Northwest Sportsman Mag Nov 2019

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Sportsman Northwest

Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource

Volume 12 • Issue 2 PUBLISHER James R. Baker EDITOR Andy Walgamott THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS Jason Brooks, Scott Haugen, Sara Ichtertz, MD Johnson, Randy King, Jim Pex, Buzz Ramsey, Mark Veary, Dave Workman, Mark Yuasa EDITORIAL FIELD SUPPORT Jason Brooks GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold DESIGNERS Celina Martin, Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper DESIGN INTERN Jacob Culver PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Kelly Baker OFFICE MANAGER Katie Aumann INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER Lois Sanborn WEBMASTER/DIGITAL STRATEGIST Jon Hines ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@nwsportsmanmag.com CORRESPONDENCE Email letters, articles/queries, photos, etc., to awalgamott@media-inc.com, or to the mailing address below.

ON THE COVER Adam Brooks hoists a handful of valley quail, taken in North-central Washington. (JASON BROOKS)

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 2

65 GET OUT FOR

UPLAND BIRDS For Jason Brooks, chasing upland birds harkens back to his days as a young hunter. Even as his Northcentral Washington haunts have become more developed over the years, he still enjoys getting after valley quail, chukar and Hungarian partridge. He details the opportunities to be had this season throughout Eastern Washington.

(JASON BROOKS)

FEATURES 77

AA ALTERNATIVES Battery-powered devices were banned for decoying waterfowl in Washington and Oregon in the early years of this century, but there are many more ways to add motion to your spread and make it more alluring for flocks to investigate. Our resident duck and goose hunter MD Johnson shares his favorite options.

89

NONTOXICS: TODAY’S TOP CHOICES FOR WATERFOWL Nontoxic shotshells for waterfowl have come a long way since federal wildlife managers began phasing out lead in the late 1980s. With the heart of the Northwest’s duck and goose seasons here, MD Johnson does double duty this issue with a look at some of the latest loads for knocking down birds.

149 DAYDREAMING OF STEELHEAD

A cool start to fall in the Northwest and the beginning of the rainy season has Sara Icthertz anticipating connecting with winter steelhead on Southern Oregon’s rivers – her happy place.

166 ROUGH SEAS: THE OREGON COAST’S FIRST (AND LAST) SABER-TOOTHED SALMON

Don’t let the National Marine Fisheries Service know this, but what might have been one of the Beaver State’s super-rare “saber-toothed salmon” was spotted at the Charleston fish-cleaning station. Sort of.

127 TRY THIS PUGET SOUND FALL TRIFECTA

It’s not time to put away that rod for the year quite yet – there’s more to catch in Pugetropolis in autumn! Mark Yuasa takes a look at a new state trout stocking program that’s coming online this season, as well as blackmouth and chum salmon fisheries to take advantage of.

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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 mail offices. (USPS 025-251) POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northwest Sportsman, 14240 Interurban Ave South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Annual subscriptions are $29.95 (12 issues), 2-year subscription are $49.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Index Publishing Group, or call (206) 382-9220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues may be ordered at Media Index Publishing Group offices at the cost of $5 plus shipping. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2019 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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BUZZ RAMSEY:

Gearing Up For Winter Steelhead 101 It might seem a bit early these days to start talking about winter steelhead, given how opportunities have shifted later than when they once began, but if you’re breaking into the sport for the first time, Buzz says now is the time to gear up. The Master walks us through techniques, rods, reels and lines in this preseason primer.

(BUZZ RAMSEY)

COLUMNS 99

GUN DOG: Warming Up Not Just For Athletes – Gun Dogs Too Take it from an old high school football player – warming up before a game, or in this case, taking to the hills and marshes, is just as important for your gun dog. Scott shares tips for getting the most out of your pup, whether training or hunting, as well as diet advice for older dogs.

103 ON TARGET: 4 Challenging Choices For Late Small Game

Up for a challenge? Dave’s got one for you: hunting cottontails, snowshoes and grouse with firearms in .22 Long Rifle, .22 Magnum, .32 H&R Magnum and .410. Our guru of all things gun sings the praises of each caliber.

109 NORTHWEST PURSUITS: Late Can Be Great For Big Game

Still have an unnotched deer or elk tag in your pocket? There’s still a chance to fill it in late fall, thanks to short-range weapon and permit hunts that fire up this time of year. Jason details some of the opportunities and how to hunt ’em.

117 CHEF IN THE WILD: Deer Nuts And Other Edible But Overlooked Bits

The gutless method is popular these days with hunters, but it also leaves some of “the gold,” in the MeatEater Steven Rinella’s words, behind – offal and other edible bits. Chef Randy takes a look at what you’re missing out on cooking up.

155 THE KAYAK GUYS: Christmas Ideas For Kayak Anglers

How many shopping days are left till Christmas?!? Yikes, better get crackin’!

If a member of the Tupperware fishing fleet is on your list, Mark V. has some suggestions, regardless of whether they’ve been naughty or nice this year.

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31

(RANDALL BONNER)

NEWS: Record Oregon tuna catch

Plus, Pike reclassified at highest threat level; Cathlamet, new angler top pikeminnow season

DEPARTMENTS

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21

THE EDITOR’S NOTE Prosecuting poachers

24

THE BIG PIC WDFW sends $26 million General Fund budget request to governor

39

PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD Chinook, Chinook and more Chinook!

43

PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS Yo-Zuri, Hunting

45

THE DISHONOR ROLL Netarts Bay overlimit clammers busted; Kudos; Jackass of the Month

47

DERBY WATCH Recently reactivated angler wins Northwest Salmon Derby Series grand prize boat; Derbies contracting, expanding with times; More recent results; Upcoming events

51

OUTDOOR CALENDAR Openers, events, workshops, deadlines, more

R)

on

(AND

THEEDITOR’SNOTE

(ANDY WALGAMOTT)

I

t may not make all of us calling for harsher poaching penalties happier, but Washington fish and wildlife managers are asking state lawmakers to make a suite of changes to how some violations are prosecuted by counties. If approved by the 2020 legislature, they would address how those are charged, the forfeiture of poached animal parts, and require courts to inform the Department of Fish and Wildlife of case outcomes.

FOR LAW-ABIDING SPORTSMEN, the time it takes to bring game scofflaws to justice can be maddening – if they’re even charged at all. Even as game wardens dutifully file case reports, county prosecutors and court systems have such heavy workloads and limited funding that it makes it difficult for them to deal with poachers when there’s such a clamor from the public to go after other offenders and property crimes.

But dismissing critter cases can lead to diminished perceptions of the value of deer, salmon and other species. And for really bad apples, it “decriminalizes these activities, allowing repeat offenders to poach without fear of punishment,” WDFW says.

This proposal aims to change that.

“The first thing it does is it reduces lower level fish and wildlife crimes to a civil infraction,” explained the agency’s Raquel Crosier earlier this year. “This is really important because local courts are bogged down ... and our cases often don’t get heard, and when they do it may be two, three years later.”

Changing misdemeanors to infractions would treat those violations “closer to a traffic ticket” that must be paid or contested in civil court, she said. “We want some type of repercussion for these crimes, but we don’t want someone waiting for a long time with a criminal record in the meantime.”

Another aspect of the proposal is that it would tweak how conviction is defined, Crosier said. The way some poaching cases are prosecuted can require WDFW to return seized fish and wildlife under certain circumstances.

“Sometimes through a plea deal they end up allowing them to keep them. We don’t think poached animal parts should be kept under any circumstances,” said Crosier.

The other major change being proposed would require courts to notify WDFW of how cases turn out.

“The Department cannot effectively manage bad actors and revoke licenses or prevent a criminal from purchasing a new fishing or hunting license if the Department is not aware (of) case rulings or dispositions,” an agency document reads.

THE NEXT STEP is for a legislator or two to sponsor a bill, introduce it in Olympia and hold public hearings. It would need to pass the state House and Senate and be signed into law by the governor. A challenge given the short 60-day session, but I believe it would be worth it to strengthen fish and game protections. –Andy Walgamott nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

Northwest Sportsman 21

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The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s budget is in a tight place due to fee bill failures and legislative underfunding, putting at risk its myriad missions that include monitoring salmon seasons, protecting rare critters, being mindful of its customers and the public, and providing a chance to harvest dinner. (ANDY WALGAMOTT) 24 Northwest Sportsman

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PICTURE

WDFW Sends $26 Million Request To Governor

Stopgap supplemental budget request, if approved by state lawmakers, would maintain fish production, opportunities, deal with emerging issues, fund COLAs.

By Andy Walgamott

W

ashington fish and wildlife managers have submitted a $26 million supplemental budget request to the Governor’s Office after fee bill and state lawmaker failures have left the agency underfunded in recent years.

One of the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s key piggy banks could dip into the red next March and significantly so the following year because license revenues and funding aren’t keeping up with growing costs, heapedon responsibilities and dealing with new issues that are cropping up.

This new money would come out of the General Fund and WDFW hopes it will be ticketed as “ongoing” so it would not have to be reauthorized every year or two.

If approved by next year’s legislature: • $6.5 million would go towards maintaining things like production of 4.5 million salmon, steelhead and trout at eight hatcheries, Columbia River fisheries, and Westside pheasant hunting, as well as dealing with problem animals in residents’ backyards and elsewhere; (Conversely, if they’re not funded, they have been identified as having to be cut to

stay in budget.)

• $6.8 million would go towards “emerging needs” like monitoring fisheries on Puget Sound and two rivers, including Skagit C&R steelhead, removing more pinnipeds to increase Chinook numbers when a permit is OKed by the feds, and coming up with alternative fishing gear for Columbia netters; • and $12.5 million would go for “unavoidable” items passed on by legislators without funding, including COLAs, and rising costs associated with hatchery operations and attorney fees.

nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

Northwest Sportsman 25

PICTURE THE REQUEST’S SIZE is pretty large given the short, 60-day session that will begin in January, and WDFW Director Kelly Susewind acknowledged as much.

But he also pointed out the nice return on investment that state funding of fishing and hunting activities has for Washington’s economy, a message to lawmakers as much as ammo for supporters to remind their representatives and senators of.

“We would rather not be in this position of requesting a substantial amount of money to sustain basic, core activities that we know provide such fundamental public value,” he said. “We estimate that for every State General Fund tax dollar invested in WDFW, and leveraged with other fund sources, that fish and wildlife economic activities generate another $3.50 that goes back into the state coffers. We’re seeking adequate, ongoing funding to sustain that kind of return on

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investment into the future.”

A close Olympia observer wasn’t sure, however, whether legislators not typically interested in the state’s fishing and hunting world would get on board and support the $26 million without a fee bill.

This is all the latest act in a long-running play that began somewhere around the Great Recession when WDFW’s General Fund contributions were cut sharply and which have yet to fully return to previous levels, even as the state’s economy booms.

According to WDFW, less than 1 percent of General Fund revenues – sales tax dollars – go toward itself, DNR, Ecology, State Parks, Puget Sound Partnership and other natural resource agencies, combined.

As for the last license fee increase, it was back in 2011 and bids by the current and former directors to get lawmakers to pass another and help shore up the agency’s finances have not gone over very well.

Some of that is just bad timing – making asks on the downswing of cyclical game

and fish populations. Arguably 2015’s salmon and hunting seasons were among the best of recent decades, but the dropoff since then – when Susewind and former director Jim Unsworth had their hands out – has been intense and widespread.

Yet even as the Blob and environmental conditions, along with ongoing, multidecadal habitat destruction, and reduced hatchery production due to operations reforms and budget cuts are largely to blame, many of WDFW’s customers are reluctant these days to pay more for less.

Then there was the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s ill-timed Columbia gillnet vote this past March, as spectacular an own goal as you can kick.

MEANWHILE, THE AGENCY’S “structural deficit” grows deeper and deeper. The aforementioned piggy bank, the State Wildlife Account – where every single penny of your fishing and hunting license dollars go – has gone from a shortfall of $300,000 in the 2011-13 biennium, when

the last license fee increase was passed, to $23.2 million in the 2019-21 biennum.

Its cash balance is expected to plunge about $1 million in the red next March and about $10 million in spring 2021 if nothing’s done. It all threatens the fisheries and hunts we still have.

In the end lawmakers have gone with one-time funding patches, but the problem is they’re typically not enough to fill the hole.

For instance, with the agency facing a $31 million shortfall this year and next, Olympia scrapped the fee hike and instead provided $24 million in General Fund money. That left a temporary $7 million gap – that then immediately ballooned back out to $20 million due to unfunded mandates that were passed on, things like the cost of living increase for game wardens, biologists, and others.

Still, $24 million is better than nothing and with how it was structured, it “front loaded” WDFW’s budget towards year one of the two-year cycle in anticipation that lawmaker would return and work on it again in 2020.

And that is how we got to today and the supplemental budget request.

Rather than attempt the folly of running another fee bill, the Fish and Wildlife Commission earlier this summer signed off on this approach.

WDFW is also looking for another $22 million to make capital improvements to its facilities. About 60 percent of that is designated for three hatcheries – Hurd on the Dungeness, Soos on the Green and Beaver on the Grays. And there’s $1 million for a master planning process to boost Chinook production by up to 55 million a year for orcas and which would also likely benefit anglers.

“Our work provides tremendous value to the people in our state,” said Susewind.

“The ongoing funds to create a fully healthy agency is critical to our residents’ quality of life, critical to our ability to conserve fish and wildlife, and critical to maintaining sustainable natural resource jobs across Washington.”

A “tremendous value” at a time of tremendous headwinds and crosswinds – and little in the form of helpful tailwinds. NS 28 Northwest Sportsman

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NEWS

Oregon Albacore Season Sees Record Catch, Small Tuna

E

ven as Oregon’s recreational albacore fishery hit new highs this season, the size of the tuna also appears to be the lowest it’s been over the last decade and a half.

Preliminary stats from state ocean samplers showed that nearly 101,500 had been brought back to ports up and down the coast through Sept. 29. But as of three weeks before that point, they also averaged just 25.67 inches, more than 3 inches shorter than the average since 2004, 28.9 inches.

So what does that mean?

“I suspect that we have a strong younger age class that is available to the

An angler shows off one of many albacore caught on a trip aboard the Tackle Buster out of Depoe Bay. (RANDALL BONNER)

fishery,” said Department of Fish & Wildlife ocean sampling manager Eric Schindler in Newport. “The 2019 length frequency that I just saw from the commercial fishery has an almost identical footprint to what we are seeing in the recreational fishery.”

Typically, sport anglers don’t go as far out as the commercial boats, but that both fleets caught similarly sized fish likely indicates a pretty big biomass of them out there. In freshwater, kokanee sizes can be smaller in large year-classes, and bigger in smaller ones.

ODFW’s stats show a pretty uniform average range of albacore sizes from the Astoria Canyon to the California state line, with Winchester Bay and Newport on the low end (25.23 and 25.31 inches) and Pacific City and Brookings at the high (26.3 and 26.22 inches).

Measurements were based on 1,276 tuna sampled as of Sept. 8.

The year 2005 saw the highest average length for albies across the coast, 30.55 inches. Last year’s fish were also on the smaller side overall, averaging 26.5 inches.

Still, 2019 more than made up for slightly smaller tuna with a catch that utterly smashed the next closest year, 2012’s 63,167.

And anglers were also catching more apiece than ever before, an average of 6.8 each a trip – heads and shoulders above 3.9 in 2012 and 4.4 in 2007.

The year 2007 is when albie fishing exploded off Oregon, with nearly 60,000 landed, roughly as many as were caught in the previous six seasons combined.

Charleston anglers were making the most of the season, with 41,741 landed as of late September, followed by the Winchester Bay (15,375) and Garibaldi (12,815) fleets.

Interestingly, this year’s new high mark

follows two relatively down seasons, with catches of just 25,506 and 15,996.

It also came as NOAA warned about the formation of another large pool of overly warm surface water off the Northwest Coast and with anglers hooking southerly species such as bluefin, striped marlin, dorado and yellowtail this past summer.

If the ocean cooperates for tuna anglers, it could mean larger fish next year.

“Right now, I am hoping that it is a strong incoming year class, because those younger fish should be available next season, but with broader shoulders by then,” Schindler said. –Andy Walgamott

Even if individual tuna have been on the smaller size, catches have been prolific – the best ever – for Oregon sport fishermen. (RANDALL BONNER)

nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

Northwest Sportsman 31

NEWS The Colville Tribes captured this 28.2-pound northern pike in Lake Roosevelt’s Sanpoil Arm earlier this year. (COLVILLE TRIBES)

E

Pike Reclassified At Highest Threat Level

sox lucius is very much piscis non grata in Washington these days.

Northern pike were reclassified as a prohibited level 1 species, the highest designation, by the Fish and Wildlife Commission, a move that will focus more resources on the fight to keep the “highly invasive” species out of the Columbia below Chief Joseph Dam and other state waters.

“The gist is that moving from level 3 to level 1 allows for higher level actions to address things, to eradicate them once they get into the anadromous zone,” says Eric Winther, the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s point man on pike.

It means that when northerns get into the waters where salmon and steelhead smolts swim downstream of the dam, the governor can declare an environmental emergency, which would trigger a wider mobilization of resources.

It’s another sign of how seriously fishery managers are taking the situation.

It’s believed that the fish were illegally introduced into the Pend Oreille River from Idaho’s Lake Couer d’Alene system, where they’d been illegally introduced after being illegally introduced in western Montana waters. Now they are creeping closer and closer to Grand Coulee Dam.

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It’s all but inevitable they will get below Chief Joe, and to that end, Winther has been tasked with coming up with a rapid response plan and says measures could include gillnetting.

That has already proven to be effective for targeting spawning flats on Lake Roosevelt and the Pend Oreille’s Box Canyon Reservoir, where pike gather in spring, he says.

Winther says other possibilities could include chemical treatments, though he notes rotenoning would be difficult in the Columbia outside of perhaps isolated bays, while long-line fishing is also being considered.

He says that elevating pike to level 1 also means that more eDNA tools can be brought into the battle. A newfangled type of early-warning system, essentially the environment – water in this case – can be scanned for traces of pike poo, scales, mucus, etc.

Even as Caspian terns, walleye, harbor seals and other piscovores chomp down heavily on young Chinook, coho, steelhead and other seagoing fish, the relatively early stage of the northern pike outbreak and their lower numbers mean we’re in a better place than with those other issues.

“Once you’ve got a problem, it costs a

lot more to deal with it,” Winther says.

Pike prefer to eat fish with soft-rayed fins, like salmonids, which are hugely important to sport, tribal and commercial fishermen, and more emphasis is also being placed on increasing Chinook numbers in the ocean for starving southern resident orcas to eat as returning adults.

State, tribal and utility districts are all uniting in the fight.

“This is a critter we don’t want anywhere near salmon,” said Mike Clement, a Grant County PUD biologist, in a press release.

Winther says that the state Invasive Species Council will be requesting money for eDNA testing as well. And he says that he hopes to have the response plan out for review by the end of the year.

In the meanwhile, efforts will also be made to increase public awareness about the danger of northern pike through brochures, stickers and sportsmen’s shows.

“We’re letting people (who catch one) know to kill it and report it. That helps us get a handle on this,” Winther says.

There is no limit on pike in Washington.

As I once advised after a bass angler inexplicably released one illegally placed into Lake Washington, if you catch a northern, “Slash its gills, slit its belly, hack it in half, singe the carcass over high heat.” –AW

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NEWS

Cathlamet, New Angler Top Pikeminnow Season

T

he 2019 pikeminnow sport reward season wrapped up earlier this fall and it featured a pair of surprises. Not only did Cathlamet retain its title of top station, but for the first time in a decade there’s a new top-earning angler.

Program manager Eric Winther called it “possibly a ‘changing of the guard’ in the pikeminnow world,” in which anglers are paid to remove these native fish that prey on young salmon and smolt in the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

Until last year, Cathlamet had never had highest haul since the program’s inception

in 1991, according to Winther, but it followed up 2018’s 25,135 with an even larger tally, 27,317 qualifying pikeminnow.

That equates to just over 18.5 percent of all the fish brought in during the May 1-Sept. 30 season for rewards from $5 to $8, with specially tagged ones worth $500.

“The Dalles station didn’t really happen for the second straight year and the MidColumbia stations around the Tri-Cities had down years as well,” noted Winther.

Second best location was Boyer Park on the Snake with 20,989, followed by Washougal with 11,785.

An angler below Bonneville Dam unhooks a northern pikeminnow. (PIKEMINNOW.ORG) 34 Northwest Sportsman

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Catch per angler was strongest at Ridgefield, Kalama and Beacon Rock, with an average of 10.3, 10.2 and 10.0 pikeminnow apiece through the season for participating fishermen.

“We have a new top angler for the first time since 2009,” Winther added.

That fisherman earned $50,647 for bringing in 6,187 pikeminnow, including three with tags. The second-place angler took in $38,365 for their 4,490 and five tags.

Names of participants aren’t divulged.

This year’s catch of 146,082 was the lowest back to 2009, and well below the longterm average of roughly 172,000.

“On a positive side, we did once again hit our exploitation target, 10 to 20 percent, for the 22nd consecutive year, which is the truest gauge of program success,” Winther noted.

Meeting that goal is believed to reduce predation on young Chinook, coho, steelhead and other salmonids by up to 40 percent.

Funding comes from the Bonneville Power Administration, which operates a number of dams on the Columbia system, and which made pikeminnow much more effective at snacking on outmigrating smolts.

Walleye, Caspian terns and other piscovores also prey on the little fish, while California and Steller sea lions chow down on returning adults. This fall federal overseers took public comment on a proposal by state and tribal managers to expand the area where pinnipeds can be removed and could lead to as many as 416 being taken out a year to help Endangered Species Actlisted fish populations. It would allow lethal removals from around Washougal upstream to McNary Dam, as well as in salmonbearing tribs there and below.

Anglers participating in the pikeminnow program are reminded they have to submit their vouchers by Nov. 15 to receive payment. For more, see pikeminnow.org. –AW

nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

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PHOTOS BY AARON ABRAMS, TAKEN AT DOUGLASTON SALMON RUN, PULASKI, NY.

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ooking for new waters to land that elusive steelhead?

Now’s the time to take the trip to Oswego County, New York, and experience fantastic fishing opportunities on the Salmon and Oswego Rivers.

Breathtaking and pristine, the Salmon River is one of North America’s most spectacular salmonid fisheries.

Thousands of trophy Chinook and coho salmon, steelhead, rainbow and brown trout run its length each year, from the mouth of the river on Great Lake Ontario, through the village of Pulaski, and ending on the Tug Hill Plateau.

Steelhead storm the Salmon River every fall to feast on the eggs of spawning Pacific salmon. During the winter months they continue to enter the river, where they remain nestled in the deep pools and channels until midspring.

The Oswego River provides a more urban experience in the city of Oswego.

Hungry steelhead enter the river all winter to feed, bask in the water’s slightly warmer temperatures and spawn in the spring. A variety of restaurants and accommodations are conveniently located within walking distance.

Both rivers offer outstanding public

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access and expert local guide services.

Those who prefer a more secluded angling experience can also enjoy scenic private fishing preserves on the Salmon River.

Fishing licenses are available at local tackle shops and retailers, and on the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation website.

Out-of-state residents pay $10 for a one-day license;

$28 for a five-day license; and $50 for an annual license.

An outdoor lover’s paradise, Oswego County is located just 30 minutes north of Syracuse Hancock Airport, with easy access to routes I-81 and I-90.

For up-to-date fishing reports, lodging and visitor information, call 1-800-2484FUN or go to visitoswegocounty.com.

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READER PHOTOS Looking for redemption after striking out at Buoy 10, 11-year-old Olivia Suyama jumped aboard for a fall day on the Hanford Reach. “It didn’t take long before she was into her first salmon ever and largest fish ever. She fought it like a champ and we were soon high-fiving,” reports local angler Jerry Han, background.

(YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

Though one of the smallest fall Chinook runs over Bonneville Dam during the past decade, this year’s fish were pretty snappy, if the deluge of reader pics from Buoy 10 up into the Hanford Reach is any indication. Steve Meuchel and Keri Willard hooked this pair at the same time while fishing near St. Helens over Labor Day Weekend “and managed to land them both.” Good work! (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST) Four-year-old Gillian and her mom, Brandi Jo Moore, show off the 4-year-old’s first salmon, a jack caught off the mouth of the Deschutes while fishing with Geremy Shull.

(YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

A Western Washington river yielded this foggy-day king for Marvin Holder.

(YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

Seth Murauskas and his kids came from the Sunshine State to fish the sunniest part of Washington, the Columbia near Wenatchee, hooking this 27-pound summer Chinook.

(YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

For your shot at winning great fishing and hunting products from Yo-Zuri and Northwest Sportsman, send your full-resolution, original images with all the pertinent details – who’s in the pic and their hometown; when and where they were; what they caught their fish on/weapon they used to bag the game; and any other details you’d like to reveal (the more, the merrier!) – to awalgamott@media-inc.com or Northwest Sportsman, 14240 Interurban Ave S, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. By sending us photos, you affirm you have the right to distribute them for use in our print and Internet publications. nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

Northwest Sportsman 39

READER PHOTOS Not all this season’s kings were caught on the Columbia. Chad Smith landed this slab on Puget Sound’s Marine Area 9.

(YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

There’s more sorts of fall salmon swimming through the Hanford Reach than just upriver brights! Todd Hardy shows off a coho he caught there, likely the progeny of fish reintroduced into upper basin watersheds by tribal managers. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

Tri-Cities’ Brooklyn Broders landed this upriver bright jack while fishing the 300 Area of the Reach. Proud father Troy said it was her first and bit a Brad’s Cut Plug.

(YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

Three generations of Hart hunters – Randy Sr., Randy Jr., and Brennon – pose with the youngest member’s three-point velvet mule deer, bagged in Southeast Washington’s Prescott Unit this fall. Brennon, 17, took the buck with a 100-yard shot out of his Knight Ultralight muzzleloader.

(HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST)

It’s hard to keep salmon anglers away from the river, even in years of lower returns. Rick Itami and his buddy Butch both limited on successive days in the free-flowing Columbia above Tri-Cities. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST) 40 Northwest Sportsman

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PHOTO

CONTEST

WINNERS!

Rob Dekker is the winner of our monthly YoZuri Photo Contest, thanks to this shot of son Colton and his South Puget Sound kokanee. It wins him gear from the company that makes some of the world’s best fishing lures and lines!

Randy Hart Jr. wins our monthly Hunting Photo Contest, thanks to this great pic of he, his son Brennon and his dad with Brennon’s Southeast Washington mule deer buck. It wins him a knife!

For your shot at winning hunting knives and Yo-Zuri fishing products, send your photos and pertinent (who, what, when, where) details 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 our print or Internet publications. nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

Northwest Sportsman 43

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MIXED BAG

Overlimit Clammers Busted

JACKASS OF THE MONTH

A

pair of Washington clammers were criminally cited for exceeding the limit by hundreds on Netarts Bay near Tillamook this summer.

Details of the case come from the August newsletter of the Oregon State Police’s Fish and Wildlife Division.

A trooper was watching clammers on the flats near the Whiskey Creek Fish Hatchery at low tide when two appeared to be over their limit of 20 littlenecks.

When the trooper moved to contact the duo, one allegedly tossed a large bag of clams into the bush and only “reluctantly” went to retrieve it upon request and “stated that he didn’t know what the limit was for clams.”

Both subjects turned out to be down from the Evergreen State, and neither had a nonresident shellfish license, per OSP. When all the clams the pair had pulled out of the sand were counted, they were allegedly found to be 423 littlenecks over the daily bag, leading to the citations.

Troopers report the clams were put back in the bay.

A

Two Washingtonians apparently with no regard for limits were found to be in possession of 423 more Netarts Bay littleneck clams than they should have had in August. (OSP)

man whose fishing license was suspended after he was arrested for gillnetting off a Lower Columbia ferry dock in May 2018 was discovered trying to illegally catch salmon there again this August, this time with three rods.

According to Oregon State Police troopers, the man was using a small kayak to hide in the brush at the mouth of Plympton Creek, by the WestportCathlamet ferry landing.

While initially found with one rod, two others were located in the brush, along with meth and a pipe in his backpack.

“The subject admitted to angling while suspended and when asked about the snagging, he said the fish just kind of ‘snag themselves,’” OSP reported.

The man just kind of snagged himself yet another trip to the Clatsop County Jail.

His rods and kayak were also snagged.

KUDOS A Northeast Oregon deputy district attorney was named the state police Fish and Wildlife Division’s 2018 Wildlife Prosecutor of the Year. Umatilla County’s Craig Russell (center) was lauded as a “true professional, with a strong passion for the outdoors and preservation of Oregon’s natural resources” in a news release from troopers.

“Deputy DA Russell was nominated and selected for his outstanding work in 2018 and on his ability to be a good communicator, his availability to our field force, his passion and persistence in prosecuting those who violate the fish, wildlife, commercial fish and environmental laws; and for his outstanding dedication to natural resource protection,” OSP stated. Russell was given the award at the annual summer conference of district attorney. It’s sponsored by the Oregon Sportsmen’s Coalition and was the 12th to have been awarded. The prosecutor was also recognized for working with fellow defense attorneys and judges on wording for filing cases and for his “vital role” in bringing those from the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Team to court. “We can’t do what we do alone. We rely on our great #agencypartners,” troopers stated. (OSP)

nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

Northwest Sportsman 45

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Recently Reactivated Angler Wins Salmon Series Boat

By Andy Walgamott

T

revor Everitt of Lynnwood, Washington, was at home when his brother Keaton Everitt called him in the late evening hours of Sept. 22 after viewing the feed of the grand prize boat name drawing on Facebook from the Everett Coho Derby.

“My brother told me that I had won the derby boat and I was in disbelief,” Everitt said. “I told him I’m not getting excited until I hear from the derby folks that I had actually won.”

Little did the Kirkland native realize but his name had been randomly drawn from almost 7,000 anglers following the conclusion of the 2019 Northwest Salmon Derby Series.

Mark Yuasa, the director of the Northwest Salmon Derby Series, tried calling him soon after Everitt’s name was drawn that he’d won the grand prize, a fully equipped aluminum boat valued at around $75,000, but it went directly into voicemail.

The next morning Yuasa finally got in touch with Everitt to notify him and turned his disbelief into reality. “(Yuasa) told me I won the boat and then I knew it was indeed for real,” said Everitt who entered the derby series drawing after fishing the Edmonds Coho Derby on Sept. 7.

“This was the first time I bought a ticket to the derby and that came after my brother had convinced us to enter,” he said. “We grew up doing all kinds of salmon fishing with our grandpa up in Bellingham, but then high school and college got in the way and we hadn’t been fishing for about 15 years.”

Everitt said his grandpa had passed away and left his family a small inheritance.

At the end of the 2018 fishing season they decided to use that money to purchase a 19-foot Bayliner Trophy Boat.

“We fixed it up and this season was the first time we got it on the water,” Everitt said. “It was a great way to hang out with

Trevor Everitt (center) takes the keys to the 2019 Northwest Salmon Derby Series grand prize boat from Karsten McIntosh and Mark Yuasa of the Northwest Marine Trade Association. (NMTA) my dad (Bob Everitt) and brother and it brought our families closer together. My brother is a total gearhead fisherman and he saw a poster for the Edmonds Coho Derby at the Edmonds Marina and talked my dad and I into entering. My brother caught a fish but that was the only one we hooked during the derby. My brother and I have young kids and are starting to get them out fishing. Now that we’ve got this new boat hopefully we can also get our wives to go out as well.”

The boat is the 16th grand prize boat, motor, and trailer package that has been given away since the series was created in 2004. This year’s Weldcraft 202 Hardtop boat is powered by a 200-horsepower Yamaha and a 9.9-horsepower trolling motor, on an EZ Loader tandem-axle trailer. The boat came fully equipped with Raymarine electronics, Scotty

Downriggers, a WhoDat Tower, Burnewiin accessories and a Dual Electronics stereo.

“It was a joy to hear how excited he was and his plans to get their family out on the water,” said Yuasa. “This boat and motor package are top-of-the-line and will provide Trevor quality time on the water. He plans to get the boat out as soon as possible before the coho fishing winds down and looks forward to winter crabbing.”

The Northwest Salmon Derby Series is a fishing promotion program directed by the NMTA that encourages boating and fishing in the Northwest. In 2019, the series included 14 derbies in Washington, Idaho and British Columbia, Canada. For each derby an angler competes in, they get one entry into the drawing for the grand prize boat held at the final derby in the series.

For more information, visit northwest salmonderbyseries.com. –NMTA

UPCOMING EVENTS  Nov. 23-27, 29-Dec. 1, Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club Thanskgiving Derby, Lake Pend Oreille; info: lpoic.org

 Sundays in late fall/winter, Tengu Salmon Derby, Elliott Bay  Jan. 18, NW Ice Fishing Festival, Sidley and Molson Lakes, Molson, Wash.

For more Washington contests, see wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/contests.

nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

Northwest Sportsman 47

Derbies Contract, Expand With Times

E

ven as organizers of a Thanksgivingweek-long steelhead derby canceled their event – perhaps for good – fishing for different species is being added to a salmon series.

Signs of the times?

“We do think the inconsistency of the fish counts has had an impact on that,” Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce executive director Kristin Kemak reportedly said about the organization’s recent decision to call off the Snake Clearwater Steelhead Derby.

At one time, the event was billed as the “nation’s largest steelhead derby” and it attracted anglers from wide and far to catch B-runs that pushed towards the 20-pound mark.

“It was once a major fundraiser. Now the efforts we put in to host the event outweigh the financial benefit of doing so,” Kemak also said, according to Eric Barker of the Lewiston Tribune.

But recent years have been tough on the event due to poor returns of steelhead up the Snake. To deal with it, at one time or another, state managers have reduced bag limits, initially closed fishing, reopened it when counts ticked up, and instituted 28inch maximums to protect B-runs, typically larger than A-runs, which only spend a year in the salt.

This season there’s a blanket closure on all fishing for steelhead – even catch-andrelease – on the Clearwater and Washington and Idaho’s Snake up to the Couse Creek boat launch in Hells Canyon. The B return is forecast to come in at just 4,500, including 1,700 unclipped fish, and is the lowest on record back through at least 1984. Less are returning than needed to reach hatchery broodstock goals and thus there’s “no surplus to provide a fishery,” per the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

Above Couse Creek the limit is one hatchery fish a day, 28 inches or less.

The chamber instead planned to hold an outdoor cookoff on Saturday, Nov. 16, according to Barker’s story.

MEANWHILE, THE NORTHWEST Salmon Derby Series announced some “big news,” 48 Northwest Sportsman

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During much better times for big B-run steelhead, Inland Northwest anglers flocked to Lewiston to fish in the Thanksgivingweek-long derby. This big one was caught during 2013’s event. (BRIAN LULL)

including a substantial expansion into the Beaver State.

“We’re hitting the refresh button on 2020 series and it will be renamed the ‘Northwest Fishing Derby Series’ that will likely include a spring-time lingcod derby in Oregon and a kokanee-trout derby on Lake Chelan, plus a couple more additions,” Mark Yuasa of the Seattle-based Northwest Marine Trade Association wrote in his October newsletter.

Next year’s schedule already lists a pair of late March lingcod and rockfish derbies out of Charleston and Brookings, as well as the recently rejuvenated Slam’n Salmon Derby in the latter port.

The dozen and a half or so events in the series are typically run by local clubs, but entry into any one automatically puts your name in the hat for the derby series’ grand prize, a brand-new boat, with Yuasa announcing that 2020’s will be a KingFisher 2025 Hardtop.

The winner is traditionally drawn at the late September Everett Coho Derby.

The series, of which Northwest Sportsman is a sponsor, has also been victim to uncertain runs in recent years.

Local sponsors had to call off two years’ worth of Edmonds and Everett derbies due to coho closures.

And organizers of early August’s

Brewster Salmon Derby have been unsure they could hold theirs – until nearly the last minute in the case of this year.

For fishing clubs, it hurts to lose key fundraisers. For instance, with low fall Chinook runs expected on the Oregon Coast, the U Da Man Fishing Tournament canceled their October derby on Yaquina Bay instead of pressure the run, even as doing so would “severely” deplete the organization’s funds to do other fishfriendly projects.

Undoubtedly as salmon and steelhead runs come out of the current down cycle, derbies will expand and new ones will come online, but for the moment, some are falling by the wayside while others are looking to embrace other species.

MORE RECENT RESULTS  Everett Coho Derby, Puget Sound and local rivers, Sept. 21-22: First place: Delbert Roesler, 11.25-pound coho, $10,000; second: Tom Evans, 10.37-pound coho, $5,000; third: Garry Tisdale, 10.22-pound coho, $2,500; youth: Tyler Cheyne, 10.97-pound coho, $300

SALTWATER SPORTSMeN’S SHOW 2020 Presented by OCEAN - Oregon Coalition for Educating Anglers Oregon State Fairgrounds, Salem Oregon February 22nd and 23rd, 2020

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CALENDAR NOVEMBER

1 Last day to hunt blacktails in Oregon’s Coast, Cascade centerfire areas; Winter

steelhead opener on numerous Southwest Washington, Olympic Peninsula

streams; Mussel harvesting opens on Washington Coast beaches outside of

Olympic National Park; Beaver, badger, weasel, marten, mink, muskrat and

river otter trapping season opens in Washington 2 Oregon Rocky Mountain bull elk centerfire second season opener; Oregon

snipe opener; Western Washington rifle elk opener; Washington duck, coot

and snipe reopeners; 2019 ODFW Habitat Conservation, Upland Game Bird,

and Waterfowl Stamp contests showcase, Dundee – info: dfw.state.or.us 2-3 Extended Western Oregon youth deer season 4 Oregon Southwest, East Zones goose reopener 9 Northeast Washington late whitetail rifle opener; Oregon first Coast bull elk

centerfire opener 11-17 Tentative razor clam openers at several Washington Coast beaches –

info: wdfw.wa.gov 14 Washington late rifle blacktail hunt opener in select units 15 Last day to hunt black bears in Washington 16 Western Oregon late bow deer and second Coast centerfire elk openers;

NSIA 20th Annual Washington Banquet fundraiser, Emerald Downs Racetrack

in Auburn – info: nsiafishing.org 23 Oregon Northwest Permit Zone goose reopener; Washington Goose

Management Area 2 (Inland) reopener (Sat., Sun., Weds. only) 24-30 Tentative razor clam openers at several Washington Coast beaches –

info: see above 26 Family Fishing Event at Walter Wirth Lake in Salem – info: odfwcalender.com 27 Late bow, muzzleloader deer, elk opener in many Washington units 29 Winter opener at select Eastern Washington lakes 29-30 Oregon Free Fishing Weekend 30 Last day of Eastern Oregon bear, Northeast Oregon and Blue Mountain Zones

general fall turkey seasons; Last day of Western Washington pheasant (except

select release sites) and quail hunting seasons

DECEMBER 1-15 Extended pheasant season at select Western Washington release

sites (no birds stocked) 4 Oregon Zone 2 duck, scaup reopener 6 Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting, Salem – info: dfw.state.or.us/ agency/commission 7 NSIA 21st Annual Oregon Holiday Banquet, Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel –

info: see above 10-16 Tentative razor clam openers at several Washington Coast beaches –

info: see above 13-14 Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting, Bellingham –

info: wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission 14 Washington Goose Management Area 1 reopener 21 Washington Goose Management Area 2 (Coast) reopener;

Oregon South Coast Zone goose reopener 23-29 Tentative razor clam openers at several Washington Coast beaches –

info: see above 24, 26, 27, 30, 31 Washington Goose Management Area 4 additional hunting days 31 Last day to hunt pheasants in Oregon; End of Oregon, Idaho fishing, hunting

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Northwest Sportsman 51

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GIFT GUIDE ROUGAROU RODS Rougarou Rods specializes in custom rods, reel servicing and rod-building supplies. They build the rod you want, the way you want, with the products you want. They also keep your reels serviced and in tip-top shape. Rougarou Rods is a West Coast dealer for Alps, Rainshadow, Thrasher, Winn and Fuji products. rougarourods.com

RELIABLE FISHING PRODUCTS Reliable Fishing Products was established in 2003 and makes the best kill bags in the industry. They offer 10 bag sizes, ranging from 18x36 inches to 42x90 inches, as well as two kayak bags and three billfish/tournament blankets. They are all made with ½-inch closed-cell foam, YKK zippers, and UVresistant vinyl. reliablefishing.com

IZORLINE Don’t forget the most important thing between you and catching the fish – super-strong premium Izorline! izorline.com

EAT ME LURES Proudly made in the USA, Eat Me Lures’ swimbaits are designed to bridge the gap between artificial and live bait, giving you a better option while fishing offshore, inshore or on lakes. All of their swimbaits are hand-poured or hand-injected using the finest quality plastic available to create a bait that will hold up to multiple fish strikes when the bite is on.

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SILVER HORDE Tie on the Original Herring Aide lures. Silver Horde’s Gold Star Coho Killer and Kingfisher spoons are super-hot lures that don’t disappoint.

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SCAN MARINE The new Wallas Viking Air 3kW forced-air diesel heater is now available at Scan Marine. The Viking Air provides state-of-the-art Bluetooth and WiFi-controlled heating for modern and older boats alike. With up to 105CFM of air volume, quiet operation and super-efficient fuel burn, the Viking Air will maximize your boating season! scanmarineusa.com nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

Northwest Sportsman 53

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NOMAR Nomar’s soft-side, waterproof, floatable gun scabbard is a favorite with Alaskan bush pilots.

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BILL SAUNDERS CALLS

SIERRAPAPA, INC. Fans of the popular CX4 Storm from Beretta looking to improve the performance of their carbine will be delighted to know that SierraPapa specializes in upgrade replacement parts for this particular piece. Available upgrades include a machined aluminum trigger housing, stainless steel hammer/aluminum trigger/spring kit, and steel guide rod kits. Enjoy smoother operation, improved reliability, and a heightened level of enjoyment on the range. Let SierraPapa take your CX4 Storm to the next level. sierrapapacx4.com

ARM CHAPS Soft leather protective sleeves that contour to hands and arms, Arm Chaps are comfortable and very effective at preventing injuries. They are useful in many situations, and provide adjustable airflow. See website for all the benefits! armchaps.com

The latest addition to the Bill Saunders Calls lineup is the Big Spin Goose Call.

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The Hoh Rainforest Resort is an overnight lodging venue in Forks, Washington, steps from the Calawah River. The location is private and also conveniently located to all that the area offers. The amenities include cabins, yurts, and sturdy and warm canvas tents, as well as a fully equipped outdoor kitchen, sauna and fish cleaning station. hohrainforestresort.com

ASTORIA FISHING CHARTERS

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US MARINE SALES AND SERVICE Now available at US Marine Sales and Service is the Yamaha 2020 EX Sport. Room for up to three on the EX Series means no one misses out on the fun. The tow hook allows for easy, secure towing. Standard dual mirrors provide increased visibility for towing. Reboarding step designed to make it easier to reboard after a swim. Conveniently tucks away when not in use.

The 2020 EX Sport is available from US Marine for $7,699 with no dealer fees! For full specs, visit their website. usmarinesales.com 56 Northwest Sportsman

NOVEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

MICHLITCH COMPANY Newly developed by Michlitch Company, the Brisket and Roast Rub is excellent for grilling, pan-frying or roasting. Rub the spice blend on both sides of a brisket, roast or steak before cooking.

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HUNTING

Get Out For Upland Birds Opportunities spread throughout Eastern Washington for quail, partridge.

By Jason Brooks

O

n both edges of the draw were apple orchards, but the main ravine was sage intermixed with thick brush, Russian olive and thorn bushes. In the heat of summer, the draw ran dry, but the orchards above provided water and the brushy gulch contributed food and cover.

This is why it was full of valley quail, also known as California quail.

I had been dropped off at the top of the ravine by my father around 10 a.m. but it was now nearing noon and I had already made it halfway down the steep canyon. Being 14 years old at the time I couldn’t drive, so each weekend I would plead with my dad to take me to my favorite draw and drop me off with my singleshot 20-gauge, a Christmas gift from two years prior. He would then pick me up at 3 p.m. at the bottom, where a dirt access road to the orchard met back up with the paved county road.

With three hours to go and the sun shining I decided it was a good time to take a nap. A short time later I woke to the distinctive call of a male valley quail on sentry duty and gathering the covey. Now, over 30 years later, each fall I head to the tall sage canyonlands

For author Jason Brooks, chasing quail harkens back to his days as a young hunter. Even as his Northcentral Washington upland haunts have become more developed over the years, he still enjoys getting after upland birds with his side-by-side 12-gauge. (JASON BROOKS) nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

Northwest Sportsman 65

You’ll find valley, or California, quail in sagebrush, bushy cover and Russian olives, often near the edges of orchards or farms. Chukars inhabit rougher, steeper country, while gray, or Hungarian, partridge prefer high, windswept aglands and shrub-steppe. (JASON BROOKS)

and listen for that distinctive call and am immediately taken back to the days of my youth.

This is why quail remain one of my most prized hunts. Topknots not only make for a good way to get new hunters afield but also allow us to keep hunting into our adulthood, and thanks to their plentiful numbers and preference for edge cover near roads and fields, the hunt can continue well

T

into the latter stages of life. Washington offers some of the best quail hunting in the West, primarily because of the agriculture areas of the Columbia Basin. The second longest river in the Lower 48 provides water to fields, orchards and vineyards throughout most of the eastern part of the state, which is also home to plentiful sage and Russian olive, the preferred cover of the valley quail.

ABOUT THE BIRDS

he valley quail is a small bird that has a fairly short life cycle. It rarely lives beyond three years but tends to have more than one brood each spring. The first hatch occurs in May and if the conditions are right, they can have a clutch a month through July, making three hatches in a single breeding year. On average a hen will lay around a dozen eggs at a time and it takes about two weeks of incubation before a chick emerges from its shell.

Quail are very susceptible to weather; a late spring rainstorm and cold temperatures can quickly kill the young birds. But a hot and dry summer can also lead to other problems unless there is water nearby.

Upland birds feed mostly on seeds throughout the fall and during the spring and summer they will eat green shoots, seeds, berries, and insects. A grasshopper hatch really helps as the young birds need the protein for plumage and molting.

The birds themselves are also prey for a lot of animals. Weasels, skunks, opossums and raccoons will dine on quail eggs and young chicks. Raptors will eat adults, while coyotes, foxes, bobcats and domestic cats prey upon them as well.

Quail do really well around people, who often use landscape vegetation the birds prefer, as well as provide water and cover. On the flip side, chukar and Hun habitat tends to be well away from homes and they occupy more rugged and/or remote landscapes. –JB

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HUNTING

Long after most other hunts are closed, upland birds remain open.

Washington’s season stretches well into January, and last year’s hunt yielded an estimated 81,991 quail, 17,114 chukar and 5,239 Huns. (JASON BROOKS)

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Hunting behind a dog – this is Brook’s viszla – should up your success as their sharp senses are best for locating birds. But quail have their own tricks late in the season, including holding tight until you’re practically on top of them. (JASON BROOKS) 68 Northwest Sportsman

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points provide upland bird hunters virtually a new place to hunt each weekend throughout the threemonth-long season. Hunting begins in mid-October, when daily temperatures are warm and morning is the best time to chase the birds from their ground roost and feeding sites. Water is key in the early season and a small creek or the edge cover of agricultural lands can provide that neccesity. Bugs are still plentiful and help make up the diet of the small birds, which are not hard to knock out of the air with a lightweight load.

Hunters often use smaller shot such as 7½ or 8 due to the small size of the birds and the denser pattern. Plumage on early birds is light and they tend to stay on the ground and run more in the warm weather. Birds are in smaller coveys and when flushed they tend to fly farther and run after landing.

The early season also means rattlesnakes are still present and dog

owners need to keep this in mind.

Luckily, quail favor edge cover, unlike the chukar also found in the arid lands of Eastern Washington. Those Eurasian imports like shale rocks and basalt outcroppings, which is where you find most rattlers. In the early season when I come across a covey of chukars, I hesitate sending my dog up after them and would rather push past and find quail.

Chukar are most known to inhabit the breaks along the Columbia and Snake Rivers, sticking to their sheer cliffs, rocky outcroppings and cheatgrass-covered slopes. The game birds originally from the Himalayas, Hindu Kush, Karakorams and other steep, dry mountain ranges took well to similar country here.

This season’s chukar outlook is pretty good, with a strong hatch this summer. Wildfires didn’t occur where the birds live for the most part and that makes for good hunting, since the grasses and bugs fed the younger

HUNTING QUAIL PROSPECTS

L

Quail hunker in a shrub. (JASON BROOKS)

birds. Personally, I tend to jump shoot a covey of chukar while quail hunting and then let them flush, to be hunted

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again another day. But as winter sets in and snow drives the birds down, chukar hunting can be fun, exciting

ast issue (page 130) we looked at pheasant and chukar forecasts, so this issue we’ll turn our attention to quail across the region.

In Oregon, hunting managers say that“this is the year”to hunt the species and point in particular to Harney, Klamath, Lake and Malheur Counties, thanks to good spring moisture and late clutches. But densities also look good in the Umatilla District, with good production reported in Wallowa as well. Along with agland edges, ODFW points to the Summer Lake and Ladd Marsh Wildlife Areas.

In Western Oregon, Coos County saw above-average production.

In Idaho, biologists report “good to excellent” production in the Southwest Region. –NWS

and not so exhausting.

Quail hunting also gets better as temperatures drop to and below freezing. The birds’ feathers become denser and hunters often adjust their shot size to 6, but the light gauge of a 20 or even a 28 for those who want the challenge make for a good day afield without the shoulder becoming uncomfortable. A double barrel adds to the excitement but many birds are still taken by youthful hunters and their first shotguns, often a single shot with a straight modified choke.

My side-by-side Charles Daly in 12-gauge often finds its way to come along on my hunts once the weather turns colder and I no longer pass up the opportunity of a happenstance encounter with chukars or the occasional rooster pheasant.

Hungarian partridge are the one upland bird that excites me the most. This is because I rarely find them. There are fair populations of the chukar’s cousin – though they don’t look anything like redlegs – in Whitman, Adams, Asotin and other higher-elevation counties ringing the Columbia Basin. Their prime habitat is farmlands and shrub-steppe converge. Huns are flighty, with the

HUNTING initial flush usually at a distance, but the birds will break up and picking up singles and doubles, much like quail hunting, makes them a great quarry.

If you harvest a few, save the skins.

Give them a quick sprinkle of borax to help preserve them and then find a friend or two who ties their own flies. The feathers are used in several patterns and are desired by fly fishing clubs. I’ve provided a few skins and in return received some nice trout flies.

As winter sets in in the Inland Northwest, upland birds will often hold tighter. Quail, which have a reputation for their ability to hold and then explode at your feet, nearly causing a heart attack, have been known to wait to flush until you have passed them in the snow. A good bird dog – especially a pointing breed – will help tremendously. This allows you to approach the birds and get ready for the rise with a swift kick of the brush just beyond the dog’s nose.

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It is better to trust your dog than give in to the idea of a “false point.”

More than once my Hungarian vizsla has held point as I kicked the brush with nothing happening until I get ready to move on and then the bird explodes from underfoot. Winter is one of my favorite times to hunt the small and quick birds, as the coveys seem to be large and once they flush, the birds tend to land nearby where I can pick up singles and doubles.

AGRICULTURAL AREAS ARE ideal for upland birds, generally speaking, and Eastern Washington has a lot of farmland. Yakima County is always at the top of list when it comes to quail harvest. This is because of the abundant access to lands adjacent to farms in the rich Yakima Valley. From the small towns of Tieton and Naches at the base of the Cascades to the hop and asparagus fields near Zillah and Toppenish along the Yakima

River you will find valley quail.

Another area is the Yakama Indian Reservation, which has its own seasons and license requirements but provides a lot of access to quail hotspots. See ynwildlife.org for more.

Grant County, in Central Washington, offers copious bird habitat, from the edges of potato, wheat, flax and pea fields to edge cover along the numerous canals to open public and private lands. The Department of Fish and Wildlife has enrolled dozens upon dozens of landowners in its “Feel Free To Hunt,” “Register to Hunt,” “Hunt By Reservation” and “Hunting By Written Permission” programs, plus there is plentiful state and federal access along Crab Creek, on the Wahluke Slope and elsewhere. The Winchester Wasteway also provides some really good public land quail hunting.

Douglas County is mostly wheat fields sitting above the breaks of the

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Columbia River and here you will find several WDFW wildlife areas for hunting, including the Brewster Bar near the town of Bridgeport. Wells and the Central Ferry Wildlife Areas also hold good numbers of quail. This and parts of the Okanogan are also among the only parts of the state where you will run into large coveys of sharptail and sage grouse but they are off limits with no season, so be sure of your target.

The far edge of the Palouse near the Snake River and Asotin and Garfield Counties have good quail populations. There are some federal and state lands that offer a chance at a mixed bag of quail, Huns and chukar, plus pheasants. It is best to carry afield a 12-gauge when other species are present as they don’t hold as tight as quail and are larger birds.

Whitman County is a top pheasant county and quail are often flushed as you work fence rows and sage flats along the edges of the wheat fields.

Finding public land can be difficult but if you locate a willing farmer, then you will be into birds throughout the hunt. See privatelands.wdfw .wa.gov for participants in WDFW’s access programs.

Back in Northcentral Washington, another top county is Chelan, where I grew up and learned to hunt on those late fall weekend afternoons. The drawback is that development and tourism have really taken over, along with the wine industry. Though apple orchards still comprise a lot of the land, vineyards often come with wineries, and now buildings and homes stand where quail once flushed.

This is the case with the draw that my father used to drop me off at.

Now a winery sits on the edge of the ravine overlooking the seasonal creek and the sentry call of the male valley quail is admired by those who are busy sipping and tasting a chardonnay instead of shouldering a side-by-side.

Luckily, there are still plenty of places to find quail in the Columbia Basin and bird numbers are doing well. NS

HUNTING

AA Alternatives

When it comes to putting motion in your decoy spread, there are some pretty good options.

By M.D. Johnson

I

truthfully can’t tell you when I saw my first spinning-wing decoy, henceforth known as an SWD. Late 1990s, I reckon. Maybe 2000.

Regardless, I’m pretty sure my first thought was a two-worder. And no, it wasn’t that. I’m pretty certain it was “tub toy.”

That was almost 20 years ago. And today, the tub toys are still alive and spinning. Or kicking. Or splashing, squirting, gurgling, swimming, moving, diving, and jiving. Some guys love ’em.

Others hate ’em, as if these electronic things embodied the complete and utter demise of waterfowling hunting in its entirely. Some say they work wonders. Others, not so much.

Battery-powered devices were banned for decoying waterfowl in Washington and Oregon in the early years of this century, but there are many more ways to add motion to your spread and make it more alluring for flocks to investigate. (JULIA JOHNSON)

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HUNTING Myself, I’ve owned many. Sold same. Over the past two decades, I’ve seen them pull ducks from the heavens much like that Star Destroyer yarded the Millennium Falcon through space with its tractor beam. You ’70s guys – you know what I’m talking about.

And I’ve watched as SWDs scared ducks away like clowns scare toddlers. I’ve seen ’em shot, smashed, and utterly destroyed.

Some states, Washington and Oregon for instance, went so far as to put SWDs on the no-fly list. No can use. Anytime. Anywhere. Oh, the weeping and gnashing of teeth when that happened. Most got over it. Many didn’t.

Me? How do I feel about SWDs? They work great on teal. And most of the time for wood ducks. Geese hate ’em in my experience, but in the dry fields for ducks? Spinners are almost unfair. I’m sure there’s a biological or scientific reason why SWDs are so incredibly effective on ducks in the dry, but it’s beyond my pay grade to think such things. It’s a moot point, though, really; at least here in Washington. And Oregon.

And California for the first part of the season. But there are alternatives to these AA battery-driven devices, many of which are less complicated,

effective, and certainly less expensive than are the tub toys.

THE JERK CORD Ever notice how you don’t see a single duck throughout the morning until, that is, you get bored and start wading around in the decoys? Then, almost by magic, the ducks appear.

One, that’s just the way it is. But two is the important one.

I’m convinced that at great distances, ducks can A) see the ripples you’ve created on the water, giving the impression of a flock of birds milling about, and B) at said great distance, they really can’t tell the difference between you and just another rotted stump. So they investigate, figure out quickly that you’re a potential hazard to their well-being, and exit, stage right, leaving you to bemoan the fact that, once again, you left your shotgun in the blind.

My point here isn’t your lack of preparedness, but rather the ripples.

Create the ripples, and you create the illusion of real ducks. Maybe even real ducks working on a food source.

Enter the jerk cord.

Years ago, and I may have told y’all this in the past, Buck Gardner, good friend and world champion duck caller and builder, told me matter-offactly something I’ve never forgotten.

A key component in jerk cords are big swivels to connect the decoys to the line you pull, and a bungee at the other end to add “bounce” with each tug. (JULIA JOHNSON)

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Author MD Johnson sorts decoys that can be made to move from the blind via jerk cord. A friend who made duck calls for a living once told Johnson that if he had to choose between his products or a cord, he’d take the latter. (JULIA JOHNSON)

“If,” Buck said, “I had to choose tomorrow between using a duck call or using a jerk cord for the rest of my days, I’d choose the jerk cord.”

Coming from Gardner, a man who built his living and his reputation on creating award-winning duck calls, this meant quite a bit.

But back to jerk cords, or as they’re sometimes called, jerk rigs. For those who aren’t familiar with the device and its operation, it’s elemental. You have a weight or stick, a bungee, 100 feet of 550-pound paracord, and a decoy or decoys. To use, drop the weight out from the blind or, if going the stick route, push the pole into the bottom until the top is flush with the surface of the water. Connected to either the weight or stick, the bungee provides the “bounce” or recoil when the cord is pulled. Or jerked. Get it?

So you have weight, bungee, cord to blind. A lightweight – I prefer old-school water keel decoys for the

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HUNTING Ultimately, whatever technique you use, the goal is to give lifeless objects some action, which will attract more waterfowl and from further away than stock-still decoys ever will. (BRENT LAWRENCE, USFWS)

it splash loud, but not obnoxiously loud, so that both the sound and the motion blends into the whole of the spread. But wrong? Truthfully, you’d have to work at that one.

THE DIVINE WIND

bounce – decoy or two are attached to the cord, and the whole thing positioned among the spread so as to impart motion via ripples and/or splashing to the whole of the rig.

Two things about jerk rigs – OK, three. One, they work incredibly well. Period. Two, they’re typically the definition of portable, with most folding up into a very small unit, often small enough to fit into a blind bag. And three, they’re cheap. Rig ‘Em Right’s jerk rig will set you back $30, or two boxes of steel shotshells.

Better yet, make your own. Chances are you have a big pyramid sinker, thin 2-foot bungee, and a couple greenwing decoys. One hundred feet of 550 will run you roughly $10. Throw in a couple big snap swivels to attach the decoys, and you’re ready.

Is it possible to use a jerk cord incorrectly? Honestly, I had to think about this one for several days while I (ineffectively) hunted elk in Southwest Washington in early October. Unless you’re planning on standing outside the blind while pulling the paracord – and have stripped down to your skivvies – and 80 Northwest Sportsman

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have painted yourself day-glo orange, then it’s pretty tough to do something technically wrong with a jerk string.

Use it in conjunction with a call, or use it by itself. Yard on the string when the ducks are at a distance so the ripples grab their attention, and then leave it be. Like calling, hit ’em on the corners with the cord. Make

I’m going to be honest here, and say that I haven’t had a whole lot of luck with wind-driven pseudo-SWD decoys. And I’ve tried more than my share – Mojo, Lucky Duck, Ure-aDuck, and others – and just haven’t found any one that’s consistent. And by consistent I mean both consistently attractive to passing ’fowl, as well as consistently functional.

For one, wind-driven SWDs need wind, something the aforementioned jerk cord does not require. Second, every wind-driven SWD I’ve ever tried was noisy. Noisy enough to spook birds? I’m going to say yes, but no, I have no scientific proof of that.

However, and it’s my theory only, wind quick enough to spin these units carries the unnatural metal-on-metal or metal-on-plastic sounds downwind.

Ducks, theoretically, approach a spread from downwind. My thought is that they hit this unrealistic “wall of sound” at 75 yards – maybe 100, maybe more – and slide, confused,

Wind-powered decoys give the illusion of movement in your faux flock, but also only when there’s a breeze blowing too, making them less than ideal on the foggy winter days our region sees. (TRAVIS SMITH, INSTAGRAM: @WICKED_WINGZ)

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HUNTING

After RoboDuk and pals exploded onto the waterfowl scene in the late 1990s, Washington moved fairly quickly to ban them. Then-Fish and Wildife Commission chair Russ Cahill described it as a “‘fair chase’ issue,” and others worried how higher harvests might impact future season lengths. The devices might have provided a spike in average take per hunter to 15 ducks a season, but it’s actually been above that in nearly all years since – and north of 20 in the most recent two, according to state stats. (JULIA JOHNSON)

one way or the other. Agreed, it’s theory only, but in my mind, anything unnatural, e.g. the noise emanating from said wind-driven SWD, is going to raise avian eyebrows. If, that is, ducks have eyebrows.

And something else to consider. It’s been suggested, and quite strongly, that battery-powered SWDs work best when the “wings” are driven at a certain revolutions per minute, that being roughly – key word: roughly – 500 rpms. Is Mother Nature going to provide the wind necessary and for long enough periods of time to operate a wind-driven SWD at the requisite 500 rpms? Maybe yes; maybe no. Too slow, and it flares ducks like Hell wouldn’t have it. Too fast, and you get all that noise, not to mention the unnatural appearance of those wings spinning at Mach 2. Too fast (to continue), and you lose the strobe-like effect that lies at the heart of the SWD’s effectiveness.

So, bottom line. Should you not buy a wind-driven SWD based solely on my observations above?

Absolutely not. Buy one, and you might be setting yourself up for your best season ever. Favorable winds may blow, the wings may spin at the required rpms, and the birds may fall from the heavens like leaves before an autumn storm. Or not.

RAISE YOUR FLAG Flags are generally thought of as a goose hunter’s tool, although I’ve used them quite successfully for ducks, especially when gunning open-water divers from the bowels of a traditional layout boat. A goose flag, per se, and for those unfamiliar with the vernacular, is just that – a triangle or sometimes goose-shaped swatch of cloth attached to a short handle of wood or fiberglass that resembles, when used with a touch of imagination, a flag of sorts.

Operation is elemental: See geese, snap flag briskly up, flutter down giving the appearance, at a distance, of geese landing or stretching their wings. Repeat, if necessary.

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HUNTING

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I’m torn here, though. Does flagging truly impart motion to a decoy spread?

No, not in the sense that a jerk cord or SWD imparts motion. But a flag does give the illusion of motion, however fleeting, and as such is a fantastic way to draw attention to your spread.

Flagging, like running a jerk string, is a simple process; however, I see flagging more closely akin to calling than I do pulling a jerk cord. Flagging, to me, involves a little more finesse than does a jerk cord. At a distance – 500 yards, 1,000 – it’s tough to do anything wrong with a flag, including standing up and running through the spread madly waving the cloth spastically.

Think grand marshall at a NASCAR race, and you’ll get the idea.

But once the birds close the gap, it’s time to fine-tune the flag work. A subtle up/down, perhaps only a foot above the ground. Or just the flick of a wingtip, something to bring the birds back on line. Sometimes, all it takes is grabbing their attention at the aforementioned 1,000 yards, and then letting the decoys do their job. However, I’ve had days when the birds wanted – nay, needed – to be flagged all the way to the ground.

Vague? Perhaps, but this nebulous answer forms the cornerstone of much of what we know as the art of attracting ’fowl to our location.

Let them tell you what you need to do. Run the cord or leave it alone.

Rig the SWD, or pull it after the second bunch of wigeon flare. Wave the flag a lot. Shake it a little. Or, as is the case some days, leave it lying on the ground next to the blind.

Let’s face it. The 6-volt wonders that were/are modern SWDs worked incredibly well. Sometimes. But, at least in these here parts of the Pacific Flyway, they’re not an option, and I, for one, am OK with that. Why? Because there are alternatives to batteries. Lighter alternatives. Less expensive alternatives. And options that – again, my opinion only – work just as well, if not better than those energized by four AAs. Not included, of course. NS 86 Northwest Sportsman

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HUNTING Nontoxic shotshells for waterfowl have come a long way since federal wildlife managers began phasing out lead in the late 1980s. Hevi Shot’s Classic Doubles brought down this classic brace of a drake mallard and pintail. (JULIA JOHNSON)

Nontoxics: Today’s Top Choices For Waterfowl With the heart of the Northwest’s duck and goose seasons arriving, here’s a look at the latest loads for knocking down birds.

By M.D. Johnson

I

t was the late 1980s – ’88, maybe ’89 – when we began to make the mandatory switch from traditional lead shot to nontoxic ammunition, i.e. steel shot. Ohio, where I lived at the time, wanted, I think, to make a confusing recreational activity – waterfowl hunting, in this case – even

more challenging, so it implemented the switch on a county-by-county basis. Or group of counties by group of counties until finally in 1991, the whole of Ohio, along with the entire United States, went nontoxic.

Mandatory nontoxic. Translation: If you hunted waterfowl, lead was no longer an option. Period.

It was, to put it mildly, an

interesting time. Early steel shotshells were, in a word, terrible. The technology, though not new, might as well have been. There were waterproofing issues, and let’s not forget our chemistry and how steel mixed with water creates large rusty slugs that … well, they didn’t work too well on ducks. Or they worked a little bit too well. nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

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Browning BXD, Federal Speed-Shok, Hevi-Shot Hevi-X, Kent Fasteel 2.0, Remington Hypersonic and Winchester Xpert Snow Goose are among newer offerings for the 2019-20 waterfowl campaign on Northwest waters and fields. (PHOTOS BY MANUFACTURERS)

Powders. Primers. Wads. The shot itself. It was almost as if the entire operation was trial and error, and in some instances, it was. Older shotguns, the classic side-by-sides and over-andunders, were put out to pasture.

“Can’t shoot that damn steel in my father’s fill-in-the-blank,” they said.

And they were, for the most part, correct. Hard steel and the not-ashard steel barrels of older shotguns didn’t work well together.

Chokes too became a concern, with phrases like “ring bulging” entering ’fowlers’ vernacular. Me? I shot a 16-gauge during that time. Just finding 16-gauge steel was a challenge.

And the ammunition I did find? Ugh. Waterfowl hunter numbers dropped off. Guys quit. They quit duck hunting.

They quit goose hunting. Some of them gave up hunting all together.

If, by chance, you shot a 20-gauge or, heaven forbid, a 28 … well, you were basically out of luck during those very early days. Or, and when the subbore 90 Northwest Sportsman

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ammunition did become available, it was – well, bad. It wasn’t a good time to be a duck hunter.

But, but, but wait a tic! That was a long time ago. Thirty years, or damn near. And a lot has happened in the nontoxic ammunition world during those three decades. Today, it’s not just steel shot, but a long list of metallurgic concoctions approved by the highest power when it comes to anything migratory ’fowl, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. How many concoctions? As of March 2018, the last time the list was updated, that would be 14, and if you’re interested, they can be found here: fws.gov/ birds/bird-enthusiasts/hunting/ nontoxic.php.

Not just the shot itself, though.

Powders have changed and improved.

Primers. Hulls. Higher velocities. And perhaps most notably, wads and wad design. Everything from .410 to 10-gauge is available today, and most, even the sub-bores, in a wide variety

of shot sizes and weights. Good as lead? Strictly sharing my opinion here, some yes, and some no. However, some of these 21st century nontoxics are better than lead ever was, but that effectiveness and performance comes at a cost. Literally.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY So what’s good about today’s nontoxics? First, and as I touched upon a couple sentences back, it’s available and available in a long, long list of configurations. Shoot a 10-gauge? You got it. How about a 2¾-inch 12? It’s all there. So, too, are options for the 16-, 20-, and 28-gauges, as well as the diminutive .410, which, for reasons still a mystery to me, is making a bit of a comeback in both the waterfowl and turkey hunting realms. Shot sizes and charges run the gamut, thus making the menu even thicker.

Second, and without going into a mind-numbing dissertation on ballistics and technology, let it suffice

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There are more than a dozen metal alloys now approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for use, ranging from simple steel to copper formulated to inhibit corrosion to a tungsten-tin-iron-nickel mixture. They’re all nontoxic to waterfowl that otherwise succumb to lead poisoning when they pick the toxic pellets out of fields or marshes for their crops. (JULIA JOHNSON)

to say that modern nontoxics work well. Light-years of improvement when compared to, say, 1993. They pattern well through a variety of choke tube constrictions. They perform well, if not exceptionally well, on target, if the person pulling the trigger does his or her job efficiently.

Third – welcome back, old guns!

Yes, I can now put my dad’s 1952 Winchester Model 24 double back into service, thanks to old-gun-friendly nontoxics like Hevi-Shot’s Classic Doubles or Kent’s new bismuth. A buddy of mine can shoot his 32-inch L.C. Smith at bluebills again. Rejoice, and hallelujah!

So, and in summation, these new nontoxics are many and perform well.

So what about the bad? You know, I’m going to skip right over the bad and go straight to the ugly. Today’s nontoxic shotshells are, by and large, expensive.

Stupid expensive. Expensive to the point that the Average Joe, of which I am one, can’t afford many, if any.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah. Naïve, I might be. I understand that the guy carrying a $1,500 shotgun, wearing $1,000 chest waders, and running the stick on a $60,000 airboat probably can’t legitimately complain about plunking down $40 to $60 for a box for duck bullets. And that’s fine; more power to ’em. But, and I don’t think I’m mistaken here, that’s not the Average Joe. The Average Joe – or Josephine – is looking for good shotshells he or she can afford. And the truth of the matter is that they’re out there. You just have to sift through the $4/round stuff until you find something that doesn’t cause you and your wallet to hyperventilate.

WHILE WE’RE ON SHOT SELECTION ...

Let me take just a minute and talk about nontoxics and shot selection, or shot size. Back in the day, we shot No. 5 lead at ducks. Period. For geese, it was No. 2s or BBs. That changed with the introduction of steel. The rule of thumb there was – and perhaps still

is to an extent – to shoot steel two sizes larger than you would in lead.

So, No. 5 lead became No. 3 steel, and No. 2 lead became BBs. Or bigger. But remember, steel has gotten better.

The pellets have improved. Better wads hold patterns longer, thus resulting ideally in more hits on target at acceptable ranges. Two sizes bigger still? For me, the answer’s no. I shoot a lot of Nos. 4, 5 and 6 steel at ducks over decoys. Maybe, just maybe No. 3s if it’s late and the birds want to play the 40-yard game. How? I choke it down, pattern everything, shoot conservatively, and – ready for this one? – practice during the off-season.

The nice thing about nonsteel nontoxics, e.g. tungsten or tungsten blends, is that while expensive, I’m not shooting that many of them.

Typically, I buy and save the nonsteel for geese, so I can shoot A) a tungsten blend, and B) a blend in smaller than normal shot sizes, such as No. 4 tungsten – think Hevi-Shot’s Hevi-X

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Northwest Sportsman 93

HUNTING – for geese over decoys. No, I’m not pass-shooting big Canadas with No. 4 Hevi-X, though I’m not sure I’d feel uncomfortable doing that. I’m shooting decoying birds at 30 yards and in. There’s a difference and a discipline. What’s my point here with this diatribe? Give some thought to going smaller this season.

NEW (OR RELATIVELY SO) FOR ’19-20 A lot of new stuff is available this year for ’fowlers and their ’fowling pieces.

There was a lot of new stuff last year, too. The choices are many. It’s just a matter of finding something you, your shotgun and your pocketbook like. That said, a handful of these nontoxic options include: Hevi-Shot (hevishot.com) has a ton of options when it comes to nontoxics for waterfowling, along with a corresponding ton of price points; however, none of their SKUs are what I’d call cheap. What I would call them

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all is flat-out devastating. For you oldgun folks, there’s Classic Doubles. Deep pockets? Hevi-X is a tungsten product that gives lights-out performance, but it does come with a price tag.

The nice thing about Hevi-X is now we’re back to apples-to-apples when it comes to shot size; that is, for ducks, I’m shooting Nos. 4 and 6. For decoying geese, it’s No. 4s. Middle-of-the-road kind of ’fowler? There’s Hevi-Metal, a blend of Hevi-Shot and traditional steel. There’s also Hevi-Snow, HeviMetal Longer Range, Hevi-Bismuth, Hevi-Steel, and, for you old-school ’fowlers, the original Hevi-Shot.

BXD stands for Browning Extra Distance, and while my jury is out about the additional-range part of the equation here, Browning’s (browningammo.com) reentry into the ammunition world is much – and I mean much – more well-received than were the company’s initial attempts in the ’90s. Their waterfowl

line of nontoxics perform more than adequately, and at $18 to $22 for 25 rounds, won’t break the bank. I’ve shot it for a couple seasons now. I like it. It kills ducks when I do my part, and I can’t ask for a whole lot more than that out of a ’fowl bullet.

Federal (federalpremium.com) introduced their Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) loads in 2018 to much hoopla; however, I’ve not heard a whole lot about it since then. Maybe it’s because it’s $4 a pop? Or maybe the blended tungsten-and-steel charges of No. 3/9 or No. 7/BB are just plain weird? I never did understand the shot size pairings, but then again, I’m not an ammunition designer/engineer either, now am I? But not to fear. Federal does offer a long list of nonweird waterfowl ammunition at reasonable prices, shotshells to include their Speed-Shok and now famous Black Cloud lines.

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HUNTING Winchester Xpert High Velocity Steel Shot. Buy it by the case, and it’s $8 to $9 for 25 rounds. I’ve even found it by the box at Walmart and other such establishments for the aforementioned $8/box. It comes in shot sizes from BB to #4, and in velocities running from 1,400 to 1,650 feet per second. And, now for the best part, it works just fine for $8/box. It goes boom. It kills stuff. It patterns well. Winchester (Winchester. com) has all sorts of options, though, including their unique six-sided Blind Side and DryLok brands.

There’s no two ways about it.

Kent Cartridge (kentcartridge.com) is making a comeback. No, reverse that.

They’ve made a comeback. Granted, the company had, and still does have, quite the following with their Fasteel shotshells, but now these speed groupies have Fasteel 2.0, a zincplated product featuring a revamped wad design, corrosion-resistant nickel head, and fleet-footed 1,560 fps

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muzzle velocity. Kent does offer a bismuth option, which I shot a bit of during the 2018-19 season and had good success with. There’s also their Tungsten Matrix, a fantastic on-target shotshell. However, TM is a bit on the spendy side at $3 to $4 a round.

Boss Shotshells (bossshotshells .com) is new on the waterfowl scene, and to tell the truth, I have yet to get my hands on any and give it a test run.

It’s a bismuth product, which is nice for the older-gun crowd. And Boss does offer a variety, including a really interesting menu for the 2¾-inch 12bore consisting of a 1¼-ounce charge of everything from No. 2 to 7 shot.

Of course, there’s 3-inch 12-gauge, along with 16-, 20-, and 28-gauge, and coming shortly, a 5/8-ounce load of No. 6 for the .410. I’m not sure why a duck hunter would want and/ or need something of that nature, but if someone does, Boss has it. And then some.

And finally in March 2018, Remington (Remington.com) filed for Chapter 11. Two months later, they emerged from bankruptcy having been purchased by whom? Their lenders.

Yes, sir; the same people to whom they owed right around $775 million. But OK, enough about the money side of things. Remington still has shotguns on the shelves for which they make waterfowl ammunition. Notably, three versions – a fast one (1,400 fps), a faster one (1,500 fps), and a silly-fast one at 1,700 fps. The latter, aptly named HyperSonic Steel, produces recoil akin to that of shoulder-firing a 105mm howitzer. Does it kill ducks? I haven’t shot enough of it – note: less than a box for me and my skinny frame – to really tell the truth, but if it does, then it definitely “kills” at both ends of the gun. Still, all three offerings from Big Green are effective and, at $15/box per case online, quite affordable in the grand scheme o’ things. NS

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COLUMN

Warming Up Not Just For Athletes – Gun Dogs Too

Chukar hunts can be hard on a dog, and a proper warm-up prior to tackling this rugged country is important for your dog. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

A

rrive early at any sporting event and you’ll see athletes warming up. They’ll be stretching, jogging, GUN DOGGIN’ 101 moving and stretching

By Scott Haugen some more. They do this to make sure their muscles are warm and loose so they don’t strain or pull one during the match. Hunting with or training your gun dog should be no different.

No matter the time of year, it’s important to make sure your dog is warmed up prior to embarking upon a strenuous hunt or intensive training session; this is especially true during the cold winter months. A proper dog warm-up begins when you arrive at the hunting or training grounds.

START BY RESTRAINING your dog so it doesn’t bolt out the door. Hopefully, your prior training when it was a pup has instilled discipline so the dog won’t jump out the truck or kennel door the instant it’s opened. I’ve seen too many injuries as a result of poor discipline, some of which were very serious. Your dog should exit the truck or kennel calmly and under control.

Let the dog sniff around the area, taking its time, relieving itself as needed.

When at familiar training grounds, this introduction time will be brief and routine for your dog. This is a great time for the dog to sniff out what’s happening, but also warm up as it moves about.

At the hunting grounds your dog will be more intense. They know the difference between hunting and training; something

that’s obvious once you grab your gun at home, and especially once you pull it out of the truck.

Prior to gearing up on a hunt, once I arrive in the grouse woods, pheasant flats or duck pond, I let my dog run before I do anything. I don’t put waders on, grab boots or slip on a jacket, and I especially don’t touch my gun. Once a motivated gun dog sees you’re getting serious about the hunt, they reach a different level of intensity and that’s when injuries can happen if you’re not careful. Before they hit that next gear, make sure your dog is warmed up and ready to roll.

Let the dogs run and do their duty. Let them explore their surroundings and smell familiar as well as unfamiliar odors.

I like having a reflective collar as well as

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COLUMN an e-collar on my dogs before they leave the truck, so that I know where they’re at.

The reflective collar allows me to see them with the beam of my headlamp, while the e-collar will allow me to issue a simple beep or two to let the dogs know what I expect from them in both darkness and daylight. I don’t want my dogs to range too far, too quickly during the warm-up.

ONCE THEY’VE RUN a bit, I call the dogs back to the truck and have them stick tight to me while I get ready. I put their vests on first, then I gear up. For my dogs, they know this means to stick close, for soon the hunt will begin.

If I have a long way to walk before actually hunting, I keep the dogs fairly close to me for a bit. This teaches them to not run about uncontrollably, and lets them warm up more slowly on those bone-chilling days. As we cover more ground, I let them range a bit further, always keeping them in sight, be it in daylight or with my flashlight and their reflective collars in darkness.

By the time the hunt commences, the dogs are warmed up and ready to run. I don’t ever want my dogs taking off cold,

will help ease joint and muscle pain, making their time in the field more comfortable, and it will shorten their recovery time as well. An anti-inflammatory diet and highquality dog food are a major benefit to the performance and recovery of all dogs.

Following rigorous hunts for chukar or where my dogs have retrieved many heavy geese in a muddy marsh, I’ll give them massages before bed. Gently rubbing their muscles is a great way to relieve pain and inflammation, and can expedite their recovery time. Even a quick rubdown the next morning can help.

WHETHER HUNTING OR training, don’t Quality, low-inflammatory food is a major benefit for a dog’s overall health, performance and recovery.

The author feeds his versatile pudelpointers NutriSource, and couldn’t be happier. (SCOTT HAUGEN) hitting the ground at full speed, as this is where muscle and joint issues arise, especially on aging dogs.

Speaking of, for those that start off slow and a bit stiff, consider supplementing their diet with salmon oil or another antiinflammatory during hunting season. This

overlook the value of warming up your gun dog prior to cutting them loose.

No matter how much spunk they have, restraint is key to not only a well-trained dog but a healthy one, and that, along with proper warm-up, will optimize your dog’s health and well-being. NS Editor’s note: To see some of Scott Haugen’s puppy training video tips, visit scotthaugen .com. Follow Scott on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

No matter what or where you hunt with your dog, making sure they are fit and prepared for every outing is critical to their success and well-being. (SCOTT HAUGEN) 100 Northwest Sportsman

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COLUMN

Challenging Choices For Late Small Game B

eginning in the second or third week of November, as rifle deer and elk seasons wind down, the small ON TARGET game hunter can

By Dave Workman really get busy, and if you’re up to a challenge – of your prowess and skill – here are four ways to really get the most out of popping cottontails, snowshoe hares and grouse.

And one of them will actually get you in the game for quail, chukar and even pheasant in Eastern Washington, which we discussed last issue.

Rabbit and hare seasons in Washington run through the winter, wrapping up March 15, 2020. While California quail hunting ends in Western Washington on Nov. 30, they’re still fair game on the Eastside through Jan. 20. Ditto, chukar, both of which I hunted earlier this year on a mid-January romp through bone-chilling cold over in the Columbia Basin, and I’m an old guy! (Note: You can’t hunt mountain quail anywhere in Eastern Washington. See the regulations pamphlet, page 24.)

If you can find a ringneck in Eastern Washington, they’re fair game through next Jan. 20 as well. On the Westside, there’s an extended season in select spots Dec. 1-15, but there are no releases. This is a “cleanup” season to conk lingering birds that survived the general season, which wraps Nov. 30.

.22 PISTOL OR REVOLVER Some years ago, I did an evaluation of different .22 Long Rifle ammunition. It was impressive, with some awesome ballistics ranging upwards to the 1,800-foot-persecond realm, using lighter bullets.

Up for a challenge? Guns in these four chamberings offer that for late-season small game.

From left: .22 Long Rifle, .22 Magnum, .32 H&R Magnum, .410 Shotgun (3-inch). The last can also be used for quail, chukar and pheasant. (DAVE WORKMAN) There is no rabbit or grouse on the planet that can take a solid hit from a .22-caliber bullet, especially in the noggin, and survive. About four years ago, I was doing a field test on the then-new Ruger Mark IV semiauto pistol and liked it so much I bought it. Mine’s the target

model with a 5.5-inch bull barrel, target front sight, adjustable rear, blue steel barrel and receiver, aluminum grip frame, ambidextrous thumb safety and 10-round magazine. It’s a remarkably accurate pistol with 37-grain lead hollowpoints and 40-grain roundnose solids, and a couple of

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years ago I slapped on a set of Pachmayr replacement grip panels.

If you want a challenge, take a walk through rabbit country or up an old logging road with just a .22 pistol. Daily bag limit is five bunnies and possession limit is 15.

Here’s something to consider: Be sure to have a spare magazine for a semiauto (I’ve got three spares!) because if something goes wrong or you lose it, you’ve got a fancy single-shot that’s not easy to reload. A revolver works with just loose ammunition

.22 RIFLE (OR .22 MAGNUM) Same rules apply. You can take grouse and rabbits with a rimfire, but you’ve got to be on your game. My first gun was an old bolt-action Model 57 Winchester with a five-round magazine. My dad owned it when he was a youngster, and there’s a little dent in the forend where, presumably, the rifle rubbed on the handlebar of a bicycle. (Yeah, nobody got “triggered” back in those days when they

The .32 H&R Magnum is worth taking along on any stroll through the woods late in the season. Always take along spare ammunition! (DAVE WORKMAN) 104 Northwest Sportsman

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Fat cottontail rabbits are fair game through the winter. The Ruger 10/22 is a great choice early or late in the season. (DAVE WORKMAN)

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saw a kid riding down a country road, even after school, with a rifle.)

I still have that rifle, and it’s a holepuncher, but my current rimfire rifle for the field is a Ruger 10/22 topped with a Bushnell 1.75-4x32mm scope.

This specimen is so accurate that once, for a magazine article about 10 years ago, I shot wood kitchen matches at 25 yards using a sandbag rest. It’s a superb cottontail conker, and if you like raccoons, it will put them down for the count as well. Raccoon season in Washington runs to March 15.

Rabbits like wild blackberry tangles and other thick cover, and on a recent trek along South Cle Elum Ridge, there were some pretty swift bunnies that vanished quickly into roadside cover of alder and vine maple tangles.

If you opt for the .22 Magnum, you’ve made a great choice. It’s a devastating small game round, accurate out to more than 100 yards, and out in the Columbia

FIELD NOTES: NEW INTROS Author Dave Workman used his Ruger Mark IV pistol to collect this blue grouse a couple of seasons back. (DAVE WORKMAN)

Basin or anywhere in Eastern Oregon where one might find a distant target, you’ll be well-armed.

The .22 Magnum can also put the hurt on a coyote, incidentally.

.32 H&R MAGNUM While lately overshadowed by the .327 Federal Magnum (same size bullet, more horsepower), the .32 H&R Magnum is a terrific cartridge. Ruger chambers the Single Six and other revolvers for this round.

I’ve worked up a couple of loads using 100-grain JHP bullets and they’re accurate out of my fixed-sight single-action Ruger.

Sometime this winter, that little sixgun will be strolling with me along some old road or through the brush looking for a fat cottontail.

The .32 H&R out of a 4- to 6-inch barrel can be breathtakingly accurate, and its mild recoil is manageable for anyone.

In the rare case you encounter a bobcat, they’re legal through March 15 and the .32 H&R is potent medicine.

.410 BORE SHOTGUN This is not a “gauge,” even though it’s designed for shotguns, and lately in use in revolvers by Taurus and Smith & Wesson as a close-range defensive round with specific ammunition.

The .410 is a great little scattergun, especially with 3-inch shells. I’ve got a little Stoeger side-by-side double with fixed full chokes with which I’ve shot grouse decisively. Recoil is nearly nonexistent, but with No. 6 or 7½ shot, they’re lethal.

I also know people who have adopted the .410 as their primary rabbit gun, and for quail they’re not a bad choice, again if you like a challenge. Frankly, since some folks have adopted the rather diminutive 28-gauge for upland birds, the .410 really isn’t that great a step down the ladder.

Here’s something to consider: A new .410 shotgun would make a marvelous Christmas gift for a youngster or even a small-framed adult shooter. The holidays are not that far away. Don’t forget to add a box or two of ammunition in a separate wrapped package! NS 106 Northwest Sportsman

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COLUMN

Late Can Be Great For Big Game A

fresh snow is hard to beat when it comes to hunting deer or elk in the late season. Tracks are NW PURSUITS fresh, beds are new,

By Jason Brooks and spotting animals amongst the leafless trees and white background is much easier. Then, if you are fortunate enough to connect with

one, the tracking and follow-up is assisted by blood showing up against the light background. Indeed, the late season is one of the best times to chase ungulates in the Northwest.

Deer hunts that start in the latter part of November are either open for short-range weapons such as archery or muzzleloader or available on a special permit in Washington, but Idaho offers a rifle season as well. Some are open for

either sex, but these postrut hunts can still be difficult. State, weapon and species determine the terrain, weather, and how long you’ll be hunting.

BLACKTAIL HUNTERS FIND themselves afield starting the long Thanksgiving weekend. Alder patches, where the deer often feed, are void of leaves and these normally nocturnal deer will stay out later in the day to fill their bellies.

A late-season hunter works his way down a snowy ridge. The year’s last chances for big game occur in November and December with various general muzzleloader and archery and permit rifle opportunities for those with unnotched tags. (JASON BROOKS) nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

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COLUMN Several years ago, after just moving to Western Washington from the east side of the state, I was hunting a late season.

Hiking a road past a gate out to a far clearcut I spotted a doe standing at the edge. A nice buck was bedded behind a stump and I missed the shot. But the one thing I took away from the hunt was that the deer were right at the snowline.

Blacktails are not a fan of snow and if they have a choice, they will be at or just below where it’s sticking. You can use this to your advantage once the snow falls. Plus, the deer will often bed out in the sunshine or feed in reprod units that have trees from 4 to 10 feet tall. Concentrating on these areas in the late season also means putting on a stalk and sneaking in close to the ever elusive blacktail.

Whitetail hunters also have long seasons, especially those who target Idaho’s Panhandle. But with the rut over, the bucks tend to go back to their nighttime routines. Unlike blacktails, whitetails tolerate the severe cold much better and often feed at night.

Does will come into a second estrus in late November and sometimes early December, so rattling can still draw in curious deer, and it is possible to call them too. Your best bets are to look for feeding areas and be there are first and last light.

Some whitetail seasons go late into the year, when temperatures turn really cold.

In Washington you can bait deer and a small amount of alfalfa or apples will bring them in. The deer tend to move more at midday in cold weather, so an afternoon hunt can be productive. Since whitetails are creatures of habit, meaning they tend to stay in the same areas and use the same trails, using a tree stand works well. While we tend to hunt on the ground, take a hint from Midwestern sportsmen and give a tree stand a try.

BUT IT IS the late-season mule deer hunter

Rick Clune specializes in hunting the late bow season for big mule deer, taking this nice big buck last fall on public land in the Okanogan. (HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST) 110 Northwest Sportsman

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who has one of the best chances at a trophy buck. Post-rut muleys need to put the calories back on and mature bucks will be feeding throughout the day, then resting on south-facing slopes where the sun helps them get their energy back after chasing does and fighting for the past several weeks.

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COLUMN Mule deer tend to bunch up as winter sets in, but the big boys often move off by themselves or join small groups of fellow bucks. During the rut they only have one thing on their mind, but afterwards all they care about is resting and feeding.

For archery hunters this is a unique opportunity to sneak into bow range of a resting mature buck. Even when does go on alert, the bucks are often slow to react since their energy levels are depleted.

There are few general late archery mule deer seasons, so the units that are As snow begins to fall, a bowhunter carefully picks his way across a clearcut. (JASON BROOKS)

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open tend to be crowded. If you see a buck that is bedded and your hunting partner is making a stalk, try and find the escape route and set up. This is a patience game and if the buck blows out, he might head right for you.

Mule deer also don’t like the wind and hunters often forget to look into small draws and deep cuts. When hunting a popular unit be sure to get out the spotting scope and look over the cover in areas where the wind is calm, such as the leeward side of a hill or down into a gully.

Regardless of which deer species you pursue, the late season is one of the most rewarding hunts you can do.

Seeing multiple animals in one day, doing several stalks throughout it and just being outdoors during a fresh snowfall make it all worthwhile. If you have an unnotched deer tag and the time, don’t let the year’s last hunt go by.

AS FOR ELK hunters, the late season is both rewarding and very frustrating. Elk are usually in herds throughout the year but

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Northwest Sportsman 113

COLUMN when it gets cold they tend to gather up.

Cow hunts are available, as well as a few for bulls. Regardless of which weapon you use, it can be a challenge. Crunchy snow lets the animals know you are coming and being a herding animal, several pairs of eyes will be watching for you.

Western Washington offers some good late season muzzleloader elk seasons. Tree

farms have gone to a “pay to play” option and access permits are often sold out. The public land sees a lot of hunters and roads can be slick since logging trucks aren’t breaking up the ice and snow. A cow hunt shouldn’t be overlooked as it increases your chances of filling that tag still in your pocket.

Though the bugle is long over, be sure to have a cow call on hand, as well as a lost calf

It can be harder to sneak up on elk this time of year as they tend to have really grouped up, which means more eyes on the alert for predators, but it’s still possible to winnow the herd, as it were. Kristina Anderson bagged this cow in Idaho very late last year. (HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST) 114 Northwest Sportsman

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call. Walking through a stand of reprod and giving the call a few blows here and there, while using the wind to your advantage, you can walk right into a herd of elk.

Late deer and elk hunts are a lot of fun and can be very productive. The weather will help you locate animals, but be sure to know road conditions and pack accordingly. NS

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COLUMN

Deer Nuts And Other Edible But Overlooked Bits Y

ou really want to do this?” asked Chef Mike Zeller, a friend, coworker CHEF IN THE WILD and, at that moment,

By Randy King fellow wild game butcher.

“Well, no, but I have always wanted to try,” I replied.

“I’ve always been a little curious myself.

No going back from this, man,” Zeller added.

“Cheers!” I said and took a bite out of my fried deer testicle.

Zeller followed suit.

NOW, THIS WASN’T the plan for the day.

We had enjoyed a successful deer hunt a few days beforehand and in Idaho you are required to leave evidence of sex on deer. So, in addition to the horns I packed out, the testicles were left attached to a skinned leg. With the carcass having cooled in my garage for a while, Zeller was back at my house to cut up the meat.

When we got to the nuts, by which time we had had a few beers, the topic turned to eating testicles. Rocky Mountain oysters, bull balls, testicle festivals, that sort of manly – the wife leaves the room – stupidity.

Eventually we dug the balls out of the sack and examined them. Before long we were in the kitchen, with the flour, salt and pepper out and oil in a pan. We were daring each other along. Who was man enough to eat, well, another being’s manhood?

With limited exposure to the topic

The gutless method is popular these days with deer and other big game hunters, but it also leaves some of “the gold,” in the MeatEater Steven Rinella’s words, behind – offal and other bits that are edible. (ANDY WALGAMOTT) nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

Northwest Sportsman 117

COLUMN

Hipster venison kidney pie combines chunks of deer kidney, venison sirloin, veggies and puff pastry in a Mason jar. (RANDY KING)

An Easy Entry Into Offal Eating

K

idney pie is an English and Irish staple and this dish is a good jumping-off point for offal cooking. I cheat a little and buy a puff pastry, but otherwise this is a cool-looking and simple dish. I like to bake it in a Mason jar. It gives a lot of the “pie” effect without all the pain of the dough work.

¼ cup red wine 1¾ cup beef broth 1 sprig thyme, rosemary and sage 1 tablespoon mustard Salt and pepper

¼ cup butter 1 deer kidney, soaked and cut into ½-inch cubes 1 pound deer sirloin, cut into ½-inch cubes 1 onion, diced 1 large carrot, diced ¼ cup all-purpose flour

Melt butter over high heat in a large sauce pan. When melted add the kidney and sirloin. Brown the meat then add the onion and carrot. Cook for another two to three minutes until the onion is translucent. Next stir in the flour, red wine, herbs, beef broth and mustard. Cover and simmer on low for

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5 slices of bacon, raw Store-bought puff pastry or biscuit dough

about a hour and a half, or until the meat is fork tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cut five squares out of puff pastry, each about 3x3 inches. Reserve them.

Arrange five small, wide-mouthed Mason jars. Line the inside of each with a slice of bacon. Add the kidney mixture to the jars. Top each jar with a square of puff pastry. Pinch the puff pastry to the sides of the jar. Bake the jars for 30 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden in color. Remove from the oven, let stand about 20 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

For more wild game recipes, see chefrandyking.com. –RK

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COLUMN

Beyond the heart, there are all kinds of overlooked parts of a deer. (RANDY KING)

but not feeling like my data set of one is somehow inadequate, I can report that the testicles of a deer are, honestly, about the size of a man’s. That said, just like I have feared all of my life, they pop right out of the sack with abandon. They have a protective silver skin around them that needs to be removed. After that they become a soft and entirely delicious hunk of meat.

Now, deer nuts are not a meal. But they are one helluva conversation starter at your next cocktail (ha!) party.

Look, I love venison as much as if not a little more than other guys. But every now and then I get tired of steak, chili and tacos. I want something a little oddball. Something offal-ly good tasting.

Something a little nutty – you get the point. Read below and try some weird stuff that came off of your deer. You won’t regret it. Recipes abound for these cuts in the nonhunting world. Just translate them over to the deer – or visit my website for information. Hank Shaw also has a ton of info on the topic of offal.

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Northwest Sportsman 121

COLUMN LET’S START AT the front of the critter and work our way back, shall we?

Cabeza: Skin the head, leaving as much muscle tissue attached as you possibly can. Clean all the hair off of it and then simmer it in beef stock for a few hours.

This will turn into head meat – cabeza at the taco stand. This is a rich and flavorful section of the animal.

Warning! Do not cut the head off and keep the horns, fur and tongue in the animal for days. This is not about eating your way to a euro mount! You have to treat the meat on the skull for what it is – delicious venison, not just stuff you have to cut off to get a skull mount. Google recipes for scrapple, head cheese and cabeza tacos for inspiration.

Tongue: I covered this for elk (Northwest Sportsman, February 2019), but it bears repeating. The first problem is getting the damn thing out. Often the animal is in the stages of rigor mortis and prying the

jaw open is a pain. Instead of accessing the meat from the inside I go through the bottom of the jaw. I make a slit from the furthest forward point of the jaw bone to the back of the throat. Then I reach in and detach the tongue from the back of the throat. I find this a heck of a lot easier than dealing with teeth and prying open the jaw bones.

Throat tenderloins: Most times these are left in the field because on a small deer, it is a very proportionally small amount of meat. On elk, however, it is a decent cut.

The throat tenderloins are actually attached to the esophagus, one of each side of the neck. When you skin the animal, look at the windpipe, then trim out the muscle on either side. It is delish.

Testicles: Why are deer testicles so cheap? Because they are under a buck!

God, I crack myself up. Anywho, deer nuts are almost never eaten, but I am serious that they are good food and conversation.

If you have ever participated in an oyster feed, they should be a ball for you to try.

Liver: Liver and onions are the classic, down home, blue plate, country club bridge players and honky café meal. The organ is disrespected, most times, by being sliced too thin and cooked into a hunk of chalk that’s then ground down between the teeth of the eater.

Loved by some, reviled by others, liver is best the day after harvest, or it should be frozen. Most times I cut it into smaller sections that allow me – and only me – to have a liver meal that the rest of my family does not partake in. Again, do not slice it thin. Treat it like a steak, cook it to medium rare or medium. See the recipe posted on my website, chefrandyking.com.

Heart: With hearts proper trimming is vital. They are a working muscle and as such, need to be cleaned up. With a sharp knife take off the white outer lining that all hearts have. Slide the blade under the white

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Northwest Sportsman 123

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tissue and gently trim it away. Next, follow the contours of the heart itself to figure out how to unroll it. While cutting you will notice seams; follow one and “open” the heart up. Inside the heart will be more connective tissue that needs to be removed. Clean the hearts really well; they will be better for it.

Quick note: The heart will have little tendon-looking segments inside it. These are called heart strings. They can break in time of great strife in life, so yes, you can die of heartbreak.

Caul fat: Next time you gut an animal look for what appears to be a lacey membrane encasing the intestines. This stuff is called caul fat. In French cooking it is often used as a meatloaf wrap.

Steve Rinella uses it for wrapping heart and cooking it over a fire. I find caul fat awesome, as long as it is given enough time to cook. Limp is not bueno.

Kidneys: The joke about kidneys is that you have to, well, soak the piss out of them. This is in fact true. With wild game kidneys the work for something weird is totally worth it. A magazine article I read called them liver squared.

I soak them in saltwater for several days before I make something with them.

My favorite so far has been an old-school kidney pie from England. Kidneys are definitely not something I would buy at a store, so having free access to a small version seems like a once-a-year tradition I can get behind.

Shanks: One item that’s easy to make shine is shank meat. It’s essentially the calf and forearm of an animal. In the fancy restaurants of my past I served lamb shanks in the winter like hotcakes – charging upwards of $40 a plate for them as well. When I start thinking back to all the shank meat on deer and elk I’ve killed I shake my head, as most of it went through the grinder and came out burger.

A true shame.

Shank meat is ungodly tough, given all the connective tissue, but that same tissue, if cooked long enough, melts into the most buttery and luscious sauce. What happens is that the naturally occurring gelatin breaks down and incorporates into the cooking liquid. But this takes time, as shanks are slow food. Mmm, tasty slow food. NS

Since 1929

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FISHING

Try This Fall Trifecta Don’t put away that rod for the year quite yet – there’s more to catch in Pugetropolis: fresh-stocked trout, blackmouth, chums.

By Mark Yuasa

T

he holidays are coming up faster than a hooked rainbow trout charging to the surface, and there’s still ample fishing time that offers something for just about every type of angler.

Trout, chum and winter resident Chinook are my top choices and the

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has been busy strategizing ways to boost fall and winter prospects.

“We’re trying out a couple of pilot programs, which allowed us to be creative on how we structure trout fisheries in our region, and we’ve kept intact a couple others that have been successful,” says Justin Spinelli,

a trout biologist in Mill Creek.

Changes to fish production in a few Puget Sound region hatcheries created more space that allowed state staffers to raise trout to catchable size (8 to 11 inches) this past summer.

“During this winter pilot trout fishing program, we plan to monitor and conduct creel surveys so we can get an idea on participation and

Washington fishing managers are making a concerted effort to boost fall opportunities. In a new program this season will they will stock 27,000 rainbows in Westside lakes near urban areas. Xander Yarnold hooked this one last autumn while fishing with his grandpa Jim Gilbertson. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

Northwest Sportsman 127

FISHING success,” Spinelli says. “Keeping fish in hatcheries longer was expensive. so we need to make sure for budget purposes that it’s worth our effort to provide this special opportunity.”

In all, 27,000 trout are expected to be planted in 12 lakes along the I-5 corridor from Whatcom County down through King County and will offer some decent winter fishing.

“I’m really excited to offer these fisheries and hopefully it leads to getting more people into the sport,” he says. “We’re trying this out in urban-centered areas. We know a

lot of people in the cities may be interested in getting outside and going fishing. This allows them to access nearby lakes, and it’s not too complicated and doesn’t require a whole bunch of gear.”

Two popular local lakes where winter trout fishing opportunities will remain status quo are Beaver near Issaquah and Goodwin in Snohomish County.

Beaver received a plant of 1,250 trout averaging a plump 2 pounds apiece in late October and will get another 1,250 right before

Thanksgiving. Goodwin will also get a plant of 5,000 trout in December.

Here is a county-by-county breakdown on expected plants (angler should note most lakes are year-round and two have seasonal dates): King County: Green, 3,600; Steel, 1,600 (open Nov. 1-Jan. 5 only); and Fivemile, 1,200. Snohomish County: Gissburg Ponds, 2,000; Tye, 2,000; Silver, 2,000; and Ballinger, 1,600. Skagit County: Clear, 1,500; and Cranberry, 1,750.

Whatcom County: Padden, 1,750 (open Nov. 1-Jan. 5 only).

“Some of these lakes we plant

LOTS MORE LAKES TO BE STOCKED

T

Seattle’s Green is among the dozen waters in or close to urban areas that will see trout releases, with 3,600 expected at the popular lake ringed by a walking trail and with plenty of shoreside access. (WDFW) 128 Northwest Sportsman

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he Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will be offering a trout fishing alternative to dealing with the stress of the holidays on the day after Thanksgiving.

“There are still plenty of opportunities and many lakes across the state will be/have been getting stocked with trout,” says Steve Caromile, the state Inland Fish Program manager in Olympia.

The annual stocking program – which has been deemed a success by anglers and known as an alternative to madness of the Black Friday shopping spree – will include thousands of large trout averaging 1 to 1.3 pounds apiece being planted into more than a dozen Southwest Washington lakes.

They include: Clark County: Klineline, 2,000; and Battle Ground, 2,000. Cowlitz County: Kress, 2,000.

Klickitat County: Rowland, 2,000. Lewis County: Fort Borst Park Pond, 2,000; and South Lewis County Park Pond, 2,000. Pierce County: American, 2,000; and Tanwax, 1,000. Thurston County: Black, 1,000; Ward, 300; Long, 1,000; and Offutt, 1,000.

That’s on top of the millions of fry-size trout WDFW stocked in lakes this past spring, many of which will have grown to catchable size, in time for the Black Friday opener (Nov. 29 through March 31).

Eastside lakes include Hatch, 10,000, and Williams, 12,000, in Stevens County; Fourth of July, 80,000, on the Lincoln/Adams County line; and Hog Canyon, 20,000, in Spokane County. Also stocked with 2,000 trout averaging 1.2 pounds apiece is Elton Pond in Yakima County, which is open from Nov. 29 through March 31.

Be sure to check WDFW’s website for additional lakes open year-round, which are expected to be planted for late fall and winter trout fishing opportunities.

For weekly trout stocking report, go to wdfw.wa.gov/ fishing/plants/weekly/. –MY

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Northwest Sportsman 129

FISHING with trout will have fish biting for quite a while,” Spinelli says. “I’m thrilled to see how things go with this new program, and hope we can demonstrate that this can be a stimulus for our trout fisheries at a time when choices of fishing activities are much slimmer.”

CHINOOK OPTIONS Despite cutbacks in 2019-20 salmon fishing opportunities there are still viable options that’ll keep anglers busy with a fair chance of hooking a hatchery winter Chinook.

Three marine playgrounds where you’ll be able to target hatchery kings include central Puget Sound (Marine Area 10, catch-and-release only) through Nov. 15; Hood Canal (Area 12) through April 30; and southern Puget Sound (Area 13) open year-round.

In central Puget Sound the

Blackmouth opportunities are more constrained this fall than past years, with retention limited to Deep South Sound and Hood Canal until New Year, when Seattle and Tacoma fisheries open. Author Mark Yuasa’s son Tegan shows off a brace caught with guide Justin Wong. (MARK YUASA) 130 Northwest Sportsman

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popular places are Jefferson Head, Point Monroe, President Point, West Point south of Shilshole Bay, Meadow Point, Allen Bank off Blake Island and Southworth. In Hood Canal head to Oak Head, Misery Point and Hazel Point.

In southern Puget Sound look for Chinook off Gibson Point, Point Evans, Anderson Island, Hale Passage and Johnson Point.

There are many ways to catch hatchery Chinook and everyone has their favorite method, whether it’s trolling with downriggers, drift or motor mooching with bait or jigging with metal-style jigs.

Once anglers get dialed in they’ll usually stick with that choice. But there are times when switching gears could mean the difference between coming home with fish or not.

Mooching, an old-school method that in Puget Sound dates back to the 1930s, consists of an angler working his bait up and down the entire water column.

“I’ve always enjoyed mooching for salmon and it really is a fun and effective way to catch fish,” says Justin Wong, owner of Cut-Plug Charters (seattlesalmonfishing.com) in Seattle and who is one of the few Puget Sound charters to mooch for salmon.

Mooching gear consists of a 3- to 5-ounce banana weight tied to a 6to 8-foot leader with tandem hooks and a cut-plug or whole herring on a medium, moderate- to fast-action 8to 10½-foot rod with a levelwind reel.

Anglers who mooch will constantly move their bait by dropping it to the bottom and reeling up with an occasional pause. The key is knowing when you’re getting a “bite” and when to reel hard and set the hook. Often it’s a simple tap-tap vibration on the tip of your rod or your line going slack on the drop or a very hard takedown.

Jigging is another choice. Anglers use a weighted metal lure and, just like mooching, you let it down to a preferred depth and then repeatedly raise the rod tip up and let it back

Herring and candlefish are key forage stocks for resident Chinook throughout Puget Sound in winter, but note that Area 13 is also the epicenter of the inland sea’s burgeoning anchovy population.

(YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

down. It may sound simple but there are keys to success as well.

The rods used for jigging are much different. Look for a shorter one (7 to 7½ feet) with a stiff butt section, along with a fast-tapered sensitive tip. Don’t use monofilament as your mainline because it has too much stretch compared to braided line.

Proven jigs include Point Wilson Darts, Crippled Herring and Buzz Bombs. Be sure to take off the treble and switch to tandem siwash barbless hooks tied close together.

When jigging lift the rod tip up about 4 feet and let it fall back down.

This motion allows the jig to flutter up and down, resembling a crippled bait. Some anglers prefer to jig with a quick motion, while others will slowly lift the rod tip up and down.

Many prefer trolling with downriggers and it does have advantages over mooching and jigging since you can cover more ground, especially when fish or baitfish schools are sparse in the winter.

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FISHING Angling for chums comes into its own in mid- to late fall in Hood Canal and South Sound saltwaters and feeder streams.

Kayak angler Brad Hole shows off a toothsome dog from last season.

(KAYAKFISHINGWASHINGTON.COM)

Downriggers also allow anglers to set their gear at preferred depths and those using multiple rods will set each ’rigger at different levels in the water column to see where the fish are congregating and biting.

Trollers use flashers or dodgers trailed by a variety of lures including spoons, plugs and hoochies (plastic squids) made by companies like Silver Horde, Tomic, Gibbs, Gold Star, 132 Northwest Sportsman

NOVEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

Coyote, Hot Spot and Yakima Bait.

Whatever technique you choose be sure to follow some key guidelines to make your winter salmon fishing experience a success.

By far the most essential pointer is locating schools of herring and candlefish, since winter resident Chinook are constantly looking for their next meal. Once you find schools of baitfish be sure stay on top

of them as long as you can.

Winter Chinook also tend to hunker right off the bottom, so keep your bait or lure right in their face.

Staying near the surface or midwater column depths like you do for migratory summer Chinook reduces your chances of hooking a fish, although every so often you’ll find a fish traveling there as well.

Tidal movement and being at the

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FISHING right place during a flood or ebb tide is another time to focus on when you should fish. That means if a fish bit at a certain time of the day, it’s a signal for you to follow the same pattern the next day but only an hour later.

Unlike fishing for summer kings, when the crack of dawn is best, often a midafternoon low or flood tide change can be the most active time in winter.

CHUMS TOO Another salmon that has anglers barking with excitement is a fairly decent run of dog salmon, so named for their toothy jaws.

Chums, as they’re also known, are one of the year’s last migrating salmon stocks to return to local waters, usually from late October through December.

The fall Puget Sound/Hood Canal chum forecast is 909,600, which is down from the 10-year average of well over 1 million fish.

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The good news is that Hood Canal is expecting a decent return of 518,600 and that should sit well with anglers who fish the marine waters that stretch along Highway 101.

Chum fishing appeals to a wide range of anglers since it doesn’t take expensive or fancy fishing gear, nor a boat. Some of the best action happens close to the shoreline – the main migration path of chums – where they stage before moving into spawning areas like the Hoodsport Hatchery.

Other good nearshore areas are Eagle Creek south of Potlatch State Park and the expansive public beaches off Highway 101 from Eldon to Hoodsport.

In deep southern Puget Sound look for chum at Kennedy Creek estuary in Totten Inlet and Johns Creek estuary in Oakland Bay. As for gear, one of the more proven tactics is simply casting a lime green or chartreuse Corky and yarn

(add scent to the yarn) with a 3/0 hook. A float or bobber with a small firecracker-sized cut-plug herring on a weighted leader with a tandem 2/0 or 3/0-size salmon hook will catch its fair share of fish.

Fly anglers should use a 9- to 12-weight with floating line and a strike indicator attached to a heavy weighted chartreuse, pink or purple marabou or Zonker fly. You can also catch them using a sinking tip with a purple or pink Egg-sucking Leech. Others will try shrimp, Clouser, popper and Flash Fly patterns in pink, chartreuse, fuchsia, lime green or purple.

GET OUT THERE! Sitting in front of the fireplace, eating too much at holiday gatherings or hitting the shopping mall in search of gifts may be on your agenda these days, but be sure to head out and catch a fish too! There’s a trifecta of options to try out. NS

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Northwest Sportsman 135

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COLUMN

Gearing Up For Winter Steelhead 101 W

hile there are a few exceptions, winter steelhead don’t really start returning to coastal, Lower CoBUZZ lumbia and Puget RAMSEY Sound rivers until late December or January. It’s not like the old days, when early-returning hatchery fish made Thanksgiving the season kickoff nearly regionwide.

What has caused the change is the development of broodstock programs, where the hatchery stock is derived from wild fish whose timing mimics that of natives, or where managers have decided to let indigenous fish supply only catch-andrelease fishing opportunity, or litigation. It would be worth your time to contact the local fish and wildlife office and ask about run timing for whichever river you’ve set your sights on. Some rivers, like Oregon’s Sandy and Washington’s Skykomish, host runs that can offer hot action starting in December – and even earlier in the case of the Olympic Peninsula’s Bogachiel.

IF YOU’RE NEW to the sport of winter steelheading, realize that the cold weather and sometimes frigid rivers – along with frozen hands and feet – are a big part of what makes this sport the challenge many crave. After all, winter steelhead are regarded as the most difficult of fish to catch. For many, the most compelling attraction is the fish themselves, which includes their enormous size – compared to most rainbow trout, at any rate – immense beauty, and what sometimes seems like never-ending fighting ability.

Also enticing, at least for some, is the stunning winter scenery. The sights that will suddenly capture your attention can

It might seem a bit early these days to start talking about winter steelhead, given how opportunities have shifted later than when they once began, but if you’re new to the sport, author Buzz Ramsey says now’s time to gear up. (BUZZ RAMSEY) nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

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COLUMN

One of your first choices will be to choose a type of rod and reel. Yes, many steelheaders carry multiple setups these days, but for beginners it’s a good idea to pick either a baitcasting/ levelwind or spinning combo. Your decision should be based on the types of fishing you’ll be doing. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

be truly remarkable, say, watching a water ouzel, a small bird that can walk and fly underwater, attempt to snatch something to eat from the river bottom, observing a pair of late-returning salmon digging a redd in a shallow riffle – or flocks of bald eagles ripping the carcasses of spawnedout coho and chums apart. These sights and more can highlight the meaning of nature and renewal.

In preparation for this winter sport, you will need the proper attire. To protect yourself from the elements dress warm by layering your clothing, starting with thermal underwear or one of the newly designed fabrics, like Under Armor, designed to wick away moisture. This same concept will keep your feet warm. Taking along an insulated jacket is a good idea too.

A pair of chest-high waders or hip boots, of the insulated variety, is essential if you plan to fish from shore. And don’t forget to purchase a quality raincoat; waist length (short) if your outdoor wardrobe includes waders or rain pants over hip or knee-high boots, three-quarter length (long) if you plan to wear only hip boots.

Your raincoat should include a hood. If a hood feels too confining, buy a quality hat that will shed water.

CHOOSING BETWEEN A spinning or level“Many anglers prefer a baitcaster for drift and bobber-doggin’ fishing methods,” writes Ramsey.

“Likewise, most anglers fishing from boats prefer levelwind reels for plugging and diver-bait methods.”

While he prefers braid for his mainline, fluorocarbon should be used for leader material. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

“Spinning outfits have gained a huge following among anglers employing side-drifting and float fishing methods, where light test line is often used,” advises the author. (BUZZ RAMSEY) 142 Northwest Sportsman

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wind/baitcasting reel will be your first tackle choice. Many anglers prefer a baitcaster for drift and bobber-doggin’ fishing methods. Likewise, most anglers fishing from boats prefer levelwind reels for plugging and diver-bait methods. Spinning outfits have gained a huge following among anglers employing side-drifting and float fishing methods, where light test line is often used.

Understand that learning to successfully cast a levelwind reel will take some practice. The secret is to make a wide sweep of your rod tip, one that will gradually increase the speed of the reel spool, allowing you to maintain better control of the line as it goes out. In addition, you will need to stop the line (with your thumb) from leaving the reel the instant your rigging hits the water. Otherwise it’s backlash city, which will cut into your fishing time.

And while round reels, like an Abu Gar-

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COLUMN One of the best ways to speed your winter steelheading learning curve is to book a trip with a guide, like Chris Sessions (right). But even if you’re an old hand at the fishery, like The Columbian outdoor reporter Terry Otto (left), it never hurts to brush up on your skills as new tactics and techniques come into play. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

cia Ambassadeur 5500 are still used, most anglers now favor low-profile levelwinds, like Abu Garcia’s Revo, these days. Both of the above baitcast-style reels are available in right- or left-hand-retrieve versions.

If your preference is to use a spinning reel, my advice would be to choose one with a quality drag that will hold at least 140 yards of 10- to 12-pound-test monofilament line. Depending on the manufacturer, this might be a size 30 or 35 reel.

The most cutting-edge spinning reel on the market is the Abu Garcia Revo Rocket which features a carbon matrix drag system, where the drag washers are cut from sheet graphite, making the drag ultrasmooth regardless of the setting. The big advantage of this reel, besides the premium drag system, is that the Rocket features a 7:1 retrieve speed, where one turn of the handle on the 35 size will recover 44 inches of line, which should keep up with fast-moving steelhead – even a big one.

ONCE YOU’VE SELECTED your reel style, it’s time to choose a fishing rod. Spinning rods have larger line guides than those designed for baitcast reels, which has to do with the way the line comes off the reel spool. And besides their smaller line guides, rods designed for levelwinds often feature triggers on their reel seats, which offer superior rod control when casting or setting the hook.

The popularity of some fishing methods has changed fishing rod preferences.

For example, 9- to 10-foot spinning rods rated for 6- to 10-pound test are what is mostly used when employing methods like side-drifting or bobber-and-jig. My favorite for this is the 9-foot-9 ML (medium-light) Berkley Air Rod I helped design.

And while both spinning and baitcasting outfits are popular for bobber doggin’, most anglers prefer slightly heavier rod actions for this method, something in the 9- to 10-foot range and rated for 8-12- or 8-14-pound test. Even drift fishers have switched away from the classic 8-foot-6 rods to those at least 9 feet in length. You should realize, though, that the classic 8-foot-6 medium (M) and medium-heavy (MH) rod lengths work great for casting

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Northwest Sportsman 145

spinners, when tackling small stream steelhead, or for walleye trolling (imagine that!).

In general, line test should range from 8- to 12-pound test for spinning and 12- to 20-pound test for baitcasting reels. Limper lines, like Berkley Trilene XL or Stren, perform best on spinning reels, while stiffer lines, like Big Game or Trilene XT, are more popular for baitcasting reels. Fluorocarbon, due to it being less visible to fish and stiffer than mono (fluoro’s stiffness forces swivels to work), is what many anglers (including me) use as leader material.

While mono will likely fill most of your steelheading needs, you should realize that the characteristics of super line might serve you well for some applications. The advantage of super lines, of course, is that they are much thinner than mono of the same pound test, they last longer, are generally more durable, float better, and their lack of stretch means you can feel a lot more of what’s happening on the end of your line.

I use super lines exclusively for Chinook, but only (like Berkley Braid) on a few of my steelhead rods. The most notable are my drift, float and bobber doggin’ outfits. For drift fishing it’s because I want to feel what’s going on, and for float and bobber doggin’ it’s because super lines, being buoyant, stay on the water’s surface better compared to mono, especially when treated with fly-line dressing.

If you try super lines, realize that it’s important to step up a couple of pound test sizes over the mono you might otherwise use. Doing this will still give you a diameter advantage over mono. For example, where I might use 10- or 12-pound-test mono for side drifting, with braid I’d go with 20- to 30-pound test, which is still thinner than the lighter test mono. The reason is that super lines offer no forgiving stretch and mostly break at what the label says. As you might know, all mono lines stretch 20 to 30 percent when wet and their actual breaking strength is often much more than what the label suggests, up to a third depending on the pound test and brand. NS Editor’s note: The author is a brand manager and part of the management team at Yakima Bait. Like Buzz on Facebook.

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FISHING

The Fuel Of Anticipation

After the end of the summer run and before the arrival of winter fish, daydreaming of dropping rivers, bites and bright beauties to come power Sara through late fall.

By Sara Ichtertz

W

e all have dreams. Ones we have in the night. Ones that may have a bit of our subconscious thoughts intertwined with the make-believe craziness that we can’t control. Then there are daydreams. I find I am fonder of daydreams. It seems as though the weather very much dictates

my daydreams and as these cold, heaviest of fall rains that I can ever remember dump from the sky, I find myself comfortably numb in this particular daydream.

My heart can’t help but think of a winter’s river and the glory that comes along with her when she turns to drop. As those coastal rivers rise, I envision the beautiful push of fish that will come. Oh, how I just can’t wait to

A cool start to fall in the Northwest and the beginning of the season’s rains has Sara Icthertz looking forward to connecting with winter steelhead on Southern Oregon’s rivers. (SARA ICHTERTZ) nwsportsmanmag.com | NOVEMBER 2019

Northwest Sportsman 149

FISHING

Ichtertz, a dedicated drift fisherwoman, has learned to use other techniques to better match the ever-changing water conditions of coastal streams. (SARA ICHTERTZ)

see her drop into perfect drifting order!

It gets my heart just a’pumping!

As the runs swim by faster each year, I realize it isn’t just the drop I adore. Once fish have pushed up into the river systems the pursuit is endless, even when she’s barely a trickle. Different stages of the river during winter steelhead season allow for many methods to be applied depending on the water, which allows for growth in an angler at any level of their fishing career.

Nothing else but my sheer love of connecting with these incredible winter fish made me see how important it is to switch up my methods as the river continues to drop and possibly even bottom out. I can get the very most out of my river hunting as she continues to drop if I am able to step away from my drifting rod. Yes, there is a time to drift. But also a time to run a bobber and eggs (or a sand shrimp). A time to run a fixed float with a bead. There is a 150 Northwest Sportsman

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time and a place for everything, in life and in hunting for steelhead.

I BELIEVE FISH could be coming early to my Southern Oregon slice of heaven this season. Mother Nature’s behavior is what I find myself paying more attention to regarding the runs anymore. And I see signs everywhere that our winter beauties aren’t far off.

Yes, our calendars give us dates. In the beginning of my river hunting, those dates along with river levels helped me understand and learn how to figure out and hunt those most intriguing coastal waters. But if I think about it, there are signs all around me that differ year to year and have nothing to do with the date and everything to do with Mother Nature and her actions.

What is she doing? Take notice.

When temperatures match the desires of winter fish, and once we have had a few winterlike rains or storms and

the water comes into shape, I think it is worth taking a gander at the river when she drops. There is a rhyme to their desires and when I am seeing signs of them, no matter the date, I say fish it! Having the gut feeling and being able to get after it, that is where it is at. Some people will never know what that feels like, but I hope you do. Thankfully I do too!

There is something beautiful about anticipation, but there is something even more glorious about seeing it through. If you want something, you get out there, believe in yourself, and do it! Over and over, without ever giving up. Nothing helped me feel those words ring true more so than deciding to chase winter steelhead.

I believe if we don’t test the waters, both on the river and in our hearts, by answering the what-ifs, no matter what the outcome may be, we aren’t truly living our best life.

We should explore the unknown.

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Angler and hunters alike are tuning their tools and preparing for the year’s harvest. Some fall salmon rivers are wrapping up while other laterun rivers are just getting going! Southwest Washington area rivers are now beginning to get the larger northern “hooknose” silvers, which can average in the midteen size range and even reach the 20-pound mark on rare occasions.

Early component winter steelhead runs also traditionally begin in rivers like the Skykomish near Monroe, Washington. Typically, the third week of November will see the Sky as well as other Western Washington rivers get going on these early hatchery fish. If that’s not enough, waterfowl hunters look forward to the first heavy rains and cold air of November to supercharge migrating duck populations to head toward south past their waiting blinds.

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FISHING Dreams, ambitions, anticipations, steelheading, love, life. They very much are worth it. What you put into it is ultimately what you get out of it. Remember that. No matter the heartache, the challenge, the pain (the fish most certainly will bring them all!), if it truly brings you joy found no place else, then it is worth it.

I have learned that anything that comes too easily is rarely ever worth it. The things that are, however, are not easy. They still challenge us, even once we think we are getting there!

It’s amazing, though, how when it is worth it, all that energy and love we give flows naturally and we are rewarded by the pursuit in this one-

of-a-kind way. These fish have lit my fire in the cold of winter for years and without a doubt are worth giving that little extra effort to. I know paying attention to those little details matter.

But to become a master at anything in life, I am also quite certain that paying attention matters less than deciding you truly want something and will accept nothing less than success.

THE ANTICIPATION OF it all, both in life and on the river, helps me. Yes, it’s true I have no clue whether I shall spank the day, or the day shall spank me. Just like the fish.

The one thing I do know is if I do not feed the wonder of it all, that

“No matter the heartache, the challenge, the pain (the fish most certainly will bring them all!), if it truly brings you joy found no place else, then it is worth it,” writes the author, here immediately after releasing a nice wild steelhead. (SARA ICHTERTZ) 152 Northwest Sportsman

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anticipation goes to waste and the answer is always no. We will find that our river of life begins to feel much like a dammed-up, stagnant stream.

The what-ifs in life are beautiful things to me when I answer them.

Life is as we see it. Those what-ifs can scare you, but if you let that fear overcome you, then you are at the end, while if you face the fears, it is simply the beginning. There is great power to be found in that. My heart is on the river and I couldn’t change it, even if I tried. NS Editor’s note: For more on Sara’s adventures, see For The Love Of The Tug on Facebook.

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COLUMN

Xmas Ideas For Kayak Anglers, Good And Bad T

was the month before Christmas and despite rain and mist, Not a thing had been THE KAYAK GUYS purchased for lack of a Kayak Guys

By Mark Veary list.

The kayaks were hung from the rafters so high, In hopes that our loved ones would know what to buy.

Hints dropped overtly and wishes unheard Left Santa perplexed but by no means deterred.

When what should be found on the counter or bed, But this wish list left open to the Kayak Guys spread ...

If you’re reading this article, there’s a fair chance that it’s been provided to you, either directly or indirectly, by your favorite kayak angler. Now it’s up to you to decide if their behavior throughout the year rates them a place on the Naughty list or on the Nice list. Regardless, you’re likely to find something here that will let them know just how much they mean to you.

As you peruse the following suggestions, you’ll notice that some items are called out by brand and model name, while others simply refer to a product type. Specified brands/models have been

identified because they are either, in the author’s opinion, far superior to like products on the market or simply the only widely available product of their type. For each item on the list, space has also been provided to identify specifics that are important to the recipient.

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Housings that allow a camera to simultaneously record above and below the water’s surface are among many gift ideas for those with kayak anglers on their holiday shopping list. (MARK VEARY)

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COLUMN to 3 feet and can be used on the water for everything from patching a broken buckle to securing a 20-pound salmon.

A valuable stocking stuffer, even for naughty members of the Tupperware fleet, would be reusable rubber ties (above), which can be used to hold your catch (below) and much more. (NITE IZE)

Boomerang Snip Line Cutters ($8.99) Note:__________________________ This is a product that has withstood the test of time. With its integrated, retractable tether, locking jaws and large actuators, the Boomerang is the ultimate line-snipping tool.

✓ ❑

Author Mark Veary says Boomerang Snip Line Cutters have “withstood the test of time” on his kayak. (BOOMERANG)

Paddle Gloves ($10 to $20) Note:__________________________ You’ll find paddle gloves in a number of styles for everything from improving and cushioning your grip on a paddle to keeping hands warm on cold days or protected from ultraviolet rays on sunny days.

✓ ❑

Waterproof Phone Case ($10-$25) Note:__________________________ Phones can be an important tool on the water, whether they’re used for checking in with loved ones, getting weather updates or logging your catch.

Most phone cases allow interaction with touch screens and are cheap insurance against loss or water damage.

✓ ❑

Gerber Neat Freak Saltwater Fishing Scissors ($24.99) Note:__________________________ Scissors are an indispensible tool on the water, so why not carry a precision pair that’s saltwater resistant, tight enough to cleanly cut braid and powerful enough to cut bait or gut a rockfish?

✓ ❑

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Northwest Sportsman 157

COLUMN Gerber Defender Tether ($24.99) Note:__________________________ If you’re going to carry a “forever” pair of scissors, it only makes sense to secure them with an equally well-designed retractable tether that allows you to lock the tether at any length.

50/50 Camera Housing ($35-$60) Note:__________________________ Fifty-fifty housings allow you to catch the action above and below water at the same time. For those who enjoy making fishing videos, a 50/50 housing provides a truly unique perspective.

✓ ❑

✓ ❑

Gerber Crossriver Saltwater Safety Knife ($34.99) Note:__________________________ You never want to have to draw your safety knife but if you do, you’ll want a knife that can be easily indexed. What makes this knife different is the trigger release that lets you know exactly where your cutting edge is without looking.

Action Camera Boom ($30-$100) Note:__________________________ There are a lot of action cameras that never get used, for lack of a viable mount. Action camera booms are the ultimate hands-free selfie stick that allow you to choose the vantage point from which to relive your victories.

✓ ❑

MOSTLY NAUGHTY Lithium Battery Charger ($30-$50) Note:__________________________ As anglers upgrade from lead acid to the much lighter lithium-ion batteries, they often neglect to upgrade their chargers as well. Given the specific charging needs of lithium cells, using a standard charger will only yield 70 percent of the battery’s potential.

✓ ❑

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✓ ❑

ACR Firefly Emergency Distress Strobe ($69.99) Note:__________________________ The ACR Firefly is a personal distress strobe, worn on your PFD. Its high-intensity flash ensures that, should the worst occur, you’ll be visible to passing boats and helicopters up to 3 miles away.

✓ ❑

MOSTLY NICE Gerber Magnipliers ($69.99 freshwater or $89.99 saltwater) Note:________________________ There are a lot of pliers on the market today. All of them eventually suffer from either corrosion or loss of calibration.

The Gerber Magnipliers solve both of these issues with their superior corrosion resistance and adjustable or replaceable components. These are the only pliers I’ve found that will consistently grip a hook anywhere in their jaws and still cut thin braided lines.

✓ ❑

Lighted Safety Flag ($40-$100) Note:__________________________ For offshore fishing or trolling in a crowd, a high-visibility safety flag is a must. With the addition of a 360-degree white light at the top of the pole, these accessories keep you safe during predawn paddle outs and postsunset returns.

✓ ❑

Dakota 10AH LifeP0 battery ($99.99) Note:__________________________ In recent years, several companies have released 12-volt lithium-ion

✓ ❑

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Northwest Sportsman 159

COLUMN batteries, but few have done so using LiFePo technology with active BMS monitoring for increased performance and longer life. At half the weight and nearly twice the charge of most lead acid batteries, this is a gift that will be cherished for years.

Storage Crate ($40-$170) Note:__________________________ Kayak crates have come a long way.

The OG milk crate with PVC rod tubes is still a functional choice but there are now hard- and soft-sided options with a myriad of gear and tackle storage accessories.

✓ ❑

options and battery life.

Wheeleez Beach Cart ($210-$280) Note:__________________________ There are a lot of kayak carts on the market today but for sandy beach launches, the original Wheeleez Beach cart, with its oversize balloon tires, stands alone.

They are truly the only cart that rolls across soft sand rather than dragging through it.

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But you’ll hear me exclaim as I float out of sight, Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night! NS

✓ ❑

NIIIICE! Action Camera ($100-$600) Note:__________________________ GoPro is still the leader in this market segment with a number of options for pricepoint and features. That said, old-guard electronics and camera manufacturers such as Sony, Nikon and Olympus have recently entered the market, expanding your choices of form factor, image quality and feature sets. Two very important things to keep in mind when selecting an action camera are mounting

Garmin Striker Fishfinder ($100-$600) Note:__________________________ The Garmin Striker family of products feature units with screen sizes from 4 to 9 inches. All come standard with push buttons instead of touch screens, Chirp Sonar and Quick Draw map creation.

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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: Oct. 17, 2019. 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: 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Contact Person: John Rusnak. Telephone: 206-382-9220. 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher: 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. 9. Full names and complete addresses of publisher, editor, and managing editor: Publisher: James Baker, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Editor: Andy Walgamott, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Managing editor: None. 10.

Owner: James Baker, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. 11. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities. If none, check box: none.

12. Tax status: Has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13.

Publication title: Northtwest Sportsman. 14. Issue date for circulation data below: April 2019. 15. Extent and nature of circulation: a.Total number of copies: 73848. b. Paid circulation (by mail and outside the mail). (1) Mailed ouside-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies): 3786. (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: 40427.

(4) Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS (e.g. first-class mail): 3272. c. Total paid distribution: 47485. d.

Free or nominal rate distribution (by mail and outside the mail). (1) Free or nominal rate outside-county copies included on PS Form 3360: 3480. (2) Free or nominal rate in-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 0. (3) Free or nominal rate copies mailed at other classes through the USPS (e.g. first-class mail): 597. (4) Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail (carriers or other means): 3014. e. Total free or nominal rate distribution: 6971. f.

Total distribution: 54456. g. Copies not distributed: 19392. h. Total: 73848. i. Percent paid: 87.19% 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, General Manager.

Date: Oct. 17, 2019. I verify all the information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or sanctions (including civil penalties).

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BACK PAGE continued from page 166

discovered on previous fishing trips.

MUCH HAS CHANGED with modern electronics. In the old days, one followed a magnetic compass when visibility was limited. Locating a submerged reef was nearly impossible.

If you knew your speed, one could time the travel and get back to a location.

Then there was land-based radio signals called Loran. This made a world of difference if you were close enough to shore to take advantage of crossed radio signals. Receiving signals from three land-based sources could lock in your location to a few hundred yards.

Now with satellite technology, we have the Global Positioning System, or GPS. Worldwide, your electronics can pick up multiple satellite signals and lock in your position to an area as small as 3 feet. Once over a reef, I can look at my sonar and determine if there are any fish available. I have read scientific reports that rockfish remain in limited habitat. Practical experience is just the opposite. One can find rockfish at one location one day and they are gone the next. It just depends on what food sources are available. So we travel from waypoint to waypoint, watching the sonar until we locate fish.

On this particular trip, I eventually spotted fish on the sonar and we stopped the boat and dropped the lines. When it is good out there, it is really good. The rockfish available could be black, blue, copper or vermilion sea bass, plus there’s always a host of other less common but very edible fish to catch. We fished until we had our limits.

Then we transitioned over to lingcod tackle and moved to deeper water. Right away, I picked up a large lingcod that would probably go 30 pounds. Lings have a very large mouth for their size and a row of very sharp teeth. The teeth on this fish were about half an inch long and needle sharp. You must be careful with lings: Once you get them on board, they 164 Northwest Sportsman

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often remain stationary on the floor of the boat with their mouth open.

The appeal is to go ahead and reach in there to unhook your lure.

Watch out, though: As the hand goes in, the jaws snap shut, and the fish thrashes about. By the time you retrieve your hand, it hurts and now it is your blood on the deck. I can attest to this from experience. No one makes the mistake more than once.

IN TIME WE had enough fish and made an uneventful but pleasant trip back to the dock. We pulled up to the ramp, got the boat on the trailer and took the fish to the fish-cleaning station. My friend Robert, who cleans fish for a living, and several other anglers were there cleaning fish too.

We promptly opened a few cans of beer, sharpened the fillet knives and started on the fish.

When I was ready for my lingcod, I heard a sound from across the parking lot. It was a woman with dark hair and a booming voice. The voice not only was loud but carried an accent that I did not recognize. She made my drill sergeant in boot camp sound like a weakling.

I could see she was shouting orders to a rather meek-looking male companion who I assumed was her husband. If it was her husband, compatibility could only be achieved if he was deaf. Apparently, they were walking about the parking lot looking at the boats and the people. Her every comment could be heard like a bullhorn at a prayer vigil.

Eventually, he wandered off toward the ramp. She walked straight to the cleaning station. All the men saw her coming and were dead silent when she approached. We were already privy to every word she had uttered for the last few minutes from clear across the parking lot.

Wouldn’t you know it but she came over and stood right beside me.

I had just retrieved the big ling out of the ice chest and she looked at the fish with amazement.

“What is that?” she asked.

I responded in my own loud voice so all could hear, “Lady, that is a saber-toothed salmon!”

She immediately boomed, “Harry!

Get over here, this guy has a sabertoothed salmon!”

The guys at the cleaning station turned around to hide their facial expressions as they nearly lost it. Down at the other end I thought Robert was going to die from laughter. Fortunately, he was far enough away that she did not catch on to him. He was trying to hold it in but just could not help himself while I was trying to look serious.

Meanwhile, the woman’s resounding voice had literally stopped traffic at the ramp and Harry was hurrying over at his wife’s command.

You would have thought Archie Bunker had a sister. I looked up only to see everyone in the parking lot looking back at me.

“A what?” they seemed to be asking.

To carry on the ruse, I pointed to the big teeth and told her this was a rare and dangerous fish. I held it up next to her and she yelled again at a few decibels above my comfort zone, “Harry! Take my phone and get a picture of me with this saber-toothed salmon!”

By now we were the only people at the cleaning station, as the others had stepped away to conceal their laughter.

After the photo session, the couple wandered off. Her location could be determined by simply listening for a moment and you would hear her somewhere among the facilities. Every time we heard her voice, we’d break into laughter again over my sabertoothed salmon. Some of the guys, especially Robert, on subsequent occasions have asked me if I’ve caught any more saber-toothed salmon.

“Indeed, I have,” I say with a laugh, but the reception at the dock has never been what it was that first time the new species was introduced to Charleston. That was a memorable day and good for many more laughs to come. Who would have thought a fish would be my only catch? NS

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BACK PAGE

The Oregon Coast’s First (And Last) Saber-Toothed Salmon I

By Jim Pex

t was one of those beautiful days on the ocean. The tide was incoming and we crossed the Coos Bay bar without incident. That means no one was scared, threw up or had white knuckles hanging onto the seats.

The waves were ROUGH DAYS out of the AT SEA n o r t h w e s t at a couple of feet and there was a slight breeze, just an all-around decent day to go fishing.

I made 20 knots running between the crab pot floats south of Baltimore Reef and on toward Simpson’s Reef.

Besides the sea lions, the reef is interesting in that the water is almost always rough. That is because you get rebound waves off the rocks. I have never seen this anywhere else.

Incoming waves hit the rocks, bounce off and head back west, pushing against the oncoming waves. This makes all the waves stand up a little taller.

No matter, the sky was blue, the waves were tolerable, and we planned to impact the fish population.

I like to fish further south of Simpson’s, so I went a couple more miles to get to my waypoints. This is an area between Charleston and Bandon referred to as the Glass House area, for the large building on the bluff overlooking the beach. Waypoints are positions on a GPS that mark a location of interest. The interest here are submerged rock formations that I had

continued on page 164 166 Northwest Sportsman

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Author Jim Pex hoists one of the Oregon Coast’s rarest species, a “saber-toothed salmon.” (JIM PEX)

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