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Volume 15 • Issue 7
Your Complete Hunting, Boating, Fishing and Repair Destination Since 1948.
PUBLISHER James R. Baker EDITOR Andy “Having all sorts of fun with the colander” Walgamott THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS Dave Anderson, Jason Brooks, Scott Haugen, Jeff Holmes, MD Johnson, Randy King, Sara Potter, Buzz Ramsey, Troy Rodakowski, Dave Workman, Mike Wright, Mark Yuasa EDITORIAL FIELD SUPPORT Jason Brooks GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak SALES MANAGER Paul Yarnold ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Mike Smith DESIGNER Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker OFFICE MANAGER/COPY EDITOR Katie Aumann INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER Lois Sanborn WEBMASTER/DIGITAL STRATEGIST Jon Hines ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@nwsportsmanmag.com CORRESPONDENCE Email letters, articles/queries, photos, etc., to awalgamott@media-inc.com, or to the mailing address below. ON THE COVER Katie Luis shows off a Sekiu halibut she caught with a pipe jig during 2021’s season. Unlike past years, this part of the western Strait of Juan de Fuca opens in April and features five-day-a-week fishing. (COAST PHOTO CONTEST)
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CONTENTS
ALSO INSIDE
VOLUME 15 • ISSUE 7
55
20 TIPS FOR CONKING COMBAT KINGS
Admit it, you know you love Drano Lake and the Wind River, two of the most competitive spring Chinook fisheries on the planet. So too does Columbia Gorge guide Craig Mitchell, who shares 20 keys for putting fish in the boat (without sinking it in the Toilet Bowl!). (MITCHELLSPORTFISHING.COM)
38
GO TIME FOR OCEAN ANGLERS As seas lay down in April and May, it’s time to head off the Oregon and Washington Coasts for tasty rockfish and lingcod. Jeff Holmes stokes your inner salty dog for runs out of harbors from Neah Bay to Newport!
49
HALIBUT SEASON ARRIVES OFF WASHINGTON Early April western Strait of Juan de Fuca opener. More consecutive open days in Puget Sound. Tuesday fishing out of Westport. That’s what Evergreen State flattie fishermen can look forward to during the 2023 season and Mark Yuasa has the details!
77
HIGH ON THE LOWLAND OPENER The fourth Saturday of the month is a hallowed holiday for Washington rainbow anglers, and here to preview this year’s opener and regional best bets is Steve Caromile, statewide trout manager.
89
SPRING TO SPRAGUE Plentiful forage and super-fast growth rates make Sprague Lake a quality destination fishery, and with spring being prime time, Mike Wright shares how to work the Channeled Scablands water.
97
WANNA CATCH TROUT? TRY THESE 2 LAKES! In a region of Washington blessed with fishy waters, Wannacut Lake stands out for its plentiful and larger rainbow trout, while neighboring Blue Lake offers Lahontan cutthroat. Load up the boat and pack your gear for a run to the Okanogan!
126 10 TOP TOM TIPS With spring turkey season opening April 15 in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, we asked MD Johnson – a guy with more than 100 birds under his collective belt – for advice that will help you bag a bird or two this season. 137 OREGON’S BEST TURKEY PROSPECTS Beaver State tom boss Mikal Cline might not share all of her secret locales, but Troy Rodakowski did get her to detail the top units to start your spring hunt!
SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Go to nwsportsmanmag.com for details. NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. Periodical Postage Paid at Seattle, WA and at additional mail offices. (USPS 025-251) POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northwest Sportsman, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. Annual subscriptions are $39.95 (12 issues), 2-year subscription are $59.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Index Publishing Group, or call (206) 382-9220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues may be ordered at Media Index Publishing Group offices at the cost of $5 plus shipping. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2023 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.
14 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
VISIT MOSES LAKE Your Home Base For Adventure
For a list of hotel/motels, restaurants, and other attractions, visit www.tourmoseslake.com.
Tour Moses Lake W A S H I N G T O N
69
BUZZ RAMSEY
High Desert Region No Slouch For Trout A trip to Central Oregon last spring put Buzz into some fine trout waters. He reports on how to work Crane Prairie Reservoir and Lava, South Twin and East Lakes for nice-sized rainbows and browns.
(BUZZ RAMSEY)
COLUMNS 103 NORTHWEST PURSUITS Catch More Trout No, the lakes don’t all get fished out on opening weekend – there are still plenty of trout to catch afterwards. Jason details how to adjust your tactics as stockers adapt to their new environs. 109 FOR THE LOVE OF THE TUG The World Needs More Mr. Browns John Brown played a role in the outdoor education of Sara back in grade school and by chance he was still teaching 30 years later when her son entered sixth grade. Sara shares the reunion in the woods of her beloved Umpqua and what it all means. 143 ON TARGET Time For Some Tom Foolery: Best Odds, Load Choices Dave W. previews Washington’s best gobbler grounds, as well as shares some thoughts on top turkey loads and other advice ahead of the season. 149 CHEF IN THE WILD Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarge! When traditional spring turkey hunting techniques don’t work, special tactics are sometimes called for … or something like that. Chef Randy also serves up tasty turkey empanadas with Mexican mole sauce! 155 GUN DOG Daisy’s Drive Scott loves his pudelpointers, but during a late-season preserve hunt in Northcentral Oregon, he really enjoyed hunting behind a remarkable 2½-year-old cocker spaniel named Daisy – and the operation and guide weren’t bad either. 160 BECOMING A HUNTER Finding And Exploring New Areas To Hunt Dave A. openly admits that he neither grew up in the Northwest, nor knew how to hunt its big game, but he’s enjoyed a lot of success on mule deer and elk here. So too can beginning hunters using his, er, game plan.
16 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
24
(ANDY WALGAMOTT)
THE BIG PIC
Construction Zone Kings Work on the I-205 bridge over the Willamette at Oregon City won’t stop a famed spring Chinook fishery.
DEPARTMENTS
18 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
23
THE EDITOR’S NOTE WDFW harbor seal control push needs Puget Sound angler support
27
THE DISHONOR ROLL NE OR man sentenced for killing, wasting elk; Jackass of the Month
29
DERBY WATCH Fishing derby season ramps up; More upcoming events
31
OUTDOOR CALENDAR Upcoming fishing and hunting openers, events, deadlines, more
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THEEDITOR’SNOTE
A Puget Sound harbor seal lurks off a boat fishing for hatchery Chinook. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)
W
ashington fishery managers used March’s North of Falcon salmon forecast reveal to keep momentum going towards doing something about harbor seal predation on ESA-listed Puget Sound Chinook. As I reported here in February, it is “likely impeding the recovery of salmon populations,” according to a Washington State Academy of Sciences report out last fall. Don’t expect anything big or soon, Nate Pamplin, Department of Fish and Wildlife policy director, cautioned anglers, but he was looking for support in taking on the “incredibly conservative” Marine Mammal Protection Act. “This is going to be a pretty massive process.” Pamplin said WSAS’s findings – which also stated that “strategic lethal removal of pinnipeds is an approach that may be required for understanding the magnitude of impacts of pinnipeds on salmonids, either at local scales or at the ecosystem scale” – wouldn’t surprise anglers, but it was “nice to have an independent scientific body come to that conclusion.” He took pains to enunciate WDFW’s thinking: “It’s not a population reduction; it’s dealing with problem animals.” In that way, any approach might look like what’s going on with Steller and California sea lions at Bonneville Dam and Willamette Falls, pinch points where pinnipeds enjoyed free lunches until state and tribal managers received federal authorizations to take out specific animals confirmed to be feeding on salmon or steelhead.
PAMPLIN SAID THERE are several management options under MMPA, all with varying degrees of difficulty. WDFW could apply for a waiver of the act’s take moratorium to manage harbor seals – rarely granted. They could request the feds turn over management of seals that are at their optimal sustainable population, or OSP, to the state. That would include coastal, Strait of Juan de Fuca, San Juan Islands and Puget Sound stocks, but not Hood Canal – never been done before. Then there’s MMPA’s Section 120 approach, which allows for lethal removal of individual pinnipeds shown to be having a “significant negative impact” on at-risk salmon. The issue is identifying particularly gluttonous pinnipeds – easy from elevated perches at Bonneville, problematic on the vast sweep of Puget Sound. Still, what I hear from Pamplin is more “next steps” than “@$%$ it.” He outlined a $945,000 request in WDFW’s 2023-25 budget to continue collecting seal abundance, distribution and diet info. “You’re not going to get an exemption to the Marine Mammal Protection Act unless you bring a lot of science,” noted Tom McBride, agency legislative director. Pamplin will also need to build a lasting, durable and wider coalition in support of removing some seals. In some areas, that might include nonlethal tactics, but elsewhere it would be about focusing on individuals specializing in salmon predation. That seems to be where WDFW’s at on this one right now. –Andy Walgamott nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023
Northwest Sportsman 23
An angler fishes below the I-205 bridge over the Willamette River at Oregon City earlier this season. Construction here during this and the next three spring Chinook runs will strengthen and widen the key crossing. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)
Construction Zone Kings Work on the I-205 bridge over the Willamette River at Oregon City won’t stop a famed spring Chinook fishery, but beware of navigation restrictions, advisories.
B
ridge work on I-205 at Oregon City won’t stop spring Chinook fishing on the popular waters just below Willamette Falls, but Portland-area anglers will need to be aware of no-wake, navigation and other restrictions that will be in effect here into 2025. “Pay attention, use common sense, follow boater safety rules we have everywhere on the river, be mindful of workers” is just some of the advice Oregon Department of Transportation lead project engineer Allen Hendy has for fishermen.
24 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
As crews from contractor Kiewit make what’s known as the Abernethy Bridge more earthquake-proof, as well as widen the lanes of the interstate that bypasses the Rose City, recreational access through the work zone and in and out of Sportcraft Marina and its ramp will be maintained. “That’s the plan. It’s not going to change,” Hendy said earlier this season. There had been a few rumors about a closure here as a larger return of springers – 70,000 Willamette fish are forecast to enter the Columbia – began to nose its way
toward Oregon City and points upstream. But Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Beth Quillian confirmed the river was staying open from mouth to falls. That said, boaters will need to reduce their speeds so they produce no wake in the bridge construction zone, said Hendy, as well as use the series of big red and green buoys to transit through the area, keeping at least 150 to 200 feet away from the barges. “Traveling through the area to fishing spots shouldn’t be a problem at all, as long as people use common sense and typical
The waters above and below the interstate bridge are very popular with springer anglers. (ODFW)
boater safety rules,” he said. While April marks the typical peak of spring king catches in the lower Willamette and the Multnomah Slough, passage over the falls doesn’t crest until May and June. Anglers slowly troll size 3½ Mulkey spinners 24 to 30 inches behind a Pro-Troll, with a 12-ounce cannnonball weight 2 feet ahead of the flasher, or back-troll a Mag Lip or diver and eggs, sand shrimp, prawn or red-label herring on a 6-foot leader, targeting depths from 10 to 20 feet. A few fishermen jig. With construction this springer season
focused on the West Linn, or west, side of the Willamette, the navigation channel is on the east, or Oregon City, side of the river. That means Pier 6 – a bridge piling and popular spot to fish off the west bank – isn’t available for the time being, Hendy said. Anglers should be aware of anchor lines mooring construction barges to 6-foot round buoys that could make trolling in some areas a losing proposition, he warns. And while as heartbreaking as it might be to have to cut a tasty springer loose, that might be wiser than damaging your boat or
possibly capsizing it under the equipment. “That’s the last thing that we want to see – someone chasing a fish and losing power. The barges are not moving,” he said. If problems do develop with river users not following signage, the Clackamas County River Patrol will be in charge of enforcement, Hendy said. Work on the Abernethy Bridge is scheduled to continue into 2025. Keep tabs on it at i205corridor.org, where there’s project details, weekly updates, four web cams, and more. –Andy Walgamott
nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023
Northwest Sportsman 25
MIXED BAG
NE OR Man Sentenced For Killing, Wasting Elk
A
42-year-old Elgin man was sentenced to 10 days in jail and other punishments after pleading guilty to unlawfully killing and wasting a large bull elk in Northeast Oregon last fall. Cody Murrill was also given 12 months’ probation, forfeited the rifle he used to kill the five-by-six and ordered to pay $440 in fines at his sentencing in circuit court in late January. The case began on October 1, the opening day of Oregon’s 2022 Public tips helped nail the Union County, Oregon, controlled rifle deer season, when buck man who pled guilty to killing this bull elk last fall and was sentenced for it earlier this year. (OSP) hunters called the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division to report they had found a dead elk on private timberlands north of the town of Elgin. Responding troopers determined it had been shot with a rifle off a logging road a day or two beforehand and none of the meat had been taken. The area’s controlled rifle elk season didn’t open until late October and the controlled archery elk season had wrapped up September 25. Troopers credit “the public’s assistance” for helping develop a suspect, which led to their interview with Murrill, who they cited for unlawful killing of a branch-antlered bull and wastage.
By Andy Walgamott
JACKASS OF THE MONTH
S
even felony animal cruelty charges have been filed against an Everett man accused of shooting urban wildlife and then putting the carcasses on display around his yard and in public places. The affidavit of probable cause against Blayne M. Perez, 34, is pretty disturbing and disgusting. It details how Perez allegedly killed neighborhood birds like crows and songbirds, as well as squirrels, with an air rifle, then screwed them to his shed or impaled them using skewers and sticks, even a golf club, in “various gruesome displays,” including one at a local trail. Neighbors, who said they asked him not to shoot birds, took down their feeders so as to “avoid Perez turning their yards into a killing field.” When confronted by a state game warden, Perez allegedly said he considered the animals to be “pests.” If convicted, he could face a max of five years in jail for each animal cruelty charge, along with 10 years for malicious mischief, as well as fines up to $90,000.
(WDFW) nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023
Northwest Sportsman 27
Derby Season Ramps Up
A
s the 2023 slate of fishing derbies starts to really get under way this month, the burning question on my mind is this: Will the skipper who wins the prize for the most kids on board their boat at Kokanee Power of Oregon’s Green Peter Kids Fish Out also be the captain who brings in the most fish? Hard to say, but plenty of fishing, gear and food await participants at the event slated for Saturday, June 17, on the Middle Fork Santiam River reservoir east of Sweet Home. According to organizers, all kids who fish the derby will at least get a prize, while there will be goodies for those who catch the biggest and smallest kokanee, as well as make the best lure, in four different age groups. Where KPO’s three other 2023 events are competitive derbies featuring $500 first prizes, the Fish Out is more for fun and includes free food for youngsters. Tickets are $10 for adults. For more, see kokaneepoweroregon.com. More spring events are in the listings at right.
By Andy Walgamott
MORE UPCOMING EVENTS Now through mid-October: Westport
tonyscrabshack.com/perch-derby
Charterboat Association Weekly Lingcod Derby; charterwestport.com/fishing.html April 14-16: Triple Fish Challenge, Banks Lake; grandcouleedam.org April 22-23: Conconully Annual Trout Derby; Conconully Lake and Reservoir; conconully.com/trout-derby April 22-23: Something Catchy kokanee derby, Lake Chelan; Facebook.com/ somethingcatchy.org April 22-Oct. 31: WDFW Trout Derby, select lakes statewide; wdfw.wa.gov/ fishing/contests/trout-derby April 29: Kokanee Power of Oregon Detroit Lake Derby; kokaneepoweroregon .com/derby April 29-30: CRWWA Rod Meseberg Walleye Classic, Potholes Reservoir; crwaa.profishingtournaments.com May 1-31: May Surf Perch Derby, Oregon Coast between Humbug Mountain and Horsfall Beach;
May 4 through quota: Westport Charterboat Association Daily Halibut Derby; info above May 12-14: 2023 Pikeminnow Fishing Derby, Wanapum Pool; quincyvalley.org May 13: NSIA Spring Fishing Classic; nsiafishing.org/spring-fishing-classic May 19-21: Detroit Lake Fishing Derby; detroitlakeoregon.org May 20: 20th Surf Perch Derby, Long Beach Peninsula; SurfPerchDerby@gmail.com May 20: Brownlee Crappie Shootout Kayak Fishing Tournament, facebook.com/ brownleecrappieshootout May 20: Lake Stevens Kokanee Derby, facebook.com/LakeStevensKokaneeDerby May 20-21: CRWAA-LRWC Gordon Steinmetz Memorial Walleye Classic, Banks Lake; info above May 27-29: Huntington Catfish Derby, Brownlee Reservoir/Snake River; facebook.com/groups/926993987464891
Report Invasive
European Green Crabs
Step 1: Identify
Step 2: Report
If you find a suspected European green crab or their shell, photograph it, note the location, and report it.
Scan to report!
Carcinus maenas
wdfw.wa.gov/greencrab
The European green crab is a damaging invasive species that poses a threat to native shellfish and habitat for salmon and many other species. They are not always green and may be orange, red or yellow. These shore crabs are found in less than 25 feet of water often in estuaries, mudflats, and intertidal zones. They are not likely to be caught in deeper water, but may be encountered by beach anglers, waders, clam and oyster harvesters, or those crabbing off docks or piers in shallow areas. As a Prohibited species, it is illegal to possess or transport live European green crabs in Washington. Shellfish growers and private tidelands owners in areas with European green crabs should contact WDFW for management support or permits. Please email at ais@dfw.wa.gov. Individuals who need to receive this information in an alternative format, language, or who need reasonable accommodations to participate in WDFW-sponsored public meetings or other activities may contact the Title VI/ADA Compliance Coordinator by phone at 360-902-2349, TTY (711), or email (Title6@dfw.wa.gov). For more information, see https://wdfw.wa.gov/accessibility/requests-accommodation. nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023 Northwest Sportsman
29
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OUTDOOR
CALENDAR APRIL
1
New Washington fishing and hunting licenses required; Opening day of controlled or general spring bear hunts in all Oregon and select Idaho units; ODFW Youth Turkey Hunting Clinics ($, registration), White River, Denman Wildlife Areas – info: myodfw.com/workshops-and-events; ODFW Family Fishing Event, Row River Nature Park – info: myodfw.com/articles/takefamily-fishing; Spring Chinook fishing opens on Columbia in gorge from Tower Island powerlines to Washington-Oregon line above McNary Dam 1-7 Washington youth turkey hunting week 2 ODFW Adult Turkey Hunting Clinic ($, registration), Denman WA – info above 6 Washington Marine Areas 5-10 halibut opener (Thursday-Monday fishing through May 22) – info: wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/halibut 6-12 Tentative razor clam digs scheduled on select Washington Coast beaches – info: wdfw.wa.gov 7 Last scheduled day to fish for spring Chinook on the Lower Columbia (may close earlier if quota filled) 8-9 Oregon youth turkey hunting weekend 8-14 Idaho youth turkey hunting week 15 General spring turkey season opener in Idaho, Oregon and Washington; Opening day of spring black bear hunts in more Idaho units; WDFW Family Fish-In, Longs Pond (Lacey; registration) – info: wdfw.wa.gov/get-involved/calendar 19-25 Tentative razor clam digs scheduled on select Washington Coast beaches – info above 22 Fishing or bait opener on select Oregon waters; ODFW Family Fishing Event, Hebo Lake – info above; Opening day of lowland lakes fishing season in Washington; Start of Washington 2023 Trout Derby 24 First day to apply for Washington special hunting permits 29 ODFW Family Fishing Events, Empire, Devils Lakes – info above; WDFW Community Fun Fair and Free Kids Fishing Day at Black Lake (Olympia; registration) – info: columbuspark.net/community-fun-fair/
MAY 1
2023 Northern Pikeminnow Sport-reward Program fishery begins on Columbia and Snake Rivers – info: pikeminnow.org; Areas 5-11 and 13 lingcod opener; Proposed Oregon Central Coast seven-day-a-week all-depth spring and Southern Oregon subarea seven-day-a-week halibut openers – info: myodfw.com/pacific-halibut-sport-regulations 4 Area 1/tentative Columbia River Subarea halibut opener (Thursday, Sunday fishing through May 21); Area 2 halibut opener (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday fishing through May 23); Areas 3-4 halibut opener (Thursday, Saturday fishing through May 20) – info above 6 ODFW Family Fishing Events, Alton Baker Park, Vernonia Lake, Commonwealth Lake – info above; WDFW Clear (Fairchild AFB) and Steel Lakes Kids Fishing Events (registration) – info: wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/contests/youth 13 WDFW Youth Fishing Event at American Lake – info above 15 Oregon fall controlled big game permit purchase application deadline 18-20 Anacortes Boat & Yacht Show, Cap Sante Marina, Anacortes; anacortesboatandyachtshow.com 20 ODFW Family Fishing Events, Powers County Park Pond, Eckman Lake – info above 24 Last day to apply for Washington special hunting permits 25 Last day to hunt turkeys in Idaho 25-30 Washington halibut openers in all open areas (dates vary) – info above 26 ODFW Access & Habitat program Big Game Raffle Hunts drawing – info: tinyurl.com/4wevpusk 27 Fishing opens on select Washington streams; Skykomish River hatchery summer Chinook, steelhead opener 31 Last day of Oregon, Washington spring turkey season; Last day of Oregon spring bear season
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Northwest Sportsman 31
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As seas lay down in mid- to late spring, the waters off the Oregon and Washington Coasts brim with tasty rockfish, lingcod.
38 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
FISHING By Jeff Holmes
A
hh, April. So many outdoor opportunities begin to avail themselves as the world wakes from winter, including the beginning of the springtime calming of the Pacific. It’s once again time to return to the saltwater. We are blessed in the Northwest with excellent ocean fishing and easy access to ports that offer not only a diversity of angling approaches and species, but also nobrainer opportunities to bring the family and bundle an ocean fishing trip with other activities that families and significant others can enjoy. The Northwest Coast offers beachcombing, dining, cheese factories, national and state parks, breweries, historical sites, casinos, shopping, and much more,
including great fishing that begins in earnest in April. From Newport, on Oregon’s Central Coast, north to Neah Bay, at the tip of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, all nine major fishing ports along this stretch of coast boast great fishing for tuna, halibut and salmon. Fishing for these three species is reliable, attractive and lucrative, but each of these species is constrained by either specific seasons (halibut and salmon) or by the unpredictable arrival of warm water off our coast that brings with it albacore tuna. By far the most dependable, accessible and affordable options exist for nearshore lingcod and rockfish, the reliable bread and butter of charter operations and private boaters alike. Whereas Oregon does not close lingcod
and rockfish angling during the late fall and winter like Washington, instead allowing big seas and stormy conditions to all but close angling outside of narrow weather windows, Washington shuts bottomfishing down on the third Saturday in October and opens it back up in late winter on the second Saturday in March after rockfish species and lingcod have completed their spawns. A dedicated community of Washington anglers bucked 5-foot swells at 5 seconds with 1- to 2-foot wind waves to reach and return from the bottomfish grounds on last month’s opener. For those who braved these pukey conditions, fishing was great after five months of closure, with most anglers landing their seven-fish limits of mostly black rockfish and two-fish
The Pacific and its bounty of bottomfish beckons for salty dogs and charter operations up and down the Northwest Coast, including out of Newport on Yaquina Bay. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)
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FISHING limits of lingcod. Meanwhile, Oregon anglers had already been pursuing bottomfish when they’ve been able to get out on the ocean, harvesting fivefish rockfish limits and two-fish limits of lingcod. (For more, see the March 2023 issue’s rockfish preview.) As swells and storms abate as spring progresses into April, increasing numbers of anglers from both states will dangle and wiggle jigs, shrimp flies, swimbaits and live bait in pursuit of these sweet, white-fleshed fish. Charter operators along the coast will return to the ocean in increasing numbers throughout April, creating opportunities for Northwest Sportsman readers to plunder unpressured reefs for the firmest, sweetest fillets of the year. Rockfish and lingcod are
delicious any month, but there’s no denying the quality of early-season fish with notably fewer parasites. Rockfish are definitely best eaten fresh, but they freeze OK. Lingcod are best fresh as well, but they freeze much better.
ALL PORTS SPANNING the north Oregon and Washington coasts are sure bets for your next fish fry, ceviche celebration or fish taco frenzy, but some are more family-vacation friendly than others. Newport has a reliable and large charter fleet, along with a wide array of restaurants, lodging, tourist sites for families, shopping and miles of beach to walk. It’s a great place to take a family, and another great place to fish nearby is Depoe Bay (also a fine place
Rockfish – and more specifically, black rockfish – make up the meat of the bottomfish catch along the Northwest Coast, a boon for anglers seeking fodder for fish-and-chip and fish taco dinners. Steven Charles Orr holds the Washington record black rockfish, a 10.72-pounder he caught in May 2016 off Ilwaco. (WDFW) 40 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
to stay), which is just a short drive north of Newport. Depoe Bay boasts being the world’s smallest harbor, and it is surely little and cool, tucked away beneath and behind the Highway 101 bridge along an especially rocky and scenic stretch of coastline. Fishing from both ports can be excellent, and there’s plenty to see and do. Far more vacationers merely visit these towns than ever wet a line. North of Lincoln City and south of Tillamook and the Port of Garibaldi sits Pacific City and the protected beach behind iconic Haystack Rock. It is from this protected beach that the Pacific Coast’s last remaining dory fleet launches in the surf, a truly unique experience and one that puts anglers on some hallowed bottomfishing grounds. There are plenty of condos and lodging options here, but Pacific City and tiny, quirky Hebo are not as obvious a choice for families with touristy intentions as Newport, Depoe Bay and Garibaldi, which is just north of Tillamook and its famous cheese factories and other attractions. Garibaldi sits at the entrance to Tillamook Bay and offers excellent fishing with plenty to do on land as well. Garibaldi is also reasonably close to famed tourist destinations to the north such as Seaside and Cannon Beach. Guarding the mouth of the Columbia, Astoria on the Oregon side and Ilwaco on the Washington side both offer excellent angling over the same fishing grounds. Astoria is a much larger town with many more attractions for families, while Ilwaco is a more intimate fishing village with great dining, and it is a very short drive from Cape Disappointment State Park and the Long Beach Peninsula. The peninsula and its small, touristfriendly communities is one of my favorite destinations for seafood gathering, dining, beachcombing and driving 28 miles of hard-packed beach where all kinds of cool things show up, from dead whales to even a wolverine in recent years! Both
FISHING Astoria and Ilwaco are more famous for the Buoy 10 salmon fishery and for tuna fishing and crabbing, but lingcod and rockfish options are excellent here and perhaps overlooked.
NORTH OF LONG Beach and Willapa Bay at the mouth of Grays Harbor sits the Northwest’s biggest and easiest to access fishing town, Westport. It’s a
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short drive from the I-5 corridor and is home to a huge fleet of charter boats. Westport is my favorite Northwest port largely because of its accessibility and the extent to which it caters to anglers. I admit that while there are tons of awesome charter operators in the Westport Boat Basin, I have a preference for All Rivers and Saltwater Charters (allriversguideservice.
com) and Anglers Edge Sportfishing (anglersedgesportfishing.com) and the Coleman brothers and their colleagues. I’ve stayed many places in Westport, but nothing rivals staying at Westport Marina Cottages (westportmarinacottages.com), which are super nice inside and literally on the water in the harbor within a stone’s throw of all of the best operators’ boats.
Without ever walking or driving further than a quarter mile, I can access the fishing boats, buy commercial salted ice for my seafood, get a great cup of coffee and get great meals and drinks at Blackbeard’s Brewing Taphouse or the King Tide. I have fished for bottomfish scores of times in my life in Westport, and I have never failed to limit out on lingcod and rockfish.
CONTINUING UP THE Washington coast from Grays Harbor, one is greeted with less and less development and more and more natural beauty, including the beaches of Olympic National Park. Don’t expect this part of the Washington Coast to resemble the extremely tourist-friendly towns on the Oregon Coast; expect more wildlife, hiking opportunities,
and fewer go-karts and mini-golf opportunities for the kids. The Port of La Push is on the Quileute Indian Reservation, about a 10-mile drive from the logging and steelheading town of Forks. In the famed Twilight series, the “werewolves” live in La Push while the “vampires” live in Forks. I’ve never run into any of either, but I have had awesome
Besides bustling Newport and Westport, with their fine fishing and family- and tourist-friendly facilities, there is a number of cozy, more quiet harbors on the coast. And then there’s the most unique fishery of all: the Pacific City dory fleet, which launches right off the beach below Cape Kiwanda. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)
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FISHING
EXCELLENT HALIBUT, DEEPWATER LING OPS AWAIT
I
Halibut might represent the meatiest of Northwest Coast bottomfish, but deepwater lingcod – like this one held by Darrel Smith – are a coveted catch. Combine the two and you’ve got one of author Jeff Holmes’ favorite opportunities. (COAST PHOTO CONTEST) 44 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
mmediately following the rockfish and lingcod season kickoff in early spring, May and June offer robust and wildly popular all-depth halibut opportunities in Washington’s Marine Areas 1-4 (15 total halibut days in Area 1, 15 in Area 2 and 17 in Areas 3 and 4). If you want a spot on a boat, you should have already booked, but there are likely some seats still available and also waitlists to put your name on. Along with halibut ops, some extremely lucrative opportunities to fish deepwater lingcod exist, especially in Areas 1 and 2, with more restrictions in Areas 3 and 4 to protect sensitive, slow-growing rockfish species like yelloweye. In Ilwaco and Westport, deepwater lings are open June 1-15 and all of September, plus every all-depth halibut day. That means halibut days are days to load up on not just a halibut but also two deepwater lings that are often much larger than the nearshore variety. These are some of my favorite days to be on the saltwater in Washington, and this spring I’ll take advantage of the halibut-lingcod combo aboard one of my favorite boats, F/V Bone, owned by Bill Cheser and skippered by Mitch Coleman of Westport’s Angler’s Edge Sportfishing (anglersedgesportfishing.com). “Our day on these combo trips starts out by leaving the dock at daylight in our 30-foot Defiance 290 Guadalupe and we proceed to the nearby sand dab (flounder) grounds,” says Cheser. “Our clients quickly catch three or four dozen and load them into the same live bait tank we use for anchovies during tuna season. These little guys are like candy to lingcod and halibut. We then continue the 38-mile journey out to the edge of the continental shelf, where will set up in anywhere from 600 to 700 feet of water and drop down four rigs at a time with live flounder. These depths can shred forearms and wrists with traditional gear, but there’s no need to fear the deep, as we use Tanacom 750 Deepwater electric reels paired with our 6-foot Thrasher Rods to get down to the halibut and back up without wearing clients out.” “Once we have our boat limits of halibut, we run to reliable deepwater lingcod spots, where we target a large grade of fish. We are allowed two lingcod and one halibut per person daily on these trips, but we never know what we might sink your hooks into. We might happen into large schools of suspended canary rockfish, black cod (also known as sablefish; see the March 2023 issue for more) or Pacific cod, which are bonus species while targeting these large-grade lingcod up to 40 pounds or halibut.” “Halibut-lingcod combo trips usually last anywhere from five to eight hours dock to dock, but on the odd days that the bite is slower, we’ll stay longer to load up on limits. Our deckhands butcher all the fish before we return to the harbor, and clients can plan on immediately walking off the boat once at the dock with fish already filleted and bagged.” –JH
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FISHING bottomfishing out of La Push and great lodging and decent dining in Forks. La Push itself is tiny, and Forks is no metropolis, but both communities are amazing fishing towns and sufficient services for a family vacation. Forks is a great jumping-off spot to visit the Hoh Rainforest and Olympic National Park. Rocky structure is abundant in the waters off La Push, and lingcod and rockfish are abundant. The same can be said for Neah Bay, Washington’s northernmost port, which is situated on the Makah Reservation. Neah Bay has limited services and is a dry community where alcohol is not sold and is frowned upon, but the stunning natural beauty and excellent bottomfishing close to the port is sufficiently intoxicating.
THERE ARE TWO basic experiences offered by charter operators from Newport to Neah Bay: large, traditional party-style boats that offer
room to stretch one’s legs and move around, and smaller, faster six-pack boats. Six-packs get to the grounds faster and return to the dock faster as well, and some also prefer the more intimate and sporty experience. Many prefer the comfort and more “chill” experience of party boats, which are better equipped for seniors, kids, people with disabilities and reduced mobility, and those who simply want a more comfortable ride and aren’t preoccupied with a need for speed. I recommend both experiences and also recommend that anglers try both experiences and compare for themselves. Basically, almost any time spent on the ocean is a great time – provided you don’t get sick – and all nine ports feature operators who are scrupulously safe, knowledgeable and closely monitored by the U.S. Coast Guard. They’re also closely monitored by fisheries managers, so charter
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operators know the rules inside and out and generally play closely by the books while yielding practically identical results in terms of the catch. Whether you choose a sixpack or party-boat experience, seasickness is something you don’t want to experience first-hand, so keys to avoiding it include a good night’s sleep with zero alcohol the night before, avoiding big greasy meals (especially breakfasts before boarding), boarding the boat hydrated, and for some, wearing scopolamine seasickness patches, which are far superior to Bonine, Dramamine or the dubious practice of thinking candied ginger will do a damn thing. If you have any doubt about your sea legs, suffer the inevitably intense cottonmouth from a scopolamine patch to avoid wishing you were dead for five to eight hours while everyone else catches fish and you turn green and collapse. NS
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nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023 Northwest Sportsman
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FISHING
Halibut Season Arrives Off WA Early April western Straits opener, more consecutive days in Puget Sound, Tuesday fishing out of Westport highlight 2023 ops.
The western Strait of Juan de Fuca, where Chad Huffman and John Nunnally caught these nice-sized halibut in 2021, will open in April, earlier than in past years. And these waters and Puget Sound will also see Thursday-Monday fishing to “provide anglers with more opportunity to access the quota for these areas,” say state managers. (COAST PHOTO CONTEST)
By Mark Yuasa
W
ashington’s spring halibut fishing season is here and the initial outlook appears bright for these denizens of the deep. Halibut anglers can hit the water beginning April 6 in some Puget Sound and eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca (Marine Areas 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) locations and unlike in previous years, the early opener also includes Sekiu (Area 5) in the western Straits. Meanwhile, coastal fisheries at Neah Bay, La Push, Westport and Ilwaco get underway on May 4. A bonus this season at Westport (Area 2) on the southcentral coast is that halibut fishing will be open on Tuesdays in May. Elsewhere, the coastal scenario mirrors 2022, with Thursdays and
Saturdays open at La Push and Neah Bay (Areas 3 and 4), and Thursdays and Sundays at Westport and Ilwaco (Area 1). Each area is also open on certain days during the long Memorial Day Weekend.
THE EVERGREEN STATE’S 2023 sport quota for halibut is 281,728 pounds. That’s part of an overall 1.52-million-pound quota approved by the International Pacific Halibut Commission in January for Washington, Oregon and California. Each marine area could close sooner once the projected quotas are achieved. In all Washington waters, there is a daily catch limit of one halibut with no minimum size restriction. Anglers may possess a maximum of two halibut in any form while in the field and must record their catch on a
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife catch record card. There is an annual limit of four halibut. You cannot fish for, retain, possess or land halibut into a port located within an area that is closed, except anglers can land halibut that were lawfully retained in Area 5 into a port within Area 4 when Area 4 is closed. The Straits and Puget Sound are open April 6-10, April 13-17, April 2024, April 27-May 1, May 4-8, May 1115, May 18-22, May 26-28 and June 1-30. The catch quota here is 79,031 pounds and areas could close sooner if that mark is achieved. As usual, Areas 11, 12 and 13 – South and Deep South Sound and Hood Canal – are closed to protect poor rockfish populations. On the southern coast, Ilwaco is open May 4, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21 and nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023 Northwest Sportsman
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FISHING A run out of Westport with Jay Golden of the Adrien Rose yielded plenty of groceries in the form of halibut and lingcod for Darrel Smith and crew. When this year’s season opens in May, bonus Tuesday fishing will be allowed “to improve angler access to the quota.” (COAST PHOTO CONTEST)
25, and June 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25 and 29. Again, the area could close sooner if quotas are achieved. The nearshore area is open Mondays through Wednesdays beginning May 8. The quota is 18,375 pounds and the nearshore quota is 500 pounds. Just to the north, Westport is open May 4, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25 and 30. Fishing reopens June 15, 18, 22 and 25, depending on quota availability. Any remaining available fish will go to a northern nearshore fishery open on the Saturday after the all-depth fishery closes and remains open daily until the quota is achieved. The quota is 64,376 pounds. On the North Coast, Neah Bay and La Push are open May 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 26 and 28, and June 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24 and 29, depending on quota (129,668 pounds) availability. Fishing regulations include depth restrictions and area closures designed to reduce encounters with yelloweye 50 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
rockfish, which must be released under state and federal law. Anglers are reminded that a descending device must be on board vessels and rigged for immediate use when fishing for or possessing bottomfish and halibut. More info about descending devices can be found on WDFW’s website (wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/atrisk/species-recovery/rockfish).
AS FOR FISHING gear, don’t skimp on anything. Your rod is your best friend when pursuing halibut. Stick with one that is stout (6 to 7 feet long, with fast/ moderate action and heavy/medium power) and rated at 30 to 80 pounds to reel up a big one, yet sensitive enough to feel a weight or jig/bait hitting bottom. A rod should be able to handle a 16- to 32-ounce weight. Ceramic inserts on eyelets are a must for less friction and reducing wear from abrasive lines. Electric reels like the Daiwa
Tanacom or Shimano Forcemaster 9000 are all the rage over conventional levelwinds. Yes, they’re on the pricey side, but it makes reeling up a fish no problem by simply pushing a button. The other advantage of getting gear to the surface faster means you can set up and drop it back down and be on the drift again. Whichever reel you choose, be sure it has a large handle, a high gear ratio to keep the power in your hands and the capacity to hold 200 to 300-plus yards of braid. On the topic of fishing line, 50- to 100-pound-test braid mainline is the way to go. It provides a much-reduced diameter with enough sensitivity to get your gear to the bottom with less drag in the water. Most anglers use an 8/0 to 10/0 J-hook tandem rig. Others prefer circle hooks, since fish don’t unbutton as easily; 16/0 is a common size, or take it up a notch to 22/0 for a “barndoor” size flattie. A wire spreader helps prevent your mainline from tangling with hooks and bait. Use a short leader – 15 to 20 inches – from the swivel on the long arm of the spreader. A 12-inch dropper of 25- or 30-pound monofilament or light wire between the cannonball sinker and spreader works well in case you hang up on bottom and prevents losing the entire rig. When it comes to the size of weight, a lot of it is determined by current, wind and depth. A 16-ounce cannonball sinker is good for shallow areas when the current isn’t running hard. Also be sure to carry a variety of weights from 24 to 32 ounces. Creating a scent trail with attractants on your jig or bait rig will help attract halibut from a good distance away. Soak salmon belly strips, herring, squid, octopus, anchovies, sardines and fish skin to create a high-boosted scent bomb. If you don’t have salmon belly strips, you can buy artificial strips like those from Berkley Gulp. Tip the jig with bait strips and add copious amounts of scent gel. This scent plume bouncing off the bottom should draw in fish.
FISHING SPEAKING OF LOCATION, here are some
Bait is probably the best bet for flatties, but when the dogfish are thick, switching to a jig is a smart move. Katie Luis used a Fisherman’s Gold Pipe Jig to hook this one out of Sekiu. (COAST PHOTO CONTEST)
While metal jigs, white scampi tails, hoochie jigs and B2 Squid get their share of halibut, there’s nothing more effective than fresh bait, especially when fishing the deeper coastal waters, where the largest concentrations of fish are often found. Never use soft, mushy bait, as it tends to fall off the hook. This results in fishing with bare hooks or constantly having to raise and lower gear to check your bait. Fresh herring are tougher than the frozen variety. If there’s no option, be sure to brine large, blacklabel frozen herring to toughen them up. Remember, halibut are attracted to smell, but rotten or freezer-burnt bait is very unappealing. When you feel that first bite, do not set the hook. Let the halibut inhale the bait and wait until the rod is bending and then start reeling up gently. Usually, the hook will embed 52 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
in the corner of the halibut’s mouth as it swims away against the pressure. In some instances, a halibut will let go of the bait after you’ve reeled up. When this happens, drop the bait right back down and chances are you’ll get that same fish to grab it again. Other key factors to success include fishing during prime tidal periods (stay away from a minus low tide), knowing where to go, avoiding fast-moving currents, watching the weather carefully and knowing whether you should drift or anchor fish. Whatever style you choose, remember, it’s all about location, location, location! Look for edges, gentle dropoffs near the top of a hump or plateau, or where large schools of baitfish are located. Also, when drifting, bounce downhill from shallow to deeper water until the bottom flattens out.
of the top spots: Neah Bay and La Push: There are plenty of good areas just outside the marina, including Tatoosh Island, west of Duncan Rock and the Garbage Dump. But most anglers make the long haul to offshore areas like Swiftsure Bank, 72-Square and Blue Dot. Tides are key at Neah Bay and the less water movement, the better. Swarms of dogfish can be common and if that occurs, switch from bait to artificial jigs. Sekiu and Freshwater Bay: The sandy flats offshore from the mouths of rivers near Sekiu offer snag-free fishing. The shelf along some spots is gradual, so start at depths of 100 to 200 feet and then head to deeper water in the 200- to 500-foot range. Freshwater Bay is sheltered from the prevailing southerly wind, making it a great choice, especially for smaller watercraft. While the bay isn’t noted for halibut, it offers ideal locations heading either east or west. Hein, Coyote, Salmon, Middle and Eastern Banks: These underwater humps in the eastern Straits can potentially be a haven for halibut, especially along the northern slope of Hein at depths of 200 to 300 feet. The top of each bank can produce halibut; look for baitfish, then stay on top of them. Middle’s west end is a huge flat where you’ll find halibut. Partridge Bank: This area can be found on the western side of Whidbey Island; work around the edges of the bank’s eastern side during an incoming tide. Then move to the west side on an outgoing tide. Mutiny Bay and the old “Navy Bombing Range”: Catching a halibut can be difficult in these areas, but those lurking around here are usually in the 75- to 100-plus-pound range. Constantly move around at depths of 100 to 200-plus feet and watch your fish finder to locate bait. NS Editor’s note: Mark Yuasa is a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Communications Manager and longtime local fishing and outdoor writer.
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FISHING
Combat Kings You know you love Drano Lake and the Wind River, and here are 20 keys for putting fish in the boat (without sinking it). By Jeff Holmes
G
ambling one’s hopes for a successful salmon season on state fisheries managers underestimating returns is generally a bad bet over the long term. However, a few hugely fortuitous miscalculations have some anglers hoping for a repeat performance of last year when every Columbia River salmon run far exceeded expectations. This was especially true for wildly popular Drano Lake, and to a lesser extent for the Wind River. Hopes are high for both these Columbia Gorge fisheries again this year. In 2022, managers predicted 3,800 spring Chinook would return to Drano, the popular Columbia River backwater where the Little White Salmon empties into the Gorge after its descent from Washington’s South Cascades. Anglers and fisheries managers alike were shocked when three times the prediction returned, a total of 11,491 springers! This year, a gaudy 8,000 spring Chinook are predicted to return and there’s a limit of two adult hatchery salmon in place. Whether the run comes in over prediction or even just under, fishing should be excellent on days the east wind doesn’t blow. Meanwhile, several miles downstream near Carson, the Wind River bubble fishery also outperformed its predicted 2022 run of 4,200 springers with 6,530 returning. The 2023 prediction is for 4,400 returning adults and a one-fish limit. Anglers
Last year saw far more spring Chinook than expected return to Drano Lake, and anglers and guides are hoping the same holds true with 2023’s forecast of 8,000 fish. Kiley Mitchell caught this springer at the famous – and infamous – Columbia Gorge fishery. (MITCHELLSPORTFISHING.COM) nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023 Northwest Sportsman
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FISHING fishing the Wind can expect a much less crowded fishery than Drano and also a crack at intercepting upriverbound springers in addition to the 4,400 predicted to return to the Wind. The old adage that a small percentage of anglers catches 90 percent of the fish holds close to true at Drano and the Wind, and most of those hyper-successful anglers are longtime Drano and Wind diehards, many hailing from Yakima, among
many other Pacific Northwest locales. Craig Mitchell is one of those native Yakimanians who has fished both the Wind and Drano since he was a small child, and to say he has them dialed in is an understatement. Now living and guiding close to the action in the Columbia Gorge, Mitchell is known for attention to detail, kindness on the water, and significant catching success at all of the Gorge fisheries. He is especially adept at guiding
The fishy west end of Drano, known as the “Toilet Bowl,” demands equal parts combat gear and cool on the part of captains and crew as they troll 360 flashers and shrimp on short lines and at slow speeds in heavy, heavy traffic. (MITCHELLSPORTFISHING.COM)
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(mitchellsportfishing.com) for spring Chinook at Drano and the Wind. Follow his excellent advice here for a chance to move closer to being part of that small percentage of anglers who catch most of the fish this spring. Better yet, read this article and then book a trip for a firsthand tutorial.
DRANO LAKE “By far the biggest challenge at Drano is the boat traffic and crowds,” says Mitchell. “Add a spring squall into the mix and you can experience some of the most technical boat driving required at any Northwest salmon fishery, especially in the ‘Toilet Bowl.’” The Toilet Bowl is the most intensely crowded and competitive of all Pacific Northwest combat fisheries and is a small lobe of Drano where fish first enter the lake from the Columbia’s Bonneville Pool. As many as 40 boats can enter the bowl, all swirling in a crazy counterclockwise circle so tight that boats cannot move. “In salmon fishing, trolling speed and resulting presentation is important, and sometimes at Drano (most days) there will be ‘traffic jams’ and times when you are simply sitting in neutral or even having to reverse or push others’ boats away by hand to avoid collisions,” says Mitchell. Because spring Chinook are such reliable bait eaters, Mitchell and other Drano experts still experience bites at times when their flashers aren’t rotating and their baits are not spinning. The key, they say, is having good bait – usually shrimp these days – and avoiding tangling lines with other boats in all the madness. Why do people subject themselves to this kind of maddening fishing? Lots of spring Chinook is the easy answer, as is the fact that Drano remains open during fishing closures on the mainstem Columbia. “Drano is a super-high-producing fishery for hatchery spring Chinook,” says Mitchell. “The fish do spread throughout the lake, and fishing can be good outside of the Toilet Bowl.
FISHING The action can come fast and furious as pods of springers come through these Columbia Gorge waters, so it pays to keep your bait fresh and lines in the water, and save those trophy shots for later. (MITCHELLSPORTFISHING.COM)
However, another reason the Toilet Bowl is so popular and crazy is because the fish are very concentrated when they enter the lake, and there’s no question as to if you’re fishing the correct location when in the bowl. A lot of times big surges of fish will come in, and you’ll get a double and/or see multiple fish on all around you. A big plus to Drano is it’s pretty much always fishable due to the Little White Salmon River never blowing out and the ‘lake’ being much more protected from 58 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
Gorge winds than the Columbia.” Drano is closed every Wednesday for tribal netting, but this leaves six out of seven days open to sportfishing.
MITCHELL’S TOP 10 DRANO TIPS 1. Speed control I: “Troll fast enough when you are able to, but match the flow of traffic. Sometimes it’s not possible due to boats, but if you can, you want to get that flasher pumping (one ‘thump’ per second). Fishing the main portion of the lake
ensures you can present your gear at optimum speeds.” 2. Go smaller: “Downsize when the crowd is large, which means ‘less is more.’ When the fish are seeing a ton of gear, sometimes dropping down in size on spinner blades and even shrimp size can help increase your bites.” 3. Freshen up: “Don’t troll around the same shrimp for two hours when the bite is slow. I see it very often in other boats, and it’s easy to be lazy when nothing is happening. Fresh bait can separate you from the rest of the crowd when that pod of biters shows up from the Columbia.” 4. Go shorter: “Shorten bumpers to flashers or leaders to lures and baits to get more action when you aren’t able to troll as fast as you’d like. The shorter you make ’em, the more thump you’ll get.” 5. Switch flashers: “Sometimes, running a Shortbus flasher with two fins or a Leo flasher versus a Pro-Troll can help due to the fact that they will rotate at slower speeds than your traditional Pro-Troll 360. Although, when I can fish at my preferred speed, I like Pro-Troll flashers a lot.” 6. Skip the cover shot: “When you get a fish, instead of trying to take the perfect photo, get your rods back in. There’s a lot of times that the bite window may be on and off before you know it, and getting back in the water quickly can get you another fish.” 7. Speed control II: “Use a drift sock or bow-mount trolling motor to help maneuver in boats and wind gusts. Boat control is the key to effective fishing and avoiding conflict. Paying super-close attention to driving your boat is also key.” 8. Don’t overlook the mainlake early: “Sometimes it pays to start out in the actual lake and move into the Toilet Bowl as the morning progresses. Some fish trickle into the lake overnight and can be easy pickings at daylight. Starting in the main lake also allows you to get a feel for your gear, work out kinks in your program, and get dialed in.” 9. Watch your fish finder: “Sometimes
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FISHING
HOW NOT TO GET FLUSHED AT DRANO
W
hat follows is the wisest advice I’ve ever seen in print about surviving the madhouse of Drano Lake and having a good time doing it, and the advice does not come from me. I struggle mightily to deal with other people’s stupidity and rudeness, and I struggle just as much to keep my cool when people react in anger to any mistake I might make at Drano. I’ve spent many, many hours swirling as one among the turds in the Toilet Bowl, and any success I’ve had in both fishing and in getting along matches Craig Mitchell’s expert advice. “The launch is one of the worst parts about fishing at Drano,” the guide states.
“When you get to the launch line, make sure you have absolutely everything ready and can drop in as soon as it’s your turn to back your boat in. Don’t back in and then start loading the boat. If you aren’t comfortable and skilled backing down your trailer, please don’t come to Drano in the early morning. Sometimes the launch line can stretch all the way out onto the highway, and the last thing everyone wants is to watch you struggle and clog things up. Plan ahead and have someone who knows how to back up and is comfortable with it, or you will hear about it from sleep-deprived, anxious anglers. Turn off your headlights when backing in
Forty-plus boats work the swirl that is Drano’s Toilet Bowl. The mainlake beyond can be good too; just watch for snags. (JENNIFER ROWLEN, USFWS)
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and never tie up to the docks on the inside of the ramp.” “Once you’re fishing the Toilet Bowl, treat it like you’re driving down the road,” says Mitchell. “You need to keep up with the flow of traffic and do your best not to cut other boats off. The flow of traffic swirls in a counterclockwise pattern, and you must watch carefully for an opening to merge into the circular flow of traffic without cutting someone off; patience and observant behavior are required! Like backing your trailer at the launch, if you aren’t 100 percent confident in handling your boat in a tight crowd of sometimes irritable anglers, the Toilet Bowl isn’t for you. It would be best to spend your time in the main lake, where it’s much less crowded. My boat-driving skills are tested every single day guiding springers in the boat, and I run a boat for a living, fishing nearly every day.” “When a boat hooks a fish right next to you, immediately reel up your lines so you don’t tangle in their fish,” says Mitchell. “It’s much better to reel up and get out of the way and drop right back in when you get past them than to tangle up and spend the next 30 minutes retying while costing someone a fish and earning the scorn of fellow anglers. Some anglers hesitate to reel up since bites come in flurries as fish enter the lake from the Columbia, but getting out of the way and redeploying puts you right back in the strike zone during these flurries with only seconds lost.” “Lastly, just be patient and respectful to everyone around you. Everyone has the same goal, both guides and fun fishermen. We all want to be successful, and a lot of times we all can be, especially on a good fish year like last year or the one predicted for 2023. But to be successful, happy and conflict-free, Drano takes a lot of patience. Leave your temper at home and laugh instead of grumble when shit hits the fan. Spend much time in the bowl and you’ll see six boat tangles, boat crashes, broken rods, and more; it’s the nature of the beast. But despite the many challenges and need for extreme patience, attentiveness and skill, Drano’s Toilet Bowl can be a phenomenal place to catch a spring Chinook!” –JH
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FISHING the fish can come out of the Columbia and enter the Toilet Bowl suspended. If you’re marking fish up off the bottom, move your gear up too. You always want to be above the fish and not below them. In the main lake, there is a huge number of snags, so don’t ever chase bottom. Keep your gear 25 feet or shallower.” 10. Quality and variety: “Having good bait and a variety of scents is key. Springers are good biters, but when there’s 300 other options for them to bite in the immediate area, sometimes you need to stand out. Springers love scents like anise, krill and sometimes even garlic. Mix these scents with quality shrimp (store-bought or
While the Wind has a lower limit of just one adult hatchery springer, run timing and Lower Columbia closures mean that “for a good portion of the season you’re literally getting the first crack at these fish,” states guide Craig Mitchell. “During these conditions, that means none of the ‘biters’ have been caught yet, and fishing can be lights out.” (MITCHELLSPORTFISHING.COM)
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home-brew) and that’s going to help!”
WIND RIVER “Guiding the Wind I have to watch the weather religiously,” says Mitchell. “Aside from right in the cove close to the launch, the Wind is unprotected and earned its name for a reason. Essentially, you’re fishing the Columbia in a bubble fishery, so when the wind gusts pick up, the waves can get unfishable and even dangerous. The Wind River bubble is also a pretty big area, and if you’re not in the right travel lane at the right time, it can be hero or zero.” The Wind River bubble fishery is open seven days a week and is
overlooked by many who are drawn to the protected waters of Drano and its two-fish limit, which is silly for most anglers since achieving a boat limit at Drano is usually pie-in-thesky thinking. “The Wind River fishery generally has a one-fish limit, and the tributary itself gets a smaller run than neighboring Drano,” says Mitchell. “But when you’re fishing the Wind, you aren’t just fishing for the resident Wind River stock bound for the Carson National Fish Hatchery. You also have a chance at intercepting springers bound for other places upriver, since when trolling the Wind buoy boundary line you are essentially
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FISHING fishing the Columbia’s spring Chinook travel lanes. This combination of targeting traveling fish and fish bound for the hatchery on the Wind make it one of my favorite fisheries. Far fewer boats at the Wind also make it a lot easier to fish compared to Drano.” “The Wind is also below Drano, making it the first fishery on the entire Columbia where anglers can target spring Chinook when the Lower Columbia is closed,” he adds. “That means for a good portion of the season you’re literally getting the first crack at these fish, some of them never even having seen a bait before. During these conditions, that means none of the ‘biters’ have been caught yet, and fishing can be lights out.”
MITCHELL’S TOP 10 WIND TIPS 1. Go bigger, brighter: “Pay attention to water color and fish accordingly. A lot of times in the spring at the Wind, the Columbia’s turbid water from runoff
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can lessen visibility. When this is the case, run bigger and/or brighter setups to make yourself visible to the fish. Unlike Drano, usually you don’t have to worry about pressured fish at the Wind and you want to be noticed.” 2. Find, stay on fish: “The Wind bubble is a big area, actually, and usually there’s not fish in the whole thing. Take note of fish you’re marking on your finder and keep going back through them. If they are actually staging to enter the Wind River itself, there’s a good chance you can find them again. A lot of times I’ll mark just one or two fish at the Wind and keep fishing on them till I get one to bite.” 3. Work (but don’t cross) the line: “Realize that the farther out (at or near the bouy boundary line), the more fish you have a shot at. There’s a legal fishing boundary at the Wind that separates the open waters from the closed-to-fishing Columbia waters. The further out you are, the more of
a chance you have at traveling fish in addition to the Wind River fish that are actually going to the Carson National Fish Hatchery.” 4. Watch the forecast! “As mentioned earlier, if a spring squall is predicted to come up the Gorge, it can make the Wind very hard to troll and fish effectively. Due to the large waves that build in the Columbia, safety is also a concern.” 5. Work your OSINT channels: “Watch PIT tags crossing Bonneville Dam from your phone or home computer (ptagis.org). PIT tags are tiny barcodetype devices put in a small percentage of hatchery fish. You can check adult PIT tag detections daily at the Bonneville Dam ladders a few miles downriver from the Wind and Drano. By checking the tag detections, it can give you a really good idea as to where the bulk of the fish are going each day. If you see a surge of Wind fish (they show up as ‘Carson’ stock), you
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FISHING know you need to get there! Because it doesn’t have a huge run, several PIT tags can mean several hundred fish are likely headed that way. This goes for Drano fish too, which show up as ‘Little White Salmon.’” 6. Match troll to flow: “There’s often current at the Wind from both the tributary and the Columbia itself. When you’re going upstream, you’ll want to go slower, and trolling downstream, you’ll need to go nearly twice as fast to achieve the right ‘thump’ and action, especially when fishing the 360s and shrimp spinners that most of us fish anymore.” 7. Be a Wind OG: “Don’t retire oldschool tactics! Don’t forget about inline triangle flashers and herring fished slow upstream right near the bottom. Anymore, most of us fish 360 flashers and shrimp spinners, but old-school tactics still work, especially at the Wind where you don’t have to worry so much about keeping up with the
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flow of traffic. When water temps are low, sometimes a slower presentation near bottom can be a game changer. Thousands of fish have been caught at the Wind on triangles and herring, and that’s not something to shrug off.” 8. Pull the plug I: “On the same topic, flatlined plugs like a 3.5 Mag Lip or Magnum Wiggle Wart deserve a mention here too. Don’t overlook them, especially on windy days when it’s tougher to fish out on the bouy line. The Wind bubble is large, and there’s lots of shallow (10- to 20-foot) edges in closer to the river mouth itself where you can fish while more protected from the waves and weather. This is where the plugs shine. Back them out only 40 to 60 feet behind the boat and troll. They will get deep enough and not snag up as easily in the log-ridden shallows at the Wind.” 9. Launch codes: “Choose where to launch and be careful. You can launch right in the river mouth and have a
short drive to the fishing grounds, but it’s very shallow getting out from the launch to the main river, and if you don’t know the path out, you can very likely hit your prop or get stuck. Plan ahead, and if you aren’t familiar, wait till light to go out. Also, you need to have a Skamania County launch permit to launch here, as with Drano. There’s another launch right in the town of Stevenson, about 3 to 4 miles away from the Wind, that doesn’t require a permit and with no shallows to navigate. However, be very careful launching here if the weather is unstable. It can be a very gnarly and dangerous run back to the ramp if the river gets rough.” 10. Pull the plug II: “Run to Drano if the bite at the Wind dies, but watch the weather and know what your boat is capable of. If it’s a calm day and the Wind bite dies, fire up the big motor and run up to Drano, or trailer up and drive. Watch the weather!” NS
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COLUMN
High Desert Region No Slouch For Trout I
t was the first week of June last year that I chased trout in Central Oregon for the first time in over 20 years. What prompted my visit BUZZ RAMSEY was that our 30-yearold son Wade was getting married and his cousin Jeff had rented a house boat on Billy Chinook Reservoir for a bachelor party. My job was to transport Wade’s brother Blake to the fourday fun-fest north of Bend. Having no desire to attend their bash, what I planned to do while they were celebrating the passing of Wade’s single life was to chase trout on a few of the many lakes located in what the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife describes as its Central Zone, part of the agency’s High Desert Region. And while there are over 100 lakes, ponds and reservoirs (not to mention many rivers) distributed across the area, I decided to focus on just four lakes, one for each day of my trip.
MY TARGET FOR the first day was to fish and explore Lava Lake, as I’d read reports that this scenic lake harbors a plentiful supply of rainbow trout. What I saw when arriving at the boat ramp was muddy water created, I was told, by active underwater springs causing sediment from the clay bottom to suspend in the water column early in the season. But not to be deterred, and since a few other anglers were also launching, I put my pontoon boat into the lake. I started off trolling but ended up still-fishing PowerBait, as I saw others trying it before giving up. No one I talked to had any luck. According to ODFW district fish biolo-
A trip to Central Oregon last spring put Buzz Ramsey into some fine trout waters and he’s looking to repeat his success this season. South Twin Lake produced steady catches for him while trolling a SpinFish stuffed with tuna behind a Cowbell Lake Troll, including this five-fish limit. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
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COLUMN gist Jerry George (541-388-6363), recent drought conditions compounded by feeder streams rich in phosphorus caused a toxic algae bloom to occur and fish to die during the 2019-20 season, but conditions have improved. Larger keeper-sized fish were planted last year (after I was there, of course), growing fast in the nutrient-rich lake, and the agency plans to plant more keepers this year. George went on to explain that the water, if turbid, normally settles out by late June.
IT WAS CRANE Prairie Reservoir that I tried the next day. The last time I fished this lake was in the 1960s, when I was there with a high school friend. I remember we rented a boat and caught brook trout on nearly every retrieve while casting and retrieving Thomas Buoyant spoons between the still-standing timber that spanned much of the reservoir at that time. This trip I launched my one-man pontoon boat near the campground located at Crane Prairie Resort – the same area where we’d rented a small boat so many years ago. What I noticed right away was that the water was pretty soupy; evidently, the persistent west wind had blown the thick sur-
While any boat will work when chasing trout, Ramsey’s adventure included this pontoon. (BUZZ RAMSEY) face algae to the end of the lake I’d chosen to fish. I did hook what felt like a big fish not too long after launching, but lost it as the hard-pulling fish neared the boat. The few other boats out that day put in where I did, ran west a few miles where the water was clearer and found some success. What I later learned was that I should have launched at the Quinn River or Browns Mountain ramps on the northwest and southeast ends of the lake, where the waters in the early season are
clearer. I was also told that the fish are more spread out early on, but congregate on the edges of and in the old Deschutes River channel as the water warms. ODFW’s George says that last year’s spawning surveys in Crane’s tributaries were the best in 30 years.
ON DAY THREE I tried my luck at South Twin Lake. It was pouring-down rain when I arrived, with no other anglers in sight. Still, I could see trout breaking the surface when launching. Given that number of fish rising, I started off casting and retrieving a Thomas Buoyant spoon and quickly caught a couple of trout in the 15- to 18-inch range. But the spoon bite fizzled after about an hour, so I switched to trolling. What I then tried was a 2.5 SpinFish – stuffed with canned tuna and a squirt of Pro-Cure gel – rigged 30 inches behind a Cowbell Lake Troll. This worked well, as I caught and released more than a few hefty rainbows averaging 18 inches. I did land one fish over 20 inches but it flipped out of the net and was gone before I could react.
EAST LAKE WAS the last trout fishing desti-
This South Twin rainbow hit a Thomas Buoyant spoon while the author cast and retrieved it in the early morning hours. (BUZZ RAMSEY) 70 Northwest Sportsman
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nation on my list. I’d fished the lake inside the Newberry Caldera once as a teenager, when we’d rented a boat and successfully trolled worms in combination with a Ford Fender for a mix of rainbow and brown trout. The second time I hit it, I fly fished with Cory Wells (RIP) of Three Dog Night fame and storied Northwest fly angler Jim Teeny. And a third time, in the 1990s,
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COLUMN When rigging for the crawl-retrieve method, it’s important that your worm hangs straight, like a pencil. What Ramsey does is thread as much of the trout worm up, onto and over a size 6 or 8 single hook such that the hook shank is imbedded in the worm as far as possible. When threading, it helps to keep the point of your hook centered in the worm. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
This 22-inch brown trout fell for a Krocodile spoon cast in the shallows of East Lake on a stormy afternoon day in early June last season. (BUZZ RAMSEY) 72 Northwest Sportsman
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we targeted brown trout during the last days of October while casting Krocodile spoons near the east shore as a weather front – including plenty of wind and rain – passed. What we discovered on that third trip was that the wild weather had the browns cruising the shallows in search of minnows, which resulted in us catching fish on nearly every cast. Last season I launched early in the morning at the ramp servicing the northeast corner of the lake and began trolling my Cowbell and SpinFish combination across the lake, heading west. Although I caught a couple rainbows in the 15- to 18-inch range, this method seemed to not produce all that well, as I had to cover a lot of water to catch them, so I decided to try something different. I then maneuvered within casting distance of the north shore and started tossing a 3-inch Berkley trout worm rigged 20 inches behind a No. 5 split shot toward the shallows. This worked well, as I started catching a mix of rainbow and brown trout on about every fifth cast while working my way along the shoreline. The technique I was using is one called the “crawl-retrieve” method. Here’s how it works: Cast your rigged outfit out and reel up any excess slack. Then let your outfit sink before lifting and lowering your rod tip, reeling 10 feet and lifting and lowering your rod tip again, etc. Worked this way, nearly all fish will take your artificial worm while it’s falling, which may require you to give the trout time to swallow your offering before you set the hook – just let trout chomp it down for five seconds or so before yanking. What I sometimes do is dip my rod tip toward the fish just before yanking. The nearshore structure changed after a few hundred yards, with the bottom turning to gravel strewn with a few large boulders. What I then began catching
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Northwest Sportsman 73
COLUMN
Between state and federal campgrounds, private resorts and other options, accommodations are plentiful in Central Oregon. Just be sure to have the correct parking pass when using boat launches and other facilities. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
and releasing were large rainbows, many over 20 inches, that appeared to be trying to spawn in the near-shore gravel, as evidenced by their vivid spawning colors. Although I didn’t catch any really big ones, a few I could see looked like they might go 10 pounds or more. What started off as a calm day turned into a rainy windswept one by noon. The wind was so strong, in fact, that I had to jam my boat into the bank to keep it from being blown eastward. Needless to say, it was impossible to do any casting. But remembering how rough weather had caused brown trout to prowl the sandy shallows along the east shore once before, I decided to try my luck there. This proved nearly impossible, as the wind was so strong that by the time I stopped rowing long enough to cast and begin my retrieve, I was halfway or more to the beach. It was then that I’d have to paddle into the wind and waves in an effort to get far enough away to cast again. As difficult as it was, I did catch a couple of pretty nice browns, the biggest measuring 22 inch-
es, before I gave in to the wind, rain and waves and headed for the launch.
I’M PLANNING TO revisit the same lakes in early June this year, but I’m going to stay longer and I’ve added Paulina, North Twin, Elk and Diamond Lakes to my Central Oregon trout adventure. One thing I’ll add to my gear list this season is an anchor, just in case a wind puts the brown trout on the prowl. And, since I’m not giving up on Crane Prairie, I’ll also be including a portable fish finder so I can locate the river channels where the fish sometimes hang. While I stayed at my nephew’s home in La Pine last year, many anglers book a room in Sun River or Bend, or rent a lakeside cabin, RV site or camping spot at one of the lake resorts or from the Forest Service. While there are camp sites available on a first-come, first-serve basis, many require reservations. Private resorts are listed on the internet, as are those managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Forest Service (recreation.gov; 877-444-6777). Keep in mind that much of the area is high elevation and lingering or late-season snow can block or restrict access to some lakes, which is why I’m writing about this in April, so that you’ll have time to plan a spring or summer trip. Also, a USFS or other applicable pass is required to access the lakes located within the Deschutes National Forest. Be aware that while the limit at most lakes is five trout, you are only allowed to keep one over 20 inches per day, so having a tape measure might be a good idea. And while the majority of the lakes are open all year, Odell Lake and Wickiup Reservoir don’t open until April 22. If you are interested in hiring a fishing guide for a Central Oregon trout adventure, try giving Cody Herman of Day One Outdoors TV fame a call (503-960-9377). And don’t forget to say hi if you see me chasing trout on one of Oregon’s High Desert lakes this season. NS Editor’s note: Buzz Ramsey is regarded as a trout, steelhead and salmon sport fishing authority and proficient lure and fishing rod designer. He has been honored into the Hall of Fame for the Association of Northwest Steelheaders and the national Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame.
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FISHING
North of 2 million catchable rainbows like this one caught by Kiran Walgamott are put into Washington lakes for trout season, a fishery also fueled by releases of 10-plus million fry that rear in the lakes and roughly 150,000 jumbos released into them as well. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)
High On The Lowland Opener Talkin’ trout with Steve Caromile, WDFW Inland Fish Program manager. By MD Johnson
I
magine, if you would, Christmas and Halloween and Easter and, oh, what the heck, your birthday all rolled into one. What do you have? Washington’s annual lowland lake opener, this year on April 22. And what’s this mean? Why,
it means trout. Lots and lots and lots of trout. Adults. Kids. Buckets. SpongeBob fish poles. Snoopy bobbers. Cook-outs. Captain America PowerBait. Derbies. Folks dressed like unicorns – well, maybe that last one is a stretch, but not too much. No matter how you look at it, the lowland trout opener is, by proverbial
nutshell, a good time had by all just waiting to happen. And no one individual knows this better than the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s trout frontman, Steve Caromile. He’s a busy guy, Caromile is, especially as we’re sitting within a couple weeks of the aforementioned fourth-Saturdayin-April opener; however, Northwest nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023 Northwest Sportsman
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FISHING Sportsman was able to pin him down for a few minutes last month, and get the lowdown on the upcoming lowland lake opener.
Northwest Sportsman First rattle out of the box; sir, who are you? Steve Caromile I’m Steve Caromile, and I’m the Inland Fish Program manager for the WDFW. My wife and I moved out here to Washington in 1995, and that’s when I started with the agency, so I’m on my 28th year. NWS So, what does the Inland Fish
Program manager do, and have you always been in that role? SC Let me answer the second part first, and say “no,” I haven’t always been in this position. I moved into this position in 2018, and full-time since 2019. When I first came into the agency, I was a salmon modeler. Author’s note: My apologies, Steve, but when you first said this, all I could see was a guy in a salmon suit trotting down the catwalk during Fashion Week. Ugh, I’m sorry, but I digress. I was a computer programmer, and did a whole bunch of our salmon
season modeling work. I spent a couple years doing that, and then I started with our Warmwater Enhancement Program. I was a field biologist for 20some years doing research on our bass and walleye populations. So for most of my career, I’ve been in our inland program, which is truthfully quite substantial (in its scope).
NWS I thought when I accepted this assignment that the Inland Fish Program manager was simply the Trout Guy, but you wear a lot of different hats, yes? SC The Warmwater Program is underneath me, and so I definitely have a lot of different hats I throw on, depending on the time of day, let’s say.
NWS What does the lowland trout opener mean to Washington anglers?
SC Ohhhhhhh! Let me throw some
The opener of lowland lake season isn’t just for kids. Far from it; anglers young and young at heart alike love the annual Evergreen State tradition that can bring out 100,000 fishermen. Marvin Holder caught this nice rainbow while plunking PowerEggs last spring.(COAST PHOTO CONTEST) 78 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
numbers at you, and that should help paint the picture. Trout fishing in Washington is one of our biggest license sales. You might think it’s salmon, but trout are what the majority of people (in Washington) do. We plant about 17 million trout and kokanee each year. That’s a lot of fish. I come from Connecticut, and we did maybe 200,000. We plant about 750 lakes on a yearly basis. About 150 to 175 of those are alpine lakes. High lakes. Lakes you have to hike to. The rest are going to be the lowland lakes, and about half of those will be on the opening day stocking schedule. We monitor about 85 of those lakes each year on opening day, and if you look at the numbers in terms of use, you’re going to be pretty close to about 28,000 anglers on those 85 lakes. If you expand that to include the 250 lakes on our opening day (stocking) schedule, now you’re talking 65,000 anglers. Author’s note: My math skills, though rusty, puts that number closer to 83,000 anglers – needless to say, a lot of people! So now you’re talking on just one day – opening day – of having close to 100,000 people fishing just for trout.
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FISHING
All those fish translate into a lot of fish dinners, and if the editor could be so bold as to steal Chef Randy’s chef hat for a moment, he’d suggest stuffing the cavity with salt, pepper and rosemary, wrapping bacon around the outside and then broiling. Dee-lish-us! (ANDY WALGAMOTT)
So it’s one of the biggest openers the agency has for resource use. It’s huge!
NWS So what you’re telling me, Steve, is that it ranks right up there with Christmas? Do some folks get that giggly about the opener? SC Internally, when we’re talking about this, we don’t call it opening day. We call it “Fishy Christmas.” We had something like this in Connecticut; being younger and just really looking forward to it every year. Going out and having a great time with your family and friends, even in high school. And it’s still like that. You go out there to one of these lakes on opening day, and people are just excited. They’re having a great time. It’s like that – it’s like Christmas. People go out a couple weeks ahead of time. They’re buying new fishing gear. They’re buying new lures. Getting the boat cleaned up. For a lot of people, it’s exactly like that. 80 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
NWS How cool is it that April 22nd coincides with Earth Day? SC That is cool! Having people out there doing things that are “environmental” and “environmentally responsible” – getting people in tune with conservation all on the same day? That’s very cool.
NWS WDFW stocked 2.18 million catchable trout (10-inch fish) in 2022. How is 2023 going to stack up against that? Numbers about the same? SC I think the numbers are going to be fairly similar. In general, our overall production numbers don’t change much from year to year. There are only so many fish our hatcheries can produce, and they produce right up to that number. So 2.18 million catchables in ’22 for opening day? I’m not going to disagree with that at all. Last year, we did about 3.5 million catchables, but that’s spread out over the year. So go out for the opener, but if you’re not catching fish on
the opener, don’t worry. We’re still stocking fish after that.
NWS Do stocked trout – “planter trout” – deserve the “icky” reputation on the table so many folks seem to have given them? SC That’s interesting. The taste of fish is often influenced by a couple of things. One is the water they’re living in, and two is the temperature of that water, and three is what they’re eating. I don’t think they have an “icky” taste to them. I think they have a distinctive taste to them that most trout, to me, taste like. I know what trout taste like. What yellow perch taste like. What bass taste like. All three taste different to me. So I don’t think (stocked trout) deserve the icky reputation. I think some folks think they’re fed Purina fish chow, and that’s not really the case. They’re fed a highquality fish meal product, and they get plenty of exercise. They’re not that lumpy thing some people think
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FISHING Don’t forget! Catch a specially marked trout at select lakes statewide and you could win great prizes in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s season-long derby. Entry is free and all you have to do is land a fish with a spaghetti tag in it and then enter the number on the tag at wdfwderby.com. Steven Elliott’s tagged trout from Rowland Lake won him a fishing rod. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
look on the agency website, we have a series of “how to” videos on there. These will tell you what gear to have. What to fish with. Some of the really easy techniques of how to go out there and what to do. As far as what kind of gear – rod and reel and bait; how to set up, and some basic knots – all of that is (in the form of) YouTube videos on the WDFW website (wdfw.wa.gov). So if you don’t have a lot of experience, spend some time watching these. And remember with kids – I don’t have kids, but I was one once – the biggest thing is keeping their attention. Making sure they’re having fun. It’s wet here. And windy. And cold. Make sure they’re comfortable, and most of all, make sure they’re having fun ’cause we want them coming back and doing this again.
NWS Steve, a couple “best bets” per region for the opener? Good access. Water getting fish for the opener. Your thoughts? SC Access is always the thing, so anything I give you here is going to have one of our “access areas” on it. Some lakes have better shoreline access than others, but these all perform well on a yearly basis.
Region 1 Cedar Lake (Stevens County): Always performs well, as does Rocky Lake. West Medical: Another great lake people go to on the opener. There’s a lot for shore access there; same with Fishtrap Lake, also in Spokane County. That’s another great lake. they might be. I believe we produce a good product in our hatcheries.
a little white wine. But, once again, really simple.
NWS Favorite trout recipe? SC It’s kind of funny, but I don’t often go
NWS Hypothetical scenario, Steve.
trout fishing. I do a lot of bass fishing, and around here, I’ll fish for tiger muskie. I do some sea-run cutthroat trout fishing, which (of course) you can’t harvest. But I’m a simple person when it comes to cooking fish. If it’s on the grill, it’s lemon and butter and a little garlic. And I’ll do the same thing if it’s in a pan. Put it in the oven with 82 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
I’m new to the trout opener. My wife and I have two children, ages 6 and 8. Neither of the little ones have fished before, and I’ve only gone a few times. What should I expect on the opener? If I wear a propeller beanie, will I fit in? SC [Laughs] Sure! I wear a propeller beanie every now and then. One of the best things to help prepare yourself for angling – if you
Region 2 Warden Lake (Adams County): Always a good one. Blue and Park Lakes: Good access right along Highway 17, plus Sun Lakes State Park access. Deep Lake, also in Grant County, is another one.
Region 3 Author’s note: Caromile states that Region 3 “is a tough one” to call, as there’s neither any opening-day waters, nor many lakes, “but there are some.” And those year-round lakes
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get some “fishy assistance” from WDFW in the form of lots of stockers, to include: Columbia Park Pond (Benton County): Open only for anglers 15 and under, seniors and anglers with a disability who possess a designated harvester companion card. Fiorito Lake North (Kittitas County): A good one, Caromile says, to try on the opener. Tim’s Pond, Rotary Lake, and all six of the I-82 Ponds (Yakima County): “We put fish in all of those; they’re good ones,” he adds.
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Lake Geneva and Walker Lake (King County): Pretty high catch rates, while McMurray Lake in Skagit County has really good catch rates. A lot of those King County lakes get stocked a little heavier because of population size.
Region 5 Rowland Lake: Right on Highway 14 and one of the lakes I like best. Rowland, to me, is very nice. Plenty of shoreline access, or you could get a small car-topper boat in there. Good catch rates there, along with Spearfish Lake in that same area (of southern Klickitat County).
Region 6 Failor Lake (Grays Harbor County) and Lake Bowers: These both have really high catch rates, and both have pretty decent access. Lake Limerick (Mason County): It’s a small lake and not a lot of people go to it. There’s a boat launch on it, and it’s another good one to go to. It’s right along Highway 3. Ohop and Silver Lakes (Pierce County): A couple of my personal favorites.
NWS So, what’s the most interesting thing or individual you’ve encountered on a trout opener? SC Ohhhhhhhh, I’m not really sure I want to answer that! Opening day is really an interesting day. You see all kinds of things out there on the water. And it’s just people out there having fun. It would be people fishing from – well, it’s like a float tube, but it’s an animal-shaped one. Like the kids use. Once again, it’s just people out there living life and they’re having fun. NS 86 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
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FISHING Sitting alongside I-90 west of Spokane, Sprague Lake is one of Eastern Washington’s most productive waters and its peak fishing season for trout, bass and panfish spans April, May and June. (WASHINGTON DOE)
Spring To Sprague Plentiful forage and fast growth rates power good fisheries for rainbows, largemouth and crappie at Channeled Scablands lake. By Mike Wright
F
or anglers in search of trophy fishing waters in Washington, several lakes and streams in the Columbia Basin will undoubtedly be near the top of their list. One prime example would be Sprague Lake, a 1,760-acre lake located less than an hour’s drive from Spokane. Sprague is a very large, shallow lake just off Interstate 90 and 2 miles from the
town of Sprague. It is one of the most fertile bodies of water in the entire Columbia Basin. As Randy Osborne, a state fisheries biologist, put it, “If you could keep the fish still long enough, you could probably watch them grow.” The bottom of the lake is carpeted with heavy weed growth throughout its 5-mile length. In addition to the lush submerged vegetation, cattails line much of the shoreline, which
along with the underwater weeds provide for outstanding insect hatches and other food sources for Sprague’s fish. The amount of feed available means the waters can support the large number of fish stocked each year. Approximately 20,000 “put, grow and take rainbows” are released each spring, along with about 250,000 spring rainbow fry and 10,000 to 15,000 Lahontan cutthroat fry. Additionally, warmwater species, nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023 Northwest Sportsman
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FISHING opportunity for anglers. A few years ago, there was an opportunity to plant steelhead in Sprague, following a lawsuit settlement with a Westside organization. The deal reached between WDFW and Wild Fish Conservancy in 2014 resulted in a reduction of young hatchery winterrun steelhead being stocked into select Puget Sound rivers. Because of the state’s monetary and time investment into these fish, they needed to find a home. Rather than be discarded and wasted, WDFW planted a portion of these fish into Sprague, leading to nice catches for a couple years.
FOLLOWING 2007’S TREATMENT, a number
An abundance of forage powers Sprague Lake rainbow trout growth rates like nobody’s business. Austin, Corbin and Lexi Han hold up six sizable specimens caught during a Memorial Day Weekend outing in 2020. They were running Rocky Mountain Tackle dodgers and Wedding Rings baited with chunks of nightcrawler. (COAST PHOTO CONTEST)
including largemouth bass, bluegill and crappie, have been stocked to perpetuate a “mixed-species fishery, with a warmwater emphasis.”
SPRAGUE HAS A very interesting history, and not just its formation via the gigantic Missoula Floods that created the Channeled Scablands. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has devoted a great deal of time, effort and money into developing a very impressive trophy fishery here. But as the old saying goes, “no good deed ever goes unpunished.” In 2007, WDFW conducted a rotenone treatment to rid the lake of a growing carp population and other unwanted fish species. There was a rather sizable population of walleye in the lake, and it too bit the proverbial dust. This aroused the anger of some anglers who claimed they could catch walleye there on a moment’s notice, while others complained that they were difficult to catch but understood that this was due to the amount of forage in the lake. Because of its sizable population, walleye were having a 90 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
negative impact on the existing fish communities in the lake. Based on this information, WDFW did not plant walleye in Sprague following the 2007 treatment, but focused on developing other warmwater fish populations like bass and panfish. The agency also continues to plant trout to maximize the available food, habitat and fishing
of bass fishermen were upset because they felt not enough emphasis was being given to the bass and crappie population. However, WDFW collected a number of sizable bass, bluegill and crappie and planted them in Sprague following the treatment. Additionally, WDFW worked with a local bass club to relocate fish from nearby Badger Lake, which is managed as a trout fishery. Following the restocking of largemouth, the population took off and provides an excellent fishery for quality fish that includes many 2- to 3-pound specimens and some fish over 6 pounds. Many bass anglers are deterred from fishing Sprague, given
Following a 2007 rotenone treatment to “rehabilitate a declining sport fishery” and rid the lake of carp, tench, walleye and other unwanted fish populations, largemouth bass were restocked and are doing well, if these bucketmouths held by state biologists Marc Divens and Danny Garrett are any indication. (WDFW)
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FISHING Given its size and length, the best way to fish Sprague for rainbows would be to troll, preferably with the second-rod endorsement. Anything from sinking lines and streamers to ’crawler rigs to flatlined plugs could get bit. (COAST PHOTO CONTEST)
its exposure to the wind and rock outcroppings that are no friend to fiberglass boats. Nevertheless, the fish are there. Although bass have flourished, crappie and bluegill have not done as well as expected. In response, WDFW has undertaken a crappie translocation project the past three years, capturing black and white crappie from Silver Lake in Cowlitz County and trucking them over to and releasing them in Sprague Lake in October and November. Fisheries biologists have high hopes that these efforts will bring back the healthy crappie fishery that was once very popular a couple decades ago. These crappie are catchable size and it is legal to keep them, but the number available is still quite small, so it might be advisable to catch and release until the numbers have increased. Bluegill are also available in the lake, but they are a favorite snack for a vast number of predatory birds that call Sprague home. For this reason and others yet to be identified, numbers of bluegill are not great. Channel catfish have also been stocked in Sprague in order to add another long-lived species to the warmwater fishery. There are not 92 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
a large number of catfish available at the present time; the last stocking was back in 2014 when funding was available. Nonetheless, these fish can reach very impressive ages and sizes in Washington, some in excess of 30 pounds. For the angler intent on catching one of these behemoths, be prepared for a rather long fruitless day. To improve the possibility of success it would be advisable to try the most godawful-smelling bait available – the more obnoxious, the better. One last note about stocking. Recently, WDFW has been planting fish under the cover of darkness. This gives newly released fish time to disperse and makes them less vulnerable to the large population of predatory birds in the area. More recently, the agency has attempted to stock while the lake is frozen over, for the same reason as stocking at night. The fish seem to do fine and it has helped to ensure the survival of stocked fish.
EVEN WITH ITS emphasis on warmwater species, trout are still by far the most targeted fish species at Sprague. This is due in no small part to their rapid growth rates. State fisheries biologist Danny Garrett believes the lake has one of the fastest growth rate of any lake
in the Columbia Basin. The average rainbow will measure around 15 inches within the first year of stocking, with trout over 20 inches being relatively common. Even though there are far fewer of them, there is also the chance of catching a Lahontan cutthroat, which can reach very impressive sizes. Since Sprague Lake is so large, trolling from a boat is a very popular method of fishing these waters. Among preferred lures would be a gold or silver Mepps, and a Panther Martin, Rooster Tail, FlatFish, Wedding Ring or hammered spoon. Since the lake is rather shallow, higher trolling speeds or other adjustments may be needed. For the fly fisherman, Sprague has many of the same hatches as most of the other lakes in the Columbia Basin. Early in the season, chironomids are the preferred pattern and they are fished just over the top of the weeds. Red or black Snow Cones will usually produce fish, as will a Zebra Midge or a bloodworm pattern. Floating line with the use of a strike indicator is probably the most popular method, although when the wind is blowing, it may be necessary to increase your retrieval speed. The use of a dropper, tied a few inches below the lead fly is also a popular technique. Sprague is not a particularly good dry fly lake, but on one of the rare calm days, a Griffith’s Gnat or a Renegade can be effective. Later on in the season, an Adams pattern or a Purple Haze can also be productive. The lake is well known for its prolific mayfly hatches, so Pheasant Tails, Prince Nymphs or Hare’s Ears can be very effective nymph patterns. In late May and June, damsels begin to appear in substantial numbers. During this time of the year, Marabou Damsel patterns are particularly popular. Since the damsel and callibaetis mayfly hatches often overlap, using a Marabou Damsel as your lead fly and a Flashback Pheasant Tail as the dropper, along with an intermediate or sink-tip line, can be an excellent strategy. Sprague also has a very large number of sculpin in its waters.
FISHING For this reason, streamers such as Muddler Minnows, Woolly Buggers, leeches or similar patterns can also work well. A black and green Soft Hackle Mini Leech, as well as a purple Egg-sucking Leech have also been productive for both bass and trout. Later on in the summer, and if the wind is not too strong, hopper patterns along with other terrestrial dry flies will catch fish. One of the best spots to target is near the reeds along the shoreline. It might be necessary to switch to floating line in these shallower areas.
ALTHOUGH BASS WILL take fly patterns, the use of lures or bait will usually be more productive. Still, for those anglers interested in fly fishing for largemouth, one of the best spots is around structure or, again, close to the reeds, where bass will often wait for ambush opportunities. During the spring, bass will stage off the few rocky points and be more susceptible to jigs. As they transition to shallower water to spawn, weedless stickbaits work well around the vegetation. The spawn is probably the best time to catch a truly memorable-sized largemouth. During
While known for being windy, with its on-thewater resorts, several boat launches, some shore access, the nearby town of Sprague and, of course, good angling, the lake makes for a solid destination fishery. (COAST PHOTO CONTEST) 94 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
the summer, anglers focus on deeper haunts and switch to more finesse techniques such as drop-shotting worms. Since the bass are schooled up during this period, it may take some time finding them, but it can definitely be worth that effort.
AS MENTIONED ABOVE, Sprague is a long, relatively narrow lake that lends itself best to fishing from a motorized boat or – if you are not opposed to longdistance rowing – perhaps a pontoon. Sometimes it is necessary to cover a considerable amount of water in order to find the fish. For this reason, a fish finder might be a valuable tool to include on your trip. This is especially true in the spring when the fish are often schooled up and there isn’t a great deal of surface action. Bank fishing is also an option, if a watercraft is not available. There are numerous access points on the lake and a number of large fish often cruise close to the shore, but again the lake is weedy. Sprague is open year-round and can be good during the winter. Maggots and worms are the most popular bait, but corn and PowerBait may also work well. But spring and early summer are probably the ideal times to fish Sprague. Later on in summer, usually in August and early September, the lake can experience heavy algae blooms, making the fishing much more challenging. The wind can be rather strong, which makes fishing from a boat much more difficult and nearly impossible for pontoons. For the angler who prefers some additional amenities, there are two resorts on the lake, Four Seasons Campground and Resort and Sprague Lake Resort (find them on Facebook). In addition, the lake is only a couple miles from the town of Sprague and some good restaurants. For those individuals interested in pursuing trophy fish, both largemouth bass and rainbow trout, Sprague Lake might be a little slice of heaven in a rather uncrowded setting. NS
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FISHING
Wanna Catch Trout? Try These 2 Lakes! Okanogan pair offers good spring fishing for bigger rainbows and Lahontans in a region of stunning scenery. By Mike Wright
M
ention the Okanogan and many people will picture sprawling orchards and numerous highwayside fruit stands. But an avid angler’s first thoughts will probably be of the large number of very productive lakes within this part of Northcentral Washington. Indeed, the entire Okanogan region is pockmarked with various-sized bodies of water, nearly all of which are brimming with hungry and somewhat gullible trout. Many of these lakes open the fourth Saturday of April – which this year falls on the 22nd – and close October 31, but others are open year-round and some have special gear rules, so have a copy of the fishing regulations handy. Most of these lakes are very fertile and the fish grow rapidly. In addition, there is a cornucopia of trout species inhabiting the various waters. Although rainbow trout is the predominant species stocked, westslope and Lahontan cutthroat, as well as brown, tiger and brook trout, are also available. In addition, some of the lakes have proven to be susceptible to “bucket biologists,” so smallmouth and largemouth bass, yellow perch and other species that some folks consider to be less desirable (but are beloved by others) might be caught.
In a region of Washington blessed with fishy waters, Wannacut Lake stands out for its plentiful and larger rainbow trout, and neighboring Blue Lake offers Lahontan cutthroat. (WANNACUT LAKE RESORT)
TWO PRIME EXAMPLES of the excellent fishing opportunities available in the Okanogan are Wannacut Lake and Blue Lake. Both are located just a short distance southwest of Oroville. To reach Wannacut, take the LoomisOroville Road out of Tonasket. Then, just before Spectacle Lake, turn north on Wannacut Lake Road and follow it approximately 5 miles to the lake and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife access and boat launch
in its southwest corner. To reach Blue, stay on the road around Wannacut and turn right on the Wannacut-Blue Lake Road, which will take you to the state access site. The main attraction in Wannacut is its rainbows, some running up to 5 pounds. While stocked annually with around 2,000 catchables, another 50,000 fry are released each year to rear in the lake, the typical way many Eastern Washington stillwater nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023
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FISHING
An Okanogan fly box selection might include (generally row by row, left to right) olive scud and olive damsel imitations, Kauffman Mini Leech, brown leech and a Goddard caddis; Griffith’s Gnat, chironomid, Parachute Adams, red Snow Cone chironomid imitation, Hare’s Ear, Flashback Pheasant Tail, red Copper John and Brassie; Egg-sucking Leech, brown Marabou Leech, adult damsel imitation, Sheep Creek, Parachute Adams and Marabou damsel; and a black Mohair Leech, Muddler Minnow, white Woolly Bugger and sculpin pattern. (MIKE WRIGHT)
fisheries are fueled. Wannacut has heavy weed growth, which in turn produces prolific midge, callibaetis and damselfly hatches that account for the rapid fish growth, estimated to be as much as an inch per month. The shallow areas at either end of the lake receive the majority of the attention, especially during the early part of the season. As the year progresses and water temperatures increase, the fish usually move to the deeper and cooler sections of the lake. Red or black chironomid patterns fished under floating line with a strike indicator holding the flies just above the weedbeds is probably the most popular strategy to use in the early part of the season. Although this is a very effective method, the retrieval needs to be mind-numbingly slow. Around the opening day of fishing on Wannacut, callibaetis mayflies start to appear, followed closely by the damsel hatch. Flashback Pheasant Tails or Hare’s Ears are very effective 98 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
patterns when fished on a sink-tip or intermediate full-sink line around the dropoffs. Just a little later, a damsel nymph with a Pheasant Tail or Hare’s Ear dropper is also a popular method of working the lake. The retrieve on this setup is much quicker and considerably more fun than with the chironomid. When the fish begin actively feeding on adult insects, topwater fishing with dry flies becomes much more effective. The most popular dries to use on Wannacut would be Griffith’s Gnats, Renegades, Parachute Adams and adult blue damselfly imitations. When the fish move into the deeper midsections of the lake, leeches in brown, black or olive and Woolly Buggers in the same colors become more effective. Another choice would be Egg-sucking Leeches in black or purple and attached via leader to an intermediate full-sink line. By late July or August, the weeds and water temperature begin to have a
very negative effect on trout appetites, and early morning or just before evening seem to be about the only times they are interested in feeding. It might be advisable to fold up the tent and head for higher-elevation lakes during this time of year. By September the water has cooled enough for the trout to regain their appetite and fishing should remain good until the lake closes on Halloween. Bait and lure fishing is very popular on Wannacut, of course, with PowerBait and worms being good choices, while hardware fishermen should try Panther Martins, Mepps and Rooster Tails. Because of the heavy weed cover and lack of public access outside the state launch, the use of a boat, float tube or other flotation device would probably be a wise decision.
BLUE LAKE IS only a short distance from Wannacut, but the fishing situation between the lakes is very
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FISHING different. Both are managed under a trout emphasis, but Wannacut features statewide minimum size and daily limit standards, while Blue has selective-gear regulations and a one-fish limit. Where Wannacut is primarily a rainbow fishery, Blue is considered too alkaline to support almost any trout except Lahontan cutthroat, which are liberally stocked in fall as fry. As a general rule, these cutts grow fast, with more fish over 20 inches and some up to 8 or 10 pounds. Although insect populations in both Okanogan lakes are similar, it would be rather unusual to see much surface action on Blue. Nymph patterns such as a Flashback Pheasant Tail, Hare’s Ear, Marabou Damsel, Sheep Creek, Prince or a chironomid imitation fished in the shallows will be much more productive than dry flies. Scuds also inhabit Blue, so it would be advisable to have a couple in your fly box, especially early in the season.
For its size (and similar to Wannacut), Blue is an extremely deep lake, over 100 feet in places, with fast dropoffs. In deeper sections, heavier patterns such as leech and sculpin imitations, Woolly Buggers, Zonkers and Egg-sucking Leeches are often very productive. A fast-sink line and at least a 5-weight rod are needed in these deeper sections. Fishing from shore is possible, but rather limited (note that WDFW is currently pursuing the purchase of several hundred acres just to the north of its access site and that could provide more bank fishing, not to mention hunting opportunities, if the sale goes through). A boat, float tube or pontoon boat is nearly a necessity, considering the sunken trees and branches at the south end, which also make fishing from shore there rather difficult. This part of the lake holds the most fish, especially early in the season. Unfortunately, a large portion
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of these fish reside in the sunken timber of the shallows, which often results in the loss of yet another fly or lure. One way to avoid contributing to the Blue Lake tackle shop would be to concentrate your efforts on the outside edge of the “tree line.” It would also be advisable to use either 3X or 2X tippet and at least a 5- or 6-weight rod to keep hooked cutts out of the snags.
WITH MANY OKANOGAN lakes opening on the fourth Saturday in April, it tends to reduce the crowds on the more popular lakes. That is not to say you are going to feel lonely, but it does improve your chances of having a more peaceful and rewarding experience. Wannacut and Blue Lakes are just two prime examples of very productive bodies of water to be found in the Okanogan. These “honey holes” are definitely worthy of your consideration. NS
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COLUMN
Catch More Trout E
arly in the season just after the lowland lake trout season kicks off, fishing is easy. Lakes are filled with stockers NW PURSUITS willing to bite assorted By Jason Brooks colors of PowerBait. Then, as late spring sunshine starts to warm up the water, the lakes all seem to be “fished out.” In reality, the trout are adjusting to their new life, free from the cement pond and daily scheduled feedings. Instead of soaking dough bait, there are other ways to catch fish, and it usually leads to bigger trout and just as much fun.
“MATCH THE HATCH” means figuring out what the trout are feeding on and then using a lure, fly or bait to mimic what the fish are eating. This is done by pumping the stomach of a trout that you catch or, if you plan to keep that fish for dinner, opening the stomach. This is a trick that most fly anglers already know about, and some stomach pumps (think small turkey baster) can be purchased at fly shops or on the internet. If you see small aquatic bugs, then this may mean the fish are feeding on larvae such as chironomids. If you do not have any of those types of fly patterns, or do not care to fish that way, know that how trout feed on chironomids is by cruising waters where the hatch is occurring, often just swimming along with their mouths wide open and scooping the feed up. The point is to look for areas where a larvae hatch is occurring, usually warmer waters with a muddy bottom. Even if you don’t have a larvae pattern, you can still put yourself in the area where the fish are feeding, increasing your odds of getting bit. Another great option is to troll until you find the fish. Small spinners such as the Mack’s Lure Promise Ring or the Rooster Tail by Yakima Bait Company are good search lures. A simple outfit is to put a few split shot on your mainline and then a 2-foot leader behind a swivel to
No, the lakes don’t all get fished out on opening weekend. There are plenty of trout still to catch afterwards, but you’ll want to adjust your tactics as stocker fish adapt to their new environs and seek out more natural forage. (JASON BROOKS)
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COLUMN the spinner. By keeping it simple you can enjoy reeling in the fish, especially if using an ultralight spinning rod. Another way to search and locate fish is using an attractor like a Flash-Lite or Ford Fender with a small lure trailing behind, like a Super Duper by Luhr-Jensen or a Wedding Ring tipped with a piece of nightcrawler. When searching for fish be sure to mark the area on your sonar unit once you get a bite. Trout might not school up in lakes, but they are found in similar places. Each day you might find the fish moving about, but there are usually also some coves, bays and depths that always seem to produce on certain lakes. Learning how to find and fish the thermocline will also lead to more catches. The thermocline is where the water changes temperature with depth and can be affected by weather conditions, as well as water depth, tributary streams, springs and even the substrate of the bottom of the lake. Trout prefer cool water but not too cold, as well as not too warm, where oxygen levels are low. If you are a kokanee angler,
you know how important the thermocline can be; trout will also use it, especially in lakes that have deep holes or basins.
SUNLIGHT IS OFTEN overlooked as something that affects fishing, but fish do not have eyelids and are exceptionally sensitive to light. When fishing in streams and rivers at midday, fish are often found under overhanging branches or where riffles refract harsh light. When it comes to lakes, it is the water depth that can protect them from bright sunlight. If it is bright out, go deep, and then as the sun starts to set and shadows are cast out onto the lake, it is time to fish shallower. In the evening, recently hatched bugs will be cruising along the surface and trout will be actively feeding. When you start to see fish rising, troll right on top of the water. Barometric pressure can also affect the fishing. Learn to use the weather to catch more fish and to know when not to go fishing. Rainstorms are often thought of as a suitable time to go fishing, but this might have more to do
Spring weekends are busy at local lakes, but if you can swing a midweek trip, you should find fewer fellow anglers competing for hot spots and trolling lanes. (JASON BROOKS) 104 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
with pressure being consistent and low, as well as fewer people on the water. The approach of storms and increasing winds are good indicators to get off the water. Not only can wind make for dangerous conditions, but it can also bring in spring thunderstorms. When the barometric pressure is dropping, humidity is high and cumulus clouds are building, it is time to head for home and get off the water. Pick your day and time to increase your catch. Weekends are often terribly busy and that means more boats on the water creating waves, underwater noise and taking up good fishing spots. If you can fish during midweek, you are likely to have less pressure on the lake and should be able to troll the pattern or area of the lake that you want to concentrate on. Early morning is known for good fishing, but this is likely due to the sun being low on the horizon, rather than the fish wanting breakfast. Same with evening as the sun heads to the horizon, while midday, with its harsh sunlight and warmer temperatures, is the least productive part
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COLUMN
Trolling and soaking bait are great methods for catching midspring trout. Troll the surface early and late in the day and go deeper during brighter periods. While PowerBait is popular and productive, if weed growth makes fishing difficult even with a long leader, take a page from steelheaders and use a slip float to fish a salmon egg or other nonbuoyant lure in the target zone. (JASON BROOKS)
of the day. However, midday does have some advantages. The boat launch is usually clear and there are fewer anglers on the lake. Water skiers, wakeboarders and Jet Skiers might not be out on the water this early in the season, but look for lakes that have a no-wake zone and stay clear of those speedsters on plane. Before you leave the house for the lake, be sure to check your fish and wildlife department website for the stocking 106 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
report. Some of the more popular lakes receive plants well after opening weekend and others receive fry plants that help augment the fishing in later months. Creel reports are often also posted, and of course there are fishing websites and blogs that can be viewed for recent reports. This will help with determining where you might want to concentrate your efforts or even stay away from certain lakes. If you do not mind letting fish go, catch-and-release
waters produce into summer, but be mindful of water temperatures. And when it comes to using bait, remember that aquatic weeds hit their growth spurt as the waters warm. If leaves are growing on trees, milfoil is growing in the water. The best way to increase your chances is to extend your leader length. If you find that a leader needs to be so long to get above the weeds that it is hard to land fish, then switch over to a slip float system. Any steelhead angler knows how to rig the slip float and it is quite simple. Using a bobber stop you can adjust the depth, allowing the float, or bobber, to slide on the mainline. Thread a ¼-ounce egg weight above a swivel and to the other side attach a short leader to the baited hook. When using this system, use baits that do not float, like worms, jarred single salmon eggs or cooked salad shrimp. Soak each of these baits with Pro-Cure bait oils or watersoluble oils, with Bloody Tuna, Shrimp and Trophy Trout being good choices. As spring’s sun starts to heat up and longer and longer days arrive, do not shy away from your favorite trout lake. Instead, make some adjustments and find the fish. You might find fishing later in the spring to be even more enjoyable than the chaos of the traditional opener. More time on the water with less stress is always a good way to spend the day. NS
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COLUMN
The World Needs More Mr. Browns I
f we leave anything, may we leave a mark on someone’s life, not a scar. I was blessed with a wholesome FOR THE LOVE little childhood full OF THE TUG of family, pastures, By Sara Potter creeks, community and love. The memories of Dixonville that I possess are forever with me and have had a huge impact on the woman who I have become. I was blessed with the best at Deer Creek Elementary, not only in our tiny community just east of Roseburg, but in the teachers who would help set me on this course of life. One man in particular inspired me and connected with me so naturally that he made school fun, and he never left my heart. Sixth grade helped me learn and strive without force. I learned some hard lessons and some fun ones, but I was learning nonetheless. My love for the outdoors has always been prominent in my life, but I’ve always stayed relatively close to home. My one and only camp was presented to me through our tiny school and Mr. Brown led the way. We would set out on a weeklong outdoor adventure far to the east, without a glimmer of home to be found. It wasn’t our watershed or our forest, but Camp Hancock helped us all grow and we all learned in that desolate desert along the middle John Day River. Mr. Brown challenged us just as nature did and I still remember bits and pieces from my week away from home, even though it was almost 30 years ago. This world needs teachers who aren’t afraid to challenge their students to be the best versions of themselves, no matter what that may be. We are all different for a reason.
ONE RAD THING about raising your children
Nate Ichtertz builds a fire at outdoor school last spring. While author Sara Potter’s son has proved to be a budding angler on their Southern Oregon waters and is at home in the woods, the weeklong camp broadened his and fellow sixth-graders’ connection to other elements of nature and their watershed. (SARA POTTER)
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Teacher John Brown has played a big role in the outdoor education of Sara and son, teaching mom at a weeklong camp at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry’s Camp Hancock field station in the fossil-rich John Day country and, 30 years later, Nate as his sixth-grade teacher and an outdoor school instructor. (SARA POTTER)
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in the same watershed you grew up in is that special people might just come back into your life. As fate would have it, Mr. Brown would indeed be my son Nate’s sixth-grade teacher as well. Though our experiences were gapped by nearly three decades of change in this world, the core of our sixth grade had one constant: him. Indeed, Mr. Brown looked, acted and sounded exactly as I remembered him. He’s still not afraid to help you step outside your comfort zone, which I believe is needed now more than ever. Growth doesn’t come if we stay within the realm of what brings us comfort. Imagine a world where no one tested the waters of intrigue – so much potential would be lost and this world would be a dull and dreadful place. It takes special people to help us develop into an individual who knows one’s self, who stands up for what they believe in, and who doesn’t fear trying something new. Sometimes all we need is a little push in the right direction, and Mr. John Brown was that person not only to me, but to my son too. I know I can’t speak for our
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COLUMN Last spring’s camp saw the kids hike to Wolf Creek Falls, on a North Umpqua tributary. For Sara, there’s nothing more important than “knowing where you come from and connecting with your natural environment,” which flows into stimulating a passion for the outdoors and its conservation. (SARA POTTER)
neighbors, but I’m quite certain his impact wasn’t just on my boy and I either. This electronic world we now live in thankfully wasn’t part of my time at Deer Creek Elementary. Playing Oregon Trail in fourth grade in our brand-new computer lab is really all I can recall of any hands-on electronic stimulation. But fast forward to the era of cellphones and tablets and Covid, and Mr. Brown has adapted to this Chromebook education, all while very 112 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
much remaining himself. It warmed my heart to see. He still very much led his students, even though I believe children nowadays are harder to connect with because of this wireless world we live in. Getting to share outdoor school with he and Nathaniel’s class did give me hope, though, as I watched him allow the children to reach into their own outdoor abilities through an excellent experience, just as he did with my class in the mid-1990s.
THERE WERE DIFFERENCES three decades on, of course. Last year’s camp wasn’t technically a camp, as the kids came home each night. I’m not complaining; I was just grateful we had the freedom to have a camp at all. I also found there to be a grand benefit for the children to have it upriver at the oldest camp facility in this tiny place we call home. Their outdoor adventure would help lead them to seeing how incredible and resource-rich their own big backyard is! Even as my Eastern Oregon desert camp adventure was memorable, I learned nothing there of what this land I call home had to offer me. In this day and age, I don’t think there is anything more important than knowing where you come from and connecting with your natural environment. At last year’s camp I saw the very best of what springtime in the Umpqua brings in terms of weather and the rebirth of the forest. The dogwoods in full bloom and tiny orchids and lilies dusted the forest floor with such delicate beauty – our forest is truly special this time of year. And from sunshine with cotton-ball clouds and glorious bright-blue sky to socked-in, fullblown torrential downpour, no matter the weather the children embraced the woods, stepping outside of most of their comfort zones. Mr. Brown, Mrs. Dyer and young Mrs. Damewood brought things out in the children that couldn’t be found in a classroom. No matter how electronic and digital this world becomes, my hope is we always find a way to help the next generation disconnect so they can connect with the outdoors. I loved seeing children that I’m certain hadn’t connected with nature do so. There was a great amount of challenge presented to the kids, regardless of their comfort level in the outdoors, and I think that was huge. To see children like Nate and his best friend Walker Miller, both of whom are very much at home in nature, still accomplish many forest firsts was impressive, and being part of the week was good for my soul too. The children matter to me; they always have and they always will. If I can stimulate passion for the outdoors and the conservation of it through my own, count me in.
ON THE FINAL day of outdoor school, the entire class hiked to one of our beautiful
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waterfalls. It’s not the easiest of our falls to reach, nor the shortest trail. Even on a nice day it is a perfect little adventure with a bit of a challenge all rolled into one. That day, of course, was also the day of the downpour. Sure, it would have been easier on a sunny day, but I believe it rained for a reason. Life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows; there is great adversity in life and that sixth-grade class faced some head-on that day and despite it, every single one of them reached the falls, even as nature tested them. I saw pride, I saw teamwork, I saw growth. Funny how nature tested them as if it were meant to be, because it was. Glide School District and the wonderful teachers providing this outlet for the children is money well spent. I truly wish there was a bigger budget for students of all ages to get to know not only nature, but to get to know themselves while connecting with nature. Mother Nature is so good; she knew that they faced the storm as they were intended to, and in doing so they earned a little sunshine to finish up the week. Storms don’t last forever, but they are undoubtedly part of life. Allowing children to experience that head-on in a safe place is crucial in building a person who has two feet worth standing on. My hope is that the world never loses its John Browns, as people like him make the Earth a better place, one child and one adventure at a time. Without people and places like them, disconnection can happen without anyone even realizing it. Let us give our best in making sure that never happens. My heart is on the river and I couldn’t change it, even if I tried. NS
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HUNTING
Top 10 Tom Tips April is go time across Idaho, Oregon and Washington for spring turkeys, and this expert’s advice will help you bag a bird or two this season. By MD Johnson
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Turkey hunters take the field this month and while they typically enjoy good success over the month-and-a-half-long spring season, it’s still a challenging hunt for sharp-eyed and wary toms. (JULIA JOHNSON)
or the record, dear reader, and despite what my editor might have thought, thanks to some earlier prose I’d conjured up, I don’t dislike turkey hunting. In fact, I love turkey hunting. I do, sometimes, deeply dislike turkeys themselves, for I often wonder how a creature with a brain roughly the size of a walnut can, day in and day out, outsmart me, a full-time freelance writer and graduate of Ohio University – go Bobcats! Wait! That doesn’t sound very positive, now does it? Still, and as much as I hate to admit it, it’s true. After 33 years, which is the whole of my turkey hunting resume, I continue to get beat up on by these presumably wily birds on a pretty regular basis. Which is why, this month, I’ve put together a list, as
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HUNTING
Calling is an important part of hunting gobblers during their mating season, a time when they will respond to sounds that hens make. Best bet is to choose one style of call to practice and become proficient at; author MD Johnson recommends box calls for beginners. (COAST PHOTO CONTEST)
much for myself as for y’all, of the top 10 things I know about spring turkey hunting. Oh, trust me. I know a lot more, but 1) I’m not sure they’re going to be of much help, and 2) this is a family publication, and those words – well, they’re best saved for the turkey woods. When I’m alone. That said, these would be my top 10 turkey tips. First season. Fourth season. Fortieth season. They’re good ones, I reckon, regardless of how many seasons and how many longbeards you have under that ol’ hunting belt.
1) STUDY THE WILD TURKEY BIOLOGICALLY When I first began presenting turkey hunting seminars in Washington State, circa 1997, turkey hunting was relatively new to folks. 128 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
Understandably, no one knew much about the wild turkeys; those who did weren’t native Washingtonians. They were from the Midwest or sometimes the South – places where people grew up hunting gobblers. So there was a learning curve out here, and my challenge was to find something that folks could relate to, so as to make turkey hunting a little easier to understand. “Well,” my lovely girlfriend/wife-to-be said, “they know elk hunting. Explain it in elk terms.” And so I did, ’cause it made sense. What I said was this: “The more you treat turkeys like the big game animals they are – just like you know blacktails and black bears and elk and mule deer – the better prepared you’re
going to be to take them on one on one.” Maybe not kill one, I told them, but at least stand a better chance of finding one, and then once found, knowing (kinda) what to do with him. And that’s the first thing I’d suggest. Get to know the wild turkey from a biological standpoint. What he does and doesn’t do. Where he lives. What he eats. What the hens do in the spring. Why he gobbles. Why he won’t. Where he goes after he leaves the roost, and where he roosts. Answer these, and you’re off on the right track.
2) PREPARE YOURSELF PHYSICALLY It’s nigh on impossible to produce realistic turkey sounds on a diaphragm (mouth) call when, after having walked up the second mountain in
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HUNTING know right where it is, and at the end of the season and after you’ve made sure it’s all dry and that apple comes out of the lower right hip pocket – ugh! – you hang it up and it’s ready for spring ’24. Or fall ’23. What do you need, Mister/Miss New Turkey Hunter? Stick with the pursuit, and you’ll have plenty; however, a good starter must-have list might look like this: • Two headnets – you’ll lose one • Two sets of gloves – you’ll lose one. Not one pair; one glove • Ammunition • Calls and anything needed to make them produce sounds • Bug spray/ThermaCell unit • Hydration • Snacks
4) PATTERN YOUR SHOTGUN
“Decoys aren’t a cure-all. They’re not magic. In fact, they can with some gobblers do more harm than good,” writes Johnson, who advises using a faux hen in certain times and locations, and keeping hunter safety in mind. (COAST PHOTO CONTEST)
order to get ahead of that wandering gobbler, you’re trying to heave up a lung. And your legs ache. And you’re sweating like a kid at a traffic stop. This one, I think, goes back to knowing the wild turkey biologically, like you do your deer and elk. Get yourself in shape before season. Trust me; trying to get yourself ready physically on opening day doesn’t work. Do a little walking. Do a lot of walking. Climb a hill. Hit the gym. Eat right, or at least better than you’ve been eating all winter. No, you don’t have to work like you’re preparing for an Ironman competition or a marathon, but a little bit of exercise prior to hitting the field never, to the best of my knowledge, hurt anyone.
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– I’ll admit – but I’ll also admit I’m huge on getting my gear ready well in advance of opening day. Every year before turkey season, I’ll take everything out of my turkey vest, spread it out on the table, touchyfeely it all over, count it, make sure it’s all there, and then put it all back together. Every. Year. Same routine. I want to know I have two sets of gloves, two headnets, four shotshells, two Purple Heart MAD strikers, conditioning stone, ThermaCell unit, diaphragms, blah, blah, blah, ad nauseam. Don’t have a turkey vest? Do you need one? Not really, but they’re damn nice to have. Think of it like a filing cabinet for all your turkey hunting stuff. Everything you’re going to need will be in there, if you put it in there in the first place. You’ll
Again, big game animal. You wouldn’t think of buying a new rifle, mounting a scope the day before elk season, finding some odds ’n ends of ammunition, and then hunting with it the next morning. No way! However, plenty of folks do just that with their chosen turkey shotgun – and it’s doing a great injustice to all concerned, especially the gobbler you’re fixing to shoot. Spend some time on the range, the objective being to know what your shotgun with your chosen choke and ammunition is going to do every time you pull the trigger. Know how she performs at 25 yards. Thirty. Thirtyfive. Forty. And then go back to 10 yards, and impress yourself with the ragged hole in the turkey target. But what choke? What ammunition? Sights? In Reader’s Digest Condensed form: • Choke: The modified or full choke that came with your shotgun will likely work just fine, given you understand the gun’s limitations as to distance and pattern density. Try the modified. Try the full. If you’re feeling froggy, order an extra-full specialty turkey choke tube and experiment with that, but such a tube isn’t a necessity. Experimentation is the key here; something’s going to work well.
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HUNTING • Ammunition: Same story with ammo. All shotguns are different. Yours may prefer 2 3/4-inch shotshells. Or 3-inch. Or heaven forbid, 3 1/2-inchers. I’d suggest starting with a 3-inch shotshell packing either No. 5 or 6 shot, as either will rate high in pellet count and, hopefully, pattern density. Lead, if legal, is fine and inexpensive. Some of the exotic nontoxics, e.g. tungsten, will set you back a kidney (or two), but really pack a punch. • Sights: That old-school round bead at the muzzle might be all you need. I’ve killed plenty of gobblers using nothing more; however, and seeing as you’ve now transformed your shotgun into a tight-shooting “rifle,” per se, some type of sighting device – red dot, low-power scope, Williams clamp-on iron sights – might help put things on target. Literally.
5) BECOME PROFICIENT WITH ONE CALL Am I worried that, if you’re truly bitten by the turkey hunting bug, eventually you won’t have 1.43 million turkey calls? I am not. What does concern me about y’all new hunters is that you
watch YouTube, and think you have to be ready for the contest stage with every type of turkey call known to humankind. You. Do. Not. My advice when it comes to calling is this: Find a call you’re comfortable with, and then get proficient with that one call. Box calls are, without question, the best for beginners. They’re simple. Easy to use. Low maintenance. And they sound like a real mama turkey. Pot-and-peg calls, aka slate calls – although the calling surface itself can be of many materials, including slate, plastic, acrylic, crystal/glass, or aluminum – come in second in terms of user-friendliness. Diaphragm calls, or mouth calls, rank third – they sound great and offer a hands-free calling approach to the hunt; however, there is a learning curve, and not everyone can use a diaphragm call due to how – for lack of a better phrase – some mouths are shaped. For you new folks, I’d say this: Buy a box call. A wood box call, as they sound most natural. Listen online to what live mama turkeys sound like, and then mimic those sounds. Learn to
Northwest turkey territory ranges from the Willamette Valley and Southern Oregon’s I-5 corridor to the eastern Columbia Gorge and Northeast Washington and Idaho’s Panhandle, offering plenty of public and open private ground to scout and hunt birds. (COAST PHOTO CONTEST) 132 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
“yelp,” “cluck” and “purr,” and you’ll know every sound needed to call any gobbler, coast to coast. Remember: You’re not convincing judges; you’re trying to sound like a live hen turkey.
6) UNDERSTAND HOW DECOYS DO AND DO NOT WORK I always have at least one, if not two, hen turkey decoys in my vest. Whether I use one or not depends on the situation. Decoys aren’t a cure-all. They’re not magic. In fact, they can with some gobblers do more harm than good. Decoys – hen decoys – work by adding a visual component to the audio illusion you’re creating. He, the gobbler, hears a hen. He then sees a “hen,” your decoy, and he can’t control himself. Sometimes it works just like that. But sometimes that gobbler sees your feathered femme fatale and then decides to stand his ground, strutting and gobbling in a vain attempt to convince his next girlfriend, albeit a plastic or foam girlfriend, to wander his way. That’s how Mother Nature intends this whole show to work – he gobbles, and she goes to him.
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HUNTING Eventually, he tires of the game and wanders off. Or all that gobbling attracts an honest-to-goodness hen, and she drags him away. Or another hunter. So what about that half-strut jake? Or that full-strut gobbler? Well, I’ve had both work incredibly well, but I’ve also had fine mature 2-year-old toms come out, get a look at my fullstrut decoy, and run for the hills and hollers. Why? Because they’d gotten their tailfeathers kicked a time or two by an adult bird that looked uncannily just like my full-strut decoy. Can’t blame him, eh? Decoys are tools in the turkey hunter’s toolbox, pardon the cliché. They have a purpose and a place. But just like one wouldn’t choose to drive a deck screw with a hacksaw, decoys have an application – a time and a situation – and that’s not a universal application. My advice? Carry one. Experiment. Note what happens, and pack that information the next time you set up on a bird. And never, never, never forget the safety aspect of using turkey decoys. If, heaven forbid, someone slips into your location, sees your decoy, and shoots at it, where are you sitting in relation to that decoy? Think. Think. Think.
7) SCOUT AND SCOUT AND SCOUT You do it for deer. You do it for elk. You do it for ducks and geese and salmon and steelhead. You should be doing it for turkeys. “No sense,” my father always told me, “in fishing for crappies where the crappies aren’t. Better,” he concluded, “fishing where the crappies are, eh?” So you take time and get out prior to the season. You drive and you walk. You look and you listen. What you don’t do is call, least not with a turkey call. No sense in wising those old toms up before the game really begins, right? A bit of elk bugling or coyote howling or owl hooting in moderation, an attempt to get a bird or two to gobble and give himself away, might not be too bad, but 134 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
again, moderation. And there’s nothing says you can’t give some new dirt a look-see this season. Venture off in another direction. Walk a different road system. Spend a morning listening. Hell, pack everything you need to spend the night – or two – in the field, and get far away from the bustling crowd. And for those of you hunting public land, best have a Plan B, C, D and perhaps more, as there’s always going to be a fly in the ointment; that is, a rig parked in “your” spot two hours before daylight/a fellow walks in on you working a bird/a rockslide/a snowstorm during the night. Whatever, just be prepared.
8) STAY POSITIVE; DON’T GET DISCOURAGED Hunting – most, actually, everything in life – is mental. Psychological. You think positive, and, nine times out of 10, something positive comes about. Same-same with turkey hunting. It’s easy to get discouraged. To start sleeping in. Dragging your feet. Figuring it ain’t gonna happen. Leaving your enthusiasm – or what you have left – back at the truck as you trudge through the predawn darkness like a man walking The Green Mile. Truthfully? No one’s going to tell you I’m the most optimistic soul on the planet. No. One. However, when I turkey hunt, I set in my head that every time I run a call – every time I let out with a series of yelps – a bird’s going to gobble. Every time. Does it happen? Absolutely not, but it keeps me going. On my toes. Ready to close the distance, sit down, set up, and get ready for the game to begin.
9) HUNT ALL DAY It’s a grind, I know. You got up at 0230. Drank the coffee, ate the cold pizza, and made the drive. You’re in the woods at 0400, and sunrise is still an hour away. It’s cold. Quiet. And editors have been calling and writing for a week reminding you of deadlines two weeks overdue. Oh, wait, did I say that out loud? Do you have to do this? No, but
there you are, putting your time in. So if you’re going to do it, and it’s legal to do so, hunt all day. Hunt that 1000 to 1400 timeframe when most folks have hung it up for the day, but the hens that had roosted overnight with the gobblers are tending to housekeeping and those toms are getting lonely. And, with any luck, responsive. Better yet, go back to that tiny hidden meadow in the timber, (safely) stake out a single hen, get yourself comfortable, wait for the woods to calm down, run a couple strings of yelps, and then take a nap. A head-bobbing, drool-down-thefront-of-your-shirt nap. But wake up slow ’n quiet. Take aim – after your eyes focus. Tag that longbeard that snuck in silent, eat your crushed fruit pie, and go home. Life’s good, eh?
10) HUNT DEFENSIVELY AND BE SAFE This, here, is the most important thing I can tell you about turkey hunting. Be safe. Be very safe. Hunt defensively. Assume every turkey sound you hear is another hunter. Might not be, but it might. Take care to completely camouflage yourself. Make sure you’re not wearing those “gobbler colors” – red, white, blue and black. Identify your target positively, and then identify it again. See the beard. See it again. Watch out for snakes and spiders. Me? I don’t load my shotgun until the bird gobbles and I’m set down and ready. I’m not shooting one running down the road, nor am I shooting one on the wing when I walk around the corner and scare him into flight. That’s me; you do what you like, but do it safely. Consider wearing a blaze orange hat when you’re moving from spot to spot; only takes six seconds to swap it out for a camo cap. Know what you’re doing when it comes to using decoys. Bottom line? Be careful out there. Please. Someone, somewhere, wants you to come home safe and sound. Think. Learn from each encounter. And enjoy yourself. That’s what it’s all about. NS
HUNTING
Oregon’s Best Turkey Prospects State tom boss Mikal Cline might not share all of her secret locales, but she does detail top units to start your hunt. By Troy Rodakowski
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very spring I see folks asking for help finding Oregon turkeys. For many, it’s annoying to hear, “I don’t want your exact spot, but if you could just tell me a general location, etc.” Requests like that float through social media like the flu spreads through a crowd of people, and sometimes they spark rude responses. Can’t say I blame folks. This turkey hunting thing is not that easy and if it was, more people would be doing it and finding success. The best way to find turkeys is to spend time in the woods scouting, glassing and covering large expanses of ground in habitat turkeys use. Use maps and Google Earth, knock on doors, spend time out and about. With nearly 30 years of experience here in Oregon, I can tell you there are lots of options to try. Another facet of scouting is talking to state managers, turkey experts and fellow hunters. Mikal Cline represents all three. She’s the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s upland game bird coordinator, a former National Wild Turkey Federation regional biologist and an avid turkey huntress. I asked Cline about her top spots in the state.
OF COURSE, DOUGLAS County – the Turkey Capital of Oregon – is a hotbed
Author Troy Rodakowski called this smart Western Oregon gobbler into range for his father Terry on a hunt during a recent spring season. (TROY RODAKOWSKI) nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023 Northwest Sportsman
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HUNTING property, she reports. “Success rates are higher than the Rogue (370 birds harvested), but not as high as the Melrose,” Cline says. Over the years one of my personal favorites has been the Evans Creek Unit (313 toms harvested), and Cline says she’d recommend it on the same footing as Applegate. “I would send people to these units rather than the Rogue due to increased hunter crowding, although the Rogue consistently has high harvest rates,” says Cline. Evans Creek’s terrain is a bit more rugged, and some areas aren’t easily accessible.
GRANT COUNTY HAS always been one
Still, hunters require less time to harvest birds than most units. “The Dixon and Indigo Units, just to the east, include quite a bit more public land, and have a lot to recommend if you are having trouble getting a spot on the valley floor,” Cline notes.
of the best on the Eastside, but it’s beginning to be outpaced. “Although I hate to give up one of my favorite units, the Ochoco is starting to outperform the popular Grant County units. Healthy turkey populations and lots of public land mean good opportunity in this unit,” says Cline, who also cautions, “It will still take hunters longer to get on a bird than in the prime oak prairies of Western and Southwestern Oregon, where turkeys are more visible and heavily populated.” Indeed, hunting east of the Cascades isn’t as easy and has always required a few more days to locate and find receptive birds. Preseason scouting is essential here. As Cline states, the Ochoco Unit (211 birds harvested) seems to be very close to outperforming many of the nearby units. A sleeper would be the Grizzly Unit, which holds decent numbers of birds on Ochoco National Forest lands. Large expanses of public land are available here for hunters to find turkeys. I suggest looking for creek bottoms with good water flows, especially late in the spring, where insects and plant life flourish.
FURTHER SOUTH, THE Applegate Unit boasted the third highest harvest for 2022, but 51 percent of the 348 birds harvested came off of private
“OF ALL THE units associated with the John Day Valley, the Northside Unit, followed closely by Heppner, seems to be the top performer,” says Cline.
Beaver State longbeards are crafty and sometimes tough to locate. Spending time scouting is necessary for success. (TROY RODAKOWSKI)
of prime habitat, which includes both a good amount of public and plenty of private lands. “The Melrose Unit (465 birds harvested in 2022) consistently has one of the highest harvest rates in the state, with fewer hunter-days than either the Rogue or White River Units,” says Cline. However, 86 percent of the turkeys taken here last year came off of private lands, she quickly adds. 138 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
HUNTING “Lots of public land and a seemingly endless supply of turkeys makes this a good bet.” In the past I have found Forest Service and BLM roads open for travel and I’ve driven miles and miles along them while using various locator calls to pinpoint birds. “Wildlife managers have been working with landowners to balance turkey populations on the wintering grounds, which could possibly have an effect on hunter success down the road,” Cline notes.
NORTHEAST OREGON HAS always been one of my favorite places to hunt turkeys in the Beaver State. We would always travel to La Grande, Imbler, Elgin and Enterprise and either set up a camp or rent a hotel for a week or so. Some of my best success has been in the mountains around these towns and between Enterprise and the town of Troy,
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2022’S TOP TOM UNITS • By harvest: Melrose: 465; Rogue: 370; Applegate: 348; White River: 336 • By birds per hunter: Melrose: .61; Evans Creek: .60; Applegate: .52; Dixon, Northside: .51; Sled Springs: .50 • By public land harvest: Ochoco: 90 percent; Northside: 73 percent; Pine Creek: 67 percent; Rogue: 56 percent; White River: 55 percent –TR
along the Grande Ronde River near the Washington border. “Sometimes these small units don’t compare well when you just look at the numbers because of their small size, but success rates can be pretty good,” states Cline. She terms the Sled Springs Unit as her top pick in this corner of the state. “For a small unit, 147 toms with an average harvest rate of half a bird a hunter is quite good,” she says. “Mt. Emily (143 toms) and Pine Creek (71 toms) are also great bets.”
NO MATTER WHERE you choose to hunt this season, make sure to e-scout as much as you can prior to heading to
the field. I like to have at least three location options at my fingertips, as things can change in a hurry with other hunters, weather and access. You also do not want to be the one asking for spots right before or during season. Most turkey hunters are very nice and enjoy helping, but they have also put in the time to find birds. Researching and doing your homework will get you to where you need to be in order to find success. Another option is hiring a guide. There are many across the state who provide turkey hunts and are very successful. It’s also a great way to learn a few of the basics, especially if you are new to turkey hunting. NS
COLUMN
Time For Some Tom Foolery: Best Odds, Load Choices A
ccording to the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife’s harvest chart on page 4 of this year’s 12-page spring ON TARGET turkey regulations By Dave Workman pamphlet, probably the best odds of putting the hurt on a gobbler are found in the northeast section of the state, where 67 percent of birds (Merriam’s and Rio Grandes) are tagged. This area includes Game Management Units 101-136, a mix of federal, state and private lands surrounding the communities of Colville, Kettle Falls, Chewelah, Newport, Diamond Lake, Spokane and Cheney, to name a few. They will see a fair amount of traffic this month, with people decked out in all sorts of camouflage patterns (never hunt turkeys wearing red, white or blue clothing; bring binoculars to scan the landscape for other hunters). Here’s a hint of how much turkey hunting pressure this area gets. You’ll find an ad on page 11 of the regs pamphlet sponsored by the Colville Chamber of Commerce promoting “Colville Wild Turkey Daze.” It’s got a couple of websites turkey hunters will definitely find useful. Trailing in a distant second place in terms of harvest is Klickitat County, specifically GMUs 382 and 388 at the east end and 568578 at the west end. This region accounts for 10 percent of the state’s turkey harvest (Merriam’s), followed at 9 percent each in the Southeast (GMUs 139-186/Rio Grandes) and the Northcentral region encompassing Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas and Grant Counties (all 200-series GMUs). Your odds drop considerably more in the
Northeast Washington is turkey central in the Evergreen State, accounting for two out of every three gobblers taken during the spring hunt, but don’t overlook Klickitat County, where this tom showed off his fan for a trail camera last spring. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
Southcentral region, where only 4 percent of the harvest is reported (Merriam’s) in all 300-series units, except 382 and 388. And here’s the bottom of the barrel: 1 percent each in Northwest and Southwest units for eastern turkeys. (Eastern turkeys are hard to find in Western Washington.
I’m pretty sure the turkey gods are trying to tell us something.) I can find no reason to argue the data, since I’ve personally seen hordes of turkeys up in the northeast counties on my travels there. The most turkeys I ever saw in one spot
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COLUMN
Getting ready for spring turkey hunting includes cleaning your shotgun, repacking your hunting vest or backpack, and washing, drying and mix-n-matching your camo, tips author Dave Workman. (DAVE WORKMAN) were gathered on somebody’s property south of Chewelah where I turned east off Highway 395, heading up into the Colville National Forest for a late-season deer hunt. I’m talking dozens of turkeys, maybe scores of them. The next biggest bunch was gathered on the east outskirts of the little community of Liberty, just off Highway 97 in Kittitas County. I stopped counting at 30-plus birds. If you haven’t already dug out your camo clothing, gloves, cap, face mask or face paint, now would be a good time. Wash the winter “drawer odor” out of your clothes, let them hang outside and turn your attention to the next important item: your gun and ammunition.
VELOCITY AND VARIETY Most devoted spring turkey hunters of my acquaintance load up with No. 5s 144 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
or 6s, and it’s something of a toss-up whether they’ll use 2¾-, 3- or 3½-inch magnums. A little research confirms there are a multitude of choices. Remington has two families of turkey shells available, the Nitro turkey series with eight load choices in 12-gauge (choice of No. 4, 5 or 6 shot) and one in 20-gauge (No. 5) in a 3-incher with a 1¼-ounce payload. You will find muzzle velocities listed from just over 1,210 feet per second to 1,300 fps, depending upon the specific load. Of the 12-gauge loads, you’ll find 3- and 3½-inchers available, and they pack a wallop. The Premier Magnum Turkey family is dominated by 12-gauge offerings, but there are also a couple of 3-inch 20-gauge loads and one 10-gauge offering. Again, depending upon the load, muzzle velocities range from 1,150 to 1,300 fps. At turkey range, all of these loads will close the distance in a nano-second.
Winchester has turkey loads in the DoubleX and Long Beard XR, Xtended Range (Bismuth) and Super X lines; there are 41 choices in all, with offerings in 2¾-, 3- and 3½-inch lengths and for 10-, 12-, 20- and even .410-bore (No. 7½ shot in a 3-inch shell) for folks who really like a challenge. Muzzle velocities range from 1,050 to 1,300 fps, again depending upon the specific load. One thing you’ll notice right up front with the Winchester boxes is that the ammo company posts the muzzle velocity in big letters. Last month I mentioned Winchester’s introduction of its NWTF 50th Anniversary commemorative shotgun shells. Labeled as Long Beard XR turkey loads, they’re offered in 12-gauge, 3-inch with No. 5 copper-plated lead shot, in a box featuring Mossy Oak Bottomland camo. This shell utilizes Winchester’s patented Shot-Lok
COLUMN What does one gain by using a 3½-inch shell over a 3-incher? A slightly bigger payload tops the list, and a tad more velocity in many cases. But then, there’s the nagging question: Just how dead do you need to kill a turkey? If you have never patterned your gun with turkey loads, now is a good time for that. There are plenty of turkey targets available, and you might want to check patterns out to 20 and 30 yards, and maybe even farther. Whaddaya wanna bet there have already been some guys out scouting? (Ahem … that’s certainly what I’d be doing; hint-hint!)
HAVE REGS HANDY
Do you prefer 2¾-, 3- or 3½-inch shells? You’ll find spring turkey offerings in all three lengths from major ammunition companies. (DAVE WORKMAN) resin, which encapsulates and buffers the shot to prevent pellet deformation. Federal also covers the bases with its Grand Slam and Heavyweight TSS options, and there are selections in 10-, 12- and 20-gauge, plus one in .410-bore (3-inch, No. 9 shot, tungsten). As with the Winchester and Remington offerings, muzzle velocities will vary.
My only semiauto shotgun is a Mossberg 935 with a full camo finish, chambered for 3½-inch magnums, but as I detailed in this space in February, the company unveiled a trio of new models, in 20- and 28-gauge. You can find shotshells using lead, copper-plated lead, tungsten and I even found a couple using bismuth. It’s up to you.
DAVE W. ON SOME OTHER TURKEYS
I
couldn’t discuss turkeys without mentioning the state legislature. Once again this year, some Washington lawmakers were keen on repealing the state firearms preemption law, and at this writing, the idea appears to have once again failed. State preemption guarantees gun law uniformity from Clarkston to Clallam Bay. I personally testified in Olympia against the repeal effort. Never forget that anti-gunners are not interested in compromise, nor are they agreeable to leaving your particular guns alone. The goal is the long game, and their intention is to ultimately prohibit private firearms ownership. Think differently at your own peril. The Second Amendment Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (both based in Bellevue), the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition and Gun Owners of America are all fighting to prevent legislative tomfoolery, or derail it in court. Like it or not, you’re in the fight. Might be a good idea to support these groups as they work to keep the wolves at bay. –DW
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Part of any hunt preparation is to get familiar with this year’s rules and here’s a little advice: Always grab a couple of regulations pamphlets and keep one stashed in your glove compartment or console. If there is one thing I can guarantee doesn’t last a full season, or often is left on the kitchen table as I rush out the door for any hunting trip, it is a regs pamphlet. That’s why I always have one in my truck and it never leaves my truck until after the season is ended. Washington’s season (you’ll find tips on Oregon turkeys and some timely turkey hunting tips elsewhere in this issue) runs April 15-May 31. The youth hunting week is April 1-7. Hunting hours begin a halfhour before sunrise and end at sunset during the spring hunt. You are allowed a total of three turkeys during the spring season, with these restrictions: Only two turkeys may be killed in Eastern Washington, except three may be killed in Spokane County. Only one may be killed in Kittitas or Yakima Counties. One turkey may be killed per year in Western Washington outside of Klickitat County. Two turkeys may be killed in Klickitat County. In Washington, you can hunt with a crossbow, bow and arrow, shotgun/ muzzleloading shotgun using No. 4 or smaller shot, or a legal modern handgun designed for hunting, shooting No. 4 or smaller shot and not capable of holding more than three shells. The handgun barrel length must be a minimum of 10 inches in length and muzzleloading handguns must be .45-caliber or larger. NS
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nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023
Northwest Sportsman 147
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P.O. Box 408, Owatonna, Minnesota 55060 • (507) 451-7607 trapper@nwtrappers.com • www.nwtrappers.com
CUMBERLAND’S NORTHWEST TRAPPERS SUPPLY Hide Tan Formula has been used successfully by thousands of hunters and trappers across the U.S. and Canada. No more waiting several months for tanning. Now, you can tan your own hides and furs at home in less than a week, at a fraction of the normal cost. Our Hide Formula tans deer hides either hair-on for a rug or mount, or hair-off for buckskin leather. Tans all fur skins – muskrat, mink, beaver, fox, coyote, raccoon, squirrel, rabbit, etc. It also applies to bear, elk, moose, cowhide, sheep and even snakeskin. Hide Tan Formula is premixed and ready to use and produces a soft, supple Indian-style tan in five to seven days. One 8-ounce bottle will tan one deer hide in two medium-sized fur skins. Bear, elk, moose and caribou require three to six bottles. Complete instructions are included. You’ll be amazed how easy it is! Tanned hides and furs are great to decorate your home or camp and also to sell for extra income. Tanned hides and furs are in demand by black powder enthusiasts, American Indian traders, fly tyers, country trading posts and many crafters. Our products are proudly produced and bottled in the U.S. for over 20 years. Available at Cumberland’s Northwest Trappers Supply in Owatonna, Minnesota. Call (507) 451-7607 or email trapper@nwtrappers.com. nwtrappers.com
148 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
COLUMN
A gobbler’s shock and surprise at being charged at by author Randy King’s dad led to a moment’s hesitation, leading to its downfall. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
Chaaaaaaaaarge! I
I am “ …goingI think to charge him,” my father said to me in frustration. The sound of a gobble, CHEF IN not 80 yards away, THE WILD reverberated in my ears. By Randy King “Do you think it will work?” I asked, full well knowing it probably would not. “Absolutely not, but what are my options?” Dad whispered back. “Wait?” “Ha! You know I can’t do that!” and off he crawled down the gully. Soon I saw him dip out of sight and get to within 50 yards of the gobbler. When Dad bolted out of the willows, the tom gave him an inquisitive look, one of complete bafflement.
WE HAD ARRIVED at this point of frustration on our turkey hunt for a multitude of reasons. Most notably, the fact that every morning we woke to gobbles not 300 yards from our camp but could never get a bird foolhardy enough to close the deal. Another source of frustration was the fact that below us, about 1,500 feet down in a very steep canyon, was a flock of birds near our truck. We could watch them every morning. I watched one walk within feet of my Tacoma. To get on those birds we had to give up on these birds. And that made no sense. Never leave turkeys to “find” turkeys, as they say. So, each morning we would pound the sides of the same hill, past the same water trough toward the same small flock of birds and the one talkative gobbler.
To no avail. It was on the morning of day three that we decided to sneak in as close as we dared to the roost tree and take a gamble. We were within 80 or so yards of the tree when we stopped and waited and hoped. Hoped that our proximity, decoy and calling this freakin’ close was going to be enough to entice the bird. We were wrong. So, that is why Dad charged the bird. And that is why the tom’s slight pause, its moment of hesitation, led to the thunder chicken’s downfall. When Dad was about 35 yards out, the bird whirled around to get a better view of the exit and that’s when my father shot him in the back of the head. Neat and clean. Big bird down. NS nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023 Northwest Sportsman
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COLUMN 1 10-ounce package prepared mole 1 tablespoon cumin ½ teaspoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 1 tablespoon peanut butter 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon chili powder (2 each corn tortillas, 6-inch size) 2 cans biscuit dough “grand” style ½ cup all-purpose flour 2 eggs, beaten
Turkey empanadas with mole sauce. (RANDY KING)
EMPANADAS, A HISTORY
T
he hand pie is a cultural tradition across most of the world. Arabic, Persian and South Asian countries have samosas, England has pasties, the Chinese have xian bing, and Latin Americans have empanadas. As Hank Shaw says, “The world loves mobile pockets of awesome …” Wise words. Empanada – meaning “bread wrapped” – came to South America from Spain. Spain most likely got it from the Moors. Before that, the food is lost to history. But when the empanada reached the Southern Hemisphere of the Americas, it exploded into a million variations. You have everything from guinea pig empanadas in Peru to all beef – and only beef – versions in Argentina. Culture can be seen through what they fill their meat pies with. If it is local, inexpensive and flavorful, you stuff it into some bread. With that, I like to think of my empanadas as a good mash-up of cultures too. I like to use wild turkey when I can, a New World critter that has been introduced to almost every state in the USA and is the subject of much attention this month in this magazine and across the woods and fields of the Northwest. I then add my “not
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very authentic” touch to them with my fauxmole and store-bought dough. But I really feel like this is as American as you can get.
MOLE SAUCE IS a strangely ubiquitous term in the cooking world. I like to equate it to “gravy” in the English language. Mole can be green, red, brown and black – and all sorts of shades in between – and is usually a mix of chilies pureed with onion, garlic and corn tortillas. While there are endless varieties, the sauce has a huge flavor and adds a depth to quite a few dishes. Not being of Mexican/Spanish heritage, I tend to make a white-guy mole at home, using the prepared stuff with a few additional items for good measure. As for empanada shells, I also cheat. Again, I have no tradition other than what tastes good. So, in my case I often use canned biscuit dough or frozen pie shells. I find that biscuit dough is not quite the right texture, but it is so much easier to use that I will forgo perfection. TURKEY EMPANADAS AND MOLE 1 tablespoon canola oil 1 wild turkey breast Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a heavy-bottomed 10-inch saucepan on medium. Add the canola oil to the pan and season the turkey breast with salt and pepper. Place the meat in the pan and brown it on both sides, about four minutes per side. The more brown and the darker the brown, the better. While the meat is browning, add the mole sauce, spices, peanut butter and honey to a blender and puree until smooth. The sauce will be darker and thick now. Turn the pan with the turkey to low. Add the sauce to the pan with the turkey. Cover pan with lid and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Bake in preheated oven for two hours, or until fork-tender. Add water – ¼ cup at a time as needed with older birds if the sauce starts to stick to the pan bottom. When tender, shred the meat with a fork in the pan. (At this point you can serve the turkey mole with corn or flour tortillas and the “traditional” accompaniments of onions, peppers, cabbage and rice. For added flavor I like to grill my onions, peppers and tortilla shells for my mole.) Now comes the hard part. Refrigerate the mixture until fully chilled. The empanada stuffing is best done with a cold filling. When completely cool, usually the next day, add a bit of flour to the counter and roll out a biscuit dough “puck” into a 6-inch circle. Add about ¼ cup of chilled filling and fold the dough into a hard-shelled taco shape, a D. Then with a fork pinch the edges of the dough together. Place the empanadas on a greased baking sheet in the refrigerator. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. When all the filling or all the biscuit dough is used, brush the unbaked empanadas with the beaten egg mixture. Bake in the oven 20 minutes until GBD – golden brown and delicious. Serve warm and stash one more away for yourself than you think you will want – trust me on this one. For more wild game recipes, see chefrandyking.com. –RK
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COLUMN
Daisy, a 2½-year-old cocker spaniel owned by guide Tyler Biggs, impressed gun dog owner and writer Scott Haugen during a late-season upland bird hunt at Highland Hills Ranch, a Northcentral Oregon shooting preserve. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
Daisy’s Drive H
ighland Hills Ranch is located north of Condon, Oregon, in its own pristine valley. I’ve wanted to see GUN DOGGIN’ 101 this place since it was By Scott Haugen built 20 years ago. In February I finally got to, on an upland bird hunt. I could elaborate on the plush lodge, incredible food, outstanding staff and breathtaking scenery, but this is about Daisy and her master. Daisy is a 2½-year-
old cocker spaniel owned by Tyler Biggs. Biggs is young and just wrapped up his third season of guiding for the ranch. Hunting on a 3,000-acre preserve from October through March, six days a week, offers a lifetime of experience in a short time for dogs and trainers. You can tell a lot about a man by his dogs. Biggs has 14 gun dogs he rotates. He guides two hunts a day – one in the morning, one in the afternoon. He has to have fresh, healthy dogs every time out. His pointers are Brittany and English pointers and they’re all solid, hard-working,
extremely well-disciplined, driven dogs.
DAISY IS A flusher. What this short-legged little dynamo saw blew me away. I figured she’d struggle to spot, let alone smell birds holding in thick cover. She never missed a bird in tall grass, thick sage or dense millet fields. She hunted with us every morning and afternoon. She’s the only dog that hunts every time out. “She moves so efficiently she doesn’t tire out on cool days like we’ve been having,” noted Biggs. Highland Hills is unlike any private nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023
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COLUMN Cocker spaniels are hard-working, driven, focused and can read and anticipate situations with precision. Daisy put up and retrieved over 100 birds in two days, including these five roosters. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
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preserve I’ve hunted. Yes, there’s farmland in the river bottom, but the scree slopes and rocky pinnacles are as challenging as any wild chukar grounds I’ve hunted. The grassy, rolling knobs are vast, as are the sagebrush thickets. Daisy never missed a beat. When she moved in for a flush, Daisy got birds up and kept searching. She never chased birds. Honoring the two dogs on point, Daisy would sneak into position and when the hunters were ready, Biggs released her with calm words. She knew chukars could flush sporadically, or that big coveys of quail could be spread out, or that more than one rooster often held in thick cover. Daisy kept searching until she saw birds fall. It didn’t matter what dogs she hunted with – Brits or English pointers, even other cockers – Daisy worked perfectly. When she struggled to see above cover, Daisy would hop on her back legs for a better view. When she wasn’t sure what to do, she’d stop and look to Biggs for instruction, in the form of both verbal and hand signals. His directions were always calm and direct, never urgent. All of Biggs’ dogs respected
COLUMN and worked hard for him. That says it all. When a bird was shot, Daisy marked and was on it remarkably fast. How she saw some of the birds in the thick cover, I have no idea. But she did, and often had them in her jaws the instant they hit the ground. She had multiple double retrieves. My two buddies and I killed over 100 birds and Daisy retrieved most of them. Twice she swam a river for a retrieve – once for a quail, once for a pheasant. One time she climbed a very steep shale slope and delivered a nice rooster to Biggs. Bird in mouth, Daisy couldn’t get to Biggs fast enough on every retrieve. It was like she was being timed and couldn’t be late. Once the bird was in hand, it was time for some affection. Biggs would crouch down and Daisy would get on her hind legs and try embedding herself in his vest, give a lick, then it was back to business. Sometimes, when there was a lull in the action, Daisy would sprint all the way back to Biggs, get a reassurance hug, then get back to the hunt. This lovable demeanor was a joy to watch, a bonding and respectful relationship all trainers yearn for. Daisy read the room like no dog I’ve seen. She knew exactly what each pointer was doing, where they were at all times, where the three hunters were, and where Biggs was. She worked the wind to perfection, and never, ever flushed a bird early. Daisy never competed with the other dogs. She respected and worked with them on the hunt, during down times and when traveling.
SUBGAUGE OPTIONS
O
n this hunt my buddies and I shot 20-gauges. Highland Hills Ranch is part of Federal Ammunition’s Select Outfitters Program and they have 2¾-inch No. 6 lead shells for customers. After a season of shooting steel and other nontoxic loads at waterfowl, it was nice to be back in the lead game. This load just kills, as it always has. One afternoon I broke out my .410. We hunted a river bottom thick with cover. Pheasants were the main target, but speedy quail also lived there. I wanted a load that would knock down roosters, but hold a tight pattern and cover distance, catching up with topknots. I left my lead loads behind, grabbing a box of Hevi-Bismuth. I’d shot this 3-inch No. 6 load in duck season, killing mallards with conviction in a small creek where they decoyed. Again, the load worked well, quickly dropping roosters and catching up with fast-flying quail. –SH
BIGGS HAS TWO other cockers he’s training, both five months old. They came with us, one at a time, on each hunt. “These dogs pretty much teach one another,” Biggs smiled, watching one of the pups run with Daisy. “They’re a smart breed and pick up on things fast.” Rowan, a gorgeous black cocker pup, retrieved a chukar that blew me away. The bird didn’t go down on the first shot, sailed over a ridge, out of sight, but Rowan had the mark. He came back a few minutes later, full speed, delivered it to hand and demanded some loving before getting back to work. Shooting me a smile, Biggs said, “They’re all like this.” If you’re searching for a hard-working,
Teamwork to perfection. Moments later, Daisy, the cocker in the middle, was released for the flush, then made a spot-on retrieve. (SCOTT HAUGEN) 158 Northwest Sportsman APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
Hevi-Bismuth .410-bore loads work well on ducks and upland birds alike for the author. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
small flushing and retrieving dog that loves affection, the bloodline of cocker spaniels that Biggs is working with is tops. When he’s not hunting, Biggs is training dogs for hunters; he has a facility in Maupin, where he works May through July. August and September he’s with his own dogs, training in the prairies of the West. Then it’s off to Highland Hills Ranch from October through March. For Biggs and his dogs, the hunting and the learning never stop, and none of them want it any other way. NS Editor’s note: Learn more about this hunt at highlandhillsranch.com. For dog training, breeding and guiding, contact Tyler Biggs of Biggs Gun Dogs at tylerbiggs7@yahoo.com.
nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023
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Finding And Exploring New Areas To Hunt O
ver the years I’ve had conversations with fellow hunters who feel they would be far more successful if BECOMING A HUNTER they knew where to go. By Dave Anderson I bet I am not the only person to hear statements like, “If I had your waypoints, I would do well,” or “I didn’t grow up in this area, so I don’t know where to go.” Well, guess what: I am not from the Northwest either. I was born and raised in northwest Iowa. I started from ground zero here, just like all those people who don’t know where to go or what to do. In fact, when I moved out West, I didn’t even have any idea how to hunt for elk, mule deer, black bears, bighorn sheep or antelope. I did know I wanted to be in the mountains, so to start the process of learning what to do I enrolled in a guide and packer school called Royal Tine Outfitters out of Philipsburg, Montana. Did they teach me how to hunt all these animals? Yes and no. We had discussions about tactics, as well as how to look for animals and what to look for when trying to find them. They taught us how to glass and a few other things regarding hunting, but our main focus was horsemanship skills and how to pack mules into the backcountry safely. After guide school, I found myself 160 Northwest Sportsman
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employed as a hunting guide in areas of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. During some hunts, I was flown into wilderness areas I had never laid eyes on. Sure, I would have had a huge advantage if I’d known these areas like the back of my hand, but year in and year out I was still able to find success there. How? Understanding the animals’ behaviors and habits was key to my success. I gained a lot of knowledge and insight by reading books about all the Western species of big game animals.
ONE OF THE easiest ways to decipher whether an area will be decent for hunting is to look for clues – sign – of where the animals may be. These could include tracks and scat or a recent rub from a bull or buck, or you could spot them from a long distance away using a spotting scope. If you have followed along or read any of my past articles, you know how big of a proponent I am when it comes to owning top-quality optics. Binoculars, spotting scopes and rifle scopes will make or break your hunt. Do not cheap out on glass. After guiding the Northern Rockies, I met my wife and started our family in Western Washington. We hunted several years in Washington before I uprooted my family almost two years ago to relocate back to North Idaho. I had never really hunted in this part of the Gem State before, so I found myself in the same boat as a lot
COLUMN
Author Dave Anderson openly admits that he neither grew up in the Northwest, nor knew how to hunt its big game, but he’s enjoyed a lot of success on mule deer and elk here. It boils down to studying his quarry and putting in the time to figure out where animals are and likely to be during the short seasons. (DAVE ANDERSON) nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023
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COLUMN
Rubs – made by bucks and bulls to mark territory and rub velvet off their antlers – are most obvious during fall, but the scars remain and even dated ones can provide a starting point for a more thorough investigation of the neighborhood. (BEN HOWARD) of those hunters I have had conversations with. I am having to learn new areas and utilize my skills I learned from guide school and the literature to discover where I want to spend my time during hunting season. For me, my target animal every year is elk. Most of my preparation time from now through summer will be focused on finding areas with elk. I typically will start setting trail cameras to check throughout the summer and going into the fall to help identify decent areas and behaviors of elk in that specific area. I look for rubs from rutting bulls from years before or for game trails and intersecting game trails that look like a highway. These are the pay dirt of my scouting missions. If I find those wildlife highways, I will set a camera and return multiple times to see what I may find. The closer it gets to fall, the better of an idea I will have of the area I want to pursue. The most important thing for me is knowing how to access these areas depending on different conditions. I will make sure I have multiple access points to an area so I can utilize each one based on 162 Northwest Sportsman
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factors such as the wind. I also want a good understanding of the trees and brush that could be used as coverage to keep wild game from smelling or spotting me as I move into an area to take a shot.
A LITTLE MORE on running trail cameras. A lot of people will say they do not have the time for it. Well, let me tell you, it is in fact not easy to find time to do these things. I am extremely fortunate to have a wife who loves the outdoors as much as I do. I am also incredibly lucky to have two amazing little boys who are 3 and 5 years old and who love the outdoors – maybe I have a little bit to do with that, but getting in time outside together and learning new country is by far the best. Not only am I helping pass down traditions to another generation, but I am also able to teach valuable outdoor skills and be much more methodical when it comes to discovering new areas and familiarizing myself with them. The time I spend in the mountains during the summer also helps keep my legs strong and body in shape, so I am not going
into the season miserable and out of shape. It also comes down to what you prioritize in your life and what is most important to you. If you are like me, your life is the outdoors. I spend every minute I can hiking, scouting and enjoying the outdoors. My goal is to kill an elk every year. I want that elk in my freezer to nourish my family and to share with family and friends. That may not be as important to some people who enjoy partying, boating or traveling the world. Everyone has different priorities and hobbies they prefer. My point is that you get what you put in, especially when it comes to hunting.
WHERE TO START really comes down to you. You need to determine how far you are willing to travel one way. Is it a day trip or somewhere you will need to prepare camping gear and be able to stay the night or multiple nights to hunt? Keep in mind that the further you get away from the crowds of people/other hunters, the better your hunt will be. You can use pressure to your advantage, but I will tell you from
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COLUMN Setting up a game cam on a wildlife trail or trail crossing will really help you gain an understanding about what uses an area. (DAVE ANDERSON)
personal experience that most people are not willing to put in the extra effort to go more than a few miles back. Most are lucky to get a mile from their truck, so use this to your advantage. The next things you need to ask yourself are: Are you prepared to do what it takes to get that animal off the mountain? Do you have the pack capable to do this? Will you be carrying everything you need to break down an animal immediately after the harvest? Do you have game bags? Will the weather permit you to leave it hanging longer than a day or two depending on where your animal drops? These are all questions you need to honestly answer yourself when looking for new areas. As I close this article, just remember that looking for a new area or finding big game animals is possible. You do not need to be born and raised in an area to find success. Put in the work now and get familiar with the landscape. Consult the local fish and game biologist and start your investigation – scouting – now because fall will be here before you know it! NS
Cumberland’s Northwest Trappers Supply, Inc. Cumberland’s Northwest Trappers Supply is your one-stop trapping supply headquarters, featuring one of the largest inventories in the U.S. We are factory direct distributors on all brands of traps and equipment which allows us to offer competitive prices. Give us a try. Our fast, friendly service will keep you coming back. Over 50 Years Of Service To The Trap & Fur Industry
Request A Catalog Or Place An Order By Phone, Mail Or On Our Website If you get in the area, visit our store!
We are the new home of “Trappers Hide Tanning Formula” in the bright orange bottle. Retail & dealer inquiries are welcome.
P.O. Box 408, Owatonna, Minnesota 55060 • (507) 451-7607 trapper@nwtrappers.com • www.nwtrappers.com 164 Northwest Sportsman
APRIL 2023 | nwsportsmanmag.com
nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2023
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166 Northwest Sportsman
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