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Sportsman Northwest

Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource

Volume 8 • ISSUE 1 PUBLISHER James R. Baker ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Dick Openshaw

ALUMAWELD, THE PERFECT ALL AROUND BOAT FOR FISHING, HUNTING AND FAMILY FUN.

EDITOR Andy Walgamott LEAD WRITERS Jeff Holmes, Andy Schneider CONTRIBUTORS Nick Barr, Ralph Bartholdt, Jason Brooks, Tim Bush, Chris Gregersen, Doug Huddle, Randy King, Leroy Ledeboer, Brian Lull, Terry Otto, Troy Pottenger, Buzz Ramsey, Troy Rodakowski, Scott Staats, Todd Switzer, Dave Workman SALES MANAGER Brian Lull ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Becca Ellingsworth, Mamie Grifﬁn, Steve Joseph Mike Nelson, Mike Smith, Heidi Witt, Paul Yarnold

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DESIGNERS Dawn Carlson, Beth Harrison, Sonjia Kells PRODUCTION MANAGER John Rusnak PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker OFFICE MANAGER/ACCOUNTING Audra Higgins ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Sauro INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn WEBMASTER/INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines CIRCULATION MANAGER Heidi Belew DISTRIBUTION Tony Sorrentino, Gary Bickford ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@nwsportsmanmag.com CORRESPONDENCE Email letters, articles/queries, photos, etc., to awalgamott@ media-inc.com, or snail mail them to the address below. ON THE COVER Randy Belles shows off a mess of mallards taken on the Upper Columbia while Ryley Absher, then 16, downed his big bull outside North Bend with a .30-06. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST) ISSUE MOTTO Already covering what the other guys are just discovering swims and pinches in Northwest waters! DEPARTMENT OF APOLOGIES Due to an email draft-box snafu, additional tactics for fall Chinook ﬁshing on the mid-Columbia and Snake weren’t included in last issue’s p. 147 article. DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES Like us (please, please, we’re so needy, we’ll be your BFF!) on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and get daily updates at nwsportsmanmag.com.

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We Have What You Need For Your Next Hunting, Fishing Or Camping Adventure!

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NOVEMBER 2014

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 1

COLUMNS 23

CENTRAL OREGON The furriest, brownest salmon ever and more tales from Scott’s rides with Oregon fish and wildlife troopers as they work fall’s hunting seasons.

WHAT 117 MY, BIG TEETH

STUMPTOWN Portland’s nearby tree farm, Longfibre’s former land up in the Clackamas basin, could be next under Weyerhaueser’s new fee program, Terry worries.

YOU HAVE!

Not all that’s toothsome around the Northwest wears a gray pelt – stand by for the return of 1 million dog salmon to Puget Sound, and the upper Green River – MAPPED! – will be a top spot for chums!

NORTH SOUND Doug has the 411 on November’s any-elk hunt in GMU 407, as well as best bets for late bucks and coho, early steelies and hooligans. Yes, hooligans.

ON TARGET Dave lives by simple credos, including: “Bad boots suck.” With the rainy part of fall’s hunting seasons here, he breaks out the shoe grease, mink oil and more for a lesson that’ll keep your boots dry

THE LONG HAUL We head deep afield for upland game birds with Jeff.

BASIN BEACON The table’s set, old hunting haunts have been rejuvenated, there’s a record duck crop – now all waterfowlers need is a little help from Ma Nature to bring the northerns down to the Columbia Basin.

(TERRY WIEST, SALMON UNIVERSITY)

111 CHEF IN THE WILD Randy deep fries up a South Idaho fave, finger steak – with a mallard twist.

DEPARTMENTS

FEATURES

131 WESTSIDER The shores of Puget Sound’s Bainbridge Island “harbor” some good blackmouth fishing, Tim reveals.

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145 INLAND NORTHWEST Just in case you’ve forgotten about them in the wake of record fall king, coho and sockeye runs, Ralph reminds us it’s time for Idaho steelheading. 151 BUZZ RAMSEY Looking for something to do besides cram into malls on a certain Friday after a certain holiday later this month? Buzz has some ideas! 153 THE KAYAK GUYS Just back from a three-week paddle in Alaska, Todd has the lowdown on how to pack a ’yak for a camp-fishing attack.

The Editor’s Note Correspondence Big Pic: WDFW begins buying a wildlife-rich 20,000-acre ranch 21 Dishonor Roll; Jackass of the Month 27 News: An inequity in the proposed steelhead regs 35 Derby Watch: Everett coho results; Lewiston-Clarkston steelies up next 36 Outdoor Calender 39 Reader photos from the field 42 Wright & McGill/Eagle Claw, Browning Photo Contest winners 135 Rig of the Month: Spin-N-Glo/ worm setup 149 Jig of the Month: Bead jig for steelhead 167 Christmas Gift Guide

Late-season whitetail tips Inland Northwest deer for dummies 65 Oregon Coast bull elk 85 Spokane geese 91 Columbia River ducks, from Astoria to Boardman 97 A waterfowler’s journey from the San Juans to Tri-Cities 105 4 ways to beat boredom in the blind 125 Nestucca River fall Chinook 137 3 Northwest Oregon early winter steelhead streams – MAPPED!

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Go to nwsportsmanmag.com for details. NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Periodical Postage Paid at Seattle, WA and at additional mailing ofﬁces. (USPS 025-251) POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northwest Sportsman, PO Box 24365, Seattle, WA 98124. Annual subscriptions are $29.95 (12 issues), 2-year subscription are $39.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Index Publishing Group, or call (206) 382-9220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues are available at Media Index Publishing Group ofﬁces at the cost of $5 plus tax. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2014 Media Index Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A.

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THEEDITOR’SNOTE f it’s hunting season, it might be a good time for an update on a certain furry critter roaming around our woods. The past few months have been active for wolf management around the Northwest, with Oregon announcing that it may be able to initiate the delisting process in the state’s eastern third as early as next April. With how quickly numbers are growing, it seems like a no-brainer, but the Fish & Wildlife Commission will need to go through a status check on the species to get to phase two of its wolf plan. Surgical hunts, a phase away still, requires seven successful breeding pairs for three straight years, but with eight if not nine packs whelping litters this year, who knows, 2014 could be year 1 of that. Just hold on for a whole lot of angst beforehand as activists try to slow it down, despite the randy nature of their favorite animal.

ANGST WAS EVIDENT in Washington in late summer and early fall. State offices were flooded by petitions, letters and resolutions, and WDFW held a pair of meetings on both sides of the state to outline its summer management activities but maybe more so to let both sides blow off steam. An interesting thing happened at the second shindig, just north of Seattle. After two dozen wolf advocates gave a trio of state wolf managers the what-for for ranchers, lethal removals and more, hunter Jason Trapp of Puyallup took the mic out of its holder and stood before the audience and offered a bold statement: “I’m all for wolf management — not killing them all,” he told them, and added, “Let it be known: Wolves will be hunted in Washington.” There wasn’t quite the applause that most other speakers got – and someone in the audience retorted “No, they won’t” – but there was some. There should have been more, but I’m not sure that the gathering quite heard or wanted to hear what was underneath Trapp’s words. It’s basically their fantasy dream come true. Just as with Oregon, to get to a point where Washington can even consider a wolf hunt means that the species has spread across large parts of the state, there are lots and lots of them roaming around, and they’re weathering the inevitable removals and poachings. Just like they have in the Northern Rockies. It’s a success story when you can get to the point that hunts can be held. Cases in point: elk, whitetail, bandtail pigeons. But that sort of big-picture thinking is sometimes overlooked by wolf advocates. They want to remember the removal of the Wedge Pack – without noticing that two years later there are at least five new packs in that part of the state – and they worry about WDFW taking out a single animal, a Huckleberry female, for its pack’s sheep depredations. Editorials in two Westside papers called that one “another mistake” and “catastrophic,” but a study of Alaskan wolf packs the agency pointed to says otherwise. Neither no wolves nor tons of wolves are possible in either state. Because they’re such a polarizing species, science can only do so much and managing for social tolerances amongst ranchers, and hunters, those most affected by their recolonization, must be done. Having covered the topic since 2008 (and blogging what seems at times like every day about wolves), I can say that I think ODFW and WDFW are doing a good job helping livestock producers cope with their return and giving them nonlethal tools, and I’m heartened to hear about new and ongoing research onto wolf impacts on deer, elk and moose. The hard part will be weathering the coming years. “I don’t have the easy button,” WDFW’s Nate Pamplin told the crowd after Trapp spoke. “We’re going to recover wolves. We’re going to manage wolf-livestock conflicts. We know wolf-ungulate issues are coming. We need to do better outreach.” Truer words. – Andy Walgamott NOVEMBER 2014

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CORRESPONDENCE PHOTO CALL! Oh, Real Women of Northwest Fishing, time once again to send in your pics and stories for our huge annual feature on ya’ll in the big December issue of Northwest Sportsman magazine! Send ’em to awalgamott@media-inc.com!

C&R FOR A FEW, BUT NOT THE REST OF YOU? In mid-October, we blogged about the mystery of why some Grande Ronde steelheaders wouldn’t be required to keep hatchery fish while others would (see p. 27 this issue). Under a rule-change proposal pitched by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, the lower 2½ miles of the river would be opened up for retention, but anglers there would have the option of keeping up to three fish a day. But steelheaders above it as well as elsewhere in the Blues and on Columbia tribs from the Klickitat down, couldn’t practice catch-and-release. They would be required to keep every clipped fish, and of course once they reached the daily limit, would have to hang up the rod. That dichotomy drew several comments on our blog, including this from jigmaker Keith Roe: “Hate to say this but fly fishermen did not like the idea of mandatory retention. I know quite a few that release the hatcheries and say they were wild to the creel checkers.”

BURNED OUT For many out-of-area sportsmen, last month’s rifle buck season was their first chance to see the grim calling cards of the Carlton Complex fire in Okanogan County. While we reported online that it and later floods didn’t hamper hunter access, it still was a jarring sight, including for Garrett Lowell Oso-Grande, who wrote: “Just drive the burn area on Lester Road (east of Twisp). Skeletons of dead animals everywhere. Many did not make it. Lots of does though, actually any live deer I’ve seen was a doe. The burn did do a number on the deer. I even found a skeleton of a dead 2 point. Sad stuff.”

MOST LIKED PHOTOGRAPH WE HUNG UP AT FACEBOOK.COM/ NORTHWESTSPORTSMANMAGAZINE THIS PRESS CYCLE Tri-Cities dentist Dr. Gearard Loomas and his 43.5-pound Hanford Reach upriver bright, er, drilled it on our social media channel in early fall, drawing nearly 100 likes and a dozen comments. (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

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A view across part of the northern Grand Coulee Ranch, which the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife is buying in chunks from a willing seller. (WDFW)

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Sixguns And Sharptails WDFW begins buying huge and historic Douglas County ranch that’s home to muleys and rare grouse. By Andy Walgamott

ELECTRIC CITY, Wash.—Washington wildlife managers have pulled the trigger on a real slice of the Wild West. Not only will the 20,000 acres of a Douglas County ranch they’re buying provide public deer and upland bird hunting and fishing access as well as sharp-tailed grouse habitat, but it was the scene of a gunfight in the late 1800s. “‘Wild Goose’ Bill Condon, aka Wilbur Condit, and another guy got in a shootout over a woman and killed each other at an old ranch site there,” notes Jim Brown, the regional Department of Fish & Wildlife manager and something of a Northcentral Washington history buff. The gunsmoke had long since cleared from the sprawling Grand Coulee Ranch when in late September the Fish & Wildlife Commission approved purchasing the first 4,200 acres of it at a price of $1.8 million, or roughly $429 an acre. Brown says not only will the “great acquisition” eventually provide open hunting lands in an area with little public access, but there’s the potential to open a new boat ramp to get at Lake Rufus Woods’ big triploids and walleye. A WDFW report notes that the ranch has 14-plus miles of frontage along the Upper Columbia reservoir, and its uplands feature everything from basalt cliffs and buttes to rolling hills and brushy gullies to stands of aspen and ponderosa. Mule deer hunters will drool over the sound of that sort of country becoming

available in the future, and it also has one of the region’s largest grouse dancehalls, known as leks. “The two best populations of sharptailed grouse are on opposite sides of the Columbia. One is in the Nespelem area of the Colville Reservation and the other is in northeastern Douglas County,” notes Mike Schroeder, WDFW’s upland bird researcher. “The acquisition is in the middle and helps to strengthen and connect the existing populations.” In recent years his agency has been working to bolster the state’s threatened population of the 2-pound prairie grouse. They once were the most numerous and widespread game bird in Eastern Washington, but the conversion of large swaths of the Columbia Basin, Palouse and other regions to livestock grazing and farming, and the loss of brushy riparian areas they use for winter feeding diminished their habitat. Hunting was put on hold in 1933 and no seasons occurred until 1953, when the birds were open for just two days in three counties. By 1965, it was reopened across the Eastside, but due to declining numbers by 1985 it was closed everywhere except Lincoln County, and since 1988, there has been no season. Around 400 or so sharptails have been translocated from populations in Idaho, British Columbia and elsewhere in Eastern Washington, but the latest population estimate is just 871, according to Schroeder.

WHEN IT’S ALL said and done, the acquisition of the ranch from a Seattle-

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MIXED BAG the Big Bend Game Management Unit (in which it’s located) is one of the most productive in Douglas County, mainly due to restrictions in access to the large blocks of private land,” notes district wildlife biologist Dave Volsen in Wenatchee. “The ranch itself has been under a controlled-access management system for many years, and the result is a nice quality deer herd. The ranch is a working cattle ranch, so like any other grazing situations, some areas show more use than others. However, there are high-quality habitats throughout the ranch.”

The Grand Coulee Ranch provides key connectivity between two of Washington’s largest populations of sharp-tailed grouse. The species was once the most numerous and widespread upland game bird on the Eastside, but the last limited hunting season for them was back in 1987. (MIKE SCHROEDER, WDFW)

based limited liability corporation, which at one point apparently wanted to develop it, will instead result in a new wildlife area even larger than the 4-0 Ranch that WDFW is buying in Asotin County. It will also be bigger than spreads it’s acquired in Okanogan and Yakima Counties, part of a long-term strategy to preserve habitat for game and nonhuntable species as well as provide recreational access for future generations. But that can be contentious in Eastern Washington, where counties keep a sharp eye on property tax revenues. In this case, however, Douglas County commissioners went on the record in support of the state’s plans, according to an article in the Wenatchee World this spring. “But we’re totally different than Okanogan County — just the opposite,” Commissioner Steve Jenkins told reporter KC Mahaffey. “We’re losing all our land to people who are buying it privately and locking it off to the public. We need some areas in Douglas County that are open to the public.” The article states that support hinged on the land remaining open to grazing. WDFW reports that PILT, or payment in lieu of taxes, amounts to $4,200; annual upkeep tallies around $33,600. Money for this phase of the buy came from the state capital budget through a grant from the Wildlife & Recreation 18 Northwest Sportsman

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THE AFOREMENTIONED SHOOTOUT occurred

A map outlines the part of the Grand Coulee Ranch the state approved buying earlier this fall (red) and the bounds of the overall spread (blue). Lake Rufus Woods and the Colville Reservation (yellow) are to the north. Note that until the deal is closed at the end of the year, the land remains in private hands. (WDFW) Program. In pitching legislators for continued funding for the project, the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition identified the ranch as a “unique opportunity to acquire a large intact landscape from a willing seller and secure an important link between significant wildlife habitats.” It was also called “awesome country” by one sportsman on Hunting Washington who’d had permission to walk it. The 4,200 acres won’t officially change hands until the end of this year, and to be a good neighbor, WDFW’s Brown says that boundary markers and fencing need to be squared away before deer hunters can get on the property. “The area is good deer habitat, and

in January 1895 between Condon, an entrepreneur originally from New Jersey and who the nearby town of Wilbur is named after, and a young wrangler who just happened to be at the scene. According to various stories, Condon had a young housekeeper, Millie Dunn, whom he wanted to marry. Dunn, however, wasn’t too keen about shacking up for the rest of her life with a 62-year-old, so she took off with her own lover to a cabin somewhere on the east side of today’s Grand Coulee Ranch. That man then fled when it became known Wild Bill was coming. In 1953, Dunn’s son James Sykes told the Spokesman-Review what happened when Condon arrived at the hideout and sat him in a safe place. It was summarized in an article in 1995. “Sykes said his mother threw her arms in front of her face and Condon shot her twice in the arm with his Hopkins and Allen .44-caliber revolver. Then (Burton or Barton) Parks opened up on Condon, who returned the fire and backed toward the door. “Condon fell dead through the door, landing face-down in the snow. The mortally wounded Parks then shot a companion of Condon’s in the heel even though the man was 200 yards away.” Here’s hoping that the only things that fall dead in the future here are mule deer bucks, and that the sharptails have plenty to keep on dancing about. NS

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MIXED BAG

Federal Agents Bust Charter Captain For Keeping Wild Coho

oaching is always disappointing to report on, but especially so when it involves a person in a leadership roll. Thus the case of Curtis Clauson, skipper of the Hawk II out of Warrenton. During a wider investigation of the Northwest’s charter fleet, the hard-working agents of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Office of Law Enforcement found that Clauson “clubbed, filleted and concealed coho salmon with intact fins onboard his vessel while guiding sport fishing clients.” What’s more, he “acknowledged having done the same on a regular basis over the past several years.” Wild coho stocks both to the south of his home port and upstream of it are listed as threatened, and in September Clauson pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland to illegally keeping them, making his actions a federal misdemeanor. Investigators also found that he’d illegally harvested and sold sport-caught Dungeness and albacore. The 65-year-old was sentenced to a year’s probation in which he must stay in compliance with earlier sentences imposed by a state court. In January he

By Andy Walgamott

pled guilty to two class A misdemeanors in a Clatsop County court and had his Oregon fishing license and shellfish permits yanked for five years, was put on probation for three years and surrendered his state charter and commercial fishing licenses for that period, and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and to pay $3,780 in fines, court fees and restitution. “Fortunately most sportfishing charter

operators set a good example for their clients by conscientiously complying with the laws that protect imperiled species,” said Martina Sagapolu, acting special agent in charge of NMFS’s West Coast law enforcement office. “That makes it especially important to identify and pursue the few exceptions to those high industry standards.” The case was also investigated by the Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Division, and prosecuted by assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Evans, Oregon senior assistant attorney general Patrick Flannigan, and Clatsop County deputy district attorney Beau Peterson. “The charter industry works handin-hand with NOAA Fisheries and state agencies to develop regulations so we can have sustainable fisheries,” said Butch Smith of the Ilwaco Charter Association, on the other side of the Columbia River from Warrenton. “It’s unacceptable to us to have anyone break these laws, especially someone from our industry.” NMFS reported the investigation turned up several others who were also charged with various state fishing violations.

JACKASS OF THE MONTH

he 7x7 bull was definitely worth having done as a shoulder mount, but its harvesting wasn’t up to snuff, according to the Oregon State Police. They say the elk was killed by Dale J. Gilbert Stone “Snoop Dog Legolas” Barker after he’d already harvested a spike last season. Following a year-long investigation, officers seized the mount from the 32-yearold’s house in the Bandon area in late September. They say that Barker arrowed the spike in the Floras Creek drainage in late August 2013, and then in the weeks

afterwards, picked up his bow again and stuck the giant bull in the same area. They also took the spike’s antlers, elk meat, two shotguns and a compound bow, as well as 25-plus pounds of marijuana and pot brownies. Barker was cited for exceeding the bag limit and unlawful possession of big game, as well as felony possession of a firearm. While he has yet to have his day in court, Jackass of the Month would like to suggest that sharply reducing the number of one’s middle names may prove helpful in remembering how many elk we get to legally kill each season – one. (OSP) NOVEMBER 2014

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COLUMN

Taking One For The Cause T

wo bucks stood very still in a small clearing of the ponderosa pine forest, actually too still. The hunter raised his rifle, and CENTRAL OREGEON taking aim at the BY Scott Statts larger of the two, squeezed the trigger. At only 50 yards, it should have been an easy shot, but neither deer so much as flinched. After two more shots, his partner also fired twice with the same result. Something wasn’t right with this situation. Actually several things were wrong. First off, the hunter had shot from inside his truck and his partner shot while leaning against the windshield. An Oregon State Police vehicle drove up behind them and a fish and wildlife trooper introduced both hunters to the state’s decoy operation. In Oregon, it’s illegal to shoot from a vehicle or a road. The Wildlife Enforcement Decoy program was established in 1991, and has since expanded to involve more wildlife species and genders. The “animals” include mule deer, blacktail deer, whitetail deer, Rocky Mountain elk, Roosevelt elk and even turkey. The primary goal of the WED program is for wildlife troopers and violators to be in the same place at the same time, thus giving the ability to catch a violator, without the loss of actual wildlife. Throughout Oregon’s big game seasons, and oftentimes after the season closes, OSP officers will set up deer or elk decoys to check compliance with hunters and to catch poachers. Some hunters argue that decoys are

a form of entrapment. It’s been challenged in the courts all over the nation, even in the supreme courts, and has been ruled not to be entrapment. A statute actually classifies the decoys as wildlife.

ALTHOUGH THERE’S OFTEN a lot of humor involved with many decoy operations, wildlife officers take the work very seriously. Their goal is to apprehend violators before they illegally take game animals. The decoys have fooled many would-be poachers. Oregon State Police ﬁsh and wildlife ofﬁcers Amos Madison Following are some humorous and Greg Love inspect an elk decoy early one morning in the decoy stories from Oregon State Ochoco Mountains. (SCOTT STAATS) Police fish and wildlife officers been a fly on the wall tent that night … who enforce the state game laws. • About 10 p.m. one evening, a • A pickup truck came down a Forest pickup with a camper drove by a deer Service road at a fairly good clip when decoy placed only about 6 feet off the the driver spotted a deer decoy. Thinking road in the borrow ditch. The driver it was the real thing, he slammed on the stopped and walked behind the camper brakes, slid into the ditch and the truck with an AK-47 wrapped around him. The ended up on its side. Undeterred, the tailights of the camper weren’t bright man then popped out of the passenger enough for him to see the decoy about side door, opening it like a hatch, and 20 yards off. began shooting at the decoy. As another vehicle approached, its • While a man stood alongside his headlights illuminated the decoy and truck and shot twice at an elk decoy, his he shot two single rounds. In between wife slid behind the wheel and drove rounds, he squinted to see if the deer off, leaving him standing in the middle was still there. Then he finally lowered of the road in his shirtsleeves. It was the semi-automatic rifle to the hip late afternoon on a cold November day. position and opened up with five After officers stopped the woman, she rounds. At that point he knew it was a said, “I told that SOB it was a decoy and decoy and ran for the truck. not to shoot it.” She said she was going This was more of a high-risk situation back to camp without him, about a 15and troopers took the man into custody mile drive. She finally agreed to wait at gunpoint. The troopers said the man there while her husband walked to her, was a former Russian national and kept about half of a mile away. Oh, to have

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COLUMN repeating “I just stupid Russian.” He was cited for hunting from a roadway, hunting at night and using an illegal weapon. • A few years ago I tagged along with troopers during Oregon’s first bull elk season. We headed up into the forest to set out the decoy when we spotted a truck that appeared to have an entire elk in the back. The hunters in the truck sped off when they saw the troopers. The trooper in the lead vehicle finally caught up with them a mile or two down the road and found two whole elk in the truck – one had a salmon/ steelhead tag attached to it. That was the biggest, hairiest salmon that any of us ever saw. We also wondered if the man had his elk tag in the freezer affixed to a steelhead. It turned out that the hunter drew a tag for the unit, but forgot to buy it before the season started. He unwisely decided to hunt anyway, and since the salmon/ steelhead tag looks similar to the elk

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tag, he thought he could get away with using that tag. • Troopers put out a buck decoy the day before archery season. A driver came by, got out and began launching arrows. One was short, another long and the third just right – in the center of the chest. The sound of the arrow hitting the decoy was like that of a hollow wooden box. When he realized it was a decoy, he threw the bow down and started running back to the truck, then came back for it. As the officers arrived the man said he wasn’t shooting at the deer, but at a squirrel instead. After careful consideration the man decided the judge wouldn’t buy that story and paid the fine. He told the troopers he was going to college to become a police officer. • During the archery season, officers spotted a truck driving by the deer decoy, a man at the wheel. When it turned around and came back, the wife was driving and the husband was

standing in back of the pickup. He shot a couple of times, once with an illegal arrow. He got two citations. Afterwards, the pair realized they had locked the keys in the truck. The now angry man took a good-sized rock and tried to throw it through the window, but missed and put a huge dent in the door. The pickup was rented and the couple had recently been married. A broken window, a dent in the door and two tickets to boot – happy honeymoon!

LAST YEAR, OSP conducted 130 WED operations statewide, 95 during the day, 35 at night. A total of 680 vehicles drove by the decoys, occupants in 369 vehicles observed the decoys, 79 fired at the decoys and 59 citations were issued. OSP and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are hoping that hunters will now think twice before shooting from a vehicle or roadway or out of season. All part of keeping sportsmen honest. NS

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NEWS Under a proposal up for comment this month, steelheaders ﬁshing this part of Washington’s Grande Ronde would be required to keep all hatchery steelhead, but those working the water just around the corner, from the county bridge down 2½ miles to the river’s mouth, wouldn’t. There’s no apparent reason for the dichotomy. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

Lower Ronde’s Exemption To Proposed Mandatory Steelhead Retention Puzzling Sorry, ﬂy guys, but you’ve got to do your share too keeping hatchery ﬁsh. By Andy Walgamott

ASOTIN, Wash.—The Grande Ronde is pretty loopy, and so is an exception to future fishing rules for the Blue Mountains river that state managers are taking public comment on. Anglers would be obligated to keep every hatchery steelhead they caught out of four other Southeast Washington rivers

in the coming years, but those working the über-fishy lower end of the Ronde would apparently get a pass from doing their duty – namely, protecting native summer-runs. To be sure, steelheaders could certainly whack a limit of clipped fish in the 2½ miles of water between the county bridge and the mouth, and then in good conscience lay up their rod and relax for

the rest of a beautiful Hells Canyon fall day with a cigar and adult beverage of their choice. But the difference is, they wouldn’t be required to keep any fish, like those working the Walla Walla, Tucannon, Touchet and Snake as well as Ronde above the bridge would be asked to. On those waters, catch-and-release fishing would be verboten.

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down on the Snake at Heller Bar. exception I checked out WDFW’s newIT’S AN UNUSUAL dichotomy tucked deep But as of an early fall briefing of fangled “Stream Strategy” coding for the inside the Washington Department of the Fish & Wildlife Commission on the Columbia Basin, in which the rule change Fish & Wildlife’s rule-change proposals proposal, that water mystifyingly escapes is proposed. There, letters correspond for the 2015-16 fishing season. As we’ve mandatory retention. to stock status, trout rules, and fishing been reporting, the new paradigm in Anglers would have the option instead opportunities and conservation concerns, Northwest steelhead management is to to retain up to three hatchery steelies, but all the rivers in question seem to have continue releasing hatchery smolts while the same grades, and no low marks also getting anglers to remove as of E’s or F’s. many returning adults as possible. Maybe it’s because going In fact, there are similar literally the extra mile to get to the proposals for mandatory retention Ronde seems like it brings with it on the Grays, Elochoman, Cowlitz, some reward, as in lots and lots of Kalama, Lewis, Washougal, hookups? Full disclosure: That was Klickitat and other winter- and Steelheading rules are just one facet of WDFW’s what I enjoyed when I stayed at summer-run streams further down proposed changes for Columbia Basin fisheries. Boggan’s further upstream for two the Columbia system. Others up for comment include: weeks waaaaaaay back in March And if implemented, it would * Close all rivers, streams and beaver ponds in the 1999 before getting into this field. mean the WW, Tuke and Snake basin to fishing unless otherwise stated in the rules But that reasoning no longer as well as the Shumaker and pamphlet – the closed-unless-open approach seen makes sense for the fishery or Cottonwood stretches of the elsewhere in WDFW’s Stream Strategy approach; biologically. Ronde would be regulated similarly * Change the opener on small, year-round lakes Indeed, after reporting on the to the Wenatchee, Methow and in Asotin, Franklin, Kittitas, Yakima and Walla Walla reasons for changes to retention other Upper Columbia streams Counties from year-round to March 1; rules in North-central Washington, that WDFW opens to steelheading * End sturgeon retention in the Snake River basin; and having recently gone through by emergency rule in fall. * Reduce kokanee daily limits on Lakes Keechlus, all the hoopla about Puget Sound Conking has been the rule Kachess and Cle Elum, and institute a slot limit as steelhead and its segregated in that country going on five well as waive daily limits on brook, brown and lake trout at Cle Elum; stocks, I have yet to figure out why, autumns now. Following that * Switch a large stretch of the upper Naches River in this day and age when nates year’s bumper run, I reported on it to catch-and-release only; are so important, that the lower in our November 2009 issue: * And liberalize the walleye bag limit from five to Ronde and its anglers should get “The overwhelming majority are eight, and lower the minimum size from 16 inches deferential treatment. hatchery-origin, and while those (and only one over 22 inches) to 12 inches. I do applaud WDFW managers’ are integrated with natural stocks decision to propose moving those in each basin, as much as possible, 2½ miles out of the strictly catchmanagers want to keep the fish with meaning they get to play with fish while and-release category. That seems the all their fins from shacking up with their everyone else is working towards a start of a pretty heavy lift on their part. randy cousins from the concrete box side common goal. But the folks who wave the wand – of the tracks. So the goal, (WDFW fisheries I’m told some may have been involved biologist Jeff) Korth stresses, is removing as in the scuttling of Puget Sound winter many clipped fish as possible. IT’S PUZZLING BECAUSE Grande Ronde steelhead releases – and toss bent metal “This is not strictly a recreational fishery,” steelhead are a segregated stock, and there should be asked to do their fair he points out. “It’s a recreational fishery, just like elsewhere in the Blue Mountains share, just like the guys elsewhere in the but if we’re not removing fish, the hatchery and Northwest, there are concerns about Columbia-Snake system, and keep every releases don’t make sense.” clipped and unclipped fish getting too clipped steelhead they catch. If there’s anywhere in the 509 area friendly on the gravel. If guys can be asked to keep ’em on code that’s ready-made for whacking and Indeed, with the river’s high rate of the Met, they can be asked to keep ’em on stacking clipped fish, it’s the bottom end of adult returns, Oregon and Washington the Ronde. the Ronde. managers’ stated goal “is to remove as Don’t you think so too? You’ve got high concentrations many of these hatchery fish as possible Public comment on the proposal is of hatchery steelies in fall; you’ve got through harvest so they do not spawn open through Nov. 13, and testimony will perfect water conditions; you’ve got with native steelhead and compromise be taken at the commission’s Dec. 13-14 miles of public access along the county those ESA listed populations.” meeting in Olympia. If approved by the and Rogersburg Roads on both sides of Seems like required retention would citizen panel, the change would go into the river; and you’ve got a rough put-in help out on that front, right? effect starting on July 1, 2015. NS below the bridge and a good takeout Looking for hidden clues behind the

OTHER COLUMBIA BASIN RULE-CHANGE PROPOSALS

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COLUMN The author heads into the Clackamas Tree Farm to hunt deer. Timber giant Weyerhaeuser recently acquired the forest and others in Western Oregon and Washington, and could add it to the growing list of private timberlands only accessible by fee. (TERRY OTTO)

Portland’s Backyard Tree Farm Could Be Next For Fees PART I OF II

or decades, Stumptown outdoorsmen have been hunting deer and elk, hiking, and gathering mushrooms on the STUMPTOWN By Terry Otto Clackamas Tree Farm along the western edge of the Mt. Hood National Forest. At the same time, other “recreationalists” have been stealing wood, dumping trash, and vandalizing it, and they’ve pushed the owners of the timberlands too far. Access is threatened for those who follow the rules. Timber giant Weyerhaeuser acquired the property in 2013 from Longview Fibre in a $2.6 billion, 645,000-acre deal, and may soon include the Clackamas Tree Farm in their new pay-for-access program unveiled in Western Oregon and Washington the past two years. The company has allowed public access on its Oregon tree farms for decades, but citing the problems with theft and vandalism, they have begun to charge for access, and are limiting the number

of permits. That means most people are being locked out. It’s a harsh pill to swallow. Local hunters such as Walt Trandum of Sandy see this as a real loss because of the quality of the hunting that can be found on these plots. “Forest practices on national forests are less conducive to the type of hunting I do, which is for deer and elk,” says Trandum. He points out that the active logging on the tree farms creates better browse and habitat for deer and elk. “The private timberlands have offered more in the way of a quality hunt opportunity in recent years,” he says.

A FEW BAD APPLES Anyone who frequents the tree farm knows that they are not alone. Found along Wildcat Mountain and Larch Mountain Roads, these plots are used by thousands every year. Since it is so close to Portland, and it does offer some things the public lands don’t, there is no shortage of recreationalists. Only a small fraction of them disregard

the rules, but the scofflaws are the ones who are driving the closures. Trandum has seen firsthand the abuses of the properties, everything from ATV damage to shot-up signs. “I am surprised that it took this long,” he says. “They’ve had a lot of vandalism and dumping of trash up there.” He has also heard of cases where someone injures themself on these lands, and then tries to sue the timber companies, bringing up liability issues. Trandum also hunts on the coast, where access has been trimmed again and again. He sees this as a continuing trend. “Access has been trending less and less while costs have gone up,” he says. It’s not just a local issue. Weyerhaeuser has closed huge chunks of formerly openaccess property across Washington and Oregon, as have other timber companies. Trandum has had difficulty drawing permits for controlled hunts, and when that happens he hunts the general season. But he finds that difficult. “General-season opportunities have

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Northwest Sportsman

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NOVEMBER 2014

diminished in quality lately,” he says. Without the close-by tree farm access, it becomes even more difficult. Weyerhaeuser now charges for permits onto many of their other properties, and sometimes hunters must pay out as much as $500 for a permit – for just a single month’s access. Full-season leases are not cheap either, and some of them have been put up for bids.

PUSHING HUNTERS TOGETHER If enacted, the closure of the Clackamas Tree Farm will undoubtedly push more hunters and mushroom gatherers up onto the already oft-crowded Mt. Hood National Forest, where they will find more restrictions, closed roads, and less game. These are private timberlands, and the owners are perfectly within their rights to close the properties. Even though it has been allowed in the past, there has never been a guarantee as far as public access is concerned. However, for many hunters the increases in licenses and fees combined with the continued loss of access and the difficulty of drawing good hunting tags has them thinking about quitting the sport. However angry the public may be, the issue itself has not moved much beyond hunting circles. In a recent interview, state Sen. Chuck Thomsen, whose district includes the Clackamas forest, expressed that he was not fully aware of it, but had heard of the controversy, and says he “will be looking into it.” Thomsen sits on the Joint Ways and Means Committee for Natural Resources in Salem, and is in a good position to push for legislative action. He does feel it is unfair to keep asking hunters to pay more for licenses in these times of shrinking opportunities.

CAN ANYTHING BE DONE? However, can anything be done at all? After all, these are private lands, and no one can argue the landholders don’t have a legitimate complaint. Still, a few counties in Washington have tried to revoke tax breaks that the state has given the timber companies, but it is unclear whether the counties have any jurisdiction. Next month, Oregon legislators weigh in, and a disillusioned hunting public wonders when to call it quits. NS

NOVEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman

STEELHEAD DERBY

Lewiston, ID/Clarkston, WA • NOV 22 -29, 2014 • steelheadderby.com

WWW.SJXJETBOATS.COM 34 Northwest Sportsman

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Size Schmize

Gary Hamlin’s 11.96-pound silver won $10,000 at the 21st Annual Everett Coho Derby. (KAREN HAMLIN)

ize is nothing and everything. Yes, Gary Hamlin’s silver was not nearly as large as other recent winners of the Everett Coho Derby, but it was bigger than all the other fish weighed in during the 21st annual installment of the late-September event, and the Marysville, Wash., man walked off with a $10,000 check. Hamlin’s 11.96-pounder was caught in the deep shipping lanes south of Mukilteo on a purple haze flasher and squid combo. Matthew Thoura and Lillie Ludwig collected second- and third-place prizes of $5,000 and $2,500 for their 11.82- and 11.63-pound coho. It wasn’t an easy bite during the Sept. 20-21 derby, but good numbers of coho were caught – the 920 weighed in was among the better tallies – but the fish were on the small side. Hamlin’s was 3.5 pounds lighter than the next smallest winner of recent years, and the average silver was just 6.15 pounds, about a pound and third less than other years. A local fisheries biologist attributed it to a lack of nutrient-rich upwellings in the run’s homeward path. The derby is put on by the Snohomish Sportsmen’s Club and Everett Steelhead & Salmon Club. Proceeds benefit local fish projects, including the release of 80,000-plus coho fry annually.

A Pair of $2,000 Top-prize Derbies On Tap This Month

lackmouth and B-runs in opposite corners of the Northwest highlight the derby scene this month. First up is the 23rd Annual Bayside Marine salmon derby, set for the weekend of Nov. 1-2. Top prize is $2,000, with tickets on sale at Bayside Marine, Harbor Marine and John’s Sporting Goods, all in Everett. Last year’s event was won by young Kayleen Olson who weighed a 10.36-pound Chinook – and sweated it out a half hour later when Mike Vogt’s blackmouth went on the scale, but settled the needle just four-hundredths of a pound lighter. For more, call (425) 252-3088 or click on baysidemarine.com. Then later in the month is the big Kendall Chevrolet Clearwater Snake Steelhead Derby out of Lewiston and Clarkston, which got additional good news last month. In our October issue we reported that this year’s forecasted return of B-runs was around 30,000, but since then, managers have revised that further north to 45,000. True, tribal netters will take their whack downstream, but that’s nearly four and a half times as many as headed upstream last year, when Idaho was forced to close retention on them in the Clearwater, pushing the search for a $2,000 winner into the Snake. For more on the Nov. 22-28 derby, which features $10,000 in prizes, see steelheadderby.com.

Other upcoming and ongoing derbies include: * Tillamook Education Foundation Salmon Derby, through Dec. 31; info: tillamooksalmonderby.com * Resurrection Salmon Derby (San Juan Islands), Dec. 5-6; info: (360) 202-2664; resurrectionderby.com Editor’s note: To have your derby listed or results posted here, email awalgamott@media-inc.com.

MORE RECENT RESULTS Westport Charterboat Association Salmon Derbies, May-end of season, Westport Chinook grand prize: Bryan Bauml, 34 pounds, 5 ounces; $2,500 Coho grand prize: Gary Dodobara, 15 pounds; $1,500

15th Annual Coos Basin Salmon Derby, Sept. 13-14, Coos Bay waters 1st: Barry Canales, 34 pounds, 6 ounces 2nd: Justin Church, 28 pounds, 4 ounces 3rd: Darren Jones, 25 pounds, 11 ounces

La Push (Wash.) Last Chance Salmon Derby, Oct. 4-5; Quillayute River mouth terminal area Cancelled due to high swells

Early fall’s Everett Coho Derby is also where the Northwest Salmon Derby Series grand prize rafﬂe boat winners are drawn. Joel Clark of Monroe, Wash., won the $60,000-plus, 21-foot River Hawk in the adult division while 6-year-old Jackson Girard – seen here with his sister, Ashley, and parents Stephanie and Arick, and the series’ Tony Floor (left) – won the 14-foot River Hawk Pro V in the youth division. (NORTHWEST MARINE TRADE ASSOCIATION)

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Northwest Sportsman 35

STEELHEAD DERBY Lewiston, ID/Clarkston, WA • NOV 22 -29, 2014 • steelheadderby.com

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NOVEMBER Nov. 1 Family Waterfowling Workshop, Sauvie Island Wildlife Area (adults: $52; children: $12); info: odfw.state.or.us; Western Washington rifle elk, blackmouth (immature king) season in Puget Sound Marine Areas 8-1, 8-2 and 9 openers Nov. 7 Last day for Oregon Coast, Cascade buck seasons Nov. 8 Oregon second Rocky Mountain rifle bull elk, Northeast Washington late rifle whitetail openers Nov. 8-9 Western Oregon youth deer hunt Nov. 13 Four-day Washington late rifle blacktail hunt opens in select units Nov. 15 Oregon four-day first Coast rifle bull elk, late Southwest archery deer openers; Last day of bear hunting in Washington Nov. 20 Late turkey hunt opens in select Northeast, Southeast Washington game management units Nov. 22 Oregon seven-day second Coast rifle bull elk, late Northwest archery deer season openers Nov. 26 Washington late bow opener for blacktail and in numerous mule deer, Nov. 6 14:23 Full moon whitetail units as well as Westside elk; Nov. 14 07:16 Last quarter Westside muzzleloader elk opener Nov. 22 04:32 New moon Nov. 30 Last day of Eastern Oregon bear, Nov. 29 02:06 First quarter Western Washington pheasant (except select *Data courtesy NASA; all times PST release sites) and quail hunting seasons

M n Phases

DECEMBER Dec. 1 Blackmouth opener in San Juans Islands; Several Eastern Washington lakes, rivers open for trout, whitefish

RECORD NW GAME FISH CAUGHT THIS MONTH This Nov. 28, 1973, headline in the nowdefunct Spokane Chronicle recorded the news that not one but two state records for summer steelhead had been shattered just days before. The story relates that both ﬁsh bit silver Hot Shots, were ﬁn-clipped, and had likely originated from Dworshak Hatchery, on the North Fork Clearwater. (GOOGLE) Date

Species

11-11-66 Coho 11-11-02 Rainbow trout 11-14-71 Mackinaw 11-23-73 Summer steelhead Summer steelhead 11-30-89 Tiger rockfish

Pds. (-Oz.)

25-5.25 29.6 57-8 30-2 35.06 7.5

Water

Angler

Siltcoos L. (OR) Rufus Woods L. (WA) Priest L. (ID) Clearwater R. (ID) Snake R. (WA) Middle Bk. (WA)

Ed Martin Norm Butler Lyle McClure Keith Powell Gilbert Pierson James Wenban

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READER PHOTOS Brian Steves captured this great action image of fellow Portlander Nate Olken battling a crazed coho off Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula this summer. “I think this photo captures why we as kayak anglers love how we ﬁsh,” notes Steves. (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

Here’s to a good-natured sibling rivalry! Just like his older brother did a couple seasons back, Ryan Donahue tagged out in his ﬁrst year aﬁeld with this Kittitas County muley, shot on Washington’s opener last month. “It was an awesome moment for the three of us, and I have a hunch Jack is equally proud of his younger bro too,” notes their pa, Mike. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

With this 4x5, Brennon Hart is three for three! The 12-year-old from Orting, Wash., bagged it with a 150-yard shot out of his .50-caliber Knight Little Horn in his happy hunting grounds of Walla Walla County in early October. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

For your shot at winning great Wright & McGill/Eagle Claw and Browning products, send your photos to awalgamott@media-inc.com or Northwest Sportsman, PO Box 24365, Seattle, WA, 981240365. By sending us photos, you afﬁrm you have the right to distribute them for use in our print and Internet publications. NOVEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 39

READER PHOTOS Helping out wildlife managers and fed-up landowners in the Evergreen State’s Snoqualmie Valley, Zoi Romig took her ﬁrst elk not long after passing hunter’s ed this year. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

Man, they’re all sharpshooters in the Ramsey clan! After 424- and 389-yard kills of bucks earlier in the season by his uncle Buzz and cuz Wade, Jeff Ramsey of Portland needed only a single 341-yard shot from his .270 to drop this Fossil Unit muley. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

Trolling herring up a small Oregon Central Coast river in September, Troy Swanner got into this estimated 30-pound king. (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

It had been 22 years since Chris Clark had last gone ﬁshing, but the Yakima-area resident showed he still had the right stuff with this Willapa Bay coho. He was out with friend JD Wans. (WRIGHT & McGILL/ EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

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Waidmann’s heil! The well-named Jaeger Jindra of Bonney Lake bagged his ﬁrst turkeys during Southeast Washington’s general hunt last month. The 11-year-old was hunting in the Mayview GMU. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

You’ve seen Rylee Lewallen grow up ﬁshing in our pages, and it turns out she’s a pretty good crabber too! Here she holds a pair from Winchester Bay. (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

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PHOTO CONTEST

WINNERS!

Rod Paul is this issue’s Wright & McGill/Eagle Claw Photo Contest winner, thanks to this pic of his wife Janielle’s walleye, caught below Wanapum Dam this past summer. It wins him a package worth $50 of fishing tackle!

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Our monthly Browning Photo Contest winner is Chad Zoller, last issue’s cover boy. He shot his big muley on his family’s land in Northcentral Oregon, It scores him a Browning hat and sticker!

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For your shot at winning Wright & McGill/Eagle Claw and Browning products, send your photos to andy@ nwsportsmanmag.com or Northwest Sportsman, PO Box 24365, Seattle, WA 98124-0365. By sending us photos, you affirm you have the right to distribute them for our print or Internet publications.

NOVEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman

44 Northwest Sportsman

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46 Northwest Sportsman

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HUNTING

Rattling – when done right – can consistently draw in whitetail bucks throughout the month of November. (RALPH BARTHOLDT)

Rattling 401 By Jeff Holmes

oday is Oct. 14, and reports from across the West indicate that whitetails in the Inland Northwest and Northern Rockies are moving into the second half of the pre-rut. Breeding bucks have moved bedding areas to be closer to doefawn groups and their travel lanes. Bucks are sparring, making minor scrapes, and visiting licking branches. By the time this magazine ﬁnds your mailbox or local newsstand, the early stages of rutting behavior will already be starting. Days will grow colder, nights shorter, and vegetation will wilt and fall to the ground.

Much to the disadvantage of mature bucks everywhere, improved visibility and increased deer movement coincides with a whitetail buck’s fatal ﬂaw: his drive to breed. No one buck will stumble and pant all November, but bucks enter the rut at different times, and does will similarly come into estrus at different times. The rut’s typical peak comes at the end of the third week of November, but it makes sense to hunt rut patterns all month rather than waiting until the second half. Bucks are prone to mistakes all November, and rattling and calling wisely pays dividends throughout the eleventh month. I asked Troy Pottenger of

A graduate-level course in tickling the ivory to bring in big whitetail bucks this month. Whitetail Addictions TV, Nextbuk, and Xtreme Outdoor Products to break down his approach to rattling and calling, and the information that follows is close to gold. I’ll put this advice to use myself this November when I try to ﬁll my two Idaho deer tags in the Panhandle, with a little help from Pottenger, who lives in its northern end.

RATTLING’S A DEADLY tactic – when the timing is right and it’s not overused. I’ve rattled bucks in from Eastern Washington, North Idaho and Montana. Overcalling, in this case over-rattling, is the biggest mistake all hunters make or have made. Period!

NOVEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman

HUNTING to have my best luck in the early From late October into the ﬁrst season near bedding areas during couple weeks of November, I mimic morning hunts. When breeder bucks short sparring sessions, tickling are returning to their beds and hear antlers and slightly pushing antlers that sparring, they sometimes instead together. If you watch and listen to go back to their hideouts because it bucks’ daily spars in preparation for taps into their curiosity. Adding in later battles, they almost always treat the sparse-but-distinct social doe it like a practice session. They wave grunts paints a picture of two bucks their heads from side to side and then working each other over near and lock antlers, beginning with some around does – a scenario that can twisting and pushing. If you time it on a stopwatch, a session usually Jess Pottenger scored on this nice whitetail near has several short Coeur d’ Alene in mid October. (TROY POTTENGER) pauses in the sparring and often will go on for a couple minutes. There is never a heightened intensity or any sort of allout battle, but the antlers do make noise, and other bucks will curiously snoop around to see who is working out. Based on my observations, I always start any initiate a dominant response in a October-to-early-November rattle testosterone-driven buck nearby. He session very lightly, and pause and will often take his time getting there, restart in short bursts. I keep the but when he decides to commit to intensity down and basically just the area where he hears the sparring, grind the antlers, visualizing two he will come in at a walk, circling bucks twisting and building those downwind or through a crosswind, neck muscles by shoving on each grunting and head high, seeking out other. This sounds nothing like an who is playing in his turf. all-out buck ﬁght and the way I sometimes rattle later into the rut. From October to early November, WHEN WILD, FREE-RANGING deer social combining soft, social doe grunts and grunt and contact grunt while mellow, contact buck grunts with sparring, there are a few short grunts. antler sparring can elicit responses Use less than 10 grunts and sparring from mature bucks in earshot. It that is not too loud or overly intense. doesn’t work all the time, but enough Mimicking what deer actually hear to make it worth a hunter’s while. I during that time of the year is key have sparred in and killed a couple to not tipping them off. Sparring exceptional archery bucks over sessions will often go for a minute the years, and have called in three or two, at most. Bucks will even feed times as many younger bucks that I for a few to up to 30 minutes, and have let walk. I almost always seem then spar again. I have watched it, 48 Northwest Sportsman

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mimicked it, and watched it draw other bucks into the immediate area. Bucks won’t come running in like they will during the rut. Instead, they will curiously and slowly work their way in, taking up to an hour to come into bowhunting range. Patience pays off whether you are riﬂe, shortrange, or bowhunting. Your best setup is when you have some sort of terrain feature that mature bucks – or any curious bucks, for that matter – do not want to cross into downwind, such as a wide-open meadow or bluff. It is very easy to get discouraged after 20 minutes, but when a hunter makes unnatural noises or moves around after giving up on sparring, he or she often busts a buck coming in slowly. I always give any Octoberto-early-November sparring session a good solid hour. I may spar up to three times max spread out over a half hour. Then I will sporadically let out one or two soft, social doe calls or contact buck grunts every ﬁve minutes over the next half hour. This has been a valuable tactic for me over the years, and I have hung a couple dandy heads on the wall using it, including my oldest whitetail ever, a 10½-yearold buck and a 161-inch-grossing 6x6.

ONCE BUCKS START laying down and tending scrapes during the rut’s advance, by the second week of November and into the third and fourth weeks, that’s when I switch over to all-out buck battles. To simulate a ﬁght, I hammer the antlers together via a buildup progression. I have been fortunate enough to watch and hear a few unbelievable buck ﬁghts here in the Northwest,

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HUNTING and there is nothing soft or subtle about it. The crashing of antlers and decibels that emanate from two mature bucks ﬁghting is nothing short of incredible. It literally sounds as loud as an ongoing car crash! I like to start by slamming the antlers together and then building up the intensity and grinding of the antlers throughout the sequence. The sequence may only last from 30 seconds to up to one minute, but anything in earshot will have no doubt about what’s happening. I don’t like to rattle for a long sequence because you can have a buck on you quickly. I like to hammer the antlers together, building up the tempo as I go, grinding and slamming them with great intensity, then shutting it off after about one minute. It’s a workout! I set them down or hang them and get ready. I always follow up the rattling with a buck-tending scenario of grunts. If I don’t get a response after 15 minutes or so, I rattle a second time by starting with two dominant bucks grunting at each other and

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squaring off. I will even snortwheeze sometimes to start this second sequence. Again, I crash the antlers together and mimic a war for roughly one minute or so. Set or hang the antlers, hit a few grunts, and then be silent. If a buck is in the area looking for action, he will show. These hardcore battles will scare does and fawns away, so if I have some in sight, I will not rattle. However, it can be effective to rattle like this about 10 minutes after a doe passes through. Her scent is laid down, and rattling after she passes helps dupe bucks. Even in the heat of the rut, the savviest old bucks will often take up to an hour to show up at the scene of the ﬁght. Be patient and be on the ready long after you are done rattling. A buck half a mile away may hear you and work his way in carefully. I am a big fan of real rattling antlers made out of shed antlers that are found fresh. I cut the brow tines off of same-side sheds from different bucks that ﬁt well together for easy packing. I drill a hole in the antler bases and tie a leather shoestring

through each base. Any good, fresh set of sheds will do, but I prefer to pack 130- to 140-class-sized sheds for mature-buck-sounding antlers that omit loud rattles easily.

IF A DEER passes by out of range and I want to see it better during late October into all of November, I always make a contact grunt to attempt to stop or pull him back. If that doesn’t work, I go to the antlers, but whether the buck’s in sight or just out of range dictates how much I rattle at them. Often it’s just a tickle if they are close. Finally, if the grunt-and-rattle tickle doesn’t work, I will snort-wheeze at them as long as they are not too close. Snort-wheezing is a big challenge and might spook some bucks, but it can also call in the most dominant bucks in the woods. Beginners need not buy into all the hype of calling blindly and or calling every 10 or 15 minutes every hour. This is not natural to whitetails. Timing and careful, well-thought-out calling that is natural and speciﬁc to the stage of

the rut is key into duping bucks into range. Patience and giving your calling sequence a chance to work is crucial to success. Making human noises in conjunction with calling deer is a huge no-no. You are only broadcasting your presence to every deer in earshot. Be and sound like the deer in your area. I will also put out a synthetic buck urine scent or mist it in the air just prior to calling. I almost always do. I use Buck Fever Synthetics, and have for almost 20 years. Never once have I witnessed it spooking a deer. I hunt high, but sometimes I am on the ground. When I am, I make sure to have great background cover, tucking into thick stuff when calling. I have never felt the need or wanted to pack a decoy into the deep woods for rattling, but a pop-up decoy like Montana Decoys makes would be my choice if I did. Most of my set-ups are so thick and timbered that a buck has to get close to see where the sound is coming from. And thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the point, after all. NS

Troy Pottengerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rattling antlers are always a samesided set of 130- to 140-class antlers. Green sheds emit a sound that attracts dominant bucks, and same-sided antlers nest well and make travel easier. He drills a hole and attaches the sheds with a leather strap. (TROY POTTENGER)

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Northwest Sportsman

52 Northwest Sportsman

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HUNTING How do you put your late buck tag on one of those guys? Whitetail expert Troy Pottenger says three simple keys including ﬁnding does, wind breaks and low-pressure areas. (USFWS)

Late Whitetails For Dummies Big-buck killer Troy Pottenger on hunting off groups of does, wind edges and pressure. By Jeff Holmes

ll November is a great time to hunt whitetails and to increase your chances of lucking into a big buck, but there’s a reason why Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife game managers end the modern rifle whitetail buck season at the end of shooting light on Nov. 19 – every year. Mature bucks spend a lot of time on their feet in the second half of November with fighting and friending does on their minds. But just as rifle hunters are shut out of the woods, muzzleloader and archery opportunities take off in Eastern Washington and North Idaho in

selected game management units. The advice that follows from whitetail guru Troy Pottenger serves as a reminder for beginner and intermediate whitetail hunters during the height of the rut. Whether you’re carrying a Ruger, a BowTech, or a Thompson Center, Pottenger highlights techniques that can work for anyone in the second half of the month.

SIT TIGHT NEAR DOES When bucks are seeking, chasing and tending does, the single best strategy to encounter bucks is setting up in doe travel routes between bedding and feeding areas. Hunt does’ back-door entrance to

their bedding areas in the mornings, and their front-door entrance in the evenings. Or, better yet, sit there all day as much as you can from Nov. 20 to Dec. 10. I do. Those are the 20 best days to hunt doe family groups. I do not hunt field edges because I hunt pressured deer everywhere I hunt. If you have prime, nonpressured ground, then you can hunt only field edges. Don’t expect to see lots of does in the field, but as long as you have two or three mature does using the immediate area and traveling past, you will have a great chance of seeing a big buck or two. Remember, every doe’s cycle is based on photoperiod, and from year to year,

NOVEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman

HUNTING she will almost always be within a day or two of that exact date. I always write down dates when I see my does being chased. From year to year, those days will be almost the same on the calendar.

FIND A WIND EDGE A wind edge occurs on a buck’s preferred travel route when a favorable wind makes him feel comfortable, but where a natural corner bends him past your location just off the edge of his wind. As the buck approaches a wind-edge setup, the wind travels in his face, but as he approaches your set-up, his path takes him just past you and just off the edge of him picking up your scent. An example of a wind edge can be illustrated by hunting a high saddle with a ridge that runs east to west. Say that deer are traveling from north-side beds through the

saddle to south-side feeding areas. Naturally a buck in this scenario likes a south wind, so that’s when he gets up and leaves his north bedding face. He moves towards the south with the wind in his face and gets to the saddle and has the wind still in his favor. Just off to the east or west of his exact path through the saddle is your set-up, and you can draw and kill him before he walks into your scent stream. Or he simply comes past you without ever knowing you’re there. Hunting wind edges takes some real scouting and knowledge of exactly where the deer are walking through, but the result are worth the effort. This scenario works great because the deer pass by due to a terrain feature that keeps them from catching your wind. Other examples that work great are bluffs, little openings that deer walk around, or big blowdowns. You can also

When everyone hits the whitetail woods, go deeper to places that are overlooked, and go where deer can escape the pressure. This usually means private ground or hard-to-get-to places for humans. Doing so can result in a little meat for the freezer. (TROY POTTENGER)

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NOVEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman

HUNTING put a scrape right where you want them to walk past so you can be on that edge. True wind edges allow you to enter and exit without ever walking or stepping foot on that holy path traveled by the deer, just 10 to 30 yards away from your set-up.

DEER REACT TO PRESSURE; YOU SHOULD TOO My strategies are pretty much the same. Everywhere that I hunt, there is pressure from archery elk and deer hunters and late-season riﬂemen. But there are pockets of terrain that receive less pressure than others. Old bucks already have all these hideouts dialed in and know where to move to from past experience. These places will always be dictated by prevailing winds and thermals in the mountains. They have their summer feed and bedding, their September feed and

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bedding, and their October feed and bedding, then their campsites in November for staking out doe family groups. I hunt the bucks where they move from month to month too. I set cams all summer for my summer hideouts, and then I pull everything and reset deeper into the north faces (cool areas, water sources) and/or less- pressured areas due to elevation or thickness of the country in October to get back on the bucks. Then I pull all my cameras for November and move in and monitor my scrape lines, community scrapes, and doe family groups for November’s different phases. Finally I follow them back to summer ranges quite often for late-season feeding phases in December. Often where you see a buck in late August you will ﬁnd him back there in late December, if there is good seasonal feed there, especially a cut crop source. Deer

take what they can get in December and it’s usually a clearcut, cut-crop stubble or final bits of mast crops. When everyone hits the whitetail woods, go deeper to places that are overlooked, and go where deer can escape the pressure. This usually means private ground or hard-toget-to places for humans. You can almost always draw a 1-mile line from the nearest road on public lands and find very little hunting pressure in the big mountain woods. If you’re willing to hike in early and stay late, walking long hikes out in the dark will find you big bucks hideouts. How you enter and exit these areas has to be thought/ planned out. During the seeking and breeding phase of the rut, stay longer and be more patient than anyone else on good doe family groups and you will see and get opportunities to kill bucks. NS

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Northwest Sportsman

COLUMN WDFW opened GMU 407, the North Sound unit, for any elk this month in hopes of curbing their colonization of foothills above more aglands, as they have in the Skagit Valley, causing major headaches for state wildlife managers and local farmers there. (CHRIS DANILSON, WDFW)

The 411 On 407 Elk NORTH SOUND

s controversy continues to swirl around By Doug Huddle the North Cascades elk herd, there’s been a smidgen of change in the general season for stay-at-home hunters. Game Management Unit 407 has been put back on the hunt ledger for “any elk” in the 12-day modern rifle stanza that begins Nov. 1. In Whatcom and Skagit Counties that’s the acreage west of Highway 9, with a central Whatcom County bump-out to the east spanning the South Fork Nooksack Valley onto the Van Zandt Dike. This is not to be interpreted that we daytrippers are back in the premium

elk hunt business here in Northwest Washington. We’re not – except for those archers, muzzleloaders or modern riflemen who drew one of the 15 coveted non-treaty GMU 418 permits for its trophy bulls. The North Sound unit’s inclusion is intended to curb further elk colonization of foothills areas above more agricultural and other private digs in this area. Once these bruising browsers get comfortable in a locale around enhanced forage, such as is found on pastures and cultivated crops, they’re next to impossible to dislodge. Three-strand livestock fencing gets knocked down, soft grass pastures get post-holed, and hay and corn silage

gets eaten. Farmers, cattle raisers and rural residents grow angry, and bills for these damages, by law, end up going to hunters and fishers. Wherever elk butt up against human habitation, you can bet that contentiousness always ensues. In Skagit County, where valleybottom elk have been a problem seemingly forever, the political situation concerning them has deteriorated to the point that some upriver landowners are demanding the offending animals be eradicated altogether. Fuming property owners claim that elk are not native to the area. And as introduced wildlife, constitute an encumbrance on, if not an outright

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Northwest Sportsman

COLUMN taking of their property rights. They either want the state to regularly pay for the privilege of housing animals on their lands, or are seeking support from local officials to summarily remove them. The level of vitriol concerning Skagit elk was a factor, at least in part, in the resignations of at least two Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife district wildlife program staff members directly responsible for elk management. Since the Skagit’s nonmigratory “trouble” elk as well as the herd’s core population are inside 418, resumption of the general hunt in 407 only is not going to positively influence conditions east of Sedro-Woolley. With the Elk Area 4941 archery hunt debacle in December 2009 still fresh in everyone’s mind, WDFW struck it from open hunting seasons to forestall recurrence of that embarrassment. Hunters allowed into this special area are either master hunters or permittees under the microscope.

WHERE TO FIND ‘EM The 407’s portion in Whatcom County might provide local hunters who have time to do their access and scouting legwork the best chance to fill their larder and not have to travel a great distance. Three general locales – Sumas Mountain, Van Zandt Dike and Stewart Mountain – should be the focus of this search, but elk presence is by no means a certainty. On Sumas Mountain proper, the timberland ownership is in the hands of both private and state managers, with about half the access roads gated. Elk, of course, will occupy terrain where they feel the most secure, so barriers that cut down indiscriminate road traffic encourage them to stay. State Department of Natural Resources roads, including Coal Creek and Bell Creek, offer some vehicular entrees, with Coal Creek Road allowing the deepest penetration. Gated private logging roads off the county’s Marshall Hill, Hillard, Siper and Paradise Valley Roads offer walk- and bike-in access. As always, hunters, whether out 60 Northwest Sportsman

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for elk, deer, grouse, black bear or any other game quarry, are well-advised to research land ownerships, make contact and get permission to enter a privately held tracts. The second elk haunt, the Van Zandt Dike is a lower-elevation, north-tosouth-trending ridge east of the South Fork Nooksack largely owned by DNR. The main entry is from the south end off Mosquito Lake Road east of Acme. There’s a shorter route that climbs steep terrain on the dike’s north end off Rutzsatz Road. The dike has a complex network of both old and new logging roads and has traditionally been accessible for decades. Elk have occupied its second-growth habitats off and on throughout the period of intensive forest management, but have been subject to both heavy legal hunting as well as poaching. At this moment a few small groups of animals are thought to frequent the dike around its edges but make themselves scarce along driven road corridors. Like deer, elk are not shy about foraging in well-established reprod in clearcut units, usually on the side opposite from roads. I’ve watched bucks lying in beds, unseen in 10-foot-high saplings and brush chewing their cuds or napping, while pick-ups with hunters droned by 50 yards away, oblivious to me and the deer. Elk are not quite so tolerant or bold, but if the digs are verdant, often you’ll find evidence of their presence on the far end of harvest units, if there’s an effective terrain or vegetation screen. That does not make them easy marks to hunt, either on the dike or elsewhere, but hunters who pass up looking in these areas are doing the equivalent of leaving money on the table in a business transaction. The third elk haunt in Whatcom County’s portion of the 407 is the east slopes of Stewart Mountain, sometimes known as Haner Mountain on its south end and Sultan Hill or Stink Plant Hill on its north end. The vast majority of timbered acreage here is in fee-title single corporate ownership. All currently existing road accesses are also private,

except for a state route up off Hillside Road. Other gated main industrial or log-hauling routes start up Stewart from Turkington and Y Roads as well as the Valley Highway. On the lower South Fork Nooksack valley floor, elk are also scattered in small groups, coming and going from forested slopes as they are pressured. The need to hunt in a deliberately ethical and safe manner here cannot be overemphasized. In early-morning hours, elk may be bowling over barbed wire fences and browsing farm crops on land whose owner wants them gone in no uncertain terms. By afternoon they’ve tripped off a quarter mile to bed down on the property of a human resident who thinks they’re wonderful and won’t let you on their land for any reason. Knowing the metes and bounds of hunting territories is critical in these locales. There are many more glamorous hunts for elk, but for Bellingham- or Mount Vernon-based hunters who don’t have the luxury of time or money, these opportunities for close-to-home tag-outs mean the difference between having extra game meat for the winter or a leaner larder.

LAST HURRAH FOR BUCKS I make no apologies for enjoying deer hunts in the woods, and at higher elevations away from people and the trappings of human settlement. I’m not keen on hunting lowland areas amid a rural scattering of homes and cultivated fields, but there is no doubt that with the growing number of complaints, there’s a burgeoning blacktail population in ag country. Given that a lot of the North Sound’s Cascades will be closed for the late rifle buck engagement this month, a “back 40” stand for a field-browsing deer is a reasonable option for venison seekers. Some of the early practitioners of lowland deer stalks had to be assured there were targets for their efforts, but it is now a well-established fact that aglands have not just a random scattering of bucks, but in some locales, are rife with antlered ungulates.

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NOVEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman

COLUMN Several of my hunting acquaintances who prospected with game cameras over piles of apples came away surprised at the rogue’s gallery of buck pics they ended up with. Many wooded and farmed areas turned out to be and still are “pick em” environments, where choice-of-buck is the routine. That does not in and of itself mean these are “gimme” hunts. You still have to be a student of your quarry’s behavioral tendencies. And winning over the farmer/owner to gain access is a significant and crucial first hurdle, as is accounting for the ever-changing general weather and micro-climes, picking out places and setting up a stand, blind or tree seat, not to mention waiting patiently for your target to appear. Almost every square foot of forested acreage and every yard of wooded stream corridor provides cover for deer, which are inherently masters at hiding, moving and emerging from these places.

Larger farms, especially those growing berries, are good places to make inquiries for these deer hunts. Considering the nature of this growing problem and demands made on WDFW to deal the “problem” deer here, a program that brings willing landowners together with hunters in an efficient and orderly fashion seems ideal. I’m told by representatives in the agency’s Wildlife Program that we’re one, maybe two years away from a register-to-hunt system for aglands here similar to the online program that features private lands admission for hunting largely east of the Cascades. It would go along with the current effort to provide increased waterfowl hunting ops here too. In case you’ve not visited WDFW’s website, in this arrangement a department staffer meets with willing owners fleshing out what he or she will allow in the way of hunting on their land. Simple terms and conditions are developed for each tract and then are

presented online. If a web-surfing hunter finds an opportunity acceptable and a date or dates to their liking are available, they can reserve the opportunity then and there in cyber space. It saves a considerable amount of what can be frustrating courtships or introductions and turn-downs, and though there are no absolutes, it also saves time and gives both sides a greater degree of certainty how things will work. To work, however, landowners must deal in good faith and be trusting while hunters must sincerely abide by the rules and behave honestly

NEXT ISSUE Nooksack and Skagit steelhead, drifting for whitefish, and late primitive weapons big game options. NS Editor’s note: The author lives in Bellingham, is retired from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, and has written about hunting and fishing in the Northwest for more than 30 years.

COHO, STEELIES AND HOOLIGANS Though river waters get a little muddy and coho a few weeks in freshwater darken up, both Skagit and Nooksack hatchery salmon runs will be at their zeniths this month. The latter has a two-coho bonus for a total of four salmon per day, while from the Skagit, anglers may keep a total of four salmon, of which two may be wild. Many silver slayers love to wear their arms out in the lower Cascade and middle South Fork Nooksack, just below the river’s fish hatcheries. As for steelhead, around Thanksgiving, hardcore winter-run fishers will start testing both their own wills as well as the waters of their favorite Puget Sound streams for vanguard hatchery fish. Water conditions can be troublesome with the first heavy fall rains, but low visibility (for us) actually is inviting to these fish. Plunkers using egg clusters frequent the Nooksack’s banks below Lynden while boat-borne drift fishers with pink ‘crawlers often center their fishing forays on the upper mainstem out of the Nugents Corner launch. Despite the havoc that cessation of smolt plants will have on 62 Northwest Sportsman

NOVEMBER 2014

winter steelhead fishing for a dozen years on the Skagit, a regular return of both one- and two-salt fish is expected this year. The Nooksack likewise will not skip a beat return-wise in 2014-15, but there will be a three-day-a-week chum net fishery that will intercept a number of early steelhead. The Nooksack will also host another, much overlooked fish run. Around the 20th of November, a small but equally determined group of hardcore fishers hits the river just above Marietta for the brief, 10- to 14-day run of long-fin smelt known as hooligans. A flavorful fingerling fish food, “hooligans” – a play on the name eulachon – are dip-caught with metal baskets on long poles in muddy water, the dirtier the better. There’s a left-, or east-, bank dike trail from Marine Drive upstream to Slater Road on WDFW’s Nooksack Unit of the Whatcom Wildlife Area, along which can be found good hooligan dipping stands. If you’ve not tried these fish, often fried or dried and eaten guts, fins and all, you may want to ease into it at the start, catching a few with which to work your

November marks the “zenith” of North Sound rivers’ coho runs. Brad Johnson caugth this piggie last fall on the locally produced KND Custom Tackle Sprocket spinner in pearl bubble gum. (WRIGHT & McGILL/ EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

culinary magic. By the way, the name eulachon is a misnomer. At the moment biologists distinguish these as being long-fins, which are legal to catch as opposed to eulachons, which are off-limits statewide. These, however, are not long-fins related to the Sacramento long-fin smelt that are under federal ESA protection. Things are complicated in the smelt world. –DH

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Northwest Sportsman

64 Northwest Sportsman

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HUNTING

Bag A Bull To Boast About Tips for tagging one during Oregon’s Coast riﬂe hunts. By Troy Rodakowski

YACHATS, Ore.—Cold

soaking rains weighed down my waterproof pants and jacket as I peered through a blanket of thick fog trying to catch a glimpse of an elk body at the bottom of the canyon. The animals had been moving from thick old growth along the edges in the early mornings and I was determined to at least get close enough for a good shot opportunity. Pressure had pushed the elk into seclusion and I wanted to ﬁgure it out before the short coastal season ended. Unfortunately, the end came and went before I could draw a bead on a

bull, but I will surely be back, rain, fog or snow, to try it again. If you’re heading out to the Oregon Coast for this month’s ﬁrst and second riﬂe bull seasons, here are some tips on top spots and tactics for tracking down a big ol’ Roosevelt elk.

WHERE TO LOOK “Most elk herds are distributed based on human activity, and since most hunters use roads accessible by motor vehicle, elk will move to secluded locations away from these places,” points out Stuart Love, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist based out of the agency’s

Reedsport office (541-888-5515). Topo maps and Google Earth are great starting points for finding locations in your hunting area where road densities are low. Look for unroaded creek drainages, which elk will head for once pressured. Old-growth tracts adjacent to reprod throughout the Coast Range hold good numbers of elk, especially late in the season. Hunters who venture deep into these locations, weaving their way through the maze of wet brush slowly and stopping often to glass the canopies for bedded elk, can find success. Playing the wind is so very important when hunting elk and is one of their biggest defense mechanisms. Needless to say, whether

Roosevelt elk enjoy feeding along open pastures on private land early in the mornings, but don’t overlook unroaded drainages elsewhere in the Coast Range. (TROY RODAKOWSKI)

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Northwest Sportsman 65

HUNTING they are effective or not, I personally like to use scent eliminators and urine cover scents. When following moving groups of elk, try to get in front of them and set up an ambush to get a shot as they move through openings. This can be difficult in thick cover, but it works very well, especially on bigger groups of animals. Thick reprod is also a prime place for elk to take up residence during the late season. Some of these stands are so thick that they can practically be impossible to hunt. Longtime guide and outfitter Darren Roe of ROE Outfitters (roeoutfitters.com) in Klamath Falls says he has hunted Roosevelt in thick brush for several years. “I like to get to a high vantage or tree stand and look for the elk to stand up and shake the water off their coats,” says Roe. If you are able to see some elk in the thick trees, you can oftentimes put

them to bed and they will be within 100 yards the next day. Of course, due to the dense, junglelike habitat they hang out in, coastal elk can be a daunting hunt for even seasoned sportsmen in good physical condition. These hunts can be demanding both mentally and physically, taxing your body to its limits. Not only is the land steep, but coupled with wet conditions and thick ground, it becomes even tougher for even the most in-shape person to get around. Something of an alternative might be private tree farms, though this year that literally comes with a cost. “This year Weyerhaeuser has implemented hunting by permit only by paying a fee for access,” notes Love. That includes parts of the Coast Range east of Coos Bay and southwest of Jewell Meadows. Still, it is likely there will be less pressure since many folks aren’t willing to pay for access I also like gated BLM tracts in

Stop In For Local Information On Deer & Elk Hunting!

SEASONS Though several controlled hunts run all the way into January, the two main general rifle bull elk seasons take place this month. The first starts Nov. 15 and runs through Nov. 18. The second begins Nov. 22 and runs for seven days. Note that in the latter season there is a spikeonly restriction in the Wilson, Trask and Siuslaw Units. Coastal controlled hunts take place in Saddle Mountain, Tioga, Sixes, Powers and Chetco Units. Some carry antler restrictions, but produce some amazing bulls. In addition, when hunting the coastal mountains, it’s highly advisable to wear enough hunters orange for visibility. –TR

which road systems traverse several miles. However, some of the best opportunities still remain on private ranch and rangelands throughout

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ALBANY 1355 GoldямБsh Farm Rd SE (541) 928-2511

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Northwest Sportsman 67

HUNTING Western Oregon. Doing your homework ahead of time and ﬁnding a landowner can be your best bet for late-season elk as they are pushed onto private holdings. ODFW reports that in the northern Coast Range, elk are concentrated more thickly on the ocean side of the mountains, and that prospects are “very good” in the Wilson and Trask Units because of high survival last season. Both fortunately include large swaths of the Tillamook State Forest. Biologists advise looking to the main river drainages in both units, but also Cook Creek, Standard Grade, Buck Mtn., Camp Olsen and Cape Lookout. From Lincoln City and Willamina south, elk numbers are below what managers would like to see, only 10 bulls per 100 cows in the Stott Mountain and Siuslaw Units. The heavily logged upper mainstem of the Siletz and its south fork are called out by ODFW, as is the

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rumpled country from Logsden to Burnt Woods to Five Rivers.

TACTICS Hunters also find it can be productive to follow tracks in fresh snow (yes, it actually snows in the Coast Range) or mud. People oftentimes forget that this is the best way to pursue a single bull or group of elk during the late season. “I have walked down several elk by following their tracks in the mud or snow,” says Roe. Most bulls do not move far following the rut. November is a time to recover and rebuild their reserves before winter. Roosevelts will find a core low-pressure area with food, water and shelter and stick to it. Their movements will be restricted, and they will oftentimes not be seen until springtime as they move little once finding a “bedroom” to live in. So how do we get these bulls?

There is no one specific answer, but a hunter needs to be persistent and patient. Elk are gentle giants and finding them is not always easy, but if you follow sign into old growth or reprod, you can locate where elk are spending a lot of time by observing the number of tracks and droppings. Also, freshly chewed shrub tops and grass shoots are an excellent indication elk are frequenting a particular location. Slowly moving through timber is a hunter’s best bet in November as elk like to bed on isolated benches above thick trees. I have talked to hunters who have performed drives to push elk from stands of brush that are seemingly impossible to hunt. This does work well, but can also be very tough as elk can easily find various escape routes. Indeed, it won’t be easy, but there are bulls to be had for those who can master Coast Range elk hunting. NS

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Taking Good Care Of Hunting Boots A

nother hunting season is well underway in the Northwest, where conditions have taken a turn for the sloppy, ON TARGET and it’s in that kind of By Dave Workman environment where hunting boots will either make or break a hunt. Bad boots suck. I had a pair go wrong on a hunt in Southeast Alaska many years ago, and it will never happen again. About six years ago in this space, I explained how the right treatment will keep your valuable leather hunting boots going year after year. At the time, my hunting boots were more than 20 years old. That was the year I finally shelled out for a replacement pair. And I’ve been using those boots hard every hunting season for deer over on the Snake River Breaks, and on elk hunts in the Central Cascades west of Yakima. They have seen snow, a lot of mud, dust, rain, a lot more mud, gravel, sagebrush and stuff one steps in now and then, and they are still as good as new despite a worn appearance. They also stay nice and dry when conditions would suggest otherwise, and I anticipate they will remain good for the trail for many years.

ANY NEW LEATHER boots should be treated, regardless of whether the label says they’re waterproof. I have treated my heavy hunting boots with Huberd’s Shoe Grease, Mink Oil, neatsfoot oil and/or Sno Seal over the years, typically alternating the treatments to keep the leather supple. Back when I was in junior high school, one of my teachers – as devoted a deer hunter as I ever knew – told me about a process he used for breaking in a new pair of leather hunting boots. He would soak

You’re not exactly trying to get your boots pearly bright, but using an old toothbrush when you apply boot grease, mink oil, etc., allows you to work the compound into the leather. The author also advises paying close attention to the welt. (DAVE WORKMAN) them inside and out in warm oil the night before a hunt. He would put them on in the morning after they’ve been near a warm stove and wear them until noon. By then they would have formed to his feet. He would then take off his socks, which by then would be ruined by the oil residue, and toss them in the fire. He’d put on a clean pair of socks and his boots would be cured. My own experience has also involved keeping boots warm and treating them with the melted substance I chose for that particular occasion. I bought my current pair of boots just in time for the elk season opener. Right out of the box, I warmed them up slowly near the campfire while a tin of Huberd’s warmed up nearby. With a cloth and old toothbrush, I got that shoe grease into every seam on those boots, with special attention to the welt and anywhere there is stitching. Also, pay attention to the boot tongue. This may or may not have some sort of insulation on the inner surface, but this section deserves extra care because it is often where trail crud accumulates. In

Workman’s four-year-old Cabela’s hunting boots may look trail worn, but because he treats the leather annually with a good oil or grease, they should last for many years. (DAVE WORKMAN) some boots, the tongue consists of thinner leather, and if something is going to go haywire with a boot, it’s right there. Every year since, there’s been a latesummer treatment, with the boots sitting outside in the sun alongside a can or tub of whatever I use to treat the leather. The warmed leather will soak it up.

IF YOU WANT to get extra fancy, pick up a tin of shoe wax the same color as your boots, NOVEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 71

COLUMN either black or brown. Allow it to warm up too, and then apply it liberally to your boots. There are two good ones for this, Kiwi and Lincoln. Rub this in with a soft cloth and don’t expect to get a shine out of it, but it will restore the color rather well. Leave the boots in the sun to keep warm and then add the mink oil or shoe grease, or some neatsfoot. It’s important to check the interior of your boots because natural foot perspiration can cause problems with leather. If your boots are damp from perspiration, let them dry slowly. I’ve often used a Peet shoe dryer to accomplish this, and the results have been satisfactory. Here’s another thing you should do: Replace the laces occasionally. Boot laces don’t last forever, and if they get all gunked up with grease or something you run into out in the field, they’ll hold dirt and grit. That can cause the laces to deteriorate. You can wash those laces in mild soap and warm water, but eventually, they’ll have to be replaced. NS

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NEW .357 MAGNUM LOAD Fans of the .357 Magnum (I own more than one!) should warm up to a new load from Liberty Ammunition that is part of their Civil Defense family. It’s definitely for personal protection, with a 50-grain copper monolithic hollowpoint bullet that fragments. There’s no lead in this pill, and here’s the payoff: That projectile literally warps out of the barrel at a reported Liberty Ammunition’s new .357 2,100 feet per second. That’s not simply impressive, it’s awesome. I’ve fired some Magnum load. sizzling .357 Magnum loads over the years, always with light bullets, but this round’s reported velocity is in a realm of its own. The .357 Magnum is a remarkably versatile cartridge, and it can be used for selfdefense, midsized game up to deer with the right load, predator control and target shooting. Whether used in a very stout single-action such as the Ruger Blackhawk, or a double-action from Smith & Wesson, Taurus, Ruger or any of the other handgun makers, the .357 Magnum will get the job done. I’ve known people who shot black bears, mountain lions, deer, coyotes and other game effectively with a .357 Magnum. I happened across an unopened box of old Nosler 158-grainers several months ago and broke out an old Nosler manual because they’re not offering that bullet weight these days. The loads I cooked up work really well out of my vintage 2½-inch barreled Model 19 S&W, and that’s the handload I’ll be carrying on the trail from now on. But for, ahem, “social work,” one could hardly find a more devastating fight stopper in that caliber than this new offering from Liberty, if it performs as advertised. –DW

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Hunt Smarter For Today’s Fewer Upland Birds The Long Haul, celebrating people-powered hunting and ﬁshing opportunities and quality of life in the Northwest outdoors.

he future of upland bird hunting in Washington will likely not resemble the past. Days of easy limits of pheasants, quail, THE LONG HAUL Huns and chukars on public ground are By Jeff Holmes all but gone due to major changes on the landscape, including farming practices, collapsed plant communities, noxious weeds, a trend of cold and wet June nesting conditions, and more. Eastside releases of pen-raised birds would have seemed ridiculous in previous decades, but now hunters flock to stocking sites, sometimes in advance of trucks. I know one man who has released birds for the Department of Fish & Wildlife for years now, and he has encountered hunters with guns at the ready, waiting for him at sites. Release days are kept secret, but when it comes to easy roosters – even ones without beaks that offer little sport – information gets around. Opportunities for less-mobile hunters to harvest birds have decreased while, ironically, the amount of huntable public ground has increased, thanks to WDFW’s

An Eastern Washington upland bird hunter gazes downhill for his quarry. (BRIAN LULL)

land purchases and access agreements with private landowners. There are many thousands of acres of public stomping grounds that hold birds in the Columbia Basin and on the Palouse, but not all public ground is created equal. There are fewer birds than in decades past, and hunters should not expect to show up at feel-freeto-hunt properties overrun with them. In fact, some are wastelands, including many registered in the new Hunt By Reservation Program. That isn’t to say that those and WDFW properties don’t offer solid hunts, but successful public-lands bird hunters have to be choosy these days. Observing current crop rotations and available cover are key to success, as are a variety of the following considerations that can improve the quality of public lands hunts for beginner and intermediate upland bird hunters with the mobility to cover ground, climb hills, and walk sidehill:

IDENTIFY PUBLIC-LAND PARCELS well before you go, and find clusters of options close together that allow flexibility. Sometimes other hunters or other external factors will necessitate backups. Have them in place. Also, while it’s perhaps

ideal to have a vast landscape to wander upon all day while encountering birds, many successful public lands hunts in the Evergreen State involve hopping from spot to spot – 30 minutes here, four hours there, an hour over there, and a two-hour jaunt to finish the day. Using WDFW’s GoHunt feature (apps.wdfw.wa.gov/gohunt/) is useful, and the information is at least 90 percent accurate and certainly useful, just not for standalone navigation. Another key source in southeast and southcentral Washington is the Walla Walla District of the Corps of Engineers. Look for the “Mission” link at nww.usace.army.mil/.

WITHOUT A TRAINED dog, consistently harvesting late-season pheasants requires luck and hard work. Being fit, very determined, or a combination of the two is invaluable for encountering birds without dogs on properties hunted by other hunters, many with dogs. My brother, Zac, is a remarkable bird hunter sans dog, although he’d acknowledge hunting behind one is more effective. While dogless, he hard charges to the backs of public parcels or to the most nasty, inaccessible parts requiring the most

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sidehilling and climbing. That’s a real secret to success with or without a dog in Eastern Washington: hunt the birds, but play the bounce from pressure. Another tactic he uses is to sneak attack areas he knows hold birds, keeping quiet and staying low until in the zone. While staring at juicy, bursting-with-birds cover and no dog to do the dirty work, he will produce one of a handful of good-sized rocks stuck in his pockets. Chucking rocks into cover has gotten both of us deer on the Palouse and lots of birds.

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

WITH DOGS, LATE-SEASON, public-land pheasants are easier to come by, but they’re not often easy on pressured public ground as the season progresses. Wide-ranging dogs like setters and English pointers excel in blocking birds as they run ahead of hunters, while closer workers like Labs and shorthairs are also a huge aid in both blocking birds and locating those birds that faster dogs are more likely to cruise by. Don’t be the guy who buys a bird dog before he truly commits to bird hunting, but if you have the itch to cover ground and lead birds, getting a dog increases the number and quality of shots a hunter gets. Moreover, the number of birds recovered goes up dramatically. Marking downed birds without a dog can be a challenge, especially when they run or duck into a badger hole.

DON’T GIVE UP if your first few hunts are fruitless – adjust your location and tactics. As bird hunting progressively declined during the 1990s and 2000s in my family’s favorite spots in the Columbia Basin, we’d continue to visit our favorite spots in its Grant, Lincoln and Adams Counties. But when miles walked began to eclipse birds 76 Northwest Sportsman

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seen, we would hunt Washington’s most sacred and consistent upland bird country: the draws and heavy cover on and around the Snake, Tucannon, and Palouse Rivers. You can find excellent bird hunting at times in the Columbia Basin and Yakima Valley, but the state’s best numbers exist in Southeast Washington. Find your own honey holes, but don’t overexploit them. There are plenty of other folks looking for public ground to hunt on that who can help pressure a property. Use that to your advantage, and work harder than them. Hit the cover they’re too lazy to walk to.

ALSO TRY WDFW’S Hunt By Reservation Program, and help them work out the kinks and know what is and isn’t acceptable as a reserved property. I hunted some fantastic ground on the South Fork of the Palouse River last late November for muzzleloader elk and deer. My elation soon turned to dismay when I learned the department had double booked me on this “exclusive access” property with two seniors who had hoped to hunt the small property for years. I let them have it out of respect, and then failed to fill my deer tag hunting marginal properties I didn’t know well. That trip to Pullman cost me hundreds of dollars, so be wiser than I was and consider my advice about finding clusters of options. CAMPING OR MOTEL overnighters are a great way to extend a hunt and to leave plenty of time for hunting and a little in reserve for visiting new properties and getting the lay of the land for the next trip. In Tri-Cities, LaQuinta Inn in Kennewick caters to bird dogs, as does Quality Inn and Suites in Clarkston, La Quinta in Moscow, and Holiday Inn Express in Pullman. The Tri-Cities Visitor’s and Convention Bureau and Pullman Chamber of Commerce are solid bets for hunters looking for lodging or other information unique to the area, but do not expect directions to Pheasant Gulch or Chukar Heaven. Do the research from home, scout on the ground while hunting, and keep building your knowledge bank. The glory days for birds are likely over, but there’s plenty of good hunting available this season and in the future for those willing and able to work for their birds. NS

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COLUMN A banded goose taken during a snowy Columbia Basin hunt with Big Guns Waterfowl Outﬁtters. (BILLSAUNDERSCALLS.COM)

Table Set For Basin Waterfowl

y now, the early duck and goose hunting, when local populations were easily decoyed, is long over, but unlike almost every other hunt, Columbia By Leroy Ledeboer Basin waterfowling usually gets better with age. Sudden iceups or a single serious snowstorm in those vast prairie pothole regions far to the north will trigger waves and waves of mallards, honkers and lessers to wing our way, and, barring a really tough December, they’ll stick around, offering some really good decoying opportunities. Get here just at the right time, often about a week before Thanksgiving, and the shoots can be phenomenal. As one of my grinning hunting partners once remarked while watching my Lab crash through

BASIN BEACON

shallow water after a crippled mallard, “When the dog’s still out there and the next flock is already circling, you know the northerns are in!” Now, nobody’s predicting a replay of those glory days of the late 1980s, when conditions were just right in Alberta and western Saskatchewan’s prairie potholes nesting and brood-rearing regions, and acres and acres of corn and wheat stubble here awaited all those young ducks, primarily greenheads, when it was time to head south. We may never see that bounty again, but a quick scan of this year’s U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service aerial surveys is enough to trigger a certain amount of optimism. Their tallies: 49 million total ducks, up from 45.6 million a year ago, which was already a real high. Better yet, the species that make up most of our Columbia Basin shoots are all right up there too, including almost 11 million mallards, the second

highest figure ever recorded, along with 3.8 million gadwall and 3.1 million wigeon, a solid 20 percent above their long-term average. If that isn’t enough to make a duck whacker drool, consider this: In Alberta and Alaska, our two prime Pacific Flyway feeders, mallard counts are up 72 and 48 percent, respectively.

ALL OF THIS would be even better news if here in the Columbia Basin we were still laying out those phenomenal corn and wheat stubble spreads of 30 or so years ago. But despite near-record corn production and decent wheat field counts, cleaner farming, including more efficient harvesting methods and quicker follow-up discing, continue to take a toll. Still, it’s far better than it was a decade or so ago when less corn and wheat getting planted shifted much of our duck migration to the east. NOVEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman

COLUMN set up and have a pretty good chance of So where to hunt? Well, unless you’re or common reed, were choking them pulling in ducks. For a number of reasons lucky enough to have access to topnotch off, WDFW’s aerial herbicide spraying Winchester always draws in more birds private ponds or are financially capable of campaign has again opened them up than Frenchman, primarily I think because getting in on a guided foray onto flooded and allowed more duck-friendly annuals of its proximity to a lot more corn fields.” corn acreages, your options start with the such as smart weed and beggarstick. The northern basin’s other public North Potholes, that myriad of ponds and “These two both produce lots of good hunting grounds, the Gloyd Seeps, shallow inlets to the west and south of the seed for ducks, not as good as millet, which stretching along miles of Crab main reservoir. You can access Creek from Road 10 to Road 20, these from the reservoir via the is relatively easy to access off Crab Creek channel and several Every year we see some good-sized flocks of canvasbacks, and in the right light, even seasoned waterfowlers can mistake these Stratford Road north of Moses other waterways, but don’t try for mallards. But with this year’s limit only one, be careful. Plus, Lake. But it too has taken a this in a small duck boat and those exquisite pintail do show up, and here the limit is two, so try real hit over the years, first not before first light unless you to harvest the drakes, particularly late in the season when you’re from excess vegetation, then know what you’re doing. If you looking for a beautiful bird to send to your taxidermist. Sandhill siltation. Small ponds and even have a small craft or want to do some fairly large ones that I a hike-in hunt, check out the cranes are also more and more frequent visitors in the spring and fall, and these gangly birds are totally protected. –LL enjoyed jump-shooting even road maps, come in from the in the mid-90s had essentially Moses Lake side, and, of course, disappeared by the turn of the century. it’s always best to do some scouting. we’ve been planting in some of our new “Yes, unfortunately many of these Another real option is to hunt farther habitats, but still very good, so our local ponds need to be dredged, and we simply to the west, along one those two major production has increased somewhat,” says don’t have the resources for too much of wasteways, Winchester and Frenchman Rich Finger, a state waterfowl biologist that,” Finger says. “But we have opened up Hills, flowing in from the west. Although based in Ephrata. “And those herbicide some, and we’ve dredged out parts of Crab both took a real hit a few years back when treatments have given us a lot more openCreek, giving us better water flow. Plus, we noxious weeds, primarily phragmites water landing areas, places hunters can

KNOW YOUR SPECIES

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COLUMN have several new projects underway, one where we’ve added a new water-control structure, which will allow us to flood about 100 acres, and our Spud Field Project, where we’re replacing a structure and digging out several large shallow ponds and creating five small islands. When it’s all in place, probably not this year, these islands should be decent spots for walkin hunters to set up, with big enough landing zones to attract some birds.”

ANNUAL GOOSE COUNTS are far sketchier, primarily because so many of those big migratory honkers and almost all of the lesser grays breed and rear their goslings way to the north, the latter way up on the western Alaska tundra where summer counts aren’t available. But given what we’ve seen in the last 20-plus years, it’s difficult not to predict another very solid goose year. Fortunately, unlike their distant mallard cousins, geese are both seed munchers and grazers, readily chomping on every kind of greenery,

from park lawns to newly sprouted winter wheat, so they always find plenty to eat around here. And once again, even by late August and into September I was seeing plenty of our local big grays flocking up on both Moses Lake and the Potholes Reservoir, and by early November the lessers should start streaming in. If you have the gear, a decent spread of decoys, maybe a few lie-down pop-up blinds and know how to call, field hunting is definitely your best option. But because almost all the best land is private and most of that is now tied up by outfitters and hunting clubs, gaining access is nearly impossible. Once again, paying a good outfitter is an option, maybe even a practical one if you live out of this area and want to avoid hauling lots of gear along. But even by the early 1990s most of us freelance duck hunters had learned to add a few honkers to our water spreads on every available goose day, something that’s even more true today. The North

Potholes, both major wasteways, anywhere you have an expanse of open water, you’re likely to have at least a few geese checking you out. And the tougher the weather as we move into late November and then December, the better your odds. One too frequently overlooked option for freelancers who really want to field hunt geese is the Royal Youth Boosters Hunt Club, a nonprofit that now has enrolled over 25,000 agricultural acres in the program. Because every dollar taken in goes to Royal Slope youth programs ranging from sports to band to scholarships, the $300 yearly membership is tax deductible, includes some decent upland bird hunting and will give you lots of access to feeding fields. For more, go to royalhuntclub.com or call Mar Don Resort (509-346-2651). For more information, be sure to check out Fingers’ exhaustive fall waterfowl hunting forecast for District 5, available at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/prospects. NS

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HUNTING

Pigs Of The Palouse As they wing into the Columbia Basin, fat honkers can be waylaid in far Eastern Washington. By Nick Barr

CHENEY—The brisk, chilling air leaks into the blind as the overnight frost gleams bright amongst the winter wheat fields. Decoys teeter on their stakes in the slightest breeze, and soon the deep guttural sound of massive Canada honkers will fill the air as these big birds make the trek to their feeding grounds. While the lower end of the Columbia Basin will forever be king in the Washington goose hunting world, for hunters who seek a unique fortune, the Inland Northwest provides plenty of opportunity to intercept 20-pound “sky pigs” on their migration through the Spokane area. From the rolling wheat fields of the Palouse through the timbered plains west of Cheney on northward to the Pend Oreille Valley, the area can provide some unique and bountiful goose hunting. To get a flavor for it, we talked with local experts Steven White and Thor Ostrom, as well as Trevor Austin, owner of Pacific Calls and a hunting guide, for insight on how to take advantage of the unique goose hunting. AS FALL DEEPENS, the weather takes a dramatic turn in the Spokane area. Autumn cedes to winter as freezing temperatures take a grip on the area. Small ponds begin to form a sheet of ice, and lakes are slowly overtaken, but generally won’t be covered until after Christmas. This

The upper end of the Columbia Basin might not be as fertile goose ground as the country around Moses Lake and Tri-Cities, but it provides an abundance of great opportunities if hunters are willing to work for it. The author (right) and friends bagged this lineup on a snowy November day a couple seasons back. (STEVE WHITE)

is why it’s imperative to ﬁnd a good water source, says Ostrom. “Geese like to roost on big open water. Unlike skinny water used by ducks, the bigger the better. That way it doesn’t freeze as easily,” he says. There are about ﬁve or six watering holes for major groups of birds to call home during their short stay in the Spokane area. “The Spokane River and Pend Oreille hold a lot of birds and rarely freeze up due to the moving water,” Ostrom says. “Long Lake can hold a great amount of birds, but access becomes an issue once the water begins to drop. The Medical Lake area has numerous lakes that can, at times, hold a lot of geese moving through on migration, as well as the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge area.”

Goose hunting by some is considered a rich man’s hunt, but that isn’t always the case. Yes, harvesting geese primarily takes place on private land, but this doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of opportunities to make successful connections with landowners. “Due to the decreased popularity of goose hunting in the region, there are probably more unhunted fields than one might think,” notes Ostrom. “It just takes dedication and time to uncover them.” Common courtesy can go a long way when trying to find land to hunt, says White. “A lot of farmers have been put off by hunters in the past. Whether the previous hunters drove through the fields, littered, drinking, hunting disrespectfully

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HUNTING or illegally, it is an issue that needs to be addressed. Trespassing is a problem everywhere,” he says. “So being courteous, respectful and professional in your interactions with landowners is a must. You are representing all sportsmen in the region when you go to knock on a farmer’s door.”

TIMING AND DRAWING birds into your decoys are crucial because we have a good migration, but not a huge amount of birds. If you can get in a field the first week or two that migrators show up, your success rate will skyrocket. This usually happens the first week or two of November. When you do get afield, sacrifice being on the X – the birds’ normal landing spot – for a good hide. “A hundred yards can cause frustration with birds skirting your spread, but when it comes to goose hunting, you only need a couple of groups to come in to have a successful hunt,” says White. “It’s better than setting up in the middle of the field with a poor hide, flaring and educating birds in the process.” Being cognizant of how many birds you are shooting regularly is essential to continued success in the Inland Northwest, adds White. “I give a break to a field for at least one week, if not two, in between hunts,” he says. He also passes on shooting flocks of 15 or more. “Shooting into the big groups of forty to a hundred educates a lot of geese for future hunts. As the season progresses and the birds become more educated, make sure to find better hides and smaller spreads,” he notes. With small flocks, as few as six decoys can have huge success because it looks extremely natural and less suspicious. Austin, the call maker, notices much more family activity amongst Inland Empire geese. “I will usually break my decoys 86 Northwest Sportsman

NOVEMBER 2014

The author, who graduated from Eastern Washington University in Cheney recently, recommends newbies have at least two dozen full-body decoys and a dozen shells, plus a goose ﬂag or two. (NICK BARR)

up to make family groups. Scouting countless hours you learn how these birds interact with each other, compared to birds in other areas of the state. I have found that the birds we hunt in the Spokane area seem to be spread out and in their family groups most of the time. They seem to be more relaxed and comfortable in this type of spread. Your kill zone should be centered in an area that will provide a good shot, but keep the focus away from your blinds.” White offers some ﬁnal calling advice for beginners. “One large mistake new people make when hunting small migratory ﬂocks of birds is overcalling. The less you call, the better. Only call to get the birds’ attention and see the spread, then

be patient and call whenever the birds turn away. Sometimes you can use a deep, short, guttural closing call when the birds are circling low, but keep your auditory presence to a minimum,” he says. Paciﬁc Calls’ 4 Of A Kind Call was made for hunters hoping to lure sky pigs into their sets. The upper end of the Columbia Basin might not be as fertile goose ground as the country around Moses Lake and Tri-Cities, but it provides an abundance of great opportunities if hunters are willing to work for it. The unique challenges of hunting geese in the Spokane area can be conquered with proper preparation for those moments when a big group of geese comes heading your way. NS

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HUNTING Waterfowlers will have new access to 40 miles of riverfront along the Oregon side of the mighty Columbia where the river ﬁrst meets sagebrush country east of The Dalles. The former Columbia River Refuge between Celilo and Boardman has been opened to duck and goose hunting, though scattered chunks of Corps of Engineers lands remain closed. (ANDY SCHNEIDER)

An A-to-B Guide For Columbia Waterfowl How to hunt geese and ducks on the big river between Astoria and newly opened lands near Boardman. By Andy Schneider

ach step became heavier and heavier as the thick mud clung to the waterfowler’s boot, making for quite a strenuous cardio workout just trying to set decoys on the exposed tidal ﬂat in the predawn hour. Resting for a moment, whistling wings and squawking fowl could just barely be heard over his thundering heartbeat. A quick glance at the time revealed that shooting time was only minutes away, but still a half bag of decoys remained to be strategically laid out. With renewed purpose the waterfowler stood up to complete the spread, but with his next step he

realized that he had a serious problem: his boots were mired calf deep in the sticky mud. Who in their right mind would want to go through all the effort, lack of sleep and predawn navigation hazards just to deal with all that and then sit in a cold, wet blind for the rest of the day? A Northwest waterfowler is who! Duck and goose hunting here can be challenging no matter your location. Unless you shell out what amounts to the cost of a used pickup to gain entrance into a private duck club for a season, you’re going to have to work a little to be successful hunting waterfowl in the Beaver and

Evergreen States. But working hard to ﬁll your strap makes it all the more rewarding.

THE PACIFIC’S BIGGEST tributary, the Columbia does not go unnoticed by the millions of ducks and geese migrating south. Just about every species found on the West Coast utilizes the Columbia on their journey through the Paciﬁc Flyway. While most effort is focused in the Columbia Basin, all it takes is some scouting, weather, proper tides, awareness of dam spills and a sense of adventure to be a successful waterfowler on the middle and lower reaches of the mighty river. The refuges and wildlife areas at Sauvie Island, Ridgeﬁeld, McKay Creek, Boardman and McCormack are all great places to hunt waterfowl. NOVEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman

HUNTING Wherever you hunt along the Columbia, you’re dealing with water movement, either the incoming tide ﬂooding your set, or dams lowering or raising the river level. (ANDY SCHNEIDER)

Put in your application and see how well you do, or show up early and draw a good chip. But either way, your success at one of the aforementioned areas is all about luck. If the only luck you have is bad luck, you may want to avoid the managed wildlife hunting grounds and explore other opportunities. For instance, the estuary of the Columbia is a massive and daunting section of water that extends from Astoria to Cathlamet. There is no way to motor out in the dark and set up a spread of decoys and expect to be successful if you’ve never hunted there before. But it also is home to the Lewis & Clark National Wildlife Refuge, located between Tongue Point and Skamokawa, no reservations required. However, a lot of this refuge borders large pieces of water that will require a seaworthy boat to navigate. Well upstream, the Columbia River Refuge is a newly opened section of water that starts at the railroad bridge at Celilo and extends east up the Columbia past John Day Dam to 4.3 miles west of Boardman. Many waterfowlers are looking forward to exploring this section of the river which has been closed for 100 years as a goose refuge. It offers lots of sheltered islands, coves and peninsulas that have been drawing waterfowler’s attention as they drive along I-84 for years. But you’ll need to know ownership boundaries as the Corps of Engineers says that its lands are off limits to hunting at the moment in that stretch. Several Oregon state parks also offer waterfowling opportunities. Benson, Cottonwood Canyon, Deschutes, Fort Stevens, Mayer, Government Island, Rooster Rock and Starvation Creek all have places for waterfowlers to hunt – just make sure to check the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s bird hunting regulations for restrictions. For instance, the interiors of Lemon and Government Islands, which straddle I-205 over the Columbia, are off 92 Northwest Sportsman

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limits, but lands below their posted mean high water marks are open.

JUST ABOUT EVERY waterfowling article ever written mentions something about scouting. That’s because, well, if you want to have a successful day afield, you can’t just trust that birds will be there. If you can spend the day before your hunt driving along the Columbia with a river atlas and a pair of binoculars, you will be way ahead of the game the next day. But in today’s busy world, we rarely can make time to spend a day in the blind, let alone spend another just driving around previewing places to hunt. While putting rubber to the pavement and boots to the ground is the most effective way to do your scouting, there are some shortcuts that can help increase your hunting success. Google and Bing Maps can be extremely helpful finding promising locations to build a blind, position your decoy spread or find a place to jump-shoot. While satellite images are usually shot during late summer and may be a year or two old, they still will provide some very important details for Northwest waterfowlers. Shallow river bottoms, brush and tree lines, outboard-clogging seaweed, promising-looking pass-shooting peninsulas and sheltered coves can be seen from orbit. Internet mapping can’t take the place of first-hand scouting, but it can definitely help.

BUT INTERWEB MAPS aren’t always so

helpful with one of the most important facets of hunting the Columbia: water movement. Below Bonneville Dam it’s the swings of the tides, while above it, it’s hydropower demands raising and lowering the pools. On the lower river, with every flooding and ebbing tide, waterfowl will be on the move. Ducks leapfrog the incoming tide into the newly submerged marshes, taking advantage of floating millet, tender grass shoots and any other groceries now accessible. Knowing that waterfowl will be on the move with the incoming tide makes it an easy decision on where you will need to position your boat or blind. You will need to find a location that offers access at low tide, with enough cover to allow you to retreat and stay hidden with the flooding water through the entire incoming tide. Having a layout boat or a boat equipped with a blind is one of the best ways to stay hidden, keep mobile and remain close enough to your decoy spread to be effective. If hunting from shore, you will need to scout a spot that provides a safe retreat so you don’t end up stranded. If you do find yourself stranded by a flooded channel that transitioned from the small one you crossed over without a second thought to a hauntingly wide river of unknown depth, simply wait out the tide. Too many waterfowlers have perished by becoming trapped by the rising river and attempting to cross

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HUNTING waters that should only be navigated by boat. Just as quickly as flood tide strands you, it will retreat and again provide you with safe passage home. Upstream, there is a lot of fluctuation in the big reservoirs. Bonneville Power Administration and Idaho Power hold and spill water according to power needs, irrigation and flood control. Finding current and projected levels of the Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day Pools is as easy as checking online. But unlike in the lower river, while reservoir levels will affect where you set up your blind or what cove to pull your boat into, they shouldn’t affect bird movement enough to have adjust your hunting throughout the day.

BUT IF THERE is one factor that contributes to waterfowl movement more than anything else – upstream or down- – it’s the weather. Calm and clear conditions are a

Columbia fowler’s worst enemy. Ducks and geese will often raft in the middle of the river in large ﬂocks, pulling in any newly arriving waterfowl. Once birds start congregating safely in the middle of the river, there isn’t much a hunter can do except hope for some river trafﬁc or a freak thunderstorm to scatter the birds. Keeping a close eye on the Weather Channel, Weather.gov or any weather app, look for any storm system moving into the region that will provide moderate to strong winds, cold weather to the north or measurable precipitation. Strong winds, especially ones out of the north or south, will provide waterfowlers with good action along any shoreline or island. Not only will birds not be able to raft up in the middle of the river, they will be looking for any sheltered waters. When cold weather moves in from

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the north, waterfowl will try and stay in front of it. While our region may not be affected by a cold front in Canada, the birds will be on the move. And there is nothing better for waterfowlers than a bunch of fresh birds that haven’t been educated by our decoy spreads and bad calling. And ﬁnally, blending in. One thing that can spook even the unwariest of birds is having a giant blind bought from a store. It is tough to match the ever-changing color of natural grass, except with, well, natural grass. Simply sitting in tall grass, or behind some natural cover, is one of the best ways to blend in. If a blind or boat is a must, utilize natural vegetation for your cover. A pair of pruning shears and a machete will make quick work of cutting and building a blind. Whether you’re down by Astoria or up by Boardman, blending in will give you a far better chance at busting Columbia waterfowl. NS

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HUNTING It’s a long way from his home in the San Juans to the southeastern corner of Washington where he goes to college, but waterfowler Gavin Guard has made the transition. (GAVIN GUARD)

Somewhere Special

A San Juan Island boy adjusts to waterfowling at crowded Tri-Cities-area marshes.

By Gavin Guard

ife is all about balance. This statement holds true for most, and it certainly resonates with me as well. I try my best to juggle my studies while allowing myself to enjoy the things I love. This became a little harder

as I transitioned into a collegiate setting at Whitman College, at the edge of the Blue Mountains foothills in Walla Walla. This small liberal-arts college tested my intellectual abilities with its rigorous coursework and intense competition in the classroom. It also allowed me to enjoy some

great hunting opportunities in Eastern Washington. It was my ﬁrst year hunting on the east side of the Cascade Mountains and it was certainly not what I was expecting. It provided me with a new insight on public hunting as I got to experience it ﬁrsthand. And after hunting the

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McNary National Wildlife Refuge nestled in nearby Tri-Cities, I was able to better appreciate the hunting opportunities that I have back home on San Juan Island, off the coast of Northwest Washington.

TOES NESTLED IN a warm sand beach, a lounge chair, a martini with a neon umbrella on the side, and Bob Marley playing on the radio. That’s what most people think when they envision an island vacation. Well, that’s not the San Juans. Tourists flock here every summer to witness orca whale pods migrating through the narrow channels of the some 400 islands of the archipelago. Kayaking, fishing, and wine tasting are some other hot trends to keep one busy on a nice summer day. But when the days turn cold and the sun grows tired, I know that hunting is right around the corner. On my small, 10-mile-wide island lies some of the best waterfowl hunting in the Northwest. There are many differences between hunting the public land in Eastern Washington and the small private oat fields around Friday Harbor. The island obviously has limited places to hunt. In fact, there is no public land, and all hunters must rely on family or friends for permission to hunt on their land, unless they operate a farm on their own. There’s also little rush involved in hunting the “island way.” A normal morning consists of waking up to an alarm around 5 a.m., loading the truck and driving no more than 10 minutes to our hunting location. We then put out no more than five dozen decoys before shooting light approaches. Considering the constrained hunting area, the variety of species is outstanding. I remember a few years ago that in one pass, a specklebelly, snow and a greater fell to the ground 20 yards from our layout blinds. Chasing waterfowl usually 98 Northwest Sportsman

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Though it lacks public lands, with little competition and a wide variety of species dropping in, San Juan Island hosts “some of the best waterfowl hunting in the Northwest,” maintains the author. (GAVIN GUARD)

occurs in the field setting with occasional marsh morning hunts for puddle ducks, if one is lucky enough to get permission from the landowner. Competition is scarce, and if there are others wanting to hunt the same spot, we usually end up sharing the hunt. Not having much pressure means birds are not as wary, and little calling and decoys are needed to coax in these confident birds. Nonetheless, this means that birds find safe havens where they stay for days and sometimes weeks without any pressure from hunters. Island hunters also face a predicament that is uncommon on Western Washington’s mainland. When it snows, you better head out deer hunting because the birds congregate in False Bay where they feed on shellfish and small bait balls.

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HUNTING

scene was a whole new experience for me. Hearing about the great opportunities to chase waterfowl in the Tri-Cities, I called up Mark Purser, a veteran Paciﬁc Calls prostaffer who has hunted Millet Pond before. He suggested that I get to the refuge the day before and camp that night, so I packed up the bags and left Whitman after classes. I scouted the area before

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HUNTING it closed and made a quick trip to Sportsman’s Warehouse. Parking my car as ﬁrst in line at 4 p.m., I then made “bed” before breaking out the newest issue of Field and Stream. I also made sure to call my roommate to inform him where I was and when I would be back in case anything bad happened out “in the middle of nowhere.” I woke up at 4 a.m. to about a dozen cars parked in line behind me. “Knock knock knock …” I was a little startled by a camocovered ﬁgure outside my window. “Where are ya’ hunting?” “Blind four,” I responded. His eyes lit up, and at that moment I knew that I had made a good decision. After some talk and persuasion, I agreed to let him and his friends hunt with me. They seemed both competent and to be veteran

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hunters. With collaborated efforts, my three new friends and I trekked about a mile before setting up nine dozen floats, a dozen field mallards and two dozen new Dakota Decoy floaters. The sight of a drake mallard dropping in bright orange feet first drew the first shot right at hunting light, as well as the pronouncement “Looks like the northerners are in!” The 50 mph wind – no exaggeration – that morning made it very difficult for birds to close in. The migration was on, and the ducks worked our spread well, but the bone-chilling gusts made it hard for them to finish their final descent. We decided to change up the decoy spread to make a larger landing hole and set up on the side for pass shots. It paid off and we had our limit within the next few hours. My band of friends and I packed up and hauled our

gear back to the rigs where we exchanged phone numbers and said our farewells, promising to be in touch with one another next time we went out.

I LEARNED A lot from my ﬁrst experience on public land. The competition is ﬁerce, so aggressive calling is necessary. I made sure to “plead” with the ducks with a whiny, “come over here” kind of tone with a single-reed call in order to pierce through the blasts of wind. It is also important to be better than the guy next to you. What I mean is, you need to make sure there is something unique and different than every other spread and setup. This might include using motion decoys or maybe adding in some black duck decoys to add some contrast to the spread. This also might mean that more work

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HUNTING needs to be put in perfecting your setup, but more birds will be the reward in the end. Another word of advice when hunting the McNary refuge is to get there early! This means getting to the refuge the night before and camping overnight. It’s well worth being first to choose a blind than having to get last picks on a blind that doesn’t produce any birds. With the vast amount of land inside the refuge’s boundaries – including the Wallula, Two Rivers, Burbank Sloughs, and Peninsula Units – scouting becomes key to a successful hunt. Hit the refuge the day before your hunt to figure out where birds are concentrating. It is also frustrating to note that guides and outfitters have private land locked up, and it can be very difficult for weekend hunters to gain access to private

farmland. This is quite contrary to the island way of hunting since close connections lead to great hunting opportunities through just a phone call or encounter in the local grocery store.

THERE ARE CERTAINLY some things that just don’t change no matter how far you are away from home. Sharing the passion for the outdoors with family and friends is something every hunter should enjoy, no matter where. You also should utilize the same general tactics when chasing waterfowl. Birds are birds, and no matter where you go, waterfowl will usually react to the same stimulus, though sometimes not in all cases. This includes good concealment, sufficient scouting, and smart calling. But most importantly, with or without birds, we hunters are the ambassadors for the

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outdoors, the stewards of the land, and are responsible for passing on the hunting tradition to others. Each marsh, field and pond offers a unique twist. To be honest, I don’t care where I am as long as I get away to enjoy the outdoors. It is an honor to be able to witness the world wake up, attend to every whistling wing, and find peace in tranquil silence. But it is a special experience to be able to hunt San Juan Island. Its accessibility, bewildering geography, and exclusiveness are tell-tale signs that I live somewhere special. During this season, take a moment to reflect where your somewhere special is. NS Editor’s note: The author is a prostaffer for Pacific Calls and a Sitka Gear ambassador.

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HUNTING

Waiting Is The Easiest Part 4 WAYS TO MAKE A SLOW DAY IN THE DUCK MARSH MORE PRODUCTIVE By Brian Lull

ur region is among the best in the country in terms of numbers of ducks killed each season. The only area that beats us consistently is Arkansas and Louisiana, home of the infamous Duck Commander crew. So to someone who doesn’t speak duck,

one might think that we Northwest sportsmen kill limits every morning we slide into our waders. As avid waterfowlers know, that simply ain’t the case. Our sometimes dreary, foggy fall and winter weather plays a huge role in why we don’t kill limits every day at Skagit, Sauvie and Umatilla. Blue bird days can be even worse news.

Seems like a typical duck hunt starts with a flock of teal bombing into the decoys – and leaving just before legal light. It’s almost as if they have little wrist watches. And once shooting time arrives, we get to watch as flocks of high fliers return from their night feeding to the refuge. Oh, sure, one lone shoveler might commit spoon-a-cide

Some days a lone spoonbill is all duck hunters get to join up with their ﬂock of decoys. But there are plenty of productive ways for waterfowlers to pass the time on slow days on Northwest marshes. (BRIAN LULL) NOVEMBER 2014

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HUNTING and come join our ﬂock of plastic unblinking decoys. Yet by and large, most ﬂocks will head straight for the safe areas of the refuge when the weather’s nice. So besides telling off-color jokes with our hunting partners to pass the time, we at Northwest Sportsman have a few suggestions for killing time in the marsh:

The snipe is a favorite waterfowl target for the author. Most days, you’ll ﬂush a single or pair. (BRIAN LULL)

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Kill something besides ducks

Regulations permitting, there are several birds that can be hunted not far from your dead spread. Here are a couple: Snipe are a favorite prey of mine, but no one seems to hunt them here. Back East they are a revered game bird; out here, not so much. I often get a funny look when I tell someone I limited on them. The truth is snipe are often found in many of the same spots we hunt ducks. That mushy, muddy flat on the back of the slough you’re hunting is a perfect spot. Snipe feed on invertebrates in the mud by probing with their long beaks. You will encounter snipe as singles or pairs – three are a veritable flock. When flushed, they often fly out in a zigzag path while scolding you with a screech or two. But they have a peculiar trait. If for some reason you don’t shoot on the initial flush, they will often fly back over the top of you for a high crossing shot. How do they taste? Let’s just say that dove used to be my

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HUNTING favorite game bird until I shot a snipe. If the ducks just aren’t ﬂying, you can also hunt quail and pheasants – even coots. Just make sure you know the regs for where you are hunting, and be mindful of steeland lead-shot rules for the marsh. Also keep in mind that it is bad form to roam around in blaze orange attire if others are attempting to hunt ducks.

Enjoy armed bird watching

Think of improvements

Our marshes are some of the most bird-rich wetlands in the world. Shore birds, raptors, upland birds, those LBBs (little brown birds) that flit through the blind as you’re scanning the empty skies – the variety is staggering, and figuring out what kind of bird you’re looking at is a great way to pass some time. With smartphone technology, the answer is right at your fingertips.

Is your blind really that good? Does it look like a blind? Ducks see you from above, so while your hide might look great from the horizontal plane we inhabit, what really

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matters is, does it look like another of those black boxes of death waterfowl have seen since they left Alaska and Alberta? Overhead cover and shadow is the key to killing too-educated ducks. Reconsider your calling. Does it really have a positive impact on the ﬂocks? Our pride often gets in the way of killing birds. Most often the best thing most hunters can do is to just put the kazoo away. Heavily hunted ducks don’t often wish to call attention to themselves. The real ducks will show you how to hunt. Then there’s the subject of decoys and placement. Take a drive by areas closed to hunting and see how the birds really look while resting. They look relaxed. They also mix in with other species. Some days you have to ﬂoat every decoy in the armada to get any attention, but many times smaller is better. Motion – and the right motion – is the key to making your set look alive. I will take six decoys with a way to make them move so they make ripples over a spread of 200 lifeless-looking ones any day.

Walk your worries away

Go on a walkabout. If you are near free-roam areas and the day is slow, why not go see what the next pond over looks like? I have discovered many small pockets of water that hold birds by doing this over the years. Marshes are everchanging ecosystems. Ponds grow over, new ones form. You may be looking at a satellite picture of your area that is 10 years old. We rely too much on technology. There is no substitute for boots-on-the-ground reconnaissance. There is no wasted day in the duck blind. And keep in mind, it beats being at work, so take time to enjoy those all-too-common blue-bird days. It makes you appreciate the limit-out days all that much more. NS

Coming in 2015~

For over 30 years now, Evergoing Products Group out of the great state of Washington, has been ďƵŝůĚŝŶŐ ƐŽŵĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌǇ͛Ɛ ďĞƐƚ ƐĞůůŝŶŐ ŝŶŇĂƚĂďůĞ ƌĂŌƐ͕ ŬĂǇĂŬƐ͕ ƉŽŶƚŽŽŶƐ͕ ƌŝďƐ ĂŶĚ ƐƚĂŶĚ ƵƉ ƉĂĚĚůĞ ďŽĂƌĚƐ͕ ǁŚŝůĞ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ƐĂŵĞ ƟŵĞ ƋƵŝĞƚůǇ ŵĂŶƵĨĂĐƚƵƌŝŶŐ K D ĮƐŚŝŶŐ ĞƋƵŝƉŵĞŶƚ ĨŽƌ ƐŽŵĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŶĂƟŽŶ͛Ɛ ŵĂũŽƌ ƌĞƚĂŝůĞƌƐ ŝŶ ƚŽĚĂǇ͛Ɛ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ͘ ǀĞƌŐŽŝŶŐ͛Ɛ ŶĞǁĞƐƚ ĞŶĚĞĂǀŽƌ͕ D yyKE Khd&/dd Z^͕ ǁŝůů ďĞ ďƌŝŶŐŝŶŐ ŚŝŐŚͲƋƵĂůŝƚǇ͕ ĂīŽƌĚĂďůĞ͕ ŇǇ ĮƐŚŝŶŐ ĞƋƵŝƉŵĞŶƚ ĂŶ ŽƵƚĚŽŽƌ ĂĐĐĞƐƐŽƌŝĞƐ ƚŽ ǇŽƵƌ ĨĂǀŽƌŝƚĞ ůŽĐĂů ƚĂĐŬůĞ ƐŚŽƉƐ ĂŶĚ ƐƉŽƌƟŶŐ ŐŽŽĚƐ ƌĞƚĂŝůĞƌƐ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϱ͊ ͞KƵƌ ůŽǀĞ ŽĨ ǁĂƚĞƌ ĐŽŵďŝŶĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ŽƵƌ ƉĂƐƐŝŽŶ ĨŽƌ ĮƐŚŝŶŐ͕ ĨƵĞůƐ ŽƵƌ ĚĞƐŝƌĞ ƚŽ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞ ƚŽ ďƵŝůĚ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚƐ ƚŚĂƚ ĐŽŶŶĞĐƚ ŽƚŚĞƌƐ ǁŝŚ ŶĂƚƵƌĞ͕ ĂŶĚ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ ƚŚĞ ƚƌĂŶƋƵŝů ůŝĨĞƐƚǇůĞ ŽĨ ŇǇ ĮƐŚŝŶŐ͘ Ɛ ŽƵƌ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ŐƌĞĂƚ ŽƵƚĚŽŽƌƐ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞƐ ƚŽ ŐƌŽǁ͕ ƐŽ ǁŝůů ŽƵƌ ƐĞůĞĐƟŽŶ ŽĨ ƐƉĞĐŝĂůŝǌĞĚ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚƐ ƚŽ ŽƵƞŝƚ ǇŽƵƌ ŶĞǆƚ ĂĚǀĞŶƚƵƌĞ͘͟ ƐƚĂƚĞĚ :ƵƐƟŶ ĂŵĞƌŽŶ ŽĨ DĂǆǆŽŶ KƵƞŝƩĞƌƐ͘ dŚĞ DĂǆǆŽŶ KƵƞŝƩĞƌ ůŝŶĞ ǁŝůů ůĂƵŶĐŚ ǁŝƚŚ ƌŽĚƐ͕ ƌĞĞůƐ͕ ĐŽŵďŽ ŬŝƚƐ͕ ƚƌĂǀĞů ĐĂƐĞƐ͕ ŇǇͲůŝŶĞ͕ ĮƐŚŝŶŐ ƚŽŽůƐ͕ ŇǇ ďŽǆĞƐ͕ ůĂŶĚŝŶŐ ŶĞƚƐ ĂŶĚ ĚƌǇ ďĂŐƐ͕ ƚĂƌŐĞƟŶŐ ƚŽĚĂǇ͛Ɛ ŵŽƐƚ ƉŽƉƵůĂƌ ƌĞƚĂŝů ƉƌŝĐĞ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ŇǇ ĮƐŚŝŶŐ ĐĂƚĞŐŽƌǇ͘ dŚŝƐ ǁŝůů ďĞ ĐŽƵƉůĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ŶĞǁůǇ ĚĞƐŝŐŶĞĚ ŝŶŇĂƚĂďůĞƐ ĨŽƌ ĐĂƚĂƌĂŌ ĨƌĂŵĞƐ͕ ŵƵůƟͲƵƐĞ ŬĂǇĂŬƐ ĂŶĚ ƉĞƌƐŽŶĂů ǁĂƚĞƌĐƌĂŌ͘ dŚĞ KƵƞŝƩĞƌ ůŝŶĞ ŝƐ ĐƌĂŌĞĚ ƐƉĞĐŝĮĐĂůůǇ ĨŽƌ ŇǇ ƐŚŽƉƐ ƚŚĂƚ ŚĂǀĞ ůŽƐƚ ƚŚĞ ĞƐƐĞŶƟĂů͕ ƐƚĂƌƟŶŐ ƉƌŝĐĞ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ƚŽ ŵĂƐƐ ŵĞƌĐŚĂŶƚƐ ĂŶĚ ďŝŐ ďŽǆ ƌĞƚĂŝůĞƌƐ͘ ĞĂůĞƌͲĚƌŝǀĞŶ ŝŶ ĐŽŶĐĞƉƚ ĂŶĚ ĚĞƐŝŐŶ͕ W' ŚĂƐ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉĞĚ ƚŚŝƐ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚ ůŝŶĞ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŐƵŝĚĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŇǇ ƐŚŽƉ ĚĞĂůĞƌƐ͕ ƉĂƌƚŶĞƌĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ĞǆƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞĚ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌǇ ƌĞƉƌĞƐĞŶƚĂƟǀĞƐ ƐĞƌǀŝŶŐ ƚŚŝƐ ƐƉĞĐŝĂů ĚŝƐƚƌŝďƵƟŽŶ͘ Ɛ ĂŶ ĂǀŝĚ ĂŶŐůĞƌ͕ ůŽŽŬ ĨŽƌ ƚŚŝƐ ůŝŶĞ ƚŽ ďĞ ŝŶ ǇŽƵƌ ĨĂǀŽƌŝƚĞ ƐŚŽƉ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϱ͘ &Žƌ ƚŚĞ ƐŚŽƉ ŽǁŶĞƌ͕ ůŽŽŬ ĨŽƌǁĂƌĚ ƚŽ ďƌŝŶŐŝŶŐ ƚŚŝƐ ƋƵĂůŝƚǇ ƉƌŝĐĞ ƉŽŝŶƚ ďĂĐŬ ƚŽ ǇŽƵƌ ƉƌĞƐĞŶƚĂƟŽŶ͘ ŶĚ ĂƐ ĂŶ ŝŶĚĞƉĞŶĚĂŶƚ ŵĂŶƵĨĂĐƚƵƌĞƌ͛Ɛ ƌĞƉƌĞƐĞŶƚĂŝǀĞ͕ DĂǆǆŽŶ KƵƞŝƩĞƌƐ ũƵƐƚ ŵŝŐŚƚ ďĞ ƚŚĞ ůŝŶĞ ǇŽƵ͛ǀĞ ďĞĞŶ ůŽŽŬŝŶŐ ƚŽ ĂĚĚ ƚŽ ǇŽƵƌ ďĂŐ͘ &Žƌ ŵŽƌĞ ŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶ ĐŽŶĐĞƌŶŝŶŐ DĂǆǆŽŶ KƵƞŝƩĞƌƐ ůŝŶĞ͕ ŐŝǀĞ ƚŚĞŵ Ă ĐĂůů Ăƚ ϮϱϯͲϯϳϯͲϬϭϲϲ ǆƚ͘ ϭϬϱ͕ Žƌ ǀŝƐŝƚ ƚŚĞŝƌ ǁĞď ƐŝƚĞ Ăƚ ͗ ǁǁǁ͘ŵĂǆǆŽŶŽƵƞŝƩĞƌƐ͘ĐŽŵ NOVEMBER 2014 Northwest Sportsman 109

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Power of Pink

They may not sneak up on any ducks haunting the waterways around Boise in that pink canoe the author and his cousin picked up for hunting, but it sure will make them more visible for a family member on high. (RANDY KING)

R CHEF

IN THE WILD By Randy King

E: Craigslist Ad: Canoe, 16ft with oars, Great Shape, Pink Me: Did you get the Craigslist Ad I sent to you? Jamie: Yep, you are now ½ owner of a pink canoe! Lol Me: Dude! That was a joke, you’re kidding right? Jamie: You owe me $150…I picked it up after work. Me: FML

It was the last day of duck season on the Payette River when Jamie and I deployed the pink canoe for the first time. The plan was to float a stretch between two small towns, jumping and shooting ducks along the way. Jamie is my paternal cousin, and is, for lack of a better word, eccentric. She is an avid hunter and angler – last year she accompanied me on a crazy let’s-go-huntthe-tundra-just-because-we-can Alaskan caribou adventure (and managed to get

us a free ride off the tundra from a passing airboat – all with just a smile). She buys camouflage with pink interlay, uses pink lures for grayling and even has pink fletching on her arrows. Pink and hunting/outdoors stuff is her thing. Oh, and she has a sponsorship with The Front Hunters. So the fact that she bought a pink canoe off Craigslist should not have come as a surprise to me, but it did. As a man, hunter and father of three boys, the color pink and I do not see each

other that often. When we do it is usually because I have turned down the girls’ toy aisle at Target. My boys and I shriek in terror and we quickly head back to our comfort zone of Nerf Guns and Legos.

JAMIE AND I launched the pink boat three minutes before shooting hours and began our drift hunt. As the light slowly increased, I could see flocks of ducks on the water with my binoculars. Every head was looking our direction. I spied a solitary snow goose on the bank. It was giving me the “Well, you don’t see that every day” look. I think this snow goose was a little touched in the head, since it did not fly soon and I managed to get a shot off. I missed. At this point so late in the season ducks are weary of being shot at. They scare quickly and fly off fast. As soon as the birds NOVEMBER 2014

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DUCKY ADAPTATION TO AN IDAHO ICON

n the Gem State we have a local “delicacy” called the finger steak. Originally invented in the 1950s at what is now a strip club in Boise (The Torch Lounge), the finger steak has become an icon in Southern Idaho. People argue the history, the inventor, the best recipe and the best cut of meat. People not from Southern Idaho have literally no clue about this dish and why it is so ubiquitous. For this chef the best finger steak is made from a mallard duck, hands down. Trim the skin off the duck breast, slice it into ½-inch-thick cross grain “steaks,” batter and fry. Pure. Culinary. Gold. Put some sort of potato by the finger steaks and Idaho cuisine has been defined. My family has made several versions of this dish over the years. I have streamlined and upped the flavors. Enjoy.

Mallard ﬁnger steak, with French fries. (RANDY KING)

Ingredients 1 pound duck breasts 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 cups buttermilk 4 teaspoons kosher salt (divided) 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper (divided) 1 tablespoon granulated garlic (divided)

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2 teaspoons dry mustard (divided) 1 table spoon sweet paprika (divided) Vegetable oil, for frying 1 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup corn starch

Directions Trim the duck of any silver skin, fat or tendons remaining on the flesh. Cut them across the grain into ½-inch-thick steaks. They should be about 2 inches long. Add the fingers to a bowl and toss with the Worcestershire and half the salt, pepper, garlic and dry mustard. Let chill for an hour or so in the fridge. Heat 3 inches of oil in a Dutch oven to 350 degrees. You can check the temp with a wooden spoon by looking for bubbles. No bubbles from the spoon? The oil is not hot enough. Whisk together the flour, corn starch and the remaining spices. In batches, dredge the strips in buttermilk, then seasoned flour, then back into the buttermilk, and back again into the seasoned flour. Carefully dip the twice-dredged fingers into the hot oil. Fry in batches to prevent the meat from cooling the oil too much. Fry them for about four minutes, flipping them as needed with a slotted spoon. After four minutes, when they are golden brown and delicious, remove them from the oil to a paper-towel-lined plated. For more recipes, see Chefrandyking.com.

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The author’s aunt, Glenda Johnson and her daughter, Jamie, in a happier moment before Glenda passed away from breast cancer in September 2013. (RANDY KING) recognized that we were moving toward them, they would bust, oftentimes at hundreds of yards away and in hundreds at a time. Pink is not a color normally seen on the rivers of Idaho. Then the calls and shooting began all around us. The river is a popular spot for sportsmen to set up semi-permanent blinds for the season. Access is normally restricted due to private property, but often hunters will wade and float to premium locations. The day was perfect duck weather: cold, windy and a chance of rain, the three elements that will bring ducks onto decoys quickly. Eventually we started to see hunters and decoy spreads on the water. We would wave as we passed by, hearing chuckles and hoots. But we would just wave and smile. We pulled the canoe off the river to hike an island we had spotted on Google Earth. It looked secluded and hard to access, the kind of place that late-season ducks love. The edges of the island were thick brush, hard to clambor through, 114 Northwest Sportsman

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while the interior of the island was classic Idaho sagebrush flat. Starting at its top, we began our hike to the downriver tip, where the ducks would be holding. The ducks jumped too soon and the geese held too high for a shot. Jamie and I climbed back into the pink canoe for the last leg of our hunt.

IT WAS THEN that we talked about the death of Jamie’s mother, a few weeks prior, to breast cancer. Glenda Johnson is the reason that I love my pink canoe. The color pink, of all the colors, was chosen for breast cancer awareness. Its symbolism is cemented in our culture, and rightfully so. The pink ribbon symbolizes solidarity and hope for breast cancer survivors and the families of those not so fortunate. My family has an unhappy history of breast cancer. Two of my aunts have been diagnosed; unfortunately one did not survive. Glenda passed away from breast cancer on Sept. 14, 2013. The world lost a great person that day.

Whenever I see the canoe I pause to think about all that my family lost with her passing. But then I remember all that she gave to this world as well. Glenda was an avid hunter and angler, and passed those skills on to her daughters. But mostly, from my perspective, she was a great wild game cook. One of my fondest memories from childhood were the fish fries that Glenda put on. She would cook dozens of fresh-caught redband rainbow trout. Ingrained in my love of food and cooking are dishes Glenda would prepare – memories of bear sausage, duck jerky and venison spaghetti (but only when her husband was out too late). Glenda was there for my second, third and fourth deer. She was there for my first elk and countless grouse. Even so, I wasn’t afforded the pleasure of being raised by her. Instead Glenda raised two strong and faithful daughters, Jamie and Katie. As the pink canoe floated us to our pickup location, Jamie and I talked of many things. But mostly about Glenda. About how we needed to paint some breast-cancer ribbons on the pink canoe, about how proud we were to have bought it, about Christmas parties and stolen alcohol, about how Glenda would have given us hell for coming back empty-handed from this hunt. We beamed with pride, faces flush from emotions and strain as we schlepped the canoe over fences and up to the road. We know full well that our decision to keep the canoe pink will lead to shooting fewer ducks, as visible as we are above the water. But I like that Jamie and I are visible. I want Glenda to look down from heaven and see us, sticking out of the green water like a brave bald head. I want Glenda to know that we are kicking ass and taking names, for her. I want Glenda to know that we are out doing what she loved to do, hunt and be in nature. I want the world to know about the fight that an untold number of women have to go through and how my family stands with them. The color pink is the color of beating breast cancer, even if it is on a canoe. NS

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OREGON DALLAS L & L Equipment 1145 SW Oakdale Ave (503) 623-5116 www.landlequipment.net

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PUYALLUP Sumner Lawn N Saw 9318 SR 162 E (253) 435-9284 www.sumnerlawn.com RENTON Bryant’s Tractor and Mower, Inc. 501 SW 12th St (425) 228-6454 www.bryantstractor.com VANCOUVER Clark County Lawn & Tractor 17900 NE 72nd Ave (360) 573-3171 www.cclawnandtractor.com IDAHO COEUR D’ALENE Ragan Equipment West 320 Hanley (208) 772-3374 www.raganequipment.com ST. MARIES St. Maries Saw & Cycle 204 W College Ave (208) 245-4544 www.sawandcycle.com

Long Nguyen shows off a nice Green River chum from a few seasons back now. He was ﬁshing at O’Grady’s Park, now part of the larger Green River Natural Area. (TERRY WIEST)

The Million Chum March Fall’s ﬁnal big salmon run kicks off around Veterans Day, and the Green River is a great bet to battle some. By Jason Brooks

AUBURN, Wash.—For Puget Sound fishermen, Veterans Day is not only a moment to thank those who’ve served in our armed forces, but it also signals the final big salmon run of the season. Chums are very aggressive fish and thankfully they are also numerous. As they near their natal streams and rivers the fish quickly turn from silver to the green-and-purple-striped beasts with large protruding teeth that they use to viciously attack just about everything you throw at them. Their size is second only to Chinook – chum can reach over 20 pounds – and their willingness to bite makes them one of my favorite salmon to fish for. This year’s forecast calls for over 1 million fall chums back to the Puget Sound basin, with about 131,000 headed to streams from the Snohomish north, 129,000 to the Green River and Central Sound creeks, 312,000 to the Puyallup and other South Sound waters, and 442,000 to Hood Canal. MOST BEACHES OPEN to the public in southern Puget Sound will have chums cruising their shoreline in early

November. If you find a stream, make sure you concentrate around the outlet as chum are known to spawn in almost every stream and river in the South Sound. Floating an anchovy under a bobber can be very deadly, but throwing spinners and spoons, along with Buzz Bombs, all of which need single, barbless hooks in the salt, will produce fish. While the fish are in Puget Sound, they are still very edible and, with their high oil content, often a great fish to smoke. As they enter freshwater their flesh starts to break down as the fish morphs into its spawning colors and the large kype develops. I rarely keep chums

that I catch in the river, often spending the day catching and releasing these brutes instead. For river fishing try floating a 3/8-ounce jig tipped with a piece of raw prawn, a very exciting and fun way to catch chums. There is nothing like seeing the bobber go down and the feel of a giant fish as you set the hook. Floating jigs also keeps you fishing without worry of losing gear and having to retie other than needing to check your leader for nicks – those big toofers are sharp and can cut a leader. Throwing spoons and spinners can also be productive, and those who like to drift fish do well. Last fall I perfected

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FISHING my jig-twitching skills on coho, and then turned to chums as they entered the rivers and found that they will attack a twitched jig much better than a coho will. I use the same jigs for twitching as I do for floating with a prawn. My preferred jig is the Rock Dancer by Mack’s Lure. This is a bucktail with a stout 2X hook that rarely fails with these big fish. No matter if you’re using jigs, either floating or twitching, or throwing spoons, spinners or drift fishing, color can make a huge difference. Chum salmon are aggressive, especially so if you use a bright color. My personal preferences are cerise, chartreuse, purple, and orange, in that order.

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My jigs are often one of those colors combined with the contrasting black, but if I am using a spinner, I like Blue Fox Vibrax in size 4 to 6 with a silver blade and bright green body. When drift ﬁshing, use a chartreuse Cha Cha Pill ﬂoat by Mack’s or a Corky and a

piece of cerise yarn, and again tip the hook with a piece of raw prawn. These are big and mean fish and they need a strong outfit to haul them in. For float and drift fishing, use a 9½foot rod rated for at least 20-pound line with a reel filled with 30- to 50-pound

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FISHING Hi-Viz braid. My leaders are 20-pound Izorline XXX. When throwing spoons and spinners, use the same rod but run 20-pound braid tied straight to the lure. These ﬁsh are not line shy.

IF YOU LIVE in the Seattle area, you don’t have to travel too far to find chums. There is a prime river within an easy drive, the famed Green. It has plenty of public bank access as well as a nice stretch to float if you have a drift boat or are an experienced oarsman on a pontoon. Starting at the top end of the fishery is Flaming Geyser State Park. With lots of bank access here all you need to worry about is making sure you stay at least 150 feet from Crisp Creek, also known as Keta Creek, as this is closed waters. Drift fishing and floating a jig tipped with a piece of prawn are the most popular techniques in this area of the river. You can also launch a pontoon

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or, during higher waters, a drift boat, and float down to Whitney Bridge a few miles downriver. This is a short but very productive stretch, and can provide some elbow room for getting away from the bank crowds. My favorite float is from Whitney Bridge to Highway 18. This is fairly long and can take all day, especially in low water as there are places where you could have to rope the boat around some obstructions and push it through some riffles. Last time I floated this stretch there was one large log across the river that you can go under in lower water. But if the water is high per the USGS gauge, you needed to move to the far left side and rope your boat under the log as you carefully stepped over it on shore. Other than that, this isn’t a technical float as long as you pay attention, especially as you near the takeout where the river picks up speed and can push you right past the ramp. About a mile below it there

Whether pegging a prawn onto it or simply twitching, the author considers the Rock Dancer jig his go-to for chums in the rivers. (JASON BROOKS)

is an impassible log jam, but there are plenty of warning signs to let you know that you need to get out of the river at the last takeout just upriver of the Highway 18 bridge. Between Whitney and the takeout is Metzler Park. This park is accessed off of the road on the north side of the river. It’s not much of a park –

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The Green features a lot of public access, from walk-in sites up high in Flaming Geyser State Park and Green River Natural Area (the former Metzler, O’Grady and Green River Parks) to bike paths along its banks in the cities of Auburn, Kent and at tidewater in Tukwila. (JASON BROOKS)

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officially, it’s part of a 922-acre natural area – but is a public access for those who fish from the bank. Again, most anglers float jigs, but realize that this is a cutbank and the fish are literally at your feet. Once I anchored above the park and watched people drift fishing the middle of the river. Then a guy who obviously knew how to fish the area showed up and tossed his bobber about 2 feet from the shore and let if drift downstream where he immediately hooked a fish. Those around him soon switched to his technique and soon multiple people had fish on. At our vantage point we could see fish just upstream from the park holding along the bank in the brush, making it hard to fish for them because of blackberries growing out over the river. At the Highway 18 takeout, there is a small dirt parking lot and some bank access. Off of it is a gravel bar island which, in low water, you can wade out to and fish the far side of the river. This is one place that drift fishing will outfish jigs due to the current. If you go west after taking the Black Diamond exit and head downriver, there is a park and ride which can be seen from Highway 18. You can park there and hike across another natural area to the river. This is where Soos Creek dumps in; up it is the Soos Creek Hatchery and it’s also just above the logjam. Explore the banks from Soos Creek to the bridge to find pockets of fish. This is also a popular

place, so don’t expect to be alone. Continuing downriver you come to Auburn. A walking trail along parts of the river provides some access, though the banks are steep here as they have been diked to keep the town from flooding. Between Auburn and Kent there are various accesses, most of which are fairly small and can be crowded with just a few people fishing. Make sure you take a net as a lot of this area has a fairly steep bank and you won’t be able to walk the fish to a gravel bar. The lower river, below I-405, is known as the Duwamish and is influenced by the tide. Though this is a very popular coho area earlier in the fall, after Nov. 1 you are not allowed to fish from a floating device, which means that this isn’t really much of a place to fish for chums. But if you can find a place to fish, try and twitch jigs for incoming chums during high tide. The fish will stack up and circle around when they hit the upper end of tidewater. Fishing other rivers with this same type of fishery I have done well for chums as they become aggressive as the water starts to drop with the tide going out. Don’t forget to check out other places, like Puget Sound beaches and stream outlets. The Puyallup, Minter Creek, and Mud Bay areas are great spots, as are Hoodsport and the Skokomish River in Hood Canal. Tie on a bright-colored lure, or a float and anchovy, and go catch some chums. NS

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FISHING

Time To Tackle Nestucca Kings Good tides early in November should move fresh Chinook into the Oregon Coast river, and the run lasts deep into December.

Dudded up in a classic hat, the author poses with a Nestucca River fall Chinook. (ANDY SCHNEIDER)

By Andy Schneider

HEBO, Ore.—He won’t quite be a leaf peeper, but this month Pat Abel will have his eyes on the foliage – or rather, the lack of it. “Just as the last of the leaves get swept out of the river from a nice, big freshet, you won’t be able to keep me away from my most favorite river – the Nestucca!” says the owner-operator of Pat Abel’s Guide Service (503-307-6033). “The Nestucca starts fishing good in early November and stays good all through December. Looking at the big tides that we’ll have the first part of the month, you’ll see lots of fresh fish moving in everyday. Those fish will ride these big tides from the bay all the way through tidewater and into the river, all in one tide series. So expect to see lots of chrome-bright fish, still dragging long-tailed sea lice all the way to Farmers Creek,” he says. Tillamook County’s southernmost river offers anglers an amazing fall salmon fishery, one that won’t slow down until winter steelhead start showing up in mid-December. The Nestucca has a large drainage that allows the river a slow rise, quick

recovery and steady drop, providing anglers more time on the water. While neighboring tributaries may still be high and out of shape during heavy rains, it will still be fishing, but as other local rivers drop fast and turn clear, the Nestucca will still be holding its color and fishing much longer. Expect large numbers of fall Chinook to move into the Nestucca with every freshet and big tide series, like all coastal tributaries. But also expect fish to continue to push into the river during lower

flows. While many other Tillamook tributaries offer especially good fishing immediately after a freshet when they are on a fast drop, the Nestucca offers a more consistent fishery all season long.

THE RIVER OFFERS four major boat ramps for fall salmon anglers: 1st Bridge, Farmers Creek, Three Rivers and Cloverdale. While the ﬁrst three are the most popular starting points for drift boaters, anglers looking to ﬁsh the upper end of tidewater can launch at Cloverdale and prepare

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Salmon anglers work the Nestucca on a foggy fall morning. (ANDY SCHNEIDER)

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for a long boat ride to Pacific City. Abel prefers to fish above that. “My favorite drift on the Nestucca for fall Chinook is from Farmers Creek to Cloverdale,” he says. “I’ve gotten to know this stretch of river, so I know what corner to run plugs, what holes to back-bounce eggs, and what deep-water slots to drift a bobber. Once you get to know a section of water, you can be so much more successful on it – even on your second drift – if you know what’s around the bend.” Once fall freshets move the river above 1,000 cubic feet per second as measured by the U.S. Geological Survey gauge at Beaver, expect fishing to take off and remain good for the remainder of the season. Ideal flows for the Nestucca are 1,200 to 1,400 cfs, but anglers willing to pull a little harder on the oars can find good success during higher flows. “Since fall rains are so varied, I have to be prepared to fish during all different water conditions,” explains Abel. “During higher water, I like to back-bounce eggs. You may have to use more lead, but you’ll get more

bites. Plug fishing in high water will just wear you out, and bobbers will be moving too fast. But when you’re back-bouncing eggs, you can keep your baits moving nice and slow downriver.” “When water conditions are ideal on the Nestucca, I run plugs, drift bobbers and back-bounce eggs, but so will everyone else. So I’ll try and offer the fish something different,” hints Abel. “If every other boat is running plugs or back-bouncing eggs, I’ll pull to the side and drift a bobber through the hole. It’s amazing how well fish will respond to something different.” “During low-water conditions, you’ll see me bobber fishing more than anything,” says Abel. “Bobber fishing offers one of the best presentations during low water. A slowly drifted bait of eggs and shrimp is sometimes too much for a Nestucca fall Chinook to pass up.” One of the most challenging conditions that often presents itself on the river each fall is the dreaded aluminum hatch. Oftentimes it happens on Fridays or Saturdays, but when river conditions drop into

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FISHING perfect shape, clogged ramps can happen at any time. “Don’t be discouraged by the pressure,” counsels Abel. “Just take your time and fish the way you want to fish – you’ll get them to bite. Remember, it’s not a boat race; just take your time and really fish the water hard. If you put too much pressure on yourself and keep racing boats to the next hole, you’ll find yourself at the take-out at 11 a.m. with nothing to show for it. Pick a stretch of water and fish it hard. Remember, you’re on the water to enjoy yourself.”

“MY GO-TO PLUG for the Nestucca is the Mag Lip 4.5. I’ll wrap a piece of tuna belly or a sardine on the bottom of my Mag Lips the night before so they are ready to deploy once I hit the water,” says Abel. “I bring a lot of plugs so that I can match the plug to the color of water

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– darker colored plugs for colored water and chrome and lighter colored plugs for cleaner water. Oftentimes the Nestucca can clear up dramatically through the day or can color up, depending on what the weather is doing.” Running a Mag Lip is one of the easiest ways to fish for fall Chinook. Simply flatline the plug 50 to 75 feet in front of the boat. Use 30-pound monofilament or 50-pound braid for mainline. With the latter, run a 10-foot leader of 30-pound mono tied to your braid line with an Albright knot. When bobber fishing use a ¾- to 1-ounce cigar or egg-shaped bobber, with matching inline weight. Below your bobber start with a 4/0 hook tied to 36 inches of mono or fluorocarbon leader. Adjust your bobber stop so your eggs suspend 16 to 30 inches off bottom. Back-bouncing starts with a 12-

to 16-inch lead dropper, clipped to a plastic weight slider on your mainline. Tie your mainline to a six-bead chain swivel, and between the swivel and weight slider use an 8mm bead to help protect your knot from damage. Use a 36- to 48-inch leader with a 4/0 hook and Spin-NGlo above. Keep multiple egg cures on hand, and compliment your eggs with a sand shrimp, sardine chunk or tuna belly trimmings. The Oregon Coast is one special place to be in fall. While bright fall foliage still clings to the trees, herds of elk roam along the river banks and migrating waterfowl in their bright plumage make a ruckus overhead, there are also lots of ﬁsh in the rivers to keep anglers’ attention. With the squeak of the oarlocks and the sound of water dripping off the blades, look around and take in all that makes Tillamook County fall king ﬁshing so special. NS

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COLUMN

Harbor Kings O

half a mile, troll along the 90- to 140foot contour until the bottom really starts to shallow up. This area can be really productive! Once you’ve pounded those waters into a froth with your top-secret ballistic salmon lure, pick up the gear and try inside Eagle Harbor around the ferry terminal. One important thing to know if you’ve never been to this harbor is be careful when entering! Boaters must go further south and around Tyee Shoal to enter. If you do decide to cross prematurely, get ready for some white-knuckle shallow water. It’s also extremely important to know your navigation aids. Remember “red right returning.” That means, the red “nuns” must be on the right side of your vessel when entering the harbor, and don’t try to BLAKELY HARBOR IS a sneak a short cut around beautiful sliver of protected the big day marker buoy water located just north once at the entrance to and around the southeast the bay proper. If you corner of Bainbridge Island, do, you’ll see your depth also called Restoration Point. sounder go from 80 feet The waters are usually calm to 2 feet in a jiffy. Trust because they’re protected me, I know! from the wind, currents and But inside, this area weather. (The area makes me is magical. Calm and want to win the lottery and tucked away from the buy a couple of acres with stronger tidal currents a house along the shore.) of Puget Sound, baitfish Look closely at the bottom will congregate and contours on your depth “When dropping your bait down to the bottom, be just as alert when dropping as you are spawn up inside this sounder and troll along the working your bait back up,” tips Puget Sound moocher Justin Wong. (JUSTIN WONG) bay, and you know what 60-foot shoreline with 55 feet that means – salmon! I’ve been totally of cable out. Since this harbor does have of your surroundings towards shore. blown away by how big the arches on a sort of sliver of water that tucks way up On an outgoing current, just north my depth sounder screen are while in inside, some good technique comes into of Blakely Harbor and up approximately

n the west side of Puget Sound in Area 10, there are some quieter fishin’ grounds, where a couple of coves WESTSIDER along the eastern By Tim Bush shores of Bainbridge Island always hold large blackmouth. There, they spend the fall and winter chasing the feed inside these protected waters known as Blakely and Eagle Harbors. Most Seattle-based blackmouth anglers will try for the immature Chinook salmon around Shilshole and Elliott Bays, but for guys willing to make the crossing, the 15-minute boat cruise west is well worth it, especially on a sunny morning.

play. Trust your depth sounder and quietly troll your way up into this harbor and right down the middle where it’s deepest. Troll in as shallow as 30 to 40 feet, using a nicely brined whole or cut-plug herring. On the northeast tip of the harbor is Rockaway Beach Park. Lots of scuba divers use this area to explore the underwater ledges, so please be aware

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COLUMN this area. The harbor is approximately 40 to 60 feet deep, depending where you are fishing. Try to have your gear as close to the bottom as possible, and troll a safe pattern back and forth away from the ferry.

THERE’S ANOTHER WAY to catch Chinook here, and for more on that, I asked the best moocher around, Justin Wong. He always fishes the Tengu Blackmouth Derby in Elliott Bay (he’s my odds-on bet to win it yet again) and can also be spotted cruising in a center console towards his favorite fishing hole, usually launching from the West Seattle or Golden Gardens launches. He and his father, Benny, who taught him well, always get big fish. Justin uses a G.Loomis STR1263 GL3, a rod rated for 6-12-pound line. (That’s a handmade 10-foot-6, three-power, high-modulous graphite rod.) He likes using 12-pound PLine CXX mainline and a 1/0 Gamakatsu on the top hook and a slightly smaller size 1 on

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the bottom. “When fishing for blackmouth, stay close to the bottom; work your bait within the bottom 30 feet,” Wong tips, adding, “Blackmouth are notorious for ‘slack line’ bites, i.e. pick-ups. When dropping your bait down to the bottom, be just as alert when dropping as you are working your bait back up from the bottom. Blackmouth are feeding kings, so look for bait and stick to it. If you get a bite and miss it, be patient. It will come back. As for bait, I use Jerry’s green label with a plug cut.” Back on the trolling front, with downriggers try using a whole or cutplug herring, green-and-white glow spoons, plastic glow squids or Ace-Hi fly combos topped with a herring strip on the upper hooks. These are go-to rigs. Shorten your leaders a smidge compared to how long you would run them for Puget Sound summer Chinook, but a tad bit longer than for the coho you were just catching. Also, use a

slightly slower troll than with coho, but more snappy compared to kings. Putting your rod tip in the water and seeing how your flasher and lure combo work together is a good way to get a feel for what action looks right. You want that definite fast, flicker-flutter and unpredictable action. Ask yourself: Is the flasher spinning way too slow or zipping around like a Mylar windmill from the state fair? Is the leader bopping around all over the place like a pinball game or is it lethargic and lacking a lot of pizazz? If so, lengthen or shorten the leader and get that action! The heavier the lure, the shorter the leader. After all, your bait needs to have that fleeing-from-the-mouth-of-Mr.Hungry-blackmouth action when fishing Eagle and Blakely Harbors. Blackmouth season in Area 10 runs through Jan. 31, though it could close earlier if the management guideline is met. The daily limit is two hatchery Chinook, minimum size 22 inches. NS

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Size 4 barrel swivel

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MASTER MARINE SERVICES, INC. Mount Vernon, WA

Master Marine in Mount Vernon, Wash., has been in business for 30 years and specializes in fishing boats. We have boats that crossover very well between fresh- and saltwater applications. Larry Carpenter started out as a Glasply dealer and has since grown the company into one of the larger single-store independent dealers in the Northwest. Master Marine will continue to offer high-quality boat and motor lines and the most competitive prices possible. We value our long-time and returning customers and vow to treat all customers professionally and hope we can provide them service to the best of our abilities. We have over 15 employees, several of whom have been with us for more than 10 years. We sell Lund, Weldcraft and Thunder Jet aluminum boats from 10 to 32 feet long. We also carry Osprey fiberglass pilothouse boats for true blue-water fishing and cruising. We offer a complete rigging department and can take a bare boat and add the motor(s), electronics and any other gear you may want on it. We offer Suzuki, Yamaha, Mercury and Evinrude outboards, and we service all brands of outboards as well as Mercruiser and Volvo sterndrives. Master Marine has a dedicated parts and accessory area, and we try and offer our customers a timely delivery on their items of choice. We can usually acquire any accessory within a couple of days and get the necessary repair parts for any motor fairly quickly. Located along 1-5 in Mount Vernon, we are highly accessible to people throughout Washington and British Columbia. Anacortes is the jump-off spot to the San Juan Islands and is only a 20-minute drive from Mount Vernon. For more information about our inventory visit mastermarine.com or call (800) 838-2176 or (360) 336-2176.

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www.mastermarine.com 136 Northwest Sportsman

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FISHING

Drumstick Chromers Big and Gnat Creeks and the Klaskanine feature the region’s earliest winter steelies. B Byy Te Terr Terry rrry Ot Otto Otto to

KNAP KNAP KN KNAPPA, APPA PA, PA A , Or O Ore. Ore.— re. e —The The cl cclamming lammi ming ing tides tid ides es w es were eree st er sstill til illl hours hour hour ho urss away aw y, and and we an w tthought houg ho ught ht w ht e d fil e’ filll th he ti ttime ime me b y fis fi fishi shi hing ng g away, we’d the by fishing for steelhead stee st elh lhea hea ead d in n Big Bigg Creek. Creek ek. k. Most Most Mo st areas are reas as we as we tried trie tr ied to ied o for fissh we fi w ere r jjust ustt to us too o llo ow, w aand nd dw e ffo foun und un d no n fi sh h tthere. here h re. fish were low, we found fish E en Ev Eventually entu tual tu ally al ly ym my y so sson on he headed ad ded dd downstream owns ow nstr ns trea tr eam ea m fr from om m tthe h he High High Hi ghwa way wa y 30 bridge briidg dgee while whil whil wh ilee I walked waalk w lked ked u p.. A few p few w ccasts asts as ts ts Highway up. into in into o tthe he rruns he unss an un and gl and glid glides ides id des es p proved rove ro veed futile, ved futi fu tile ti l , an le and I co and ccould oul uld d see well se weell w ll enough eno n ug gh to k n w th no hat at tthere here he re jjust ustt w us we ere re n o see know that were no stee st steelhead elh lhea hea ead d th there. her ereee..

The author holds an 8-pound Big Creek winter steelhead that he caught behind the county park last year. While this is an average Big Creek steelie, they often run to the upper teens. (TERRY OTTO) NOVEMBER 2014

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FISHING A fallen tree bisected perfectly the deep hole I had walked up to fish, so my plan A, a poollength float, was out of the question. Instead, I turned to hardware, and tossed a green SteeLee against the back side of the log. I let the spoon flutter down, and when I picked it up I put the crank to it. Then something smashed it hard! I held onto the throbbing rod as I watched the steelhead twist and roll deep in the hole. In the clear water he looked huge. However, as I coaxed him to the surface I saw that he was closer to an average-size winter-run. I was using light 8-pound-test line in the clear, low water, and he had plenty of purchase in the current. After babying him along, I finally banked him. It can often seem almost too easy to catch steelhead in small streams like Big Creek, even when the conditions do not seem favorable. What I held in my hands was an 8-pound bundle of muscle, an average one for the stream, although I have caught some that ran into the upper teens. The Big Creek stock of steelhead was once used in streams across Oregon, but the fish did

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FISHING not do as well elsewhere. But here in the Lower Columbia, a few short miles from the ocean, they do just fine. They are stocked into three streams near Astoria, including Big Creek itself, Gnat Creek, and the Klaskanine River. This cluster of small bankfishing streams south and east of Astoria are well known and often fished, although there is room for anglers to spread out, and that keeps it from turning into a combat fishery. Access is good, the fish are plentiful, and the surroundings allow you to fish in rugged, mossy scenery. What’s not to like?

THE FIRST STEELHEAD start to arrive in early to mid-November and the numbers climb through Thanksgiving and December. This month’s fish are excellent biters. Often sporting sea lice, they hop a few holes up out of tidewater and

wait for passing spoons and jigs to float by. The runs peak during the holidays, and the fishing extends through January. Rain is the friend of smallstream steelheaders everywhere, and these waters are no different. The fish roll in on the high water in bursts, and intercepting those schools means great fishing. The quicker you can get to them after the rains, the better the bite. Timing your trip to catch these streams just as they become fishable will give you the best chance at a multiple fish day. Gnat Creek is the smallest of the three, and comes into shape just a couple hours after the rains stop. Big takes about four to five hours to become fishable, and the Klaskanine needs about 12 hours to clear. Just about any method that catches steelhead in small waters

will work here. Try fishing with bait or jigs below a float when the water is low, and drift fishing or throwing hardware is effective in high flows. However, don’t be afraid to toss spoons and spinners in the deep pools during low-water stretches. In particular, a green Stee-Lee can be very effective during all kinds of flows. Light line is a plus in low-water conditions too, and can make the difference between hooking and not hooking steelhead.

GNAT CREEK HAS more access than the other two, with some of the best being found at the hatchery. While some 40,000 smolts are acclimated and released into the creek, no adults are collected here. Since they aren’t being removed for egg-take the first mile below the waterfall barrier at the hatchery to the Gnat Creek Campground tends to be full

POINT DEFIANCE MARINA Point Defiance Marina is one of Tacoma’s premier waterfront destinations. The history of the marina begins in 1895 when a local park board leased space for a boat stand, restaurant, and float along Commencement Bay. Nowadays, Point Defiance Marina Complex is a 5-star certified Clean Marina. The marina is staffed with knowledgeable staff and experienced anglers. There you can get food and beverages, gas, marine supplies, souvenirs, boating and fishing supplies, clothing, and Washington state fishing licenses. Gas is located at the tackle shop where there are two floats and a gas float. The public fishing pier is open year-round, and features rod holders, benches, and a fish-cleaning station. Nearby is the eightlane public launch ramp. The marina also has public moorage. There is shore power and a pump-out station. The 300-unit dry storage is for vessels up to 17 feet with elevator service. The Point Defiance Marina Boat Rental has put people on the water for over 100 years. A fleet of 14-foot boats with 9.9-horse motors allow you to cruise or fish Puget Sound with ease. All safety equipment is provided, and fishing and crabbing equipment is available to rent. There is day and overnight parking available with close access to Point Defiance Park Zoo & Aquarium. Anthony’s Restaurant and Vashon Island Ferry Terminal round out the marina services. Classes and events are available to learn boating, fishing skills, and environmental stewardship. The Pier Peer Tacoma Program offers divers and marine education staff who provide underwater marine life education. The marina hosts a monthly salmon derby, annual lingcod derby, informal group derby such as Wounded Warriors, dock fishing community derbies, and regional Puget Sound Angler derbies. Other events include the New Year’s Day Polar Bear Plunge, swap meets, National Marina Day, Free Fishing Weekend, and monthly beach clean ups. The Sails and Trails Camp is an instructional camp for sailing, kayaking, fishing, and beach and trail hiking, at Point Defiance and Tacoma Youth Marine Center. Youths age 11 to 15 can attend this camp during July. The Point Defiance Marina is open 363 days a year. Our storage tenants and the staff at the marina add much to the history and services offered to our customers. Come and experience the friendly environment that is a result of the overall experience and opportunities at the Point Defiance Marina Complex and Metro Parks Tacoma. 140 Northwest Sportsman

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FISHING of steelhead. However, they can be caught along the stream’s entire length above tidewater. Highway 30 parallels Gnat Creek for almost 3 miles west of the hatchery, and there are pullouts for access along it. Don’t be intimidated when this stream runs low. One of my best steelhead trips ever took place on this creek in December when it was bony, clear, and cold. Many of the steelhead were holding in fast, choppy water, and they were easy to spot. By getting above them I was able to “back down” the steelhead with a spoon, much as you would with plugs on larger stream tail-outs. The resulting strikes were vicious. Keep in mind that the stealthy angler will catch more steelhead on this small creek. Leave your bright-colored hats in the rig. Don’t overlook the fast water in

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Big Creek either, especially when fishing the hatchery reach below the deadline. A swift, rocky stretch of stream with only a couple deep holes, the steelhead can be in any of the choppy runs. I am often surprised at how shallow I can get bit in this reach. Other access can be found at Big Creek County Park. Look to the deep hole just above the ball field. There is also access from the Highway 30 bridge down to the Old Highway 30 bridge. However, below the Old Highway Bridge is the private Big Creek Club, and is closed to the public. As for the Klaskanine, this tributary of the Youngs River has a much lower gradient than the other streams, but there are some excellent steelhead holes in the North Fork. Located along Highway 202 southwest of Astoria, it seems to be the least crowded

of the three streams profiled here. Many of the best seams and lies are below old-growth logs, and can be tough to fish. However, the fish are there. When the water is running high, try fishing just below the Olney Cutoff Road Bridge. However, the largest and possibly the best stretch of access is at the Sigfridson County Park, and since it’s just below the hatchery, the steelhead stack up there. The hatchery hole itself is another good spot to find steelhead, although it can’t support a lot of anglers. The three streams are open right now for fin-clipped hatchery steelhead, and you can keep two per day. You must have the Columbia River Basin Endorsement to retain steelhead in all these streams. For updates, call the Big Creek Hatchery Hotline (503-458-6503). NS

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Not Quite ‘Painting The Ceiling’

INLAND NORTHWEST By Ralph Bartholdt

he run started at a shelf that dropped water into a thin, boiling line that smoothed out along a cut bank, unspooling itself for a quarter mile or more.

It was noisy with all the water being funneled from the main stem of the Clearwater River east of Lewiston. The smooth, round rocks lay easily underfoot as I stood on the lip of the shelf in water ankle-deep and whirled the 15-foot rod, a 10-weight, that was loaned to me as a learning tool. I made the sweeping loops

Clearwater Steelhead Syndicate guide Adam Kusler works a spey rod on his company’s namesake Idaho river. (RALPH BARTHOLDT)

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COLUMN that a fishing guide once, in a bar over river beer, explained as painting the ceiling. Think of your rod tip as a brush and you’re painting the ceiling, he said to a client who was painfully urbane and definitely foreign – at least to the region – and had likely paid the man nicely to fish, not drag him to a bar to drink and talk about fishing. The client sipped and patiently listened as the guide waved his arms and grew animated, while the rain painted lines on the windows. Everyone in the place had suspected it then, and I was learning it now: You don’t pretend to paint a ceiling, or anything else, with the tip of a 15-foot spey rod. Any exaggeration is reserved for the swift but snappy strokes that load the rod. You must shoot a ton of – in my case – long belly line, and make the fly land at the end of the leader, instead of in a curl of mono, or whatever you’re using. And then you let it swing. You cover water.

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You take a step or two downriver, and do it all over again.

STANDING ON THIS particular shelf across from the railroad tracks, turning my body to let the line go straight and the fly swing to a place downriver from where I stood, I watched a small figure walking my way. He walked slowly over the rocks. I flummoxed another cast and let whatever I had out there, curled leader and fly, swing in the fashion physics allowed and the man kept coming. I did this for a while, floundered a cast, swung, stepped, then reeled in and met him halfway. There was no one else around. It was early. The morning sun had just peeked over a treeless ridge, grass-brown and shorn as a cantaloupe. The golden light was a sudden explosion, but silent. And the man, an elderly gent with a worn baseball cap who carried a rod at least as long as mine, kept coming. He was from San Francisco. A retired engineer, I think. He was lean and had the

look of someone accustomed to leaning against the current of rivers. He cast at the Golden Gate Club, he said. He had walked all the way up the edge of the island, a man of fly-casting erudition, to ask if I, a novice to put it mildly, would allow him to fish down below. “Are you fishing all the way through?” he asked. “I’m not sure,” I said. I wasn’t. I hadn’t thought much about it. I knew I had to get to work, so I said that. “OK,” the man said. Then he explained that the run below us was not really connected to the run I had been fishing. “I think they are two separate runs,” he said. This was my introduction to the stream ethics of spey fishing on the Clearwater, and maybe anywhere. The man then took my rod and showed me how to cast the long line. The lesson lasted 15 minutes. The river flushed around us; there was no one else in sight. Logging trucks flashed by on the highway north

Ellensburg, Washington across the island through the cottonwoods, what seemed far away. On that early morning last month, in a new, golden light on a very old piece of water, the man showed me how to cast easily, with a shorter stroke. He loaded the top of the rod and shot my line halfway across the river, which was wide, here, once again.

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I DIDN’T LEARN that cast. I toil still and fish early, because of a job that asks I attend, but mostly to cast under cover of darkness. I haven’t caught a fish and I’m not sure I care, at this point. By the middle or end of this month, when fewer fishers line the banks of the Clearwater and fewer boats ply the slatecolored water that runs and splashes and skims between massive canyon walls, tree-lined on one side and grass and rocktrimmed on the other, the fish will be more lethargic, they will start to seek out lies in deeper water and be less likely to strike at

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Ol’ Tried-and-true

JIG OF THE MONTH

Article and images by Chris Gregersen

he first wave of winter-runs will be here before you know it, and one of the most productive jigs to meet them with is the tried-and-true beaded-body jig. This is an all-around fish-catching machine, whether it be brats, natives, summer-runs – or even feisty coho. When it comes to tying bead jigs, though, a little instruction may be needed. The easiest option is to purchase size 6- or 7mm beads with large holes. If you can’t find any or have other beads you’d like to use, just use a small drill bit and pliers to make the hole larger (tape the teeth to keep them from scraping the beads). Also, remember that most beads are transparent, so try to match your thread color to the bead.

Supplies All you’ll need to tie these jigs are jigheads, marabou, Krystal Flash, beads, thread and fly-tying glue.

2 Adding Tail

1 Two’s Company Before clamping the jighook in the vice, slide your beads on the hook shank. A two-bead set is the standard, though depending on the size of the hook, one or three beads may be appropriate. Next, start wrapping. Lay down a thick foundation so that the beads will fit snugly over the marabou once it’s tied in.

For the tail, many tiers simply slip a whole marabou feather through the beads. For much better body and action, I recommend plucking the thick veins from the base of a few marabou feathers and stacking them up. Add a couple of colors and a few Krystal Flash strands to give your jig even better contrast. Once you have a small bundle, thread a loop of Power Pro through your beads, then lay the base of the marabou bunch in the loop. Now, pull the base of the marabou right through the beads.

3 Movin’ On Up With the marabou through the beads,

CONTEST If you tie one of the jigs that Chris Gregersen features on this page this year and catch a steelhead or salmon with it, email awalgamott@media-inc.com a photograph with the jig in the fish’s mouth and you could win a full set of Chris’s jigs featured here in 2014!

slide the beads and tail up to the jig head and adjust the tail by pulling the marabou through the beads in either direction. Once you’re satisfied, back the beads off just enough to begin tying down the marabou and trimming the excess length. Wrap back to where the last bead ends, and back forward again, adding just enough thread to allow the beads to fit snugly. Once tied in, half hitch and trim the thread.

4 And It’s A Wrap To finish the jig, back the beads off the thread just enough to expose the wrapping – too far, though, and you’ll catch the marabou. Add a few drops of the Kragl to the thread wrapping, then quickly slide the beads forward up to the lead head. Once these are glued in, the jig is done and ready to get to work! NS NOVEMBER 2014

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No Deals, But Lots Of Meals At This Black Friday Event

eah, Black Friday is the name associated with the day after Thanksgiving, when avid shoppers arrive BUZZ RAMSEY at their favorite store at o-dark-thirty seeking swinging deals on all kinds of stuff. What with all the pushing and shoving, they arrive home exhausted after a day of shop-until-you-drop spending. But for a growing number of Washington state anglers, “Black Friday” has become opening day for a winter fishery where the trout are big, 12 to 15 inches, easy to catch and you don’t have to get up early to find what you’re looking for. Although the program has been expanded to include more and more lakes each year, this new fishing opportunity started in Southwest Washington. Department of Fish & Wildlife district biologist John Weinheimer says it began in 2011 as an experiment to determine how anglers might respond to a winter trout fishing opener. “The popularity of having an opening day starting the day after Thanksgiving with the fishery extending for a month or more afterword has fueled support for this program,” he says. As mentioned above, the really good news for anglers and possibly the reason the program has been so popular is that these trout are big, averaging over a pound, which means fish measuring 12 to 15 inches or more is all you are likely to catch.

I’VE BEEN FORTUNATE to fish Black Friday each fall since its inception, and with biologist Weinheimer no less, and although the weather can be nippy, John and I have managed to limit each time out

John Weinheimer, the guy who came up with the late-season ﬁsh-stocking idea, holds a nice rainbow caught during one of the ﬁrst Black Fridays. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

on hard-fighting trout in just a few hours. Here is what we’ve learned: the fish don’t start biting well until about 10 or 11 a.m., when the water begins to warm. This is good because the only thing worse than fishing on what might be a cold day is doing so early. And while the fish will respond to all normally used fishing methods, they react best to slow presentations. This is not a problem if you are still-fishing dough bait, but if you troll, you will want to slow your speed down considerably – to a half mile per hour or less. While we’ve had success slow-trolling small F-4 FlatFish and while casting small spinners (my favorite is a brown or black Rooster Tail), we’ve had our most consistent success casting and retrieving Continued on page 158

STEELIE SMOLTS JOIN FALL STOCKATHON It’s not where I or WDFW would have liked to have stuck them, but last month, 19 lakes across Western Washington began to be stocked with 300,000-plus 10- to 13-inch winter-run steelhead, and those waters will be open through mid-February with a daily limit of 10. Pitched as a “torrent of trout” and part of the agency’s “Fall into Fishing” campaign, the smolts were originally meant for the Nooksack, Skagit-Cascade, North Fork Stillaguamish, Snoqualmie, Green and Dungeness, but a lawsuit settlement with the Duvall-based Wild Fish Conservancy barred their release in those rivers this spring. Instead, WDFW had to search high, low and everywhere in between for lakes that Continued on page 158

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Multi-species Limits on Quinault River! The month of November brings fall rains and swollen rivers. On the Quinault River near Amanda Park, Wash., the rains aren’t the only thing swelling the river in November! This month brings three robust runs of fish that will clog the holes of this private water playground! Coho, Chinook and steelhead are all on their yearly migration route up the lower Quinault, and there are few places in the Lower 48 that offer better fishing. Not only are the runs big on this river, but the size of the fish as well. Coho regularly reach the high teens and into the 20pound range, Chinook average 25 pounds with some getting much larger than that, and the steelhead can reach a staggering 30-plus pounds! This is truly a special place.

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EAD!

COLUMN

Packin’ A ’Yak For A Camp-Fishing Attack

With his careful kayakpacking regimen, the author recently enjoyed a three-week ﬁshing and camping trip in Southeast Alaska. (TODD SWITZER)

ayak fishing is becoming more popular every year in the Northwest, and it seems that every year more kayak KAYAK GUYS By Todd Switzer fishermen are also using their craft to reach remote fishing areas. While there’s nothing new about camping from a kayak, the usual focus of such a trip is on paddling to the destination with some fishing gear tossed in, in hopes of supplementing the protein supply. However, for kayak anglers, any trip that involves water and their boat is a pure fishing trip and other activities take a back seat. For us, the amount of gear dedicated to fishing on our kayaks for a single day trip can rival the amount of gear a sea kayaker packs for a multi-day camping trip. The question then becomes, how to pack with

enough camping gear to be comfortable but still bring enough fishing gear so as to not limit our fishing activities?

AS MOST OF us have backpacked, that’s a good place to begin. Start by thinking of the gear you would pack for an overnight hike. Your minimum kit would include tent, sleeping pad and bag, clothing, cooking gear and food. Now think about all the gear you’d like to pack for a day of kayak fishing – rods and reels, tackle trays, fish finder and battery, radio or cell phone, landing net, stringer, pliers and knife. This list can vary depending on where you’re fishing and target species; the difficult part for most is culling the gear down to a reasonable amount. Finally, consider what’s required for kayaking itself – paddle, pedal-drive system, lifejacket, dry suit or paddling clothes, and emergency gear. That pile of gear is probably getting pretty tall by now.

The next step I usually take is to put all of the gear for the trip in one place. That helps me visualize how each piece will be used and to notice if I’ve forgotten anything. The next step is to separate it into categories depending on how it will be used. My piles typically include sleeping gear and clothing; cooking gear and food; paddling gear and paddling clothes; fishing gear; and emergency gear.

START BY PACKING your sleeping gear and clothing in your best dry bags. Even if your kayak has dry storage compartments, the risk of a leaky hatch cover or accidentally dropping your sleeping bag in the water while loading or unloading your kayak isn’t worth the risk. I speak from experience here: Using just a plastic garbage bag is a bad idea. Even the thickest plastic trash bags quickly develop small holes and your sleeping bag will act like a sponge, drawing up moisture. I also put my clothes into

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COLUMN waterproof plastic bags before I put them into the dry bag. Double waterproof bags might seem like overkill, but I’ve found that on multi-day trips, moisture builds up inside the bigger dry bags, and after a couple of days all the clothes get damp. You can waste a lot of valuable fishing time trying to dry out wet gear on a trip when you should be out catching fish. The cooking and emergency gear (radio, cell phone and first aid kit) get the next level of waterproofing when I pack. Most camping stoves, radios and cell phones will still work when they get damp, but might fail if they are fully immersed in seawater for several hours. Boating and sailing stores often carry small plastic containers that have a decent seal under the lid. These cost less than $10 and are perfect for storing small items like compact campstoves. I leave the pots and pans in the hull outside of dry bags, but my stove I keep dry. Always carry an extra lighter and matches as a backup and keep them separated and in dry locations – another lesson learned the

hard way on my part. Packing food comes down to what it is and how it will be used. I like to pack quantities of rice, trail mix, tortillas and even cheese in individual vacuum bags. Items like fruits and vegetables can handle a bit of moisture and keep longer if not sealed inside plastic. I use a large mesh bag to carry all my food; the type sold as laundry bags work great for this purpose. I can dig through it quickly and I can hang it in a dry spot out of the sun at camp. Evaporation through the mesh will help to cool the food. Using this method I was able to keep cheese from spoiling during a three-week trip through Southeast Alaska. Hanging your food also keeps it away from animals. Don’t forget to pack extra rope.

ONCE YOU’VE GOT all your stuff ready, pack the kayak in a way that will allow access to the gear in the order it will be used. You’re going to want to make certain the tackle box isn’t packed below the sleeping bag down deep inside the hull if the goal is

to get in some fishing before reaching camp the first evening. You might pack your kayak at home just to get an idea if everything is going to fit. I usually end up strapping a dry bag or two of gear down to the deck when I run out of room under the hatches. It’s likely that you’ll have to leave some things behind, like that third fishing rod or fourth tackle tray, but better to find that out before heading out to the launch site. Finally, your first kayak camping and fishing trip should be a location you’re comfortable with. I’d suggest a large lake that offers paddle-in campsites; sheltered inlets and bays are also good choices. Kayak camping on exposed coastlines presents a few extra challenges. You’ll want to get the basics of kayak camping mastered before adding challenges like a surf landing or whitewater rapids. Remember, you’re kayak camping to get away to remote fishing areas that see little fishing pressure, but you don’t have to risk your life to get there. NS

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NOVEMBER 2014

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Clearwater anglers – whether casting a spey rod like Zack Williams, here with an unclipped steelhead from the Idaho river, or side-drifting bait or ﬁshing jigs – should enjoy a better season than 2013, thanks to higher returns of A- and B-run ﬁsh. (RALPH BARTHOLDT)

Continued from page 147 the surface. Some anglers will revert to sink tips, but Zack Williams probably won’t. Williams, originally from Michigan, moved here to fish. He guides on the river and remembers six years ago when he first saw the river for real. “It was the most incredible place I had ever seen,” said Williams, who guided, and still does, on the Olympic Peninsula. It took him a while to catch fish on a spey set-up. He spent a week here, the first time he came, and lost one fish. Then he camped for a season, learned, and caught a few fish. “It’s not an easy river to catch steelhead in,” Williams said. “It’s a big river that doesn’t give up its secrets easily.” Williams is a dedicated spey guy. He operates Swing the Fly, an online magazine, and spends his time showing people how to fish, taking them fishing and thinking about steelhead. He uses mostly floating line through November and later into the season, when he may switch to a line with a sinking tip. “We can catch fish on the surface or very close to it,” he said. He doesn’t bother with fly varieties, as long as they are sparse and light and he believes they will entice a strike. “Pick a fly you have faith in and keep covering water, as much water as possible,” Williams said. Craig Lannigan, who has fished the river since the early 1970s, has a similar philosophy. In November he switches to a fly that is a little larger, somewhere around 2½ to 3 inches, than early-season flies, and one that is darker. “Blacks, purples, blues,” he said. “We use smaller flies instead of big Intruders.” Lannigan has been wading the river so long that he remembers the days in the 1970s and ’80s when the banks were devoid of anglers. He mostly taught himself to cast a spey rod and learned how to hook steelhead from the best teacher: the river. Since becoming a destination for spey casters, the Clearwater draws a variety of anglers and many aren’t aware of river etiquette. “Respect each other,” Lannigan said. “I’ve been low-holed a couple of times this year. It’s not good for my blood pressure.” Learning to catch fish from shore with a long rod goes hand in hand with the other thing: etiquette, Lannigan said. Both can be learned in the same current. Simple courtesy goes a long ways to getting the hang of the sport on a river where the cool, clear current of simplicity runs deep. NS 156 Northwest Sportsman

NOVEMBER 2014

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Northwest Sportsman 157

COLUMN Continued from page 151 a 3-inch Berkley trout worm. We just thread two-thirds of the worm onto a size 6 single hook tied on the end of our main line, making sure the worm hangs straight, and crimp a size 5 split shot about 20 inches above. Just cast out, hop the worm along as you retrieve and set the hook if you feel a strike or any kind of hesitation. Keep in mind that due to the cooler water temperatures the fish may not disperse around the lake as quickly as at other times of the year, so trying your luck near the original release site might be a worthwhile venture. If you don’t find trout near the release site, try moving downwind, since the prevailing breeze can sometime move trout in that direction. Also, look for winter trout near where small creeks or any kind of runoff enter your lake. Weinheimer says the same lakes as last year will close to fishing a week or so prior to the Black Friday opener to give WDFW crews a chance to plant the hefty trout. The waters to watch include Battle Ground Lake and Klineline Pond in Clark County, Kress Lake in Cowlitz County, Rowland Lake in Klickitat County, and Fort Borst Park Pond and South Pond in Lewis County. Leland Lake in Jefferson County and Spencer Lake in Mason County will also be stocked. And according to WDFW’s Inland Fish Program manager Chris Donley, the agency is considering adding five more to the Black Friday program, including Fourth of July, Hog Canyon, Williams (Stevens Co.) and Hatch Lakes, and North Elton Pond. Certainly, there are numerous lakes around the region open year-round that state agencies plant with catchable trout. What’s unique about the lakes scheduled to open on Black Friday is that they offer an opening-day opportunity where the fish bite better than in lakes where they have been pounded for weeks, and all fish are of a decent size. NS

Continued from page 151 the anadromous fish could be put into and not return a couple years later, 6 pounds heavier and rich in Omega-3s. Turns out, the Great Basin Pugetropolis is not. About half of the 700,000-plus smolts were shipped across the state to Sprague Lake, and the rest are now going into waters in five counties, with King County lakes making out well. Here’s the lowdown: Grays Harbor Co.: Vance Creek Ponds 1 and 2 (Bowers and Inez); Island Co.: Cranberry; King Co.: Angle, Bitter, Deep, Fenwick, Fish, Fivemile, Green, Holm, Langlois, Rattlesnake, Shadow, Walker; Snohomish Co.: North and South Gissberg, Tye; Thurston Co.: St. Clair. Hard to say how the fishing will go – I’d much prefer to chase ‘em with jigs, Corkies and spoons as adult steelhead than troll for them as stocker trout, but who knows, maybe it’ll be the next big thing and invigorate fall trout fishing. Anyways, it’s better than destroying and wasting the money spent on rearing them. WDFW’s fall stocking campaign also incorporates around 40,000 regular ol’, not-yetthe-subject-of-WFC-litigation rainbow trout released into 28 more lakes. See wdfw.wa.gov/ fishing/plants/weekly. –Andy Walgamott

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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: Sept. 30, 2014 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly 5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 12 6. Annual Subscription Price: $29.95 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Ofﬁce of Publication (Not printer) (Street, city, county, state, and ZIP): 14240 Interurban Ave S, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168 8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Ofﬁce of Publisher (Not printer): 14240 Interurban Ave S, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Address of Publisher and Editor: Publisher- James Baker, 14240 Interurban Ave S, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168; Editor- Andy Walgamott, 14240 Interurban Ave S, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168 10. Owner: Media Index Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Ave S, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities.: None 12. Tax Status: Has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13. Publication Title: Northwest Sportsman 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: February 2014 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation a. Total Number of Copies (Net press run): 24,000 b. Paid Circulation (By mail and Outside the Mail) (1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies): 8,103 (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: 5,155 (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail®): 0 c. Total Paid Distribution (Sum of 15b (1), (2), (3), and (4): 13,258 d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail) (1) Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies included on PS Form 3541: 255 (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. FirstClass Mail): 0 (4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or other means): 4,172 e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3) and (4): 4,427 f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e): 17,685 g. Copies not Distributed (See Instructions to Publishers #4 (page #3): 6,315 h. Total (Sum of 15f and g): 24,000 i. Percent Paid (15c divided by 15f times 100): 74.9% 16. Electronic Copy Circulation a. Paid Electronic Copies 101 b. Total Paid Copies (Line 15c) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a): 13,359 c. Total Print Distribution (Line 15f) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a): 17,786 d. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies) (16b divided by 16c x 100): 75.1% 17. Publication of Statement of Ownership: If the publication is a general publication, publication of this statement is required. Will be printed in the November issue of this publication. 18. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner: John Rusnak, Production Manager Date: Sept. 16, 2013 I certify that all 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 civil sanctions (including civil penalties).

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EU3000is • 3000 watts (25 A) of Honda Inverter 120V AC Power • Eco-Throttle – Runs up to 20 hrs on 3.4 gallons of fuel EU6500 • 6500 Watts (54.1/27.1 A) 120/240V of Honda Inverter Power • Eco-Throttle – Runs up to 14 hrs on 4.5 gallons of fuel

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Holiday Gift Guide Cascade Garden Equipment, LLC Cascadegardenequipment.com A perfect complement to all your outdoor adventures, the Honda EU2000i generator with Realtree APG camo exterior is designed to blend into any environment. This popular model can operate a wide variety of appliances, making it perfect for portable use while camping, supplemental RV power, on the job site, or much more. Lightweight, compact, super quiet and fuel efﬁcient, it runs up to nine hours on less than a gallon of gas. The regular price is $1,299.95, it’ss on sale 299.95, but it now for $1,149.

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Hibbard Enterprises Hibbardenterpriseswa.com The Fire Lighter Spider tool is great for starting and maintaining your camp fire. It keeps the paper in place and gives the kindling a surface to lean against. Best of all, once the fire starts, it keep your logs off the ground so air can flow under the fire wood, keeping it burning and cutting down the amount of smoke because your fire is getting the air it needs! To see a video on how it works, visit YouTube.com/ watch?v=YBpe4gLlZgo.

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Northwest Sportsman 167

Idaho Knife Works www.idahokniveworks.com The Cliff Knife comes in two versions. The Cliff Canoe with lighter blade-OR- Cliff Hunter with heavier blade. Both are high carbon steel with full tang wood or antler handle. Each knife comes with sturdy leather sheath!

Ruana Knives Ruanaknives.com An excellent knife for any sportsman with engraving options that make great gifts, Ruana Knives are priced at $99, plus $15 for engraving. Visit ruanaknives.com for more details, and check out the new documentary about their business at Youtube.com/watch?v=lBKnLe7tYmU, then order yours by emailing info@ruanaknives.com or calling (406) 258-5368.

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Northwest Sportsman 169

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Hookum Good Co. Hookumgood.com Hookum Good’s Leader Rolls are a unique design. Eight inches long and either 2½ or 1¾ inches in diameter, they are sturdy and lightweight. Their semi-dense foam helps protect your leaders and hooks, and they can be used on the company’s Bait Buoy. With a snap adapter included, they’re $10.95, plus shipping and handling. Their Snap Kap Leader Roll has storage for extra weights, swivels, Corkies, etc. They’re $12.95 plus shipping and handling, and also include a snap adapter. The mark of a successful fisherman is how efficient they are on the water. The Hookum Good Bait Buoy gives you all the important necessities on your boat, such as scents, bait, pliers, cutters, towel and fish club, close at hand. It’s $41.95 plus shipping and handling. And their Pole Holder Adapter allows you to move ove your unit around the boat, pping and ha ndling. just by using your pole holders. It’s $12.95 plus shipping handling.

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