have also targeted Washington in recent years. (JILLIAN GARRETT)

OPTION 3: KEEP THE COMMISSION, BUT WITH COMPREHENSIVE REFORMS TO ADDRESS THE CURRENT ISSUES This option would keep the commission intact but would institute immediate reforms to address the current issues relating to items such as governance, transparency and accountability. Out of all the recommendations put forth by the Ruckelshaus report, this one conceivably has the best chance for the long-term success and stability of Washington’s wildlife, as well as the continuation of the cultural values of its people.

This option would call for clarifying and modifying the commission’s overall function in governing, removing it from getting lost in the weeds of day-to-day operations and

CALL THE LODGE FOR AVAILABLE DATES

instead returning it to the role of providing direction only on high-level policy.

This would mean overseeing whether regulations aligned with the department’s overarching goals and policies while leaving the actual setting/changing of game management rules to WDFW. Modifying the commission’s function in this manner would help eliminate many of the issues that have angered consumptive users over the last few years.

When it comes to accountability, it would mean reforms to establish protocols for guiding communication between commissioners and the department director and staff. For example, clarifying whether commissioners can make direct requests for information from department staff; that commissioners are not allowed to direct department staff to do specific work, nor can they request that the department director fulfill individual preferences for action. It would also include establishing protocols for how commissioners communicate with and treat department staff in public (as well as private) meetings.

Reforms would include the need for more clearly defining the roles and authority of the commission, as well as establishing processes for mediating conflict between individual commissioners and between the commission and the department. It would also include criteria for establishing clear pathways when it comes to the removal of commissioners. For accountability to truly matter, there needs to be a way to hold commissioners to the code of ethics and behavior that are already stated in their Rules of Procedure.

This option would also entail establishing better criteria and a more thorough vetting process for commissioner appointments, such as forming a bipartisan legislative committee to assess potential candidates. It could also include creating criteria to help ensure that candidates represent the broad interests of constituents, such as those used in other states. In Colorado, for example, the Parks and Wildlife Commission members must consist of a certain number of hunters/ 28 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

No doubt there’s a lot of anger out there about the state of Washington fish and wildlife management in recent years and decades, but eliminating the commission and putting WDFW under the Governor’s Office might not work out so well for hunting, angling and trapping opportunities in the West’s second most populous state. (JILLIAN GARRETT) anglers, agricultural producers and outdoor recreationists (one of whom must be an advocate for non-hunting wildlife recreation). Nevada, meanwhile, takes it a step further by requiring that at least five of its nine commission members need to have held a residential hunting or fishing license for a minimum of three years immediately prior to their appointment.

Another important reform involves revising the commission’s mandate

to incorporate tribal comanagement.

Numerous interviewees raised the concern that this is not addressed anywhere in the commission’s current mandate, and at the minimum the mandate should be amended to include mention of a tribal component.

In further consideration of the tribes, while the Ruckelshaus report stated that a single-director cabinet agency (as mentioned in Option 2) would “strengthen the government-to-government

Recently, we accepted the award from the Hewes family for being the 2024 Top Sales Dealer — an honor we don’t take lightly. I’m thankful for the support from Hewescraft and especially our sales, parts, and service teams at Tom-n-Jerry’s.

Great job, team!!!

— Kelly Hawley, President.

Tom-N-Jerry’s Boat Center 11071 Josh Green Ln Mount Vernon, WA 98273 360-466-9955 Sales Hours Mon - Fri: Sat: Sun:

8:00 am - 5:00 pm 8:00 am - 4:00 pm Closed

Parts/Service Hours Mon - Fri: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Sat - Sun: Closed

relationships and consultation with tribes,” this honestly might be better accomplished with the comprehensive reforms outlined here, including the report’s suggestion of training commissioners in tribal engagement, law and history to help strengthen and prioritize the commission’s relationship with them.

Instead of radical revision, much more positive and lasting change could be accomplished by simply implementing better structures of governance.

CALL TO ACTION: WHAT YOU CAN DO It might be easy to throw up your hands in frustration at the current state of affairs and think that eliminating the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission altogether is the best course of action. However, choosing that path comes at a cost, potentially one with far more dangerous consequences. What would seem like a

30 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

“win” in the short term would really be a long-term loss for wildlife management and the future of hunting, angling and trapping as we know it.

Many interviewees in the Ruckelshaus report talked about a future where opportunities for hunting and fishing existed because there would be wellmanaged and abundant fish and game populations. For that to happen, it requires considering the input, support and values from various user groups, upholding the knowledge and data of our scientists, and keeping politics and potential conflicts of interest out – goals that drastically decrease when we dissolve the commission in favor of a single politically appointed position with minimal oversight.

While the preservationist groups backing the original review may soon be pushing lawmakers to dissolve the commission during the upcoming 105-day legislative session, it would be in the best interests of the hunting, angling and trapping communities to see that this doesn’t happen. To accomplish that requires writing

and calling your legislators immediately.

The legislature convenes on January 13, meaning that now is the time to let your representatives know how you feel about the recommendations contained in the Ruckelshaus report. As a constituent directly affected by its impacts, your voice has weight, and your phone call or email can have a direct influence. If you value sound wildlife management and a future that includes the opportunity to hunt, fish and trap, it’s absolutely imperative that you take the time to make your voice heard.

You can visit leg.wa.gov for more information on how to contact your state representatives and help make a difference in the future of Washington’s wildlife management. NS Editor’s note: Author Jillian Garrett is a hunter, member of First Hunt Foundation, farmer and conservationist living in Northeast Washington. Her writing and photography have also appeared in Sports Afield, Bear Hunting Magazine and Blue Ridge Farmer Magazine.

OREGON FLORENCE Y Marina (541) 590-3313 www.ymarinaboats.com

WASHINGTON PORTLAND Sportcraft Marina, Inc. (503) 656-6484 www.sportcraftmarina.com

MOUNT VERNON CHINOOK Chinook Marine Repair, Inc. Tom-n-Jerry’s Boat Center, Inc. (800) 457-9459 (360) 466-9955 (360) 777-8361 www.chinookmarinerepair.com www.tomnjerrys.net

TACOMA Tacoma Boat Sales & Service (253) 301-4013 www.tacomaboatsales.com

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 31

READER PHOTOS

Count Owen Huwaldt as among the fans of Willamette River coho fishing! He caught this roughly 5-pounder during 2024’s record run. “While not a toad, he had a blast,” reports dad, Mike. “He says he enjoys coho over Chinook fishing.

More his easy-going style.”.

(KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

Bill Stanley spent a little time along the Snake this fall – “72 hours of fishing, nine nights in the camper in the last 30 days,” to be exact – as he awaited the bite to begin, and it finally happened in mid-November with this pair, among other fish. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

Chad, Logan and Zac Smith knocked it out of the park during 2024’s “awesome” coho fishery in Puget Sound. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

Jerry Han’s annual fall trek to Oregon’s South Coast yielded good angling for rockfish on the ocean and Chinook in the Chetco. The latter species liked backbounced roe, he reported. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

You’d be smiling too if you’d just had your first two-steelhead day on the banks of the Snake River in 11 years! Cory Hovanec shows off one of a pair of 33- and 30-inchers that bit for him in mid-November. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

For your shot at winning great fishing and hunting knives from Coast and Kershaw in our Knife Photo Contest, send your full-resolution, original images with all the pertinent details – who’s in the pic; when and where they were; what they caught their fish on/weapon they used to bag the game; and any other details you’d like to reveal (the more, the merrier!) – to awalgamott@media-inc.com or Northwest Sportsman, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. By sending us photos, you affirm you have the right to distribute them for use in our print and Internet publications. nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

33

READER PHOTOS “Acres and acres of clams!” were on tap for Darrel and Linda Smith, providing an evening’s dig of delight. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

Taking a break from fishing for steelhead, Leslie Hernandez “put on a clinic” on bull trout on a rainbow-rich river. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

A dismal October day on the Chehalis River had a silver lining for Gabe Ruiz. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

The lower Klickitat kicked out this nice coho for Jerry Hess in late October. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

Nope, not a spring turkey – that’s a beautiful fall bird spread out in front of Jeff Benson, who got the tom in November. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST) PHOTO CONTEST MONTHLY

Winner!

34 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

A

SERVING OLYMPIA, LACEY, TUMWATER, SHELTON, TACOMA, SEATTLE AND BEYOND

QUALITY BOAT SALES AND SERVICE EXCELLENCE FOR OVER 50 YEARS!

SUZUKI REPOWER SALE

CALL FOR PRICING ON YOUR BOAT

Winner of Suzuki’s Top Service Award 7 Years In A Row!

ALL MODELS ON SALE NOW!

SALES & SERVICE LOCATED RIGHT ON THE WATER — 8141 WALNUT ROAD NE • OLYMPIA, WA 98516

360-491-7388 • PUGETMARINA.COM

READER PHOTOS Never know what might bite!

Skylar Masters was dragging around for kokanee with the downrigger set at 70 feet last year when this lunker rainbow bit. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

Andre Edwards is a fan of all things Oncorhynchus in the Northwest. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

River coho do not bite – well, except this pile!

Bob Searl and Marvin Holder had a pretty good day running eggs under a bobber last September.

“Adding your favorite scent does help, and shrimp and anchovy seems to work well,” tips Holder. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

Meet Glorp the Curlew Lake tiger musky, Austin Han’s first. It hit a bucktail spinner that Han tempted the hybrid with beside the boat before its third strike held. While on the skinnier side at 20 pounds, perhaps due to its misshapen mouth, the fish taped 48.25 inches and was released as required to keep on battling. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST) 36 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

Now that oughta make our Dave Workman proud – a lad who takes his first grouse with a .22 instead of a shotgun! Kage White bagged his blue in Eastern Washington during deer season while hunting with his father, Chad. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

37

S

T

c D

w n a

c W

Clam Overlimiters Caught On Cam

A

pair of Portlanders were caught with nearly five times the legal limit of Washington razor clams in another body-worn-camera video rolled out by state game wardens, leading to citations for the duo.

The minute-and-a-half-long video showed Officer Paul Jacobsen interviewing the two men during a November dig, pulling more and more clams out of their vehicle and then tallying all the shellfish on the tailgate of his state-issue pickup.

“Sh*t. Too many to count,” Jacobsen said,

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police Officer Paul Jacobsen finds razor clams hidden in the engine compartment of a Ford Explorer during a search that turned up 140 in the possession of two men, well over the daily limit of 15 each. (WDFW) arranging the razors in rows of tens before coming up with 140 clams.

The daily limit on Washington beaches is the first 15 razor clams you dig, but shellfish swinery has become a thing in the Northwest in recent years as people try to illicitly harvest waaaaaay more clams, mussels, crabs and other saltwater delights than is legally allowed. Oftentimes, the

public spots the bad actors and calls them in, and that’s what happened in this case.

WASHINGTON FISH AND Wildlife Police said on Facebook that after they were tipped off, Jacobsen observed one of the two men make “numerous” trips from the beach to a Ford Explorer and then head back to the sands, “each time with an empty clam bag.”

After Jacobsen contacted the two, his body-cam video shows one man lifting a bag out of the back of the SUV and saying it was their catch before then quickly pulling another clam bag out of a cooler.

“Any other clams? That’s it?” Jacobsen asked, then noted, “You guys been digging for a long time!”

“Yeah, we couldn’t find any,” the other man stated.

“I watched you dig for two hours,” Jacobsen countered and pulled another sack out of the cooler. “What about these clams?”

“That’s ours too,” the first admitted.

The officer then found more in a large bag snuggled up to the engine block. “Why didn’t you tell me about these clams?” asked Jacobsen, who had previously observed a bag being placed under the Ford’s hood.

“Ugh, sorry,” said the man.

“I keep finding more clams everywhere I look!” Jacobsen exclaimed.

Although he sounded ready to take the SUV apart in search of more, that turned out to be the last of the clams, according to the WDFW video, which also recorded the first man apologizing.

All said and done, Jacobsen sent the duo back to the Rose City with citations for

Spree Big Game Shooter?

T

wo Southwest Washington elk and a deer were killed early last month in what was described as a possible “spree shooting.”

Officers said they were looking for a light-colored 2000-2010 Chevrolet crew- or extendedcab pickup truck seen in the vicinity of the dead blacktail, which was shot the evening of Friday, December 6, near Yale Park, along Yale Reservoir on the North Fork Lewis River east of Woodland.

The next day, officers learned of a pair of dead elk in a field near a fire station about 11 miles west of there on Highway 503. Upon investigation, it was determined they’d likely been killed the night before. Officer said two men were also seen recovering one of the two elk around 9 a.m. and were associated with a truck similar to the one seen near the deer.

A spree shooting is killing three or more big game animals in 24 hours and can lead to felony charges. Tipsters can call (360) 902-2936, go to wdfw.wa.gov/about/enforcement/report or text WDFWTIP to 847411. Info leading to an arrest could yield a cash reward or bonus permit points.

MIXED BAG

By Andy Walgamott

overlimits of razor clams and failing to submit their illegal haul for inspection. The clams they’d tried to poach were given to diggers who had yet to fill their legal limit that night.

The body-worn-camera program was funded by state legislators. While meant to increase officer accountability, this latest video also showed wardens policing a shellfish season that is economically important for coastal communities. In November, we detailed a Cowlitz salmon hatchery caper caught on video.

JACKASS OF THE MONTH

I

nland Northwest summer steelhead runs have had a hard go of it since 2016, leading to lengthy closures up and down the Columbia, but as last fall’s returns came in much larger than expected, managers were able to open various parts of the gorge to fishing. So far so good.

During a covert boat patrol of the justopened John Day Arm, Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division troopers saw two individuals land a fish and bonk it. After about 10 more minutes, the duo packed up their gear and started running back to the ramp. Must’ve limited.

The troopers came alongside to check their licenses, tags and what they had in the cooler, which turned out to be steelhead, all right – four wild steelhead, which were not open for retention. Ugh; come on, guys.

“The subjects admitted that they knew they were in the wrong and they just got greedy,” troopers wrote in their November 2024 newsletter.

As it turned out, however, the pair had also kept some steelhead the week before, and a check of their catch pics led the troopers to later seize those fish, along with the four in the cooler. All the summerruns were donated to the Salvation Army.

At least some good came out of it.

Both people were criminally cited for two counts each of unlawful take of unmarked steelhead, and charges for the previous weekend’s fish were forwarded to the district attorney. This is why we can’t have nice things. nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 39

MARCH 28-30, 2025 $

10

SS A P Y R ENT

500 Top National & International Exhibitors Special Celebrity Guest Seminars Duck & Geese Calling Contest Elk Bugle Contest CLARK COUNTY EVENT CENTER 17402 Northeast Delfel Road Ridgefield, WA 98642

(20 MINUTES FROM PORTLAND AIRPORT)

FOR MORE INFO GO TO VANCOUVEROUTDOOREXPO.COM

l

t

OUTDOOR

CALENDAR

PREMIER FISHING EXPERIENCES

IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

JANUARY

Dec. 28-Jan. 3 Tentative razor clam digs scheduled on select WA Coast

beaches, dependent on marine toxin levels – info: wdfw.wa.gov 2025 fishing and hunting licenses required in ID and OR First of 14 brant goose hunting days in Pacific County, WA (others: January 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25 and 26) 8 Last day of scaup season in OR Zone 2 10 Deadline to file WA big game hunt report for special incentive permit eligibility 10-16 Tentative razor clam digs scheduled on select WA Coast beaches, dependent on marine toxin levels – info above 11 Peak Season Winter Steelhead webinar ($, register) – info: theguidesforecast.com/nws 15 Last day of grouse season in WA 16 Late white and white-fronted goose opener in OR High Desert and Blue Mountains Zone 17 Last day of duck season in ID Duck Areas 2 and 3 18 First of three brant goose hunting days in Clallam and Whatcom Counties, WA (others: January 22, 25) 20 Last day of Hungarian partridge, quail and pheasant seasons in Eastern WA 26 Last day of duck season in OR Zones 1 and 2 and scaup in Zone 1; Last day of Canada goose season in OR Southwest, High Desert and Blue Mountains, and Mid-Columbia Zones; Last day of Wilson’s snipe season in OR Zone 2; Last day of duck, coot and snipe season in WA 26-Feb. 1 Tentative razor clam digs scheduled on select WA Coast beaches, dependent on marine toxin levels – info above 31 Deadline to file mandatory hunter reports in OR and WA; Last day of upland bird seasons in ID and OR; Last day of duck season in ID Area 1; Last day of turkey season in OR; Last day of chukar season in Eastern WA; Last day of trout, salmon and/or steelhead seasons on many Western WA rivers

1 4

1

Booking trophy Bass/Pike Trips Lake

Coeur D’Alene

Book Now

208-699-5636

Castcadia.net

info@castcadia.net

FEBRUARY

Statewide veterans and active military waterfowl hunting day in OR and WA; Statewide youth waterfowl hunting day in WA; Late white and whitefronted goose opener in OR Mid-Columbia Zone 8 Late goose opener in WA Goose Management Area 2 Coast and Inland Units (select dates; state wildlife areas and federal refuges closed) 8-18 Late white goose season dates in WA GMA 1 (open daily) 10 Spring black bear permit application deadline in OR 15 Spring black bear permit application deadline in ID; Late white goose opener in WA GMA 4; Brant, sea duck and Harlequin duck mandatory harvest reporting deadline in WA; Last day of steelhead season in select Puget Sound terminal areas 15-16 Free Fishing Weekend in OR 16 Last day of Wilson’s snipe season in OR Zone 1 18 Late goose opener in OR Northwest Permit Zone 19 Last day of late goose season in WA GMA 2 Coast Unit 20 Date OR spring black bear permit draw results expected to be available by 22 Late goose opener in OR South Coast Zone 28 Last day of bobcat and fox seasons in OR

MARCH 1 5 8 8 10

Metolius Arm of Lake Billy Chinook opens for fishing; Numerous Eastern WA lakes open for fishing Last day of late goose season in WA GMA 2 Inland Unit Bottomfish, lingcod, rockfish and cabezon openers on WA Marine Areas 1-3 and Area 4 west of Bonilla-Tatoosh line Lingcod opener in Area 4 east of Bonilla-Tatoosh line Last day of goose seasons in OR Northwest Permit and South Coast Zones and white and white-fronted goose season in OR High Desert and Blue Mountains Zone nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 41

2025 BOAT AND SPORTSMEN’S SHOW

CALENDAR

This year’s Seattle Boat Show will feature some 800 watercraft and more than 125 free fishing, crabbing and other boating seminars, but it’s not the only sportsmen’s-related show occurring this month across the Northwest. Nine others open in January, including the new Steelhead Expo in Lewiston at the mouth of the Clearwater. (BULLSEYE CREATIVE/SEATTLE BOAT SHOW)

JANUARY 8-12 Portland Boat Show, Expo Center, Portland; otshows.com 10-12 Steelhead Expo, Hells Canyon Grand Hotel, Lewiston; steelheadexpo.com 17-19 The Great Rockies Sport Show, MetraPark Expo Center, Billings;

greatrockiesshow.com 23-26 Tacoma RV Show, Tacoma Dome, Tacoma; otshows.com 24-26 Tri-Cities Sportsmen Show, HAPO Center, Pasco; shuylerproductions.com 29-Feb. 2 Vancouver International Boat Show, BC Place and Granville Island, Vancouver, British Columbia; vancouverboatshow.ca 29-Feb. 2 Washington Sportsmen’s Show, Washington State Fair Events Center, Puyallup; otshows.com 31-Feb. 1 Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo, Expo Idaho, Boise; flyfishersinternational.org 31-Feb. 2 Eugene Sportsmen’s & Outdoor Show, Lane Events Center, Eugene; exposureshows.com 31-Feb. 8 Seattle Boat Show, Lumen Field Event Center and Bell Harbor Marina, Seattle; seattleboatshow.com

FEBRUARY 7-9

Douglas County Sportsmen’s & Outdoor Recreation Show, Douglas County Fairgrounds, Roseburg; exposureshows.com 7-9 Willamette Sportsman Show, Linn County Expo Center, Albany; willamettesportsmanshow.com 12-16 Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Show, Expo Center, Portland; otshows.com 21-23 Jackson County Sportsmen’s & Outdoor Recreation Show, Jackson County Expo, Medford; exposureshows.com

22-23 Saltwater Sportsmen’s Show, Oregon State Fairgrounds, Salem; saltwatersportsmensshow.com

27-March 2 The Idaho Sportsman Show, Expo Idaho, Boise; idahosportsmanshow.com

MARCH 6-9

Central Oregon Sportsmen’s Show, Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, Redmond; otshows.com 7-8 Northwest Fly Tyer & Fly Fishing Expo, Linn County Fairgrounds, Albany; nwexpo.com 7-9 BC Sportsmen’s Show, Tradex, Abbotsford, BC; bcsportsmenshow.ca 14-16 Klamath Falls Sportsmen’s & Outdoor Recreation Show, Klamath County Fairgrounds, Klamath Falls; exposureshows.com 20-23 Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show, Spokane Fair & Expo Center, Spokane; bighornshow.com 28-30 Vancouver Outdoor Expo, Clark County Fairgrounds, Vancouver, Washington; vancouveroutdoorexpo.com

APRIL 25-27 Victoria Outdoor Adventure Show, Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre, Victoria, BC; victoriaoutdoorshow.com

MAY 15-17 Anacortes Boat & Yacht Show, Cap Sante Marina, Anacortes; anacortesboatandyachtshow.com

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 43

EMBARK ON ONE LAST EPIC DUCK HUNT Before the season ends!

JOIN OUR DUCK HUNTING CLUB! Whether you are new to waterfowling, a seasoned hunter, or somewhere in-between, we’ve got you covered!

Season, Week-Long, or Day Shoot memberships available.

Contact Ron Spada at 503-539-5396 with any questions or to set up a time to tour the club. siducks.com

HUNTING

Gearing Up For Late Goose Take advantage of February and March’s last shot at Canadas in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington with these tips and tactics.

By MD Johnson

G

rowing up in the Midwest in the 1970s, Canada goose hunting was a fall thing.

October into November; maybe a little

bit into December. But you have to remember that back then in northeast Ohio, Canada geese were somewhat a novelty. Not like today; no, sir, for the big birds seem to be everywhere.

The traditional fall season, though,

gave way to the addition of an early season in September, designed, we waterfowlers were told, to help manage Ohio’s ever-increasing population of gonowhere resident Canadas. Today, the Buckeye State’s goose season, though

Don’t put away those shotguns just yet – there’s still late goose opportunities to take advantage of in parts of the Northwest. Author MD Johnson sees it as a “glorious time to hunt” for somewhat rested Western Canadas in fine feather and a “chance to level-up your goose game.” (JULIE JOHNSON) nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

47

HUNTING The late season is essentially a management hunt born out of changing migratory patterns of cackling geese, which switched to wintering in the Willamette Valley – these birds were photographed at Sauvie Island. But a recent dip in the subspecies’ numbers to below the management objective means a smaller bag limit and shorter season are likely next year, managers warn. (RICK SWART, ODFW)

going in and out, begins with the early September opportunity, running in the North Zone until February 3 and in the South Zone to February 10, 2025. But my, how things have changed!

The story’s essentially the same here in the Pacific Northwest in terms of goose hunting. September, traditional fall season, and, at least for the time being, a late season continuing into early March. It’s a glorious time to hunt, this late season. The birds have been rested a bit. Everyone’s in their finest breeding plumage. And the educational opportunities – the chance to level-up your goose game – are without measure.

But before we dive into this dissertation, let’s first be clear about 48 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

what constitutes a late goose season.

A definition, if you will. To me, a late or extended goose season is a hunting opportunity that happens following the close of the traditional fall/winter season. For instance, the regular goose season in Southwest Washington’s Goose Management Area 2 Inland, which includes Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum Counties and that portion of Grays Harbor County east of Highway 101 – yeah, you thought this was going to be simple, right? – closes on January 12, 2025; however, it reopens on February 8 and continues through March 5. That, to me, is a late season.

So, too, would be the February 8-19

GMA 2 Coast season; GMA 1’s whitegoose-only (snows) February 8-18 season; GMA 4’s February 15-March 2 white-goose-only season; Oregon’s February 8-March 10 Northwest Permit Zone season; and – I’m taking the easy way out here – other Beaver State “late” opportunities, including those for both snows and specklebellies with differing close dates. For a complete list of those Oregon late hunts, go to myodfw.com/game-birdhunting/seasons.

A TOUCH MORE HISTORY I had an opportunity to talk with Kyle Spragens, the migratory game bird coordinator for the Washington

Also Available: Hunts in Saskatchewan, Canada!

Mallard Corn Pond Hunting - In the ’24-25 season we are adding 12 more flooded corn ponds in addition to our existing ponds

We normally average 6 ducks per person per day during the hunting season During the ‘23-24 season we averaged 6.2 ducks per person per day

7 mallard limit per person per day and 107 day season in Washington E. Washington Columbia Basin • 509-967-2303 • pacific-wings.net Check Us Out On

See our videos on YouTube @PacificWingsHunting and Jay Goble

HUNTING

While gear such as full-body decoys, at least one flag and several calls should be in your field bag, in Johnson’s mind the key to bringing down birds is to observe what they do and make adjustments to your decoying, calling and blind location. (JULIE JOHNSON)

Department of Fish and Wildlife, and discuss the reason behind this late season and, albeit briefly, what the future might hold for this February/ March option. In Reader’s Digest condensed form and to paraphrase, Spragens told me this: Cackling Canada goose (Branta hutchinsii minima), the smallest-sized of the geese, numbers “tanked,” Spragens explained, in the mid1980s. At roughly that same time or shortly thereafter, and for whatever reason, the bulk of the population 50 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

shifted its wintering location north from California’s Central Valley to the Willamette Valley. Much to the chagrin of Oregon sod farmers there, these burgeoning flocks of grazers took a liking to the fresh green grass that played a critical role in rebounding the population. So, in an attempt to help agriculturalists and because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s consumptive use guidelines allowed them to do so, Oregon and Washington instituted this “late” goose season, using goose hunters as

a legal alternative opportunity.

And it worked. For a while – 30-plus years, anyway. But goose population sizes fluctuate, depending on breeding success – ups and downs in numbers are expected. However, over the course of the last several years and the past three in particular, USFWS biologists have documented via breeding population aerial surveys done in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, a dramatic downturn in the cackling Canada goose population. In a nutshell, the subspecies carries with it an objective of 250,000 individuals; that is, the survey estimate must be around a quarter million birds or 1) there’s cause for concern, and 2) steps might/must be initiated to prevent any further reduction. The most recent survey, done in May 2024, came up with 126,443; the three-year average is an eyebrow-raising 175,000.

Both are obviously well below the population objective and continuing to head the wrong direction.

So for goose hunters in Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon, these statistics mean what?

“Because of these concerns (which include suspected mortality among cacklers due to highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI),” Spragens said, “and this isn’t speculation, I can tell you that the 2025-26 goose season will see a drop in the daily bag limit in the permit zones (Washington and Oregon) to two, and it will truncate the season. There will not be the allowance of dates past February 15, 2026. Rather, goose harvest will not be allowed past February 15, 2026, because of the status of cacklers. The specific dates will be decided through each state’s season-setting process with proposals to their commissions.”

Interestingly enough, and perhaps a bit selfishly, I shoot exactly zero cacklers in Southwest Washington during the late season, and that is for three reasons. One and in most years, the cacklers – the “little ones,” I call them – are, but for a handful of lagbehinds, gone, having headed north to the Y-K Delta to breed and nest.

HUNTING Two, I don’t care to shoot the little ones; that’s just me. Given the choice between a big Western honker and three cacklers, I’ll take the Western every time. Again, just me. And finally, I do concentrate on the Westerns exclusively. There’s just something about watching those big black feet come down. That deep resonant her-onk. And that thud!

LATE-SEASON TIPS That said, let’s take a quick look at the tricks, tactics and gear I’m using to fool these late-season Westerns (Branta canadensis moffitti), also known as the Moffitt’s Canada geese, at least one more time before that ol’ curvy lady starts singing.

Cacklers are a different beast across the playing field. They fly in big – often huge – flocks, thus necessitating large decoy spreads. With their highpitched yelping or barking, they sound different and make a ridiculous amount of noise, often translating into the need for several callers. They “ball up” on the ground – greedy little things! – and they’ll often circle … and circle … and circle just out of range before landing in the next field over. They’re frustrating little critters, which is, in part, why I don’t fiddle with them. Don’t need the stress!

Decoys and decoy spreads: For Westerns, I like full-body decoys. And I like big true-to-life full-body decoys. Today, as I have for 20-plus years, I’m running Greenhead Gear’s (Avery/ Banded) old-school fully flocked ProGrade Honkers that, unfortunately, aren’t available any longer. Will the company’s smaller lessers work for Westerns? They will; however, I’ve had much better luck using a decoy that’s the same size as the geese I’m targeting. Maybe it’s psychological.

Maybe it makes no difference at all to the geese. But it makes a difference to me: I have them, and I use them exclusively. Fortunately, there are several larger Canada decoys available from outfits like Bill Willroth’s Dakota 52 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

Decoys and Tanglefree. Oregon’s Dave Smith Decoys makes a Giant honker decoy that, while not inexpensive at $122 apiece, is as big, visible and realistic as it gets.

What about windsocks?

Silhouettes? I have those, too, and very seldom, if ever, use them for a couple reasons. With windsocks, one needs wind; sometimes I have it, and sometimes I don’t. And while I know silhouettes are light, easy to carry, quick to set and often effective, I just find it a challenge getting past the two-dimensional aspect of silhouettes. Perhaps in time?

So I stick with full bodies. How many? My go-to rig consists of 18; however, during the 2024 late season, I experimented with as few as two, both head up (sentry style) with one standing and one minus the base belly down as if sitting. At times, I modified this into two pairs of the same, widely spaced and “looking,” per se, in the direction I expected the birds to come.

Why this setup? By late February and early March, many of these Westerns have paired up. Gregarious by nature, they want company, but they’re extremely territorial now, so they’re standoffish. What usually happens, then, is two or three birds will enter my airspace, redirect and land, but not with the decoys; rather, 40 yards this way, behind me, or 40 yards that way. The next pair?

Same thing. Now I move my grassed layout blind into an intercept path with the pattern I’ve seen. Move the blind, not the decoys. I do it with two. I do it with four. I do it with 18. For me, it works.

Calling, flagging, and other things: My experience with late Westerns is that they’re eerily quiet. The ones on the ground? Almost always silent.

Which then brings up the question: How does one call to geese in the air when the birds on the ground are “supposed to be” quiet? The answer: Very judiciously.

Now, every situation, every goose, pair of geese or flock of geese, is going to be different. Some want/ need a lot of calling; others, little or none. Standard operating procedure for me in terms of calling to these late Westerns typically goes as such.

I hear them first off in the distance.

Then I see a pair, three, two pairs.

I’ll give them a short “honk” on my Saunders Triple B, and watch. If they turn to me, I put the call down and pop my flag – note: Always, always, always have a flag. I’d rather my calls be left on the counter at home than my flag – once just to let them know they have company on the ground should they wish to be some degree of social. Often, what you’ve just read is enough. If they don’t land on the first go, watch; they might not be bugging out, but rather working the wind. That’s the key – observation.

Watch, and the birds will tell you what you need to do. Move the blind. Adjust the decoys. More flag.

More calling. Don’t be in a hurry.

Shotguns and ammunition revisited: This one’s simple. Westerns are big geese, heavily muscled and feathered, that some days are seemingly made of Kevlar. Thus, and as the late Robert Ruark advised, it’s important to use enough gun. Some, I’m sure, will disagree, but big late-season Canadas are not a 20-gauge proposition.

Least they’re not for me. Rather, I’m shooting a Mossberg Model 930 12-gauge with a midrange Mojo choke tube.

As for ammo, I lead with one or two 3-inch Hevi-XII (tungsten) number 4 loads followed by a third, this one in number 2. I’m a fan of pellet count and pattern density, which explains the number 4 shot.

Tungsten? I agree. It’s not cheap – $92 for 25 rounds – but I don’t shoot but a box, if that, a season, and I’d just as soon shoot the very best when I’m looking straight in the face of a six-month involuntary break until September! NS

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

53

54 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

COLUMN For me and my dogs, the end of duck season is bittersweet. We’re hunting five days a week this month, sometimes more.

We’re tired in those final days, but when it’s over, we’re depressed. It only takes a day to recover, then we realize it’s a long wait for next season.

Echo, an 11-year-old pudelpointer, loves her alone time with author Scott Haugen late in duck season. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

When Duck Season Winds Down

F

or hunters with gun dogs, the start of the new year marks the beginning of the end.

For many of us in the GUN DOG Northwest, grouse

By Scott Haugen and quail are tough to come by; their seasons usually burn to a slow end before the hard date deadline.

If you’re willing to brave the cold,

chukar and Hungarian partridge can still be chased, and their numbers are good in many places this season. There are still some pheasant hunting options, but those, too, often coast to a slow halt.

But if you’re a waterfowl hunter, the hunting just keeps getting better as closing day rapidly approaches.

Duck season is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year, and it’s coming to a close later this month.

IN THESE FINAL weeks of duck season, make the most of it with your dogs. The last three years I’ve slowed down, and I know the dogs love it.

And by slowing down I don’t mean hunting less. I mean hunting just as many days, just not being in a hurry to limit out and get home.

One thing I’ve been doing on many late-season hunts is trying to pick only drakes to shoot. This was spurred three seasons ago when an influx of Eurasian wigeons made their way into the Willamette Valley. When scouting reveals multiple Eurasian wigeons in a spot, shooting only drakes ups the odds of killing one. Rarely is there good enough light to decipher a drake Euro from an American wigeon drake, so it comes down to playing the odds by shooting football-shaped, big-headed drakes via their silhouettes. Shooting only drakes increases the chances of getting a prized Eurasian wigeon.

Picking drakes has greatly added hours to the amount of time the dogs and I get to hunt each day. Instead of being done in an hour or two, it might take six or seven hours to fill a limit. Sometimes we don’t even shoot limits. There’s very little shooting on drake-only days, and we might look over thousands of birds in a day, but the dogs love it.

ONE OF MY favorite parts of duck hunting is watching my dogs Echo and Kona spot birds and not take their eyes off them. They often see birds before I do.

They tremble in anticipation the closer the ducks get. They look at my gun barrel to see if I’m going to shoot. They know the difference between ducks and songbirds and raptors. I’m even convinced they can tell the difference between pintails and other ducks. If we get a sprig early, and watch hundreds of nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 55

COLUMN pintails continue to dive into the decoys, their ears don’t perk up like when wigeon or mallards start circling.

I also try to hunt many different places late in the season. Now, I’m pretty much done saving spots, waiting for bird numbers to build before hunting it. I like getting my dogs in as many new places as possible. This is not only good for their bodies, but great for their minds. From small creeks to big sloughs, farm ponds to flooded fields, we’re hunting all we can.

The dogs love it and welcome the change.

Sometimes, if there’s been a hard hunt, I’ll leave one dog home to recover. Then do the same the following day with the other dog. My dogs love the one-on-one attention they get on these hunts. They’re

not competing with one another and they’re better behaved. It’s a solid way to wind down the season by optimizing and reinforcing desired behaviors.

If the water is frozen, I’ll often take Kona, my big, strong male, on a morning hunt. I won’t shoot a limit. Then I’ll run him home, grab lunch, then take Echo, my 11-year-old female, on an afternoon hunt.

It’s better for her aging body to hunt once temperatures warm up.

By changing up the hunts, even swapping out dogs, I’ve learned one thing: Just like us, they want to be out hunting.

Last season I had one drake wigeon to go. The light was at my back, one of only a few times all season where I could see color on decoying birds. Kona

and I sat over five hours. More than 700 ducks dumped into the decoys. I didn’t raise the gun one time. Kona knew what was going on. He loved laying there, watching birds work. With only a few minutes of shooting light left, Kona spotted a lone hen shoveler on the horizon. The duck flew right at us and I dropped it in the decoys. Kona delivered the bird to hand, then sat, looking at me. Kona knew the day was over. He was happy. NS Editor’s note: Scott Haugen is a full-time writer. See his puppy training videos and learn more about his many books at scotthaugen.com and follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

Sometimes a diamond in the rough drops into the decoys, which makes picking drakes worth the effort. Here, Kona retrieves a stud Eurasian wigeon that came in solo. January presents lots of different scenarios for Haugen and his gun dogs. (SCOTT HAUGEN) 56 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

Taxidermist tanning services to the general public and expediter services (Airport pick up, sealing, skinning, fleshing and tanning)

marine mammals bison • goat • bear • moose

Arctic Wolf Tannery

Back country hunts in Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness

1901 W 48TH AVE ANCHORAGE, AK 99517

Early rifle and general rifle seasons

(907) 868-3227

More than a building...it’s a solution!

503.668.7211 Toll-free: 855.668.7211 www.wsbnw.com Manufactured in Sandy, Oregon

PRE-ENGINEERED STEEL FRAME STRUCTURES STEEL ON THE INSIDE WHERE IT MATTERS MOST

58 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

www.alazyh.com | info@alazyh.com | 800-893-1155

R YOU K BOO HUNT 5 202 DAY! TO

COLUMN

End Duck Season On A High Note

J

anuary, and I’m winding down a mediocre duck season. When I could hunt, the birds weren’t there. When the birds OUTDOORS MD were there, I couldn’t

By MD Johnson hunt. Roll the dice.

That’s the way it works sometimes.

I’d driven by the section – that’s 640 acres for you non-farming folk – a thousand times.

When there was standing water, there were ducks. No water? I had no idea where the water nor the ducks went. So I dug around, found the landowner, combed my hair, and knocked on his door.

“Hell, I don’t care,” the Old Boy grumbled.

“I don’t know what you’ll find back there.

Been a coon’s age since I wandered that ground. Don’t have any cattle anymore, so she’s probably growed up a bit. What you driving again, son?”

The 2024-25 duck hunt is winging towards its end in the Northwest, and while there are still birds to be had, waterfowlers need to shake up their tactics if their luck’s gone cold. (MD JOHNSON) Son! I’m 60, and he’s calling me son.

I like that. I also like the fact that his place is roughly 90 seconds from my driveway.

My first exploratory mission revealed two things. First, a narrow creek that might prove exciting to wade should the water rise a touch, but cross it I must in order to access thing two, a grassy 60-by-100-foot puddle edged by young 6- to 10-foot willows on the east and tall firs on the west. Narrow at both ends and wide in the middle, a wadethrough showed the pool to be knee-deep without the bottomless tidal cuts and channels I was accustomed and regularly fell victim to on coastal Washington hunts.

“This,” I told the kingfisher that apparently owns the puddle, based on his raucous objections to my intrusion, “could work.”

BACK TO JANUARY. Eight mallard floaters and a two-decoy jerk rig are strategically

placed – read: thrown randomly – on the eastern end of the puddle. My blind is a grass-studded clump of small willows; my seat, an old 5-gallon bucket I’d found on my walk in. A cold wind from up the Columbia Gorge finds its way down my jacket, an inconvenience quickly forgotten, overshadowed by the sound of wings above and to my left. I don’t have time to grab a call – no need to, actually, as the four, now five birds are already on their way down to join their plastic brethren. Seven-eighths of an ounce of Hevi-Shot 5s finds the first green; the second finds another as the remaining three birds pump out, disappearing over the firs to the west.

“No need to be greedy,” I tell my new buddy, the kingfisher, as I scoop the first bit of green from the chilly water.

Two hours later and I’m back at the old Chevy, five green and a handsome drake wigeon on the tailgate. I’m damp – nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 59

COLUMN make that pretty damn wet – thanks to 60 inches of waders and 62 inches of creek.

Worth it, though.

“See you found a couple mallard ducks back there,” my host said, hefting one of the drakes in his weathered hand.

“Yes, sir, I did. Just a couple,” I told him.

“You come back any time,” the Old Boy said, heading back to the house.

I smiled, already plotting logistics for day two.

THE LATE SEASON, those roughly final 30 days of the duck hunt, are like that sometimes. Other days, they’re the most frustrating of challenges. Here in the Pacific Flyway and come January, the ducks that aren’t living in someone’s Amana upright

have learned a thing or two about decoys, calls and calling, shotguns, and those big brushy blobs that just don’t look right. Are these flyway veterans smart? I don’t think they’re necessarily smart; however, I do believe they’re survivalists. Some, like the mature blacktail bucks you never ever see, go nocturnal. Others cruise in groups of four and six, not only ignoring plastic decoys but alighting f-a-r away from even live ducks.

You call and they swing wide. You call and they pump out at 150 yards.

But all is not lost as the season in Washington and Oregon winds down and we look square in the face of January 26, 2025, otherwise known as the infamous last day. Now, I can’t make any universal statements on how to go about tagging

these last-minute ducks. Why? Because every ’fowling situation is different. Across the greater West, some gunners are spending their last three weeks hunting the Snake; others are prone in a coffin blind on the Great Salt Lake behind 400 DIY black silhouettes. A handful are on corn ponds, while in California, they’re hunting rice fields.

My point is, they’re all different. Numbers of decoys. Types of decoys. Calling styles.

Concealment. Ammunition. Motion in the spread. And because of these variations, it’s impossible for me to say “this works” or “that works,” whether speaking on a grand scale or down the street here on the Lower Columbia in the Old Boy’s grassy puddle on the other side of the creek.

OK, so I can’t help? Oh, but I can, for there are, despite these differences, some variables that apply, whether you’re hunting pintails in the Skagit Valley or greenheads on the Lower Columbia.

LOCATION

King tides along with winter rains provide new foraging areas for ducks, leading author MD Johnson to pay more attention to his tide tables this time of year. (MD JOHNSON) 60 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

Am I still hunting the same places, typically tidal marshes, in January that I was in midOctober? Often, yes; however, I’m hunting these same spots a little bit differently.

For one, January high tides are often taller than they were in October, which means there’s water now, at least once a day, where there hadn’t been. To a duck, this new water courtesy of these so-called king tides is akin to a Golden Corral buffet opening next door to your house. So now, I’m living even more so by a tide table, looking for those spots that previously didn’t offer a duck much. Maybe it means a little more paddling. Some exploration. Investigation.

An uptick in searching at the, yes, time expense of sitting and shooting. But when I find the spot, it’s often memorable.

Last season, I noticed the mallards bypassing my favorite tidal marsh and setting up a flight to a private parcel a mile or so away that neither I nor anyone else could hunt. I could, however, hunt a small slough about midway between the marsh and the “off-limits” field. Tidal. Current. Struggling with individual decoys. So I rigged a dozen mallards on 36-inch droppers, set a number 3 grapple weight on a long-line, leaving the opposite end free, and only had to readjust my spread once during the morning. Hordes

OVER 50 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE TRAP & FUR INDUSTRY

Cumberland’s

Northwest Trappers Supply, Inc. Cumberland’s Northwest Trappers Supply is your onestop trapping supply headquarters, featuring one of the largest inventories in the U.S. We are factory direct distributors on all brands of traps and equipment which allows us to offer competitive prices. Give us a try. Our fast, friendly service will keep you coming back.

We are the new home of “Trappers Hide Tanning Formula” in the bright orange bottle.

Retail & dealer inquiries are welcome.

.If you are in the area,

visit our store!

Request a catalog or place an order by phone, mail or on our website.

P.O. Box 408, Owatonna, Minnesota 55060 • (507) 451-7607 trapper@nwtrappers.com • www.nwtrappers.com

COLUMN of mallards? I wouldn’t say that, but enough came to visit that I’ll do it again this month.

Improvise and adjust. That’s the key as the clock ticks down.

Bottom line: If your top go-to spot is still paying off in spades (and green), by all means carry on, my friend. If, however, January sees a slowdown, don’t be shy about branching out and trying something new.

CONCEALMENT You do anything for 90 days, and it’s not unusual to get a little lackadaisical during the final 17. And so it is with duck hunting and concealment during the 107-day season. We get lazy. We get in a hurry. We think, “Ah … that ought to be good enough.”

And you know what? It ain’t good enough.

You want to see ducks? Maybe your hide’s adequate. You looking to shoot ducks? It’s probably not; that’s why they’re flaring, often wildly, at 100 yards.

Take the time. Consider your hide. Give it a critical eye. Stubble, but not so much as to make that black blob stand out unnaturally.

Soften the corners and the edges. If possible, put the sun at your back and the glare in the ducks’ eyes. Use the shadows. Maybe a brushy ghillie jacket is in order. OK, so it’s not

your La-Z-Boy recliner, but perhaps it’s time to take a knee in the reed canary grass or a seat in the shrubbery, and use what Mother Nature provided – and what the birds are accustomed to seeing.

Bottom line: You can do a lot of things wrong during these last 30 days of the season and still kill a bird or two. You get complacent with your hide and you’ll be going home empty-handed. That, I can guarantee.

DECOYS AND MOTION Here again, I emphasize the fact I can’t speak universally to every duck hunter in the Northwest. Some are setting 100 decoys.

Me, I’m using six to 12. Some are throwing all mallards; me, and if I’m running eight, I’m using four to five mallards, a couple drake pintails for color, and a drake wigeon.

On the Great Salt Lake, they’re using the aforementioned 400 black silhouettes and three to four dozen mixed puddler blocks. Diver enthusiasts, and it’s an entirely different scenario.

It’s tough, I know, when you have 200 decoys hanging in the shop and you’re setting six. Doesn’t seem to make sense, but from time to time, it does. Observation, too,

is important. Take note of what you’re seeing as you drive from point A to point B. Four mallards here. Six mallards there, always with some degree of separation. The birds, it seems, are both gregarious and standoffish now; they want company, but they don’t want company. Pintails and wigeons are a little different, as they always seem to enjoy their brethren. So set your spread according to what you’re seeing during the drive.

Bottom line: If what you’re doing with your decoys doesn’t seem to be working, try something different. Go small. Go very small.

Go big. Put the decoys where you don’t want the birds to be. Try a jerk cord. Lose the spinner. Full-bodies. Silhouettes. Socks. I think of my goose experiment in February/ March 2024, hunting over a spread, if you’d call it that, of two full-bodies, one up (sentry) and one belly down, and targeting big Western Canadas with amazing success.

And, if you’re hunting water, on-the-water motion. Always, always the motion.

Bottom line II: Got wigeons? Sheet water? Try half a dozen full-body Canadas in the soggy grass with a half-dozen wigeon floaters (or full-bodies or Big Al’s silhouettes) not far off. Wigeons love Canadas; or rather, they love

A good hide and a minimalist approach when it comes to how many decoys you set out can sometimes pay off. (MD JOHNSON) 62 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

COLUMN you’re struggling. So choosing a slightly – slightly – bigger pellet size may be well advised. Switching from steel to a stacked – e.g. steel/bismuth – load, straight bismuth or even tungsten might be in order. But whether you’re shooting number 4 bismuth or a 105mm howitzer, there’s still target discipline. Sixty yards is 60 yards, be it midOctober or January 15, and that’s too far to be shooting at a duck. Do everything right, get ’em close, and kill ’em dead at 25 or 30.

Bottom line: I shoot 2¾-inch HeviBismuth number 5 shot out of a 12-gauge Mossberg M930 fitted with a Mojo Outdoors Fatal Choke (Mid-Range) from Day One to Day 107. When I shoot a 20, I’ll step up to a 3-inch shotshell and number 4 Hevi-Bismuth, simply because the company doesn’t make a 2¾-inch number 5 load in the 20-gauge. But, mind you, I’m ridiculously conservative when it comes to distance.

Twenty-five to 30 yards is perfect; 105 feet is about the extent of it, even with the 12.

That’s just me.

How much calling you have to do will vary. More gregarious, wigeons will still respond to a lot, but when it comes to mallards, less can be more, especially for solo greenheads looking for a little company. (MD JOHNSON) all the grass clippings, roots, seeds and other edibles the long-necked geese dredge up and which they promptly steal. There’s a reason why wigeons are also called robbers.

CALLING Funny, but you ask any guy who makes a living designing and building duck calls, and almost without exception he’ll tell you that late in the season “less is more” when it comes to calling. Mallards, true; maybe not wigeons, who are all over the place when it comes to making a racket in flight and on the ground. But with mallards, a simple greeting – “Hey! I’m over here!” – and some contented quacks, not to be confused with alarm or “I’ve seen something suspicious” quacks, often does the trick for me. Sure, sometimes and in some situations, a whole lot of calling is in order; however, I’m typically hunting a small hole with a small spread, and it can be disconcerting, even to a duck, when you’re hearing 100 ducks, but only seeing six. Think about it.

Bottom line: Got a drake mallard call, i.e. a drake whistle – “Dweeeeek!” – like Buck Gardner’s 6-in-1 or the interestingly 64 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

named Whistler’s Mother from Slayer Calls? If not, get one, learn to blow it, and then use it. January, and I’m picking on a lot of single greenheads that are flying around almost lost. The lispy “dweek” they make – and that you should be making – can be deadly. In moderation.

AMMUNITION Now, I’ve had folks I consider ammunition experts – shotshell ammo, that is – tell me it’s important to reconsider your shotshell selection as the season progresses and slips into its final days. “Go bigger,” they say. “Shoot the very best you can afford. You might be taking some longer shots, so keep that in mind. Swap out the number 4 steel for number 3 steel.

Or number 2 steel. Or bismuth. Or tungsten.

Or depleted uranium,” they offer up. OK, so that last one’s mine, but you get my drift.

I agree, to a point. Late-season birds are heavily muscled and fully feathered. It can be tough to punch through that outer layer and into the vitals on a good day.

Throw in some distance, some wind, and a little bit of inaccurate shot placement, and

REWARDING END January ducks, although perhaps seeming so, aren’t impossible, if you’re willing to do the aforementioned and improvise and adjust. They’re no slouches, these survivors.

They’ve been up and down the flyway, some several times, and on any given day, they just seem to know something ain’t right. So step back, take it all in, and make the changes necessary. The reward? Well, the reward can be green. NS

ASK THE M.D.

A

dmittedly, the MD in MD Johnson’s name doesn’t exactly stand for “medical doctor,” but he’s a pretty thoughtful guy on a wide range of fishing- and hunting-related topics.

So we thought we’d offer you a chance to pick MD’s brain on anything from surfperch angling to smelt dipping, duck calls to turkey decoys, why the DFWs do this, USFWS that.

Got a question for him? Hit me at awalgamott@media-inc.com and I’ll get him on it for a future issue. –Editor

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 65

Cap Off Good Upland Season With A Bang

66 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

HUNTING As hunting for chukars and other game birds wraps up this month, here’s where and how to try your luck.

By Jeff Holmes

A

Northwest chukar habitat is not for the faint of heart, but the rewards are incredible – scenery, wildlife viewing, great exercise and a sense of accomplishment rank high on the list. Hungarian partridges also can be found in and around chukar habitat, but also in agricultural lands broken up by wild cover. Chukar and Hun populations are excellent this season after stellar hatches. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

nyone who has a historical perspective (i.e., people who are old) knows that Eastern Washington’s upland bird hunting is 1) not what it used to be and 2) has its ups and downs based on hatches. However, anyone with even a tiny bit of historical perspective and who has been in the field or asked around can tell you the 2024-25 season has been very good.

Hatches were strong this late spring and early summer, and where there is good habitat and where there were sufficient “seed” birds coming into this season, there has been good hunting.

That good hunting includes some of the best chukar and Hungarian partridge hunting in recent memory, good quail hunting and some very good pheasant hunting. In 2022, I wrote what I consider the best and saddest article of my life for this magazine when I reported on why game bird numbers – especially pheasants – have been downtrending for decades. The short answer is that modern farming practices are incredibly efficient and bad for upland birds, especially pheasants.

Tight control of water for agricultural purposes, use of herbicides and pesticides and the ability to farm more acres and leave less habitat have taken their tolls on hen survival and available insects for pheasant chicks, which are critical to early brood survival.

Despite the reality of the reallygood-old days being in the rearview mirror, a time when limits of pheasants and Huns and quail were available in every ditch, field row and brushy draw near agriculture, seasons like this one demonstrate that there is still a future for pheasants in Eastern Washington and that there can still be boom years for chukar and Huns and quail.

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

67

HUNTING Opportunities for less mobile hunters to harvest birds have decreased over the years, while, ironically, the amount of huntable public ground has increased thanks to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s land purchases and access agreements with private landowners.

THIS JANUARY, FOR those with good boots and legs and feet to carry them, there are ample opportunities across Southeast, Southcentral and Northcentral Washington, and large parts of Lincoln, Adams and Douglas Counties. Not every chunk of public ground is teeming with birds, but your odds of getting some good shots and delicious meals are higher this winter than in any we’ve seen for well over a decade. You have through January 20 for pheasants, Huns and quail, and until January 31 for chukar.

Not only is there more time to chase chukar, but they have a wider range and are less pressured due to the rugged, steep country they favor. Any rough, steep, rocky hills in Eastern Washington are likely to hold chukar, including the Snake and Columbia River Breaks, the Grande Ronde, Banks Lake, and the Palisades, Douglas Creek and other steep parts of Douglas County. If the place is steep, rocky, arid, full of cheatgrass

The good old days of Washington pheasant hunting are over and never to return due to the efficiencies of modern farming practices, but good hunting can still be had in prime habitat, especially in Southeast Washington.

Jerry Yokel took a limit of wild roosters on public land in Walla Walla County this December, including this beauty he folded after a tight point from his trusted dog. (JERRY YOKEL)

and near a big canyon system or treeless hills or mountains, there are probably chukar to be flushed.

Whether you’re after chukar, pheasants, Huns or quail, there are many thousands of acres of public stomping grounds that hold birds in the Columbia Basin and on the Palouse, but not all public ground is created equal.

There are fewer birds than in decades past, and hunters should not expect to show up to all WDFW-enrolled Feel Free to Hunt properties and find them overrun with birds. In fact, some are

Trained pointing dogs (setters, pointers, Brittany spaniels, some Labs) outshine flushing dogs (most Labs, retrievers, springer spaniels) on wild birds, no matter what some breed enthusiasts will tell you. Whether you have a trained pointing dog or a trained flusher, having a dog is invaluable for locating birds, getting them to hold and finding birds once they are downed. But even without a dog, especially in a good year like this one, don’t let the lack of a canine hunting companion stop you from going afield. (JERRY YOKEL) 68 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

wastelands, including many registered in WDFW’s Hunt By Reservation Program. That isn’t to say the program and other WDFW properties like state wildlife areas don’t offer solid hunts – they do – but successful public lands bird hunters have to be choosy these days. Observing current crop rotations and available cover is a key to success, as are a variety of following considerations that can improve the quality of public lands hunts for beginner and intermediate upland bird hunters with the mobility to cover ground, climb hills and walk sidehill.

Identify public land parcels well before you go and find clusters of options close together that allow flexibility. Sometimes other hunters or other external factors will necessitate backups. Have them in place. Also, while it’s perhaps ideal to have a vast landscape to wander upon all day while encountering birds, many successful public lands hunts in the Evergreen State involve hopping from spot to spot: 30 minutes here, four hours there, an hour over there, and a two-hour jaunt to finish the day. Using WDFW’s GoHunt feature is useful, and the information is at least 90 percent accurate and certainly a great starting point, just

Choose quality Alaskan-made gear when planning your next adventure.

GUN SCABBARD waterproof gun bag

ATTENTION NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN READERS

Mention this ad for a FREE carry strap with purchase of the gun scabbard.

Shop nomaralaska.com to see all the gear we make for outdoor adventures.

Homer, Alaska • 800-478-8364 • nomaralaska.com

HUNTING

Sixteen-year-old Isaiah Kelty of Waitsburg, Washington, took this beautiful Blue Mountains ringneck pheasant while hunting with Yokel, his grandpa. They hunt birds together passionately, and they are good at it. This season’s excellent hatch has increased their harvest rates. Pheasants remain open until January 20 in Eastern Washington. (JERRY YOKEL)

not for standalone navigation.

Another key source in Southeast and Southcentral Washington is the Walla Walla District of the Army Corps of Engineers (nww.usace.army .mil/Missions/Recreation.aspx). The land ownership information offered by the onX Hunt app may be an upland bird hunter’s best friend these days, along with a good dog. Trained hunting dogs help immensely.

IF YOU DON’T have a trained dog, consistently harvesting late-season pheasants and other upland birds requires luck, hard work and strategy.

Being fit, very determined, or a combination of the two is invaluable for encountering birds without dogs on properties hunted by other hunters, many with dogs.

My brother Zac was a remarkable 70 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

bird hunter without a dog for years, although he acknowledged that hunting behind a dog is more effective by first borrowing mine and later securing a very awesome female Brittany spaniel. While dogless, he would hard charge to the backs of public parcels or to the nastiest, most inaccessible parts of properties that required the most sidehilling and climbing. That’s a real secret to success with or without a dog in Eastern Washington: hunt the birds, but play the bounce from pressure and hunt where the birds feel safest.

Another tactic he used was to sneak attack areas he knew held birds, keeping quiet and staying low until in the zone. While staring at juicy, bursting-with-birds cover and no dog to do the dirty work, he would produce one of a handful of good-sized rocks

stuck in his pockets. Chucking rocks into cover is surprisingly effective for rousting birds.

During the late season, birds scatter and become progressively warier.

Many hunters only hunt roads, trails and major terrain features like creeks or draws while completely ignoring the back 40. That’s where the birds often are. A single patch of cover at the back of a property can yield lots of birds. The more remote parts of public ground also typically border unpressured or less-pressured private ground, a key for attracting birds onto the fringes of huntable ground.

If you do have dogs, late-season public-land pheasants are easier to come by, but they’re not often easy on pressured public ground as the season progresses. Wide-ranging, tightpointing dogs like setters and English and German-shorthair pointers excel in blocking birds as they run ahead of hunters, while closer workers like Labradors and spaniels are also a huge aid in both blocking birds and locating those birds that faster dogs are more likely to cruise by. Don’t be the guy who buys a bird dog before he truly commits to bird hunting and never trains it, but if you have the itch to cover ground and kill birds, getting a dog and training it increases the number and quality of shots a hunter gets. Moreover, the number of birds recovered goes up dramatically.

Marking downed birds without a dog can be a challenge, especially when they run or duck into a badger hole.

IF YOU VENTURE out this January, or even next season, don’t give up if your first few hunts are fruitless – adjust your location and tactics. As bird hunting progressively declined over the last few decades in my family’s favorite spots in Grant, Lincoln and Adams Counties, we’d continue to visit our favorite spots in those counties. But when miles walked began to eclipse birds seen, we would hunt Washington’s most sacred and consistent upland bird country: the draws and heavy cover

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

71

HUNTING on and around the Snake, Tucannon, Touchet and Palouse Rivers. You can find excellent bird hunting at times in the Columbia Basin and Yakima Valley, but the state’s best numbers This bend in a road in Southeast Washington allows intrepid hunters to make a steep but manageable climb to ridgetops that are flush with chukars and Huns. Kelty and Yokel had a banner day walking steep ridges and finding chukars and Huns. Some days they also encounter blue grouse here. Successful chukar hunters are always looking “up” for ways to ascend steep canyon walls to access the high ridges and cliff bands that chukars favor. (JERRY YOKEL)

LATE OREGON, IDAHO UPLAND OPS

W

hile pheasant season closed across Oregon at the end of December, chukar, Hungarian partridge and quail remain open through the end of this month.

Like Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon saw pretty good brood production this past spring and summer, particularly for chukar. Granted, we’re in the last month of a hunt that began back in mid-October, but state Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists called out these highlights: Lake County: Chukar counts here

in Southcentral Oregon were noted as “higher than recent averages” with “largely successful” second brood hatches.

Wingshooting is reported as “good” this season when weather conditions align.

“Look to rocky rims and south-facing slopes during the late season. If you find a covey or sign, remain at a similar elevation to increase your odds of success. Walk along rim tops, as birds may be foraging later throughout the day and may be scattered farther from the rim edge in search of food,” biologists tip.

Chukar and quail production was also strong across good portions of Oregon and Idaho’s Columbia and Great Basins, and there should still be a few birds to kick up this month. (TIM AKIMOFF, ODFW) 72 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

For valley quail, you’ll want to move off of the breaks and scour valley floors. Bios suggest looking to the western slope of the Coglan Hills for both topknots and redlegs.

Harney County: To the east, biologists say plentiful water and forage produced “good opportunity” for chukar hunters.

“Look for rocky, talus slopes, and ridges with water sources nearby which should harbor birds,” they advise.

Grant County: Chukar chick production was reported as good here, but note that the region with the best public access –

exist in Southeast Washington.

This year, with strong numbers of birds, don’t get tunnel vision on the Palouse, especially for chukar, Huns and quail. As previously mentioned, chukar are not so fickle as pheasants about where they live, and the same can be said but to a lesser degree regarding Huns and quail.

Find your own honey holes this January by using the internet and apps to your advantage. There are plenty of other folks looking for public ground

to hunt, so do some exploring and get some exercise. Use January to both hunt and scout for next season, and work harder than the other hunters you see afield. Hit the cover they’re too lazy to walk to, with or without a dog. Shoot high-brass loads out of 12-gauge shotguns with size 4 and 5 shot for wild, late-season chukar and pheasants, even Huns. Low-brass loads work great for quail, which don’t bust at wild ranges (usually) as the year progresses like their larger, spookier

upland cousins. Smaller shotguns like 16- and 20-gauges will of course down birds, but January is a 12-gauge month, even for 20-gauge devotees. If you hunt where you’re likely to jump ducks or geese, shoot 3- and 3.5-inch magnum steel loads with size 2 shot.

Also keep some 2 3/4-inch steel loads with smaller shot handy in case you get into quail. January can sometimes yield really cool mixed bags of birds, and having only steel on you makes it legal to also shoot waterfowl. NS

the South Fork John Day – also burned in last summer’s Shoefly Fire.

Wallowa County: It’s rare for biologists to hype any hunting opportunity – they tend to be pretty conservative with their words, lest their forecasts blow up – but here they went in with both barrels blazing: “Hunters should expect to do well chasing chukars,” they state, pointing to both improved brood counts over 2023 and the rugged breaks of the Grande Ronde and Imnaha Rivers and Joseph Creek. If winter conditions prevent access there, valley quail were reported as “doing great” in the lower Wallowa Valley.

Umatilla County: Quail numbers were reported as 37 percent above average over

the past decade and “abundant,” but given all the private land in the best habitat, you may find yourself knocking on doors that have already been knocked on.

Union County: Surveyors found “very large” broods and “very good” numbers of quail last summer. While Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area near La Grande will have been worked over by this point, it’s still an option for these valley-floor dwellers.

Elsewhere in Oregon: Upland bird counts were said to be “on track with years past” in the lower Deschutes and John Day Rivers, while quail enjoyed “above average” production in Klamath County.

Idaho: If you’re heading to Lewiston to

fish for B-runs (see page 108), you might also bring your double-barrel shotgun.

State biologists found “strong” chukar numbers along the Snake River and at Craig Mountain, with hunting expected to be “on par with or slightly better” than the 2023-24 season.

Quail were also doing well, especially “along riparian corridors shrouded with blackberry in drainages of the Clearwater, Snake and Salmon Rivers.”

In Southwest Idaho, chukar prospects were forecast to be good, thanks to “plentiful, large broods in places like Brownlee, South Fork Payette and the Owyhee Canyonlands.” –NWS

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

73

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

75

Your Complete Hunting, Boating, Fishing and Repair Destination Since 1948.

PRE-SEASON SAVINGS DON’T HESITATE ON THESE GREAT DEALS

VERLES.COM

L IMI T ED Y I N V E N TO R

1-877-426-0933

ANNIV

Alumaweld Stryker 202

PRE-SEASON SAVINGS

ERSAR

Y

Alumaweld Stryker X202

DON’T HESITATE

ON THESE GREAT DEALS

2024 Weldcraft 200 Revolution

Smokercraft Sunchaser Pontoon

1-877-426-0933

Smokercraft Sunchaser Pontoon

VERLES.COM

COLUMN

Firearms and other manufacturers are rolling out new products for 2025, including semiauto, over-and-under and pump 12-gauges from Dickinson Arms; new finishes for both the Savage Arms Model 334 boltaction rifle and Sturm, Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Lite pistol; new shotshell offerings in Federal’s Prairie Storm family; and new rifle scopes in the Winchester Supreme Optics line. (DICKINSON ARMS; SAVAGE ARMS; STURM, RUGER; FEDERAL PREMIUM; WINCHESTER)

New Year, New Gear, New Guns And Lingering Ops

J

anuary will see the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show unfold at the Venetian Expo Center and ON TARGET

By Dave Workman Caesars Forum. Dates are January 21-24, which will not allow for a repeat of the scene I witnessed there back on January 20, 2017, when Donald Trump was sworn in the first time, replacing Barack Obama in the White House.

I was in the Press Room, where the crowd was watching the inauguration on television, and when Trump took the oath, the place erupted in a cheer. They will miss it by a day – Trump gets sworn in on the 20th – but my guess is the atmosphere in

Las Vegas will be upbeat.

Even before momentum began building for this year’s SHOT Show – as always, sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation – some companies were revealing new products. Here are a few that got my attention.

NEW LONG GUNS Savage Arms announced that the popular Model 334 bolt-action rifle will now be available in a Mossy Oak Terra Gila camo. Five different caliber choices are offered, including .30-06, .270 Winchester, .308 Winchester, .243 Winchester and 6.5 Creedmoor.

Each one of these calibers is a proven producer of notched tags and coolers full

of wild game meat.

The Model 334 features a three-position safety, which I prefer, a 60-degree bolt lift for fast cycling of the action and three locking lugs.

Barrels on all five models are buttonrifled, and all are free-floating. They have three-round detachable magazines, a steel MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny rail, and sling swivel studs fore and aft.

MSRP on all five camo models is $529, according to Savage.

In plenty of time for spring turkey hunting, Dickinson Arms has already announced two new 12-gauge smoothbores for bringing down a gobbler, one a semiauto and the other a pump gun.

The former (212C24-OS) features a contoured, pistol-grip stock and 24-inch vent rib barrel. There’s a Picatinny rail on the receiver, so an optic sight can be mounted. The gun comes with an extrafull choke. It is shipped with a hard-sided case, and a magazine plug for limiting the capacity to three shells. nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 79

COLUMN ambidextrous safety on the grip frame.

Each pistol comes with two 10-round magazines. The 1911-style grip panels are replaceable and the grip frame is precision-molded polymer. As a small game gun, either of these pistols would be good choices.

AMMUNITION Federal Premium has already announced three new 12-gauge shotshell offerings in its Prairie Storm family. The four new offerings include a 2¾-inch magnum with lead payloads in No. 4, 5 or 6, and a 28-gauge 3-inch load with a 1-ounce charge of No. 6 pellets. These shells feature Federal’s rear-opening FliteControl Flex wad, and a mixed payload of either lead or steel pellets, and FliteStopper lead or steel pellets.

OPTICS

Brandon Jewett had a chance to pass on his love of pheasant hunting to daughter Jo on a lateseason hunt last winter.

They were out with their dog Drifter and Jo beat him to the downed bird.

(KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

Meanwhile, the pump-action Commando (XX3T-C-2) also wears a contoured pistol-grip stock and 24-inch vent rib barrel. It has a fiber optic front sight and an extended extra-full choke, and it may also be fitted with an optic sight, and there’s a short rail on the underside of the forend.

Also from Dickinson comes the Palmarius O/U 12-gauge shotgun, featuring a grade 4 Turkish walnut stock with crisp checkering on the grip and forearm. This box-lock shotgun is available with three barrel-length choices: 26, 28 and 30 inches. Chambered for 3-inch magnums, the Palmarius has a 14.5-inch length-of-pull, with a polymer recoil pad.

80 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

RIMFIRES Sturm, Ruger announced before the holidays a pair of Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Lite pistols with two distinct finishes. I have a soft spot for Ruger semiauto rimfires, and this pair looks good. One pistol features a black receiver, black grip panels, gold trigger and a gold barrel, while the other sports a champagne-colored receiver, black grip panels and a black trigger, according to Ruger.

The threaded 4.40-inch barrel is cold-hammer forged with a 1-in-16inch right-hand rifling twist featuring six lands and grooves. They are topped with adjustable sights, and there is a Picatinny rail for mounting accessories and an

In the optics arena, Winchester Supreme Optics has launched a new line of rifle scopes, with six models in the lineup: 6-18x50mm SF Illuminated Reticle; 4-12x44mm SF; 3.5-10x50mm; 2-7x32mm; and 1-4x24mm Illuminated Reticle. All lenses are fully multicoated with Winchester WINcoat to transmit the maximum light at dawn or dusk. They have Beryllium Bronze springs and a one-piece 6063-T6 aluminum housing with a black anodized exterior finish. They are all nitrogen-sealed and will handle up to 800 Gs in recoil.

LAST-GASP HUNTS Switching gears, duck hunting seasons in Washington continue into late January, with specifics on page 20 of the Game Bird and Small Game Hunting Regulations pamphlet.

Grouse hunting runs through January 15, and there is opportunity for Eastside pheasant and quail until the 20th, and for Eastside chukar through the 31st. Details are found on page 34 of the regulations.

Rabbit and snowshoe hare hunting continues through March 15, and the places to find cottontails are around wild blackberry tangles, in lowland brushy/ swampy areas and around any cover. The hares I’ve seen this time of year, and even as far back as late October, were turning white. By now, watch for those patches

COLUMN of white in areas where there may be no snow. They stick out like neon.

Back in October, my hunting partner conked a snowshoe hare in a kind of swampy area above Highway 12 over near Trout Lodge, and it was already showing white. Remember to put on a pair of rubber gloves to clean these buggers, and my pal carefully sliced off the backstraps and legs, which are really the only edible parts. The daily bag limit is five, straight or mixed bag.

In my experience, a good .22-caliber rifle or pistol is big medicine for bunnies, and I prefer 37-grain hollowpoints. Others will use shotguns, and this may be where the .410 smoothbore loaded with 3-inch shells can strut its stuff. No. 6- or 7½-shot charges will do the job quite well, since rabbits and hares are thin-skinned critters and do not require a lot of lead to put them down.

And then there are coyotes. For the past couple of years, I’ve headed to the Columbia Basin with another guy for a

weekend of predator hunting. Pickings have been surprisingly thin, but there are lots of yodel dogs out there, and if you really care about deer and elk populations, have a gun handy on all of your outdoor adventures through winter and be prepared to use it.

While January might be a melancholy month for hardcore hunters because the seasons are waning, it is also the month I traditionally do my offseason gun maintenance, which often continues into February. With longer daylight hours – provided weather cooperates – use the time to visit the gun range just to keep your trigger finger flexible.

BACK IN THE TRENCHES Within days, the Washington legislature will be back in business, and where gun rights are concerned, that’s never good news. Democrats dominate the legislature and far-left Seattle-Tacoma area legislators dominate the party agenda.

Watch for efforts to once again attack

CUMBERLAND’S NORTHWEST TRAPPERS SUPPLY Hide Tan Formula has been used successfully by thousands of hunters and trappers across the U.S. and Canada. No more waiting several months for tanning. Now, you can tan your own hides and furs at home in less than a week, at a fraction of the normal cost.

Our Hide Formula tans deer hides either hair-on for a rug or mount, or hair-off for buckskin leather. Tans all fur skins – muskrat, mink, beaver, fox, coyote, raccoon, squirrel, rabbit, etc. It also applies to bear, elk, moose, cowhide, sheep and even snakeskin. Hide Tan Formula is premixed and ready to use and produces a soft, supple Indian-style tan in five to seven days.

One 8-ounce bottle will tan one deer hide in two medium-sized fur skins. Bear, elk, moose and caribou require three to six bottles.

Complete instructions are included. You’ll be amazed how easy it is!

Tanned hides and furs are great to decorate your home or camp and also to sell for extra income. Tanned hides and furs are in demand by black powder enthusiasts, American Indian traders, fly tyers, country trading posts and many crafters. Our products are proudly produced and bottled in the U.S. for over 20 years.

Available at Cumberland’s Northwest Trappers Supply in Owatonna, Minnesota.

Call (507) 451-7607 or email trapper@nwtrappers.com. nwtrappers.com

82 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

state preemption, maybe an attempt to make it more difficult to obtain a concealed pistol license, and other tomfoolery. Bob Ferguson, the anti-gun attorney general for the past 12 years, will become the new anti-gun governor.

On the plus side, the challenge to Washington’s two-year-old ban on socalled “large-capacity” magazines has been submitted to the state Supreme Court. Federal cases that could have an impact on Washington gun control laws are also still very much alive, for which gun owners can thank the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation.

There could also be legislation to prevent the disastrous November shutdown of the State Patrol’s background check system due to some sort of computer hack. For two weeks, Evergreen State citizens couldn’t buy firearms, which is something that must never happen again.

The legislature convenes Monday, January 13, and the regular session runs through April 27. NS

INSPIRED BY NATURE’S QUIETEST PREDATOR

TEXTURES

COLORS Black Flat Dark Earth FDE Distressed

Freedom

Streamline

OD Green

SHORTY SERIES

The Short & Compact Line of Silencers.

MAX SERIES

The Maximum Performance Line of Silencers.

X SERIES

The Premium and Compact Line of Silencers.

Jaguar Camo

• Free flow design. using Additive Manufacturing • Built with Aerospace Grade materials

Smooth

937.898.3287 jaguarsilencers.com DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOME

giving you the toughest and most high-tech silencers on the market.

• Available in Rifle, Pistol and Rimfire. with 4 different 3D • Customize textures and 4 color options.

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 83

BUTCHERS, JERKY & MEAT PROCESSING

ROSEBURG, OR

PEPPERONI STICKS

HONEY PEPPER • TERIYAKI • CHEDDAR & MORE

SALAMI

THÜRINGER • SUMMER SAUSAGE • JALAPEÑO AND CHEESE

JERKY

ORIGINAL • HONEY • TERIYAKI • GARLIC PEPPER & MORE

We have smoked hams, turkeys, and prime ribs for the upcoming holidays

(541) 677-7283 | BNDJERKY.COM

Quality Fresh Meat

You Can Trust!

4STARMEAT.COM 90362 PRAIRIE RD, EUGENE, OR 97402 | 4STARMEAT.COM | (541) 689-1350

COLUMN

Author Dave Anderson’s resolution to refocus on some of the basics of hunting paid off during 2024’s seasons. Beginning hunters and veterans alike can benefit from setting goals. (DAVE ANDERSON)

Hunting Resolutions: Ideas For Beginners, Old Pros H unting season for most of us has ended, but that does not mean it is time to put the gear away till next BECOMING fall and forget about A HUNTER

By Dave Anderson the outdoors. For both beginners and seasoned hunters, the offseason is an opportunity to improve, prepare and reflect on the past hunting season. Whether you are just starting out or have been hunting for years, creating resolutions this time of year is a great way to enhance your skills for the next season.

BEGINNER RESOLUTIONS

For the beginner hunter, this may be the first time to reflect on your past season. I like to look back on my hunts and think about what worked and what did not work so I can make changes where necessary.

In addition to reflection, the offseason is also important for learning, practicing and building confidence. Here are some resolutions for the beginner hunter that, in my opinion, will not only prepare you for the next hunting season, but also help increase your confidence going into fall.

Focus on weapon proficiency: Becoming proficient with your rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader or bow is

essential. Spend time at the range or practice your shooting skills in various conditions. You should be comfortable and confident with your firearm or bow.

Learn basic tracking, scouting skills: One of the best ways to improve as a beginner is to learn how to track and scout game effectively. Go for hikes during the offseason to familiarize yourself with the terrain and identify potential hunting spots.

Consider using trail cameras or mapping out areas using onX. Being able to identify signs of wildlife movement can make a huge difference.

Improve physical fitness: Use the offseason to build strength and endurance. Physical

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 85

COLUMN

Anderson is resolving to do a better job of setting up trail cameras for this fall’s hunts after being a little gun-shy last year. “Cameras are not cheap, but they do you zero good locked up in a house for fear of others messing with them or stealing them,” he writes. (DAVE ANDERSON) fitness is important, as hunting often requires hiking long distances and climbing in difficult terrain. In addition to walking and hiking, you are usually carrying heavy packs as well, so strength is necessary.

Join a community or mentorship program: Networking with more experienced hunters can help you learn new techniques, gain valuable insights and build relationships. Attend local hunting expos, join online forums or reach out to hunters who can provide guidance. We are pretty lucky today, as there are many YouTube channels with guys who have been open to showing us tips and tricks on how to be successful out in the field.

There are also some well-known hunters who offer hunting courses and camps in the field, such as The Western Hunting Summit. They have an archery class as well as a rifle class this coming 86 Northwest Sportsman

JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

June. There is also a group in North Idaho, Stuck in the Rut, that offers classes to help you become a better hunter. In the past, the hunters who were super successful kept all of their secrets to themselves. It is amazing to see these veterans willing to share some of their keys to success. You could jump ahead 10 years by attending one of these classes or camps.

GOALS FOR THE OLD GUARD If you have been hunting for years, the offseason is still a time for growth and reflection. While it is likely that you have a lot of experience under your belt, there are always new skills to refine, gear to upgrade and habits to improve. Here are some resolutions for the seasoned hunter that will help you prepare for the next season.

Scouting/trail cameras: One of the things that I found I could have done better last year was setting up cameras and scouting.

My job is demanding and requires a lot of travel across North America flying and driving to meet with customers. When I come home from my trips, the last thing that I want to do is leave my family solo and go to the mountains. Most of my days on the weekends are spent hiking with my wife and two young boys. If you are like me, you have to make time and dedicate yourself to your family and incorporate them into your love and passion for the outdoors.

I feel this year I was a little later than I should have been, but I still got out and hung cameras starting in August to get details on what would help me find success later in the season. Some of my reluctance to put up trail cameras has been due to my fear of having them stolen or vandalized. Cameras are not cheap, but they do you zero good locked up in a house for fear of others messing with or stealing them. In the short amount of time I had mine up, I found lots of elk and even a dandy bull moose in an area where I got lucky and notched a tag on a great Idaho bull during the second day of my hunt.

One of my resolutions for the offseason is to start scouting earlier. I want to get more cameras on the mountain and in different areas so that I have multiple target spots going into the 2025 season.

Upgrade your gear: Technology and gear have evolved throughout the years.

The offseason is an ideal time to upgrade your equipment. Whether it is replacing worn-out gear or investing in the latest and greatest, the offseason is a great time to test out new stuff and take advantage of offseason sales.

Stay in physical and mental shape: Physical fitness might be a routine part of life, but the offseason is a good time to adjust your exercise plan. Incorporate activities such as hiking with a weighted pack to mimic the load of hunting gear. Engage in more leg and core exercises to improve your balance and mobility in uneven terrain.

You can also improve your mental game as well. Visualization techniques, where you mentally rehearse a hunt or a particular skill, can help improve your confidence.

Master new skills: Even if you have been hunting for years, there is always room for improvement. Whether it is refining your shooting technique or learning about new

BUTCHERS, JERKY & MEAT PROCESSING

Fresh Meats, Smoked Products and Seafood - Quality Meats & Service - Since 1992 - Locally Owned ALL SMOKED PRODUCTS MADE IN HOUSE 525 N. Graffiti Street Post Falls, ID 83854

(208) 772-3327

TIMSSPECIALCUTMEATS.COM

COLUMN hunting technologies, there is always an area you can focus on improving.

One of my main goals going into the 2024 season was to go back to the basics, and one of those was focusing on wind.

I am not saying that I abandoned paying attention to the wind. But my Windicator was not in my hand nearly as much as it had been in the past. So last fall I made effort to change that. You can trick an animal’s eyes and ears, but one thing you will never fool is their nose. If they smell you, it is game over. Paying attention to thermals and wind direction was on my mind more than it has been in the past few years.

You need to be obsessed with wind, not just mindful.

In addition to the wind, I wanted to refine my skills of being quieter while in the woods.

A good friend of mine who is an outfitter once told me, “Sometimes you have to slow down so you can speed up.” That quote has always stuck with me and is so true when it comes to hunting. Sure, there is a time and place where you can be noisy and not worry about stepping on branches. This would be true during archery season with elk. The elk are noisy and expect to hear noise, especially when calling. But if you are hunting during the rifle season and the elk and deer have been pressured, they are on high alert. Being mindful of where you set your feet and how quietly you walk is key. I went back to my step-glass-and-listen approach for 2024, which worked in my favor.

MAKE 2025 YOUR BEST HUNT YET The offseason is not a time to sit idle. It does not matter how many years you’ve been hunting, you never have everything figured out and there will always be lightbulb moments to reflect upon. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned vet, the offseason represents valuable time to improve your skills, prepare your gear, stay in shape, reflect on last season and set goals/resolutions for next fall. By doing so, you will be more than ready and prepared when season rolls around again. Embrace the downtime and use it to your advantage. I have an idea on what my resolutions will be for 2025, and I encourage all of you to write down yours based off of your reflections. Make next season your best yet! NS

Everybody could use a little exercise. Anderson incorporates family hikes into his physical fitness, an activity that has the added benefit of getting his young sons interested in the outdoors. (DAVE ANDERSON) 88 Northwest Sportsman

JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

BUTCHERS, JERKY & MEAT PROCESSING COME SEE OUR

LOCKER PACK SPECIALS! We have a variety of smoked cheeses to go with our Smoked Salmon!

westernmeats.net (360) 357-6601

4101 Capital Blvd Tumwater WA 98501

Quality products including commercial grade processing equipment

Local Family owned since 1989

AVAILABLE SERVICE AND RENT EQUIPMENT • VACUUM PACKERS • MEAT GRINDERS • SAUSAGE STUFFERS • MIXERS

4507 Mountain View Dr Anchorage, AK 99508

907-258-7502

ALASKABUTCHEREQUIP.COM

BUTCHERS, JERKY & MEAT PROCESSING

Wild Game Processing

By Genuine Butchers in Central California

Download Our App To

HAMBURGER PATTIES • JERKY • SAUSAGES • SNACK STICKS

CHASESCHOPSHOPONLINE.COM

559-674-6247

Over 70 different kinds of smoked and fresh sausages

Check out our fresh meat case that holds special hand cut steaks that are freezer ready and vacuum-packed for freshness.

Wolfsen’s also offers gift baskets made up of our specialty products, along with gift cards.

We are well known for our beef jerky, smoked turkeys, hams, and roasts. They always make for a fabulous holiday treat.

In the deli section, we offer a variety of hot and cold sandwiches.

wolfsensausage.com (209) 854-6456 wolfsensmts@gmail.com

Schedule and Customize

Your Wild Game Processing

COLUMN

Cameron King and his grandfather Larry King compete in the family’s traditional posthunt tossing of the hooves, an activity they trace back to a cow elk hunt when they had to keep at bay a gang of bears intent on feeding on one of their kills. For the record, Gramps won this particular round when the hoof he threw landed closest to the target. (RANDY KING)

The Legend Of The King Family Hoof Toss L

CHEF IN THE WILD

By Randy King

ook, every hunting family has its quirks. Ours? Well, we toss hooves. I have tossed hooves from Texas to Alaska – it is a part of the traditions in the King family. I hope

it will always be so.

The whole thing started years ago during an elk hunt just east of Hells Canyon in Idaho. We had drawn cow tags and went up a few days early to scout. We

spotted a large herd of elk feeding up a ravine the day before season began and guessed that they would follow the same pattern the next morning. They did. Soon we had two elk down and were tracking a third up a ravine.

When we caught up to the now-expired third elk, we found ourselves second in line. A mama bear and some cubs had arrived first. They ran off to about 50 yards and then sat on their butts like Labradors.

Every now and again they would venture to within 30 yards and “woof” at us the way

that bears do.

To spook them off, we began to toss the hooves of the elk at the bears. Each time they would land nearby, sending the bears back a ways while also giving them a little snack. When we hiked the last of the meat out, we watched them descend upon the carcass and start with the gut pile.

WE’VE TOLD THAT story for decades now, to the point it has become “dad lore” – something that will hopefully be passed on by my sons. Each critter we shoot, we nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 91

COLUMN

THE REVERSE SEAR

I

first ran into the reverse sear in the early 2000s at a restaurant called Gary Danko in San Francisco. The sous chef was slowly cooking a hanger steak in the oven, then he was searing it in butter and herbs. He called it reverse searing and I paid very little attention to it. The idea sounded like the exact opposite of what I had always been taught. But, well, now I have converted – when I have the time.

The reverse sear is like the punk rock of cooking methods – it rebels against everything you thought you knew about cooking steak, but in a catchy and infectious sort of way.

French cooking is the Led Zeppelin of food and this is the Ramones.

(Ish, this analogy is getting strained …)

The science tells us we can forget everything I have previously told you about “locking in the juices” with traditional methods. Basically, that is a load of crap. It’s hard for my primitive brain to understand, but here’s how it works: Instead of slapping that beautiful piece of meat onto a screaminghot pan, you’re going to treat it like a delicate flower. What you do is slow-cook the meat in an oven on low until it is almost at your desired temperature, then you finish it with a sear. This gives the whole thing a better crust anyway. It honestly was shocking how good it was.

1.5- to 2-inch-thick venison steak (think whole backstrap or something from the sirloin) Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper Cooking oil with a high smoke point Optional: herbs and butter for the finish

92 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

Reverse-seared venison backstrap on mashed potatoes and garnished with thyme. (RANDY KING)

INSTRUCTIONS Pat the venison dry (moisture is the enemy of a good sear). Season generously with salt and pepper. Place the steak on a wire rack over a baking sheet and refrigerate uncovered overnight. This is your secret weapon for removing surface moisture – think of it like giving your steak a spa dehydration treatment.

After preheating your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, cook the venison until it reaches about 10 to 15 degrees below your desired final temperature. For medium-rare, aim for around 110 degrees internal temp,

which will take about 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes. Heat a cast-iron skillet until the oil is almost smoking. Sear the venison for about 45 to 60 seconds per side. Remove from heat and add butter and herbs to the pan and baste the meat while searing for another minute or so. Let rest for a few minutes, then slice against the grain and enjoy.

Consider your former method less effective and become a begrudging convert to the reverse sear. (“Stairway to Heaven” is a good song, but so too is “Blitzkrieg Bop.”) –RK

Outstanding Quality Prime Rib use PRIMe15 to get 15% off a PRIMe RIb

dreamcatcherbeef.com • info@dreamcatcherbeef.com

COLUMN commence a “hoof toss” competition. We pick a random object about 30 yards away and toss the hooves of the critter we have just shot at it. The closest to the object gets bragging rights until the next season.

My youngest son, Jordan, loved the story so much that we would often take videos of the hoof toss for him and send them from the hills. And now, with the help of youth doe tags and an award-winning grandfather, Jordan is tossing more hooves than anyone per year.

This year’s hunt for Jordan was a youth-only doe season along the Snake River outside of Nampa. It’s not quite a depredation hunt, but it’s close. The trick for this tag is to wait until the corn gets cut and the wind picks up. Then you know the deer will be bedded in the lee of the wind and up in the hills above the corn. It gets silly, the number of deer you can glass up bedded in the sage and cheatgrass.

We had no more than unloaded the truck and walked around a corner when we spooked up 15 does. They were too quick for Jordan to settle and get a shot off. We laughed. That would have been tooooo easy anyway. No need to cut a halfday hunt down to a 50-yard pack out.

So, we walked into the wind, stopping and glassing as we went, and hoped we wouldn’t scare any deer as we progressed across the grassy slopes and gullies.

Eventually, we caught sight of a small herd of deer in a bowl about 500 yards off.

They were way too far away for a shot, but it almost seemed like we could sneak up on them, which would make it more like antelope hunting than deer hunting.

We snaked our way out of sight and then came up over a little ridge and were upon them. Two shots later and Jordan had a wonderful little yearling doe on the ground.

We gutted her, proceeded to toss hooves,

and then packed her back to the truck. In all, it was an awesome Sunday morning.

I’VE WATCHED JORDAN grow as a hunter who understands more than just how to pull a trigger. He’s learning the traditions, the stories, the little moments that make hunting more than just harvesting an animal. The hoof toss might seem silly to some – a random tradition born from a bear encounter in the 1990s. But to us, it’s a connection. A way of remembering where we’ve been and marking where we’re going.

We laugh about it; it’s a family tradition.

And the hoof toss? Grandpa won this year. He threw the hoof closest to our predetermined marker, a black volcanic rock down in the gully. He earned bragging rights for the year. With luck, we will get many more seasons to come. Another hunt, another story, another chance to toss a hoof and keep a tradition alive. NS

The tradition has become especially important for young Jordan King, here with Larry during a November antlerless mule deer hunt that resulted in a few hooves to scatter around the countryside and meat in the freezer for the winter. (RANDY KING) 94 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

BUTCHERS, JERKY & MEAT PROCESSING

SPECIALIZING IN FRESH BEEF, PORK, POULTRY AND OUR OWN SPECIALTY ITEMS We also carry game processing items such as fat, spices and casings

WE ARE CLEARING OUT STORE INVENTORY DURING JANUARY AND IT IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE BIG ON ALL PURCHASES. TAKE ADVANTAGE TO STOCK UP ON YOUR FAVORITE MEATS AND JERKY. OPEN TILL 7PM EACH DAY!

Located In the Tulalip Quil Ceda Village Retail Plaza. Exit 200 off I-5!

8825 34th Ave NE, Tulalip

beefjerkyx.com/tulalip 360-716-2999

CALL US AT 907-349-3556 OR TOLL FREE WITHIN ALASKA 800-478-3556 MRPRIMEBEEF.COM

PRIMEBEEF@MRPRIMEBEEF.COM

CELEBRATING 2 YEARS with good food, good friends, good music, and good memories

360-984-1931

737 NW 7th. Ave. Camas, WA 98607

smokieriversmokedmeats.com smokieriversmokedmeats@gmail.com

DESTINATION ALASKA

Remote, Comfortable & Affordable

Our remote Alaskan fishing lodge is situated on the upper stretches of the beautiful Egegik River. You’ll watch some of Alaska’s most stunning sunrises, complete with a distant, active volcano. We are a fishing camp specializing in coho fishing, brown bear viewing, and flyout fishing adventures to even more remote destinations in the Last Frontier.

Coho Fishing The Egegik River

The Egegik River is touted by many experienced anglers as the best silver salmon stream in all of Alaska. Becharof Lodge On The Egegik River was the first fishing lodge to become established on the breathtaking Egegik River, and is less than a 5 minute boat ride from some of the best fishing holes on the entire river.

Now Booking for 2025 Coho Fishing Trips Included in your fishing trip: • 6 days fishing/5 nights stay in camp • Experienced, fully guided fishing.

• Comfortable cabins furnished with beds, cozy comforters & bedding.

• Home cooked meals, snacks, and nonalcoholic beverages.

• Transportation from the lodge to prime fishing holes on the Egegik River.

• Freezing and vacuum sealing of your fish, up to 50 lbs., per angler.

$4,850

per person

Includes round trip charter from King Salmon. Call for more details.

Book Your Trip Today!

Mark Korpi: 503-741-1333 or 503 298 9686 George Joy: 360-562-7701 Email: becharoffishing@gmail.com

becharoflodgefishing.com

.

DESTINATION ALASKA

DESTINATION ALASKA salmon · halibut · rockfish · ling cod · trophy trout · steelhead

Anglers Haven Lodge offers an unforgettable fishing experience, set in a breathtaking location with comfortable accommodations and customized packages to suit every angler’s dream!

Book Now! 49anglers.com anglershaven.ak@gmail.com 907-201-2007

DESTINATION ALASKA

DESTINATION ALASKA

Create memories of a lifetime

in Southwest Alaska

907-246-8643

KINGSALMONLODGE.COM

Escape To Alaska

The Ultimate Harvest Adventure Awaits!

EXCLUSIVE FISHING OPPORTUNITIES Pursue an incredible variety of fish—from king salmon and halibut to rainbow trout—across Alaska’s pristine waters.

GUIDED FORAGING ADVENTURES Discover Alaska’s natural bounty, with guided explorations to forage for wild mushrooms and berries along the streams.

CATCH-AND-COOK CULINARY EXPERIENCE Harvest your seafood, forage ingredients, and prepare meals alongside expert chefs for the ultimate “catch-and-cook” satisfaction.

www.chromechasers.com Dori Matney (406) 580-8222

DESTINATION ALASKA

DESTINATION ALASKA BOOK YOUR TRIP TODAY! 907-401-3556 • info@eaglerock.fish • eaglerock.fish

Krog's Kamp ON THE KENAI RIVER www.krogskamp.com

EAGLE ROCK LODGE OFFERS:

• Saltwater fishing packages • Spring river fishing packages • Bear hunt transport packages • Fall river fishing packages • Lodging for fall deer hunting

Fish for king salmon, silver salmon, sockeye salmon, Fish forhalibut, silver sockeye rainbow trout, lingsalmon, cod, and other bottom fish.

907-262-2671 FISHING@KROGSKAMP.COM salmon, rainbow trout, halibut,

ling cod, and other bottom fish

907-262-2671 FISHING@KROGSKAMP.COM

EXPERIENCE AN AMAZING

REMOTE ADVENTURE

AND LET US BE YOUR GUIDE!

JOIN US FOR A HUNT OF A LIFETIME TAKING RESERVATIONS MOOSE HUNTING • SALMON FISHING

We offer Moose, Grizzly Bear, and Black Bear hunts in Western Alaska with a 90% success rate!

Average Moose: 64“ Grizzlies: 7’6”-8’6” Black Bears: 6’-7’

BOOK TODAY! 907-690-2040 AdventureOutfittersAlaska@gmail.com www.adventureoutfittersalaska.com

www.deltana.com 907- 347-7204 hunts@deltana.com

BEST OF ALASKA CHARTERS On a cruise or independently traveling?

THIS is the adventure for you!

907-738-0289

Sitka, Alaska

• Snacks and water • State of the art fishing gear

• On board restroom • An exciting Sitka Alaska fishing experience

sitkaexpeditions.com/salmon-fishing

BEST OF ALASKA CHARTERS DIVE INTO THE

ULTIMATE FISHING ADVENTURE!

Kodiak island is the ultimate destination for your bucket list trip, do it right the first time! Choose the guide who has the passion for catching giant trophies.

Call Captain Jeff Sanford or go to salmoncrazyadventures.com to book your trip! jakessaltwateradventures@gmail.com 507-848-0609

HOMER, ALASKA BOOK YOUR ADVENTURE NOW

halibutcharters.com | 907-435-1600 the Alaskan adventure of a lifetime

Embark on an unforgettable adventure!

At Jake’s Saltwater Adventures, we offer unforgettable fishing and bear viewing trips tailored to your wildest dreams!

From reeling in monster halibut, Lingcod and salmon to chasing trophy sea ducks and Sitka black tailed deer, you won’t want to miss out on this remote Alaskan experience!

Website www.jakessaltwateradventures.com

Homer, AK

GET IN ON THE ACTION

Facebook Page Jake’s Saltwater Adventures

www.CranberryCreekLodge.com www.facebook.com/cranberrycreeklodge

CALL NOW: 907-942-4300

BEST OF ALASKA CHARTERS Ketchikan Fishing Charters PLEASE CALL FISH FINDER CHARTERS at

907-254-4868

to book your next Ketchikan fishing charter!

ketchikanfishfinder.com Capt. Colby Slanaker has expert knowledge and years of experience when it comes to navigating the waters of Ketchikan and catching all five species of Alaska Salmon, halibut, lingcod, pacific cod, rockfish, and crab.

Based out of Ketchikan, Alaska only an hour and 40 minute direct flight from Seattle, a prime location for anglers looking to catch their fill of Halibut and Salmon. Our charter service offers a thrilling Guided Fishing Trip for anglers that are looking for heart pumping Salmon & Halibut Fishing.

Please take some time to view our website where you can find more info about us and fishing packages.

Our brand new lodge and the boat are booked 100% private to your group only.

Located in Seward, Alaska

HALIBUT, SALMON, ROCKFISH, AND LINGCOD Rated the#1 Fishing Charter in Alaska in 2021!!

Rated in the Top 3 Fishing Charters 2019-2022 -Via Anchorage Press Picks 2019-2022

AlaskaDreamCharters.com

907-422-7070

Alaska Dream Charters alaskadreamcharters

BEST OF ALASKA CHARTERS GET READY FOR YO U R

LET’S GO

FISHING! king salmon • silver salmon • halibut • ling cod • sea bass

ALASKAN ADVENTURE!

At Ketchikan Fishing Expeditions our goal is to bring you and your family the ultimate Alaskan experience.

WHAT WE OFFER: 2-8 hour charters 1.5 hour flight from Seattle Affordable family friendly fun www.alaskafishingexcursions.com ketchikanfishingexpeditions@gmail.com 907-617-9106

www.horizonwestcharters.com horizonwestcharters@gmail.com Sitka, AK • 844-484-5635

5 STAR RATED ON GOOGLE & TRIPADVISOR

Winkle’s Fishing And Lodging make the most of your time in kasilof

fishingbooker.com/charters/view/37796 these waters are known for halibut, chinook salmon, rainbow trout (steelhead), and more

BEST OF ALASKA CHARTERS BOOK YOUR TRIP TODAY! 907-744-4680 907.440.9510

Customize Your advenure in south Central alaska book your tour: fishwhittier.com Fishing Charters, Whale WatChing, glaCier tours

Do It Yourself

www.alaska-charter.com

BOOK YOUR TRIP! chickchartersalaska.com chickcharters@gmail.com 907-617-9289

rent from our selection of boats so you canLet explore Private and custom tours are welcome. the Prince us craft a trip you will never forget!William sound on your own!

reserve your own boat: alaska-boat-rentals.com

Experience the Majesty of the Sea! • small group fishing • sightseeing • combination tours

Your Adventure Awaits!

BOOK NOW alaskasaltwatertours.net or call (509) 731-4680 Seward Alaska and the Kenai Fjords National Park

FISHING

Steady As B’s Go Steelhead have been steadily moving into Idaho’s Clearwater this season, providing good fishing that’s expected to continue into January.

The chunk factor on Clearwater River hatchery steelhead is high. Don’t let this buck’s red stripes fool you; these upriver summer steelhead don’t spawn until early spring, and they cut well all fall and early winter, making great fare for the table or the barbecue. Reel Time Fishing (208-790-2128) guide Travis Wendt nets and filets hundreds of these Idaho beasts a year. (REELTIMEFISHING.COM) 108 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

FISHING

By Jeff Holmes

L

ast year was a great year for the Pacific Northwest’s ocean-going salmonids. We saw a recordbreaking sockeye run that made us dream of a million of these tasty red salmon over Bonneville. We witnessed over-forecast coho and Chinook runs and fantastic ocean salmon fishing.

Most excitingly for many of us, we saw the return of respectable runs of largerthan-average summer steelhead to the Columbia River and its tributaries and improved runs of coastal steelhead as well. Our inland steelhead aren’t breaking any records this year, but the progress is clear, including the first open seasons on the Upper Columbia in over a decade. The lean years we’ve experienced may be a thing of the past – if the trend continues.

One Pacific Northwest steelhead fishery that has seen less hardship than others over the last decade-plus has been Idaho’s Clearwater River, which is famous for its abnormally large steelhead that spend extra years in the ocean before making the long trek home. Yes, the river saw a few leaner years a while back when harvest was constrained for its B-run steelhead. But during the downtrends in steelhead, numbers have been more robust on this big river that flows into the Snake in the town of Lewiston, and this season the numbers and fishing have been especially good. No, we have not seen the 40,000-plus B-runs fishery managers projected in September of this past year, but at least 25,000 of these extra-large steelies will return this season to the Clearwater, along with smaller A-run fish. Despite significantly increased pressure from steelheaders throughout the region and beyond, fishing has been great.

Fishing has also been fair to excellent elsewhere near the Lewis and Clark Valley, where the Clearwater and Snake Rivers meet in the towns of Lewiston, Idaho, and Clarkston, Washington. The Snake

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

109

FISHING

No, that’s not a bucketful of kings after a wide-open bite. That’s a bucketful of giant hatchery steelhead after a wide-open bite on Reel Time Fishing guide Vernie Cross’s boat. The Clearwater’s B-runs are unmatched for their lardassity. (REELTIMEFISHING.COM)

in Hells Canyon, the Grande Ronde in Washington and Oregon, and the Salmon and Imnaha Rivers are all a reasonable car or boat ride from the LC Valley, and each of these fisheries is fishing well this season and should in January as well, barring any blowouts. As I’ve written about many times, the LC Valley is my favorite place in the West, and the proximity of gorgeous, wild steelhead rivers is one of the main reasons why. This 110 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

bounty of famed steelhead waters in and around the LC Valley is why it has come to be known as the steelhead capital of the world – and the capital is back on the map and celebrating this winter.

THE NEW STEELHEAD Expo, a carnival of all things steelhead (steelheadexpo .com) featuring evening seminars by the likes of Bill Herzog, Duane Inglin, Toby Wyatt and many

more, is coming up January 10-12 at the Hells Canyon Grand Hotel (hellscanyongrandhotel.com) in Lewiston (see sidebar). Among the event’s organizers and sponsors is Wyatt’s Reel Time Fishing (reeltimefishing.com; 208-790-2128), which is the biggest and arguably bestknown guiding outfit in the LC Valley.

Idaho guiding is tightly controlled by permit, and Wyatt owns a coveted power boat permit on the Clearwater.

Several guides run sleds for Reel Time, including LC Valley native and veteran Clearwater angler Travis Wendt, who is helping out with the Steelhead Expo and the derby. Wendt runs a boat nearly every day of the steelhead season on the Clearwater and reports that fishing has been good. He expects it will continue to be excellent through January and into late winter.

“This steelhead season started off with a large forecast this summer,” recalls Wendt. “Idaho Fish and Game’s B-run in-season forecast was anywhere from 32,000 to 47,000 fish, based on PIT tags over Bonneville in September. If this forecast held true, it would have been our best run in 15 years. Still, with about 25,000 B-runs returning, this is still a great run and a lot of steelhead. Fishing has been good, not red hot all the time, but very steady and usually good.

We have had mild, dry weather, and the river has stayed low all fall into early winter, and temps have not yet dropped like they normally do this time of year.”

That’s not all the good news either.

“For the third season in a row we have been seeing a larger average size of fish, a lot of 16- to 20-pound fish, with a few slightly larger,” adds Wendt. “As we get some moisture, the river levels should rise in January and make these fish move. I think January is going to be very good, as they know they are behind schedule and should eventually make a hard push upriver to the Dworshak area and South Fork Clearwater and Kooksia areas.”

River flows are finding the guide leaning on one technique above

Special FocUS

Northwest Fly Fishing

Experience the legend of Tikchik!

Come fish with us at southwest Alaska’s most remote full-service flyout fishing lodge. Giant char, leopard rainbows, salmon, grayling, pike… there’s something for everyone. Call or email today!

(907) 243-8450 INFO@TIKCHIK.COM WWW.TIKCHIKLODGE.COM

l

FISHING others, but it could change this month.

“We have been using a combination of back-trolling and side-drifting as conditions allow, but due to the low water, we have primarily been back-trolling plugs for the most part,” says Wendt.

“Plugging works very well at low water, which we have had pretty much all fall. As we have gotten small pushes of water, we have mixed some side-drifting in with good results. Usually in December we will have a cold-weather event that will drop the water, but in January we see warming events with more moisture, which usually increases water volume into the prime drifting flows.”

used to just warm hands or briefly take the cold off.”

Provided you dress right, a guided day on the Clearwater in January, or any month, is always a treat, as is prospecting the river’s shorelines yourself with a float and jig or a drift fishing rod. January is not the greatest month to bring your own boat for the first time – or at all, based on road conditions – unless you have experience running sleds on big free-flowing rivers. Even if you do, I recommend booking a trip with one of Reel Time Fishing’s boats to learn how to run and to fish this big mountain river. Days when fishing is slow this winter will be few due to the excellent numbers of steelhead

in the system, but even on slow days, the river itself is a great place to be.

“The Clearwater has great scenery and increasing timber as you progress upriver toward the Orofino area,” says Wendt. “Wildlife can be seen on most of our trips, from deer, eagles, otters and, once in a while, elk.”

Just as the landscape and wildlife are varied, so too is the fishery.

“What makes the Clearwater especially interesting to me is how many types of water you can fish in a day,” says Wendt. “On the lower end closer to Lewiston, the river is wider, more shallow and characterized by lots of gravel bars. As you move upstream and reach Lenore and Orofino, the river narrows and deepens where you

STEELHEADING IN THE winter in the Inland Northwest can be chilly to outright frigid. This is not the Olympic Peninsula or Oregon Coast.

While there are sometimes very mild January days on the Clearwater, count on wintertime steelheading in Idaho to feel like – wait for it – winter.

“The best way to stay warm is to invest in good gear,” says Wendt. “I always encourage my clients that if they want to spend much time in the outdoors or spend their money on guided trips, they should definitely spend an extra few hundred bucks on some good outerwear.”

“A good, insulated coat and bibs with knee-high rubber boots is smart, and making sure the outer layer is waterproof is extra wise,” he suggests. “A good base layer is important, too, such as long underwear or insulated layers. It’s always colder on the water, and it’s amazing how many people show up on a guided trip wearing blue jeans and sweatshirts. They freeze and are miserable. Be sure to invest in those warm clothes, and you can have a great time in the outdoors even in miserable wintry conditions. All of our Reel Time Fishing guides do carry propane heaters, but our boats are not covered, so the heaters are 112 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

Limits of these huge B-runs has not been the rule this season, nor the exception. Catching and keeping has been steady and solid and is likely to improve as more fish move upriver into the Clearwater. Cross took this picture of his clients looking very happy and likely flush with smoked steelhead at this point. (REELTIMEFISHING.COM)

Special FocUS

Northwest Fly Fishing

YOUR NEW FAVORITE FLY FISHING COMPANY!

Affordable gear including rods, reels, boxes, tools, hooks and beads.

A million flies starting at only 99¢!

SCAN QR CODE TO SAVE 15% www.risenfly.com

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

113

Special FocUS

Northwest Fly Fishing RECLAIMING THE TRADITION OF HANDCRAFTED CARE WITH MY CUSTOM WOOD LANDING NETS

STONEFLYNETS.COM INFO@STONEFLYNETS.COM 501-227-0406

Guided Fly-fishing Trips in Idaho Walk and wade on the North Fork Coeur d’Alene and Pike trips on the Chain Lakes

GUIDE SERVICE Embark on an unforgettable angling adventure with Tread Waters, where passion meets purpose!

Specializing in double hand spey rods, our expert guides ensure an exhilarating experience on the majestic Skagit and Sauk Rivers.

Guide/Owner : Jordan Young-Treadway

Empowering Diversity

Tread Waters is committed to promoting diversity within the sport of fly fishing. We celebrate and welcome anglers from all backgrounds, ensuring everyone feels represented and valued.

Conservation Champions

At Tread Waters, we believe in giving back to the rivers we love. Our team is dedicated to responsible angling and conservation efforts, striving to preserve and protect these precious ecosystems for generations to come.

(208) 667-2707 | NWOUTFITTERS.COM INFO@NWOUTFITTERS.COM

Join us for an unforgettable journey through crystal-clear waters, where every cast tells a story and every catch leaves a lasting memory.

Book your adventure with Tread Waters today and experience the thrill of fly fishing like never before!

Special FocUS

Northwest Fly Fishing

FISHING can fish slower pools that can reach 30 feet in depth. There are many rock gardens where fish will hide, rest and hold, especially when the water temps cool. You can be sure that it’s easy to find wintering fish in these slow, boulder-strewn, deep-water runs and pools in January. Above Orofino, no motors are allowed, which gives way to drift boats and shore anglers. This diversity really caters to many different anglers wanting to employ various methods of fishing.”

A TRIP THIS January to the LC Valley

Dressing warm for wintertime steelheading is always critically important, even during mild falls and early winters like the one we have enjoyed so far. Even if temps plummet in January, as long as the Clearwater is not iced up, it will fish very well in the first month of the year. (REELTIMEFISHING.COM)

STEELIE-FOCUSED SHOW

I

admit I am not always a huge fan of outdoor shows, having spent an inordinate amount of time both working and attending them. But that’s not always the case. I am sincerely bummed not to be able to attend the Steelhead Expo (steelheadexpo.com) this January 10-12 at Lewiston’s Hells Canyon Grand Hotel. I’ll be in Florida, but I would much rather be in the cold clutches of some Pacific Northwest wintertime steelheading, followed by cocktails and steelheading speakers and seminars at the expo.

Like a lot of us, I love steelheading and everything that goes with it, and I jump at any excuse to visit the LC Valley and the riches of outdoor opportunities in town and in the surrounding

116 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

mountains and canyons. This January, the principal outdoor activity will be fishing for good numbers of largerthan-average steelhead. The Steelhead Expo thought of this and bundled a derby with the event and scheduled all of the premiere seminars in the late afternoon and evening to allow anglers to fish in the morning and soak in steelhead culture during the second half of the day.

Sponsored and promoted by Reel Time Fishing, Northwest Fishing TV Show, Pautzke’s and the Hells Canyon Grand Hotel, among many other sponsors and vendors, the expo is being billed as “the ultimate steelhead sportfishing event. (Three) days of seminars, speakers, demonstrations,

to steelhead with Wendt or one of the other excellent guides here is a can’t-miss. I love the valley in winter, and if I’m not camping – which I do less and less in winter as I age – I only stay at the Hells Canyon Grand Hotel. It is ideally located and has a big, safe, well-lit parking lot for my boats. Visit the LC Valley’s excellent restaurants, try a couple of its other nearby steelhead streams, and have a drink and a meal in Clarkston at Skate Pierce’s quirky dine-in bars, The Drinky Box and Hogan’s. There’s a ton to do here when fishing for the Northwest’s healthiest run of extralarge steelhead in the Clearwater. NS

youth activities, and vendors focused on all things fishing in the steelhead capital of the world: Lewiston, Idaho.”

(Sorry, Forks, Tillamook, Happy Camp.)

This year’s seminars will be hosted

by Bill Herzog, Brian Blimka, Duane Inglin, Joey Walton, Tracy Allen and Toby Wyatt, who will present the derby awards at 7 p.m. on Sunday night.

More seminars will be announced, and a wide array of sponsors and vendors will be in attendance with steelhead gear galore and free schwag.

I’d pay money not to attend most sportsmen’s shows, but I briefly tried to get out of my Florida trip to attend this one. If you can attend the Steelhead Expo without potentially being murdered by your spouse, I highly recommend a weekend of fishing and fun in the LC Valley. –JH

UNION GAP

Demo Rides Always Available!

2024 Duckworth Pac Pro 24’

This boat was ordered with a long list of options. Please contact us and we will email you a detailed build and pricing sheet on this boat. (Because this is a 2024 model, we are not allowed to advertise our price per Manufacturer guidelines).

2024 North River 228 Pursuit

New model for 2024. Mercury 300 XL Pro XS Motor, Hydraulic Steering System, Boarding Ladder, welded 2 step with welded grab handle vertical (starboard), Deluxe Top Gun canvas folding top with side and back drop curtains, storage boot and bag, wash down with spigot, hose, thru-hull pick up and valve, Plus lots more.

Call, text or email for current pricing and availability.

2024 Lund 2075 Pro-V Bass

One of the newest rivals to fiberglass bass boats is the new aluminum 2075 Pro V Bass XS tournament fishing boat from Lund. This aluminum bass boat comes in a four-seat layout version something only fiberglass bass boats can dream about. This versatile plus aluminum bass boat is designed to handle both shallow and rough water conditions. Two massive casting decks and industry leading rod storage means the Lund 2075 Pro-V Bass XS is built to perform.

2024 Duckworth 18 Advantage

25” Single engine offshore bracket with integral bottom sheet. Floor storage compartment. Passenger console w/ grab handle And more!

Call, text or email for current pricing and availability.

2024 Thunder Jet 22’ Chinook

Mercury 175HP motor, Kicker Control At Helm, Quick Connect Kicker Fuel Supply, Hydraulic Steering W/ Tilt Helm, Starboard Transom Door, Requires Hydraulic Steering, Bow Access Plate, Forward In-floor Rod Storage, Full Hardtop, LED Interior Lights & Drop Curtain, Basic Anglers Package.

2025 Lowe Roughneck 1860 Tiller

Built for the toughest jobs, the 18-foot Lowe® Roughneck 1860 Tiller fishing, hunting, and work boat was designed with lasting durability in mind. The roomy cockpit, combined with elevated fore and aft decks, makes it ideal for jobs as diverse as bass fishing, trolling, dock work, or duck hunting. The commercial-grade, all-welded hull with a transom and variable deadrise ensures top performance balanced by maximum stability.

ore fish with m h c cat

e ’ i s m C O usto c M m L u re s Our fisherman’s favorite 3 1/4” & 4” Salmon Spoons w/Hoochies are a must for Salmon Fishermen on the West Coast & Alaska

Look for our products in sporting goods stores or at

mcomiescustomlures.com

118 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

FISHING

Broodstock and wild steelhead numbers will build through January on Oregon Coast streams. Hunter Higginbotham caught this high-finner on the Wilson a couple winters ago. (JAROD HIGGINBOTHAM)

License Up, Head Out For Chrome Your monthly Oregon fishing outlook provided

by The Guide’s Forecast.

By Bob Rees

J

anuary fishing in the Pacific Northwest isn’t for the weakminded. Weather can go from frigid east winds to heavy snow, black ice and torrential downpours in just a matter of days. It takes a special breed of angler to tolerate these conditions and still call it fun. Nonetheless, there are some good opportunities this month in the great state of Oregon.

First of all, sportsmen, -women and children must make sure they have the proper licensing for the new year.

There’s a varied matrix of “paperwork” based on your age that you’ll need before pursuing any fish in Oregon. Be sure to check the Department of Fish and Wildlife website to ensure you’re properly licensed and tagged up.

Once that’s done, decide what species you wish to pursue.

WINTER STEELHEAD, ALTHOUGH in peak season, experiences a lull in January.

We’re between the early-season returns of most North and Central Coast steelhead and a few weeks away from robust numbers of laterreturning broodstock fish, along with a good return of wild fish. Anglers have a reason to be optimistic, however.

Early steelhead numbers have been encouraging. Good December returns

are often an indicator that late returns will be good too. Broodstock fisheries on the Wilson, Nestucca, Siletz and, to a lesser degree, the Alsea do provide great catch-and-keep opportunities.

Other favorites for wild fish include the Trask, Kilchis and Nehalem, where anglers can get away from larger crowds and catch some quality fish.

Each system has its own unique qualities when it comes to “prime time” for catching. The smaller ones fish best when watersheds are brimming with flow, while larger systems like the Nehalem fish better in low, clear conditions. Steelhead will follow river edges in higher flows, making plunking a good option since fish are migrating fast, while deeper runs and broken-surfaced waters hold biters better in low flows.

Generally, baits such as egg clusters and sand shrimp rule in higher flows, while bobbers and jigs, soft beads and hardware perform better in low.

JANUARY ALSO OFFERS one of the rare opportunities in the Northwest for catch-and-keep sturgeon fishing. The reservoirs above Bonneville Dam are open for retention, and opportunity can be explosive depending on the weather. Open seasons are based on strict quotas and those can be gobbled up in a matter of days if conditions are right. More detailed information can be found on ODFW’s website (myodfw.com/fishing).

Finally, this month can feature some great bottomfishing for those keeping an eye on the weather. When the region experiences a high pressure system with east winds in the forecast, the ocean swell gets beat down, enabling boaters a rare winter chance at ocean bounty.

Lingcod and sea bass highlight the list, and for much of the Oregon Coast (Cape Falcon to the California border) the commercial crab fleet will have gear deployed, making winter crabbing much more challenging for the sport fleet.

Note that bottomfish limits are a bit

BEST OF

NORTHWEST CHARTERS

A TUN • H FIS • ROCK N O E G R U T S • SALMON • STEELHEAD

UT LIB A H •

NOW BOOKING WINTER STEELHEAD ON THE UMPQUA & COQUILLE RIVERS JANUARY-MARCH 541-863-9034 | JSUTCHGUIDESERVICE@GMAIL.COM

early bird outfitter @northwest_earlybird

Steelhead +

Salmon Fishing

I’m your fishing guide, dylan houfek!

Trip This Fall! r ou Y 253-363-5666 Book earlybird -fishing.com earlybirdfishing01@gmail.com

120 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

call to book your fishing adventure today!

509-594-1754 D&H Sport Fishing on facebook

BEST OF

NORTHWEST CHARTERS

BOOKING NOW FOR 2025!

Bite Me Northwest Adventures LLC provides guided fishing trips for Salmon and Walleye on the Upper Columbia River. Specializing in Drano Lake Spring Chinook, Brewster Pool Sockeye, Hanford Reach Fall Chinook, and Late Fall to Early Spring Walleye fisheries around tri-cities, WA.

GIVE ME A CALL! 509-842-6469

www.BiteMeNorthwestAdventures.com BMNWAdventures@outlook.com

our Trip Online!

Y n a l P

HALIBUT • SALMON • ROCKFISH • LING COD ALBACORE TUNA • DUNGENESS CRAB

541-867-4470

YAQUINABAYCHARTERS.COM FISHING@YAQUINABAYCHARTERS.COM

explore the waters of washington eelhead, Walleye, and Sturgeon Salmon, St

fishing all of the sw washington coastal rivers guiding all techniques in gear fishing (bobbers • spinners • back troll, etc)

centerpin fishing fly fishing

360-751-8748

509-460-6698 CHROMERANGERSNW.FISHING

FISHING more restrictive to start 2025 due to new regulations adopted in December by the Fish and Wildlife Commission.

“While the year will start with a fourfish daily marine bag limit, the bag limit increases to five fish starting July 1 (with a one-fish sub-bag limit of canary rockfish all year),” an ODFW press release last month states. “This approach is expected to provide a stable fishery throughout the year, with a low risk that the bag limit will need to be further reduced in-season.

The increased bag limit during the popular summer months will provide the most opportunity as many visitors come to the Oregon Coast to vacation and fish during summer and ocean conditions are also much better.”

Regardless of whether you’re a saltwater or freshwater angler, be sure to check the 2025 regs carefully for your fishery before you go out. NS Winter winds out of the east can be brutally cold, but they also open up a chance to fish for lingcod on the lee side of Oregon’s Coast Range as they reduce swells on the ocean. (BOB REES)

Editor’s note: For more information, visit TheGuidesForecast.com.

Private Guided Fishing Tours in Newport and Oregon City

BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT NOW! 503-803-3077 • FISH-DR.COM Tuna Salmon Halibut Rockfish Sturgeon 122 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

reel in exclusive access at a special rate—ask about our season pass offer!

BEST OF

NORTHWEST CHARTERS

Columbia Spring Chinook

Coho Salmon

Dungeness Crab

Winter Steelhead Western WA Coast

Kalama & Columbia River

Now Booking: October / November

Now Booking: Nov 15 - Jan 31

Now Booking: Dec - mid March

Now Booking: March 25 - April 4

Chehalis River Basin

Location Varies

FIND US HERE:

2319 Westhaven Dr (Across from Float 6) • Westport, WA 98595

deepseasportfishing.net • info@deepseacharters.net 360-505-2101 • 360-505-2139 CURRENTLY BOOKING: Tequila Too, Comeback, Ultimate, Sudsy, Aurora and El Matador

COLUMN

“Shiny objects are cool, but not as cool as chasing shiny objects together in the beauty of nature.” So writes author Sara Potter about her family’s winter trip to fish camp, a time to leave phones and other electronic distractions behind, be with family and fish for steelhead. This one bit a spinner pitched into a pocket. (SARA POTTER) 124 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

COLUMN

Them And I T

ime is the most precious gift we can ever give. Though our children may not FOR THE realize it throughout LOVE OF TUG their childhood, the day

By Sara Potter will come when they do. Shiny objects are cool, but not as cool as chasing shiny objects together in the beauty of nature. Time is a gift, and what you make of it is entirely up to you.

I have always been hands-on in developing a close relationship between myself, my children and our big backyard. I just didn’t realize how fast it would all pass us by. As my babes continued to just grow and grow, I realized I better create these moments for myself because it won’t be like this for long. They’ve grown from wee babes to teenagers so quickly. Yet even as all the memories of yesterday are still so very clear in my mind, it’s never good to live in yesterday. It’s best to live in today.

FAMILY FISH CAMP has, without a doubt, been the very best to us. It has allowed me to live out my desires of being a mother in the heart of nature, truly connecting with my children and a winter’s river in this one-of-a-kind way. For the first 12 years of my children’s life, it was easy to not have electronically fried kids simply because they were free of electronics. Unplugged, we lived. I love that. I truly believe in the core of my soul they are better people because of it.

In the developmental stages of their life, they were stimulated by me, by each other, by family, by pretending together and gaining a true connection with the outdoors at an early age. I led the way, and they knew no different. Joy was present in their little lives, and they had no idea what electric stimuli they were missing out on.

They had each other, their cousins, their toys and nature. They had it good.

With growth and eventually independence, our children discover not only a sense of who they are but also what

they want to do with their time. Both of my children are extremely fit, so aside from sports, fishing came knocking on our door quite some time ago. Independence and strength came along with these activities. and as they got older and older, the day finally came when a phone was almost needed. I say “almost” simply because none of us truly need these things, but I did want to be able to reach them, being as they were away for such long days.

Teenagehood is quite the hood, and my children are very different from one another. My boy Nate, he prefers a day in nature to pretty much anything else. If anything, he gets upset that school, sports and work take away from the glory days on the river. My girl Ava, she loves Ulta (a beauty cosmetics store). She loves her girlfriends, and she pretty much will beg me to be with one of them at all waking hours nowadays.

The pair both spend quite a bit of time on their phones, and I feel a little disconnected from them. Having teens in a blended family can be hard at times. I feel guilty that my children are constantly on the go, not just with our busy little life, but with their dad’s busy life as well. They go, go, go, and I hope they know that I am proud of them. Two lives in one life isn’t easy, and I admire them for keeping their chins up. I try to make one-on-one time with them, knowing they deserve it. I try to offer them time to unplug and recharge, carefree of everything aside from the waters in front of them.

LAST WINTER, I had the notion that I wanted some true one-on-one time with them. I am a silly mom most of the time. I’m kind and I’m fun when life isn’t bogging me down. I’m cool with rocking out with my babes, singing at the tops of our lungs while we be on the road. From Waylon Jennings (Nate’s fave) to one of Ava’s favorite rappers, Glorilla, I’m down to have some fun. Let them be kids and let me act like one as well. Again, it won’t nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

125

COLUMN

Potter’s kids, Ava and Nate, inspect the river they’ve come to know over the years. (SARA POTTER) be like this for long Those little things matter, so I try to provide a place where we can do such things. The best way I know how to provide a road-trippin’, steelhead-hunting, natureloving connection with my children is to take them to camp. Isolated in all the right ways, family fish camp has always been my favorite adventure in life. I learned to not only embrace a winter’s campout, but love it. Camp allows true time to be put in on the river with children. And steelhead require time almost as much as our children do.

The grand thing about having teenagers who indeed are right at home for winter steelhead camp is just that.

They are seasoned and know what this shady winter oasis is. With the right gear and mindset, they are ready.

Amazingly enough, they are even helpful! I used to put in a ton of work to see fish camp through, year after year. A ton!

But between the three of us, we had camp and our little country cabin set up and cozy with no dysfunction. We set up the rods and rigged them with the goods. Built a fire and headed down to the river. Just 126 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

to be able to accomplish that and still have time to fish makes me love this chapter.

Brother and I had the river to ourselves, while Ava was going to hold down the fort. The river was low and clear, which honestly doesn’t bother me one bit. We have learned to fish this low water – the privacy is superb, the fish are there, the tactics are just different.

I have watched my best river friends Larry and Zach fish spinners in these conditions for years with utter success! I came prepared to actually fish spinners this time too. I knew what to do; I just hadn’t ever made myself do it much. I paid attention to how they’d fished their lures and had the mindset that I didn’t care if I lost every spinner in my pack, I was going to fish them. Thirty-three-year-old me would have been thinkin’, “Why you frothing up the water?” But we indeed were there to froth. We went to pitching spinners into pockets, and I got to know the feel of the lure’s little thump and was feeling pretty good about it. I pitched upriver, and just as I was thumping along in between the rocks, there it was – a brick wall followed by immense headshakes and thrashing.

As that monstrous buck surfaced, I called Brother to me. In all honesty, I didn’t catch a single fish from the bank the winter before, and I’ll admit that adrenaline got the best of us this time and we ended up losing that big fish at the bank! Oh man, that’s never easy, but my boy and I were high on the only drug I will ever share with my kids – the tug drug!

AS NATE AND I were freaking out, reliving what had just transpired, there he was, Mr. Larry Joyce. It amazes me how we are connected simply by the river. Larry and I can make plans to not make plans and still know we will always come walking up to one another on the bank and back into each other’s lives year after year. I have written about him before and will undoubtedly write about him again. His ability and kindness exceed your average fisherman, and I’m super grateful that neither time nor distance between us has ever changed our friendship.

Stepping down beside us, Larry began pitching spinners in the pocket below, and as sure as the sun sets in the west, he had a radical hen on in less than a minute.

COLUMN Jumping so high I thought she might get caught in the trees, that steelhead lit up our lives even more to see such sights!

Nate became sure with the net this time, and he made Larry proud as he scooped her up like he meant it.

Darkness comes early in the heart of winter, and the cold never really shakes, so Sister’s raging campfire was a welcoming sight as we made it back to the cabin. It was just perfect to catch up with our good buddy Larry around the fire while telling fish tales both old and new as the roar of the river filled the crisp night’s air. Letting Larry know how long we would be up at camp, I knew we would be seeing him again.

As I drifted off to sleep, cozy in the cabin with my babes, the sound of the river warmed my heart. Unplugged, in my favorite of places, with the two people in my life who love me with no conditions.

Just love.

as is having something warm to eat at night. You need an easy yet delicious answer to this question, so Sister and I mixed up our venison chili. I’d cooked the venison with cilantro and fresh peppers at home to allow for an almost effortless Crock-Pot meal at camp. Just combine the meat, canned beans, fresh jalapeño and poblano peppers, one diced onion, half a bunch of chopped cilantro, one can of tomato sauce, one can of tomato

paste, a cup of water, salt, white pepper and a bit of cumin, set the pot to low, and go. It’s the perfect way to be a fisherman and still provide a much-needed warm dinner. Plus, Ava loves cooking, and that allows her and I to have fun making a little country cabin meal.

IT WAS TIME to fish, and as the creator intended, we were in for a special evening on the river. We readied our gear and

IT’S A BEAUTIFUL thing to have your children be old enough that you can leave your daughter to sleep long past the birds, and that Brother and I can be up and on the river long before them. It was very cold that morning, as there wasn’t any precipitation in sight. We fished the first couple hours of daylight with no success. The lack of pressure on the water encouraged us to say screw it and go build a fire to percolate some coffee and warm ourselves up.

Having that option was ideal. If the river had been packed, we absolutely would have had to stand our ground, knowing that we surely wouldn’t be warm that day. Instead, we warmed up and filled our enamel cups full of the best coffee going just in time for Ava to wake up and slowly join the party. I ran down to the river and pitched another spinner while they stayed by the fire and, before I knew it, the flash-flash and thrash-thrash was upon me! Sadly, it was but only for a few glimmers of glory. Mom was now 0-2 on spinners.

As morning faded away, we freshened our rods and I made sure one was ready for Sister if she found a notion to toss a line in. Fishing is a priority at fish camp, 128 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

Fish camp is also a chance for the author and her brood to reunite with old friends such as Larry Joyce, here admiring a nice hatchery winter-run as Nate looks on. (SARA POTTER)

OREGON EUGENE Maxxum Marine (541) 686-3572 www.maxxummarine.com

WASHINGTON PORTLAND Sportcraft Marina (503) 656-6484 sportcraftmarina.com

EVERETT Performance Marine (425) 258-9292 perform-marine.com

MOUNT VERNON Master Marine Boat Center, Inc. (360) 336-2176 mastermarine.com

SHELTON Verle’s Sports Center (877) 426-0933 verles.com

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

129

COLUMN

Ava shows off her first independentcaught steelhead, one that took her well downstream and seemed to ignite a “delight of bites” for the few gathered on the banks of the river that afternoon. (SARA POTTER) decided to fish in the lower part. I wanted to drift tiny natural baits of eggs, so we started at my favorite low water hole. In no time at all, there was Larry, and within a few minutes, Zach had made it too – my babe’s favorite fishy friends; mine too.

Zach came into our lives at family fish camp quite some time ago. He was 130 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

in between the ages that my babes are now, so they have known Zach most all of their lives. He is silly with them, and I like that. Nate looks up to him a lot, which is great because not only is Zach fun, he is a gifted fisherman, no doubt. It’s amazing how the river made him part of our lives.

The five of us together again at camp, just

like it should be.

I was fishing the upper end with the boys scattered about down below me when Ava came to see how I was doing.

In true Sagittarian form, she said she wanted to fish my rod and that she was going to catch one. I love that she is lefthanded like me. She cast my IMX 1104-2C paired with a Curado 200HG like a boss! I know grown men who can’t do that, but she did! Her fishing was just as confident as her casts, and the next thing I knew, she set the hook and cried “Fish on!”

The tip of that rod was just as alive as it could be, and she was right! Fish on! That hen was hot and ripped Ava downriver, and to my amazement, in her cowgirl boots and flannel PJs, she flew down those rocks like she had done it a million times before. Winding down, keeping her tip up, Ava made her way to the fish while doing exactly what she needed to do. She landed herself a hottie, and a look of accomplishment was all over her beautiful face! She was feeling the joy of that tug, and lordy, so was I. As it turned out, Sister started a delight of bites, as everybody pretty much simultaneously hooked steelhead.

As I helped Ava tag and tend her fish, Larry had one on! I got down there to Larry, and Zach had on a beauty! Then Nate finished up with the fourth bite in a row, and Ava netted him up like a stud!

Larry with another. Fish! Fish! Fish! Zach and Larry with a double on spinners. Ava baited her own eggs, eager to get back in the water, while I played photographer.

Everyone had hatchery steelhead on the bank! I was absolutely loving it; the fish and that beautiful place are one thing, but to see the love of the tug in full swing with my river family was everything!

WE FINISHED UP that evening with hens for all, and in true fish camp fashion, my babes and I fileted our fish by headlamp at river’s edge. I always get the fire going good before we tend to the fish because since it’s already dark, we might as well come back to the warmth of the fire at camp. I encouraged Nate and Ava to help process the fish, and Ava was into it. She will make a mighty fileter, just like her momma, someday. Even though it is cold

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

131

COLUMN and mildly uncomfortable, there is just something about tending to those fish by headlamp on a winter river’s edge. It makes an outdoorsman out of you! I like it!

We gobbled up our chili and cornbread around the fire and talked of our big day.

Laughter, interruptions and fish tales were in full swing, and I could see Brother and Sister were truly happy to be there.

The worries of our lives were nowhere in sight. It was just us, way upriver in the shade of this rainy forest, living in the moment, free from the rings and dings of life. The only sounds were the roar of the river, the crackle of the fire, and all that is us. I made sure they could feel I was with them, present and proud, loving them.

Last year’s camp was special. It was

fishy, and it was needed. Seeing such growth within Nate and Ava is pretty wild, to say the least. Thinking back to when camp first began, it was simply because of them. To embrace the beginning in an entirely new way was the best thing I have done in some time. Fish camp has evolved over the years, but the core reason remains the same. They are the core reason for family fish camp. It’s so important to create this time with them now because the day will come in their young adult lives that they might not make it to camp. So all I can do is cling onto Now for all that it is worth, knowing it won’t be like this for long. My heart is on the river and I couldn’t change it, even if I tried. NS

With a warm campfire awaiting them back at the cabin, the kids clean the day’s catch along the river. “I could see Brother and Sister were truly happy to be there. The worries of our lives were nowhere in sight,” their mom writes. (SARA POTTER) 132 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

DESTINATION Grays HArbor, WA

Gateway to the pacific ocean & the Olympic Peninsula

WELCOME TO AMERICAN SUNSET RV & TENT RESORT Call us about our MONTHLY Winter Special at 360-268-0207 • 120 Full Hookup RV Sites • 60 Tent Sites • Cabin Rentals • Fish Cleaning Station

• Heated Pool • Large Clubhouse • Bathrooms w/showers • Laundry • Cable/Wifi

MENTION THIS AD TO RECEIVE

Make your reservations online.

Go to americansunsetrv.com

*UP TO 2 NIGHTS

americansunsetrvresort@gmail.com

20% OFF

• Playground • Located in the heart of Westport, a mile from the beach and marina • Open 365 days a year

Custom Boat Trailers

Reliable Quality Service & Craftsmanship For Over 50 Years!

• NMMA Certified • All Steel Weld Frame, Fenders & Bunks • 2 YEAR WARRANTY

343 Thain Rd., Lewiston, Idaho www.gateway-materials.com 208-743-0720

FISHING

Don’t Be A Wimp, Catch Rufus Blimps Upper Columbia reservoir’s winter triploid bite ‘can be nonstop at times.’

By Mark Yuasa

I

f you’re looking for wintertime fishing fun, leave the ice auger at home and head to the open waters of Rufus Woods Reservoir on the Upper Columbia River, where rainbow trout are known to grow to record-size dimensions.

This area of Northcentral Washington generates a decent winter opportunity for boat and shore anglers.

These aren’t your puny-sized rainbow trout and instead will average 1½ to 6 pounds, with many pushing the scale into the upper teens and on occasion into the 20-pound range.

“The Rufus Woods winter fishery is really special, and the action can be nonstop at times,” says Austin Moser, owner of Austin’s Northwest Adventures, who is going into his seventh year as a guide on Rufus Woods. “Last season was my best year for big fish, and we had several over 20 pounds. The biggest triploid we caught was 26½ pounds, 33½ inches long with a girth of 26 inches.”

These ain’t your typical stocker rainbows! Rufus Woods Reservoir triploids grow stout, as this quartet held by clients of guide Austin Moser show, and many push into the teens.

(AUSTINSNORTHWESTADVENTURES.COM)

ABOUT THE FISHERY The Colville Confederated Tribes play a major role in the production of rainbow trout for their hatchery stocking program. The trout are a major contributor to the Rufus Woods sport fishery – which encompasses a 51-mile stretch of water between the towns of Bridgeport and Coulee Dam

– in winter and early spring.

The hatchery-raised rainbow trout are known as triploids because they’re sterile, with three sets of chromosomes instead of the normal two of a diploid fish. In the right setting, triploids grow rapidly since they don’t reproduce and are solely focused on eating, thus the

main reason why they grow to such large proportions. The rich ecosystem of Rufus Woods produces triploids that are known to grow 3 to 8 pounds within an 8- to 10-month timeframe.

The body shape of a triploid is rather peculiar and resembles a football or the Goodyear Blimp, nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

135

FISHING Rufus rainbows will bite a variety of offerings cast from shore or pitched or trolled from a boat.

They can be caught all day, though mornings can be better. The daily limit is two, and if you are using bait and release your fish, it still counts toward your limit. (AUSTINSNORTHWESTADVENTURES.COM)

plus they’re stronger fighters when hooked. In 2024, more than 45,000 of the fish were released from March through May, and each averaged 1½ to 2 pounds. You can find stocking information on the CCT webpage cct-fnw.com/trout-hatchery-1.

In the 1990s, a large number of trout escaped commercial net pens on Rufus Woods, feeding a fishery.

The popularity eventually led to a joint effort in 2006 between CCT and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to purchase additional triploids to raise and release in the reservoir to increase sportfishing opportunities.

The tribe is contracted with Pacific Seafoods, a wholesale seafood distributor in the Northwest, to feed and rear the rainbow trout, which are then sold to restaurants. The reservoir’s three net pens produce a minimum of 50,000 pounds of trout annually, and since the fish don’t reproduce, any rare instances of an accidental release wouldn’t harm native fish stocks.

The reservoir takes until late November or December for water temperatures to drop below 60 degrees.

That triggers a metabolism switch, making the trout active and easier to catch. By spring, snowmelt from the Upper Columbia in Canada drops the temperature to below 40 degrees, and the fish become listless.

The reputation of Rufus Woods is well known, since the long-standing 136 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

Washington state sportfishing record for a “resident” rainbow trout, including triploids, was set in the area more than two decades ago. In fact, the state record has been broken four times at Rufus Woods, primarily in the winter months. The current state record is a 29.60-pounder caught here on November 11, 2002, by Norm Butler. That beat out the two previous records of 25.45 pounds and 25.75 pounds, both set in the late 1990s.

WHERE TO GO On the lower reservoir, two bank fishing locations are located just outside of Bridgeport around Willow Flats and Bridgeport State Park above Chief Joseph Dam. Both are easily accessible via Highway 97 north from Wenatchee through Brewster, and then taking the turnoff for Bridgeport. Both park locations have boat launches, parking and fishing access, plus there are fire pits, picnic tables, restrooms and mobility accessible sites.

Brandt’s Landing, located on national wildlife land, is a top bank fishing area and is 7.9 miles on Pearl Hill Road from the turnoff at the bridge below Chief Joseph Dam. Here you’ll find about eight bank fishing access areas, along with fire pit boxes (bring your own firewood), pads for RVs and restrooms.

You can find more bank fishing spots by taking Highway 2 to Banks

Lake and going north past Coulee Dam to the town of Nespelem on the CCT Reservation. Just beyond the Trading Post is a fairground where you take a left turn. The road winds down to the reservoir and follows it to the Timm Bros. Ranch site before heading north.

To bank fish off any part of the north shore of Rufus requires a tribal fishing permit. (The exception is the designated fishing area at the net pen campground near Coyote Creek, where a WDFW or tribal license is valid.) A tribal recreation pass is also required to access the campground and all other areas on the reservation. There are boat launches at the campground and Timm Bros. Ranch, which are the closest to the net pens. To buy an annual permit or use reservation facilities, visit colville. nagfa .net/online or colvilletribes.com.

A map of Rufus Woods can be found at cct-fnw.com/program-1.

At the top end of the reservoir is a boat ramp at Seatons Grove, located near Elmer City below Grand Coulee Dam, and it is about 8 miles from there to the upper net pen at Nespelem Bar. Anglers will space themselves between the shore and net pens. If the spots are filled, you can also anchor just below the net pen at depths of 50 to 60 feet.

Never secure a boat to the net pens and watch out for anchor cables where you can get fishing gear hung up. Fish are attracted to the readily available food source – hatchery pellets – leaking out of the net pens.

The “ORIGINAL WEST COAST ELECTRIC POT HAULER” 25 YEARS BUILDING/TESTING OUR OWN DESIGN OF HANDBUILT COMMERCIAL QUALITY 12V & 24V ELECTRIC PULLERS

ELECTRIC CRAB • SALMON • SHRIMP PULLERS • POTS • PARTS • ACCESSORIES

Call to claim your Northwest Sportsmen reader discount!

360-427-1122 • ezpullerinc.com

Create memories of a lifetime

in Southwest Alaska

907-246-8643

KINGSALMONLODGE.COM nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

137

FISHING Trolling across the edge of the net pen’s bottom corner is another way to catch fish. Start upstream, then work your way downstream. Be sure you’re outside of the buoy, which marks the snaggy anchor cables.

TALKIN’ TACTICS The lower net pen is about 33 miles above Chief Joseph Dam. The middle net pen is a couple miles below the mouth of Nespelem Creek and

You’ll want more flow when fishing for Rufus Woods walleye like this nice one Cory Hovanec picked up there during a past winter season. Jigs tipped with a worm are a good bet. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST) 138 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

Nespelem Bar, which is where a flat is located and is a spot where fly and bank anglers like to fish.

Most boat and bank anglers will use a medium- to light-action, 6- to 7-foot steelhead-type spinning or casting rod and a spinning reel loaded with 10- to 12-pound braided mainline.

PowerBait, Pautzke’s Fire Bait or similar dough bait are popular choices; use red, orange, pink, chartreuse or bright green. A colored marshmallow is also effective and a shrimp or nightcrawler combo is another of the preferred baits. Use a heavier slip sinker to stick it on the bottom depending on currents, along with a heavy monofilament leader.

To cover more water, cast a small, baited jig with a slip bobber. Tip the jig with a shrimp cured in red, orange or pink Pro-Cure Fire or add a kernel or two of Pautzke Fire Corn.

You can drift fish with the current or troll hoochies or FlatFish and a small crankbait in green or chartreuse.

Be sure to scent up your presentation.

From a boat, toss a black Rooster Tail with a shiny silver blade toward the shore while slowly reeling it in. Trollers like to use a variety of lures and plugs, such as a Rapala, Yakima Bait Mag Lip, Flicker Shad, Wiggle Wart, FlatFish or Kwikfish in bright orange or fire tiger. Flat-lining a plug catches a decent share, and some opt for Mack’s Lure Double Whammy or Wedding Ring spinner laced with a nightcrawler. Others use a Ross Swimmer Tail, similar to a Hot Spot Apex Lure.

Trolling a large Woolly Bugger fly behind a WiggleFin Action Disc on the surface at 1 to 2 mph and run about 100 yards behind the boat just off

the shoreline is another fun way to hook them.

Fishing action isn’t determined by time of day, although morning hours tend to be best.

DON’T OVERLOOK WALLEYE Rufus Woods is also a well-known hotbed for walleye in the winter and you can use the same gear as you would for trout. If you want to target walleye only, then switch to bottom bouncers and spinners and troll downstream and upstream just below the net pens. There are snaggy spots, so plan on losing some gear, but keep in mind the reward is catching a nice mix of walleye and triploids.

“When fishing for walleye, I like more flow and for trout I prefer less flow,” says Moser, the guide. “Try deeper-water areas during the colder times of the year when the trout will hunker down in the warmer water near the bottom.”

The bite is sometimes a function of flow, which is controlled by the dams, and when the flow is really low and slow, the fishing tends to take a nosedive. This makes it difficult since you can’t plan in advance whether the dams will be releasing water or holding back to generate power during the winter.

Jigs are another choice to catch walleye. Try a 3/8-ounce leadhead with a number 3 curl tail and tip it off with a small piece of worm. Coldwater walleye aren’t very active, so watch your fish-finder to stay on top of them.

Look for walleye in the protected seams just off the fast current or calmer water areas where they hunker down and wait for a meal to pass by. If you launch at Seatons Grove, stop at the little backwater behind the big island and the leeward side of Split Rock. NS Editor’s note: Mark Yuasa is a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife communications manager and longtime local fishing and outdoor writer.

KICK ASS BOAT DEALS! All boats powered by Honda Motors

2024 FishRite 23’ Outfitter

$99,995 Blow out sale on the last 2023 fish boat in stock.

This boat needs a home. Priced with a Honda 150hp EFI outboard and a Karavan galvanized trailer with led lights and disc surge brakes. This boat has a deck washdown system, hydraulic steering, welded bow rails, full canvas enclosure with drop curtain, bow anchor box, metallic paint upgrade, 36’ bench seats and dual wipers.

Priced to sell!

2024 Custom Weld Deep and Wide 22’ Bush

$62,500

If you are looking for the perfect Puget Sound and Ocean machine. You have found it. This boat has an overall length of over 25’. With an 8.5’ beam and huge deep sides, it can take what ever you are looking to do. Powered by the awesome Honda 250hp with fly by wire controls. You also have a rear steering station that can be set up for a kicker or for another set of controls for the big motor.

This also comes with the 48” bench seats, bulkhead door with lock, metallic red paint upgrade, stern rails with downrigger mounts, huge bow fish box, floor fish box, transom fish box, trim tabs, hydraulic steering and dual wipers. The boat is supported by a Karavan I-beam trailer with electric over hydraulic brakes. Get out on the water.

2023 FishRite 210 Performer

$53,995 Talk about a huge boat. This thing is massive for its size. Super deep and super wide. This boat has a 7’ bottom. Massively stable. Priced with a 150hp Honda, this boat can also handle up to 250hp V-6.

Karavan trailer gets you to the water with led lights and hydraulic surge disc brakes. It also has a nice boarding ladder on the offshore bracket, bow and stern rails, 3 battery trays in the bow for group 31 batteries, auto bilge pump, dual batteries with a switch for main motor, huge fish box in transom, washdown system, hydraulic steering system and dual wipers.

9316 Portland Ave. E Tacoma, WA, 98445

253-301-4013 tacomaboatsales.com

Always wear a personal flotation device while boating and read your owner’s manual.

2024 American Honda Motor Co., Inc. ®

y Yo u s l a

‘e m ,

We file t ‘e

Res er ve you

m

r ba it

Big G am

e Catch

BIG GAME FISHING 1080 IREDALE STREET, HAMMOND, OR 97122

(971) 286-8748

BUOY10SALMON.COM

BAIT AND TACKLE • FISH/CRAB PROCESSING • CHARTER REFERRALS

INLAND BOATS & MOTORS

111 N. Kittitas St. Ellensburg, WA 509-925-1758 • M-F 9-5pm

inlandboatsandmotors.com

140 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

SERVING YOU SINCE 1975

COLUMN chase whitefish, and once in a while hook and land a steelhead. The most used river fishing method was to drift or float fish with a small brown or black fly tipped with a maggot.

For fishing during cold temperatures, virtually every avid whitefish angler recommended placing your maggots under your lip to keep them from freezing. Just to be clear, I never fell for this one, nor do I recommend you try it.

Remembering those fun times, I decided to make more whitefish memories the last few years and went so far as to work with Justin Wolff last season to film an episode for his Angler West TV show – you can find it on YouTube.

According to fishing friend Tom Fritsch, who once tied and sold whitefish flies to local retailers, the popularity of this fishery has waned in recent years.

“It was way more popular in the past; it’s like hardly anyone does it anymore, and it’s a shame because they are fun to catch and great eating,” Fritsch shared.

ALTHOUGH I’VE TRIED other methods

While the whitefish limit in Washington is 15 fish per day and there is no bag restriction in Oregon, author Buzz Ramsey rarely keeps more than five or six – just enough for a family fish fry. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

River Whitefish An Overlooked Winter Option D

BUZZ RAMSEY

ecades ago, I remember catching a few whitefish incidentally while chasing steelhead on the Sandy, Hood, Deschutes,

Clackamas and Kalama Rivers, but it was my old Klickitat neighbor, the late Jim Bell, who showed me how to target them. Although Jim was an avid angler, unlike me, he wasn’t into eating fish very often, if at all.

It was during the winter months, when the river was in shape, that we’d

for whitefish, the two I’ve had the best success with is to drift fish or float fish for them. If you’ve chased steelhead, you are probably familiar with both techniques, but in case not, here’s how: For drift fishing, you will need to cast your rigged outfit (consisting of a weight, 24-inch leader and small fly) out, across and at an upstream angle while using enough weight so your outfit will sink to the bottom and drift along slightly slower than the surface current. Your drift is complete after your outfit drifts through the run and swings in towards shore, which is when you’ll need to reel in and cast again. Drift fishing is a series of casts, drifts and retrieves.

Unlike steelhead, where the bite can be subtle, you will likely feel the whitefish peck at or take your fly/bait combo, in which case you will need to set the hook by yanking back on your rod tip. Using the right amount of weight is important, as you want to use enough so your outfit will be near bottom, occasionally tapping bottom as it drifts along in the current, but not so much that you’re nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

141

COLUMN Ramsey doesn’t have as much whitefish tackle as he does for salmon, steelhead and trout, but his selection for the species does include drift and float rods and a collection of size 14 brown and black flies, some with hackle, some without.

He adds a pinch of PowerBait Maggot to the hook. More traditional flyrodders use beadhead Princes and other nymphs, with or without a dropper, for whitefish. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

hanging up all the time.

Float fishing is the same, but instead of tapping bottom as your outfit drifts in the current, you’ll need to adjust the position of the float such that your fly is near bottom, usually within a foot of bottom.

For this reason, you’ll need an adjustable float; that is, one that can be pulled up and down your main line via a friction fit.

Depending on float size, one or two split shot placed 18 inches above your fly is likely all you’ll need.

What’s surprising is how few bites you get when using just a fly as compared to the fly/maggot combo. There is just something about adding a maggot to your offering that really ups the number of fish you will catch. However, I’ve discovered that a small pinch from a PowerBait maggot works just as well.

For example, last season, Fritsch had maggots and I figured he’d outfish me since I only had the PowerBait imitation, but it turned out that we caught the same amount of fish that day.

When it comes to rod and reel 142 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

outfits, almost anything will work. Many anglers just use the same outfits as they would for steelhead. Still others, like us, employ long trout rods spooled up with

6- to 10-pound-test monofilament in combination with a lighter leader.

A NATIVE SPECIES, mountain whitefish occupy many of the rivers and lakes of the Northwest, especially those draining into the Columbia and Puget Sound.

Years ago, there were introductions of lake whitefish made into some Eastern Washington lakes using stock from the Great Lakes. Two of the more productive waters for that species are Potholes Reservoir and Banks Lake – particularly the north end of the latter in winter.

Many Washington rivers are closed to fishing during the winter months, while others are open all year long, and on some of the more productive streams you are allowed to harvest whitefish during a special December-through-February season when those select streams are closed to everything else. There is a hook restriction in place during these special whitefish-only seasons, where the point-to-shank measurement cannot exceed 3/16 inch.

While I’ve only targeted them on the Klickitat River of late, it’s my understanding that while nearly every Northwest river has at least some whitefish, the mainstem Mid- and Upper Columbia and Eastside

When Ramsey and his wife Maggie’s boys Wade and Blake were young, they would grab their trout rods and head down to the river to catch a few whitefish. It didn’t take long to find success. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

BOBBER WITH A BRAIN JR. Stabi Dave’s Bait and Tackle 3807 Ash St, Southbeach, OR 97366 541-961-3770

Helping Fish Make Bad Decisions Newport, Oregon

★ New patented EASY to use Bobber With A Brain Jr., ONLY automatic slip bobber in the world that requires no line stopper! You can fish 1 & 2 feet off the bottom automatically any depth, even 50 feet deep and it will not drift in 30 mph wind or jet ski waves! ★ Works in combination with any slip sinker and allows you to fish on and off the bottom at the same time on the same crappie or perch type rig!

• Complete selection of fishing and crabbing gear and the finest line-up of bait in Newport!

• Ice machine operated by Visa or cash - bags fill in 15 seconds • Vacuum packing & freezing of your catch available • Easy access boat parking • In-house reel repair • One-stop shop for any angler • Rentals: crab trabs and jetty rod setups

★ Sold in three packs on e-bay and website: BobberWithABrain.net or SmartestTackle.com ★ Questions answered by Frank, inventor at Stackle23@msn.com

10% OFF use code: NWSM

FREE SHIPPING* on US purchases of $250 *conditions apply

604-273-5901

service@berrysbait.com nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

143

COLUMN rivers like the Deschutes, Klickitat, Naches, Methow, Okanogan and upper Yakima are the most productive. Crooked River whitefish numbers, however, remain low. Make sure and check the regs before planning a trip.

One thing I’ve noticed when chasing whitefish is that they don’t seem to bite very well or at all when bright sunlight is hitting the water. I’ve had the very best success early or late in the day, when it’s overcast or when fishing shaded areas. NS

The coldwater species is widespread throughout the Columbia system – this one was caught on the Klickitat – and Puget Sound. Both Oregon’s and Washington’s state record whitefish are over 5 pounds, including a 5-pound, 12-ounce fish caught on the Deschutes near Warm Springs in December 2021. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

Editor’s note: Buzz is regarded as a sportfishing authority (as related to trout, steelhead and salmon), outdoor writer and proficient lure and fishing rod designer.

Buzz built a successful 45-year career promoting gear related to Northwest and Great Lake fisheries during his tenure with Luhr Jensen, Pure Fishing and Yakima Bait. Now retired, he writes for Northwest Sportsman and The Guide’s Forecast.

THINK FISH ’N CHIPS FOR WHITEFISH

W

If you’ve heard whitefish are too bony or not good to eat, you’ve heard wrong. Ramsey likes to filet and deep fry them in oil or fry them in butter. (BUZZ RAMSEY) 144 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

hitefish get a bad rap in terms of food value, as you often hear they are not all that good eating and are bony. But I can tell you with confidence this is not true.

Their skeletal structure is exactly the same as a rainbow – whitefish are in the same family as salmon, steelhead and trout – and they are delicious if prepared properly.

What we often do is filet the sides off, without gutting the fish, then split each side filet lengthwise on the bigger ones and deep fry them after dipping in a thin batter.

Another favorite recipe is to filet the skin away after fileting and dip each filet in egg and then bread crumbs before pan frying in butter.

Adding a little lemon and/or tartar sauce can add to the flavor of these scrumptious fish. –BR

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025 Northwest Sportsman

145

146 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

FISHING

Have You Ever Swam For Your Boat?

The adventures of and lessons learned by a new Oregon drift boat owner.

By Sharon Trammell

A

s you read this story title, I hope you start thinking back to when you started learning about something. Everyone was a beginner at one point. Most of us just don’t have enough confidence to admit to the misadventures that are all part of the learning curve. I’m here to share my story and to remind everyone that there is no shame in being a beginner, whether you are first learning to fish or first learning to row, or anything in between.

THE STORY STARTS last September, the week that my adoptive dad (that amazing human who became like a father to me after I finally put up boundaries with my blood family) and I decided to get a drift boat. We proudly towed our new ClackaCraft to the tidewater launch and then took over an hour to back the trailer down the ramp, load the boat with all the snacks needed to entertain a 6- and 9-year-old and then find a spot to park in the busy parking lot.

We took the boat out that day and quickly learned a lot. We realized we needed a motor; we learned that when the tide is going out, oaring is no match for the current; and we learned that kids only last about four hours before they get bored being anchored up to fish.

Armed with this new knowledge, we took the boat out three or four more times before venturing to an upriver float. After successfully navigating this float a couple of times, we decided to attempt a longer drift to target the

Lowering a drift boat down a slide to an Oregon river led to an unexpected fall swim for salmon angler and new watercraft owner Sharon Trammell. (SHARON TRAMMELL) nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 147

FISHING salmon in this area of the river.

One sunny and cold morning in early November, we determined we would try a new launch. Pulling up to the boat slide, my dad asked, “Do you think we will lose control of the boat sliding down, since we don’t have a rope long enough to attach to the pulley?”

Me, being my normal optimistic

self, replied, “Well, I have done it with my friend’s wooden boat multiple times; it never picked up enough speed to slide on its own. We had to push it and even pull it down the slide. We should be fine!”

Famous last words.

The boat inched onto the slide as three of us coaxed it along, holding tightly to the guide ropes we had tied

In a world so seemingly filled with negativity, the help that Trammell – here with an Oregon Coast fall Chinook – received on the river and the reaction to her story online buoyed her faith in the good that pervades the Northwest fishing community. (SHARON TRAMMELL) 148 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com

to both sides at the front. But then all at once, the boat’s bottom hit the sloped part of the slide, the ropes pulled free of our hands and with a mighty crash, the boat landed a second later 100 feet below us in the river. Instantly, it began to float freely with the current.

My dad stood in shocked silence, unsure what to do. However, I knew what needed to be done. I raced to the bottom step of the slide, pulling off layer after layer of warm clothing, dropping a hoodie, leggings, wool socks, a T-shirt, my phone and keys onto the bottom step, before diving in. The cold shocked me, but I took a breath and began forcing my arms to move, one after the other, to aid me as the current carried me along towards the escaping boat.

I had gone 100 yards, then 200 and was beginning to pant. The cold water had irritated my lungs and I was gasping for air, my asthma triggered.

Still, I knew I would be OK. I could see the boat and I was slowly gaining on it. If I could force myself to go a little faster, in spite of my difficulty breathing, I would catch up.

After another two minutes, I saw, to my relief, that the boat had floated calmly to the edge of the river and almost stopped moving. I could make it! Within another minute, I had reached the boat and clumsily pulled my soaked body up over the edge and onto the captain’s seat.

SITTING FOR A moment to catch my breath, I began to brainstorm. I knew I couldn’t oar back upriver against the current, and since we hadn’t put the motor on yet, that wouldn’t help either. When another boat floated by five minutes later, I asked if they would tow me back up to the slide so I could regroup with my dad. Twenty minutes later, we began our float.

Thanks to my quick thinking, I still had dry clothing, minus my bra and underwear that had been soaked.

The float that day wasn’t as pleasant as I had hoped. I was coughing and shivering by the time we neared the

THEY WRITE COUNTRY SONGS ABOUT MORNINGS LIKE THIS.

BUT AT 70 MPH YOU CAN’T HEAR THEM.

It’s a glorious sunrise, viewed in fast forward thanks to the power of your 250 ProXS. Because you need to get there while the fish are still eating breakfast.

Learn more at mercurymarine.com or visit your local dealer, today.

CONNECTICUT Connor’s and O’Brien Marina Pawcatuck, CT connorsandobrien.com Defender Industries Inc. Waterford, CT defender.com O’Hara’s Landing Salisbury, CT oharaslanding.com

Captain Bub’s Marine Inc. Lakeville, MA captainbubsmarine.com

Obsession Boats East Falmouth, MA capecodboatcenter.com

Doug Russell Marine Worcester, MA WorcesterBoating.com

Portside Marine Danvers, MA portsidemarine.us

Master Marine Boat Center, Inc.

503 Jacks Lane Riverfront Marine Sports Inc. Essex Marina LLC. Salisbury, MA Essex, MA Mt Vernon, WA 98273 riverfrontmarine.com essexmarinallc.com (360) 336-2176 South Attleboro Marine McLellan Brothers Inc. www.mastermarine.com North Attleboro, MA Everett, MA

NEW HAMPSHIRE Dover Marine Dover, NH dovermarine.com Winnisquam Marine Belmont, NH winnisquammarine.com RHODE ISLAND

M A S S AC H U S E T T S

mclellanbrosinc.com

www.sammarine.com

Billington Cove Marina Inc. Wakefield, RI bcoveyc.com

Action Marine & Watersports Inc. Holyoke, MA actionmarineholyoke.com

Merrimac Marine Supply Methuen, MA merrimacmarine.com

Wareham Boat Yard W. Wareham, MA wareham-boatyard-marina.com

Jamestown Distributors Bristol, RI jamestowndistributors.com

Bill’s Outboard Motor Service Hingham, MA billsoutboard.com

Nauset Marine-Orleans Orleans, MA nausetmarine.com

nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2025

Northwest Sportsman 149

FISHING takeout ramp but still determined to end the day positively. That is, until I failed to act quickly enough and was swept right past the takeout launch, floating through a tree, and in the process losing an oar. My dad was hit on the shoulder, but OK. It was then that we realized a 2-horsepower motor won’t bring a wayward driftboat back up a river with current to the launch. Again, we had to rely on the mercy of a boater who happened to show up and offered to tow us the last 20 yards to the ramp.

Then, as my dad went to get the truck, another boater arrived, ready to take out. This guy, one of those who likely believed he was born an expert at fishing, and who believed himself to be better than the average river user, began yelling for us to hurry up. We were taking too much time loading our boat; he had a schedule to keep.

After we finally pulled the boat up the ramp, ready to go home, I fought

tears. This had been a hard day. I felt defeated completely. Still shaken, I cried the entire drive home.

HOWEVER, WHAT HAPPENED the next day inspired me to work up the courage to not sell the boat and give up fishing. I mentioned to a guide friend, Logan Ellis of Chicken Little’s Guide Service, that we had lost an oar.

About two days later, I was contacted by yet another guide, Grant Scheele of Grant’s NW Guide Service, who had connected with Logan, found the oar and kindly returned it to us.

It was then that I decided to open up about this embarrassing experience by sharing the story on a local rivers group on Facebook. To my surprise, no one was rude or made judgmental comments. I had over 90 comments from total strangers who all had a similar story, words of encouragement and words of wisdom to me regarding how to improve my

skills. This story, overall, reminded me of the goodness of the Pacific Northwest fishing community.

While there are some individuals who have only nasty energy to spread on the river, the majority of those who we share this fishing lifestyle with are kind, good-hearted people who want to pass on the help they themselves received early on to new anglers.

There are many who will step up and go the extra mile to help out a fellow boater in distress. I hope to one day be able to pass this kindness on to others who are learning.

I will end with some valuable wisdom I was reminded of by many after that day: The only way to learn is to fail and get practice. After all, everyone was once a beginner. NS Editor’s note: Avid outdoorswoman Sharon Trammell is the author of the book Becoming Strength. She can be reached through her website, sharontrammell.com.

OREGON

EUGENE Maxxum Marine (541) 686-3572 1700 State Highway 99 N www.maxxummarine.com

150 Northwest Sportsman JANUARY 2025 | nwsportsmanmag.com