Northwest Sportsman Mag - October 2024

Volume 17 • Issue 1

PUBLISHER

James R. Baker

EDITOR

Andy “Diatribe” Walgamott

THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS

Dave Anderson, Jason Brooks, Matthew Dwonch, Jillian Garrett, Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Jeff Holmes, Randy King, Buzz Ramsey, Bob Rees, Dave Workman, Mike Wright, Mark Yuasa

GENERAL MANAGER

John Rusnak

SALES MANAGER

Paul Yarnold

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Janene Mukai, Tom St. Clair

DESIGNERS

Gabrielle Pangilinan, Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper

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, or to the mailing address below.

ON THE COVER

Jack Benson shows off the wide-racked Walla Walla County mule deer buck he harvested last October. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

DEPARTMENT

95 COUGAR HUNT ’N COOK

Certain commissioners may flip their lids, but Scott Haugen shares expert advice on how to hunt mountain lions prowling Westside foothills, and his wife and cookbook author Tiffany Haugen serves up not just one but two delicious cougar dinner recipes!

43 10 TOP TIPS FOR TAGGING OUT

With rifle buck seasons opening across the Northwest this month, Jeff Holmes offers up 10 keys for boosting your odds of success.

54 WASHINGTON BUCK PROSPECTS

What are Evergreen State district wildlife biologists saying about 2024’s blacktail, whitetail and mule deer prospects? As he does each fall, editor Andy Walgamott rounds up their predictions.

64 OREGON DEER FORECAST

October 5 is go time for deer hunters on either side of Oregon’s Cascades, and we take a close look at buck densities and fawn ratios, herd statuses, wildfires and more.

125 WORK OREGON COAST RIVERS FOR FALL SALMON

Ocean-fresh Chinook and coho are the draw to systems up and down the Oregon Coast this month, and Bob Rees of The Guide’s Forecast lines you out on the top rivers, as well as other good October fishing bets across the rest of the Beaver State.

135 BACK TO THE BEACH!

With Washington razor clam season scheduled to kick off shortly, Mark Yuasa details this past summer’s population assessments and clam densities for Long Beach, Mocrocks and other Pacific beaches.

145 SNAKE RIVER STEELHEAD SEASON LOOKING GOOD

After a decade of poor returns, Aand B-run steelhead counts are way up and what’s more, this season’s fish are big! Jeff Holmes dials in where and how to catch ’em on the mainstem Snake River from Ice Harbor Dam on up to Heller Bar!

157 HUNT TROUT ON FALL FLY WATERS

Set that deer rifle aside a sec –cooler water temperatures and autumn’s still-low flows make this prime time to hit streams. Fly guys Matthew Dwonch and Mike Wright team up to talk tactics and top Inland Northwest trout waters.

(SCOTT HAUGEN)

BUZZ RAMSEY Back-bouncing For Fall Chinook 117

The kings are coming, and Buzz knows the best way to hook them. He shares everything you need to know about back-bouncing bait through Chinookholding holes.

COLUMNS

59 NORTHWEST PURSUITS

Today’s Deer Camp Northwest deer camps come in a million different flavors, but Jason is finding it increasingly common to base some of his hunts out of motels. He shares why being comfortable at night can improve success afield the next day.

71 ON TARGET Taking An Unnotched Marlin On A Deer-woods Walk Rifling around the back of his roomsized gun vault, Dave W. spotted a Marlin XL-7 bolt-action that hasn’t accounted for a buck yet. He details why he’ll be packing the .30-06 this season, as well as the handloads he’s brewed up for it.

79 BECOMING A HUNTER Maximize Your Success By Staying Put It may not be as glamorous as spotting and stalking deer and elk, but there’s something to be said about finding a good spot and then planting yourself in it. Dave A. has advice for how to make this rifle and archery tactic tick.

87 CHEF IN THE WILD Serving Up Cervo Mamma mia! When Chef Randy starts wondering about food history, you never know where he’ll land – in this case, Italy. That’s the home of the polenta and Italian venison stew recipe he dishes up for deer season.

107 GUN DOG Chasing Gray Squirrels There’s adventure to be had hunting native Western gray squirrels with versatile gun dogs this time of year. Scott details the excitement.

(BUZZ RAMSEY)

26 THE BIG PIC Perception, Predator Hunting And Public Relations

Jillian Garrett makes the case for why it’s so critical to share a better story about why we hunt cougars, bears and other carnivores.

DEPARTMENTS

37 THE DISHONOR ROLL Meet the OSP Fish & Wildlife Division 2023 Prosecutor Of The Year; Case update: Pacific County snagger back on the water despite ban; Jackass Of The Month 39 OUTDOOR CALENDAR

(JILLIAN GARRETT)

THE EDITOR’S NOTE

The good news is that the cabin was saved by wildfire crews; the bad is that the rest of the basin burned up.

I mentioned this particular Eastern Oregon cabin in my August Editor’s Note as range and forest fires began ripping across inland portions of the Northwest this summer. It belongs to my wife’s uncle Alex, who rebuilt it using beams cut from his property’s ponderosas after a blaze 30 years ago torched the old place and the surrounding woods. It feels like he’s been inviting me out there for deer season forever, but it wasn’t until last October that I was able to finally take him up on the offer. Since I didn’t have a controlled tag for the unit, my job was to help spot deer for the hunters in the party, carry extra gutting and skinning knives (which came in quite handy, thank you very much) and rave about the cabin and countryside.

THIS YEAR, I drew the tag, but am not sure about buying it. Photos Alex took of the landscape over Labor Day show it was pretty blackened by the fire, one of five “mega” blazes in a season that burned a record 1.9 million acres of Oregon. Frankly, it didn’t look like there was any forage left for deer on the private land he has access to and federal land next door. One could argue that helping reduce the size of the herd so it’s more in line with carrying capacity ahead of this winter isn’t a bad idea. That’s the story behind my first deer, taken in a Chelan County burn scar after extra antlerless permits were issued there in the wake of a big fire. But at a mid-September family gathering with Alex and his son Aaron, their advice was to not buy the tag.

So I’ll likely defer to them, get a Western Oregon tag instead and hunt with one or both of my sons. Kiran and I poked around some regenerating hills not far away last fall, and his sharp eyes will be a real blessing to have along, while River’s muscles may also prove helpful.

BUT THERE’S ALSO a hole in my heart for deer camp that I need to fill. To illustrate some of this issue’s stories, I went through the hundreds upon hundreds of pics I’ve taken of our spot in Northcentral Washington’s Okanogan, and I was walloped by a mix of emotions. Sadness that I won’t be there with Dad and the fellas this year; warmth recalling our evening fires and dinners over the decades; sentimentality for certain trees, rocks, brushed-in roads and views I’ve shared quality time with in October; and deep longing to be tucked away on that productive slope where very few other deer hunters ever go.

Sorry to get all sappy on you, but I’m pretty sure that even without a tag in my back pocket, I’ll be meeting up with Alex and the guys early this month at the cabin. They may not hunt hard, but I wouldn’t miss deer camp for the world. See you out there. –Andy Walgamott

First light on opening day of 2023’s deer season warms the porch of an Eastern Oregon cabin built by the editor’s wife’s uncle. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

Perception, Predator Hunting And Public Relations

We need to share a better story about why we hunt cougars, bears and other carnivores ‘because the future of hunting – and wildlife conservation – depends on it.’

By Jillian Garrett

Public approval of hunting has declined in the past few years, with the national approval rate for hunting now resting at 76 percent, down by an alarming 5 percent from 2021.

Trophy hunting has the lowest approval rating, while hunting for the purposes of obtaining food has the highest levels of public support. The reasons for hunting, and therefore how hunting is portrayed to the outside world, clearly matter – it is the image presented of hunting that counts. That should be enough to illustrate that the future of hunting is in large part one of perspective, and not the perspective of the hunting community, but of the nonhunting public.

CURRENTLY, HUNTING HAS a PR problem … and hunters themselves are a large part to blame for it.

It’s not just the tasteless grip-and-grins, the focus on big antlers or even the antihunting untruths. It is how we as hunters speak of it, how we as hunters portray it.

When we treat the animals that we hunt with anything less than the respect and gratitude that they deserve, we help to further erode the very fabric of hunting. That also extends to our portrayal of predators.

Calling predators “stupid,” saying you “smoke a pack a day” when killing coyotes or gloating over the death of “fawn killers” reflects poorly on both the hunters and the hunting community. Simultaneously, approaching wildlife management with the mindset of making prey animals “good” and predators “bad” is simply a modern twist on an outdated predator bounty mentality, one that did not do us or our wildlife any good the first time around. While predators do need to be managed alongside other game species as part of a functional modern ecosystem, suggesting the killing of an animal simply because it eats meat is the absolute worst way to justify it. Even under the guise of socalled “conservation,” it is a broken moral argument to try and claim that predators such as bears are worthy of being killed for predating on deer when hunters turn

around and boast about doing the very same thing. Approaching the argument from that sort of misguided angle feeds into the exact portrayal of untruths that antihunting groups want. It mars the image of hunters and hunting, drastically reduces public support and makes it that much easier for poor management decisions to be implemented. In short, it turns hunters into their own worst enemies.

Once again, we come back to the fact that hunting has a PR problem.

THE IRONY IS that some of the worst offenders live in rural areas where the impacts of poor predator management are the highest. It’s a vicious feedback loop, and the problem is that this segment of the hunting populace is too busy screaming at the wrong people and failing to realize that they really need to be pointing that finger at themselves. Their own portrayal of predators and predator

Hunters should take a “hard stance and close ranks against the bad actors” who needlessly demean predators as mere “fawn killers” and other belittling terms that imply they’re not worthy of coexisting on the landscape with game species and other wildlife, argues author Jillian Garrett. (JILLIAN GARRETT)

hunting has helped lead to this outcome.

The unfortunate truth is that we are always judged by our worst actors, and – as is so often forgotten – we hunt only at the general public’s pleasure. Their approval, or disapproval, as is often the case, is capable of not only deciding the results of these increasingly frequent ballot box biology initiatives, but can influence outcomes as they relate to conservation and hunting legislation, wildlife commission appointees and even wildlife management itself. While many of the bad actors within the hunting community frequently blame politicians or political parties for the current problems at hand, they forget that a large part of the trouble began with their own negative

portrayal of hunting.

That negative portrayal only feeds into the overall bad image that the public is already inclined to see, being further exacerbated with media events like Cecil the Lion or Cody Roberts, which is when hunting approval really begins to tailspin. When that happens, it becomes increasingly difficult to find support for hunting opportunities and hunter input in wildlife management decisions.

TO TAKE ONE recent example, the lateFebruary incident in Wyoming with Roberts – who ran over a wolf with his snowmobile and then showed the still-alive animal off at a local bar – had repercussions that rippled across state lines. At a Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting this past April, the link was repeatedly made

Like it or not, the harvesting of animals – ungulates and carnivores alike – occurs “only at the general public’s pleasure,” and it can be retracted by voters or oversight commissions, as Northwest hunters know all too well.

(JILLIAN GARRETT)

“We not only need to tell the full story of hunting, but we need to tell a better version of it, and clearly one that is a lot more food-focused. At the end of the day, isn’t that what hunting is essentially all about?” writes Garrett, who made corned bear meat to go along with cabbage and potatoes out of this bruin (right) taken with 6.8 Western ammo. (JILLIAN

between all hunters and the episode.

“Now you may say that was just some ignorant psychopath in Wyoming who gets his kicks on cruelty and violence, but it is a moral sickness that has infected our populace and it knows no bounds,” said David Lynn of Washington Wildlife First, further elaborating that this moral sickness is “a culture of death which celebrates ignorance and tolerance, barbarism, and cruelty as its guideposts.” His was one of many comments from outraged attendees at that meeting. Susan Kane-Ronning of the Washington Sierra Club Wildlife Committee said, “You’ve seen the brutal pictures and treatment of the wolf in Daniel, Wyoming … Washington also has people who commit inhumane acts towards wolves and other predators.”

That wave of anti-hunter, pro-predator sentiment acted as a further catalyst for management decisions when it came to Washington’s own wolf and cougar populations, including helping to negatively impact the recommended downlisting of wolves. Even though the hunting community had banded together and disavowed the actions in Wyoming, the policy implications of that twisted anti-predator mentality were still felt a

little too close to home. Unfortunately, the current public perception of hunting looks a lot closer to Cody Roberts than it does to the pursuit of food, and with that type of perception, why wouldn’t the public need to protect wildlife from the villainous hunters?

THE REASON THE public views Roberts as a mascot for all hunters is because the hunting community hasn’t done enough to show them otherwise. In the eyes of the public, how is the image of Roberts with the wolf in the bar any different than the countless grip-and-grins being posted by hunters every autumn? Add to that the frequent commentary that accompanies those pictures such as “saved another fawn” and “the only good cougar is a dead cougar.”

When this is the side of hunting that gets shown, all the hunting community has managed to accomplish is to let the anti-hunters have the floor when it comes to telling the story of hunting. We have given those groups everything they need to make the case against us. Had the public associated hunting with food and other more positive imagery, it would be a lot harder to link it back to the Cody Robertses of the world. It would not be at all surprising

to see the national approval for hunting further decrease in 2025 as a result of that event in Wyoming.

When members of the hunting community show hatred or disrespect for the animals that they hunt, it makes it that much easier for a non-hunting public (already disturbingly disconnected from nature and their food chain) to become further alienated; it makes it that much easier for them to believe the worst untruths about hunting put out by the antihunting groups, with the end result being that ill-conceived wildlife management decisions, based more on emotions than science, become increasingly common. We have seen this trend play out repeatedly, and across multiple states.

Anti-hunting groups like to muddy the true story of hunting because it’s an easy way to make a sales pitch. As they have clearly shown time and again, the facts don’t necessarily matter but the public perception of hunting does. These groups use that to their advantage, twisting the image of hunting and turning it into one that is negatively focused on things such as “trophy hunting” or showing hunters as “bloodthirsty killers,” because that is easy to sell to an already disaffected public.

GARRETT)

THE BURDEN OF truth always falls on the hunting community, and when we fail to educate the public about what hunting truly entails, we fail ourselves and our future prospects. If we want our children and grandchildren to have the same opportunities at harvesting wild game, we need to make some hard changes in how we as a community talk about hunting.

There is a reason ballot box biology has become such an alarming trend, and it isn’t just the untruths told by anti-hunting groups. We have failed to put our best foot forward and as a result have not done ourselves or the animals we hunt any justice. We not only need to tell the full story of hunting, but we need to tell a better version of it, and clearly one that is a lot more food-focused. At the end of the day, isn’t that what hunting is essentially all about?

Unsurprisingly, it isn’t just overall approval of hunting that has been in decline, but predator hunting as well. National approval for hunting black bears has seen a general decrease since at least 2006, registering at 42 percent for the current year, down from 47 percent. Meanwhile, approval for cougar hunting was even lower, tied with grizzly bear and wolf hunting at a mere 38 percent, down from 42 percent.

One might draw the conclusion from this that the public does not appear to understand that cougar meat is edible, something that can be clearly supported by the current situations in both Washington and Colorado. But the reality is that few people outside of the hunting community – and many within –don’t realize that cougar meat is not just edible but preferred, as is black bear. When Washington faced the loss of its spring bear season, it clearly demonstrated that few members of the public had any notion that bear meat was edible, prized by hunters, or even knew it is required to be taken under the state’s wanton waste laws.

ALL THIS DEMONSTRATES the need for better educational outreach campaigns between hunters and the non-hunting public, not just around the edibility of predator meat, but around advocating the hunting-for-food message in general. Clearly, we need to do better if we are ever

Nobody’s telling hunters to start hugging wolves and mountain lions, but showing a more holistic and positive view of predator hunting to the general public will help ensure our heritage and conservation efforts that we can be immensely proud of continue far into the future for the benefit of all critters. (JILLIAN GARRETT)

going to continue our ability to hunt, let alone hunt predators.

According to a recent Pew research poll, 72 percent of Americans are very concerned about the price of food and therefore could potentially view alternative sources of procuring food – such as through hunting – more positively. The takeaway from this is that portraying hunting as a means of obtaining food makes it far more agreeable and approachable to the average non-hunter. In the recent report Americans’ Attitudes Toward Hunting and Sport Shooting, public approval was highest when hunting was used as a means to acquire food, ranking even higher than hunting for purposes of conservation.

Hunters should take a cue from all of this and start sharing an image of hunting that is more food-centric. Unlike antihunting groups, the hunting community does not have to compromise its morals

to tell a false story about hunting. We just have to tell a different story than the one we currently have been. It’s a true story about food, about respect for the animals that we harvest, and about gratitude for the ability to live off of the land.

As our social scientists are fond of pointing out, perception is everything when it comes to public approval of hunting. Our words and our actions have the ability to safeguard or destroy the very thing that we hold most dear. The future of hunting cannot sustain a continuous level of decline for much longer, and at the end of the day, the choice is ours whether we choose to protect our way of life or continue to help end it. The hunting community needs to paint a much more positive image of hunting – especially around predator hunting – and to take a hard stance and close ranks against the bad actors who stubbornly persist in harming it.

Hunters currently have an opportunity to turn the tide, to rebrand the image of hunting into one that the general public

has already demonstrated it can support. Instead of gloating over the death of another “fawn killer,” or posting a grip-and-grin of a dead and bloody bear, consider showing a different side of hunting to the world:

Share pictures of the meals that you made; talk about the huckleberries you enjoyed snacking on while scouting; demonstrate the gratitude that you have for that animal and your ability to harvest wild food from the land. Share those images of hunting as opposed to the ones that merely feed into the anti-hunting side’s already dismal portrayal of it.

Share a better side of that story, because the future of hunting – and wildlife conservation – depends on it. NS

Editor’s note: Author Jillian Garrett is a hunter, member of First Hunt Foundation, farmer and conservationist living in Northeast Washington. Along with previous articles in this magazine, her writing and photography have also appeared in Sports Afield, Bear Hunting Magazine and Blue Ridge Farmer Magazine.

Meet Oregon’s 2023 Prosecutor Of The Year

The deputy district attorney who put a Scappoose Bay sturgeon poacher behind bars was named the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division’s Prosecutor of the Year for 2023.

Mihnea Moga was recognized in August at the Oregon District Attorney Association Summer Conference in Seaside, and his work was praised by Lower Columbiabased OSP Sergeant Joe Warwick, who termed him “one of the best prosecuting attorneys I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my 15 years” with the division.

Added Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Debbie Colbert, “This award is not easily won, and we thank DDA Moga for his dedication to protecting Oregon’s fish and wildlife for future generations.”

While studying at Willamette University and its College of Law, Moga “learned everything he could about how to follow unconventional evidence to prosecute poaching cases,” according to an ODFW press release on his award.

“Seeing people who don’t follow the law infuriates me,” Moga said. “With all the people who go through the process and get the permits to do it, why should those that don’t follow those regulations not be punished for it? Ethical hunters are enraged when they find people who break laws.”

In the sturgeon case, which we reported on this page in the March issue and involved a 7-plus-foot female probably 80 years old, along with several other sturgeon, Moga secured a guilty plea out of primary poacher Julio Duran of Salem, who was sentenced to a 20-day prison

sentence. Duran and two codefendants also were fined a combined $6,750 and lost their fishing privileges for three years.

At the time, Moga was a Columbia County DDA. He now works for Multnomah County.

While state officials were praising him, Moga extended credit right back at troopers. “They are knowledgeable, helpful, and after working with them I have nothing but high praise for every trooper who investigates this kind of crime,” he said.

JACKASS OF THE MONTH

IBy Andy Walgamott

CASE UPDATE

Last December, we featured the sentence a prolific Pacific County salmon snagger received – 50 days in jail, $1,500 fine, five-year fishing ban.

So it was a little bit surprising to read in a Seattle Times article last month that that man, David Gretzner of Long Beach, was happily fishing for Chinook and coho off the mouth of the Columbia River this summer.

He was doing so, reporter Eric Lacitis learned, with an Oregon fishing license. But wait, how is that even possible if both states are part of the nearly nationwide Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, in which members recognize license suspensions or revocations across state lines?

Slow bureaucracy, apparently.

“It’s driving me nuts,” Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police Sergeant Todd Dielman, who caught Gretzner snagging on the Naselle in August 2023, told the reporter.

The article also states that Gretzner spent just one day in jail before the judge said he could do the next seven weeks in a rehab center. Gretzner said it was “the best thing that’s happened to me” and blamed booze for “a lot of bad decisions” he made while fishing.

magine posting, say, a stuffed mountain goat for sale on social media and having Washington game wardens knock on your door to explain to you it is a felony to sell it without a Department of Fish and Wildlife-issued sale permit, which it turns out you do not have, so they direct you to take down the ad. Would you do as directed or would you say, screw that, knock $500 off the price and try to sell it two days later to someone specifically inquiring if you had the required sales permit?

A Central Washington man went with option two, which led to his arrest by – you guessed it – an undercover officer.

Case details come from a big Seattle Times article on all the stuff state fish and wildlife police have to deal with. Initially hit with felony wildlife trafficking sans permit, the goat guy reached a plea deal to a lesser charge and was sentenced to 60 days home detention, a $3,000 fine and his Facebook Marketplace seller profile is legally required to feature a five-star Jackass of the Month rating.

Deputy District Attorney Mihnea Moga, the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division’s Prosecutor of the Year for 2023, poses with a framed wildlife print from the Oregon Hunters Association that comes with the honor. (MIHNEA MOGA)

CALENDAR OUTDOOR

OCTOBER

1 Coho opener on Oregon Coast’s Siltcoos, Tahkenitch and Tenmile Lakes; Scheduled Oregon razor clam opener on beaches north of Tillamook Head

3-6 Tacoma Fall RV & Van Show, Tacoma Dome – info: thesportshows.com

3-7

Tentative razor clam digs scheduled on select Washington Coast beaches, dependent on marine toxin levels – info: wdfw.wa.gov

5 Western Oregon any legal weapon and most Eastern Oregon controlled tag deer openers; Washington muzzleloader elk opener; Eastern Washington quail and partridge openers

10 Idaho deer and elk rifle openers in many units

12 Oregon pheasant and partridge openers; Eastern Oregon quail opener; Oregon Zone 2 early duck season opener; Oregon Zone 2 snipe opener; Oregon Southwest, High Desert and Blue Mountains, and Mid-Columbia Zones Canada goose openers; Washington general rifle deer season opener; Washington Goose Management Areas 1-5 early opener

12-20 Washington early duck season dates

12-27 Oregon Zone 1 early duck season dates

15 Last day of Oregon recreational ocean crab season (bays open year-round)

15-21 Tentative razor clam digs scheduled on select Washington Coast beaches, dependent on marine toxin levels – info above

17 ODFW Introduction to Hunting in Oregon Workshop ($, register), Tualatin Cabela’s – info: myodfw.com/workshops-and-events

18-19 ODFW Steelhead 101 and Broodstock Collection Workshop ($, register), Troy – info above

19 Last day of bottomfish retention off Washington Coast; Eastern Washington pheasant opener

19-27 Northwest Oregon Permit Goose Zone early season dates

23 Washington duck season resumes

26 Eastern Washington rifle elk opener

31 Last day to fish many Washington lowland lakes listed in regulations; Oregon Zone 1 duck season resumes

NOVEMBER

1 Mussel harvesting opens on Washington Coast beaches outside of Olympic National Park; Various Washington trapping seasons open

1-5 Tentative razor clam digs scheduled on select Washington Coast beaches, dependent on marine toxin levels – info above

2 Western Washington rifle elk opener; Washington Goose Management Areas 3 and 5 reopener; Oregon Zone 1 snipe and scaup openers

5 Oregon Southwest and Mid-Columbia Zones goose season resumes

8 Last day to hunt deer with Western Oregon any legal weapon tag

9 Oregon West Cascade and Rocky Mountain elk second season opener

9-10 Extended Western Oregon youth deer season dates

9-19 Northeast Washington late rifle whitetail season dates

13-19 Tentative razor clam digs scheduled on select Washington Coast beaches, dependent on marine toxin levels – info above

14 ODFW Introduction to Hunting in Oregon Workshop ($, register), Tualatin Cabela’s – info above

14-17 Western Washington late rifle blacktail season dates in select units

15 Last day to hunt black bears in Washington; Start of Oregon Zone 1 second mourning dove season

16 Southwest Oregon late bow deer opener in select units

16-19 Oregon Coast bull elk first season dates

29 Washington “Black Friday” trout stocking, select lake openers

29-30 Oregon Free Fishing Weekend

29-Dec. 5 Tentative razor clam digs scheduled on select Washington Coast beaches, dependent on marine toxin levels – info above continued on page 40

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it

12-18

28-31

DECEMBER

Tentative razor clam digs scheduled on select Washington Coast beaches, dependent on marine toxin levels – info above

Tentative razor clam digs scheduled on select Washington Coast beaches, dependent on marine toxin levels – info above

UPCOMING AND ONGOING DERBIES

 Now through Oct. 19: Westport Charterboat Association Lingcod Derby; charterwestport.com/fishing.html

 Now through Oct. 31: WDFW 2024 Trout Derby, select lakes across Washington; wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/contests/trout-derby

 Oct. 4-5: Alsea Bay Salmon Derby; facebook.com/AlseaSportsmansAssn

 Oct. 19: 2024 Big Fish Contest, Washington waters; psasnoking.org

 Oct. 25-26: King of the Reach Derby, Mid-Columbia’s Hanford Reach; ccawashington.org/kingofthereach

10 Top Tips For Tagging Out

Increase your odds of harvesting a deer by following this timetested advice.

By Jeff Holmes

Even with hunter numbers on a steady decline while the overall population surges, and with deer and elk numbers on the decline due to increased competition from four-legged predators and environmental factors, there are still plenty of critters on the landscape and plenty of public land for Northwest hunters to find potential success. As such, Washington and Oregon’s general deer and elk seasons remain wildly popular, and they open this month and next for rifle hunters. Archers and muzzleloaders and a handful of special tag holders bearing rifles have already been in the woods, but the month of October is largely for modern firearm opportunities.

But even with the advantage of centerfire rifles, October can be a tough month to hunt. All but a very few outlier deer exhibit any signs

No doubt luck plays a role in deer hunting, but those who are consistently successful find productive areas or tactics and stick with and refine them to tag out. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

HUNTING

of rut behavior prior to Halloween, and most bucks keep to themselves during October until the madness of breeding season makes them easier targets. Probably the biggest challenge for October deer hunters is the amount of competition and the fact that most hunters stick close to deer camps, roads, truck cabs and easily accessed areas full of people and largely devoid of buck deer.

Just as in fishing, where it is often said that 10 percent of the anglers catch 90 percent of the fish, a similar axiom holds true in hunting. If you’re like me and you hunt public land and have lots of life interests and have not been scouting intensively, running game cams, and living and breathing deer scouting this year, you are very likely not part of that 10 percent. If that’s true, and self awareness is a virtue, it does not mean that you can’t find success hunting deer this October. Nor does it mean that you can’t increase your odds of success in the future and have a great time even at this late hour by observing some basic general season advice.

1)

Make sure your rifle is dialed in and that you are ready to shoot it. I once had a hunting buddy who would take a 12-pack of domestic beer, a paper plate,

A sighting-in session in mid-September ensured the editor was dialed in for his fall deer hunting. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

a stapler and his muzzleloader out to a piece of public land near Cheney, Washington, a day or two before the opening of his favored season. Using iron sights and having good vision, he’d hit that plate somewhere, usually from about 75 yards away, and he’d then turn his attention to the remainder of the half-rack and God knows what else. I laughed and teased him at the time but have sadly since learned that many people do far less.

Even if it means sitting out the morning hunt on opening day, it is the ethical and practical thing to do to shoot at least several rounds through your deer rifle and make sure it is doing much better than hitting a paper plate at 75 yards. If it’s

Many hunters bemoan the pumpkin patch that public lands or open private timberlands can become in fall, but positioning yourself to benefit from all that pressure can pay off. (ERIC BRAATEN)

HUNTING

not, please consider doing two things:

A) Spend the time to sight in your gun even if it means missing all of day one, and B) Learn your lesson and never put yourself in this position again. Shoot your deer rifle well in advance of season every year. Wounding a deer is a sickening feeling for any moral hunter, and missing a big buck – or any buck – is similarly saddening.

2)

Get in the field, and stay there. Most of us face constraints in the form

of work, family obligations, the anger of spouses, and more, but the more days you can prioritize being in the field during your preferred season, the better your chances of harvesting a deer. Many only hunt opening weekend, or just opening day, but the at-times-wild crowds of opening weekend abate as seasons progress. This not only means more access and less competition during the week and the last weekend of a season, but it also means that deer often start to feel

more comfortable when there isn’t blaze orange everywhere they look and the smell of hunters isn’t fouling the entire landscape.

Many deer get shot after opening weekend, so the more time you put in afterwards, the better your chances of seeing and harvesting bucks. There are also the intangibles of fresh air and spending more time in the natural world when you prioritize as many days hunting general seasons as work and loved ones will allow.

3) Don’t underestimate the odds of hunters bumping deer your direction. I remember as a boy, a couple years before I’d take hunter ed as a fifthgrader, the story of my dad following a nice whitetail buck in Northeast Washington’s Pend Oreille County. He raised his rifle to his shoulder a couple times but could not get a shot as he quietly followed the rutty deer in the LeClerc Creek drainage. At some point in that stalk, the silence of the woods was interrupted by another hunter’s rifle. My dad walked in on a hunter as he was beginning to gut the buck he’d pushed right into the other dude.

Many years later, I reflect back on bucks I’ve had pushed into me, two of which I have shot, and bucks I have pushed into other hunters. When there are plenty of hunters on the landscape, it goes both ways: You push some into others’ sights, and you shoot or shoot at some that suddenly burst into your field of view, sometimes with tongues hanging out of their mouths. Posting up and taking a stand when there are lots of other hunters on the landscape is a great idea, especially if you know a piece of ground and can take an educated guess about deer escape routes.

4)

Go where there are deer but where other hunters are not. This may seem obvious to avoid others; it may also seem very difficult during crowded general seasons. It is, however, a refreshing fact that it’s not hard to escape other hunters because the majority of our brethren stay in

Get off the beaten path – find less-traveled routes and areas others won’t go. Most hunters will not venture more than a couple hundred yards from roads, but putting in the effort to get further from ready access can yield results. (ERIC BRAATEN)

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camp, hunt close to camp, hunt on or close to roads, ride around slowly in trucks pretending not to road hunt, or sit in areas with large fields of view that they don’t walk very far to access.

But if you climb or drop down a steep hill, most hunters will not put out that effort. If you walk 1, 2, 3 miles behind a gate on a closed road, walk a couple miles or more past a trailhead, cross a body of water to access public land, or walk to the back corner of a

chunk of public ground, most hunters will never go there. Deer in these areas will be less pressured, generally speaking, and may in fact be seeking these areas because hunters have pressured them elsewhere.

5)

Never ever underestimate the strength of a deer’s sniffer. Deer, elk and moose have exceptional senses of smell and rely on their noses to avoid fourand two-legged predators. A huge,

undetermined percentage of hunters do not even take this into consideration, which is one reason hunters push so many deer into each other or into hiding far from the masses. The smell of a human is a sure deterrent to deer, especially older bucks.

There is a vast amount written in the deer hunting literature about how to avoid being scented, as well as lots of products designed, allegedly, to make hunters virtually scentless. The K.I.S.S. principle is the only real consideration for all hunters: Hunt into the wind as much as possible, never with the wind at your back. Think hard about where the prevailing wind is carrying your scent. If it’s into bedding areas or heavy cover where you think deer will emerge from, they probably will not emerge if they’re drinking in your farts and shampoo.

There is a lot of debate about the effectiveness of no-scent sprays and clothing, but these products do not hurt. Even without buying products, abstaining from wearing strongsmelling toiletries and clothes washed in detergents is wise. However, if you hunt into the wind, slowly, with your eyes open, many times it matters not what you smell like if you don’t give deer the chance to sniff you at all.

6)

Hunt early and late, but don’t overlook the middle of the day. Whereas a large percentage of deer killed during November rut seasons fall to rifles, muzzleloaders and bows from late morning through early afternoon, it is true that October general season hunters are often most successful very early or late in the day. That does not mean, however, that general season hunters should give up during midday and sit in camp or otherwise leave the field this month. Deer will move at times during midday, especially when the weather is bad, and many deer get bumped from their beds by other hunters, only to run into the sights of still more hunters. Those other hunters could be you and your partners if you stay in the field all day.

Spend as much time as possible away from camp. Pack so that you can stay afield all day, hunting from first to last light and the times in morning and afternoon that deer naturally get up to move about. (ERIC BRAATEN)

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HUNTING

HABITS OF SUCCESSFUL HUNTERS STUDIED

After six years of intensive study of deer, elk and the hunters who pursue them, some interesting findings for hunters and land and wildlife managers have come out of the Starkey Experimental Forest near La Grande in Northeast Oregon. In a collaboration between biologists from the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, GPS collars were not just put on deer and elk in this study, but also on hunters. OK, humans wore no “actual” collars, but GPS trackers were worn, and the patterns of both hunters and their quarries were studied simultaneously to determine how the human-ungulate, predator-prey relationship affected behaviors of twoand four-legged mammals.

ODFW biologists and land managers wanted this info to understand how to minimize impacts on wildlife while maximizing experiences for hunters. Specifically, they wanted to understand how the presence of both rifle and archery hunters affected elk and deer movements and their efforts to avoid hunters. The study yielded lots of useful information that may affect how land and wildlife managers make decisions about performing thinning and other active management practices, opening and closing roads, allocating tags, and more.

NOT SURPRISINGLY, THE study showed that

7)

Use terrain to your advantage. Pacific Northwest general season deer hunters can be found chasing bucks in rainforests, alpine zones, heavy timber, open forests, swamps, desert, shrub steppe, farmland, and more. It’s tough to generalize too much on the subject of using terrain to your advantage, but a couple things hold true:

A) Deer bed during the day and do so where they feel likely to be left alone, whether that’s a high vantage point, deep brush or timber, heavily vegetated draws, or anywhere a buck feels safe to snooze and he

many hunters are casual in their time commitments to the field and also do not trek far from hunting camps, roads and easily accessible parts of the forest. Meanwhile, the hunters who scouted, stayed in the field longest and worked hardest to get to where the animals are experienced far higher harvest rates.

In general, the areas of the forest used by successful hunters of both deer and elk did not overlap much with the areas of the forest used by hunters who did not harvest animals. For example, elk hunters favored heavily vegetated areas further from roads while deer hunters favored more open areas closer to roads. Bull elk tended to avoid road systems and open feeding areas altogether – especially in the

won’t be rousted. It’s usually not a great idea to plunge noisily into bedding sanctuaries, but figuring out where they are and hunting in close proximity to them is wise.

B) A second strong generalization to make is that when pressured, such as during a regular season, bucks obviously won’t pose in the field or along access roads but will instead hide from people and look to have escape routes. Benches and saddles are excellent terrain features to ambush deer as they move from food to bedding areas or vice versa.

presence of rifle hunters – seeking solitude and heavy vegetation except under cover of darkness. Non-target cows and calves similarly sought sanctuaries from hunters and only accessed open feeding areas after sunset and before sunup. Mule deer in the study did not frequent different parts of the forest in the presence of hunting pressure, but they moved around much more often to avoid hunters.

Of particular interest to deer hunters, those in the study increased their overall success by 26 percent for every hour they spent away from deer camps. This compelling finding from the study perhaps underscores the value of hard work and dedication; stay in the field longer to improve your chances of success. –JH

Pay attention to the accumulated lessons deer give you over the years or even over the course of a hunt, and think about likely terrain features where you know deer travel, and hunt those areas with the wind in your face.

8)

Stay out of the cab of your truck. Whether it’s to avoid the weather, to quell a sense of boredom, to indulge a sense of wanderlust, to feed hunger that drives you into town, or to cave to the desire to illegally pursue deer from a truck cab, stay out of your truck during legal

A graphic from the Pacific Northwest Research Station shows how successful rifle deer and rifle elk hunters use of the Starkey Experimental Forest varied from that of unsuccessful hunters. (PNRS)

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shooting light! You will learn more, get more fresh air, see more deer you have a realistic chance of shooting, and more if you hunt smart and hard. Trucks are for getting to the field and for driving home with a buck in the bed.

9)

Use deer season to scout for next year. I’ve had years where I have hunted passionately and have had great times scouting and much improved harvesting success, but life happens for most of us, and it isn’t always possible to scout as much as we should every year. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continually set scouting goals and seek to achieve them. This year if you’re in the field and realize you just didn’t put in the time and effort needed to

approach being in that 10 percent of hunters, scout with a gun in your hand. Get to know the landscape/forest/ properties you hunt and how deer use them. You may bump into deer while doing this type of in-season scouting, or you may not and may just learn a lot of lessons you can pay forward to next year and the years to follow.

10)

There is a 100 percent harvest success rate for drinking in the beauty of the outdoors. If your sole criterion for success in the general season is killing a buck – even if you scout and hunt private ground and are likely to at least get a shot – you are setting yourself up for failure. There are innumerable pleasurable

opportunities to be had during a hunt, such as seeing and pursuing deer, seeing other cool wildlife, drinking in the sights and smells of fall, learning more about the natural world and how deer move in it and how you can best move in it to find deer, enjoying camaraderie with friends and family, recharging through time alone in the outdoors, laughing and eating good food and drinking highly favored beverages in deer camp, and a whole lot more. This season I can guarantee you at least some success if you recalibrate your expectations and focus on learning to be a better hunter, hunting smarter, soaking up all of the beauty around you, and maybe also shooting a buck. NS

Don’t forget to enjoy the season. Fall only comes around once a year and the beautiful colors, crisp temperatures and sights in the field are meant to be soaked up. It all provides the fuel for wanting to be outdoors, leading to success in more ways than one. (ERIC BRAATEN)

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WASHINGTON BUCK PROSPECTS

Head southwest, young man.

That might be the advice to Washington deer hunters about a region whose blacktail population is steadily rising and which saw units in the Castle Rock-Longview area produce a significant harvest bump last fall.

East of the Cascades, whitetail and mule deer populations are continuing a long,

slow recovery from big disease outbreaks and drought conditions that impacted harvest and fawn production earlier this decade. There are other good signs too.

Here are Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife district biologists’ preseason forecasts:

NORTHEAST With no big disease outbreaks

this year, harvest in this rumpled, forested corner of the state could see a “moderate increase,” biologists are predicting. That’s potential good news for important hunting units where the take has been depressed since 2021’s big epizootic hemorrhagic disease/bluetongue outbreak.

Bios say that last winter was “mild” with likely high survival rates for deer, and that should mean more spikes and forked horns on the landscape in this anywhitetail-buck region. As a reminder, does are still off limits for all weapons groups as state managers try to rebuild the herd.

Factoring in harvest, bucks killed per square mile and hunter numbers and density, the top three rifle units over the past three years have been Kelly Hill, Huckleberry and Aladdin.

In response to chronic wasting disease cases in North Idaho and outside Spokane, WDFW continues to boost availability of testing at game check stations, dropoff locations and agency offices in the area.

“We are strongly encouraging folks to have their deer sampled in District 1, though it is not mandatory in Game Management Units 101-121,” urges Annemarie Prince, district wildlife bio in Colville.

SPOKANE/PALOUSE

The good news is that mule deer herds are back near their longterm averages in this district spanning the Channelled Scablands, Palouse and Snake River Breaks. While mortality due to 2021’s drought and heat wave likely left a hole in one year-class of bucks that would be legal this year, the next two years saw aboveaverage winter survival that “may help offset” that loss with some early-blooming two-bythrees, WDFW forecasts.

As for whitetails, however, their numbers are “still down significantly” from past disease outbreaks and hard winters.

Overall, some units have started to see harvest bounce back from nadirs in 2021 and 2022. Per WDFW’s rankings, the top rifle units over the past half decade in this largely privately owned district are Mount Spokane, Almota, Harrington and Steptoe. Note that new this year, CWD testing is

Ashley Masters smiles over her 2023 Southwest Washington blacktail, taken in the last week of the October general rifle season. Units in the neighboring Cowlitz and Elochoman watersheds produced 1,000 more deer than the 2022 season. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

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required for all deer (as well as elk and moose) harvested in the Mount Spokane, Mica Peak and Cheney Units.

BLUE MOUNTAINS Biologists have been expecting the herds in Southeast Washington to bounce back for several years now, given a string of average to mild winters, but a “modest increase” in harvest seen last fall still fell below long-term averages. That said, “With good growing conditions last spring and an average winter, we expect overwinter survival was good, and are expecting deer harvest to marginally improve again through the 2024 hunting season.”

Bios here use similar measures as districts to the north to rank their deer hunting units, but they also fold public access into the equation. Their math shows the Mayview, Peola and Couse Units score the best, though they are also pretty light on state and federal ground. Notably, mountain units are seeing steady to decreasing days needed to kill a deer.

Note that general season antlerless whitetail ops have been curtailed for this and the next two seasons to try and rebuild deer numbers. They could be reinstated by 2027 for youth, senior and disabled hunters if herds show a response.

OKANOGAN Close your eyes, Northcentral Washington deer hunters, biologists issued a not-so-great forecast for legal buck availability in District 6, the Okanogan. “Slightly lower-than-average estimated fawn recruitment in 2023 likely means a modest decrease in the 2.5-year-old buck cohort in 2024,” they state. “Similarly, last December’s observed post-season mule deer buck:doe ratio of 17:100 is below the 10-year average of 21:100. Overall, total general season harvest and success rates are anticipated to be a little below the fiveyear averages.”

The better news is that the mule deer herd is “poised” to recover, thanks to strong fawn productivity last fall (five points above the 10-year average) and “best it’s been in 10 years” overwinter survival of that year-class of young muleys, good signs for 2025 barring a bad winter.

Biologists here don’t rank their units like

those elsewhere, but Wannacut, Pogue, Chiliwist and East Okanogan have seen the highest average success rates for riflemen the past five seasons, with East Okanogan, Sinlahekin and Chewuch yielding 2023’s largest buck harvests. True, East Okanogan is huge, which explains how kill there was three times as large as either of those next two units, but it also has a great mixture of public and private land.

CHELAN/DOUGLAS Chelan County surveys last December turned up a gaudy 29 bucks per 100 does, 4 points above the management goal and the best seen in periodic surveys since at least 2016. But fawn:doe ratios have been dropping over the same timeframe and hunters say they’re seeing fewer deer in the woods, yielding a puzzling picture that has biologists restricting antlerless harvest opportunities (mostly early archery) to build the herd back up. Meanwhile, as ever, this fall will probably come down to whether or not the weather is bad enough in the heights to drive this largely migratory herd to more huntable ground in the popular Entiat and Swakane Units.

Across the Columbia, biologists also continue to scratch their heads about the Douglas County herd. While buck:doe ratios are still within the management objective of 15-19:100, last year’s fawn count of 48:100 does was a “considerable departure” from the five-year average. It coincides with a longer term herd decline noticed by hunters and landowners and has biologists reducing antlerless and second deer ops. Even so, the county is still considered “good mule deer hunting” – look for areas of sagebrush or broken country near aglands and use WDFW’s private-lands access program to find cooperating ranchers and farmers.

SOUTHCENTRAL

Deer hunting in Yakima and Kittitas Counties has been down in the dumps for so long that we simply haven’t reported on it most recent years, but for the record, last year’s harvest was the largest since 2015, and what’s more, the number of five-pluspointers taken was the most back to the same year, indicative of decent numbers

of mature bucks. That said, modern firearm success rates in 2023 were still all in the single digits outside of the Teanaway Unit. Bios do report that back to back harsh winters “did not appear to increase” mortality among radio-collared deer, so perhaps that’s a glimmer of further hope.

To the south, biologists say December 2023 surveys in Grayback and East Klickitat showed a “slight increase in the population” after fall seasons that were less productive than 2022’s. Fewer hunters hit both units last fall, but their success rates and days per kill both actually improved. Fawn surveys in Grayback this past March showed average overwinter survival. Antlerless ops in the above two units plus West Klickitat have also been mostly been paused to help the herd recover; harvests in all three are still 100 to 200 animals below levels seen in the robust mid-2010s.

WESTSIDE

You won’t find this sort of bald-faced optimism on the (509) side of Washington, but on the back of a very strong 2023 season that saw a harvest of roughly 1,000 more blacktails than 2022 – 3,531 (including 2,838 with a rifle), the most in more than a decade – Cowlitz-Elochoman district biologists say deer hunting “should be good again in 2024.” That’s thanks to a stable to increasing deer population that also isn’t at the whims of wildlife diseases, mercurial winters or drought like Eastside herds are. Lincoln, Winston and Coweeman all boasted harvest densities greater than one buck per square mile, though the percentage of three-pointor-better animals was lower in them than elsewhere in the district.

Deer harvest to the north is also on a long-term increasing trend, and last year saw notable spikes in kill and success rates in the Puyallup and Skookumchuck Units. Biologists cite decreasing hunter numbers since 2000, which of course is tied to private timberlands charging for access and limiting entry.

Elsewhere on the Westside, harvest remains depressed in North Sound island units following a 2020-21 disease outbreak. And it continues steady on the South Coast/western Willapa Hills. –NWS

Deer camp comes in a million different flavors in the Northwest, but author Jason Brooks is finding it increasingly comfortable to base some of his hunts out of motels, especially when the weather is colder, it’s too difficult to bring a trailer or time constraints work against setting up a wall tent. (JASON BROOKS)

Today’s Deer Camp

NW PURSUITS

By Jason Brooks

Pulling into the parking lot of the motel, it did not feel like we were at deer camp. My son and I were on a quick extended weekend getaway to Idaho so he could hunt whitetails for the first time. We’d contemplated putting up a wall tent like we had done during the spring turkey season in the same area, which was also a scouting excursion for this deer hunt. The turkey hunt had occurred during spring break, but now in late fall school was back in session and daylight was dwindling fast. Time was the biggest factor, but the weather forecast calling for rain mixed with snow helped make the decision on our motel-style deer camp.

The next day we pulled up to a trailhead and noticed a warning sign about identifying bears in the area. This is grizzly country and though I have hunted around them in the past and am not overly concerned, not having to camp among the big bruins made sleeping much easier. It is these things that have led me from the backcountry bivouacs of my younger years to establishing yearly hunting camps from my truck, either parked outside a motel room, cabin or wall tent.

Comfort comes to mind as the key reason it is OK to hunt from such relatively luxurious lodging. On that weekend getaway, Ryan and I were able to hunt each day from sunrise to sunset and get much needed rest by simply walking through the motel door. Inside, we could also dry out our clothes and the wifi allowed my son to keep up

on homework. True, it did not feel like deer camp – at least a traditional one – but it was, and Ryan was successful, taking a small buck on the last morning of the hunt.

WITH INTERNET AND YouTube warriors out there making videos and posting on social media how far back into the backcountry they are going, it does seem odd to hunt from the truck. In my home state of Washington, where hunting can be overcrowded the closer to the road one is, it seems logical that the farther back you go, the better hunting will be. But unfortunately, in recent years the backcountry has become just as crowded.

Lightweight hot tents, lofty synthetic sleeping bags and freeze-dried dinners that actually taste good all help with the “go farther, hunt harder” attitude of today’s

COLUMN

younger hunter. That said, my son, who now spends his falls in Montana, is still forced to hunt near his truck since he is in college and only has weekends to chase deer and elk. But at least he knows it is OK to hunt from the trailhead instead of only thinking he can be successful if he puts as many miles as possible between himself and the nearest shower or hot water tap.

HERE'S A FEW pointers that will help when choosing comfort over distance. The first is the definition of success. Knowing that you will be among other hunters and the likelihood of tagging a mature buck is low means realizing success is more about having an enjoyable time, making memories and maybe filling a freezer. This does not mean mature bucks are only killed in the backcountry, but that you might need to look beyond your normal

hunts if finding a big one and sleeping in an actual bed is the goal.

Look for hunts that offer good opportunities. This often means going out of state or hunting a different season or weapon choice. There are some good late muzzleloader and archery seasons that extend well into the rut but also occur during times of the year that are very cold, and access can be hard to come by. Hunters can use snowmobiles or UTVs where it is legal to do so, gaining access to areas that others cannot get to.

Some Western states such as Idaho and Montana offer late season and rut hunts. These tags are often available through a draw, but some are also over the counter. My college-age son offers another example. Montana gives nonresident college students the opportunity to buy tags at a reduced cost over the counter after school

starts. Putting in for a nonresident draw is not needed, and Ryan can buy his tags by showing his college transcripts.

I did not draw Montana this year but can buy over-the-counter B tags for antlerless deer and elk and still hunt with my son. Looking at the B-tag seasons, which extend well into December, and knowing that the weather will be below zero, a motel is a smart option.

Trailers and tents are too. There are many units in the West where you can drive up into the high country. Some Forest Service roads are wide enough to tow a trailer, others not so much. Do some scouting and if you find a narrow road that leads up high, then take a wall tent. Even when I fly into the backcountry of Idaho’s Frank Church Wilderness, we take a wall tent. Our base camp is comfortable with cots, real food and a warm wood stove. From there we

Minimalist backcountry hunts have become more crowded in recent seasons as they’ve been glamorized on social media following decades of being written about in publications like this one. (JASON BROOKS)

“Only after spending too many sleepless nights in the backcountry, just to be tired and take a nap in the afternoon sun, did it dawn on me that a comfortable deer camp leads to success,” writes Brooks. Motels, trailers and wall tents can provide that solid foundation for success. (JASON

might spike out for a few days, getting away from people, and then return to base camp. You can do the same thing during general seasons when the weather is warmer.

MY WIFE’S UNCLE is getting up there in age but still enjoys a quiet walk in the woods during deer season. Other times of the year he likes to visit various campgrounds with their fifth-wheel trailer. This is one of those trailers that you do not want to haul up a Forest Service road. So instead, he opts to find countryside campgrounds near lakes and small towns to establish his base camp. Each morning, he drives his truck up the mountain to where he wants to hunt. Doing this opens up a lot of places to hunt and allows him to go to various places and even different units. When you pack a small tent into the backcountry you are stuck in that area, but hunting out of a comfortable trailer or motel room allows you to move around a bit.

By driving up into the high country and putting up a base camp, you are increasing your chances of success and a big buck. The

first snowfall usually occurs mid-October along the Cascade Crest, which means bucks will start to make their way to lower elevations. Finding the migration route and being there when the deer are on the move increases your opportunity at a big buck. The comfort of a wall tent or trailer makes it much easier to deal with the chilly mornings.

FAILING TO PLAN is planning to fail, as the saying goes. As it applies to this case, knowing how to maximize your time and put yourself in a place to be successful is the key to filling a tag. Only after spending too many sleepless nights in the backcountry, just to be tired and take a nap in the afternoon sun, did it dawn on me that a comfortable deer camp leads to success. This was emphasized about a decade ago when we were going to fly into our yearly Idaho deer camp.

Instead of making the 11-hour drive and staying in a motel the night before our scheduled flight into the backcountry, we decided to save on the cost of a motel and drive all night and fly when we got

to McCall. By the time the plane touched down on the wilderness runway, we had been up for over 24 hours and barely got the tent up before we all crashed for the day. The next day, still tired, we set up the rest of the camp and then wandered out for a midday hunt. It was then that I realized we made up no time at all with the nighttime drive and all we had accomplished was to start our seven-day hunt exhausted.

There are several reasons to pull into the parking lot and check into a motel for deer camp, and not just extreme cold, time constraints or grizzlies roaming about. Regardless of why, deer camp for me now includes munching on microwave popcorn while watching YouTube videos of guys killing big bucks miles from the trailhead – then freezing their butts off at night and struggling with heavy backpacks that will haunt them later in life. Sure, I still head to the backcountry, often returning to base camp or extending out for a night or two. The freezer still gets filled and the memories are made, but as I get older, I know it is OK to be comfortable at deer camp. NS

BROOKS)

HUNTING

OREGON DEER FORECAST

Oregon’s any legal weapon deer seasons doesn’t start and run quite as late as last year, but there is still plenty of opportunity to get out after bucks in the coming weeks.

Generally speaking, winter survival was good and fawn recruitment was average to good, which will supply a fresh crop of legal bucks across the state. Blacktails continue to thrive west of the Cascades, whitetails in the far northeast corner, but there’s no papering over the fact that mule deer populations remain depressed across Central and Eastern Oregon. Inside those lower numbers, buck-to-doe ratios are largely meeting objectives, but there are just fewer of them on the landscape. Biologists point to “habitat loss and

fragmentation, poaching, predation, disease and roadkill,” among other factors.

A big issue for many hunters east of the Cascades this fall will be navigating 2024’s record wildfires that burned 1.9 million acres of forest and range land. Socalled “mega fires,” those of 100,000-plus acres, hit seven units and had the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife outlining its points reinstatement program for hunters burned out of their controlled draw unit.

With rifle seasons on both sides of the Cascades opening October 5, here’s a look at what agency biologists are predicting.

NORTH COAST Deer densities are described as “moderate” in the three northern coastal units, Saddle Mountain, Wilson and western

Trask, all of which also featured benchmark buck escapements of 20:100 does following last year’s seasons. As such, biologists say the trio will offer “decent” prospects for hunters prowling the myriad newer clearcuts on state forests and accessible private timberlands.

Further south, buck densities are around or slightly below the five-year average in the Stott Mountain, Alsea and Siuslaw Units, with fawn ratios coming out of last winter above average in the first two units but below in the third.

WILLAMETTE Surveys last fall found buck ratios in the Scappoose and eastern Trask Units slightly below the 20:100 does objective, but they essentially match the five-year average, so hunters probably won’t notice a big difference.

The story is better in the northern Santiam Unit, where densities are at benchmark, and what’s more, prospects are considered “good” for those willing to hunt the thick stuff blacktails call home this time of year. Biologists report that “many large bucks” were still alive and kicking on the landscape after last year’s late-running season, and given a relatively easy winter, the animals should still be available this fall. Bucks are also meeting objective in the southern Santiam Unit.

SOUTHERN OREGON Biologists continue to say that deer populations in the Tioga, Powers and Sixes Units are high compared to what they were in the early 2000s, but add that they may have begun to level off. Inland, surveys in Douglas County found good overwinter survival with stable to increasing fawn ratios observed in the Dixon, Indigo and Melrose Units over recent years, making for potentially more young bucks on the landscape. As elsewhere, open corporate forestlands are considered to be more productive than state or federal equivalents.

Down in the southwest corner pocket of the state, average buck densities the past three years are above benchmarks, and some units have gaudy success rates to prove

Carissa Nicole Anderson shows off a nice buck she bagged in Eastern Oregon last October. It was her first muley. This part of the state saw major wildfires this summer, so check ahead for access and conditions. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

HUNTING

it – 47 percent in Evans Creek, 41 percent in Chetco and 39 percent in Applegate last year. Given the steady harvest figures over that general timeframe, biologists forecast “this year should be the same.”

NORTHCENTRAL Expect a “surplus of young bucks” in the western Biggs Unit, thanks to a milder winter. Biologists point to the north end of the John Day River canyon and surrounding lands as particularly promising for hunters with permission to hunt private lands or who can access the scattered federal ground. Next door to the west, fall surveys turned up 34 bucks:100 does in the Maupin Unit, “significantly higher” than the longterm average. While bios acknowledge the unit is dominated by farms and ranches, last month’s cover was of a public-lands buck Buzz Ramsey tagged here last October after eight hard days of hunting, and his son tagged out too, so it’s not outside the realm. In the White River Unit, the rebound from a mid-2010s disease dieoff continues. Fawn and buck ratios topped the 10-year average

and management goals, respectively, last fall. And in the next watershed to the west, biologists’ new trail camera surveys suggest there’s an “abundance” of bucks tucked into the thicker brush of the Hood Unit. The reopening of Green Diamond’s Columbia Basin Management Area as fire danger drops should help hunters’ cause, but don’t overlook county forests.

UPPER DESCHUTES Managers report buck ratios near the 20:100 does goal in Maury, Ochoco and Grizzly Units, with notably “high” fawn production seen again in the third following an all-time low in 2022. In the next district to the south, which encompasses the Upper Deschutes, Paulina, Metolius and northern Wagontire Units, there’s an overall average of 25 bucks per 100 does on the landscape, which is near to above the objective, and last winter left a “stable” 57 fawns per 100 does.

SOUTHCENTRAL It’s not much to write home about, but fawn ratios in the Keno, Klamath

Falls, Sprague, Fort Rock and western Interstate Units were at or close to what biologists describe as the “maintenance level” for herd sizes for a second consecutive year, marking a shift from prior years. It’s a glimmer of good news, given that last year’s fawns power more than half of the following year’s harvest.

To the east, buck ratios are “strong” in the eastern Interstate, fawn ratios are up in the Silver Lake Unit and were the “highest in several years”in the Warner Unit, which could mean more yearling bucks on the ground. In Harney County and adjacent areas, biologists report above-average buck ratios coming out of last season, but they only expect average success this fall. And in a good-news story, the Beulah Unit is “finally showing measurable deer recovery” since a severe winter eight years ago, and fawn recruitment was up this spring.

NORTHEAST In the upper John Day River country, deer numbers are expected to be about the same as last year, but a series of

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If you get in

big fires in the Fossil and Heppner Units may have moved them around substantially. Also likely to be moved around: deer camps after said blazes burned big chunks of accessible national forest.

The Murderers Creek Unit also saw a couple largescale fires on primarily public land, but biologists were forecasting that last year’s above-average results might repeat this fall. They predicted belowaverage success will be seen again in Northside and Desolation.

In the La Grande area, buck numbers are above goal in the Catherine Creek, Starkey and Mount Emily Units, and fawn recruitment coming out of last winter is described as “good.”

Whitetails are doing good in Wallowa and Union County units, and while muleys are below objective there, fawns experienced good survival coming out of last winter. But on the northwest face of the Blues in Umatilla County, whitetail numbers still haven’t recovered from a devastating disease outbreak five years ago now. Mule deer buck ratios are at or above objective.

FINAL NOTE The Oregon Hunters Association and ODFW have teamed up to encourage sportsmen to get their deer and elk tested for chronic wasting disease with a drawing for a rifle or scope.

Testing is available at the Baker City, Celilo Park, Elgin and Prineville game checks during opening weekends of deer and elk seasons, at meat processors and taxidermists, and ODFW offices via appointment or by dropping off heads in a collection barrel.

The prizes are an incentive to help identify infected areas early to slow or stop the fatal deer family disease from spreading. –NWS

Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (All periodicals publications except requester publications)

1. Publication Title: Northwest Sportsman. 2. Publication Number: 025-251. 3. Filing Date: August 30, 2024. 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly. 5. Number of issues published annually: 12. 6. Annual Subscription Price: 39.95. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. Contact Person: John Rusnak. Telephone: 206-382-9220. 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher: 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. 9. Full names and complete addresses of publisher, editor, and managing editor: Publisher: James Baker, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. Editor: Andy Walgamott, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. Managing editor: None. 10. Owner: James Baker, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. 11. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities. If none, check box: none. 12. Tax status: Has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13. Publication title: Northtwest Sportsman. 14. Issue date for circulation data below: August 2024. 15. Extent and nature of circulation: a.Total number of copies: 59000. b. Paid circulation (by mail and outside the mail). (1) Mailed ouside-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies): 2178. (2) Mailed in-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies): 0. (3) Paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and other paid distribution outside USPS: 31368 (4) Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS (e.g. first-class mail): 2213. c. Total paid distribution: 35759. d. Free or nominal rate distribution (by mail and outside the mail). (1) Free or nominal rate outside-county copies included on PS Form 3360: 2127. (2) Free or nominal rate in-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 0. (3) Free or nominal rate copies mailed at other classes through the USPS (e.g. first-class mail): 607. (4) Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail (carriers or other means): 2009. e. Total free or nominal rate distribution: 4743. f. Total distribution: 40502. g. Copies not distributed: 18498. h. Total: 59000. i. Percent paid: 88.29% 17. Publication of statement of ownership: If the publication is a general publication, publication of this statement is required. Will be printed in the October issue of this publication. 18. Signature and title of editor, publisher, business manager, or owner: John Rusnak, General Manager. Date: Aug. 30, 2024. I verify all the information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or sanctions (including civil penalties).

Taking An Unnotched Marlin

On A Deer-woods Walk

ON TARGET

By Dave Workman

My first blacktail deer hunt was on the weekend following the Columbus Day storm of 1962, and this year’s season opens on Saturday, October 12, so I’m hoping for a lot better weather as I head afield for what, at age 74, just might be one of my last buck hunts.

That first post-storm hunt was a big disappointment because the high winds literally destroyed the place on Lewis

County’s Storm King Mountain where my dad planned to take me for my first buck. We didn’t see any deer that day, or the following day either.

This year, I’ll be hunting with the only rifle I own that hasn’t got a notched tag to its credit, a bolt-action Marlin XL-7 with a self-contained four-round magazine. It’s an accurate rifle with a synthetic stock, twoposition safety (which I dislike), and a 3-9x variable Bushnell scope. More about this in a moment, because it’s chambered for the .30-06 Springfield, what many consider the quintessential deer cartridge.

The full moon is due October 17, and they’re calling it the “Hunter’s Moon.” We’ll have to see whether we have a bright, clear sky or cloud cover.

I’M TAKING THAT Marlin ’06 out of the gun safe this fall to see if I can use it to fill the freezer. This rifle is one I let a hunting partner use for elk hunting some years ago until he bought his own, and it has always been accurate. The synthetic stock is fitted with a comfortable and modern recoil pad, and I’ve added a 10-round cartridge carrier, loaded up with handloads.

Author Dave Workman will be using this Marlin XL-7 bolt-action in .30-06 for his fall buck hunt. It’s the only rifle in his safe that hasn’t been involved in notching a tag. (DAVE WORKMAN)

NEW GEAR NEWS

ALPS OutdoorZ started shipping its all-new Waterproof Rifle Case back in late August, so if you’re in need of maximum protection, you might check this out.

Developed for backcountry hunters yet suited for anyone in the Northwest environment, the Waterproof Rifle Case could be a good acquisition. According to the company announcement, this case is constructed of a waterproof 500D welded PVC outer shell. It integrates high-density closed-cell flotation foam “that not only protects your rifle from the inevitable bumps and dings when horse packing

ALPS Waterproof Rifle Case. (ALPS)

offers an adjustable fit for rifles up to 53 inches long and up to 10.5 inches in height.

The case has three external compression straps, which can also be used to secure a tripod or other shooting support system. It also comes with an integrated top-carry handle and a padded and adjustable/ removable shoulder strap. There’s also a

or transporting in a vehicle or ATV, but also ensures your rifle stays dry during inclement weather,” the company said. The dry-bag-style roll-top closure system provides a tight seal to keep water out and

2 pounds, 9 ounces. MSRP is $99.99. For more, see alpsoutdoorz.com.

Also just in time for hunting season, Zeiss announced the new V8 NA riflescopes. Two new additions to the V8 family are the V8 NA 2.8-20x56 and 4.835x60. They feature a 30/34mm main tube, MOA settings, and a multi-turn, external elevation turret with ballistic stop.

According to Zeiss, these riflescopes “provide exceptional optical performance, an extra-large eye box, and two reticle options that offer an ultra-fine center dot with

D-ring for hanging the case to dry or for storage when not in use.

The Waterproof Rifle Case measures 57 inches long and 11 inches wide with a roll length of 49 to 53 inches, and it weighs

daylight visible illumination.”

Designed and manufactured in Germany, each configuration comes in two reticle options, the Plex-Style illuminated dot reticle (No. 60) and the all-new Advanced Hunting Reticle (AHR) (No. 90). –DW

RUGER OUT WITH NEW RIFLES

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., has reintroduced the Marlin Trapper Series Model 1894 chambered in .357 Magnum. The announcement came just as this month’s issue of Northwest Sportsman was going to press.

The Model 1894 chambered in .357 Magnum is quick-handling, soft shooting and ideal for small game, plinking and home protection, the company said in a news release.

In addition, Ruger added two more

commemorative versions of the legendary 10/22 semiauto in .22 Long Rifle.

The .357 Trapper features a threaded 16.1-inch cold hammer-forged barrel with a 1-in-16-inch twist. The threaded barrel (1/2-28) will accommodate common muzzle devices and comes with a match-polished thread protector.

It has a stainless steel receiver, lever, magazine tube and barrel featuring a non-glare, matte finish and all of the small parts are nickel-plated. It comes

from the factory with a Skinner Sight system. Machined from solid stainless steel bar stock, this durable, no snag, fully adjustable sight system provides for rapid target acquisition while enhancing the aesthetics of the rifle, Marlin said.

The rifle has a checkered black laminate stock and slimmed down forend, and the stock wears a thick butt pad to absorb recoil.

The new 10/22 commemoratives feature satin black alloy steel barrels. They join the already popular 75th anniversary satin stainless steel barrel models and are available with the same stained and unstained hardwood stock options. Both models feature a polished bolt engraved with a 75th Anniversary logo, a match-sanded butt pad, and front and rear sling swivels. –DW

Zeiss V8 NA 2.8-20x56 riflescope. (ZEISS)

Marlin Trapper Series Model 1894 in .357 Magnum. (STURM, RUGER & CO)

COLUMN

My preferred .30-06 load launches a 180-grain Nosler AccuBond bullet (with the white tip), and it’s a long-range buck buster. Using a different ’06 over on the Snake River Breaks south of Pullman, I dropped a big two-by-three mule deer buck at 355 yards across a canyon with one shot using that load. The bullet is propelled by 56.0 grains of Hodgdon Hybrid 100V, ignited by a CCI large rifle primer.

I use full-length resized cases, trimmed to 2.484 inches, and the bullet clocks above 2,700 feet per second over my chronograph, set about 24 to 30 inches ahead of the muzzle. The rifle will be zeroed to shoot about 3 inches high at 100 yards, as I expect to make a shot between 200 and 300 yards in the open terrain I plan to hunt.

I also prefer the AccuBond for my .308 Winchester handloads. My pet load for this caliber is a 165-grain bullet ahead of 39.0 grains of IMR 4895. This round has put bucks in the bag along Washington’s Snake River and Douglas County.

Workman’s preferred handload for his .30-06 features a 180-grain Nosler AccuBond bullet powered by Hybrid 100V powder, shown here with a .308 Winchester load he’s used to clobber his last two deer, a 165-grain AccuBond propelled by IMR 4895 (DAVE WORKMAN)

WHY THE .30-06?

The venerable caliber has been around for more than a century, and it has proven itself countless times at long range against big bucks all over the West. I’ve taken deer with rifles in .30-06 here in Washington, Utah and Wyoming, and my Marlin was the backup rifle on a hunt I did

in Montana several years ago that produced a big four-by-five muley several miles south of Terry, in the far eastern part of the state.

That buck fell to two shots from a .350 Remington Magnum – the first “shortfat magnum,” which is better for timbercountry elk – as it trotted away across a shallow canyon.

But having shot my last couple of nice bucks with a rifle chambered for the .308 Winchester, it’s time to “blood” this rifle. I’ll turn 75 at Christmas, and this hunt will have a great deal of importance for me.

The .30-06 might not have the horsepower of the popular .300 Winchester Magnum or 7mm Remington Magnum, but just how dead do you have to make a buck? One I shot down in Wyoming was hit so hard by my handload it literally turned a 180 and dropped in its tracks, at just over 200 yards.

My late uncle hunted with a pre-’64 Model 70 in .30-06, and between the two of us, no deer we ever shot got up to complain.

It’s also a formidable elk cartridge, when loaded with heavier projectiles. Speaking of which, on October 26 – two Saturdays after the rifle deer opener – elk season begins in Eastern Washington, followed by Western Washington on November 2. A legal animal varies by unit; check page 48 of the regs pamphlet for more.

And don’t forget! Send photos of your successful big game hunt to Andy Walgamott, editor of Northwest Sportsman, at awalgamott@media-inc .com and they will appear in a future issue of the magazine. NS

The Marlin has a blind magazine, self-contained and loaded from the top only – Workman won’t have to worry about losing a magazine! About the only thing he doesn’t care for on the rifle is the two-position safety, but it looks like he’s got it dialed in for the season! (DAVE WORKMAN)

COLUMN

NEW

WASH.

CWD REGS NOW IN PLACE

Camo? Check. Binoculars? Check.

CWD rules? Uhhhhh, run those past me once again, please …

With the heart of Washington’s 2024 big game season here, Evergreen State deer, elk and moose hunters have a whole new wrinkle to consider while making plans. Following the confirmation this summer of chronic wasting disease in a dead whitetail doe found just north of Spokane, new emergency rules have been put in place by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Under them, if you harvest a deer, elk or moose in Game Management Units 124 (Mount Spokane), 127 (Mica Peak) or 130 (Cheney), you are required to submit to WDFW the whole head with at least 3 inches of neck attached, or the extracted lymph nodes, within three days of the kill for CWD testing.

It’s also been made unlawful to use any bait in those three GMUs (feeding wildlife there has been outlawed too),

and natural or synthetic scents containing or derived from deer family urine and/or glandular extracts have been banned in them as well.

Also, those who harvest a deer, elk or moose may only transport the following items out of all 100-series GMUS:

• Meat that has been deboned;

• Skulls and antlers (with velvet removed), antlers attached to the skull plate, or upper canine teeth (bugler, whistlers, ivories) from which all soft tissue has been removed;

• Hides or capes without heads attached;

• Tissue imported for use by a diagnostic or research laboratory;

• And finished taxidermy mounts.

The idea behind the bait and scent bans and transportation restrictions is to limit the risk of moving parts from CWD-positive animals to new areas of Washington.

Ahead of this fall’s hunts, WDFW has also updated its CWD surveillance

program page with locations of biological check stations operated during deer season, kiosks where samples can be dropped off and landfills for disposal of carcasses. See wdfw.wa.gov/cwd.

WDFW says hunters should receive CWD test results back in four to six weeks. You can look them up online using your WILD ID. Should your harvested animal test positive, WDFW says it will notify you and help dispose of the meat if you don’t want to consume it. CWD hasn’t been shown to jump to people, though research is ongoing. State and federal health authorities recommend against eating infected animals.

For just the 2024 big game season, anybody who happens to kill an infected animal can get a replacement tag if their hunt will still be open. For instance, a rifle hunter who kills a whitetail on the October 12 opener, immediately submits a sample and receives a positive result in early November could theoretically be able to get a new tag in time for the late hunts. –NWS

A new Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife map identifies areas where testing of harvested deer, elk and moose is now required (crosshatching surrounding Spokane) and the “transport restriction zone”(brown) where only certain parts of animals may be moved outside of. (WDFW)

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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!

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It may not be as glamorous as spotting and stalking deer and elk, but there’s something to be said about finding a good spot and then planting yourself in it, as the editor did this day on a productive mountainside. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

Maximize Your Success By Staying Put

By Dave Anderson

Big game hunting methods often consist of two main approaches: staying put in a chosen area or covering extensive ground. While covering miles in the backcountry can be highly effective for most people, there are also a lot of

variables to consider when doing so. Therefore, for some people this might not be the best hunting method. This is especially true for those who are not able to be stealthy and quiet. Not everyone is cut out to cover miles in the mountains and that is OK.

can be highly effective. However, to be successful with this strategy, there is a bit of homework that one must do in order to find success.

I can think of hundreds of areas in Washington and Idaho that would be perfect for staying put and finding success. One of the ways I have pinpointed these types of areas is through onX Maps. When I am wandering through the BECOMING A HUNTER

Yet even for those who are in shape and able to sit still for a morning, afternoon or even an entire day, the staying put method

Regardless of whether you’re a rifleman, archer or muzzleloader, ambushing big game is obviously a lot more productive along well-traveled trails. Weapon choice determines how close you need to be to the trail itself, but always watch your wind so your scent is carried away from it. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

woods, I always have my tracker on for a breadcrumb trail, regardless of where I am. I save every one of these tracks so I know how to get in and out of areas safely in the dark. I am also always mindful to look for areas that I would consider a good place to sit. When I find a decent spot, I will mark/save it and then designate the spot for either archery or rifle hunting. Spots designated for the former may not necessarily be decent for the latter.

WHEN TRYING TO identify a spot for archery, keep in mind your maximum shooting range. The furthest distance I would ever shoot at an elk with my bow is about 45 to 50 yards. Even though I could shoot further, this is my ethical range – where I feel the most comfortable taking a shot. Good archery sitting spots are typically where multiple game trails come together or something that looks like an interstate

of the animal world – a well-traveled game trail with ground all torn up. You can tell if these trails are well traveled and used frequently. One way is by using a trail camera. Most of the areas that I consider a suitable place to sit I generally locate the season prior. As part of my scouting, I usually go back close to the upcoming season to place a camera in the area to pattern game activity and see what is going on in that particular spot.

Water sources are another good area to mark on your GPS for archery, especially if you are hunting in the early season when the temperatures are still hot. You can tell by the traffic around the water source if it is a busy area. Waterholes get torn up and clearly show signs of use. Mark every one of these that you come across. One cool feature on onX is the ability to take a picture at the waypoint so you have a reference/reminder of what it looked like.

Pinch points are another great spot for sitting during archery season. These could be where a few different drainages meet and there’s a saddle where animals are forced to go through. They could also be where there is a steep section animals would avoid due to a rocky face or cliff, which would be impassable for most game critters to navigate.

Escape routes are another area to keep in mind if you are hunting a high-pressure area. To be successful in an escape route, you want to be well ahead of everyone else hunting that area. You want to be set in place when people start working the trees so that you can use other hunters to push animals to you. This tactic has worked extremely well in the past for me during archery season. I knew where the elk would want to move to get away and I was sitting there waiting for them to come to me.

AS FOR RIFLE hunting, the areas that I look for are quite different in comparison to archery. For starters, my range is much greater than when I am hunting with a bow, though I personally do not want to shoot out past 300 yards. I love hunting and getting close to animals. It is part of the game. But in Idaho, where I now live, sometimes there are some canyons that prevent me from closing the distance. When I do not have an opportunity to

get closer, I do feel comfortable taking a longer shot. I practice regularly out to 800 yards at a range about an hour away from home. It is up to you to know your effective range and where you can ethically take a shot.

If you are hunting an area that gets a lot of pressure during rifle season, I would find spots that you know that people will be moving through to bird dog the animals to you. There are people who

do not sit still. In most cases during the general season, I see a lot of people who are not sneaky and are very loud. I also see people not paying attention to the wind and blowing game out well before they step foot into the area they are intending to hunt. When you are hunting high-pressure areas, use these people to your advantage. Do not be discouraged seeing people because sometimes they can put an animal right in your lap.

I also like finding areas that I call a crow’s nest. This is where I can see close to 360 degrees around me so I can spot game animals or people from every direction. Canyons, hillsides and drainages are great spots in which to set up. If you are going to sit and look over an area, I would highly suggest that you have a good tripod or shooting stick with you so that you have a rock-solid rest. This is especially true if you are walking from the truck to your sitting spot that you are setting up in for the day. The extra weight of a good rest is worth its weight in gold, especially if you are looking to take a 300-plus-yard shot.

THE KEY TO being successful at the stayingput method, regardless of whether you are archery or rifle hunting, is to always get to your spot early. Be the first in and stick it out until the last bit of legal shooting light. Being in a spot when the sun comes up and staying there until the sun goes down will increase your odds tenfold. Pack lunch, bring snacks and enough water to last you all day, and then some.

You want to be in the woods during the magic hours. In my experience, most folks do not follow these two simple rules that would increase their odds so much. Do not be the guy driving back to camp in the daylight. Get comfortable being in the dark and use your headlamp and GPS tracks to get back out safely.

Ultimately, the effectiveness of this strategy hinges on preparation, observation and a thorough understanding of both the game and the landscape in which you are hunting. If you are able to effectively execute this method, I guarantee you will start seeing increased success and create a fulfilling hunting experience for yourself and those around you. NS

Rather than enjoy the afternoon in deer camp, the editor headed back out to sit in a good spot for the last hours of daylight, finding success on this nice buck. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

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Serving Up Cervo

EBy Randy King

ach month, I’m tasked with making a new dish out of fish and game and feeding my family something delicious. Sounds awful, right? In the lead in to the recipe portion of my column, I try to wax all philosophical about hunting, ethics and things of that nature. But then sometimes I end up wondering about weird stuff, like how did corn become a staple of Italian cooking? And how did that combine with deer hunting to make Italian venison stew?

I know, what weirdo wonders about corn? Well, this weirdo does. Luckily, I get to scratch that itch every month and find out the answers to questions like that. I also get to – hopefully – entertain you in the process. First up, venison.

VENISON HAS LONG been a part of Italian

cooking. The first set of Italian cooking instructions – which was not quite a cookbook, but close – from Pliny the Elder featured recipes for venison, known in Rome and elsewhere in Italy as carne di cervo. Most were stews with wine. (In my research, I found that a chef made venison stew for a medieval pope.) And as with most recipes, it’s quite hard to pinpoint an exact origin. But what we do know is that through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, venison (all game, really) was a popular protein source.

Polenta, on the other hand, is where things get interesting. Modern polenta is made from corn – a New World crop – that has been dried. Before Columbus, Italians actually had a similar dish called puls, and it was made from other grains like millet, farro and chickpeas. This dish had been made since Roman times.

Then corn arrived, albeit as a curiosity for several hundred years. But around the 17th century, it became widely cultivated

in northern Italy. Apparently, this is why polenta is usually a northern Italian dish. (Mind = blown.) Basically, corn is easy-ish to grow and has a high yield, a perfect combo for the rural poor.

Combining the two – venison stew and polenta – is the natural course of things. Both are in use at the time, and both are delicious. It’s like cheese on toast or potatoes and steaks – they just fit. The combo is a calorie-dense meal, made from relatively cheap cuts of meat and very cheap polenta, perfect for those cold months!

AS I COOKED this dish, it occurred to me that every meal I have ever eaten is a combination of cultures, histories and necessity. What does each culture have? What can we combine? What would make this taste better? It’s a small-scale cultural evolution each time a recipe gets changed.

Ahh, yes, the things I think about. How did I get here from corn? NS

A young whitetail buck snacks on ripe corn – two of the base ingredients you’ll need for this issue’s recipe. (SHUTTERSTOCK)

CHEF IN THE WILD

PAIR POLENTA WITH ITALIAN DEER STEW

Ilook at polenta much the same way I look at rice. It is a mild base for some flavor to be added on top of, and it is made with another easy-to-remember ratio – four parts liquid to one part cornmeal. For venison stew with polenta, I would use 1.5 cups of cornmeal and 6 cups of liquid.

The art, for me, comes from which liquids I choose to use in the polenta. The easiest way is to just use water, but that is also boring. I like to use a little white wine and mostly chicken stock. I also like to fine dice some onion and garlic, then finish it with butter, cream and fresh grated parmesan cheese.

You will want to start this process about an hour before you serve it with venison stew, the recipe for which follows this and actually starts being made the day before.

POLENTA

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ onion, small diced

1 cup white wine (whatever it is, make sure it’s dry)

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup coarse ground cornmeal (aka polenta)

¼ cup heavy cream

¼ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Add half the butter to a medium-sized soup pot with a heavy bottom. Melt butter on medium and add the garlic and onion. Cook until fragrant and translucent.

Add the wine and cook for about two to three minutes. Next, add the chicken stock. Bring it all to a boil.

Slowly add the cornmeal to the boiling liquid. You don’t want any clumps. Reduce the heat to low and cover.

Let the polenta cook covered while stirring every five to six minutes. You want to let it cook for at least half an hour, but check the texture by hand at some point. You will know it is done when the mix is thick and each grain is cooked.

At this point, you can stir in the cream, remaining butter and the cheese. It should be thick enough that you will want to use a spoon, not a whisk.

After all the extra goodies are stirred in, season to taste with salt and pepper and use as the base for the stew.

Speaking of …

VENISON STEW

3 pounds deer meat, trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cups red wine, merlot or cabernet

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 ounces bacon, sliced

2 onions, large diced

2 carrots, peeled and large diced

1 fennel bulb, diced

4 tablespoons minced garlic

½ teaspoon red chili flakes

1 cup beef broth (low sodium, if possible)

2 cups sliced button mushrooms (dried morels from spring would kill in this, but I didn’t have any)

¼ cup sage, thyme, oregano and rosemary (most stores have an “Italian herb” bundle – grab that), rough chopped

2 tablespoons canola oil

¼ cup butter

Flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Trim and cut the deer (or elk or pronghorn) into 1-inch chunks. Place the meat in a bowl or in a Ziploc bag. Add the wine, a little garlic and some black pepper. Let marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, drain the wine off the meat but keep the marinade – we will use it in a moment. Pat the meat dry on some paper towels.

Cook the bacon and oil in a heavybottomed pan that you have a tight lid for. Remove the bacon when it is crispy and set aside. Pour off some of the accumulated bacon fat.

Sear all the meat in batches. Use the canola oil if you don’t have enough bacon fat to brown all the meat. Don’t put too much in at one time or the meat will not brown correctly. As you brown the meat, remove it and set it aside.

When all the meat is browned, add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Then add the carrots, onion, fennel, chili flakes and garlic. Cook on the stove for about five to 10 minutes on medium heat. The goal is to let out a decent amount of moisture and maybe brown a little. Only stir occasionally.

Add the 2 tablespoons of butter to the pot and the mushrooms. Stir the mushrooms in and add the reserved marinade and the beef broth. Scrape the bottom of the pan to remove the “fond,” or the tasty bits, off the bottom of the pan.

Add the meat back in and set to a simmer. Add the Italian herb bundle or quarter cup of herbs. Stir occasionally. Put a lid on the pan and place the whole mess in an oven preheated to 375. Bake for three hours until the meat is fall-apart tender.

Serve over polenta with a garnish of flatleaf parsley. Enjoy! –RK

Homemade polenta forms a base for Italian venison stew. (RANDY KING)

Here’s how two Westside foothills hunters bring in mountain lions. Calling Cougars

By Scott Haugen

Within five minutes of capturing a mountain lion on a Moultrie Mobile cellular trail camera, I was dressed and on the road. The cat was cruising an old logging road in the foothills of the Cascade Range. It was less than 3 miles from my home in Walterville, outside Springfield.

I’d been hunting mountain lions in this jungle-like habitat for three years. I came close multiple times but had yet to get a shot. This afternoon, the timing was right.

The cougar came to a fork on two

ATV trails. I assumed it stuck to the upper path because it was brushier with more green grass. A lot of brush rabbits and gray squirrels had been popping up on trail cameras in this area, along with gray fox, opossum, feral cats and deer. All of these are prime targets for lions.

Less than 20 minutes from when the cat appeared on the trail camera, I was in position. The trail the cat traveled joined another one half a mile away. This junction is where I set up. I knew I’d have up to a 60yard shooting lane, so took a .28 Nosler. More than half the time I’m toting a shotgun with buckshot into

this thick mess.

I set a Foxpro X24 digital game call less than 30 yards from me, on the other side of the trail I thought the cat was coming down. Should the cougar pop out where anticipated, I figured it would turn uphill, away from me and go to the call. If the cat had already passed by and headed up the mountain, I figured I could call it back down.

For three minutes I played jackrabbit distress sounds. I began quietly, figuring the cat was near. By the end of the sequence it was on full blast, penetrating the thick stand of 15-year-old Douglas fir trees covering

When a mountain lion popped up on Western Oregon hunter Scott Haugen’s cellular trail camera, he jumped into action for what would be a short, exciting and tense but ultimately successful harvest. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

HUNTING

Then I paused, slipped an openreed Slayer cow call into my mouth and hammered away with bird distress sounds. This has been my go-to sound for calling in bears in thick cover, as well as coyotes. Twenty seconds into the sequence, it happened.

REACT FAST OR FAIL

A gray fox came sprinting down the trail I’d expected the cat to be on, turned hard right and sprinted right at me. I was already in the gun, which was set on tripod shooting sticks. I’ve called in a lot of gray fox and immediately knew something wasn’t right.

and the bushy-tailed canine scurried for its life.

I put my eye to the scope to track the scrambling fox, just to make sure I could do the same should the cat suddenly appear at such breakneck speed. That’s when the blocky head of the cougar appeared right behind it, filling the scope. I had both eyes open and could see the lion as it busted off the hill and through a curtain of lush green. Its thick tail turned in a smooth, perfect circle, almost in slow motion, then smoothly centered up for balance. The head and tail were instantly steady as the cat lunged, turned 90 degrees to get on the fox, then dug in.

running full speed directly at me. The distance closed faster than the blink of an eye, literally.

I was sitting on the ground on the left side of the trail. The fox came down the same side. So did the cat. There was no time to think, just react.

This fox was on an all-out sprint, but it was running scared. I believe the fox was putting a move on the call when the cougar caught up with it. The hunter became the hunted,

The cougar was 23 yards from me when it first emerged. In a fraction of a second, the cat was stretched out right behind the fox. Both were

When the green dot of my Trijicon AccuPoint dropped below the nose of the sprinting cat, I squeezed the trigger. There’s no doubt in my mind that the cat had accelerated to more than 30 miles per hour almost instantly. At 16 yards a 175-grain Nosler AccuBond pounded the cat in the chest. Its head dropped and the downhill momentum sent the hind end over the top. The long, thick dark tail extended into the sky and fell toward me. It looked like I could reach out and grab it.

Instantly, I cycled another round. the ridge.

Where Haugen set up and called the big cat was very brushy, but he picked the right opening and shot the cougar as it sprinted full speed right at him. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

NEXT-LEVEL SITKA CAMO

Over the decades there have only been two camo patterns that have really impressed me when it comes to hunting in the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest – until now. New to the Sitka lineup is their Optifade Cover pattern. I was fortunate to test this pattern since spring, in multiple states including southeast Alaska. Simply put, it’s made for Westside hunters like us.

I’ve never been a fan of photofinish camo patterns. In my mind, camo clothing is about creating depth through the use of larger dark and light patterns, capitalizing on shadows and rays of light to help create the illusion. It’s not about blending in with details, as those appear too blocky to me, especially from afar.

From the Cascades to coastal ranges and the valleys between, the new Cover pattern is a must-see. To be honest, I never owned a piece of Sitka clothing until just over a year ago. Now it dominates my closets. I love the fit, functionality and performance in all situations I’ve tried it in, and to have a pattern that matches my old stomping grounds, from Oregon up to Alaska, is exciting. –SH

Before I could shoot, the cat regained its feet and dove into thick cover, seven steps from where I sat. I stripped off my hood and facemask to listen. I heard nothing. Even in the brushy gorge, all was silent. I figured the cat would be dead only a few feet into it.

There was no getting nervous; it had all happened so fast. There was no shaking. No doubts. Even after the shot I was calm and focused. I’ve hunted various man-eating predators in other parts of the world, and this encounter was on that level. Nothing else was on my mind. Nothing else mattered.

A CALL FOR BACKUP

I started into the brush but quickly realized it was too dense for a rifle.

Two feet of visibility was all I had. I was on hands and knees and the dense tangle of briars kept grabbing my rifle. I backed out and walked back to the truck to swap out the rifle for a shotgun. The short-barreled 12-gauge, topped with a Trijicon RMR and loaded with buckshot, was fitting for the recovery.

On the way to the truck I texted a buddy, Tyler Tiller, who has killed a number of cougars in our area. Ten minutes later Tiller arrived at my truck. I was confident the cat was dead, but I’ve been charged by giant predators before. No other animal closes ground as quickly as one that’s trying to kill you. I wasn’t scared, but I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks. I wanted a

Sitka’s new Optifade Cover pattern has impressed Haugen. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

Tracking the mortally wounded cougar through thick cover called for switching to a shotgun. The dense habitat made for slow, tense going. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

HUNTING

2 CAN’T-LOSE LION RECIPES

Cougar meat is mild to the taste. It’s lean and firm, not tough. As with any wild game, the key to a quality end result with mountain lion is not overcooking it. Choosing a low-and-slow method or a hot-and-fast approach is important. We’ve eaten mountain lion meat before, even a man-eating lion Scott once got in Africa, and lynx he trapped in Alaska. It’s all good. Actually, it’s all great. His recent cat provided many meals, and here are two recipes sure to be a hit.

COUGAR BACKSTRAP KEBABS

1 pound cougar backstrap

2 tablespoons za’atar or favorite wild game rub

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Slice backstrap into ¼- to 1/2-inch steaks. In a medium bowl, mix olive oil, garlic, vinegar, honey, turmeric and black pepper until thoroughly combined. Add cougar meat to olive oil mixture and marinate, refrigerated, at least two hours.

Thread marinated cougar meat onto metal or wooden skewers. Grill on medium-high or bake in a preheated 375-degree oven 10 to 15 minutes until

BBQ SLOW-COOKED COUGAR SHANKS

2 cougar shanks

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon granulated onion

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

In a small bowl, combine all rub ingredients. Using half the rub, coat cougar shanks and refrigerate two to four hours. Place shanks in a slow cooker and sprinkle on the other half of the rub. Slow cook on high four to five hours or until meat begins to fall apart. Serve over rice, with noodles or in a bun with your favorite barbecue sauce.

meat reaches desired doneness or an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Serve with fresh chopped herbs mixed with Greek yogurt if desired. –Tiffany Haugen

Editor’s note: For 100-plus more great big game recipes, order signed copies of author Tiffany Haugen’s bestselling book, Cooking Big Game, at scotthaugen.com.

Barbecued slow-cooked cougar shanks can be served over rice or noodles or on a bun, while an herb-and-yogurt dip (below) complements cougar backstrap kebabs. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

HUNTING

Haugen has hunted dangerous game around the world, and targeted maneating predators in Alaska, Africa and the South Pacific. Hunting big predators is among the greatest thrills of his long, illustrious career, and he says few things match the thrill of a hunt coming to a successful end.

second set of experienced eyes.

We slithered into the brush, eyes forward. For the first 15 yards there was no blood, hair or a visible trail in the dense brush. It was still hands-andknees tracking and the going was slow due to massive tangles of blackberries covered in thorns. Tiller would study the ground for blood while I searched for the cat, then we’d switch. We were focused. It was tedious work.

Ten more yards and the first blood appeared – a lot of it. Fifteen minutes later but only 20 yards further into the brush, I saw a horizontal line beneath a mess of vertical berry vines. I couldn’t tell if it was a log, an old limb or the cat. Inching closer, the figure of the dead cat materialized, less than 3 feet away.

The lion had piled up in the bottom of a draw. How it got so deep into the briar patch without my even hearing it was beyond me. But after three years of chasing cougars in this

jungle-like habitat of the western foothills of the Cascade Range, my efforts were rewarded.

BRUSH-COUNTRY CALLING

Calling mountain lions in thickly forested terrain is far different than calling them in more open, high desert country. In the forest, it’s all about timing. I’ve run trail cameras for years, targeting predators. When I switched to cellular cameras last winter, my hunting success skyrocketed. I would not have called in that cat were it not for the Moultrie Mobile transmitting camera.

I’ve tried all of the predator calls to try and fool cats over the years. I’ve called in four others and none have come to a fawn distress sound. I know predator hunters who are way better at it than I am, and that’s the only sound they’ll use, but that’s in open country. I know others who believe in other sounds, Tiller being one of them.

Tiller keeps trying what everyone suggests, deer and elk calf distress calls, but has never had a cat come to those. He’s had very good success with rodent, rabbit and squirrel distress sounds. He’s had cougars come busting in 90 seconds after using squirrel distress sounds, and had them respond to kitten distress sounds with surprising consistency.

“These low-elevation cougars are different from ones living high in the Cascades,” stresses Tiller. “If you want to kill a big tom up in the mountains, go when the deer and elk have young. But the cats in our area that live among people and kill their livestock, pets, rabbits, squirrels and fawns, I call for about 20 minutes, then move. Because it’s so thick I don’t spend much time calling in one place. If a cat’s near, it’ll usually come in quick.”

Tiller starts with subtle rodent or distressed kitten sounds.

“I approach an area very quietly,

(SCOTT HAUGEN)

HUNTING

call for five minutes, then sit silently for two minutes. Then I call a bit louder for five more minutes and am quiet for two minutes. On my final sequence I blast the electronic call for five minutes. I might sit for two minutes or wait 30 minutes, it just depends on the conditions, how things feel, and if I have more ground to cover on foot. I’ll move to just beyond where I think my sounds reached and repeat the sequence. Calling here isn’t about getting sounds to carry long distances across canyons,” he tips. “It’s about getting them to penetrate the thick cover, where you believe the cat to be.”

Tiller has taken some cougars by sitting over fresh kills, usually domestic goats.

“Farmers call when a cat kills one of their goats or cows and the sooner I can get on them, the better,” he says. “I’ve sat over some all day and minutes after I put up a

trail camera and left, a cat returned to eat. More than once I’ve hunted over kills early in the morning and as soon as I left, the cat returned to eat in broad daylight. I know those cats were sitting there watching me the whole time but I couldn’t see them in the dense cover. They’re smart – very smart.”

Tiller runs trail cameras for lions year-round. Where he hunts there’s no cell coverage, so he relies on nontransmitting trail cameras. He checks some trail cameras that are close to home every day, and the rest at least once a week.

“I have some cameras that get cougars year-round,” he concludes. “I know cats are there, but it’s more about knowing when they’ll be in a place where I can hunt them. Learning their patterns, where they move, how long it takes them to get to certain places, and hunting them when they’re hungry – those are the real keys.”

ENDLESS PURSUIT

My quest for another cat never stops. Since killing that lion last spring, others have killed sheep, goats, cats and dogs in my area. Some I was home for and got on quickly, but not quick enough. Others appeared at midday on trail camera, but I was out of town. That’s a helpless, frustrating feeling, as opportunities like that don’t come often in my area.

In midsummer, a female and three young patrolled the hills for four days. I caught them on multiple trail cameras. They covered only 4 miles, moving in the middle of the night, and all in thick cover. My attempts to call them failed, and after two days of trying, I never saw sign of them again.

Hunting deer and elk is a blast. Hunting big predators is a rush; it’s also harder. I still have a lot to learn, but that’s a big part of the lion hunting addiction, for when it all comes together there are few feelings in the world that can match it. NS

HEADS UP ON NEW WASHINGTON LION REGS

Marking the completion of another contentious chapter in Evergreen State hunting history, cougar season has been shifted from general fall + winter-spring quota to solely quotadriven. The change follows the predatorfriendly Fish and Wildlife Commission’s acceptance last December of a petition from litigious environmental groups and cougar advocates to begin rulemaking around more restrictive hunting regs for the species, the citizen panel’s directive last spring to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to hurry up and develop proposals for the 2024-25 season rather than hold off a year at the agency’s advice – there is no risk for the cougar population, biologists maintain – and their July vote on that slate of rules.

Per WDFW’s new regs, hunting will now run in a single September 1-March 31 season in each game management unit or group of GMUs, unless the harvest cap of 13 or 20 percent is reached before that in them.

The 13 percent cap is based on what’s known as the cougar population’s “intrinsic

growth rate,” while 20 percent will be used for those GMUs where all causes of mortality – human conflict and depredation removals, roadkills, hunting, etc. – hits 13 percent before September 1 and would have otherwise led to the unit’s closure. If not for the 20 percent caveat, the Huckleberry, Mount Spokane, Mica and Cheney GMUs in the Colville and Spokane areas would not have opened at all for lion hunting this season. Counting towards the mortality cap begins April 1 and runs through March 31.

Including non-hunting mortality in the cap effectively penalizes hunters for the bad behavior of cougars and doesn’t address root causes of local conflicts. Along with the nearly 30-year-old ban on using hounds, hunting has the potential benefit of training cougars to avoid human areas.

Prior to this year, Washington had a general September 1-December 31 cougar season and then a quota-based January 1-April 30 late hunt. The quota had been set at the GMU or population management level based off of cat density and a 10

to 16 percent growth rate. Units had an acceptable range of take – for instance, a guideline of 7 to 11 cats in Sherman (GMU 101). But with the growth rate uniformly set at 13 percent, there is no such wiggle room.

The new hard cap ranges from as few as one cougar in Battleground (GMU 564)–which closed almost immediately last month – to 13 in each of a trio of North Cascades units. Other units with notably low caps include Kelly Hill, Pearrygin and Washougal, all with two each, and four eastern Blue Mountains, two central Klickitat, three west-central Cascades and six South Cascades GMUs with three each. The 20 percent cap adds from one to seven lions to the baseline, depending on the unit.

The statewide limit is also back to one.

Having to know quota status in their GMU may be a disincentive for deer and elk hunters to opportunistically take a cougar during their primary hunt, or unfortunately could lead to lions left in the woods. To track quotas, go to wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/ regulations/big-game/cougar. –NWS

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Chasing Gray Squirrels

By Scott Haugen

If you own a versatile gun dog, you know what I mean when I say the tone in their bark and their level of enthusiasm hits another level when hunting fur. Pointing birds is great. Hunting waterfowl is hard to beat. But when that dog gets a whiff of a squirrel, the chase is on.

For Kona, my male pudelpointer, his favorite hunt is for native Western gray squirrels. He almost always sees them before I do. When cut loose he chases them through the forest as fast as any animal I’ve

ever seen run. And when he finally trees one, his man-bark kicks in.

The addiction to hunting gray squirrels runs year-round. Though the season for Westerns is brief in some hunting areas, I still run trail cameras to monitor their movements and populations all year long. I rely on Moultrie Mobile cellular trail cameras to provide me with immediate feedback of where squirrels are, and this is especially important this time of year.

Changing food sources will often cause tree squirrels to move areas. Having hunted gray squirrels for several years, and using the information from trail cameras to monitor their movements, I’m amazed

how precise and cyclical they are from year to year, changing season to season. These movements are based on a shift in food availability. In some of my top hunting areas I know where gray squirrels will be this time of year based on acorn and other mast crops dropping, what routes they travel in the forest, and where they search for food in big stands of Douglas fir trees. These are the places where I increase the number of trail cameras during hunting season.

WORKING OVERGROWN ROADS is how we often find success. Once a squirrel is spotted, Kona is let loose to do his thing.

In an effort to cover more ground the

GUN DOG

Once your versatile gun dog gets a taste of chasing fur, their level of intensity greatly escalates. Here, Kona, author Scott Haugen’s pudelpointer, retrieves a big gray squirrel he chased and treed – it’s his favorite hunt of all. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

COLUMN

past two seasons, I’ve turned to a QuietKat electric bike. These e-bikes are silent and allow me to cover ground much faster than on foot. I’ve used them with success on remote logging and farm roads, when traveling horizontal ridges in the Cascades, and when hunting in semi-open hill country. They’re fast, quiet and Kona can keep up with me – or should I say, I can now keep up with him. The QuietKat’s pedal assist is great for pulling hills and the battery life has always lasted the duration of our hunts. Just be sure and take extra water for your dog when hunting on an e-bike, as they’ll cover several miles a day and need to stay hydrated.

Some areas I hunt where deciduous trees meet conifers are thick with trees and brush. There are lots of squirrels in this habitat, but stalking in on them can be a challenge, and once they tree, the shooting window is brief before they seek thick cover to hide in.

When hunting these tree lines I rely on the Moultrie Mobile trail cameras for information. I run all trail cameras on video mode, as a 15-second video clip reveals more than a photo ever can. Case in point. Not long ago a thumbnail of one gray squirrel popped up on my Moultrie Mobile

Mobile cellular trail cameras have become an integral part of Haugen’s gray squirrel hunting, teaching him much about their populations and seasonal movements.

app. I requested the video to see which direction the squirrel was heading and maybe get a peek at what it was feeding on.

A few minutes later the video clip revealed five gray squirrels working the forest floor. That’s when it’s time to get hunting.

If I know there’s a squirrel in the mix of coniferous and deciduous trees, I’ll slowly move in with Kona heeling. If there’s a time of day when squirrel movement is high based on what trail cameras are conveying, I’ll slip in a couple hours ahead of that time and sit against a fat fir tree with Kona at my side. We sit where visibility is maximized

Haugen has had some great recent gray squirrel hunts, thanks to his QuietKat. The electric bike not only increases the amount of ground he can cover, but it’s quiet and smooth, meaning it won’t spook game. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

and when a squirrel is spotted, Kona gets to work. Kona almost always sees one before I do.

IF SHOOTING IN thick cover, a .410 might be the best gun of choice. I like tungsten loads over standard loads, as their pattern is much more dense and their killing power greater. If the habitat is semi-open and the trees not overly tall with thick, brushy limbs, then a .22 will suffice. I like shooting a scoped rifle with CCI 40-grain subsonic .22 Long Rifle ammo because it offers plenty of power and won’t damage the meat. Gray squirrel is excellent eating.

Gray squirrel hunts aren’t easy, but they’re a blast. And once your pup proudly delivers a big gray to hand and instantly snaps back into hunt mode, you know they’re enjoying it as much as you are –likely more. NS

Editor’s note: Watch Scott Haugen’s basic puppy training videos and learn more about his many books at scotthaugen.com. Follow his adventures on Instagram and Facebook.

SQUIRREL SEASONS

Hunting for native Western gray squirrels opened in Oregon last month, with season in most of the state running through November 15 with a daily limit of five (see the regs for more). The species is protected and closed to hunting in Washington. Eastern gray and eastern fox squirrels are considered invasive and open year-round.–NWS

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(SCOTT HAUGEN)

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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.

Included in your fishing trip:

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

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• 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.

DESTINATION ALASKA

Back-bouncing For Fall Chinook

October is the month when much of the Columbia River’s fall Chinook run has moved into the Hanford Reach or tributary systems like the Klickitat, Snake and Clearwater. It’s also when the mostly later-returning coastal

stocks of kings are returning to estuaries or, given plentiful rainfall, migrating into upper rivers. If you like to chase fall Chinook in free-flowing rivers, this is a great time of year to try your luck back-bouncing for what might be a really big salmon.

There is no better fishing method for targeting Chinook as they hold in the deep, perhaps roily holes – where they can accumulate in large numbers – than

back-bouncing a bait of salmon eggs in front of their noses from a boat held steady in the current just upstream from them.

Here’s how: For this method, your boat should be held (either by rowing or with a trolling motor) in a stationary position on or just upstream from a deep hole, pool or drift.

To begin, you will need to free spool your rigged outfit consisting of a weight, leader, hook and bait to the bottom di-

Fishing guide Cody Luft hoists a fall Chinook author Buzz Ramsey caught last year while back-bouncing a bait of eggs in combination with a size 8 Spin-N-Glo. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

Your rigging should consist of a 50-inch leader (with a swivel in the middle to reduce the chance of the current spinning your outfit into a mess) snelled to a 2/0- to 5/0-size single hook (the right hook size just depends on the size of your bait, but something in this range is likely what you will need) with several small beads and a Spin-N-Glo. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

rectly below your craft. The instant your weight hits bottom and with your thumb on the spool of your baitcasting reel, raise your rod tip slowly (usually a foot or two), then take your thumb off the reel spool and free spool your weight and trailing bait back to the bottom again. After that, it’s just a matter of repeating this process as you walk your weight and trailing bait downstream through the holding water, all while feeling for a bite.

The key is to use just enough weight so your outfit will be pushed downstream by the river’s current a foot or two with each drop of your rod tip. It’s important to maintain contact with the bottom with every drop of your rod tip.

Once you have walked your weight and trailing bait downstream 50 to 70 feet, reel in and try again. The bite is usually subtle, so it’s important to lift your rod tip up slow ly while continuously feeling for a bite, before free spooling your outfit to the bot tom again. If you feel a bite, set the hook!

KEEP IN MIND that a lopsided bait can spin in the water and twist your leader into a mess, so keeping your baits uniformly

round can be important. Installing a barrel swivel halfway between your dropper line and bait can also go a long way in reducing or eliminating leader twist.

And while a fresh, juicy salmon egg cluster about an inch in diameter is the bait most anglers employ when back-bouncing, you might try adding a sand shrimp, filet of tuna belly, chunk of sardine or mackerel to your egg cluster, as doing so can trigger timid fish into biting.

If you’re new to this fishing method, realize that while making contact with the river bottom with each rod movement is important, it’s really not what you are feel-

Some anglers up their hook-to-land ratio by adding a trailing treble hook to their setup. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

ing for. Once you’ve mastered the bottom bouncing associated with the walking of your weight and trailing bait downstream, what you will need to do is concentrate on feeling for a bite.

For example, when a fish bites, your sinker might not hit bottom or feel like it’s rolling along the rocks – this sensation is due to a fish hanging onto your bait. If you think you’re getting bit, stop bouncing and allow the Chinook to mouth your bait and pull your rod tip downward before pulling back on your rod tip to set the hook. If it’s one of those days when the Chinook are timid and not willing to aggressively gob-

COLUMN

ble your bait or you encounter a steelhead, you should set the hook the instant you feel anything unusual.

BECAUSE BACK-BOUNCING REQUIRES

constant pumping of the rod tip, it can quickly tire your arm out. Employing a relatively short rod of 71/2 to 8 feet in length reduces the leverage needed to constantly work your rod tip as compared to a longer rod. Make sure the one you choose has enough backbone to handle sinkers up to 10 ounces and has enough remaining backbone to steer what might be a really big Chinook around the boat.

Several manufacturers offer rods designed specifically for this technique – they’re short to reduce elbow fatigue, and stout to handle big sinkers and fish. My favorite baitcasting rod for this method is a graphite one made by Douglas. It’s 8 feet in length and called the DXC 805F. (This rod works great for hover and salmon jig fishing too.)

Braided mainline in combination with a monofilament or fluorocarbon leader is

A weight dropper line extending 6 to 12 inches from a swivel is what works best. And while you can employ a three-way swivel, many anglers attach the weight dropper line to the head end of a standard barrel swivel. Although Ramsey has back-bounced as much as 20 ounces of weight, a selection of 11/2- to 6-ounce bank-style sinkers is likely the amount of weight you will need the majority of the time. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

Ramsey uses a 20-inch length of 15- or 20-pound-test mono and half hitches the looped end to the head end (closest to the rod tip) of his swivel. He then joins the two loose ends with a simple overhand knot and half hitches it to his sinker. The idea of this makeup is that if – more like when with back-bouncing – your sinker hangs up on bottom, the overhand knot will give way when yanking so you can retrieve your outfit minus the sinker. It’s easy to retie the two loose ends again, attach another sinker and resume your search for a fall Chinook. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

COLUMN

what most anglers use when back-bouncing. I mostly employ 40- or 50-pound-test braid in combination with a 30-pound-test leader. If the water is clear, going with a longer leader of a thinner diameter might allow your bait to move in the current in a more natural way.

Back-bouncing requires the use of bait, the most popular being a large and juicy salmon egg cluster. Confirming whether the nudge you felt was a fish or not can be as easy as reeling in your outfit and checking your bait. If your bait is gone, it’s likely you missed feeling the bite – it happens. Should this occur, try rebaiting and making another pass through the same spot. If you get no response, try adding a sand shrimp, filet of tuna or other bait to your offering. NS

Editor’s note: Buzz Ramsey is regarded as a sportfishing authority, outdoor writer and proficient lure and fishing rod designer. As such, fishing rod manufacturer Douglas Outdoors has added Buzz to their ambassador pro staff.

A Southern Oregon guide prepares to net a fall Chinook that Austin Han hooked while back-bouncing last season. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

Work Coast For Fall Salmon

Your monthly Oregon fishing outlook provided by The Guide’s Forecast.

By Bob Rees

October is typically when the first fall rains hit the region, sparking a rush of salmon up Oregon’s river systems and enabling both bank and boat anglers to access them. Unfortunately, not every river will produce abundant catches like they did just a few years ago, but when streams swell, so does opportunity.

Fall Chinook will be the most sought-after fish along the entire Oregon Coast, but coho are open too in numerous watersheds. With less than stellar king returns in recent years, regulations differ by watershed, so check the regulation updates in the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Recreation Report for details.

Assuming we get some October precipitation, driftboaters and bank anglers will want to target fall Chinook from the Necanicum down to the Chetco. Nearly every major river system has a return of fall Chinook, some stronger than others.

ON THE NORTH Coast, the Siletz seems to be consistent year to year, producing good catches of bright fish into early November. Tillamook-area rivers should also see some fair-at-best returns, with the Wilson producing the higher quality fish should the rivers rise. The Trask will also have fair numbers, but the peak is earlier, so many fish will

Ocean-fresh fall salmon are the draw to river systems up and down the Oregon Coast this month. Ana Hernandez caught this Chinook on Tillamook Bay. (BOB REES)

FISHING

be turning already. The Kilchis, Miami and Tillamook Rivers will also have fish but are poor options this season.

South Coast anglers will be looking to the Rogue River for October options. Although this system also peaks in September, there should be fresh fish into October.

North and South Coast systems should also be boasting good returns of wild coho. The rivers and lakes are different as far as regulations go, but anglers are afforded excellent

opportunities for these rebounding populations and the salmon can be easy to catch, especially in the tidewater reaches. Trolling flashers with spinners will likely produce the best results, but for upriver anglers, casting size 3 and 4 Blue Fox spinners with a pink or orange body should be productive too. Many rivers will see opportunity through the third week of October.

Many ocean seasons close at the end of the month including Chinook and halibut. Ocean crabbing closes on

October 15, but razor clamming on Clatsop County beaches – Oregon’s most productive by far – reopens, pending emergency closures due to toxicity levels, on October 1. Bay crabbing should be improving this month. Trout fishing on coastal streams closes October 31.

TURNING INLAND, FRESHWATER

anglers often look forward to a productive trout bite as temperatures cool and fish put on reserves for the long winter months. Many stocked systems will be sparsely populated with trout by now, but major lakes like the Century Drive systems west of Bend and Diamond Lake in the South Cascades really turn on this month. A variety of techniques can work, so choose your favorite way to catch these fish. Some hike-in lakes are ideal as well this month, but check ahead for fire damage and always be prepared for inclement weather.

On the Columbia, the last of the upriver brights will be available throughout the system and it looks like this year is better than expected. Trolling flashers and small spinners or hover fishing with eggs in the upper gorge reservoirs is the best bet, but after midmonth salmon quality will start to deteriorate.

Coho fishing should remain good around the mouth of the Klickitat and anglers shouldn’t overlook the above-Willamette Falls wild coho fishery either. The run here in recent years has been impressive and 2024 is off to an even faster start than last year’s record return.

Finally, summer steelhead have also surprised biologists; they’ve been able to liberalize opportunity for this popular sportfish and the Deschutes will offer good fall options for fly and spincast anglers. It’s an often overlooked month, but with a stronger run, it should be a good one this season. Viewing bighorn sheep at the start of the rut is a pretty impressive option as well in the Deschutes River Canyon. NS

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

Wild coho, like this beauty hooked by Brysen Gerlitz, are a solid coastal option in October, but season dates and limits vary widely, so be sure to check the regs. (BOB REES)

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Back To The Beach!

By Mark Yuasa

Coastal razor clam enthusiasts will dig this awesome news!

Summer evaluations of razor clam populations by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife revealed a decent number of bivalves that will be available for harvest when a liberal 42 tentative digging dates (up from 36 days in 2023-24) begins October 3 through December 31 as part of a season that will likely carry on well into spring 2025.

“Our coastal razor clam population still remains healthy enough to provide ample digging opportunity this fall and early winter,” said Bryce Blumenthal, a WDFW coastal shellfish biologist. “We’ll likely see a season very similar to last year, which was decent.”

“While there won’t be a dig on Thanksgiving Day, there will be a chance for folks to get out starting on Black Friday,” Blumenthal added. “We don’t have a good low tide series during the Christmas holiday break, but we’ve got some days to dig leading up to New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.”

Dates for early 2025 digs will be released as the season progresses, likely sometime in December.

During the fall/winter timeframe, a total of 42 days will be offered at both Long Beach and Twin Harbors, 19 days at Copalis and 23 at Mocrocks.

The first series of tentative digs are set for October 3-7, followed by digs on October 15-21, November 1-5, November 13-19, November 29-December 5, December 12-18 and

Washington razor clam season is scheduled to kick off in early October, and here’s how digging is shaping up.

Thumbs up will be in abundance through the end of the year on the Washington Coast, where state shellfish managers have set 42 tentative razor clam harvest dates in a season scheduled to kick off with an October 3-7 dig.

Brennan Hart of Orting dug these last fall at Ocean Shores. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

FISHING

Razor clammers search for shows at the edge of the surf during a past dig. Fall and winter opportunities occur during late afternoon and evening low-tide windows, whereas late winter and spring ones happen during morning lows. (WDFW)

RAZOR CLAM QUICK BITES

Know your limit: On all open beaches – Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks and Copalis – the daily limit is 15 clams per person. Each digger’s clams must be kept in a separate container, and all diggers must keep the first 15 clams they dig, regardless of size or condition.

License up: All diggers 15 or older must have an applicable fishing license to harvest razor clams on any beach. Licenses can be purchased from WDFW’s licensing website, and from hundreds of license vendors around the state. WDFW recommends buying your license before visiting coastal beach communities.

Beware bird nests: As in past years, WDFW is asking coastal beachgoers to avoid disturbing nesting snowy plovers – a small bird with gray wings and a white breast – by

staying out of the dunes and posted areas. Snowy plover nests are nearly invisible, and it is vital to give birds the space to live and thrive during the nesting period, especially along the southern end of Twin Harbors –known as Midway Beach – the north end of Long Beach and the area north of Ocean City on Copalis Beach.

Be a good clammer: Avoid leaving leftover food or trash – which attract scavengers – on the beach and picnic areas, keep pets on a leash, stay out of the dunes and avoid areas that are clearly marked with posted signs. When driving on the beach, please respect the 25 mph speed limit and enter only at designated access points. Stay on the hard-packed sand near the high tide line to avoid crushing clam beds and snowy plover nests.

Clamtastic events: The 2025 Ocean Shores Razor Clam Festival is March 21-23 (note that there won’t be any razor clam digging allowed during this timeframe since low tides aren’t optimal). For details, go to tourismoceanshores.com. The dates for the 2025 Long Beach Razor Clam Festival haven’t been set, but it is usually held in early- to mid-May. For details, go to longbeachrazorclamfestival.com.

Track toxins: More information about domoic acid, as well as current levels at ocean beaches, can be found on WDFW’s domoic acid webpage at wdfw.wa.gov/ fishing/basics/domoic-acid.

Extra-credit reading: WDFW’s “202425 Razor Clam Management Plan” and additional details can also be found on the agency’s website. –MY

DESTINATION Grays HArbor, WA

Gateway to the pacific ocean & the Olympic Peninsula

FISHING

December 28-31. Be sure to check the WDFW website (wdfw.wa.gov) for which beaches are open or closed on each day of every series.

Final approval on all beach openings is dependent on marine toxin testing, which usually occurs about a week or less prior to the start of each digging series. The Washington Department of Health requires two test samples taken seven to 10 days apart, and domoic acid levels must fall under the safety guideline level of 20 parts per million.

No digging is allowed before noon during digs when low tide occurs in the afternoon or evening. Most successful digging occurs between one and two hours before the listed time of low tide.

SUMMER ASSESSMENT REVEALS ACRES OF RAZOR CLAMS

After reviewing summer assessments

like this

or

of razor clam populations, WDFW shellfish managers found a decent number of recruit-size razor clams (those near or around 3 inches or longer in length), especially along South Coast beaches.

Long Beach from the Columbia River north to the mouth of Willapa Bay has 5.9 million recruit-size razor clams and a total allowable catch, or TAC, of 2.13 million razor clams for the 2024-25 season. Those figures are down slightly from 6.0 million recruits and a TAC of 2.15 million razor clams in 2023-24.

The stock assessment showed a decrease in clam densities at Long Beach this past year, and results in a less uniform recruit concentration, with northern areas showing densities above 1.0 clams per square meter and southern areas showing less. The highest density is near Oysterville and the top of the peninsula with 2.0

to 2.5 clams per square meter.

Twin Harbors beaches from Willapa Bay north to the south jetty at the mouth of Grays Harbor have 5.8 million razor clams and a TAC of 2.34 million razor clams for the 2024-25 season. Those are up from 3.4 million recruits and a TAC of 2.34 million razor clams in 2023-24.

Diggers will find good razor clam populations on most of Twin Harbors, with midbeach areas looking to have the best concentrations.

At Copalis Beach, which stretches from the north jetty at the mouth of Grays Harbor to the Copalis River, the recruit-size total is 5.9 million razor clams and TAC state share is 1.10 million razor clams. Both are down from 6.9 million recruits and a TAC of 1.18 million razor clams in 2023-24.

Clam distribution at Copalis is more concentrated in the northern end. All areas except the bottom quarter of the beach show densities above 1.0 clams per square meter. The most clam-dense area is the north end of the beach, which is above 4.0 clams per square meter.

At Mocrocks beaches from the Copalis River to the south boundary of the Quinault Indian Reservation, the recruit-size total is 9.2 million razor clams with a TAC state share of 1.84 million razor clams, both of which are up from 7.0 million recruits and a TAC of 1.40 million in 2023-24.

The density of recruits at Mocrocks is more consistently strong historically than any other razor clam management beach. The 2024 densities again show all areas except one with abundances at or above 3.0 clams per square meter, and only one area below a density of 1.0 clams per square meter.

For the record, Kalaloch, from South Beach Campground north to Olympic National Park Beach Trail 3, will again be closed for the 2024-25 season. It still has a very depressed clam population. The summer assessment showed the second lowest number of recruits ever observed at Kalaloch.

Linda Smith shows off razors she dug on an opener late last October during a “date night” with husband Darrel. Clam diggers use suction guns

one

narrow clam shovels to extract their quarry from the sand. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

FISHING

The average size of clams seen during the population survey were: 3.87 inches at Long Beach (down from 4.04 inches in 2023 and 4.51 inches in 2022); 3.98 at Twin Harbors (down from 4.2 and 4.6); 4.26 at Copalis Beach (down from 4.5 and 4.3); and 4.08 at Mocrocks (down from 4.4 and 4.2).

During fall and early winter digs it’s not unusual to encounter some small clams, especially this early in the season. It’s important that diggers keep the clams they dig to prevent wastage.

Razor clam growth is much slower in fall and winter, but they rapidly increase in size during spring and summer when the ocean food chain of plankton improves and water temperatures warm up. A recruitsize clam of 3-plus inches in the first year can grow another inch or more by the time it reaches maturity in its second year of life.

REWIND TO 2023-24 SEASON

In all, there was a combined 250 days of digging opportunity that took place in 2023-24 on all four coastal beaches, with 351,062 digger trips made and 4,414,973 razor clams harvested. The average daily take-home count was 12.6 clams per digger (the first 15 clams dug per digger is a daily limit).

On the southern beaches at Long Beach, recreational diggers took home 1,490,909 razor clams on 114,614 digger trips for an average harvest of 12.6 clams per day. At Twin Harbors, it was 1,145,618 razor clams on 90,082 digger trips for a 12.4-clams-per-day harvest.

On the northern beaches at Copalis, the harvest was 1,105,545 razor clams on 86,088 digger trips for a harvest of 12.6 clams per day. At Mocrocks, it was 788,923 razor clams, 60,278 digger trips and 12.7 clams per day.

The combined number of digging

days offered last season (83 at Long Beach, 69 at Twin Harbors, 45 at Copalis and 53 at Mocrocks) was up from 163 days (46 at Long Beach, 52 at Twin Harbors, 38 at Copalis and 27 at Mocrocks) during the 2022-23 season.

For comparison, the record number of days offered the past 10 years was 340 (119 at Long Beach, 108 at Twin Harbors, 60 at Copalis and 53 at Mocrocks) during 202122. The 10-year average by beach is 56 days at Long Beach, 53 at Twin Harbors, 28 at Copalis, 33 at Mocrocks and one at Kalaloch.

These digs are economically beneficial for coastal towns.

The 2023-24 season generated revenue of $51.9 million for the small communities there. That is up from 2022-23’s $49.2 million.

Stores, tackle shops, restaurants and gas stations rely on these opportunities during the lean tourist times in autumn, winter and spring

to help boost their economy.

The highest total in the past 20 years was the 2021-22 season, which generated $71.6 million for 120 digging dates with 484,426 digger trips. The lowest was the 2000-01 season that provided $16.6 million for 20 digging dates with 183,375 digger trips.

The 10-year average is $35.9 million, the 20-year average $30.6 million. These numbers are also influenced by management changes over these years in the harvest rate WDFW uses to set the TAC.

In addition, marine toxin closures, poor weather and surf conditions can also play a significant role each season. In recent history, the 2019-20 season closed early due to Covid-19 and the 2020-21 season closed early due to domoic acid. The 2021-22 season was an incident-free record year, and while the following season saw late fall and winter closures due to marine toxins, 2023-24 was long with only a small shutdown at Mocrocks to begin the season.

MARINE TOXINS

Speaking of, the one wild card throughout every digging season is a marine toxin known as domoic acid. It’s a natural toxin produced by certain types of marine algae and can be harmful or even fatal if consumed in enough quantities. So far, summer and early fall’s harmful algae cell counts have stayed well under the cutoff guideline level. Testing is conducted on behalf of DOH and information can be found at doh.wa.gov/community-andenvironment/shellfish.

Since 1991, when marine toxins were first detected on the Pacific Coast, outbreaks of domoic acid have prompted the cancellation of 26 percent of all planned harvest dates, including all or most of several seasons. NS

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Snake Steelhead Season Looking Good

After years of bad returns, A- and B-run counts are up, the fish are big, and here’s where and how to catch ’em.

By Jeff Holmes

The best run of Columbia and thus Snake River summer steelhead in over a decade has crossed Bonneville Dam, shattering the preseason estimate. At the time of this writing in mid-September, 151,000 A- and B-run steelhead had crossed the first Columbia River dam, with 2,000 fish a day still coming through the ladders. It remains to be seen where the final tally will stop, but enough fish have crossed to open the entire Snake River in Washington and the Ringold fishery north of TriCities on the lower Hanford Reach of the Columbia River.

What we definitely know about this year’s run beyond improved overall numbers is that the B-run is huge and that the A-run is composed of far larger fish than normal. The original B-run forecast was for 32,200 total fish, and the A-run was predicted to come in at 89,900 total fish, with both numbers reflecting returns to Bonneville. On September 17, both runs were updated, with the new projection for Bs coming in at 52,100 (11,800 unclipped) and the new A-run forecast predicted to be 126,500 (45,200 unclipped). What a refreshing change we’ve experienced lately as many runs have come in well above predictions, from Upper Columbia sockeye to Puget

Cory Hovanec hoists a nice big steelhead he caught last season off the banks of the Snake River. State managers now expect larger returns of both A- and B-runs than initially predicted, and the fish should provide good angling on the mainstem Snake and lower ends of its tributaries this fall and winter. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

FISHING

Sound coho. This fall we’ve also seen Chinook come in larger than in recent years, and now, blessedly, the same can be said for steelhead.

B-run fish are always big due to spending extra time at the great Golden Corral in the Pacific, averaging 12 to 16 pounds and sometimes weighing well over 20. But what is exceptional about this year’s run is the size of A-run fish. In a normal year, the A-run is composed of about 80 percent one-salt fish, meaning steelhead that spend a year growing in the ocean. These fish are 4 to 6 pounds, with some slightly smaller or bigger. About 20 percent are typically two-salt fish that spend an additional year getting lardaceous in the ocean and weighing 7 to 12 pounds. Prospects for this year are wildly different than we have ever seen. A whopping 93 percent of A-runs are expected to be two-salt fish!

In 2016, we saw a lesser but similarly disproportionate distribution of A-run fish, with 87 percent composed of twosalts. I remember that year fondly on both the Snake and Grande Ronde.

Even with a smaller run like we’d been experiencing in prior years, the fishing was fantastic, and the bigger A-runs seemed additionally aggressive. That phenomena is likely to repeat itself this year, and opportunities for steelheaders from Spokane, the LC Valley, Tri-Cities and all of the Inland Northwest seem rosy and on the uptick after some poorto-OK years of fishing.

INDEED, WE SUFFERED through low and inconsistent steelhead runs for over a decade after bumper seasons from the early 2000s to the early 2010s spoiled many of us. At first, we rightly blamed poor ocean conditions for the dip, but when the ocean improved and the runs did not, other oceanic factors came into focus. These included high-seas intercept by commercial fishermen from several nations, but the more likely culprit for the unexplained decline of previously predictable and modellable steelhead numbers is immense competition from unsustainable numbers of hatchery pink salmon released by

Alaska, Russia, Canada and Japan. About 1.3 billion pink smolts are being released annually, meaning stiff, new competition for steelhead as they feed to grow strong and return to their natal streams to spawn.

Still, there is no clear consensus yet from biologists about what has slowed steelhead recovery despite abundant feed and good temperatures in the ocean. This year’s uptick in steelhead numbers is hopefully an indicator of more good things to come in future years. For now, we can expect great opportunities throughout the inland 2024-25 summer steelhead season, at times great fishing, and plenty of big fish this year. Here are some great Snake River options for October, which will also produce throughout fall and winter.

LEWISTON/CLARKSTON TO HELLER BAR/ GRANDE RONDE RIVER

This beautiful and famous stretch of the Snake River and its beautiful and wild tributary (the Grande Ronde) are easily accessible to bank and boat

Some of the best fishing this season will occur right above and below Snake River dams such as Lower Monumental, here decked out in the red, white and blue. While this year’s run will still come in at just a fraction of the old glory years seen from 2001 through the early 2010s – two of which saw returns of 600,000-plus fish – rebounding counts are definitely worth celebrating. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

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FISHING

DON’T OVERLOOK REACH’S RINGOLD

Ashort 25- to 40-minute drive north from most anywhere in Tri-Cities on the lower Hanford Reach sits the Ringold Springs access and the nearby state hatchery of the same name. Ringold Springs Hatchery owes its existence to 58-degree water that comes bubbling up in the desert from beneath the famed Ringold geologic formation. The chilly groundwater allows fisheries managers to raise coldwater fish in one of the hottest parts of the Northwest. One of those species is the summer steelhead, which will arrive in good numbers this year to the popular Columbia River fishery. Those fish will be in great shape and will be loaded with fat. Big numbers won’t show to Ringold until midwinter, but the best harvest opportunities for the highest quality fish will occur this October.

Many Ringold-bound hatchery fish linger well downriver in the forebays of Columbia River dams and at many points in between – including under docks throughout the Tri-Cities, where they are fair game to October anglers above the Highway 395 “Blue Bridge.” However, a large, reliable push of Ringold fish arrive to the hatchery area much earlier, with fish piling into the lower Hanford Reach and also overrunning the hatchery area beginning in July. Fish stack up in the

lower Hanford Reach all summer and early fall until fisheries managers open the river to retention in October when numbers crossing upstream Priest Rapids Dam are robust enough to ensure escapement of threatened upriver summer steelhead stocks. That escapement has already been met this year, and the river will be open to harvest between the Blue Bridge and the site of the old wooden powerlines, roughly 8 miles above the Ringold hatchery.

RINGOLD STEELHEAD ARE available in October from shore and boat, and while boat anglers generally do much better, shore anglers who fish during peaked flows from power generation at upstream Priest Rapids Dam can do very well. Heavy water in the big river pushes steelhead close to shore to softer water from 3 to maybe 12 feet deep. During these times you can sometimes see boat anglers in the know casting bobbers, spinners and side-drifting rigs at the shorelines, or back-trolling plugs, while inexperienced bankies toss offerings over the steelhead. Spikes of heavy water released from the dam can be seen at waterdata.usgs.gov/ monitoring-location/12472800, and it generally takes the flood of water about six hours to flow its way down to Ringold. When the high water first arrives, it can

dislodge weeds and filamentous algae, so sometimes waiting a couple hours for the water to clear is advisable.

PASCO’S JERRY REYES (509-302-1240) is the owner and lead guide at Flatout Fishing, and he is the undisputed champ of the Ringold steelhead fishery. He and his son Ivan, also a Flatout guide, have dialed in fishing the big, swift stretch of the Columbia below and above the Ringold launch.

Their preferred tactic is side-drifting tiny offerings from sleds on ultralight steelhead tackle, including Edge rods. I tease my friend Jerry about being part of the “Edge Family” since I find the fishing industry and its contrived families comical, but the joke is always on me when I fish those rods. They are amazing, I now own some, and time on Jerry’s boat convinced me of not just Edge rods but that he is by far the best guide to learn the Ringold steelhead fishery. As kings color up in October, Jerry will switch to sidedrifting for steelhead when it’s open, and his clients will also catch kings and the new run of coho at Ringold during that time on light steelhead gear, including some big salmon in good shape. I highly recommend booking a day with Jerry if you want to learn the Ringold fishery. –JH

Boat anglers run bobbers, spinners, side-drifting rigs and back-trolled plugs at the Ringold steelhead fishery on the mid-Columbia’s lower Hanford Reach. (FLATOUTFISHING.NET)

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COHO ANOTHER OPTION

For many centuries, a healthy number of coho salmon returned annually to the Clearwater River. However, construction of the Lewiston Dam about 4 miles above the mouth in 1927 ended the run. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game attempted to restore returns in the 1960s, but the effort proved unsuccessful and in 1986 the Clearwater stock was declared extinct. (The dam was removed in 1973.)

The Nez Perce Tribe was not exactly enthralled with the decision, so in 1994 they formed the Clearwater River Basin Coho Restoration Project. In an agreement with state and federal agencies, they began using surplus coho eggs from the Lower Columbia to revive the run.

In 1997, just under 100 adult coho crossed Lower Granite Dam. From returning adults, the tribe took eggs, reared the fry in hatcheries and then released the young salmon into Clearwater tributaries. In fall 2014, 18,098 were counted at the dam, a record that stood until it was topped by 2021 and its 24,226 coho.

Smolts produced by the broodstock program have a better survival rate than those from the Lower Columbia. Similar restoration projects have been instituted on the Yakima, Wenatchee and Methow Rivers and there are growing populations in all three. Central Washington could be on its way to becoming a new destination for fall coho fishing too.

Back on the Clearwater, the Nez Perce have been rather generous. The daily limit is two adult coho, and there is no limit on jacks (fish less than 20 inches in length). Clipped and unclipped coho can be kept during the September 1-December 31 season. To sustain a healthy and growing population, the tribe has a goal of 15,000 returning adults, which should provide excellent coho fishing opportunities throughout the fall.

As for fishing, the same strategy used for steelhead may also work for them. Spinners work best in riffles and fast-moving water. A size 3 works well if the water is clear, while a size 5 is better if it is milky. On the fly, Woolly Buggers and leeches in green, black or purple will work. Although I have not used it on the Clearwater, the fly that has treated me well in other rivers has been a pink Bunny Leech, coupled with a rather fast retrieve. A jig can also be effective, especially in deeper water. The most popular colors would be pink and chartreuse worked moderately through the water column.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Nez Perce Tribe and other organizations, the future for fishing on the Clearwater River looks very promising. It will be interesting to see how things work out in the coming years. –Mike Wright

anglers and are close to the LC Valley (the fishing and hunting Mecca of the Northwest). The Snake is loaded with Snake River, Grande Ronde River, Salmon River, Wallowa River and Imnaha River steelhead in October. Never are fish snappier in the Snake and Ronde than in October as waters cool and more and more steelhead headed for both streams and other tributaries laze their way upriver. It’s the snappiness of the October fish that draws fly anglers to this stretch of the Snake and to the Grande Ronde.

At some point during the month, the fishery hits critical mass when waters cool to around 60 degrees and maximum numbers of fish have entered the system. Getting fish to bite in October under ideal temps is not hard, and if you add in some fall rains that cool the waters more and raise the flows without blowing out the rivers and restricting visibility, fishing can be amazing and likely will be this year. This stretch is mostly home to A-runs, but Clearwater River B-runs also stray up here, and of course Salmon River B-runs travel through it on their way to the confluence with the Snake roughly 20 miles above Heller Bar.

You can catch fish using virtually all steelhead baits and techniques, but without a doubt preying on their aggression during October is my preferred approach. I love to catch steelhead on spinners and spoons, especially spinners, and there is no better time for it. I prefer size 4 and 5 spinners in the Snake with brass, copper and black blades and favor bodies in greens, candy apple blue, purple, black and black with glitter, aka the Michael Jackson. I downsize slightly to size 3 and 4 blades in the Grande Ronde with the same color preferences for blades and bodies. Silver/nickel blades can be effective, too, and one of the biggest Hells Canyon steelhead I ever saw caught bit a size 0 silver Colorado blade on a snelled size 6 hook and a chunk of worm.

Plugging both the Snake and Ronde is probably the most deadly approach

A Clearwater coho outshines a pair of steelhead caught on the Idaho river. It bit during a late October nightfishing trip for A- and B-runs. (RICK ITAMI)

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for big numbers of fish, provided you have a boat and that there’s enough water in the Ronde to float it effectively in a drift boat. Anything below 1,200 cubic feet per second at the Troy, Oregon, gauge will be a scratchy float. A jet boat is highly desired in the Snake except for expert boaters who know the river, and even then …

CLEARWATER-SNAKE CONFLUENCE TO LITTLE GOOSE DAM

The Clearwater River is entirely in Idaho, but it empties into the Snake

at the Washington state line, and Washington anglers benefit all fall and winter from the famously big B-run steelhead that return to the Clearwater every year. This year not only are the fish big, but the run is gigantic. As many as 40,000 hatchery Bs will return to the Clearwater, which deserves and will surely get its own article(s) this fall and winter. Not to be overlooked, however, are the excellent opportunities in Washington to intercept B-run steelhead. Some Bs streak right up

the Columbia and Snake into the Clearwater, but a large percentage take their sweet, sweet time getting there. They hang out in the midColumbia from the John Day Arm to the confluence with the Snake, favoring the forebays of dams. As yet, that steelhead fishery is not open, but might by emergency rule. What is open is the entire Snake in Washington, and B-runs will hang out above and below all the dams.

Along with the more numerous As, Bs will show in the catch all fall and winter, and some places are famous for producing them. The mouth of the Clearwater itself is a funnel for B-runs, so the confluence and the Washington shoreline stretching miles downstream is excellent for the outsized steelhead. Popular ambush points include Nisqually John Canyon, Blyton Landing, Granite Point, Wawawai and the forebay and tailrace of Lower Granite Dam. Bank and boat anglers alike catch lots of both stocks here on coon shrimp fished 6 to 14 feet under a float and black, black and red, black and purple, purple, and many other colors of jigs tipped with coon shrimp or any shrimp, also below a bobber.

Along with the traditional technique of fishing floats in a stationary manner, another approach popularized above McNary Dam works great here – superslow trolling large, shrimp-baited jigs below floats at roughly .4 mile an hour. This is a great way to cover water, elicit strikes and ensure hookups. Set your bobber stop 10 to 18 feet from your jig, spread your floats out in a fan 20 to 40 feet behind your boat, and wait for a takedown.

“Summer steelhead” is a phrase that confuses many when they think about freezing their tails off in pursuit of steelhead in Eastern Washington or North Idaho – Kaiha Hovanec landed this one in the former state last winter – but the fact of the matter is that all steelhead in the Inland Northwest are summer steelhead. Summers enter freshwater in, well, summer, with undeveloped gonads and loaded with fat so that they can subsist from then through late winter or even early spring when they spawn and attempt to return to the ocean. Steelhead do not necessarily die after spawning, and a decent percentage make it back through the dams to saltwater to recondition and make another spawning run. True “winter steelhead” do not go any further up the Columbia than the Gorge, and unlike summers, they show up with minimal fat and maximum gonads, ready to party and make a return trip to the ocean as kelts. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

Forward-trolling plugs is also super popular here, and many patterns will catch fish, but old-school metallic plugs in purple, red, green and blue, as well as black on metallic and a variety of other standard and inventive plug patterns are worthwhile. Wiggle Warts, Brad’s Wigglers, Mag Lip 3.5s and 3.0s and – my favorite – Hot Lips in ¼ ounce are great plug choices. These same tactics work all the way

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downstream to the confluence with the Columbia in Burbank.

TUCANNON MOUTH AND LYONS FERRY TO ICE HARBOR DAM

Steelhead, including B-runs, can be caught anywhere on the Washington Snake, but they hang out in reliable places. That said, prospecting and trying new places along its many miles of impounded water is fun and can be lucrative. On a few occasions while bird hunting, I’ve seen steelheaders catching fish in the middle of nowhere in places I would never have thought to fish. Points near dropoffs, the outside of coves in close proximity to deep water and the mouths of creeks are great places to prospect with floats or with plugs. But if you’re new to the Snake or

just like the assurance of fishing in known steelhead hangouts (author raises his hand), the mouth of the Tucannon is an excellent place to encounter Tucannon fish, Snake fish and B-runs ultimately bound for the Clearwater. At the Tucannon, boats anchor up on both sides of the little river’s channel as it empties into the Snake, fishing coonies below floats and shrimp-tipped jigs below floats. Some anglers troll plugs downstream of the shrimp show along the riprap and the underwater structure a little further from shore. I have caught a lot of steelhead here on plugs, including a few destined for the Clearwater. I’ve also caught nice walleye here plugging, plus tons of smallmouth. Several miles downstream of the Tucannon below the mouth of the

Palouse River is the Lyons Ferry Hatchery, another great place to catch steelhead as well as moldy, hardfighting fall kings that are returning this year in big numbers. Over the years I’ve had some good days and spectacular nights trolling plugs here, as well as some luck fishing shrimp under floats.

Further downstream are Lower Monumental and Ice Harbor Dams, closer to Tri-Cities. LoMo is a drive, even from Tri-Cities, so there’s never a crowd, but it is an at times very good fishery above and below the dam. Its isolated location keeps it from being popular. Ice Harbor, however, is much closer to “the Tri,” and it is a popular and productive fishery. In these forebays and tailraces, all the abovementioned tactics will produce fish. NS

An angler fights a shrimp-biting steelhead on the Franklin County side of the lower Snake just upstream of Ice Harbor Dam during a past season. (DENNIS DAUBLE)

Hunt Trout On Fall Fly Waters

Set that rifle aside a sec – cool temps, lower flows make this prime time to hit streams.

By Matthew Dwonch

Fall has never felt more like summer. As I write this in mid-September, dozens of wildfires wreak havoc across the West,

hammering Central Oregon, California and Idaho. Temperatures soar into the 90s, producing dangerously warm water in trout streams. This is all bad news, but don’t get me wrong: I still love summer. Don’t we all? Who doesn’t get romantic thinking about warm July evenings, full moons and lunker brown trout? Most of us outdoorsmen and -women happily endure the struggles of summer to reap the benefits.

Fall presents the most beautiful season to fly fish Northwest rivers for a range of native and introduced trout species. Jeff Hernandez caught this bull trout last October on a Snake River watershed stream. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)

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They don’t call them October caddis for no good reason – giant orange sedges provide a lateseason meal for westslope cutthroat and other river dwellers. Tying on a pattern can produce an “outrageous day of fishing,” while streamers will yield savage strikes. (MATTHEW DWONCH)

And therein lies the beauty of fly fishing the American West. Each season offers its unique challenges, which when solved can produce beautiful rewards. This is true especially of fall, which many seasoned anglers would call the greatest fly fishing season of them all.

Last month we focused on Northwest alpine lakes. This article is a continuation of sorts, but will focus instead on streams and rivers.

DON’T UNDERSTAND THE draw of fall fly fishing? That’s OK! For much of my life, neither did I. I once associated fall with MLB playoffs and Sunday Night Football. That is until I stumbled upon a beautiful little trout stream nestled on the edge of the Frank Church Wilderness several Septembers ago. It’s in a remote location, and while I had not previously laid eyes on it, I had heard rumors that it provided refuge to a population of native bull trout. I knew I had to see them with my own eyes. I became more and more enthralled with stories of bull trout until one day it became too much. I packed my gear and departed for the creek early one September morning.

My old Toyota bounced along a rutted dirt road for several hours until I arrived at my destination. It was an eerie scene. A beautiful freestone creek rolled down a steep canyon in

front of me. If this had been a month earlier, there would have been voices echoing around each corner, as fly fishermen jostled for position over the sweetest honey holes. Instead, I was met with complete and utter silence. I remember thinking to myself, “I could get used to this.”

I made my way onto a trail that meandered alongside the creek, giving me a bird’s-eye view into deep blue pockets of water. I spied migrating Chinook salmon, as well as the occasional trophy bull trout cruising by. It wasn’t long before I found a spot that was to my liking. I tied an Adams Irresistible onto my 5X leader and pushed down the adrenaline every fisherman feels when casting into novel water. A crisp breeze threatened to interrupt my first cast, and the Adams missed its target by several feet. Frustrated, I decided to start over and try again. When I whipped the fly off the water, I found a healthy 12-inch westslope cutthroat attached. I knew then I was in for a treat. Over the next three days, I enjoyed solitude, excellent fishing and refreshing fall weather.

PERHAPS THE GREATEST reward for breaking the fly rod out in the fall is the promise of relative solitude on most rivers and streams. Labor Day marks the end of summer, but

if you’re a fly fisherman, it marks the beginning of something else entirely. It marks the start of a mass migration. Each Labor Day, watch and witness as masses of summer recreators retreat into the comfort of the homes from whence they came. That’s slightly dramatic, but seriously, the vast majority of summer crowds seem to simply vanish after Labor Day. This leaves your favorite rivers and streams conspicuously lonely, a perfect opportunity for diehard fly fishermen to seize upon.

As previously mentioned, this past summer was brutally hot. In my neck of the woods, temperatures soared to above 100 degrees for nearly a month straight. This made many folks upset – and it put some local trout populations in dire straits. Mass die-offs were reported in several watersheds. If the heat didn’t outright kill the fish off, it certainly kept responsible anglers off the water for weeks at a time.

The good news is that those roasting days on the water should be behind us. Though recent Octobers have seen notable late late-season heatwaves, once the mercury reliably dips into the 50s, trout are happier, and thus so should you be. Add into the mix spectacular fall foliage and scenery, and you’re looking at a genuinely good time.

Trout fishing on the Stillwater, Boulder, Yellowstone, Bighorn, Shoshone, and East and West Rosebud.

ESPIRITU SANTO BAY: MARCH-JULY

Bonefish, Tarpon, Permit, Barracuda, Cubera Snapper.

FISHING

FALL BROWNS OF THE INLAND NORTHWEST

As most avid trout anglers will attest, fall is an excellent fishing month. The water temperature is generally beginning to cool off, largersized fly hatches begin to appear and German brown trout will be schooling up in preparation for spawning.

Several water bodies in Eastern Washington and North Idaho have the qualities needed to provide an excellent autumnal fishing experience. One such spot is the Kettle River, northwest of Colville. There is a sizable number of browns in the river, along with rainbows and other game fish. The browns generally hold in the deeper holes and do not usually migrate as much as the rainbows. The best area for browns is the portion of the Kettle that forms a loop just south of the Canadian border. It holds more large brown trout than any other part of the river.

Another excellent spot for large browns is Rock Lake, northwest of the Palouse Hills town of St. John. Rock is a rather large body of water best suited for fishing from a boat. The lake is in a narrow canyon and is very deep in most places. It is also very windy at times and can be dangerous for boaters who are not prepared for adverse conditions.

Stocked with both browns and rainbows, full-sink lines will be more effective this time of year since there is not a great deal of surface action.

A Muddler Minnow or other larger streamers are advisable, and a depth finder will be helpful.

According to Danny Garrett, a state fisheries biologist based out of Spokane, the brown trout density in Rock Lake is very high and the number of trophy-size Teutonic trout is excellent, making it one

of the best lakes in Eastern Washington to try your luck.

Another good one is Waitts Lake near Valley off Highway 231 in Stevens County. This 469-acre body of water is open yearround and receives an annual stocking of approximately 2,400 ½-pound browns, along with about the same number of rainbows. Thanks to the ample feed, the fish grow rather rapidly, with 2-pound trout being common. The lake is a popular recreation area, with summer cabins along the shoreline, making it a little difficult to fish from the bank, but there is a state ramp on the southeast corner and two resorts allow day use.

TO THE NORTHEAST, the Pend Oreille River is home to browns that appear to have increased in numbers concurrent with the illegal introduction of northern pike and

Autumn colors shine bright on the Kettle River near the Washington-British Columbia border, one of the better streams to fish for brown trout in the Inland Northwest. (MURRAY FOUBISTER, FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2 0)

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subsequent state and tribal gillnetting, according to a 2023 paper coauthored by Garrett on the pike suppression efforts. Browns turn up more in the mainstem than its sloughs, the research found, and at present, the future of fishing for the trout in the Pend Oreille looks bright.

Early in the 20th century, the Priest River was home to a relatively small but healthy population of browns. However, a couple years of drought spelled trouble for them and other species. Since browns are fall spawners, they relied heavily on water flow from Priest Lake, but during these low-water years there simply was not enough water to adequately cover the newly deposited eggs. Many browns were lost during these dry years and the population has never fully recovered. A proposal to take colder water from Priest Lake and pump it into the river below the Outlet Bay Dam – similar to what is done on Sullivan Creek below Sullivan Lake – has gone nowhere.

Stocking records also show that several decades ago now browns were planted in another Idaho tributary of the Pend Oreille River, and they took to it. Much of the creek is on private land, so there wasn’t a great deal of pressure, but there were some very impressive growth rates.

FOR ANGLERS WHO don’t ordinarily target brown trout, there are some things to keep in mind. First, browns are notoriously difficult to catch, so patience is a must. They feed more often in the late evening or at night, so being an “early bird” doesn’t mean you are more likely to get the worm. They are also more frequently found in the deeper and cooler water.

Browns often fight differently than rainbows and other trout species. They tend to spin around in the net rather than just flopping. They also have more teeth; when they spin and you are trying to get the hook out, there is a greater tendency to end the day with considerably more blood coming from your hands than from the fish. When fall comes around many outdoorsmen begin thinking about the hunting season and they put their fishing rods in storage. Those individuals may be missing out on some of the best fishing opportunities of the season. –Mike Wright

LIKE ANYTHING, THERE is a price of admission with fly fishing rivers and streams in the fall. The price you pay is generally manifested in decreased fish aggression. Biologists have found that trout generally feed less frequently and less aggressively during the fall months than in spring or summer. Although it is not exactly understood why this is, it can almost certainly be attributed to lower flows and decreasing water temperatures. Of course, there are situations in which this logic does not apply at all. Some fish can be extremely aggressive in the fall. Most of these cases relate to spawning. Rainbows and cutthroat spawn in the spring, but brook and brown trout spawn in November. In the heat of spawning, they are dormant and lethargic. Shortly before this time, however, say in October, these fish become increasingly aggressive and willing to strike. They are not eating out of hunger, but out of predatory instinct.

Think about steelhead. Steelhead fishing in the Inland Northwest occurs in fall and spring as these fish migrate from the ocean back to their ancestral homes hundreds of miles upstream. They are on a mission to spawn, so the idea is to throw something flashy and irresistible in front of these fish until they cannot resist attacking. Brook and brown trout offer similar opportunities in October and are likely to chase streamers and other large flies with malicious intent. Speaking of which, fall is the perfect time to cast larger fly patterns. Streamers, stimulators and large terrestrials are quite effective. Fish tend to hold in deeper pockets and pools of water starting in September. An annual decrease in irrigation needs spurs this reaction. Tailwaters, or rivers and streams that are dam-controlled, see a drastic drop in flows following the end of summer. Watershed managers start to gather water into reservoirs in preparation for next year’s summer

Trails that wind through colorful fall trees can lead to unpressured trout and great fishing. (MATTHEW DWONCH)

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irrigation needs, which leaves flows down in the tailwaters. This has drastic effects on fish behavior. Usually, these effects are fisherman-friendly. Fish tend to be more tightly congregated in a few large pools during the fall rather than spread throughout the entire tributary. The drop in water flows also allows access to sections of the river that were previously dangerous or impossible to access.

New spots, stacks of fish and streamers? Yep, it sounds like paradise to me too!

STREAMERS ARE ALWAYS fun, but on warmer days, consider reaching for a dry fly rather than a streamer. Mayflies hatch throughout fall, with the most numerous by far being the small olive variety. Blue-winged olives sized 1822 are my go-to fly in the cooler fall months. If there is a hatch, it’s often going to involve olive-toned mayflies.

Caddisflies are also a resilient

bunch and hatch into late October. The famous October caddis is a large orange bug that trout find irresistible. Adults typically emerge on larger streams from late September through October. If you happen upon an October caddis hatch, buckle up for an outrageous day of fishing.

Terrestrials are also in play up until the first frost of the year, and sometimes beyond. Grasshoppers are a fair bet on some rivers in dry climates, but beetles are just as important a food source for many trout. A basic, size 16 black foam beetle will often suffice. If you are determined to continue your summer fun, grab a Joe’s Hopper instead, the greatest hopper pattern I have in my arsenal.

Now, back to streamers. Fishing with streamers is a boom-or-bust business in my experience. The takes are few and far between, but they are downright ferocious when they happen. As a bonus, fish that hit

streamers tend to be larger and more predatory than their dry-fly-eating buddies. I have heard it said that the color of the streamer thrown is more important than the pattern. I tend to disagree. I have fished every color of streamer imaginable under light and dark skies and to tell you the truth, I have not noticed a significant difference in productivity between colors. I adhere to a more “right fish, right time” attitude. However, certain patterns do stand out to me as excellent streamers. Classics like the black Woolly Bugger, Olive Zonker and Clouser Minnow rank near the top of my list.

AS BLAZING HEAT continues this week in September, I can’t help but long for cooler temps, low flows and crisp fall air. It’s about time to get lost on a cool lonely river with nothing but a fly rod and some willing fish. I hope you find that place this fall season as well. NS

OREGON

EUGENE

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1700 State Highway 99 N www.maxxummarine.com

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Coho Fishing The Egegik River

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