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Sportsman Northwest
Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource
Volume 12 • Issue 3
Your Complete Hunting, Boating, Fishing and Repair Destination Since 1948.
PUBLISHER James R. Baker EDITOR Andy Walgamott THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS Tobey Anderson, Scott Brenneman, Jason Brooks, Randy Castello, Scott Haugen, Sara Ichtertz, Trishana Israel, MD Johnson, Randy King, Christina Miller, Toni Pollock-Bozarth, Buzz Ramsey, Troy Rodakowski, K. Michael Thompson, Amanda Wiles, Dave Workman, Mark Yuasa
ALUMAWELD STRYKER
EDITORIAL FIELD SUPPORT Jason Brooks GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Jim Klark, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold DESIGNERS Celina Martin, Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper DESIGN INTERN Jacob Culver
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CONTENTS
VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 3
24
K
FEATURES 24 33 37 41
51 53 59 67 70 77
KATE ANDERSON ‘I Simply Love Going Fishing,’ by Mark Yuasa AMANDA WILES All In For 2019 TONI POLLOCK-BOZARTH ‘One Never Knows What Might Come Up’ GRETCHEN DEARDEN ‘The Whole Outdoor Fishing Experience Makes Me Feel Alive,’ by Buzz Ramsey TRISHANA ISRAEL It’s ‘About Way More Than Just Catching Fish’ ANNE THOMPSON Anne’s Angling Journey TOBEY ANDERSON ‘Reel Buddies’ KAREN CASTELLO Helping Others CHRISTINA MILLER Making a Difference SARA ICHTERTZ Feeding My Soul, And My Family
Kyla Hinds has had “a passion for fishing” ever since she was a young girl and loves to get out after salmon at sea level and trout in the tarns of the Cascades. (KYLA HINDS)
SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Go to nwsportsmanmag.com for details. NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Periodical Postage Paid at Seattle, WA and at additional 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.
12 Northwest Sportsman
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NORTHWEST PURSUITS
Winter Steelhead By The Numbers
Besides skiers, not that many others in these parts voluntarily spend time outdoors this time of year, but the chance to catch dinner as well as enjoy the bracing air and beautiful scenery and spend time with friends is why we get out after winter steelhead. As the fishery gets underway across Western Washington, Jason takes a look at smolt releases for return this season.
COLUMNS 119 THE KAYAK GUYS Chasing Hood Canal’s ‘Harvest Trout’ Though you can’t keep sea-run cutthroat in saltwater, they represent a wildly overlooked fishery in Puget Sound, and one that will heat up later in winter as chum and pink salmon fry migrate out into the inland sea. Scott B. slips his kayak onto Hood Canal in search of its scrappy “harvest trout.” 155 GUN DOG Xmas Gift Ideas For Gun Dogs, Owners He’s been singing Bing Crosby since very early last month and now with the arrival of Christmas, Scott H. has some great gift ideas for gun dogs and their owners to put under the tree. 161 ON TARGET Holidays May Interrupt, But Opportunity Beckons This time of year offers quite the gift basket of opportunity for small game and bird hunters in the Northwest, but Dave also says it’s prime for gun maintenance, and he also details a new 10/22 combo and Washington’s pro gun initiative. 169 CHEF IN THE WILD The Ravine A particular draw on Lucky Peak, the well-trailed mountain above Idaho’s largest city, has long intrigued deer hunter and chef Randy K., who this season put in for and drew a doe tag there in a bid to make meat in sight of Boise.
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’FOWLER’S DELIGHT
The back end of duck and goose season brings some of the best hunting of the year to the Northwest. Troy Rodakowski shares tips and tactics for f illing your strap.
133
(TROY RODAKOWSKI)
FEATURES 125 BLACKMOUTH ANGLERS BACK IN BUSINESS Mark Yuasa gets us ready for resident Chinook fishing action in South Sound’s Marine Areas 10 and 11 and Area 12 in Hood Canal. 141 BLIND SPOTS AND HOW TO FIX THEM Staying hidden from the sharp eyes of ducks and geese is a critical part of waterfowl hunting, but also an overlooked one. MD Johnson turns his own peepers at the problems posed by inadequate blinds and offers advice for blending in better.
DEPARTMENTS 21
THE EDITOR’S NOTE Reflecting On 10 Years of RWONWF
91
PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS Yo-Zuri, Hunting monthly prizes
93
THE DISHONOR ROLL Man arrested for killing Ashland buck; North OlyPen poaching case update; Kudos; Jackass of the Month
95
DERBY WATCH Area’s oldest salmon derby starts in January; Another record catch at King Of The Reach derby; Upcoming events
101 OUTDOOR CALENDAR Openers, events, workshops, deadlines, more 103 2020 BOAT AND SPORTSMEN’S SHOW SCHEDULE Dates, links for Northwest show season
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Northwest Sportsman 19
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THEEDITOR’SNOTE
W
elcome to the 10th Annual edition of our Real Women of Northwest Fishing feature, our tribute to the female anglers who get out on our region’s waters and slay, and one of my favorite issues of the year to put together. From the 125 line of longitude to mountain tarns, Buoy 10 to the great lakes of the Inland Northwest, and from lings to Lahontans, diamondsides to Dungies, and salmon to spinyrays, gals and girls are making an increasingly important mark on Northwest fisheries, and we’ve celebrated that each December since 2010. We’ve featured not only moms, daughters, sisters, aunts, grandmothers and other loved ones and their catches, but commercial fisherwomen, deckhands, guides and skippers. This issue has told their stories about how it all began for them, in many but not all cases with dad or grandpa taking them out at an early age. It’s shared inspirations and inspiring stories, personal journeys, rebirth and reaffirmation, making friends, and just the sheer longing of wanting to be on the water, all largely through the words of Northwest sportswomen themselves. Thank you!
AS A REMINDER, this project grew out of a certain eye-catching calendar – you know, the one that poses models streamside in bikinis and thigh waders while holding salmon and steelhead. Oh, yes, we guys are suckers for eye candy, but as a hook and bullet editor, I also knew it didn’t accurately reflect how female anglers actually practiced their craft in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, and I felt it deserved a realistic counterpoint. In that first edition of RWONWF, we ran three or four pages of pictures of women with their fish and very short cutlines. The following year we added more photos, in year three we began to fold in essays, and in year four Shelly La Rock became the first gal to appear on the full cover of the ladies fishing issue. About time, Walgamott! (In my defense, many women had run prior to that on covers during other monthly issues over the years, as well as on the inset in the first three years of RWONWF.) There's a lot of great content in our 2019 edition, but I was particularly struck by Kathy Meyer’s contribution, an image of her with a Southeast Alaska Chinook and brief details of her trip. She related that her charter skipper “didn’t think much of women who fished” and so he set her up with a pink salmon rigging while the only man aboard targeted kings. After Meyer asked to have her gear swapped out, she hooked and landed a Chinook, but the captain’s denigrating continued. “You shouldn’t have caught that fish the way it was hooked,’” she was told. Meyers’ response: “I caught that fish because I know how to handle it.” Our Real Women of Northwest Fishing are more than capable of handling it. –Andy Walgamott nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
Northwest Sportsman 21
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‘I SIMPLY LOVE GOING FISHING’
Kate Anderson, an angler since childhood and now communications specialist with the Port of Everett, pilots her 1968 15-foot fiberglass boat known as Lil’ Red on Puget Sound. (KATE ANDERSON) 24 Northwest Sportsman
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PICTURE
By Mark Yuasa
S
portfishing has long been considered a male-dominated activity, although in recent years more women are casting lines than ever before. Women will continue to be a growing force on the sportfishing scene, as shown in a 2018 report by the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation and Outdoor Foundation. Their survey revealed participation in all types of sport
fishing was 34.8 percent female compared to 65.2 percent male, which is up slightly from 34.4 and 65.6 respectively in 2016 and 2015. This growth wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for some exceptional female anglers paving the way, women like Kate Anderson of Edmonds who essentially grew up holding a rod and reel in her hands. Kate’s dad Paul Anderson of Anacortes and late grandfather Chuck Anderson of
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PICTURE
Kate credits her late grandfather Chuck Anderson, here, and her dad Paul with teaching her how to fish. “I remember my dad used to pretend to be fishing in our driveway, where he’d tug on the pole like a fish and I’d reel in the line,” she recalls. (KATE ANDERSON) Camano Island taught her how to fish at an early age, and they’ve been big influencers on how she got “hooked.” “I was just two years old when our family bought (a Grady White Seafarer 22 boat) and my first memory of going fishing was at Blackmans Lake (in Snohomish County) when I was 10 years old,” she says. “I really got into fishing during my early high school days.” It was Kate’s junior year in high school when she and her dad entered the Frank Wilson Memorial Blackmouth Derby, held in the San Juan Islands over 10 weeks from late February through April. “My fish (a keeper-sized hatchery 26 Northwest Sportsman
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blackmouth) didn’t win or place, but it was a lot of fun,” she recalls. “To this day I remember racing up the dock with my fish in a garbage bag at (Port of Friday Harbor Marina) to have it weighed at the Kings Market scale.”
IT WAS THIS kind of thrilling experience that really set a foundation for Kate’s passion to fish. It also tells a fond story about what many of our youth experience with fishing and the hope it continues to flourish as they grow up. For Kate, now 26, fishing remains a way to spend some quality time outdoors bonding with her family and friends. Her
family owns property on Shaw Island, in the center of the San Juans. “I just like being on the boat and fishing is just an extension of that,” she says. “The more time I spend out on the water, the more I realize the lessons and growth fishing provided to me in those younger days.” During midwinter break of her junior year in high school, Kate also learned how being a good steward of fisheries, especially for wild salmon stocks, was very important for the future of recreational fishing. “The biggest fish I ever caught locally was a 19½-pound blackmouth in Rocky Bay (located on the northeast side of San
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PICTURE Juan Island) and it was a wild fish,” she says. “I was good with releasing it and for me sometimes it’s just the exhilaration of catching a fish rather than what you can take home. We need to make sure wild fish are safely released so we can keep doing what we like.” Kate had always dreamed about going to Alaska and in May 2018 she got her wish when her entire family headed north to Sitka. “We fished for two days with Derek Floyd (owner of Reel Class Charters in Sitka) and my fondest moment happened on the roughest day,” she says. Kate along with her dad, brother Ben Anderson and brother-in-law Brandon Pope were trolling just off Vitskari Rock near Kruzof Island when she hooked the biggest king salmon of her life. After a decent fight, she brought the fish into the boat and held it up excitedly for all to see.
AS WITH MANY anglers, the fun of fishing eventually evolves into something bigger like boat ownership. Kate got “boat fever” and by April 2018 she made the commitment and purchased Lil’ Red, a
Combining a love of fishing for lings, salmon and other species with working around marinas is working out well for Kate. An industry magazine, Marina Dock Age, recognized her with a Young Leaders Award this year. (KATE ANDERSON)
A trip to Southeast Alaska in spring 2018 yielded Kate’s biggest Chinook to date. (KATE ANDERSON)
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classic 1968 15-foot fiberglass boat made by Performer Boat Corporation. “I’ve learned a lot about owning a boat and there was a big learning curve, especially figuring out how to back up a boat on a trailer,” she says with a laugh. “It took a lot of practice and I’m getting much better at it.” Kate took on the many challenges of boat ownership in good spirit. This included painting the bottom and
interior of her boat, caulking and other maintenance work, and purchasing a new Tohatsu motor. This past summer, Kate had Lil’ Red moored at the Port of Everett Marina and made good use of her time on the sea. “It was nice to just take it out to go fishing or have lunch on it,” she says. “I even commuted to work from Hat Island to Everett. One morning we saw whales swimming nearby. I love the freedom of
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Northwest Sportsman 29
owning a boat. I’ve even made a few solo trips from Roche Harbor to Shaw Island and Shaw Island to Jones Island.” Over the years, Kate found out that sometimes catching the biggest fish doesn’t create the most memorable adventure. This past August, she, Karsten McIntosh of Everett and JJ Burgess of Lake Stevens were enjoying an evening fishing trip off Mukilteo Beach. “It was one of those great warm summer nights where everything lined up perfectly,” she recalls. “We had just put two pinks in the boat right away and didn’t even have all the gear set when I turned around and saw two poles bouncing into the water. I said screw this and yanked up and landed one of the fish. It only took us less than an hour to catch our limit of pinks. It was a very memorable trip.”
KATE’S MAKING WAVES not just in her passion for fishing but also as part of her career that began while she attended Seattle Pacific University. “I worked at Roche Harbor Marina as the lead moorage collector in the summers of 2013, 2014 and 2015, and at Elliott Bay Marina as an administration assistant during my senior year of college,” she says. Once Kate graduated from college she began working in October 2015 at the Northwest Marine Trade Association in Seattle as the director of membership. Her career in the marine industry then moved to the Port of Everett Marina in September of 2018 as a marina customer representative. She was recently promoted to the communications specialist with port’s public affairs department. Kate’s hard work at the Port of Everett was recently recognized with the Young Leaders Award by Marina Dock Age. She’ll receive the award at The Docks Expo in Nashville on Dec. 3-5. “I learned a lot about fishing from my dad and grandfather,” she says looking back on her early childhood and young adult life. “I remember my dad used to pretend to be fishing in our driveway, where he’d tug on the pole like a fish and I’d reel in the line. It’s those things that led me to where I am now. I simply love going fishing.” NS 30 Northwest Sportsman
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PICTURE
ALL IN FOR 2019 By Amanda Wiles
Amanda Wiles went all in in 2019, fishing for new species, including wild winter steelhead on the Olympic Peninsula. “In a male-dominated sport, we strive for respect in our abilities, we gain knowledge to further our skills,” she writes. (AMANDA WILES)
T
his year I decided to go all in and fish it all! I dedicated time, money and physical strength into fishing, and what an experience and growth in knowledge it was. We started this year with a bitterly cold, snowy/hailing day on Washington’s West End with Nick Hendrickson of Olympic Peninsula Guide Service. It was my first attempt at catching a winter steelhead. I brought my own North Fork custom rod to break in with a beauty of a fish. I’ve never been so excited and cold at the same time. A few months later it was time for lingcod and rockfish to fill the freezer. We headed up to La Push and went out with one of the best, Capt. John Thiel, aka Captain Fuzzycheeks as many clients and captains
call him, of Alpha Anglers. This was my first time fishing the ocean aboard a boat. I was nervous but extremely excited for this new experience and species of fish. We had a blast and I learned what it felt like to pull a lingcod aboard. Let’s just say I needed to work on upper body strength after that one. Soon came the epic Buoy 10 season! This year I participated in the VIP Fish Like A Girl Tournament and the Lipstick Salmon Slayers Tournament. As it turns out I was in Astoria every weekend of August. I fished hard that month. The kings were heavier than expected, while the coho seemed to come in much later than anticipated. I was able to leave with a nice king at the Lipstick tournament but failed to for VIP. Me and my fellow fishing girls were guided at both by
the amazing Joel Henley of Anvil Outdoors. It was an amazing, fishy month! Soon we heard the tuna run was the best in 10 years. I knew this was one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips I could not pass up. I also knew I would need to go much further offshore than I ever had before. I was beyond excited for this experience. I watched countless YouTube videos, studied how to catch albacore and listened to all who had any information on this fishery. The day finally came for the trip. I was completely prepared for it. I had my arsenal of Dramamine ready, snacks, bibs and rain gear. I was a tiny bit seasick but nothing I couldn’t stand. At first we didn’t have much luck, picking off one or two tuna every few hours. After about five hours we decided to
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PICTURE
Washington’s West End served up another first for Amanda, lingcod, which gave her quite an upper body workout while bringing her catch up from the depths. (AMANDA WILES) head south – what a great decision. We hit the most amazing bait stop ever. Fish were flying over the deck every two minutes. My adrenaline was on fire; I loved every minute. I could not believe the strength of these fish. I fought as hard as I could and tried to keep up with the boys. Capt. Thiel was amazing, motivating us all. We managed 30 fish in under an hour. We were completely covered in blood and exhausted. It was the best day ever! Along with adding new fisheries to my belt this year, I launched myself into the hunting world, taking up archery. I spent countless hours practicing to become comfortable with my shooting abilities. This is a hobby I loved as a child but was never able to actually develop or go hunting with the boys. This year I plan on filling my deer tag and stuffing the freezer even more!
The author was among the many Northwest anglers who got in on this year’s great albacore fishery. “We were completely covered in blood and exhausted. It was the best day ever!” Amanda states. (AMANDA WILES)
IT’S BEEN AN amazing and blessed year.
Amanda’s next outdoor challenge? Notching her tag on an archery blacktail. (AMANDA WILES) 34 Northwest Sportsman
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I feel very fortunate to have had all these experiences as well as make new friends with those who have the same interests as me. Female anglers and hunters are a tight-knit community. We grow in numbers every day as new women gain the confidence to not only hang with the men, but pull our own weight as well. In a male-dominated sport, we strive for respect in our abilities, we gain knowledge to further our skills. We aim for enjoyment and happiness, while inspiring others to do the same. I hope to continue my growth as an angler and hunter in years to come, and help teach my children what I have learned and hope they find the joy and simplicity of the outdoors. NS
Kim Elliott has appeared in these pages before and knows her way around a fishing boat. (TONI POLLOCK-BOZARTH)
Last year we highlighted the student who outdid the teacher – in this case author Toni Pollock-Bozarth’s granddaughter Zoe, who jigged up a squid during a 2018 derby at the Point Defiance Marina – and now we can spotlight Toni, who caught her first recently. (TONI POLLOCK-BOZARTH)
PICTURE
One of those fish is not like the others! A white crappie joined a stringer of kokanee for Catrina Bozarth while trolling with Toni. (TONI POLLOCK-BOZARTH)
‘ONE NEVER KNOWS WHAT MIGHT COME UP’
T
he kokanee population has dropped dramatically in the past few years in Pierce County, but I was able to get on some at Alder Lake this year. My guest in June was Catrina Bozarth who had not fished in years, nor had she fished for kokanee or used downriggers. She aced it, catching more than her hostess. There is always a chance to hook white crappie and native cutthroat
trout while trolling for kokanee. My next guest comes out with me frequently. Kim Elliott knows her way around the boat and downriggers, and hauled in a nice batch of July kokanee. Squid for me are like the hard-to-catch steelhead, the fish of 10,000 casts. It took me three years before I caught my first squid, whereas I caught my first steelhead before I even knew what they were, on the
Carbon River. Recently, on a sunny October day with a north wind chilling me, I was casting for those elusive squid. I hooked what I thought was debris off the bottom. One never knows what might come up. To my surprise it was a nice-sized squid! I was over the moon. It was the only one I caught; nevertheless, I was very happy. –Toni Pollock-Bozarth
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Northwest Sportsman 37
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‘THE WHOLE OUTDOOR FISHING EXPERIENCE MAKES ME FEEL ALIVE’ By Buzz Ramsey
H
er first fishing experience was six years ago, chasing Chinook with fishing guide David Perez on the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. “I remember that day. Gretchen hugged and kissed her first salmon and the next one too, like no one I’ve ever seen before – she was totally slimed, but didn’t care,” Perez (503-997-2279) shared with me. The likable Gretchen has never stopped fishing since that first trip with David. In fact, for the last three years she has been a deckhand for All Star Fishing Charters (allstarfishing.com) on Puget Sound. And although the service runs three boats, captained by Gary Krien, Nick Kester and Len Osborne, Gretchen has mostly worked on Kester’s. “Nick keeps us on fish by moving the boat to different places based on what the tide is doing and where the bait has been showing,” she says. “My first job of the day is to rig the rods, and get the clients licensed up when they arrive. Since most of our customers are from out of state and have never seen, let alone caught, a salmon before, I acquaint them with the gear and help them get their lines set by running the downriggers, coaching them through the excitement of fighting what is often their first salmon, netting their fish and taking success photos, which I often share on Facebook.”
“It was all just meant to be, I guess,” says Gretchen Dearden, here with her second-place 2019 Edmonds Coho Derby fish, worth $2,500. (GRETCHEN DEARDEN) “All the clients, so far, are great and want to learn about salmon, how to rig up and let out the lines. It’s just great teaching them about salmon and how to catch them. Of course, Nick and I fillet the fish they keep and I clean up the boat at the end of each day,” Gretchen shares. When I asked her what she likes about being a deckhand, Gretchen says she loves
the smiles that appear on people’s faces after catching their first salmon. “A lot of families go with us and I just love watching them embrace the feeling of being on the water, watching the incredible sights and the excitement and interaction between them, and me, when landing a fish,” she says. Of course, salmon fishing in Puget
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PICTURE This summer Gretchen talked her skipper into trying out Yakima Bait’s new SpinFish during a slow day on Puget Sound, and enjoyed immediate success with a king and then this coho. (GRETCHEN DEARDEN)
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Sound is highly regulated and depending on season length, Gretchen’s deckhanding job can amount to three or four days a week during the winter blackmouth fishery to five or six days a week in summer and fall chasing Chinook and coho, with time off when the inland sea is closed to sport fishing. The 2020 North Sound blackmouth season begins in January or February, depending on marine area, which is all described in the state fishing pamphlet. And although it’s Capt. Kester’s job to run the boat, Gretchen says that trolling is what generally works best because they can cover more water and thus have a better chance of finding fish for their clients. The best salmon bite on the Sound is almost always an hour before and after tide change. And while Chinook are often near the surface just before sunup, when Gretchen might run their lines 30 to 50 feet down on the ’riggers, they set their lines progressively deeper as the sun gets bright, sometimes going as deep as 200 feet. Gretchen’s biggest salmon so far is a
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Northwest Sportsman 43
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44 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
I ASKED GRETCHEN what the best way is for a woman to get involved in fishing. She recommends making friends on the internet and following some of the gals posting the type of fishing they might be interested in most. “Try attending the local sport show and attending one or more of the how-to fishing seminars. Don’t be bashful about asking questions. Once you connect with a like-minded friend(s), sign up to participate in one of the many fishing tournaments,” she advises. One of her favorites is the Fish Like A Girl salmon tournament. “Just stay away from the drama,” she advises. Gretchen was one of the lucky few anglers to receive an early sample of the allnew SpinFish, a pull-apart and fill-with-bait, trolling lure. Capt. Nick wouldn’t let her try it until one day when the fishing slowed. “I wish you could have seen Nick’s face when the rod went off right after I put the SpinFish down. It was a Chinook that we had to release, but a fat coho soon followed up. Two fish on SpinFish was a game changer,” Gretchen told me. At the time of this interview (in midSeptember), Gretchen had just taken second place in the Edmonds Coho Derby, where she won $2,500, which she split with the rest of her fishing team. “What was really wild was that I was in the middle of a telephone interview with Owin Hayes of Outdoor GPS when the salmon hit,” she recalls. “It was all just meant to be, I guess. After that first trip with David Perez I was hooked. I was Dave’s ‘bait girl’ off and on for a year or so after fishing the Hanford Reach with him that very first time, just because I wanted to learn about salmon fishing. I still get the fish shakes, even now. The whole outdoor fishing experience makes me feel alive, I just love it,” Gretchen shares. 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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PICTURE
Brooklyn Broders hoists her first salmon, a fall Chinook jack caught in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. (TROY BRODERS)
Dad Max might be a little more impressed with this coho than its catcher, Abby, but that’s a great one to start her angling career off with! (MAX COOK)
“Fish on! Coming down,” was the call Brooklyn Fowler gave to fellow salmon anglers on the Puyallup River after making her second cast of the day and getting this coho to bite. Her proud dad Eric said she “has been fishing her whole life” and that she landed the fish herself. (ERIC FOWLER)
Corrin Campion is a champion Chinook catcher! She’s been in these pages before, and will again – this year it’s with a San Juan Islands king, caught during a quick trip out with her dad last summer. (MIKE CAMPION)
nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
Northwest Sportsman 47
PICTURE
Olivia Boulet shows off a great smallmouth bass, a 4.8-pounder caught at Western Washington’s Lake Tapps. (BOULET FAMILY)
On a spring day when nobody else was catching Lake Roosevelt rainbows, Remington Wiebe showed the old boys at Geezer Beach how it’s done. (HANK WIEBE)
After striking out at Buoy 10, Olivia Suyama was looking for redemption, and she went to the right place, the Hanford Reach, where she landed her first salmon ever, as well as largest fish yet. “She fought it like a champ,” reports her dad Brian’s friend Jerry Han, who took them out. (JERRY HAN)
Brecklyn, age 4, took first place for the largest cutthroat caught during a mid-April derby on Lake Chelan with this trout. Great job, kiddo! (BARRY DUBNOW)
That hat’s fishy, and so is Iylee Belisle, who doubled up during a family trip to Lake Pend Oreille this past summer. (NIC BELISLE) 48 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
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‘I WON’T GIVE UP’
PICTURE
W
hat does it feels like to have strangers, loved ones and even my own child hold me up while I’m on the river, walking down a boat ramp or trying to stand upright in a boat as I attempt to reel in a fish? It feels pretty darn amazing, although admittedly sometimes a little frustrating. That is, until I remind myself just how far I’ve come on this unforeseen journey. I stood at that balance beam in the hospital daily for several weeks trying to pull myself up and out of my wheelchair with one clear thought in mind: to be able to stand one day and fish again. First, I told myself, I must learn to walk again, even if my leg would never fully wake up. Even through the tears I remained determined, steady and focused with each move. I ignored words like “you can’t,” “you won’t” and “paralyzed.” I replaced them with words like “yes, I can,” “yes, I will,” and “I won’t give up.” I discovered very quickly that fishing was way more than just catching fish; it was about feeling truly alive and being
This past summer a reader told us they’d seen Trishana walking “at a snail’s pace” at a local boat ramp. What they didn’t mention was that when she reached the boat, she fell in the water. “I picked myself up and came back the next day with even more determination,” Israel reported via email. (TRISHANA ISRAEL) a part of something indescribable while alongside numerous other fishermen. I missed being a part of something huge. I remember finally leaving the hospital Since she told her stories in 2015 in these pages of deckhanding for a Buoy 10 guide and refurbishing her own boat, Trishana Israel has gone through back surgery and suddenly being paralyzed. But she never gave up hope of being on the water again. “I’ve discovered that I can still catch a fish or two with one good leg,” writes Trishana, here with a Puget Sound king from last August. (TRISHANA ISRAEL)
two months after the back surgery that robbed me of the only life I’d ever known and thinking “You’re going to have to learn to keep moving, even if your leg does not.” I can’t fully explain how much more alive and thankful I feel today. Yes, even if sometimes you happen to see a stranger or loved one holding me up, I’ve discovered that I can still catch a fish or two with one good leg. –Trishana Israel
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52 Northwest Sportsman
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PICTURE
Anne Thompson has come a long way since the days her brothers brought home stocker trout in Utah. These days you’ll find her fishing for Columbia system salmon, walleye, sturgeon and shad. (K. MICHAEL THOMPSON)
ANNE’S ANGLING JOURNEY
I
Anne’s best Chinook so far is this near-30pounder, caught out of the free-flowing stretch of the Columbia north of her and her husband’s primary home in Tri-Cities. (K. MICHAEL THOMPSON)
would like to nominate my wife Anne Thompson for your Real Women of Northwest Fishing issue. For the past 46 years she has fished with me in Utah, on Chesapeake Bay, in Costa Rica and here in Washington. Anne grew up on a dairy farm in Central Utah. We met at Utah State University. Before we met her exposure to fishing was planter rainbows brought home by her brothers. She took to the outdoor lifestyle easily, going camping, fishing and deer hunting. In Utah we fished for crappie in Willard Bay, brook trout on the Thousand Lakes and bass in Lake Powell. We would travel back to my roots on the Chesapeake Bay where we would fish for striped bass and bluefish. We moved to the Tri-Cities in 1980 and three years ago purchased a second home in Long Beach to access the saltwater and Buoy 10. She is (nearly) fearless in crossing the Columbia River Bar and drives the boat when pulling crab pots by the North Jetty.
A post-retirement trip to Central America yielded three sailfish for Anne. (K. MICHAEL THOMPSON) Her best fish is a Chinook that approached 30 pounds. She caught it in the Hanford Reach back-trolling a FlatFish. Our most memorable day was five years ago when we retired. We chartered a boat in Jaco, Costa Rica, and raised 10 Pacific sailfish, hooked nine and landed eight. Anne landed three of the eight. She prepares fish and crab so well I have difficulty ordering seafood in restaurants. I’m a lucky man! –K. Michael Thompson
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Northwest Sportsman 53
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54 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
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DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
PICTURE
Places to hook a saltwater ’Nook without a boat are few and far between, but Ingrid Jensen Bechtel gets it done at the Edmonds Pier. (INGRID JENSEN BECHTEL)
Ain’t no way Tara Bailey’s complaining about the trout fishing on the Colville Reservation! She caught some nice stocker rainbows there this year. (TARA BAILEY)
A beautiful blue-sky day off the northwest tip of Washington yielded a first-ever halibut for Dannial Aschenbrenner. She was fishing out of Neah Bay with her dad, Dale. (DALE ASCHENBRENNER)
A chrome king brightened up a gray day for Brittany Schmidt at Buoy 10. (BRITTANY SCHMIDT)
Brandee Bell’s 16-pound Point Defiance Chinook was the largest caught by the eight women who participated in August’s South King County Puget Sound Anglers derby, edging Ella Grimes by two-thirds of a pound and Fianna Hopkins by just over 2. (BRANDEE BELL) nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
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58 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
‘REEL BUDDIES’
PICTURE By Tobey Anderson
An invite to tag along with her brother and his buddy on a fly fishing excursion while she was still a novice was all the chance that Tobey Anderson needed to start making some “reel buddies.” (PAUL ISHII)
W
hen I first started fishing, I was consumed with learning the technicalities: casting, tying flies and finding rivers and good fishing spots. I wasn’t thinking, then, about the human component of the sport. Before long, however, I discovered there was much more to fishing than just fishing. Early on, when I was invited on an outing with my brother Paul and his buddy Rich to a location published in Northwest Sportsman magazine, I felt privileged to be invited. To go with these experienced fly fishers
meant I must be doing something right. It felt like I had proved myself as a somewhat OK caster. While traveling in the SUV for hours, our conversations jumped from politics to restaurants to worst jobs ever, and our kids. But when we arrived at the river, fishing became a solitary activity. Each of us found our own spot on the water. This was not a problem as that river boasted 100 miles of good fishing. We had plenty of elbow room. Although I landed on a stretch with nice riffles and holes, I wasn’t having any luck, so I perused my fly box. I noticed the
flies that Paul and Rich had given me for this particular river because they knew I was still a rookie at fishing. Paul had given me a nymph that he swore was the best. Rich had gifted me several flies that he had tied himself. His fly box looks like a 3-star Michelin restaurant for trout. I selected a delectable fuzzy insect creation; it took my clumsy fingers several tries to maneuver the clinch knot. As soon as that fuzzy critter hit the water, wham!, a huge mouth devoured the fly. The cutthroat soared into the air, shook
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Northwest Sportsman 59
PICTURE
In last December’s Real Women of Northwest Fishing feature, Tobey traced her interest in fishing back to catching a trout as a young girl in Japan, but it would go unrequited as she spent decades teaching around the world before retiring and settling down in Olympia. (PAUL ISHII) its enraged head and the line snapped. When my arm was about to fall off, I returned to our meeting spot, peeled off my waders and slumped into the back seat of the SUV. Back at our rustic cabin, worldclass gin and tonics were served. Relaxing, we each shared our stories about the 25inch western slope cutthroat that got away and, then, of course, the conversation returned to politics and family. I got to know my brother and Rich far beyond the realm of fishing. We became “reel buddies.”
What began with cutthroat now includes salmon and steelhead for the author. (PAUL ISHII)
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A MONTH LATER, my cell phone rang and it was a friend from the Reel Fly Girls. Did I want to go fishing in a very secret area in the North Cascades? You bet I did. It was so secret that we couldn’t discuss it over the phone! We had to pack in our food and drinks and favorite snacks. For dinner, we took turns with filet mignon and teriyaki chicken. The rays from the sun told us it was time to get up. Robbie opened the window as the fresh mountain air rushed in. The aroma of Kenyan roast coffee engulfed the room while Claudia fried the bacon and scrambled eggs. After the hardy breakfast, we set out to drift the river through some beautiful floats. Bushes dripping with huckleberries
PICTURE and water-worn rocks bordered the bank. Everyone had their turn at the Hidey Hole, home to a huge 30-inch rainbow trout. We used the sneak attack, feeding our line slowly into the deep bucket numerous times. No hits. Nobody home. Upon return to our mountain chalet and a fine dinner, we took our folding chairs out to the lawn to gaze at the Milky Way. The Big Dipper shined clearly, libation was shared and laughter echoed across the river as we shared family stories; some were funny, some sad, others stirred some serious reflection. This group – an engineer, chemist, teacher and health professional – who share fishing as a bond are my reel buddies. NS Editor’s note: Tobey Anderson is a storyteller and a fly fisher who is a member of the South Sound Fly Fishers club in Olympia.
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From that initial trip with her bro and his pal, Tobey now enjoys excursions near and far with fellow members of the Reel Fly Girls group, including Puget Sound waters and some in Montana and Canada. (PAUL ISHII)
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Northwest Sportsman 63
PICTURE
A souped-up Senko got Paula Corcoran’s personal best largemouth bass to bite at a small lake in Olympia this year. (KELLY CORCORAN) Kathy Meyer returned to where she was born, Ketchikan, to check an item off her bucket list, fish for kings in Alaska. Only hiccup? Her charter skipper “didn’t think much of women who fished and didn’t think they could handle it.” Mistake. “So I was rigged for pinks (which I caught), but I asked for different rigging when the only other man fishing on the boat was strictly fishing for kings,” Meyer states. “I hooked into this beauty, got it into the boat, and the captain told me, ‘You shouldn’t have caught that fish the way it was hooked.’ I told him, ‘I caught that fish because I know how to handle it.’” You go, girl!
Holly Kallgren says her mom, Marie, and dad “taught me how to tie hooks, set gear, carefully play the fish, and then fillet them as far back as I can remember.” Holly and Marie caught this pair off the south side of San Juan Island. (HOLLY KALLGREN)
(KATHY MEYER)
“I have had a passion for fishing since I was little and was taught by my grandfather and dad,” says Kyla Hinds. “Recently I have really gotten into high alpine lake fishing. I love to hike, so might as well fish while I’m at it!” Great idea! (KYLA HINDS)
64 Northwest Sportsman
Julie Johnson may be more comfortable behind a camera photographing hunters or in a duck or turkey blind herself, but she’s not against putting down her Nikon or shotgun for a shot at Lower Columbia sturgeon, like this one caught during one of this year’s retention openers. (MD JOHNSON)
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
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Northwest Sportsman 65
66 Northwest Sportsman
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PICTURE
It’s not that catching fish isn’t important to Karen Castello, here with a pretty notable pink salmon. It’s that giving back to other anglers and clubs really gives her a sense of accomplishment. (RANDY CASTELLO)
HELPING OTHERS
S
ometimes it isn’t one’s personal accomplishments that define who we are; it is what we do for other people. As a Real Woman of Northwest Fishing Karen Castello is selfless in sharing her passion for the outdoors with others. Whether it be her grandchildren, coworkers or as a volunteer for different fishing-related events, she is always eager to take part. Karen has caught many notable fish, to include a massive humpy, but her fondest accomplishments are in giving a bit of herself to assure that others are able to experience the outdoors. She looks forward to time spent with the grandkids, teaching them to fish and appreciate our many aquatic adventure opportunities. Karen has also participated in events such as the 2019 TFO Kokanee Derby at Swift Reservoir and as a caterer for a number of outdoor clubs’ or organizations’ annual events. Fish tacos, anybody? –Randy Castello
nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
Northwest Sportsman 67
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68 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
PICTURE
Annika Miller was among the Neah Bay anglers who enjoyed some pretty good Chinook fishing this past July. She caught this beaut at Swiftsure Bank.
When dam operators stopped spilling water at McNary, shutting down the shad bite, Renee Mortimer and crew switched over to walleye with solid results.
(CHAD HUFFMAN)
(JERRY HAN)
There’s dedication and then there’s Rachel Hannaman-level dedication. She reports fishing Drano Lake this season for 35 days – straight. When she wasn’t there, she and her son were up at White Bluffs doubling up on fall kings. (RACHEL HANNAMAN) Lisa Greif and Stefanie Burke got their coho during a nonselective September opener while fishing out of Winchester Bay with guide Travis Marsh. (LISA GREIF)
“The Craig women were all over the state this year, from sturgeon and walleye to crab and shrimp, then salmon and tuna,” reports proud husband, father and son Nathan Craig. Here’s his mom Karen with a nice Chinook, daughter Reese with a bunch of razor clams and wife Katie with a Dungeness and an albacore. (NATHAN CRAIG)
Kathe Billings intercepted this fine Chinook while fishing just off Ediz Hook out of Port Angeles. It gave her and her pink rod quite a tussle, but eventually came to the net. (GREG BILLINGS)
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Northwest Sportsman 69
PICTURE
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
I
joined a Facebook group named Bent On Chrome two years ago. Jeremy Keith Corbus works tirelessly to run the group drama free. He never allows anyone to be belittled or demeaned. As a member of the group, I won two strips of a glimmering, diamondlike fish-attracting tape. I decided to give it a try. Not only did my catch rates improve but so did the quality of the fish. Recently, Hyper-Vis+ approached me to join their team as their first female pro-staffer. Honored and humbled, I accepted their offer. The way I see it I’m no fishing pro. When you find something that works as superbly as Hyper-Vis+, you utilize it. Two years ago, I began donating the trout I catch to a rural food share and continue to do so. Making a difference, and bringing people joy, fresh fish and the feeling that someone cares, I feel the trout are appreciated. I would like to think that even a small-town disabled woman like me can make a difference through my love of fishing. –Christina Miller
In our 2017 Real Women of Northwest Fishing issue, Christina Miller told her story of suffering from debilitating health issues before angling helped save her life. These days she’s catching trout to donate to the needy. (CHRISTINA MILLER)
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Northwest Sportsman 71
Fall light highlights Coleen Goulet and her Chinook, caught near the mouth of the Deschutes River this past season.
PICTURE Ashley Stanley is a regular in these pages, thanks to catches like this Rufus Woods Lake walleye. (BILL STANLEY)
(COLEEN GOULET)
If you’re saying to yourself that you recognize this pic, it just might be because the participants and pose are the same as two years ago, though the species isn’t. That’s Stacy Ostrom and daughter Avery with a Hanford Reach coho from this fall, an echo of a 2017 shot with the then-3-month-old in a warm onesie and mom holding an upriver bright. (THOR OSTROM)
Rhonna Schnell spent a lot of time reeling in fish this past year, from kokanee in the Newberry Crater lakes to fall kings in the Columbia Gorge to her first Tillamook Chinook – “and a nice one at that,” says husband Tom. (TOM SCHNELL)
Brandi Jo Moore and bestie Lizzy Winters smile over Brandi Jo’s big fall king, her first and caught off the mouth of the Deschutes River. (GEREMY SCHULL) 72 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
Six years ago in our 2013 Real Women of Northwest Fishing feature it was sixday-old Gunner riding in a sling as his mom Joshlynn Boneham fished for pink salmon; this issue it’s twoweek-old daughter Lorelie Rose accompanying Joshlynn as she caught her first steelhead on a fly. (JOSHLYNN BONEHAM)
nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
Northwest Sportsman 73
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74 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
SHELTON Verle’s Sports Center (877) 426-0933 www.verles.com
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76 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
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PICTURE
Author Sara Ichtertz has come a long way from her youth, when the smell and thought of eating fish made her gag. These days it feeds into her passions for angling, using local ingredients and providing for her family. (SARA ICHTERTZ)
FEEDING MY SOUL, AND MY FAMILY T
By Sara Ichtertz
here is an undeniable thrill I find in the tug. The headshake. The combat that takes place on the river. Colliding with nature as I fight these most beautiful creatures beneath my waters is second to none! No matter that run of power or those gut-wrenching jumps, that first headshake of life at the end of my line does something for my heart and soul that I have yet to feel duplicated. In the beginning, those key things kept me very driven, very focused on learning and very ambitious; I have never felt so intrigued in my entire life. I wanted to become a master steelhead fisherwoman. I wanted to be able to bring home the meat. I wanted to take pride in my own game, in
my own life. I wanted my children to frolic and find comfort in nature while watching their mother learn to hunt the rivers. I knew deep down inside that through trial and error all of this was possible, and so Sara decided she was willing and able to bring it from the river to table. Out of all the growth I have been blessed with on the river, what I've found within the harvest is something I am proud of. It’s not about the pictures, not about the status, not about how cool I can appear to be on Facebook. It’s much deeper than that. It is about pursuit and passion and is performed in a way that isn’t ego driven but rather primal. It’s about river hunting with all my heart so that I can provide. It’s
about seeing every action through – from my approach as a fisherlady, to the harvest, and then to table. I have always wanted my actions to be led by a passionate, driven, genuine heart. The river allows this desire to be true. In sharing what it is I love with those I love most, I taste victory more often than not. It’s about passionately providing, feeding both my family and my soul.
I’M A WOMAN, but I am very much a river hunter, and I believe that that hunter inside of me isn’t fulfilled if I don’t embrace these fish once we have left the river. These fish really are delicious; it’s just all about how you harvest it and how and when you cook it. nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
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PICTURE
Chromer cakes. (SARA ICHTERTZ) I pity the humans online who claim that a winter-run steelhead’s best hope is to be dog food. Don’t get me wrong; yes, our faithful four-legged mates should receive a portion of the bounty, but the family should reap the benefits of such a fresh harvest. Both for our health and our souls, there is something very right about sharing your harvest with the ones we love. As a child I wasn’t served much fish and the couple times a year I was, I had very little interest in eating it. As I recall walking the boardwalks, the smell of the cooked crab and the way it made me feel makes me giggle now! When my friend’s grandma would can tuna in her house I felt as if I would rather die than stay and visit her for one more second, even though I loved her. I literally gagged at these situations growing up. Fish? Count me out. So how did I go from a gaggish kid to the river hunter that I am, loving it like I do? Some days I’m not even totally sure, though I have always loved cooking. A fire lights up inside of me when it comes to the idea of 78 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
Boneless blackened summer steelhead. (SARA ICHTERTZ) harvesting fresh food from my forest and my gardens. I am beyond stubborn too, a lot of which led me to this addiction of the rivers. I knew right away I would devotedly feed this addiction, so how cool is it that I can feed my family through it as well? I told myself, “Sara, you can cook with the best of them! You love cooking! You love hunting the rivers! Make this fresh meat taste delicious. Time to think outside the gags! Let them go and embrace the freshness for all that it is.”
THE FIRST FISH I ever brought home to my babes and Mom was my first upriver springer. I was so very proud of my harvest, even though I didn’t have a clue how to tend to him, so what did I do? Watched YouTube! To this day I love how amazed my mom was as she watched me fillet my first big fish! Deep down I was amazed by what I had accomplished myself. I cooked that baby up, but it still tasted a bit fishy to me. Truth is, I think I feared it. I was ready to gag before I even tasted what I had created. The funny and wonderful
thing was, my babes and mom absolutely loved it. I had found total satisfaction in watching them love the meal I had provided. That was all I needed to believe that this pursuit was worth it. Since that day I have cut up many a hatchery steelhead and quite a few salmon, leading to some of the most incredible meals I have ever created. My rivers, I love them. My gear, I know it well. My knife, she’s sharp and I know how to use her. My palate knows yummy when it tastes it, and together we make the very most of it. If there is one thing I have found in creating fish dinners, it’s that fresh is best. Yes, we can be semi-toasted when we reach the home front after hitting the river, but I’ll tell you what: If you desire that clean taste, do yourself a favor and anticipate the meal to come while on the water. Cook up that beautiful fish the day you catch it. I love to share my harvest with my babes, my sisters and their families. When I can feed them, I can serve an entire fish, no problem. Sharing with them feeds my soul.
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Northwest Sportsman 79
PICTURE
SARA’S MAKE ’EM BEG FOR IT SMOKED SALMON INGREDIENTS 12 pounds fresh salmon 4 cups packed light brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 1/3 cup coarse sea salt ¼ cup red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon black pepper You will also need a large bowl, measuring cups, pepper grinder, three large glass baking dishes (or plastic, but I prefer glass), butcher paper, paper towels, wood chips, and a smoker. (This recipe is for an electric Little Chief/Big Chief smoker, though this salmon can be smoked however you like. You just need to know your times and temps of your own smoker.)
PREPARATION OF MEAT No matter whether your salmon is already in steaks, or half or whole fillets, thoroughly rinse the meat with cold water, padding it completely dry. Cover a section of your table with butcher paper for easy cleanup. Cut the meat into uniform 3-inch-wide steaks. It is important to have the same size steaks, as you want the meat to cook evenly. I then cut into each steak down to the skin at 11/2-inch intervals. This checkerboard effect allows the brine to reach much deeper into your salmon. Place cut steaks aside. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients – light brown sugar, white sugar, coarse sea salt, red pepper flakes, and ground pepper. Using clean, dry hands 80 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
Sara’s make ’em beg for it smoked salmon. (SARA ICHTERTZ)
I combine all ingredients thoroughly, getting out any clumps of sugar and allowing the peppers and salt to mix thoroughly throughout the sugars. Place one glass dish beside the bowl and sprinkle a small amount of brine in the bottom. Grabbing one steak at a time and holding it just above the bowl of brine, rub a decent handful of the mixture into each steak. Getting between all cuts allows the brine to reach the skin. Thoroughly cover each piece of meat, almost as if you’re massaging the brine into the salmon. Once thoroughly worked over, place skin side up (meat side down) into the baking dishes. Proceed to work each steak, covering them thoroughly with the brine until you are out of salmon. Twelve pounds worth will fill just shy of three large baking dishes. I do not like overlapping my steaks, so I use multiple dishes. Almost instantly the sugars and salt begin to draw the moisture out of the
fish, creating a liquid-type brine. For the first two hours of brining I cover my dishes tightly and leave them out at room temperature; for the remaining 10 hours, I place them into the refrigerator. Twelve hours of brining is what I have found to be most effective as far as giving great flavor yet not overcuring the fish. Afterwards remove the meat to a clean surface to air dry. I prefer using butcher paper with a layer of paper towels over it. Let your meat air-dry for one hour. Using a coarse grinder, give your fish a desired amount of pepper. Thirty minutes into this hour plug in your smoker. Fill your chip pan with wood chips and allow the smoker to build smoke and heat. This amount of meat fills one Big Chief and one Little Chief. Temperatures may vary, but I smoke salmon for 101/2 hours in this recipe. Allow the fish to cool completely on a cooling rack before packaging. –SI
nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
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PICTURE
Steelhead fish sticks. (SARA ICHTERTZ)
I feel accomplished in my pursuit watching us come together to eat at the table. If I harvest one fish, I like to cook two meals back to back more so than freezing the other fillet. With winters, it’s steelhead tacos one night, steelhead sticks and chips the next. With summers, blackened steelhead with fresh veggies one night, sweet and spicy steelhead on the Traeger the next. Yes, at times the bounty is plentiful and we must freeze some of our harvest. Though that undeniable freshness is no longer there, it is still very much fresher and healthier than most any meat I find in the market. When this is the case, I love to make chromer cakes! It is my take on crab cakes, and hands down, everyone who has eaten them has not been disappointed one bit. The possibilities really are endless. I find I create certain meals with certain runs of fish and as the years fly by, I’m not only no longer gagging but I am saying this truly is scrumptious.
AS THE HOLIDAYS are upon us, I find my gifts may not be typical. They are not
expensive or lavish, though they do come from the heart. I love to smoke salmon (my recipe is included as my gift to you this holiday season) and I love to give it away. It is neither from China nor will it collect dust, and I can see the genuine thankfulness when my loved ones get their hands on something I caught in the wild and turned into a masterpiece with my babes. My smoked salmon cheeseballs tend to be a gift that doesn’t last long but I believe it brings the ones I love closer together as they share it. It’s not about the money; it’s about giving from my heart. Success is all around me as I share my passion of cooking with my babes. Allowing them to know what it means to harvest an animal from the wild is important to me. Packing the fish and my babes out of the holes means a lot to me. It doesn’t mean I should throw it in the freezer to burn. No, we are thankful for this place we call home that allows us this life. The ability to harvest fresh fish year-round is a gift. It is a privilege to bring home fish and make wholesome
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PICTURE memories and meals together, from the river to table. If anyone has watched me grow into the woman and mother I am today, it is they. No one has been more impressed with a hatchery fish bled and cooling in the river than they. They love a steelhead cooked over the fire at fish camp and I love showing them that I am capable of anything I set my mind to. They have seen me at my worst and have never given up on me. Our life fits us. We embrace the rivers together because no matter what may be going on in life, the river always lifts us up. Together we find serenity, we find strength, and we find dinner. The angles of goodness I have found within the rivers truly are endless. Steelhead and salmon don’t always come easily, yet they continue to transform me into the woman I am meant to be. They have given me a way to show my children that passion and hard work can
Smoked salmon cheeseballs. (SARA ICHTERTZ) indeed go hand in hand. I want them to know that when we put love and passion into our meals, they taste so much better. Showing this to them in a hands-on situation matters to me and I hope one day it truly matters to them. Our harvest is only as good we make it, just like our lives. It doesn’t take money or fancy things to appreciate what life you live, as true love
cannot be bought. It is ultimately defined through our actions; I want my actions to show them – even years from now – that what I do is done in love. Nothing more, yet nothing less. 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.
Englund Marine & Industrial Supply-75 Years Of History
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84 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
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PICTURE
Heck with waiting for salmon to swim through the backyard, Cheri Crawford of Richland, Washington, might have been thinking, I’ll go to the source – Sitka. She caught this king there while motor mooching with herring. (JON CRAWFORD)
Who paints their fingernails “Omak green” to fish the Northcentral Washington Lahontan lake? Alicia Slattery (left), that’s who! She and sis Katie hit it for cutts on Labor Day weekend with guide Jeff Witkowksi. (JEFF WITKOWSKI)
Five-year-old Nate positively beams at his mom Lara Scanlon after she landed this nice-sized fall king just upstream of the Astoria-Megler Bridge. (JOEL HENLEY)
86 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
The smooth seas off Sekiu provided this sparkling Chinook for Chantel Pittman. (JOE BARRETT)
Taylor Giske has Columbia Gorge salmon and steelhead dialed in, including Drano Lake kings. “I like to hunt, fish, ride dirt bikes and honestly, anything that gets me outside makes me happy,” she says. (TAYLOR GISKE)
A September trip to British Columbia’s Nootka Island, on the fishy west coast of Vancouver Island, paid off for Susie Perrin with this nice Chinook. (DICK PERRIN)
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Northwest Sportsman 87
PHOTO
CONTEST
WINNERS!
Jan and Bob Curran are the winner of our monthly Yo-Zuri Photo Contest, thanks to this shot of grandson Preston and their Brewster Pool summer Chinook limits. It wins them gear from the company that makes some of the world’s best fishing lures and lines!
Kelly Frazier wins our monthly Hunting Photo Contest, thanks to the pic she sent of herself and her Eastern Montana pronghorn, taken this fall. It wins her 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 | DECEMBER 2019
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MIXED BAG
Man Arrested For Killing Ashland Buck
S
tate wildlife troopers arrested a Southern Oregon man for allegedly killing a trophy blacktail resting next to a house inside the city limits of Ashland in mid-October. Officers claim that 38-year-old Dustin McGrorty of Riddle was observed by a local resident loading the buck into his pickup, which was parked on a city street. When the person went over to talk to him about it, McGrorty drove off, but they were able to get a license plate. A trooper responding to the scene “found a short blood trail leading from a bush, which was against a neighboring house … to a row of hedges along the city street,” according to OSP. McGrorty was tracked down and when presented with eyewitness reports and the trooper’s observations, he allegedly admitted to shooting the buck from inside his rig parked along the street. Officers say that afterwards, he dumped the four-point and the rifle alongside Highway 227. OSP reported that the bullet that killed
KUDOS
Case Update
W
e detailed some of the alleged poaching activities of Jason Bradley Hutt, 29, of Sequim and Wyatt James Beck, 24, of Port Angeles in our October issue, and since then trial dates have been set for the duo. They’re now accused of 32 felony wildlife-related and 44 criminal violations as
JACKASS OF THE MONTH
T
Oregon wildlife troopers say a man shot this four— point blacktail inside Ashland city limits while it was bedded down next to a house, with the bullet passing through the deer and through a wall above the front door. (OSP) the deer left a hole in the house above its front door. McGrorty was charged with unlawful hunting within city limits, kill of a buck, and use of a weapon, along with trespassing. The venison was donated to charity. Washington’s general rifle deer season is one of the busiest times of year for state game wardens, and this past October was no different for Officers Justin Trautman, Nicholas Fosse, and Jason Day. They were part of a team that brought an injured hunter out of the woods. The man had broken one of his ankles while coming down steep, burned-over Little Buck Mountain near Loup Loup Pass, between the Methow and Okanogan Valleys, with his two kids. After being placed on a backboard, he was carried down to Highway 20 more than a mile away by the officers, local paramedics and Department of Natural Resources firefighters, then transported to a hospital. WDFW Police wished him a speedy recovery. (WDFW)
part of a series of illegal killings of elk, deer and bears in Clallam and Jefferson Counties from June 2018 to late August 2019. The alleged crimes generally occurred outside of hunting seasons, without licenses, with undercaliber rifles, and/or while trespassing. One of the elk was the bull that was infamously found dead next to the fence of the Brinnon School, minus its head, quarters and backstraps.
he great thing about slobs is that, well, they’re slobs. When a Willamette Valley woman and her family left a “significant amount of household garbage and boxes” at an unimproved Deschutes National Forest camp site near the shores of Wickiup Reservoir last September, there among all the trash was a shipping label that helped Oregon fish and wildlife troopers track her down. “The subject was located in Salem, interviewed and confessed to leaving behind the trash,” the state police reported. But wait, it gets better: “The subject was cited at her place of employment for Offensive Littering.” Trash our public lands, you deserve to be shamed like that.
(OSP)
“Officers spent countless hours drafting and obtaining several search warrants for residences, phones, and vehicles, conducting interviews with witnesses, and awaiting DNA and ballistic evidence comparison analysis,” WDFW reported. According to the Peninsula Daily News, Hutt has a previous conviction in 2016 for killing a number of deer with neither tags nor licenses. nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
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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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94 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
Area's Oldest Salmon Derby Starts In January
T
he Tengu Blackmouth Derby – the oldest salmon derby that began prior to and continued again shortly after World War II in 1946 – will be held on Sundays from 6 to 11 a.m. starting Jan. 5 on Elliott Bay at the former Seacrest Boathouse (now known as Marination Ma Kai) in West Seattle. At press time the derby board was still deciding if it will end Feb. 23 or March 8. In previous years, the derby started in October, when Marine Area 10 opened for winter hatchery Chinook. However, this year’s non-retention of Chinook there delayed the event to coincide with the Jan. 1 opener. Last year, the derby was cancelled when the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife decided to shutdown fishing in Area 10 just a few weeks after it began. What makes the derby so challenging is the simple fact that blackmouth are scarce around the inner bay during winter months. The derby is named after Tengu, a fabled Japanese character who stretched the truth, and just like Pinocchio, Tengu’s nose grew with every lie. In a typical derby season, the catch
Tengu Blackmouth Derby anglers are hoping for a full-length season on Elliott Bay after last year’s fishery was closed early, forcing an end to the Sunday morning tournament. Guy Mamiya displays 2017’s winning resident Chinook, a near-10-pounder. (TENGU BLACKMOUTH DERBY)
By Andy Walgamott
ranges from 20 to 23 legal-sized Chinook and has reached as high as 50 to 100 fish, although catches have dipped dramatically since 2009. The record-low catch was four fish in 2010, and all-time high was 234 in 1979. The last full-length season was 2017, when 18 blackmouth were caught and a winning fish of 9 pounds, 15 ounces was weighed in by Guy Mamiya. Justin Wong had the most fish with a total of five, followed by John Mirante with four fish. It has been a while since a big fish was caught in the derby, dating back to 1958 when Tom Osaki landed a 25-3. In the past decade, the largest was 15-5 caught by Marcus Nitta during the 2008 derby. To further test your skills, only mooching is allowed in the derby. No artificial lures, flashers, hoochies (plastic squids) or other gear like downriggers are permitted. The membership fee is $15 and $5 for children age 12 and under. Tickets will soon be available at Outdoor Emporium in Seattle. Rental boats with or without motors are available from 7 to 11 a.m. –Mark Yuasa
Another Record Catch At King Of The Reach
T
he King of the Reach reached new heights this past October with an estimated 300 to 400 anglers collecting a whopping 1,546 upriver brights during the live-capture derby, nearly 340 more fish than 2018’s record haul from the free-flowing Columbia for spawning at a local hatchery. Justin Sprengel’s 74 fall Chinook were the most brought in by any boat and was exactly twice as many as he collected during 2017’s event, which he also won. Now in its seventh year, the joint Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Grant County Public Utility District and Coastal Conservation Association of Washington undertaking helps ensure that PUD’s Priest Rapids Hatchery fall Chinook stock remains genetically similar to native salmon spawning in the Hanford Reach. The derby occurs after fishing closes for the season. Anglers and guides are required to register as volunteers, and boat captains need fish transporting permits and a way to haul the kings to collection points, either in a livewell or a big cooler with a pump. “Collection boats” also cruise around to gather fish, which are then spawned at the hydropower mitigation facility that raises 7.3 million smolts for release each year.
Grant County Public Utility District fish and wildlife specialists Alan Suan and Cody Stentz place a wild fall Chinook caught on the Hanford Reach into a tanker truck bound for the Priest Rapids Hatchery during October's King of the Reach derby. (GRANT COUNTY PUD) nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
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2020 NORTHWEST FISHING DERBY SERIES Feb. 1-2: Resurrection Salmon Derby, “I have a passion for fishing, and this is a good opportunity to help out with the hatchery to produce more fish so my son can fish for salmon when he grows up,” said guide Jose Herrera, who fished the event with his son Alex, in a PUD press release. “It creates a better future.” Guide John Plugoff brought in the second most kings, 60, Jason Bryan had 54, TJ Hester 47 and Gregg Couch 46. According to WDFW, anglers averaged a fish a minute during the two and a half days of the derby. Prizes are given out based on top catches. “They’re here for fun and also to support the fall Chinook fishery,” said PUD biologist Eric Lauver in a YouTube video on the derby. The utility funds it and estimates that it costs $40,000 to put on. The derby has come a long way since 2012’s initial event drew 58 anglers who collected 68 kings. It really took off last year with 1,210 fish brought in by 277 fishermen in 77 boats.
Anacortes Feb. 6-8: Friday Harbor Salmon Classic Feb. 13-15: Roche Harbor Salmon Classic March 13-15: Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby March 21-22: Everett Blackmouth Derby March 21-22: For the Love of Cod Derby, Charleston-Coos Bay March 28-29: For the Love of Cod Derby, Brookings April TBD: Something Catchy Kokanee Derby July TBD: Bellingham Salmon Derby July or August TBD: Slam’n Salmon Ocean Derby, Brookings
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Sound Anglers Salmon Derby
Aug. 8: Gig Harbor Puget Sound Anglers Salmon Derby
Aug. TBD: Vancouver (BC) Chinook Classic
Aug. TBD: Columbia River Fall Salmon Derby
Sept. TBD: Edmonds Coho Derby Sept. 26-27: Everett Coho Derby For more details and information, see nwsalmonderbyseries.com.
Dec. 1-Jan. 31: Three Rivers Marine and Tackle Hatchery Steelhead Derby, Snohomish River system; info: 3riversmarine.com Jan. 18: NW Ice Fishing Festival, Sidley Lake, Molson, Wash. Feb. 22-23: Columbia River Walleye Anglers Association Open; info: facebook.com/pg/ columbiariverwalleyeanglersassociation March 21-22: Washington State Pond Jumperz Open, Lake Terrell; info: pondjumperz.com For more events, see wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/contests/calendar
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OUTDOOR
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CALENDAR DECEMBER
1, 8 ODFW Steelhead Fishing 101 Workshop ($, registration), Glenn Otto Park, Troutdale – info: odfwcalendar.com 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: nsiafishing.org; WDFW Mentored Pheasant Hunt, St. John (registration) – info: wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/requirements/hunting-clinics 10-16 Tentative razor clam openers at several Washington Coast beaches – info: wdfw.wa.gov 13-14 Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting, Bellingham – info: wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission 14 Washington Goose Management Area 1 reopener; WDFW Mentored Pheasant Hunt, Ephrata (registration) – info: see above 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 27 WDFW Mentored Pheasant Hunt, Mabton (registration) – info: see above 31 Last day to hunt pheasants in Oregon; End of Oregon, Idaho fishing, hunting license years
JANUARY 1 4 10 11 19 20 24 26 21 31
New Oregon, Idaho fishing licenses required; Blackmouth fishing opens in Marine Areas 10, 11; Opening day of Washington late cougar season First of 14 brant goose hunting days in Pacific County (others: 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25 and 26) Deadline to file Washington big game report for incentive permit eligibility; Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting, Salem – info: see above First of three brant goose hunting days in Clallam and Whatcom Counties (others: 15, 18) and first of two in Skagit County (other: 12; more possible based on aerial counts) Last day to hunt ducks in Oregon Zone 2 Last day to hunt partridge, quail and pheasant in Eastern Washington Harney, Klamath, Lake and Malheur Zones late white and white-fronted goose opener; Last day to hunt ducks, geese in Idaho Area 1 Last day to hunt ducks in Oregon Zone 1; Last day to hunt ducks, coots and snipe in all of Washington, and geese in Goose Management Zones 1, 3, 5 Washington Goose Management Area 2 (Coast) reopener; Oregon South Coast Zone goose reopener Deadline to file mandatory hunter reports in Washington, Oregon; Last day to hunt other upland birds in Oregon, Idaho; Last day to fish for trout, salmon and/or steelhead on many Western Washington river systems
nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
Northwest Sportsman 101
102 Northwest Sportsman
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Brought to you by:
2020 BOAT AND SPORTSMEN’S SHOW
CALENDAR
Northwest sportsmen have a full season of fishing and hunting shows to attend this winter, with an event or two scheduled nearly every weekend between early January and late March, and even a couple afterwards. (SEATTLE BOAT SHOW)
JANUARY 8-12 Portland Boat Show, Expo Center, Portland; otshows.com 16-19 Tacoma RV Show, Tacoma Dome, Tacoma; otshows.com 17-19 Great Rockies Sport Show, MetraPark ExpoCenter, Billings; greatrockiesshow.com 17-19 Tri-Cities Sportsmen Show, TRAC Center, Pasco; shuylerproductions.com 22-26 Washington Sportsmen’s Show, Washington State Fair & Events Center, Puyallup; otshows.com 24-Feb. 1 Seattle Boat Show, CenturyLink Field Event Center and South Lake Union, Seattle; seattleboatshow.com Jan 31-Feb. 2 Eugene Boat & Sportsmen’s Show, Lane Events Center, Eugene; exposureshows.com FEBRUARY 3-15 Spokane Valley Boat Show at Elephant Boys 2020, Elephant Boys, Spokane Valley; spokanevalleyboatshow.com
5-9
Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Show, Expo Center, Portland; otshows.com 5-9 Vancouver International Boat Show, BC Place, Granville Island; vancouverboatshow.ca 14-16 Central Washington Sportsmen Show, SunDome, Yakima; shuylerproductions.com 14-16 Douglas County Sportsmen’s & Outdoor Recreation Show, Douglas County Fairgrounds, Roseburg, Ore.; exposureshows.com 14-16 Willamette Sportsman Show, Linn County Expo Center, Albany; willamettesportsmanshow.com 21-23 Jackson County Sportsmen’s & Outdoor Recreation Show, Jackson County Expo, Medford; exposureshows.com 21-23 The Wenatchee Valley Sportsmen Show, Town Toyota Center, Wenatchee; shuylerproductions.com 21-23 Victoria Boat and Fishing Show, Pearkes Recreation Centre at Tillicum Mall, Victoria, British Columbia; victoriaboatshow.com 22-23 Saltwater Sportsmen’s Show, Oregon State Fairgrounds, Salem; saltwatersportsmensshow.com
MARCH 5-8 The Idaho Sportsman Show, Expo Idaho, Boise; idahosportsmanshow.com 6-8 BC Sportsmen’s Show, TRADEX, Abbotsford, British Columbia; bcboatandsportsmenshow.ca 12-15 Central Oregon Sportsmen’s Show, Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, Redmond; otshows.com 13-14 Northwest Fly Tyer & Fly Fishing Expo, Linn County Expo Center, Albany; nwexpo.com 19-22 Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show, Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds, Spokane; bighornshow.com APRIL 23-26 Mid-Columbia Boat & RV Show, Columbia Point Park & Marina, Richland, Washington; midcolumbiaboatshow.com
MAY 14-17 Anacortes Boat & Yacht Show, Cap Sante Marina, Anacortes, Washington; anacortesboatandyachtshow.com nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
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112 Northwest Sportsman
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COLUMN
A winter steelhead angler tries his luck below the High Bridge launch on Snohomish County’s Skykomish, one of dozens of rivers that smolts are still released into for fishermen to catch as returning adults. (CHASE GUNNELL)
Winter Steelhead By The Numbers W
i n t e r steelhead are often a numbers game, from the adage that they’re “the fish of a thousand NW PURSUITS casts” to cubic feet per By Jason Brooks second on river graphs, and from rain measured in inches to catch record cards detailing how many fish we have kept. Then there are the smolt release statistics for hatchery-supplemented runs. Young fish are planted in various rivers for return as adults from one to three years later, allowing anglers a chance to catch and keep those chrome sea-run trout we so much like to fish for. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recently posted smolt release information for this winter’s run. Now, before you get too excited when you see the numbers, remember these are the
fish that were released, not the actual return predictions. Unlike salmon and North of Falcon process, where fishery managers forecast ocean and river mouth abundances for Chinook, coho and other stocks, the steelhead smolt release stats are for outgoing fish, not incoming ones. A large portion of these fish won’t make it back, having been eaten or whatnot while at sea. But since it only really takes one or two fish to make your trip to the river worth it, the numbers might point you in the right direction on where to go, and where not to go, depending on your style of fishing.
LOOKING AT THE totals for the Lower Columbia region, with its planting of 1,125,937 winter smolts you would think that is a great place to go. And the mighty river and its tributaries do offer a lot of water to toss out a hook and find some of those willing steelhead to bite. But if you
go upstream of the mouth of the Cowlitz, then you are cutting the smolt numbers nearly in half, since that trib had a release of 626,000. Of note, that’s the highest figure since at least 2015 and nearly 200,000 more than released for return last year. So why not just head to the Cowlitz then? It’s the number one river in Washington state’s winter steelhead hatchery release program and draws lots of anglers. This is a great river to catch steelhead and just about everyone who has ever fished for winter-runs has headed to the banks of Blue Creek at some point. But if you’re looking for solitude, that might mean finding a river that didn’t receive as many smolt plants. Solitude is often held up as the reason why we fish for winter steelhead. Not too long ago, back when the state did more scatter planting, you could fish the banks of a river, or float down one, and only see
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COLUMN a handful of anglers. It was like a “secret club,” where only a few knew what it was like to stand in the frigid waters and cast to a far seam in hopes of feeling the tug of a bite and arcing the rod as you set the hook. A winter steelhead angler is a bit of an oddity, as we enjoy ice forming on the rod eyes, wool gloves and hats, and those special moments when a large steelhead fights hard. But in recent years,
SMOLT STATS
While today’s steelhead smolt releases are nowhere near historical levels, and ocean conditions and predation play primary roles in how many adult fish return to Washington waters each winter, it’s always interesting to see how many were stocked in which streams and compare that to previous years. Cowlitz R.: 626,000, up roughly 189,000 over 2017 release Quinault R.*: 277,003, down 9,000 Salmon R.*: 204,002, up 23,000 Cook Cr.*: 198,485, down 4,000 Sooes (Tsoo-Yess) R.*: 174,129, up 40,000 Wynoochee R.: 171,000, down 4,000 Nooksack R.: 154,633, up 14,000 Stillaguamish R.: 136,270, up 34,000 Humptulips R.: 132,000, up 5,000 Kalama R.: 119,521, up 31,000 Elochoman R.: 114,109, down 25,000 Bogachiel R.: 113,127, up 3,000 Skookumchuck R.: 106,000, up 19,000 N. Fork Lewis R.: 104,746, down 64,000 Skykomish R.: 98,533, down 36,000 Washougal R.: 87,855, up 14,000 Snoqualmie R.: 75,635, up 8,000 Satsop R.: 56,300, down 8,000 Calawah R.: 55,000, same Willapa R.: 50,305, down 8,000 Naselle R.: 49,107, down 24,000 Salmon Cr.: 37,654, up 8,000 Eight Cr. (Chehalis): 30,000, up 6,000 Wallace R.: 21,696, down 6,000 Rock Cr.: 20,035, down 400 Coweeman R.: 12,000, down 300 North R.: 9,998, up 200 Hoko R.: 5,480, down 19,000 –NWS * Denotes tribal permit required to access all or nearly all of the fishery that returning adult steelhead pass through.
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In conditions ranging from combat fishing at Blue Creek and bumper boats on the Wynoochee, to the solitude of rain forest-lined rivers and productive tribal waters, there’s a little something for all steelheaders. Author Jason Brooks shows off a chrome hatchery steelhead. (JASON BROOKS) as the fishery has become easier and more comfortable to access, with metal boats having propane heaters, small jet sleds and even hybrid jet-drift boats, pontoon rafts, and GPS mapping systems allowing bank anglers to find secret holes and public gravel bars, it’s more popular than ever. Solitude is even more rare than the elusive 19-pound steelhead. Taking a look back at those smolt plants, you will see some famed rivers void of any releases. Such is true with the South Fork of the Toutle. Once a best-kept-secret walkalong fly fishing river, this gem no longer sees any smolts. The clear waters and good access to a decent stretch are now left
alone. This means those anglers will find a new river to go to, often migrating to those that are already known. A few Grays Harbor rivers have seen pressure increase tenfold in the past few years. One of my favorites for winter steelhead, the Wynoochee, has become so popular that you can’t find a place to park your boat trailer, even during weekdays. Some place blame on the internet and great publications, but in reality anglers will find the fish and the rivers. Remember that those same anglers used to fish rivers such as the Toutle, and even if they had very few fish, the smolt plants allowed for retention and that meant it was worth giving it a try. So, maybe the
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COLUMN Besides skiers, not that many others in these parts voluntarily spend time outdoors this time of year, but the chance to catch dinner as well as enjoy the bracing air and beautiful scenery and spend time with friends is why we do it. (CHASE GUNNELL)
focus should be on those smolt plants. Looking at the numbers also tells the story of where WDFW wants us to fish.
RELATIVELY SPEAKING, THE Chehalis River system sees a very large planting of over a third of a million fish. The Wynoochee alone got 171,000 of those, which is why it is so popular, and the tiny Skookumchuck
106,000. So those two rivers have a combined 277,000 smolts released, but one gets a ton of pressure while the other not as much. This is because the Skook is a walk-in river and a small stream compared to the ’Nooch. If you want to catch a steelhead and get a good hike, then head to the former. But if you are a fly angler it’s hard to get a good drift with a back cast,
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and don’t even think about using a boat on this brook due to its several logjams. That’s why the Wynoochee has become so popular. Surrounding rivers have seen reduced or a total stoppage of plantings, forcing anglers to go find the fish, and with fewer rivers receiving plants that means more anglers on these rivers. To expand access to the upper ’Nooch, in 2018 WDFW and Green Diamond Resource Company signed a five-year agreement to reopen the 7400 Line put-in, “contingent on good citizenship of those who visit,” according to the state agency.
THE RIVERS OF the West End, often featured in films, magazines, radio and other media, see a lot of smolt plants as well. But they have one geographical feature that a lot of the other popular rivers don’t and that is the Olympic Mountains separating these productive waters from the cities of Pugetropolis. When it takes five hours to drive to a great steelhead river, anglers tend to do this once or twice a year, at most. This is a good example of rivers that get great smolt releases and less pressure compared to those such as the Cowlitz and Chehalis system. Some of the rivers along the coast that offers the best steelheading in the state, both in numbers and in solitude, are on Native American reservations. Regardless of how you feel about tribal comanagement of fisheries, there is no arguing with the numbers of steelhead that these rivers see, plus there is very little angler pressure compared to state waters. If you want to fish in solitude with good numbers of fish, these waters are one of the few places left where that can be done. BUT IT’S NOT the catching of a lot of fish that draws the winter steelhead angler to wade out into icy waters and cast a line. It is the chance at catching one, the solitude and being part of a secret club where only a few people understand why we steelhead. Look at the smolt plant numbers, look at the pressure and number of boat trailers at the launch. Decide if you want to be among others or in solitude, even if it means casting a thousand times to catch a fish. NS
Skykomish Steelhead! Winter steelhead season is here! After a dismal fall coho run and near statewide season shutdown, Washington anglers are crossing their fingers for positive numbers of winter steel. It’s now time to get the rust off our gear and slap on a few extra layers of fleece and Gore-Tex. The Skykomish River and tributaries typically get upwards of 150,000 steelhead smolt plants. Progeny of these plants will average from 6 to 10 pounds and can be found from Gold Bar all the way down to the mouth. Many of these fish will slow down in the section between the Ben Howard boat ramp and the Wallace River. There are named runs as well as secret holding spots, so covering water is always a wise choice in locating pods of fish.
Shane Young with a limit of Skykomish steel! For most anglers, if asked what is the most effective way to intercept Sky steelhead, the overwhelming answer would be side-drifting. For good reason too! The Skykomish is full of gorgeous runs and tailouts where this technique shines. Casting light offerings from a freedrifting boat is not only affective but can be just what it takes to cover water and find the fish. Local anglers choose sand shrimp or roe to finish off their double No. 4 hook/Cheater setups. Favorite colors are rocket red and orange. Mimicking the speed of the current is paramount in getting these fish to bite, so make sure to tap bottom every few feet by adding the proper amount of lead. A natural drift in the right spot with the right color and bait is a winning combination for steelhead success! Current regulations allow anglers to retain two hatchery steelhead per day. Always check with the WDFW website for emergency rule changes. This message was brought to you by the fishermen of Wooldridge Boats. Have fun and be safe out there!
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COLUMN
Chasing Hood’s ‘Harvest Trout’
The winter sun begins to set behind the Olympic Mountains, keying a better bite for author and kayak angler Scott Brenneman as he chased sea-run cutthroat, or harvest, trout on Hood Canal. (SCOTT BRENNEMAN)
D
emeter, Greek goddess of the harvest, is again grieving. Her daughter Persephone must return THE KAYAK GUYS to the underworld of the By Scott Brenneman dead to visit her husband Hades. Nature grieves with Demeter. With a cold heart, the flowers wither, leaves fall from the trees and the fields become barren with the arrival of winter. She will only make the earth green upon Persephone’s return in the spring. But Demeter is also a kind goddess and did not want mankind to starve, so she provided crops to be harvested. She continued to show her benevolence towards man by creating the sea-run cutthroat trout. This is how I recall this chapter in Greek mythology and which could explain how the SRC came to be called the harvest
trout. Abundant throughout Puget Sound, saltwater cutts can be a willing biter yearround, even during the chilly months of winter, though it should be noted that they’re not open for retention these days.
TO KEEP THINGS interesting with this fishery, I like to explore a new area each time I go. Why stick to one spot when these fish can be found throughout the inland sea’s waterways? For this trip I venture over to Hood Canal. A strong wind from the north prevents me from fishing, but the forecast for the next day offers promise: winds are to wane with high pressure building. I arrive at my launch point just south of Jackson Cove on the west side of the Canal between Quilcene and Brinnon. This location offers refuge if the north wind has not subsided. When planning where to launch, a publication titled Washington Public Shore Guide is an excellent resource for
locating hard-to-find public access points on marine waters. These undeveloped areas are Department of Natural Resources or other state lands. There are no facilities and the sites are usually unmarked, but offer good access to our waterways from a kayak. Rather than focusing on the best tides, I prefer a late afternoon start that avoids the morning chill. Find the right combination of location and presentation and aggressive SRCs will bite regardless of tide phase. Today, as I paddle out, the previous day’s strong winds are reduced to just a ripple on the water’s surface. Hugging the shoreline, I fish my way around Wawa Point towards the inner part of Jackson Cove. I have with me an ultralight spinning setup and a 4/5-weight fly rod. I just bought some really fishy-looking flies the day before, so I am eager to catch a harvest trout on the fly rod. Trolling for over a mile,
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COLUMN Though SRCs can’t be retained in saltwater, they represent a wildly overlooked fishery in Puget Sound, and one that will heat up later in winter as chum and pink salmon fry migrate out into the inland sea. (SCOTT BRENNEMAN)
I try different speeds; I drift and strip in the fly line at various rates without success. After some time exploring the inner reaches of the cove I replace the sandlance fly with a prawn pattern and work the flats and north side of the tiny bay. But after 20 minutes I put the fly rod away.
THE CONVENTIONAL TACKLE needed is quite minimal. An assortment of a dozen small spinners, spoons and plugs, along with swivels and some split shot weights is all to bring. I clip on a size 2.0 Mag Lip with a size 4 siwash hook and troll, retracing my path southward. Having had success with the
plug, it has become my “go to” lure for trout. Up to this point, though, I have not had any luck. I have spent all my time in water about 5 to 10 feet deep. Reaching a stretch where the flats of the cove end, the slope of the gravel shoreline is noticeably steeper. Tall fir trees make their home at the water’s edge, blocking the sunlight along my path. I change depths to where just a hint of the bottom is visible and this is where a SRC strikes at my plug. I pick up my first fish of the day. He is small guy between 8 and 9 inches, but I will take it. Having found a biter, I switch back to the fly rod. I stick with a prawn pattern because it is similar in color to the Mag Lip I am using. But with no takers, I reel up, reposition and switch back to spinning gear. I pass the spot where I caught the first fish and move to a little deeper water, where I can’t see the bottom. I hook into another cutthroat. This one is a little bigger than the first. Conventional gear 2, fly rod 0. Today’s puzzle seems to be solved. The inner coves and flats as well as the east-west shorelines offered no action under clear, sunny conditions. The combination of a nicely sloped gravel beach along the north-south shorelines paired with tall trees offering shade at the water’s edge seems to be the ticket. Electronics are not really necessary since you’re fishing so close to shore. Fish where you are able to see the bottom and just beyond where you can’t, in 5 to 20 feet of water, until you find trout.
IN SEARCH OF bigger fish, I continue making my way south, fishing only spots that meet the aforementioned conditions. After the sun descends behind the Olympic Mountains the fishing improves. The searuns are most active further from shore, in water about 20 feet deep. At this point catching becomes more frequent, with fish ranging from 10 and 12 inches. I pick up the fly rod again and spend the day’s remaining light running a prawn fly with no luck. Fly fishing can be a finicky sport and the cold of winter can be a contributing factor as to why the fish did not take to the fly. Since I like to catch fish, I always bring a plan B, conventional gear with hardware. The obnoxious rattling action of a small plug saved the day on Hood Canal for me. NS 120 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com
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FISHING
Blackmouth Anglers Back In Business Prep now for winter resident Chinook action in South Sound, Hood Canal. By Mark Yuasa
O
nce we roll past the holiday celebrations it’ll soon be time for anglers to reel in some fun as three Puget Sound fishing destinations reopen Jan. 1 for hatchery-marked Chinook. Anglers can ring in the New Year by hitting Marine Areas 10, 11 and 12, the Central and South Sound and Hood Canal, for winter blackmouth. Area 10 is open through March 31, though could close earlier if the quota is caught, and Areas 11 and 12 are open through April 30 without a quota. Anglers were catching and releasing a number of blackmouth before salmon fishing closed on Nov. 12 for coho and chum in central Puget Sound. “There wasn’t a lot of bait around in Area 10 when it was open, although we managed to release some blackmouth,” reports Justin Wong, owner of Cut Plug Charter (seattlesalmonfishing.com) in Seattle. “We didn’t catch a lot of shakers (Chinook under the 22-inch minimum size limit), so that is a good thing. Only time will tell once it reopens (Jan. 1) if there’s blackmouth around, which
Hood Canal and Central and South Puget Sound anglers eagerly chase blackmouth this time of year. Doug Hanada shows off a decent resident Chinook caught on Elliott Bay in a past season. (TENGU SALMON DERBY)
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FISHING is totally different from last year when the bait and fish were thick.” Blackmouth is a term used for a Chinook’s dark gum-line.
THERE ARE A handful of rules of thumb to follow when chasing blackmouth, Chinook that are much different than their migratory brethren that show up in the summer. First off, being flexible with your time on the water is a key to safety, as Puget Sound can be scary a place to be on a boat in winter. Winds and rough seas can pop up at a moment’s notice. Second is locating schools of herring and candlefish, as blackmouth are fixated on one thing and that is eating to their heart’s content. Once you find baitfish – preferably near the bottom Charter skipper Justin Wong says there weren’t many shakers but also not a lot of bait in Area 10 before the chum salmon closure in midNovember. (RANDY KING)
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around dropoffs and steeply inclined locations – make sure to stay on top of them as long as you can because it is likely that hungry Chinook will be following their prey. This is followed by keeping close tabs on your fishfinder to also locate baitfish schools. Keeping your lure or bait near the surface or midwater column depths can reduce the odds of hooking one of these salmon. This is not to say that fish won’t be in those areas, especially if the bait is there, but more often than not the main show is happening around the bottom. Another critical factor is timing and being at the right place during a certain tide. Knowledge of where underwater structures are located can produce a big payoff, especially since
tidal movements will push baitfish up against these deep shelves, dropoffs and ledges, allowing blackmouth to find their feed. It also means that if the fish bit at a certain time of the day, it’s most likely they’ll do the same the following day, only an hour later into the tidal exchange. Lastly, consider going sooner than later because season lengths can hinge on catch guidelines or encounter limits for sublegal and legal-size Chinook.
MANY ANGLERS CLAIM that wintertime salmon fishing can be a lot better than summer. This seasonal fishery in Puget Sound goes way back in time, to the mid-1800s, and has an almost cultlike following. In the 1960s and ’70s, the forerunner to today’s
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Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife annually raised millions of young Chinook and kept them in hatcheries for a year before releasing them. This “delayed” release kept many of the young fish feeding and growing for two to three or more years in local waters instead of migrating out to sea, which defined them as “resident Chinook.” In the hatcheries, these fish also have their adipose fin clipped so anglers can tell the difference between them and unmarked wild fish. Mass marking of Chinook really took off in the early 2000s and in subsequent years, WDFW began expanding winter marked-selective fishing opportunities in Puget Sound. Now virtually all local marine sport salmon fisheries target only adiposefin-clipped Chinook.
IN CENTRAL SOUND’S Area 10, look for blackmouth at Jefferson Head; West Point south of Shilshole Bay; Point Monroe; Fourmile Rock; Rich Passage; Southworth; Manchester; the northwest side of Vashon Island by the channel marker; Yeomalt Point and Skiff Point on the east side of Bainbridge Island; and Allen Bank off Blake Island’s southeastern corner. In the South Sound’s Area 11, try around the Clay Banks off Point Defiance Park in Tacoma; the “Flats” outside of Gig Harbor; Quartermaster Harbor; Point Dalco on the south side of Vashon Island; Southworth Ferry Landing; and Colvos Passage off the Girl Scout Camp. Hood Canal doesn’t garner as much attention in winter, but don’t underestimate what can be a decent fishery off Area 12’s Misery Point, Hazel Point, Pleasant Harbor, Toandos Peninsula, Seabeck Bay and Seal Rock. Another overlooked region is Deep South Sound, Area 13, that is open year-round for hatchery Chinook. Good places are Fox Point; Gibson Point; Point Fosdick; Hale Passage; Anderson Island; Lyle Point; and Devils Head and Johnson Point. NS
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HUNTING
’Fowler’s Delight The back end of duck and goose season brings some of the best hunting of the year in the Northwest.
Cold weather can make for some of the best waterfowling of the season in the Northwest, as ice limits where birds can feed and rest, so keep a close eye on the forecasts. (TROY RODAKOWSKI)
By Troy Rodakowski
F
or me it’s more than just the sharing of a memory; it’s a firsthand experience with nature, long talks with Dad, warm coffee, smiles and special times with furry four-legged friends that pass too quickly. It’s deep thoughts, politics, religion, fart jokes, storytelling, uncontrollable laughter and a good cigar. It’s the memory of my first duck that I shot back in the day, an acrobatic woody swooping down near the edge of a hazelnut orchard and which I folded with one shot. At 10 years old it’s quite a moment to see that first bird hit the ground and get a
taste for waterfowl hunting. I think we are well overdue for a good duck and goose season here in Oregon and Washington. Over the last couple years flights have been a little lighter than predicted throughout the Pacific Flyway, so surely we are in for something very special, right?
THE WEATHER In the western United States, muchneeded precipitation improved wetland conditions in parts of the region this spring, but waterfowl habitats continue to suffer the effects of drought in many areas. This season most biologists were optimistic about spring nesting conditions and hatch success.
Our initial fall rains and early abundance of water that flooded agricultural zones and filled ponds will help migrating birds find feed earlier and slow their southward journey. “We should have a good abundance of feed late into the season this year,” says Dave Rogers of River Refuge Seed in Brownsville, Oregon, which specializes in forage plants that attract waterfowl. Cold November and December storms will push good numbers of birds through our area and improve the hunting, particularly on private lands and wildlife refuges. Moving water will be a key ingredient during cold snaps that ice over stagnant nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
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HUNTING Ducks will congregate at the intersection of surface water and foraging areas, especially late in the season. The temptation is always to pile on the decoys, but sometimes going with fewer, and even none, is the key to success. (TROY RODAKOWSKI)
waters. Rivers, creeks and smaller streams that do not freeze are magnets for ducks and geese. Great shooting can be had at unfrozen waters near agricultural production areas, where the big birds can transition from feeding to resting. Those early blasts of Arctic air into British Columbia are critical to moving birds down early. However, if the winter storm surge is delayed, it is likely that some of the best hunting will once again be had during late December and January.
However, these areas are few and far between, so birds are constantly on the move seeking these desirable hidey holes along the Pacific Flyway. Watching the barometer and weather forecast is essential for a good portion of your late-season success throughout the Willamette Valley. Additionally, be careful not to overcall or add too many decoys to your spread. Some of the best luck I
TIPS AND TACTICS Late-season waterfowl success just about anywhere you hunt is very weather dependent. However, it is even more so along the coastline and valleys of Western Oregon. Bluebird days are some of the toughest to hunt. This is mainly due to the fact that most birds find a place to land and feed early in the morning and remain there for long periods. Scouting locations that birds prefer on sunny days will increase your chances when the weather does not cooperate. During stormy, rainy and windy days, birds tend to stay on the move, seeking shelter in small coves or isolated shorelines where they can feed and avoid the harshest weather conditions. 134 Northwest Sportsman
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Don’t forget about geese. The forecast is for good numbers this season, so find property to hunt now. (TROY RODAKOWSKI)
have had has been with less than half a dozen decoys and very little calling. “As the season progresses and rains return, hunting should improve, with the caveat being cold weather,” emphasizes Brandon Reishus, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s waterfowl biologist. Hunting feeding locations without decoys has also proven to be very effective for us in the past. However this requires extensive scouting in order to pattern bird movements. I prefer seeking out backwater sloughs that might take a little hiking or sweat to reach, whether hauling a decoy bag or not. It’s a lot like finding a good buck during deer season when we walk over that extra ridge only to be rewarded. Many waterfowlers also know birds are beginning to look to pair up for the coming breeding season, which can also tip the scales in our favor.
FLYWAY FACTS Total duck estimates in California, Oregon and Washington were similar to 2018 figures. California’s and Oregon’s numbers were similar to long-term averages, but Washington’s was 32 percent higher. In Nevada, the
HUNTING mallard estimate was 28 percent lower than the 2018 estimate but 23 percent higher than the long-term average. In addition, over the past 10 years, Pacific Flyway populations of Canada geese have increased approximately 9 percent per year, based on breeding ground surveys conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service. This is some good news for those ’fowlers who like to pursue honkers. The flyway’s population of light geese also increased by about 4 percent, while snow goose numbers on Russia’s Wrangel Island jumped 45 percent.
LATE-SEASON DECOY TIPS One thing that is very important for the late season is your decoy spread. Not having too many fake fowl or too few either, as well as a good variety of birds, is important. Make sure to include some motion with jerk cords and feeder decoys. I also like to add a small flock or two of Canada
geese. It looks a bit more realistic to approaching birds. Decoy spreads of two dozen or more divers tend to work best when setting up on coastal lakes or open waters. Place your setup in a horseshoe formation with four to six rafts of birds throughout. Make sure to include three or four open-water landing zones for incoming birds. Waterfowl may wing into the spread from various directions, so providing options is very important. Motion in your decoy spread on days with little or no wind is always a must. The use of drift boats, small motorized boats, canoes or the like where allowed seems to work best to transport decoys and dogs to secluded locations along shorelines. Obtaining permission and hiking to river bank and lakeshore locations is also a great idea. Some of the best hunting is found along private tracts where hunting pressure is very minimal. NS
Author Troy Rodakowski shows off a potpourri of Willamette Valley waterfowl taken last season. (TROY RODAKOWSKI)
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HUNTING Waterfowlers use all kinds of materials to stay as hidden as possible from ducks and geese. A hunter in an Avery Ghillie Suit blends in superbly against their background, though author MD Johnson has had issues mounting his shotgun at incoming birds while wearing one. (AVERY)
Blind Spots And How To Fix Them
Staying hidden from the sharp eyes of ducks and geese is a critical part of waterfowl hunting, but also an overlooked one for success. By MD Johnson
Y
eah, I’ve said it before, but in a conversation about waterfowl and hiding, it’s worth saying again. And again. And again. Actually, I didn’t say it; young Luke Clark, an avid waterfowler and member of the outdoor public relations/communications family, said it. And what Mr. Clark said was this: “You can have the greatest decoys in the world. Set the most perfect spread in the most perfect spot on the most
perfect day. But …” – and here’s the really important part – “if you’re not hidden, you’re not shooting.” Easy as that. And yes, it is elemental, this concept of getting hidden and staying hidden, if, indeed, you want to be a successful duck and goose hunter. Unfortunately, the concept is also largely overlooked. And not only by those new to the sport. Veterans, too, are guilty of what we’ll call camouflage or concealment deficiency. So this issue, let’s take a look at
what you’re doing, what you’re doing (perhaps) wrong, and how to fix the problem.
WHY YOU’RE NOT HIDING You ready for some reality? Why aren’t you hiding? In most cases, you’re lazy. You’ve grown complacent. Despite the birds telling you otherwise, à la flock after flock after flock either sliding off or, worse, flaring wildly, you choose to ignore the fact that something or somethings might just be amiss. nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
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HUNTING Luckily, laziness and complacency are easy to fix. Don’t be lazy. Understand that you’re doing this purely for recreational reasons. The birds, on the other hand? To them, this is serious business. Deadly serious business. If something doesn’t look right, they’re going to find somewhere else to feed or loaf. And trust me, there’s plenty of great loafing puddles in the Northwest; spots devoid of large unnatural blobs of brush, empty shotgun shells, straight lines, radically out of place corners, wiggling dogs, and shiny moon-pie faces looking this way and that. Granted, sometimes the “X” doesn’t offer much in the way of a hide. I have a pasture not far from home here on the Lower Columbia that’s a prime example. It’s a small, 40-acre patch of short-cropped green grass without a single hump, divot, weedline or shrub in sight. Think putting green, and you’re getting close. Geese love it, but
“The damn thing works,” says the author of A-Frame blinds like this one. (AVIAN-X)
for two straight seasons, I’d not been able to hide well enough. I tried layout blinds. I tried ghillie suits. I tried hiding among the decoys while wearing a ghillie suit. Nothing seemed to work. But one morning while lying among the decoys not shooting anything and watching the cows, I had a revelation. Cows. The bane of all field goose
hunters. But this time, I thought, these walking burgers might actually be an asset. What if I took two lengths of easily bendable ½-inch PVC, angle-cut the ends, bent them into a half-hoop, and stuck ’em in the ground? Over the top, I’d drape a black felt cloth with white blotches painted on it. For $12, I can buy an odd-looking – at least
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HUNTING odd looking to me – latex cow head (Halloween?) mask on Amazon. I put the mask on a lightweight pole in front of my PVC/felt “cow,” and voilà! An effective, albeit tremendously homely bovine blind. Will it work? We’ll know
next month. My point here is this: Sometimes you have to be innovative. There will be times when you can’t dig a hole or build a traditional box-style blind. When Mother Nature provides
Just as being lazy about your hide will lead to fewer shot ops, heaping on too much material can also be a problem. Johnson says he sees it most often with layout blinds, which are otherwise a good option for the entire season. (AVERY)
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nothing to hide in, behind, under or alongside, what you cannot be is lazy. Get lazy, and go home empty-handed.
WHAT YOU’RE DOING WRONG: STUBBLE 101 It’s obvious you’re doing something wrong, but what? Let’s say for our purposes here that you’re not being lazy. That you’re genuinely trying to make things work as far as your hide is concerned. What then? From what I’ve seen over the 45 years I’ve been playing around in the water with plastic ducks, I’d feel safe in saying that in 75 percent of the bad blind situations, the problem lies in too much as opposed to too little. Rather, hunters get overzealous when it comes to incorporating brush into the blind. I see this a lot in situations involving layout blinds. And it’s understandable. It’s human nature to want to “hide” the blind with blind material; that is, make the hide invisible with sticks, grass, cattails, tumbleweeds, wheat
HUNTING
As anyone who’s spent time in the outdoors knows, there are few 90-degree angles in nature, and the birds know it too. Covering up your duck boat with a Go-Devil Boat Blind frame and grass panels are a good way to camouflage its appearance. (GO-DEVIL)
stubble, or what have you. What wrong with that? Well, think of it this way. You’ve either built or purchased a blind, e.g. a layout blind, to hide you and your gear. Now, you get into the field and envelope it in so much natural vegetation that it looks out of place. It looks unnatural. It’s now a $250 very obvious blob of something that really shouldn’t be there. Ducks see this. Geese see this. And they fly away. The key to using brush or stubble is to go light, but not too light. Layout blinds, box blinds, boat blinds; they’re all the same. They all have straight lines and 90-degree corners that aren’t found in the natural environment. What you’re trying to do, then, with stubble and brush is to break up those lines and corners. To eliminate the box, so to speak. That, and no more.
here’s a checklist, per se, to help you solve your concealment dilemma. Check it out: It’s imperative, once you “think” you have your hide complete, that you try to look at it as much from the birds’ perspective as possible. Do I know guys who evaluate their blind(s) prehunt with the use of a drone? Yes, I do. Would I do that, even if I had a drone? I would not. Being that anal about your hide is fine; I’m not poking fun, but I don’t
go quite to that extent. What I do do is stand back at a distance and check out my handiwork. Does it blend into the setting well? Are there unnatural shadows? Is it too dark? Too much stubble? I really give it the once-over, and, if something’s out of place, I fix it as best I can. Quarter the wind: Sure, it looks great on YouTube. Mallards in your face. Geese in your face. Wind at your back. Everything working right into the
HOW TO REMEDY THE SITUATION Hiding from ’fowl, especially wary been there/seen that late-season ducks and geese isn’t hard. Nor is it impossible. It can be challenging. It can be frustrating. It can be work, and it’s not – here’s that word again – a task for lazy folks. Be that all what it may, 146 Northwest Sportsman
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“Cattails on the ’Pod getting ratty, leaving too many of the lines uncovered and visible? Time to refresh,” writes the author. (JULIA JOHNSON)
HUNTING
A good idea is to step away from your blind and assess whether it’s doing its job – blending you, your buddies, gear, waterfowl dog, etc., with the background. “Really give it the once-over,” counsels Johnson. (JULIA JOHNSON)
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blind. Straight into the camera. And it does. It looks awesome. And it works. Sometimes. Me, I’m partial to setting my blind, be it layout, A-Frame, Aquapod, or what have you, to quarter both the wind and the decoy spread. Rather, instead of the birds approaching the decoys/blind from straight downwind, they’re working the spread from left to right or right to left with the wind. This way – and in theory – they’re looking at nothing but decoys as they work; the blind(s) are off to one side and out of the picture. For me, such a quartering-to setup works for two reasons. One, I would much rather shoot side to side than oncoming birds. And two, it allows for a margin of error on the hunters’ behalf. You have guys who can’t hide? Fidget all the time? Won’t keep their doors shut or their faces hidden? This helps. Use the sun: No, you can’t control Mother Nature. Some days she gives us clouds; other days, sun. Me, and
HUNTING for ducks over water, I’ll take a good sunny day. That may seem contrary to what’s thought of a “good duck weather,” but let me explain. A grey cloudy day, and those mallards (or wigeon or pintails or gadwalls, et al) can look down and surgically pick apart a blind. It’s easy. They can see, and lest we forget, ’fowl have tremendous eyesight. A sunny day, however, and it’s all about the glare. Oh, they can hear the call. And they catch flashes of decoys here and there – which, by the way, simply look black now – but they’re partially blinded by the sun’s glare on the water. They can’t see. Or at least they can’t see you. So put the sun behind you, if possible. Better it be in the birds’ eyes than your own. Refresh, refresh, refresh: I have a friend down in Tennessee who spends most of his duck season in Arkansas. Bill and his cohorts have several different permanent blinds scattered
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around a couple different parcels of leased property. Long before their season begins, he and his pals cut brush for their blinds. Not a surprise, but what might come as a surprise is that they cut enough for each blind so as to have plenty to refresh the hides throughout the season. The extra is stored out of sight, yet nearby, and allowed to age/brown like both the blind brush and the surrounding live vegetation. Midseason, they can easily do a bit of touch up with 1) stuff that’s handy, and 2) stubble that matches what’s already in use. Smart. Great for a permanent blind, yes, but what about a boat? Or layout blind? Or other portable device? On any and all three, I’m constantly refreshing the natural material. Bunch grass gets off-color, and it’s time for a change. Cattails on the ’Pod getting ratty, leaving too many of the lines uncovered and visible? Same-
same; time to refresh. It’s all about stepping back, looking things over, and then taking the time to make it right. To cover it up. Blend it in. And that’s the key – blend it in. Not obscure. Not construct a secondary blind over the first using 45 acres of reed canary grass. Sometimes, blending in is as easy as carefully slapping a thin coat of mud over the hull of your Aquapod and tucking it into the tideline. Nothing tough about that, is there?
FINAL THOUGHTS ON BLINDS I’ve rambled enough, so let’s make this brief. Natural blinds: My favorite kind of blind. If I can hunker in the cattails, crouch in a fenceline, wiggle into some berry bushes, or simply hide in the shadows alongside a big ol’ cottonwood, that suits me just fine. Ghillie suits: Love/hate relationship. Ghillie suits are incredible portable
HUNTING
Johnson calls natural blinds – ones in which he can hide in native vegetation or make use of fencelines, trees or other structures – his favorite. (JULIA JOHNSON)
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blinds, but a bugger to shoot out of because you’re always catching something on something as you move to mount the gun. Maybe I need to practice more, as they can be tremendously effective. Layout blinds: I spend a lot of time in layout blinds from September through early March. Personally, I’m partial to a full-frame layout; there’s simply more room, especially when the weather turns and you’ve bulked up with clothing. My go-to layout is an Avery/Banded Ground Force; however, there are dozen of great layouts on the market today. A-Frames: I’ve lived in smaller apartments than Fred Zink’s original A-Frame blind, but the damn thing works. Yes, it’s situational, but where it works, it works ridiculously well. And there’s just something about sitting in a comfortable folding chair drinking coffee in front of a small propane heater that’s, well, nice for us poor ol’ duck hunters. NS
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Xmas Gift Ideas For Gun Dogs, Owners
In addition to being great training tools, bumpers, or dummies, make excellent gifts for gun dogs and their owners. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
I
love Christmas and everything about it. The fact I start listening to Christmas music on Nov. 1 drives my family crazy, but I’m sure my dogs enjoy it. GUN DOGGIN’ 101 One thing we all look By Scott Haugen forward to this time of year, however, is our dogs unwrapping their own presents under the tree on Christmas morning. With your gun dog in mind, here are some Christmas gifts to consider. Each are items I’ve personally used with success, and my dogs love them, as do I.
MY MOST IMPORTANT training tool is a bumper. I use them almost every day, sometimes multiple times a day during my morning and evening training sessions. The key with bumpers is to use them as teaching tools and making sure you have
the right one for the job. It’s a good idea to have white-, black-, black/white- and orange-colored bumpers on hand. White vinyl bumpers are ideal for use on cloudy days and when tossing them into darker backgrounds, be it water, fields or the forest floor. Black vinyl bumpers are good on bright days and when tossing them on water with a silver reflection on the surface. Black-and-white-colored vinyl bumpers offer contrast that can be picked up in a range of lighting conditions, which is what dogs key in on. Remember, dogs are color blind and they can’t see orange. This is why I like orange canvas bumpers for specific training purposes. Adding a little scent to orange canvas bumpers makes them perfect for placing or tossing into a setting without the dog seeing where they end up. This requires the dog to use its nose to locate the bumper, rather than getting a line of sight on it being thrown. Be sure
to work into the wind when training with scented bumpers. My canvas bumper of choice is made by Cabela’s (cabelas.com), which also offers of range of scents that can be applied to the device for training. You can also secure a bird wing to a bumper, for added scent detection. As for vinyl bumpers, I’ve been using Browning’s line (browninglifestyle .com) for over a year and am very pleased with their performance in the wide range of conditions in which I’ve used them.
SPEAKING OF BOTH companies, they offer hunting vests that are perfect for my dogs. I have two pudelpointers, and their build is large in the shoulders and narrow in the waist and hind end. Cabela’s cut-tofit neoprene waterfowl hunting vests are durable and very efficient for my dogs. Browning’s new design of waterfowl vests offer easy Velcro adjustments that will snug up nicely on a dog, and the handle nwsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2019
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COLUMN Dog vests come in many styles and serve specific purposes. This Browning safety vest is ideal for locating your dog in thick cover, where a chest protector vest isn’t necessary. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
on the back is perfect when hunting from a boat or when I have to help the dogs up steep, cut banks. These companies also offer a nice line of upland vests I’ve been pleased with.
ANOTHER GOOD GIFT for your dog is treats. You might want to hold off putting these under the tree until Christmas morning because their noses are strong and those gifts may get opened sooner
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rather than later. Be sure and get healthy treats made of quality ingredients. A chewy gambrel tendon and bully stick are great for cleaning a dog’s teeth and also keeps them from chewing on clothes, shoes and furniture – a great gift for puppies. Training treats are also good to have on hand, but make sure they are small and healthy. Recently I’ve been using freeze-dried lung and liver for treats when on the hunt. My dogs love the roasted beef lung tips made by Butcher’s Prime and I like them because they are lightweight and highly nutritious. I also rely on a variety of treats offered by NutriSource Pet Foods (nutrisourcepetfoods.com). These treats are small, nutrient-dense, and easy to carry afield. When giving my dogs treats, I don’t want something that takes time or is greasy to handle, which is why I depend on the aforementioned choices.
AS FOR TOYS for your gun dog, make sure toys don’t get confused with training tools. For example, deer antlers are often sold as chew toys, but if you’re going to shed hunt with your dog, letting them chew on antlers is ill-advised. If you want to get your dog a chew toy, get them a real bone rather than an antler. If getting balls or plastic chew toys, make sure they can withstand the power of a hunting dog’s jaws. Most toys are made for small dogs, and gun dogs can easily tear them apart. You do not want these toy parts being swallowed by your dog, as they can lead to serious problems. If unsure of a toy’s durability, closely watch your dog after it’s been given to them and immediately take it away if it begins to fall apart.
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A CHRISTMAS LIST for your dog can be lengthy, but remember, quality is more important than quantity. Whatever you decide to get your gun dog this holiday season, have fun, as their years with us quickly pass. 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.
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This time of year offers quite a gift basket of opportunity for small game and bird hunters in the Northwest – rabbits, quail, partridge, grouse, ducks and geese, among other species. Brian Lull bagged this ringneck on a quacker hunt last December. (HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST)
2020 Eyesight: Holidays May Interrupt, But Opportunity Beckons T
his time of year is invariably a period of mixed feelings; my grouse season closes and the holidays mean I’m a year older ON TARGET than the last time By Dave Workman around, but on the upside, there’s still plenty of opportunity on the horizon. Last year found me out in the Columbia Basin chasing quail and chukar, and
maybe a lingering stupid pheasant, and for lots of other folks, there were still ducks and geese. Those who wrap up against the bone-chilling cold can fill their bags if the weather cooperates and the ponds don’t completely freeze. Eastern Washington upland bird hunting extends to Jan. 20 for ringnecks, California quail, chukar and gray partridge, while ducks and geese are still in the bull’seye through Jan. 26, as are coot and snipe, but check the regulations pamphlet on
Pages 6 and 11 for complete details. Idaho and Oregon waterfowl and upland bird seasons wrap up around the same time. If you’re still looking around for lastminute holiday gifts, find a couple of boxes of steel or some other nontoxic shot and stick them under the tree. For the small-game hunter, a brick or a couple of 100-round boxes of .22 Long Rifle always bring a smile. Those are the kinds of gifts that outdoorsmen and -women on anyone’s holiday shopping list can always
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put to good use. I was hunting at the northwest end of Bureau of Land Management ground up in Washington’s Douglas County on the deer opener, and spotted several pheasants, so a guy with a good dog might still manage a few birds up there, weather conditions permitting. For last-minute grouse, working the forest roads mornings and evenings might produce fool hens, and – again weather permitting – one might find some blue grouse going up Teanaway Ridge, or getting into the upper elevations of the Taneum. Winter snow will determine access, but I’ve run across cross-country skiers who had a .22 tucked under their parkas for the errant rabbit or snowshoe hare. The season for bunnies continues through March 15, and there’s often nothing like a tasty cottontail for a winter meal. Spotting a snowshoe hare might be a challenge because the buggers will be white, but one year when there wasn’t a lot of snow in some spots put them at a disadvantage because the ones I saw stuck out like neon.
MIDWINTER MAINTENANCE Author Dave Workman will take his trusty .410 Stoeger Uplander double-barrel shotgun afield, and/or the Ruger .22-caliber pistol (inset) hidden underneath that parka. (DAVE WORKMAN)
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Having preached in the past about proper gun maintenance, now’s a good time to repeat the lesson. Now is always a good time to clean your guns, especially the ones that have been in the field from September and October and still might have some powder residue in the bore and chamber. Here’s another idea for a last-minute Christmas gift: a new cleaning kit. Swabbing out your rifle or shotgun bore, and even your handgun barrel and action, with some Hoppe’s No. 9 or Outers Nitro Powder Solvent, or some other cleaning agent, should be considered obligatory. Dry it out with clean patches and then add a light film of oil before sticking your gun away for the season. Here’s a trick I’ve used to prevent oil from slowly working its way down into the action while a long gun is in the rack: leave the action open and stick a piece of old T-shirt loosely in the breech. There are some certainties in life and gravity is one of them. Even a light film of oil in a gun bore
might work down into the action over time, and you can keep it from crudding things up by catching any oil that might dribble downward in firearms stored vertically. If you receive a holiday gift that contains small bags of silica gel or some other desiccant, save those and stick them in your gun safe or locker to catch any hint of moisture that might, over time, cause rust or corrosion. Got a new gun? First things first: Every new firearm I’ve ever owned or even just tested got a bath in Hoppe’s to clean off the shipping oil. Never fire a new gun until after you’ve cleaned it of those oils.
2020 SHOT SHOW LOOMS We detail dates for upcoming boat, sportsmen’s and RV shows elsewhere this issue, and outside our region the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show is scheduled Jan. 21-24 in Las Vegas. I’ll be there to get the lowdown on new guns and gear that you’ll be reading about in Northwest Sportsman and its sister publication, American Shooting Journal, in the months ahead. Rifles, shotguns, handguns, ammunition and accessories; there will be acres of stuff to see and literally a couple of miles of aisles. The event is not open to the public. It’s an industry trade show, but you can bet there will be something for every interest that will fill pages of periodicals from now through midsummer and even early fall.
INITIATIVE 1094 Unless you’ve been living in a cave, by now all Washington gun owners should know about the massive grassroots effort to repeal gun control Initiative 1639, the billionairebacked extremist measure passed by voters (some who have complained they were misled about the initiative’s intent) in 2018. Initiative 1094 petitions have been in nearly every gun shop and sporting goods store around the state, with a handful of exceptions. Backers of the measure need 300,000 signatures by Dec. 31 in order to deliver petitions to the Secretary of State’s office Jan. 3 for consideration by the Democrat-controlled Legislature. If the measure qualifies, there will
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KICK-EEZ® While the initiative effort has been underway, the National Rifle Association and Second Amendment Foundation have been backing a federal lawsuit challenging provisions of I-1639. Those organizations could use financial support to fight the measure in court.
SPEAKING OF THE 10/22 …
Ruger and Viridian’s new 10/22 Scope package features a 10/22 Carbine shipped with an EON 3-9x40mm scope. While unavailable for purchase by Washington residents 21 and younger due to 2018’s Initiative 1639, a campaign aims to repeal it by getting a countermeasure on November 2020’s ballot. (RUGER) almost certainly be a campaign to defeat it, funded by the same folks who put I-1639 on the ballot. By the time you read this, tens of thousands of gun owners have already signed, and if you haven’t, better make an effort to do so. Anybody who tried to buy a modern semiauto sporting rifle, a Ruger 10/22,
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Marlin Model 60, one of the new Savage self-loading rimfires during the past few months understands the gravity of the situation. All of those firearms are now classified as “semiautomatic assault rifles.” Young adults can’t buy one and there’s a 10-day waiting period and mandatory training requirement.
While it grieves me to mention once again that the Ruger 10/22 is now considered a “semiautomatic assault rifle” – a firearm that really doesn’t exist except in the warped mind of an anti-gunner – the company continues to market possibly the most popular of the self-loading rimfire rifles on the map with a new version. Ruger and Viridian have teamed up on a new 10/22 Scope package, announced a few weeks ago, essentially just in time for holiday season shoppers. This new package features a 10/22 Carbine shipped with an EON 3-9x40mm scope from Viridian Optics. Granted, I’m an older guy whose eyesight is no longer what it was at age 18, but some 20 years ago, I learned that putting a scope on my own 10/22 was one of the smartest ideas I ever had. That rifle is a sizzler with a low-power scope, and this new package that features a 3-9X on top is going to spell doom to more rabbits, grouse and other small game, or even coyotes, than I care to forecast. I have yet to see a 10/22 that could not do two things reliably: 1) Digest every .22 Long Rifle round in a box until you run completely out of ammunition (they are, as my pal Dick Burnett once observed, “a lead hose”); 2) And put a bullet accurately into anything they’re aimed at (including targets as diminutive as bottle caps or wood kitchen matches). The rifle in this new package features Ruger’s user-friendly magazine release, and popular 10/22 features including the push-button, cross-bolt manual safety and cold hammer-forged barrel. Each rifle ships with one detachable, 10-round rotary magazine (you can find spares at gun shops all over the map) and a Ruger branded hard case. NS
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COLUMN
The Ravine J
ust to the east of downtown Boise is a mountain called Lucky Peak. Why CHEF IN THE WILD it got that name, By Randy King I have no idea. It has a radio tower at the top, is accessible by road, and has improved trails running most ridgelines. It is a popular biking, hiking and trail running area for residents of the City of Trees. I have seen deer sign on those trails for years while running them. Seeing game sign on a run immediately makes me wish I was hunting. I lose all interest in my pace, my calories burned and my training “program.” I become a hunter. I look for
bedding areas, food sources, trails and high-pressure escape routes. One draw in particular has always held my attention. I have stared at that area from three separate kitchens wishing I was up there hunting it. The draw starts off open and inviting with several trails intersecting at its base. Then it gets steep and narrow, and all trails abandon it for nearly a mile in diameter. The ravine gets so little sun that water is present yearround. It even has a nice riparian area for bedding and forbs. Basically, I have drooled over this spot for the better part of a decade. I have seen it from every angle on onX Maps and Google Earth. And I finally decided last spring that I was hunting this spot.
MY GOAL WAS a bit silly but I thought it was also completely achievable. I wanted to see the city of Boise in the background of my “grip and grin” with a deer I had harvested. I wanted to see my city and my food at the same time. I wanted to know that my dreaming of one draw and my hope that I could get my meat as close to home as possible was, in fact, possible. So I applied for an either sex deer tag for the unit and was lucky enough to draw it. Time to make meat. With tag in hand, I found myself at the base of a mountain bike and hiking access trail in the Boise foothills. I was the first vehicle at the parking area, a very popular jump-off spot I would come to find out. I tossed on my pack and shouldered my
Goal achieved: harvesting a deer within sight of his hometown, Idaho’s state capitol. A ravine on Lucky Peak above Boise had long intrigued author and hunter Randy King, who drew a doe tag this fall and filled it. (RANDY KING)
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‘UMAMI’ ADDS MMM TO VENISON STEAK
I
find myself often using a particular adage in the spring – if it grows together, it goes together. Mostly I use it for turkey and asparagus and morels. However, I have been lacking in my own conviction. Fall, my beloved time of year, offers some of the best mushroom picking to be had in the Cascade Range. Cool and moist air combine to create the perfect conditions for chanterelles to grow. In the restaurant business I called them yellow gold. Depending on the location, these fungi can be absolutely prolific. My favorite part about picking them is that they stand out well. Spring’s morels blend in like magic against the detritus and duff of the forest floor, not to mention the burns that black morels pop up in. If you are in a patch of chanterelles, you can see them, and that makes it a whole lot of fun. Mushrooms are second only to seaweed in the umami sensation. If you have not heard of umami, don’t fear, it is the “new” way to taste things. Basically in Western cooking we have always used four basic aspects of flavor – bitter, salty, sweet and sour. Umami classifies as a fifth flavor and the identification of it stems from Japanese cooking. You know that flavor of “savory” you get from soy sauce, caramelized meat and mushrooms? That is umami. Finding ways to make a balanced dish with the flavors above is what creates magic. Classic combinations do this very well. Let’s take barbecue ribs, for example. Generally, the meat has fat, is cooked with an acid, there’s sweetness in the sauce, sometimes some soy and plenty of salt. The whole combination makes a dish. So when using mushrooms and meat in one dish, you need to find the balance of other flavors to be successful.
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Venison steak with sherry cream mushrooms. (RANDY KING) In this dish, venison steak with sherry cream mushrooms, you get balance from combinations of saltiness from the salt (duh), fat from the cream, sweet from the sherry, and then umami from the mushrooms. Stack that on some venison and a “bright” flavored potato (lemon and parsley) and you have a winning combo. 3 tablespoons butter 4 each, 6-ounce venison steaks (sirloin, flatiron or backstrap work best) ½ pound chanterelles (or other wild-ish mushrooms) ½ onion, small, diced 2 cloves of garlic, smashed ½ cup sherry wine ½ cup cream Salt and pepper Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring steaks to room temperature. Season steaks with salt and pepper. In 10-inch sauté pan add a tablespoon of butter and heat on medium until butter is clear and foaming. Add the
two steaks to the pan. Brown on both sides – two to three minutes. Set aside. Add another tablespoon of butter and melt it. Add the two remaining steaks to the pan and cook until brown, three to four minutes per side. Place all steaks on a cookie sheet and place in a 350-degree oven and cook until 120 degrees internal temperature, or to your preference. Add the remaining butter to the pan. Melt and add the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Lower the heat. You don’t want to burn the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. When the mushrooms begin to lose some moisture, add the sherry wine. This will boil fast and quick. Then, when most moisture is gone, add the cream. Bring to a boil and then simmer for three minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until steaks are done. Serve over mashed potatoes and roasted carrots. For more wild game recipes, see chefrandyking.com. –RK
COLUMN .270 in the predawn. I had arrived about 20 minutes before shooting light and was hoping to get about a mile in by the time I could shoot. As I began my climb out of the Hunter Homes subdivision access point (I love that name, by the way) time clipped by. Soon enough it was shooting light and out from a draw popped a solo doe. I put the deer in my sights. I could hear a dog barking in the background; I could see patio lights turning on as the day began to awaken. Houses were only 1,000 yards away. I put my gun down; I was too close. While it would have been legal for me to harvest that deer, it would not have felt ethical. I didn’t want to be the reason the rich foothills folk petitioned Fish and Game to close the area to hunting. Just because you can does not always mean that you should.
TWO MORE MILES and I was now into the ravine that I had obsessed over. Deer sign began to show up. The worse the terrain
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and the harder and farther away from the trails I ventured, the more tracks and scat I saw. With a trickle of water flowing in the bottom, I knew I was close. But my time was also starting to run out. I had set a timer on my phone; 20 more minutes, then I needed to turn back. I sat on a rock to glass a cut into the ravine. Then I heard the telltale sign of mule deer, the bouncing run that they use. They were only about 50 yards up the ravine from me, climbing boulders and glancing over their shoulders at me. Eventually they stopped and did the classic mule deer lookback. This one fault in the biology of mule deer has allowed me to kill more than my fair share. When they’re in a good location, especially when you have a doe tag, hunting them becomes more of a spook and shoot than a spot and stalk. I quickly put my pack in front of me, securing a stable shooting rest. I waited and watched. When a doe stopped and turned broadside at about 130 yards, I
took my shot. It was a little more forward than I wanted – neck shot, really. She dropped. Mission success. I quickly processed her into manageable chunks and put her into game bags. Then I strapped her down to my pack and stood. The roughly 70 pounds of pack wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t a pleasant amount of weight to be hauling either. I slowly made my way out of my new favorite ravine, finding a bone-white shed antler for the pile in my backyard along the way. Walking down the path I ran into a number of hikers and bikers. I received several looks of surprise, a few looks of happiness and one downright scowl. But I knew what I was doing. I was making meat in an area as close to my house as I could. I had the dedication and motivation to hunt where I could see the biggest city in the state of Idaho but still be isolated from other hunters. My determination had won the day. Time to pick a new draw. NS
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