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We received a few questions and comments on our April cover gal’s hold on that kokanee. Several folks implied that the hand had been photoshopped in and that it belonged to a man. That is incorrect. Note the finger inside the fish’s mouth – that’s the fingernail of Mandy’s right index finger. The image was unaltered. For more, please see http://nwsportsmanmag.com/ headlines/about-the-april-northwest-sportsman-cover.

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Northwest Sportsman 9

CONTENTS

VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 6

VOLUME 7 • ISSUE 7

COLUMNS 49

THE KAYAK GUYS For the kayak angler in need of big numbers and incredible scenery, the bassy John Day rules – Mark details a killer float!

BASIN BEACON Looking for some trout lakes with staying power? Leroy scoured Central Washington for the best postopener bets.

CENTRAL OREGON It’s trout season in the Cascades, and Scott has a quartet of waters to try and tempt Cranebows, browns, brookies and redsides.

107 NORTH SOUND Doug has wind-protected hali haunts for you should the weather play havoc on the opener, plus lower Skagit cutt, bull trout ops.

103

MR. BARN DOOR

Meet Ryley Fee (left), the who’s reeled in over 400 pounds of Puget Sound halibut in just two jigs the past four Mays. This issue’s Westsider column by Tim Bush details his secrets! (RYLEY FEE)

DEPARTMENTS 13

The Editor’s Note: WDFW sued over Puget Sound steelhead 16 Big Pic: How will that huge landslide affect Stillaguamish Chinook, steelies, and the river’s recovery? 27 News: Oregon anglers picket Native Fish Society banquet 29 Reader photos from the field 32 Wright & McGill/Eagle Claw Photo Contest winner 32 Browning Photo Contest winner 35 The Dishonor Roll 36 Outdoor Calender 95 Rig of the Month: Bottomfish setup 143 Jig of the Month: Krystal Flash Nightmare

FEATURES 41 53 65 69 81 85 87 97 117 125 129 147

Walla Walla River smallies, catfish Banks Lake largemouth Omak Lake Lahontan cutts 15 top Western Washington urban trout lakes Dworshak Reservoir kokanee – MAP! Clear Lake (Pierce Co.) kokanee Oregon Coast rockfish, lingcod Westport nearshore bottomfish Wind River spring Chinook McKenzie River Chinook – MAP! Forks rivers springers Late-season turkey tactics

121 BUZZ RAMSEY Last month’s madness on the big river moves into the tribs, and Buzz knows how to hit ’em! 135 STUMPTOWN ODFW’s fish whisperers are trying to figure out why Clackamas springers don’t bite better. 139 INLAND NORTHWEST Batters feared them for decades, and now Idaho steelhead should too. Ralph checks in with the aces of Yakima’s Stottlemyre family who are now guiding the Clearwater. 153 CHEF IN THE WILD Rattlesnake hunting may not be among Randy’s best ideas, but you can bet our resident chef knows how to cook a mean slitherer! 161 ON TARGET Settling down to the reloading bench, Dave likes what he sees in his brand-new electronic scale!

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Go to nwsportsmanmag.com for details. NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Periodical Postage Paid at Seattle, WA and at additional mailing offices. (USPS 025-251) POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northwest Sportsman, PO Box 24365, Seattle, WA 98124. Annual subscriptions are $29.95 (12 issues), 2-year subscription are $39.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Index Publishing Group, or call (206) 382-9220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues are available at Media Index Publishing Group offices at the cost of $5 plus tax. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2014 Media Index Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. 10 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

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THEEDITOR’SNOTE By Andy Walgamott

nnounced on April 1, it seemed for a moment like a joke. If only. That afternoon the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife said it will not release the 900,000 hatchery early winter smolts growing in several rearing ponds in Pugetropolis unless an agreement over a federal lawsuit is reached by mid-May. At immediate stake are fall-winter 2015 fisheries on the Nooksack, Skagit-Cascade, North Fork Stillaguamish, Snohomish, Skykomish, Wallace and Snoqualmie Rivers. Communications between the agency and Duvall-based Wild Fish Conservancy were ongoing at press time, and a letter from WDFW’s attorney to WFC’s lawyers indicates areas of potential compromise that could allow some of the smolts to be released this month, though at the price of additional cuts to a fishery that is already the shadow of the shadow of its former self. It’s either that or a suicide trip to U.S. District Court for WDFW. Basically, WFC has the state by the short hairs at the moment. Because native steelhead and Chinook in Puget Sound are listed under the Endangered Species Act, WDFW needs a federal permit to operate its Chambers Creek-stock hatchery steelhead program. Even as it has released fish without one over the past decade, WDFW has been trying to get its paperwork approved by the feds. The agency began submitting HGMPs, or hatchery genetic management plans, to the National Marine Fisheries Service back in 2005, and in a November 2012 letter, NMFS admitted to falling down on the review process. That resulted in some pretty low-hanging fruit for the litigious. “There are a lot of ambulance chasers out there looking for the weakest link and use the Endangered Species Act to pad their own pocket,” said Randy Kinley, a policy analyst for the Nooksack Tribe, on one of Seattle’s two sportsmens radio shows he was interviewed on. He and the hosts of both broadcasts are deeply worried about what Puget Sound hatchery programs are next on WFC’s target list. Chinook are vulnerable, and it’s not clear why the organization didn’t go after summer steelhead. While Chambers at least originally came from a Tacoma-area stream, Southwest Washington-origin Skamanias, which power fisheries that begin next month on the Sky and North Stilly, are genetically more problematic. But it’s the problem of the lawsuit that has brought sport anglers and tribal fishermen together. Despite a rocky history, it has clarified Continued on page 25

From my cold, dead hands ... The future of fishing for Puget Sound hatchery winter steelies, like this Skykomish fish proudly held high by Deanna Wilson, is at stake because of a lawsuit filed this spring. (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 15

BIG PICTURE THE

16 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

MIXED BAG The North Fork Stillaguamish slices through debris from the March 22 landslide, which claimed the lives of over 30 people and which will impact salmon, steelhead and the river’s recovery for many years – decades – to come. (JONATHAN GODT, USGS)

Killer Slide Hurts Stilly Recovery After decades of abuse, the North Fork had begun to get its habitat, some fish back. By Andy Walgamott OSO, Wash.—Like many in the Northwest, I was glued to coverage of March’s massive landslide on the North Fork Stillaguamish, horrified by the sudden death a peaceful Saturday morning brought, hopeful that survivors would be pulled from the muck, and grimly fascinated by the earth processes that triggered the destruction. A son of Snohomish County, this landscape is a familiar one. I’ve driven this stretch of Highway 530 many times on the way to and from hunting the Okanogan and hiking the North Cascades, and one early spring day five years ago I stopped where the slide hit. I’d been steelheading on the nearby Sauk River, and on the way home, the dichotomy of colorful skunk cabbage blooms amidst gray alder trunks caught my eye. I pulled off at the school bus turn-around, grabbed my camera and walked back to photograph the marsh. It’s now buried under several feet of debris. Surrounded by such natural beauty as well as towering mountains, and sitting in a bucolic valley along the banks of what once was the region’s most storied fishing stream, I can understand why people lived where the landslide hit, at Steelhead Haven, and have so for decades. As an angler and amateur geologist, I also know that this is a living landscape, one in which rivers writhe like snakes and mountains strike back as the spoils of the Great Glacier are slowly sluiced into Puget Sound. THE OSO LANDSLIDE is first and foremost a human tragedy, one which claimed the lives of more than three dozen men, women and children. Many of us were moved to donate money, food and other items, and President Obama declared the scene a federal disaster area and was scheduled to visit it after press deadline. MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 17

MIXED BAG But the name of the development where many of the victims lived also reminds us of another casualty, fish. For decades, the Stilly’s steelhead and salmon have suffered from a thousand cuts, and so March 22’s unleashing of that rain-soaked pile of glacial junk felt like the death blow. “The poor Stilly,” says Brett Barkdull, a local state fisheries biologist who grew up not so far away. While fish and wildlife officers assisted in search-and-rescue efforts, Barkdull and others from the Department of Fish & Wildlife had just begun to assess the damage at press deadline. But early on, as the magnitude of the slide became ever clearer, Barkdull’s tone became more and more grim. “This event is huge, not only for steelhead, but Chinook, pinks and chums,” he said. Retired state district fisheries biologist Curt Kraemer says it’s likely that 85 percent of the Stillaguamish system’s Chinook and steelhead use the North Fork. Those stocks are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In the days afterward, dead fry turned up in a tribal fishtrap near Silvana, roughly 30 miles downstream of the slide. “It’s having an immediate impact on smolts,” said a very concerned Shawn Yannity, fisheries manager for the Stillaguamish Tribe. “There’s a high mortality of fish that far downstream. We have no idea of mortality higher up.” And long term, it will set back the budding recovery of an abused river. BARKDULL’S DAY JOB – the lucky guy – includes fishing North Sound rivers in late winter, when they’re otherwise closed, to collect scale samples from steelhead. Awhile before the slide hit he was on the North Fork and had to chuckle when he unexpectedly snagged on a rock. That may not seem like a big deal – what Northwest river doesn’t have ’em? – but is significant in this case. “What it comes down to is, the river 18 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

A state Department of Ecology survey two days after the slide found silt pouring out of the mouth of the Stillaguamish River into Port Susan. Beach surveys there this spring may help determine what sort of immediate impacts occurred to outmigrating Chinook, pink and chum salmon fry. (WASHINGTON DOE) has been affected by one thing or another for decades,” Barkdull says. When settlers arrived in Pugetropolis, the Stilly and other rivers were cleaned of tree trunks and root wads to make navigation easier (at the same time removing salmon habitat), estuaries became ports, deltas became plowlands, side channels were filled, beaver ponds were drained and their bucktoothed engineers eradicated. Beavers, it turns out, are hugely important: Their ponds are widely described as “magnets” for wildlife, and their dams slow runoff, provide fish habitat, prevent erosion and have been found to boost steelhead density. Unfortunately, the Stillaguamish lost more beaver ponds than any other Puget Sound basin, according to University of Washington geomorphology professor David Montgomery. Towns sprung up in the bottomlands, fields became parking lots, dikes straightjacketed the streams, and then

our forebears headed uphill, shaving the forests from the cedar-rich lowlands to the very top of fir-mantled Siegelson Ridge. “We don’t think how these things are cumulative,” notes Kraemer. Gung-ho high-elevation logging in the latter 1900s helped trigger the infamous Deforest Creek slide, which dumped 3 million cubic yards of dirt, sand and silt into Deer Creek, 5 miles below March’s slide, devastating a famous strain of Stilly summer steelhead fished over by Zane Gray and RoderickHaig Brown. Overall, a “huge sediment load” was delivered into the river, says Barkdull. A more precise measurement comes from Restoration of Puget Sound Rivers, edited by Montgomery, which states a “four- to five-fold increase.” All that schmutz filled in pools, widened channels, and degraded and reduced the amount of quality spawning habitat. “For years the Stilly was a sandbox –

MIXED BAG there were no rocks to get hung up on,” says Barkdull. “That has a huge impact on rearing habitat.” He says that after salmon and steelhead hatch out of their eggs they hunker in the gravel until their bodies absorb the yolk. Then, as they grow, they use larger rock and boulders for protection from predators. So that rock he hung his tackle up on had actually been a good sign. “The river just recently began to get its rearing habitat back,” the biologist says. Kraemer says that more and more kings and steelhead as well as “tremendous number of pinks – there may have been more pinks this past fall than the previous 30 years combined” – had begun to spawn in the North Fork below Deer Creek. “‘This is starting to look better,’” he recalls telling folks recently. “And then boom, this happens.” “This profoundly affects habitat,” says Bardkull. “You’ve got to have complexity. Sand bottoms are not conducive to rearing.” SAND THE STILLAGUAMISH has in abundance. It and the clay that tints the Blue Stilly is mostly locked away under the conifers cloaking the valley, though it can be set free as a result of logging, road building, heavy sustained rains, and other factors. A county official carelessly used the word “unforseen” to describe the risk of a slide at Oso in the days immediately following the event, but it was hardly such. Prior to a temporary blockage here in 2006, a 1999 report warned of the risk of catastrophic failure, and in January 1967 the North Fork was shunted aside. A state report on that event says that the river had eaten at the clay bank underlying the slope, and that the increased turbidity – which our angling forefathers were telling the state to “do something” about – had been seen since at least the early 1930s. It goes back much further in time. The stage for the battle between 20 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

what’s known today as the Whitman the slide, says Kraemer. Bench and the North Fork began back in Stirred by the first freshets of fall and the Ice Age. As the Great Glacier slowly snowmelt of spring, silt will resettle over oozed its way south through Pugetroporedds, starving eggs of oxygen and relis and past the mouth of the Stilducing spawning success for already laguamish, it dammed runoff and filled chronically depressed fish populations. the valley with a lake. Glacial powder Only 400 Stillaguamish kings came back settled to the bottom, then the valley itto the entire basin last year, according to self was covered by the ice sheet. Later, Barkdull, and state and tribal biologists as the climate warmed, the glacier remonitor them keenly and plan fisheries ceded, and impermiable clay layers were around the stock to try and get as many topped by immense amounts of unconadults back as possible. solidated sand and gravel. A few Marches ago now I reported on Over the millenia since, and for a pethe comanagers’ annual discussions beriod or periods joined by the Sauk and fore salmon seasons are set, a process Suiattle, the Stillaguamish first cut known as North of Falcon, and was through and then eroded Whitman amazed by how constraining the basin’s Bench. With the clay layer acting as a one-way conveyer belt, the river insatiably chews away at the foot of the slope until it’s unstable, collapses into the water and is hosed downvalley. And then the process begins anew. Authorities have tried to keep the forces apart at Steelhead Haven, building berms and revetments in the 1960s. In the mid-2000s, with a $500,000 grant, the StilA U.S. Geological Survey gauge captured the 24-hour period where laguamish Tribe put in log the landslide blocked the North Fork Stillaguamish. (USGS) cribs at the base of the slide. The projects have worked briefly, but in the end, the puny works of man have been no match in the ancient Chinook are. With big bites taken by fight between river and hill. commercial and recreational fisheries off Alaska and Vancouver Island’s west coast, WDFW had to look to local saltwaTWENTY-FOUR HOURS AFTER the 5 ter and freshwater venues for places to to 6 million cubic yards of sand, clay, silt trim opportunities, all to try and get – litand earth spilled off the hillside at an eserally – 10 or 11 more kings that would timated 60 miles an hour – flinging the otherwise be caught, onto the gravel inriver momentarily into the air, according stead. to a survivor’s account reported by The This year’s return is somewhat promSeattle Times – the North Fork found a ising – 1,568 Chinook, including 938 way through its earthen dam, unleashwilds, are expected to the basin – but ing sediment that will likely take years to Yanity worries about the impacts to fishfully flush out of the system. eries in coming years, when the year “It’s really close to spawning grounds classes directly affected by the slide refor Chinook,” says the tribe’s Yanity. It will turn as adults. concentrate the best steelhead spawn“Our goal has always been to increase ing grounds into just the 4 miles above

MIXED BAG the fish runs and be sustainable,” he says. Besides the cribbing, the tribe has implemented numerous restoration projects both above and below Oso. But the catastrophe may require a further lowering of an already low impact rate, Yanity says. It also dramatically illustrated the headcurrents our fish face. “This latest slide drives home the point of how ‘iffy’ the habitat conditions of our rivers have become for the anadromous species that use them,” Kraemer posted on The Outdoor Line radio show’s forum in response to a question about impacts. “Not only has the overall capacity of them to produce fish been greatly reduced, the associated lower productivity means that it takes a population much longer to recover from a disaster. In more intact systems, populations may have recovered in a fish generation or two, but in these degraded systems, that recovery time has been ex-

tended to three to ten or more generations. That means a depleted population becomes more likely to experience another damaging event before recovering from the previous one. This not only keeps the populations depressed, but dramatically increases the risk of extinction.” IT’S TRUE THAT life is amazingly resilient and that the Northwest has other murky rivers that support salmon and steelhead – the Sandy, Carbon, a number of White Rivers, and Nooksack. Fish in those have adapted by rarely spawning in mainstems, instead seeking out less turbid areas to make their nests, places like the mouths of spring- or snow-fieldfed tributaries, says Barkdull. After birth, their progeny tend to also seek out clearer water. The fry that turned up dead in the Stillaguamish Tribe’s trap after the slide may have been weakened by being un-

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able to find food in the turbidity, but clouding does have at least one benefit: It provides smolts cover from predators during their seaward migration, Barkdull says. Meanwhile, back in the gravel, that day-long dewatering of the North Fork between the slide and Arlington could have another consequence. Barkdull thinks it’s likely that many eggs and alevins were probably OK because of moisture in the river bed, but when the Stilly breached the dam, it brought with it a nasty slurry. “It’s like pouring a layer of concrete over your house, your front door,” he says. By happenstance, we could actually know pretty quickly the impact on young fish. Between March and June biologists annually conduct beach surveys on Port Susan, where the mainstem Stillaguamish meets Puget Sound. A big dip in the numbers of pink and chum fry, which rapidly migrate to saltwater after hatching (Chinook, like coho and steelhead, take their time), could be telling. “There’s going to be a substantial hit, I think,” Barkdull justifiably worried early on. “Once the water burst through, what we saw in the first few days was higher mortality than we were used to – 20 to 30 percent of Chinook, pinks and chum DOA or dying,” said Stillaguamish Tribe fisheries biologist Jason Griffith. Fortunately, death rates returned to near normal levels, he says, but monitoring by the tribe and state will continue. As for Port Susan, it will likely get ever muckier – not unlike after Deforest Creek – as it fills in. But it will take longer to figure out the effects on Chinook and steelhead recovery. “It’s a big step back,” says Barkdull. Griffith is somewhat optimistic, pointing to good habitat above the slide, and says Stilly fish are “resilient.” Reuters reported that the tribe, whose name means “the river people,” plan on using federal funds to again begin working on the Stillaguamish. NS

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Northwest Sportsman 23

MIXED BAG

MIXED BAG Continued from page 13 that we all agree on the value of harvestable fish, hold links to long-standing angling heritages (albeit with different gear), and know that merely being able to fish helps preserve wider interest in and funding for work being done to recover wild salmonids – stocks that otherwise might become “museum pieces” without their fishing advocates. For the tribes, there’s also that little thing called treaty rights. Billy Frank, Jr., longtime chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, says hatchery fish are essential to fulfilling those obligations, and pointed to the facilities’ importance in mitigating development over the past 100-plus years. “Lost and damaged habitat, not hatcheries or harvest, is what’s driving wild steelhead and salmon populations toward extinction. The focus needs to be on fixing and protecting habitat, not fighting over hatcheries and the fish they produce. Climate change and exploding population growth are only making our habitat problems worse, which in turn makes hatcheries even more important for wild fish and all of us,” he said. Even as WDFW and the tribes arm-wrestled during the yearly salmon-season-setting process in late winter and early spring, they cooperated to finish those HGMPs and had six of the last seven to NMFS as of April 10. “I’ve been very pleased with tribal support on a policy level and on a technical level,” said Jim Scott, the state’s fish manager. A LONG FEDERAL review still is ahead to get the HGMPs signed off on, but even without the permit, WDFW has already done a lot to try and protect wild steelhead, moves that have directly pruned back fishing opportunity. Since the listing the agency has halved hatchery production, reduced the number of release sites by 66 percent, began collecting eggs earlier in the winter return, and moved the end of fishing season up to mid-February in terminal zones and Jan. 31 elsewhere. And yet after all that, wild steelhead runs are still weak. True, it hasn’t been long since those changes, but WFC’s lawsuit further puts the burden of recovery on fishermen with no clear end benefit like we could at least buy off on with NMFS’s 2007 listing of the species. Three Rivers Marine, one of the largest boat

and tackle sellers in King and Snohomish Counties, challenged the notion that if you remove the hatchery fish, nates will rebound. “Where hatchery production has been reduced or eliminated, wild fish have not responded in a way some people anticipated: the wild populations have not responded with an increase in population abundance,” a statement from the company said. “Additionally, there are many rivers throughout the Pacific Northwest that have no known presence of hatchery-origin fish, and the native, wild populations have exhibited a similar trend as most rivers in the Northwest: a gradual population decline or stagnant, depressed population abundance.” Despite strong smolt outmigration and decades without clipped steelhead, the Nisqually’s nates still limp along at a quarter to half of escapement goals, a problem that may be due to water quality issues and/or harbor seal and porpoise predation as the young fish make their way through Puget Sound, an emerging issue being studied. There is at least one stream, however, where numbers may be building. A Hood Canal river that saw just 10 pairs of wildspawning adults in 2004 recently hosted 100, according to a report on KING 5 that aired the same day that Kurt Beardlee’s WFC attorneys filed their lawsuit. “It’s kind of ironic,” said Jacques White of Long Live The Kings about the timing. “We’re not trying to steal their thunder. But I think there’s a disagreement between the scientists we’re working with and Kurt’s.” Led by NMFS’s steelhead researcher Dr. Barry Berejikian, the biologists’ broodstock program utilizes half the eggs from wild redds in three rivers, grows the fry in rearing ponds at very low densities, and releases them after two years instead of one as with WDFW hatcheries. “They’re not wild, but as close as possible with hatchery fish,” White explains. But even with few if any wild steelhead runs elsewhere in Pugetropolis echoing a 10fold increase, he’s careful with the credit. “Was this the result of a hatchery?” White asks, or could it just have been good conditions for these fish? While Beardslee says “hatchery steelhead cannot rebuild a population,”White has a dif-

ferent take for promoting recovery: “If we didn’t intervene, it’s likely they’d go extinct.” AS FOR THOSE 900,000 smolts quickly growing out of room in their rearing ponds, WDFW vows it doesn’t want to kill them. If the lawsuit isn’t resolved, the fish will eventually be stocked in lakes, Scott says. Which ones is a good question. There aren’t as many standing waters unconnected to saltwater – these are anadromous fish after all, not homebodies like bass – here as you might think, though Pass Lake doesn’t appear to be. Still, putting them there would penalize flyrodders. I’m also told it would be prohibitive to airlift the smolts into mountain tarns, and there are disease-transmission issues to weigh as well. Fish in some basins are immune to IHN while others aren’t. Scott says his staff continues to work on contingency plans. This month marks their go-no go point. And perhaps also that for Puget Sound’s once-proud steelhead fisheries. NS

WHAT TO DO The lawsuit left Puget Sound steelheaders angry at WFC. Some heckled the group online, others dug deep into the nonprofit’s finances, and still others considered boycotting their sponsors. The Washington chapter of Coastal Conservation Association launched a petition that called on members to tell WDFW to “support the continuation of Puget Sound hatchery programs now and into the future through continued responsible, science-driven management that recognizes the importance of wild steelhead recovery and the value of steelhead fisheries to our state’s economy and way of life.” Other ideas include contacting Governor Inslee, Congressional representatives, and the National Marine Fisheries Service. As ever, keep messages tactful, describe your stake in the fish and fishery, and talk to the importance of funding permitting programs and getting hatchery HGMPs processed. –AW MAY 2014

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MIXED BAG A protester’s sign urges people not to shop at the supporters of the Native Fish Society. Protesters wanted to bring attention to the financial advantages of hatchery salmon in local rivers. (TERRY OTTO)

Anglers Stand Up For Hatchery Fish Fishermen picket outside Native Fish Society’s annual banquet. By Terry Otto PORTLAND—A group of about a dozen local fishermen and guides picketed the Native Fish Society’s annual banquet in northwest Portland last month to show their opposition to the group’s attempts to shutter hatcheries in the Northwest. NFS has been pressing lawsuits in the federal court system claiming that hatchery fish are damaging the viability of the remaining wild stocks. The long-simmering debate has pitted the organzation against sportfishing proponents, including the Three River’s Sportsmen’s Alliance (threeriverssportsmansalliance.com), which had organized the protest. The police presence surrounding Montgomery Park, where the event was held on April 11, disappeared when it became apparent the protest was small and peaceful. Hopes for a larger gathering of a couple hundred anglers didn’t pan out, but a couple

trucks towing fishing boats circled the block. It didn’t appear that NFS or its supporters were willing to talk anyway.

be made depending on how many protesters showed up. Both sides are seeking publicity for their cause.

THE LOSS OF the economic boost from hatchery fish was the main point of the protest. TSRA executive director Greg Osburn turned out to support the action. “I just wanted to voice my opinion about what is going on with our hatcheries today,” he says. “We are out here because we are concerned about our local economies. When we lose the ability to retain fish, people don’t fish. When there aren’t fish in the rivers, people don’t go to tackle shops, they don’t buy fishing tackle, they don’t buy gas, or go to coffee shops or restaurants. Fishing guides go out of business. It’s very bad.” Trevor Storlie of Red’s Guide Service (503695-6515), came out to lend his support. A Sandy River guide, he has watched as his stream has become ground zero in the battle between the NFS and sport fishermen. “I’m basically here because I’m worried about losing fisheries for my children,”he says. It is possible the NFS was hoping for a larger turnout too. The group had started a “Sponsor a Protester” drive. Donations would

STORLIE HAS WORKED with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on habitat restoration in the Sandy, and chafes at accusations that sport fishermen don’t care about wild fish. “No one here wants to kill any wild fish,”he says. “It’s ridiculous that we all have to be down here wasting our time to protect our hatchery runs,” he added. Storlie and others point to the numerous cuts to hatchery programs as sacrifices already made by the sportfishing community and industry to help recover wild fish, even while more cuts are planned, and the state is considering another license fee increase. “It’s not fair to sport fishermen, or the kids who want to learn to fish,” he says. While the protest was smaller than wanted, TRSA was still hopeful that it would garner support for keeping hatchery salmon and steelhead in the rivers. “The future of fishing is at stake right now,” Storlie says. NS MAY 2014

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28 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

MIXED BAG Back-to-back gobblers for Taylor Marsall! She bagged these near Colville on the youth hunt weekend, and the duo mark the second spring in a row the huntress has filled her tag. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

Friends Sara Dodd and Kristin Bishop of McMinnville love to fish, and couldn’t help but give this very lucky steelie a squeeze and a peck on the nose. They were fishing the Nestucca with beads, which may have been the inspiration for those lovely nails below! (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

Among the 10,000-plus spring Chinook kept on the Lower Columbia through mid-April, this was one of the fatter ones. Fred Clarke calls it the “nicest springer I have caught in a long time.” (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

The run came in just in time for Summer Dunn! The Portland angler was nine months pregnant when she got her springer. “Guess I can have the baby now!” she wrote. She was running a Kwikfish on the Columbia near Ridgefield in late March when the fish bit. (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

Our Grand Coulee girls score again! You may recall January’s feature on sisters Olivia Campbell (above left with bird) and Haley Neddo (above right at right). Well, they and friend Lauren Ailing (above right at left) bagged their toms during Washington’s youth season – and planned to help out with calf branding at the ranch they hunted. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

An early trip out of Westport paid off well for Mike Berens, Dave Anderson and Chuck Herbert who found the black rockfish hungry for shrimp flies off a lead dropper early last month. (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

With the Hawthorne Bridge in the background, Jeff Anderson proudly hoists one of two Willamette springers he caught trolling around his home waters in his kayak on March 27. (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

For your shot at winning Wright & McGill/ Eagle Claw and Browning products, send your photographs to andy@nwsportsmanmag.com or Northwest Sportsman, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwilistan, WA 98168. By sending us photos, you affirm you have the right to distribute them for our print or Internet publications.

MAY 2014

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30 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

PHOTO CONTEST

WINNERS! Hangin’ loose and rockin’ the kokanee, Austen Weichman and Conner Enquist’s good day on Lake Merwin is this issue’s Wright & McGill/Eagle Claw Photo Contest winner. It wins Austin’s dad, Dusten, who sent the pic, a pack age worth $50 of Lazer Sharp hooks, pliers and a Lazer Sharp hat!

T a y l o r Spady’s pic of son Ashton and his first deer is this issue’s Browning Photo Contest winner. Ashton bagged it in Washington’s Yacolt Burn area. It scores dad a Browning hat and puts him in the running for the grand prize, a Browning Buckmark pistol!

Northwest

Sportsman Your Hunting & Fishing Resource

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

32 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

Most stores open every day 7AM to 11PM. Prices good May 1 thru May 31, 2014. Use these cards for all purchases storewide. Items may not be available at all stores. See store for details. “All” or “Entire Stock” sales events exclude Clearance items and items marked as “Newly Reduced.”

34 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

MIXED BAG By Andy Walgamott

JACKASSES OF THE MONTH We’re all young and dumb at some point in our lives, but for Brady King, Vaughn Drake, and Nathan Graham, now 19, that meant going out and shooting up local wildlife and some poor rancher’s cattle for the thrill of it in fall 2012. Tips from anonymous citizens and a bird hunter put Idaho conservation officers on their trail, and after an 18-month investigation, the Boise-area trio and one other person had racked up 65 wildlife violations, including 23 felonies and 29 misdemeanors, according to IDFG. In late March the three men were sentenced for shooting a dozen deer, raptors, three cows and other critters during the killing spree. A judge took away their hunting privileges for the next three to five years, and any violation of their probation over the next 24 months could result in a half year in jail. The case also serves as a good warning to other folks who would go on wildlife shooting rampages, as has been occuring all too often in the Northwest. They were fined over $24,000.

Follow-up File

year in jail could have been the fate of the man who’s been called “one of the largest illegal wildlife traffickers” ever in Washington, but he got 60 days of home detention and a month of community service instead. That was the sentence a Pierce Co., Wash., judge handed down to Bona Bunphoath of Tacoma in March after he’d previously pled guilty to four counts of illegally selling wild game such as deer, elk and sturgeon. His case was part of a large series of raids on individuals and businesses in September 2012 that we covered online and in our November 2012 issue. It was also the subject of retired WDFW Detective Todd Vandivert’s book, Operation Cody, featured in our November 2013 issue. In court filings, Vandivert wrote to Pierce County prosecutors that “Mr. Bunphoath is one of the largest illegal wildlife traffickers in Washington state history (if not the single largest), and his activities have had a tremendous adverse impact to the wildlife populations of our state,” according to the Tacoma News Tribune. The paper reports that Vandivert and his partner purchased 10 elk and three deer from Bunphoath, and we reported that the duo observed at least 14 elk carcasses, seven deer carcasses and 16 whole sturgeon plus at least three more deer and elk heads in his garage and in coolers at his home during their investigation

Big game meat sold by Bona Bunphoath of Tacoma to undercover detective Todd Vandivert and his partner during their investigation of wildlife trafficking in Washington. (TODD VANDIVERT)

between Feb. 2011 and late summer 2012. Vandivert doubts he was Bunphoath’s only customer, and told the court that the man was “fully aware of just how illegal the sale of deer and elk is in Washington.” The 46-year-old immigrant from Cambodia had faced up to 12 months in jail if convicted on the nine counts he’d originally been charged with. But the paper reported that a plea deal in exchange for information on his suppliers in the Yakima area ,and lenience on the part of Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Martin – “citing Bunphoath’s ‘spirit of cooperation’ in working with authorities and ‘the cultural issue at play” – led to Bunphoath’s sentencing as a “first-time offender.”

Wardens Assist At Scene Of Landslide

Washington fish and wildlife officers, other WDFW staffers and their agency’s equipment were part of search and recovery efforts at late March’s landslide in Snohomish County. Among the first to respond to the scene, game wardens helped with their patrol vehicles, ATVs, drift boats and jet sleds, and WDFW’s Marsh Master, a tracked vehicle that is otherwise used for things like spraying invasive spartina grass and transporting crews around wet areas, was brought in too. (WDFW) MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 35

OUTDOOR

CALENDAR Sponsored by

MAY May 1 Northern pikeminnow sport reward fishery

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begins at all stations on Columbia, Snake Rivers; info: pikeminnow.org; New Oregon South Coast halibut subMay 6 19:15 First Quarter area (Humbug Mtn. to Calif.) opens for seven-day-aMay 14 11:16 Full Moon week fishing (for Washington halibut seasons, see May 21 04:59 Last quarter Westsider column); Puget Sound, Straits lingcod opener May 28 10:40 New Moon May 3 Kings For The Kids annual fishing derby ben* Info courtesy NASA; time is efitting abused and neglected children; info: Rick King 24-hour, Pacific Standard (503-709-6603; kingsforthekids); Kid’s Fishing Derbies in Washington (Auburn, Marysville, Olympia, SedroWoolley, Snoqualmie, Spokane); info: wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/kids/events.html May 3-4 Rod Meseberg Spring Walleye Classic at Potholes; info: mardonresort.com May 4 Family fishing events in Oregon (Alton Baker Canal, Vernonia Pond); info: dfw.state.or.us May 7 Sandy River Chapter of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders 16th Annual Banquet & Auction, Cox Building, Glenn Otto Park, Troutdale, Ore.; info: Leslie Hinea (503-653-4176) May 8-10 Proposed all-depth Oregon halibut weekend between Cape Falcon and Humbug Mtn.; info: dfw.state.or.us May 9-10 Northwest Paddling Festival on Lake Sammamish State Park featuring kayak angler Brad Hole; info: northwestpaddlingfestival.com May 10 Family fishing events in Oregon (Camp Baldwin, Mcnary Channel Ponds); info: dfw.state.or.us; Kid’s Fishing Derbies in Washington (Bellingham, Everett, Kennewick); info: wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/kids/events.html May 15 Oregon controlled big game hunt permit purchase application deadline May 15-19 Series of -1 or lower daylight coastal low tides May 17 5th Annual Lake Stevens Kokanee Derby; first prize: $1,000; adult tix: $20; info: 3riversmarine.com; Family fishing events in Oregon (Eckman Lake, Middle Fork Irrigation Pond); info: dfw.state.or.us; Kid’s Fishing Derbies in Washington (Marysville, Toledo, Walla Walla); info: wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/kids/events.html May 17-18 MarDon Open Bass Tournament; info: mardonresort.com May 22 (midnight) Washington special hunt permit application deadline May 22-24 Proposed all-depth Oregon halibut weekend between Cape Falcon and Humbug Mtn.; info: dfw.state.or.us May 24 Many quality Idaho waters open for fishing; General Oregon fishing opener; Family fishing event in Oregon (Sheridan Pond); info: dfw.state.or.us; Women’s adult fly fishing workshop at Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery, Camp Sherman, Ore.; $52 registration; info; Janice Bellis (503-947-6019; dfw.state.or.us) May 31 Last day to hunt turkeys in Washington, Oregon

Record Northwest Panfish Caught This Month Date

Species Pds. (-Oz.)

5-1-58 Black crappie 5-1-78 Black crappie 5-8-01 Bluegill/pumpkinseed 5-12-81 Bluegill* 5-22-67 White crappie 5-26-94 Green sunfish 5-27-96 Warmouth 5-29-94 Green sunfish * Pictured 36 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

Water

(SCOTT STAATS)

Angler

4.5 L. Washington (WA) John Smart 4.0 Lost R. (OR) Billy Biggs 1-.03 Star Lane Pd. (ID) Kevin Graveline 2-5.5 Crook Co. farm pond (OR) Wayne Elmore 4-12 Gerber Res. (OR) Jim Duckett .3125 Hauser L. (ID) Tom Fulton .53 Silver L. (WA) Linda Hatlelid .79 Bailey L. (WA) Mickey Hough

MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 37

38 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

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40 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

FISHING

Sweet Little River A float down the Walla Walla can produce lots of smallmouth bass and some channel catfish in spring, not to mention a peak into the area’s geological history. Behind the author’s pontoon are the Touchet Beds, layers of loess and gravel scraped off higher elevations of the Columbia Basin and deposited here during the Missoula Floods at the end of the last Ice Age. (JEFF HOLMES)

Spring provides window to float the Walla Walla for great smallie, channel cat fishing, wildlife viewing. By Jeff Holmes

he town of Touchet and the lower mile of its namesake river are similarly tiny and easy to miss. Highway 12 crosses the little stream half a mile west of the Walla Walla County burg. No sign marks the crossing of the Touchet (too-she), which harbors salmon, steelhead, and bull trout closer to its headwaters in the Blue Mountains above Dayton. Under this highway bridge, channel catfish, smallmouth bass, and northern pikeminnow are more at home in the warm, slow, heavily sedimented waters. Further south in the Blues above Milton-Freewater, another small salmon and steelhead stream tumbles out of the mountains toward Touchet. The Walla Walla River cuts a path out of the mountains and through the valley of the same name, eventually joining the even smaller Touchet River less

than a mile downstream of the Highway 12 crossing. This popular float from the lower Touchet into the Walla Walla requires maneuverable craft, but is floatable for small cartoppers, kayaks, pontoons, and rafts from April through May, sometimes into early June, but not likely this year with a very average snowpack in the Blues. On a bluebird day last May, I joined our family friend, Walla Walla’s Jerry Yokel, to float a long stretch of the Walla Walla in search of the mature, spawned-out bass still in the river gobbling outgoing salmonids and crawdads before most of the Columbia’s big, migratory smallies return back to the depths of the mainstem. Yokel has been floating and fishing the Walla Walla every spring since he moved to the valley in the 1980s. Although he works in North Richland as a nuclear chemist for the Washington Department of Ecology, he loves his home

and these spring floats, and commutes to the Hanford Site well over an hour each way, each day.

ON THIS GORGEOUS morning when high temps would climb into the mid-80s, work wasn’t on the radar as we met each other in a small, rustic parking area next to the Highway 12 bridge spanning the Touchet. We slid Yokel’s kayak down some sharp riprap and went back for my pontoon boat, which I’d purchased from Costco the night before. Before ever making it to the water, two pieces broke on the boat, but it was still inflated with the frame lashed pretty securely. My trepidation about sinking was erased by my desire for fish, floating, and wildlife viewing, and within minutes of beginning our float, the wildlife spectacle began when I got out to heed the call and almost peed on a 2-pound toad. The fishing and floating started out a little rough when Yokel tried to move a small strainer while seated in his kayak and dumped himself into the river. I saw this and portaged. He reMAY 2014

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FISHING deemed himself by catching a footlong smallmouth in a big back eddy just as I was getting back in my boat. We hammered that water and the rest of the Touchet, but the fish were not interested in our crawdad or minnow imitations of several varieties. Torrential rains had hit the day prior, and fronts had changed. Probably for this reason, the fishing was slow. Hopes were high when we reached the confluence with the Walla Walla, but our luck remained sporadic with only occasional tugs from small male bass over the first few miles of the float. With the water off-color, we couldn’t see any smolts moving, nor did we see any jumping, so we mostly fished plastic crawdads imitations and some small rattling crankbaits as the sun climbed in the sky. Great-horned owls, ospreys, kingfishers, green herons, nighthawks, cliff swallows, song sparrows, pheasants, quail, and many more bird species flew from streamside as we floated, and Jerry told me about watching a large bull snake climb a near-vertical cliff to eat baby swallows on a previous trip. Those cliffs on the river’s south shore are the product of the Walla Walla eroding through the Touchet Beds, loess that came to rest here at the end of the Ice Age when the Missoula Floods backed up trying to get through the nearby Wallula Gap. Each layer respresents a different flood, and overall they resemble badlands topography and are unlike any geography I’ve seen in Washington. Thousands of cliff swallows and starlings live in them, as do a remarkable number of barn owls. These cream-and-buff-colored birds are amongst the most silent, gorgeous, and widely distributed owls in the world, and we saw a few. One put on a head-bobbing, neck-rotating exhibition as it watched us and swarms of swallows flying wildly in front of its nest, which was tucked into a hole in the cliff 80 feet above the river. As with the Touchet, the Walla Walla’s salmon and steelhead swim through the lower river section to 42 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

At this time of year, Walla Walla River smallies love them some smolt imitations. The author holds two bass that bushwhacked his Rapala in rainbow trout pattern. During spring’s outmigration of salmonid smolts, it can be hard to entice the fish with crawdad imitations or even swimbaits that resemble young Chinook and steelhead. The larger bass was 20 inches. (JEFF HOLMES)

spawn and then again to migrate to the sea as smolts. From April through summer, the waters downstream of Walla Walla are jam-packed with hungry warmwater predators, including lots of channel cats. I decided to try to catch one while eating lunch above one particularly beautiful river bend where the river empties into a deep, slow, eddying pool before sliding right along the cliffside. I beached the pontoon and tied on a 1-ounce jig head and left a 2-foot tag end on my knot. To that I tied a size 1 Owner Cutting Point SSW hook. Both the jig hook and the Owner got a threaded glob of leftover nightcrawlers from winter walleye fishing, and I lobbed my offering into a deep slot along the far cut bank. I waited for it to settle and set my rod in a hefty forked stick the beavers cut for me. As I put my ’crawlers back on ice and grabbed my cold blue grouse enchiladas and some water for lunch, a sizzling drag interrupted my meal. Yokel loves fish fries, and I was excited to keep a nearly 6pound catfish for him, until I unintentionally released it down the muddy bank.

I ATE LUNCH, retired the crude catfish rig

and tied on another crawdad imitation and took off to find Yokel, who was up ahead discovering the river’s big fish were willing to rise for topwater minnows. I caught up, and he and I sat on the bank enjoying a beverage as he told me about a 4- or 5-pounder that he had missed right next to his kayak. I broke out my trusty Rapala F-11 minnows in rainbow-trout finish and tied one on. Mid-knot, I looked up to see Yokel’s kayak 20 yards downstream. I chased it down in my pontoon, and Yokel ran downstream a couple hundred yards through heavy brush to catch up with me and his craft. We finished our beverage break, and Yokel paddled upstream to hit some water we missed. I decided to head downstream since I was in a bad position to cast to some great water upstream of me, but the fishing fiend who lives inside me had to get his Rapala wet. I chucked the F11 upstream along a steep bank with a defined ledge and dropoff to deep water. My slack line bowed and drifted toward shore in the wind, draping over a willow branch at the cliff’s base while my lure settled gently on the water above the dropoff. I walked toward the willow to free my line and

saw the surface explode on my lure. The fish freed my line, and the fight was on. “Jerry! Five-pounder! Get down here!” I bellowed upstream. The fish dove for the bottom and fought wildly for a minute in strong current, but it soon weakened strangely, and I made

fast ground on it with my light-action Okuma SST rod and Pfleuger President spinning reel. As the fish came close to the bank, one became two. There were two smallmouth on my lure, and one was very large! Yokel pulled up in his kayak and was similarly dumbfounded. We meas-

The dirt walls along the Walla Walla are pocked with holes where a wide variety of birds make their homes, including many cream-and-buff-colored barn owls. This one put on a head-bobbing, neck-rotating exhibition as it watched the author and fishing partner as well as swarms of swallows flying wildly in front of its nest, which was tucked into a hole in the cliff 80 feet above the river. (JEFF HOLMES)

ured them at 13 and 20 inches, the latter a female. The smaller fish, a male, must have hit during the fight, and once both were attached to the same lure, they lost their fight and submitted to landing. It became increasingly clear bass wanted minnows, and not just any minnows: They wanted smolt imitations. We constantly caught and released fish on topwater twitches and on steady retrieves for the remainder of the float, losing track of our total number of fish released. The stringer on the side of Yokel’s kayak grew gaudy. Most of the fish we landed were 10 to 14 inches, but we each caught several in the teens, including my 20incher, and missed other large bass too.

THE EXCELLENT FISHING was fun but also illustrative of the fisheries management challenge that prompted the liberalization of bass and catfish limits in Columbia River tributaries to decrease mortality on outgoing smolts. In runs populated by big numbers of smallies willing to grab minnows, crawdad imitations drew no interest. F-11 and J-9 Rapalas in rainbow trout outperformed everything we threw, including rainbow trout swimbaits I use for bass in hatchery trout lakes. Here in 44 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

FISHING

The mouth of the Walla Walla River is a well-known hotspot for catfish, but the expedition found that they can be found well upstream too. (JEFF HOLMES)

the Walla Walla, as in a trout lake, bass key on a vulnerable and abundant salmonid food sources. Fisheries managers release giant numbers of outgoing steelhead and Chinook smolts to account for high mortality from these predators, birds, dams, and more. The

46 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

smallmouth have learned to key in on this easy food source and seem to look up like trout rather than scouring the bottom for crayfish. Earlier in the season on his first few floats, all of Yokel’s significant success came on plastics resembling crayfish.

Wise Walla Walla anglers bring options along in case the bass move to a new pattern. In this case, they moved hard, and we’d have been out of luck without smolt imitations. I’d have caught four instead of 40 or more. As we neared the takeout, I chucked another ball of ’crawlers into a deep hole that begged for bait and landed a very large catfish I was able to corral. Only half of it would fit in my trout net, but we got it on Yokel’s stringer and headed downriver to the takeout. The fish took almost 10 minutes to land on my light combo and line and was a nice end to an unexpectedly wild, fruitful, and peaceful day. My first float trip on the Walla Walla was not the first time I’d fished the river, but it was the first time I fell in love with it. This May a short floating window is available to other Northwest sportsmen with a sense of small adventure. The Walla Walla is an intimate float, so I can’t draw you a map of all of the put-ins and takeouts. But locating the public land (Army Corps of Engineers and Department of Fish & Wildlife properties) along the river easily reveals the access sites, which are numerous enough to provide several float options. Focus on the river from the town of Lowden down to Nine-Mile Bridge. This is where most of the public land can be found, but there is potential downstream of the bridge for excellent floating and fishing. Erika and I will be headed back this spring twice to visit friends and to float on this overlooked gem where anglers can choose to release bass or to keep as many as they want. No one in an inflatable craft like my pontoon boat should ever put a spiny channel cat on a stringer unless they want a popped air bladder, but there’s no limit on cats either, and plenty to catch. Yokel took home an impressive stringer of smallmouth and my big catfish for a family fish fry, and I went home with a horrible sunburn, an allergic rash from bushwhacking, and a big smile. NS

MAY 2014

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COLUMNS The author hefts a pretty nice smallmouth, caught from his kayak while drifting the John Day. (MARK VEARY)

Down The Day By Kayak I

t’s 2 p.m. and the topwater bite is in full swing. Behind me, a herd of antelope takes advantage of a cool marshy shoal. Overhead, cliff THE KAYAK GUYS swallows dance by By Mark Veary the thousands in the shimmering heat. A hundred smallmouth have passed through my hands this day and another hundred await their chance before I’ll reach tonight’s camp. This is the John Day. Cutting steep canyons through a desert wilderness, the river is one of the longest free-flowing streams in the Lower 48. To protect its natural, scenic, and recreational values, the John Day has been designated a Wild and Scenic Waterway. Similar to many forested wilderness areas, entry is controlled by permit, campsites are spacious, and aes-

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. –John Muir

thetics are maintained through strictly enforced rules around packing out garbage and excrement. Traditionally the domain of whitewater rafts and driftboats, late spring flows on the John Day offer easy and fish-filled passage to trekking kayak anglers. Only three short pitches along the entire traversable length exceed a Class I rating. While exploring this otherwise arid pasture and canyon land is manageable for solo kayak fishermen, traveling in groups allows for common amenities to be split between members. For even cushier travel, a support raft can be enlisted to transport gear and

creature comforts between campsites. Each morning, the raft is sent ahead to scout out and set up the night’s camp so that the remainder of the group can focus on the important task of working over eddies, tailouts, boulder fields and cliff faces for the ridiculously abundant smallies. WITH 1,000-PLUS BASS per mile, it’s easy to satisfy one’s desire for quantity on the John Day. Three hundred-fish days are relatively easy from a kayak, though the majority of these fish will be between 10 and 14 inches. To achieve your counts, toss small frogpattern topwaters or poppers into the MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 49

COLUMNS brush and twitch them down the shoreline. Oftentimes, your lure will be inhaled in midair. Topwater fishing benefits from precision casting at a distance, so I keep a Daiwa Laguna baitcasting combo close at hand. In faster water or when you get tired of the midday topwater bite, switch over to a soft plastic crawdad, 4-inch swimbait or large fluke. Carolina-rigged softbaits are the way to go as you’ll lose far less gear than with jig heads or a Texas rig. Working through different colors and patterns can improve your hookup rate from a fish on every third cast to a fish on every cast. The majority of the bigger bass are

caught earlier in the spring or in the fall when water temps are cooler. That said, large ones can occasionally be coaxed out of these waters, even in summer’s heat. Some things to keep in mind when hunting trophies are: Average fish size increases as you move downstream. Prime water where food is deposited by the currents will be guarded by bigger fish. Large baits and large hooks will frustrate the little guys, giving trophy-sized fish time to reach your offering. Finally, greater competition leads to fierce strikes. Don’t set your hook on every tug. Instead, keep the tension on your line until you feel real power and then swing for the trees. TO EXPERIENCE OREGON’S premier wilderness smallmouth

fishery for yourself, stop by the Oregon BLM permitting website, blm.gov/or/permit /index.php. Here you’ll find everything you need to plan your own adventure, including maps, water flows, permits, shuttle operators, guides, outfitters and regulations. For 2014, there is no limit on the number of permits being issued for the John Day. When packing, remember that there are no services or roads along most of the river. You must bring everything you’ll need for the duration of your stay. As importantly, everything you take in must be paddled out, including your biological waste. Yup, you have to pack out your poop. But the amazing and unique beauty of the John Day River’s scenic canyon land more than compensates for that minor inconvenience. NS

at down the John Scenes from a flo

50 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

Y, AL Day. (MARK VEAR

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Northwest Sportsman 51

FISHING

Banks Is Back!

A resurgence of bass, prey and vegetation is returning the reservoir into a prime fishery. By Nick Barr

ELECTRIC CITY, Wash.—Banks Lake, that 27-mile-long reservoir perched directly south of Grand Coulee Dam, is a renowned May bass fishery. An integral part of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, Banks is fed by a canal from Lake Roosevelt and itself feeds other fishy reservoirs such as Billy Clapp, Moses, Potholes and Scootney, but it secured its place on Washington’s bass fishing map in the 1970s when Carl Pruitt caught the 11-pound 9-ounce staterecord largemouth here. Years later smallmouth were introduced and began to take over the lake, providing a fishery that could pump out 100-plus-fish days, although generally with bass of limited size. That boom occured after 199394’s drawdown of the lake. The most recent lowering, 31 feet in 2011, has also had a dramatic effect on the fishery. In competitive events we have seen record weights taking the top prize, and anglers happy with the resurgent largemouth population and the size of its fish. In an American Bass tournament last spring it took over 20 pounds of largemouth to win the event, a tally which had been unheard of here for well over two decades. “Prior to the ’93-94 drawdown of Banks Lake, a 20-pound bag of largemouth was commonplace,” recalls Lou Nevsimal of Coulee Playland Resort (CouleePlayland.com).

MAY IS WHEN life blooms again on Largemouth are spreading out from their stronghold at iconic Steamboat Rock on the north end of Banks Lake. (PACIFIC FLY FISHERS)

Banks. Due to its higher elevation and cool waters coming up from Roosevelt, the lake’s water temps fluctuate rapidly and can cause the MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 53

FISHING fishery to change rapidly in either direction of the spawn this month. Generally you will find water in the 50- to 60-degree range and fish in all three phases of the spawn, although a majority will probably be in prespawn as the major spawning waves generally show up in early June. Smallmouth prefer water in the 58to 62-degree range to spawn while their cousins wait until it reaches the mid-60s. During the prespawn both species are generally looking to feed up to help nourish their developing eggs and provide en- Tourney angler Bob Forster. ergy for the (BOB FORSTER) e n s u i n g spawn. Smallmouth tend to inhabit fairly deeper water with close access to forage such as perch or crayfish while largemouth focus more on shallow-water forage such as bluegill. In early May, former Columbia Country TV host and prominent Northwest tournament angler Bobby Forster will attack the smallmouth with reaction baits. Using a mix of lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits to cover water, he looks for major spawning flats and deepwater breaks adjacent to them. “If you can include a roadbed or an old railroad grade, then it is even better,” Forster mentions. Some popular areas on Banks Lake during this timeframe are Barker Flats, Million Dollar Mile, and the Devils Punchbowl. “Earlier in May, you will want to be working reaction baits. Getting towards the end of the month you will want to start keeping your eyes open for fish cruising up shallow and starting to bed,” Forster recommends. Some hot lipless cranks include the Rapala Clackin’ Rap and Lucky Craft LV-500 in crawfish patterns. These type 54 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

IMAGES FROM 2011’S DRAWDOWN Osborn Bay, just south of Electric City and looking from the east. (DAVID WALSH, BOR)

Looking north over the south end’s dam. (DAVID WALSH, BOR)

View south over Devils Punchbowl, just east of Steamboat Rock. (DAVID WALSH, BOR)

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56 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

of lures have different rattles, from aggressive, high-pitched rattles to a single-ball “clack” and even silent versions, such as the LV-300S. “Matching the amount of noise to the sensitivity of the fish can really help you hone in on creating more strikes,” says Forster.

AS FOR LARGEMOUTH, he believes a few key coincidences have had a heavy influence on their re-emergence. For starters, he applauds the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Banks Lake Enhancement Project. The restrictions on largemouth fishing during the spawn have helped nurse the population back to stable levels, and the habitat work has provided cover when the lake is devoid of vegetation. This has had a direct impact on the steady, albeit slow population growth over the past decade. The second factor is the drawdown of 2011. “The compaction of the baitfish and predatory fish in the reservoir has helped eliminate some of the smaller classes of fish and allow less competition for the bigger fish to keep growing,” Forster believes. Banks is now in a period of extreme baitfish abundance, according to local sources. The third reason is water level. The lake is stable at historic highs, allowing for an abundance of weed growth and inundating new cover to increase recruitment of and rapidly grow largemouth and corresponding baitfish such as bluegill and perch. Says Nevsimal, “This is the most vegetation I’ve seen in my lifetime at Banks, which leads to excellent recruitment and feeding opportunities for largemouth and their prey base.” He predicts that we are going to see some of the best fishing in decades at Banks for multiple species. “Every fish population in the lake is booming right now. The fresh vegetation and high water levels are stirring the pot for the makings of an ultraproductive fishery within the

next few years,” Nevsimal proclaims. “Regarding the largemouth, the relaxation of pressure on them has allowed those fish to spread and repopulate areas of the lake where they were not found 10 to 15 years ago,” he says. To focus on the largemouth in May, look in water shallower than 8 feet for rocks or weeds that are near major spawning pockets. Most of the bass reign in the northern section of the lake, above Steamboat Island, but there is an ever-increasing population showing up in the southern basin near Coulee City. Forster likes to cover water with a vibrating jig and a lipless crankbait, but will slow down and pick apart tule patches and rock outcroppings with a jig. “The largemouth seem to like areas that are in protected coves that feature a mixture of rock walls and tules,” he says. “Lots of these areas can be found in Jones Bay, Osborne Bay, and the Devils Punchbowl.” Vibrating jigs are extremely lethal early-season largemouth baits. The Yamamoto Fizzle Jig and Original ChatterBait from Z-Man are solid options, and are often paired with a Yamamoto Swim Senko or Kalin’s Classic Grub. For clear-water environments, natural baitfish colors tend to do best. “I prefer a green pumpkin color on Banks Lake, as it imitates the bluegill or perch the bass love to feed on,” Forster explains.

BANKS HAS SEEN its ups and downs, as with any fishery, but the lake is primed to take off for multiple species in the near future. I personally am excited to see what is in store. No matter what your quarry, you will find something to keep you hooked here for years to come. NS Editor’s notes: For more on fishing Banks’ south end, try Keith Jensen of Big Wally’s (BigWallysGuideService.com). The author (NickBarrFishing.com) is a guide and president of Eastern Washington University Sportsman’s Club in Cheney.

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Eastside Lakes Just Kickin’ Into Gear In May BASIN BEACON By Leroy Ledeboer

ere in the Columbia Basin, our late April trout opener isn’t the madhouse of towed boats, campers and host of shore plunkers it was a couple of decades back, but as with the rest of Washington, it’s still the No. 1 weekend for angler participation. At least part of that drop-off stems from the high productivity of several of our big, year-round waters. Roosevelt, Potholes, Banks as well as a bunch of smaller lakes now provide such excellent trout fishing that lots of the real die-hards concentrate on those rather than key in on a specific opener.

Whether you’re out for stockers, like the one caught last spring by Megan Floyd (inset) of Buckley at Blue Lake, or to experience fisheries in beautiful surroundings like Lake Chopaka – or, heck, both – the Eastside’s Sun Lakes and Okanogan County deliver. (WASHINGTON DNR; WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST) 60 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

COLUMNS

MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 61

COLUMNS But if you’re a family guy or gal, particularly one with budding young anglers, May and June also provide a unique angling opportunity, the chance to put limits of those plentiful stocker ’bows in your cooler. As Chris Donley, the state lowland lakes fisheries manager, once told me, “I’ve never met a trout that wouldn’t take one for the team!” Yep, planted rainbows are a kidfriendly fish, all right, particularly all those 10- to 12-inch yearlings that scarf up bait like teenagers at the supper table. THE SUN LAKES, that chain of waters in Grant County south of Coulee City, has been the area’s top draw in late April over the years, and even today it’s a popular trout destination. Its two bigs, Blue and Park, will pull in at least a couple thousand anglers on the opener, many plunking the vast shore along Highway 17 while others hit the big open stretches along their east sides. “Yeah, Blue and Park shore fishing is always pretty popular, but right now we’re getting close to that 10th season after a rehab, when spinyrays, mainly perch and pumpkinseeds, are taking hold, so our fingerling survival isn’t what it was,” notes Chad Jackson, state fisheries biologist in Ephrata. “For the last few openers it seems like one year Park is pretty good, Blue a bit off, then the next year they flip-flop. “You can still do OK tossing in bait from shore, but now that the days of superabundant rainbows almost everywhere and quick limits are pretty much over and won’t return until we do another rehab, that can be a real waiting game. Now it’s usually boat anglers who have the best success, partly because of their mobility. Trolling is very effective, and even boat bait plunking, particularly if you’re willing to move around, anchor up in a number of spots until you hit a hot bite, is good too. With less total fish in the water, it really comes down to going out and finding them.” These two trout havens have a couple real pluses. One, even the yearling ’bows are often a husky 11 to 12 inches by now, and their 15- to 16-inch carryovers, as well as some dandy browns and tiger trout that are also stocked regularly, can make up a 62 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

good part of your catch. Plus, even a good-sized opening weekend crowd won’t deplete these two. I’ve trolled them in June and July, and as long as I paid close attention to my sonar and set my lures where the trout were hanging, I caught fish, primarily on ’crawlerbaited spinners such as Wedding Rings. By August, look for the deeper holes, anchor up and drop some dough bait. Oh, and if you’re into trolling, don’t overlook Deep Lake, way up at the north end of this beautiful chain. Jackson says that last year it was very good for rainbows throughout May and early June. And once the weather warmed, its kokanee really kick in, as they always do. The kokes are 10 to 11 inches in June but at least a couple inches bigger by September. Swing down to Warden Lake in southern Grant County, and again you have a real shot at yearling ’bows, an occasional brown or tiger trout, and a few carryovers that will top 16 inches. “Our creel surveys showed that both shore and boat anglers did really well on last year’s opening weekend on Warden,” Jackson says, “and once again yearling sizes were pretty good, around 11 to 12 inches. Warden’s fairly shallow, warms up pretty fast, so by late June or early July the trout are already 1 to 2 inches larger.” I really like fishing Warden. Its miles of available shoreline make it a go-to spot for shore anglers, but I’m primarily a boat guy, so I stay away at least until at least midweek when its single boat launch and limited launch parking areas aren’t quite so jammed. Suspended trout are still readily available in late May and most of June, but if I get there in July, usually with a kid or two in my boat, I look for a backwater bay along the eastern shore, anchor up and dunk PowerBait or red wigglers. OKANOGAN AND SINLAHEKIN Valleys are a longer drive for most, but for an extended stay, their combination of scenic mountains, abundant wildlife, spring turkey hunting opportunities and lots of trout lakes can make for a great vacation. The twin Conconullys, fed by high mountain run-off, are a fine first option. “We had a really good trout and koka-

nee lake last year, and I don’t see any reason it won’t be as good this year,” notes Kevin Messer at Conconully Resort (509826-0813) on the upper lake. “The stocking guys have been adding some bigger fish, including 11⁄2- to 2-pound rainbows just recently, and the water level on both lakes is already good and coming up fast.” Despite illegally planted bass now taking their toll, Messer says the kokanee fishing has been phenomenal and the trout real steady. “I think this is the sixth year they’ve been putting in lots of kokanee fry, so now we’re starting to see more in the 16- to 17inch range, real chunking. They’re in the lower lake too. It’s just a matter of switching gear from your standard trout rigs. We use Double Whammies baited with shoepeg corn we’ve soaked overnight in anise oil.” Once again, the town of Conconully is putting a number of tagged fish into both waters, prizes worth $25 or more, as well as some merchandise. Just north of Conconully is Fish Lake, a small put-n-take that is almost always very good early on for 10- and 11-inch plants, and a few miles farther north is Blue, a restricted water that is mainly a flyrodder’s mecca. Even its daily limit of one trout is rarely harvested, so this little lake always has a few ’bows topping 20 inches and many more in that 16- to 17-inch slot. Two more Okanogan lakes that deserve your attention are Spectacle and Wannacut, both northwest of Tonasket. Spectacle has an earlier opener, but its trout bite definitely picks up as the weather warms, and by June even topwater fly presentations get plenty of action. It’s also now home to lots of spinyrays, sunfish, smallmouth and perch, not huge, but good entertainment for those restless youngsters. Wannacut is several miles long and super deep, and at times gets off to a slow start, then sees its best bites throughout June and July. Here too the state adds a number of jumbos and triploids to its annual fingerling stockings, and thanks to this lake’s tons and tons of mysis shrimp, even the yearlings are a very chunky 13 to 14 inches by June, and excellent tablefare. NS

FISHING

Big Trout At Big Omak Reservation lake at its best for Lahontan cutts in spring.

A view along the middle of Omak Lake, which sits entirely in the Colville Reservation. (MIKE WRIGHT)

By Mike Wright

OKANOGAN—A little over four decades ago now Lahontan cutthroat began to be introduced into select Central Washington lakes. This particular trout strain is one of the few species that can survive in very alkaline environments, and the region’s waters proved productive for them. Within three years many had reached 25 inches and weighed nearly 6 pounds. Otherwise barren Lake Lenore became a destination for ever-increasing numbers of fishermen determined to catch bragging-sized trout, and plenty of them. Despite a major fish kill in 1998 and a gillnet poaching operation last spring, the lake remains popular. For those who don’t care to fish under spring’s combat conditions at either end of Lenore but still want to hook big fish, there is an alternative: Omak Lake on the Colville Indian Reservation. In the 1950s and early ’60s the tribes attempted to develop a viable sportfishery by stocking rainbow and brook trout into the lake. Unfortunately, due to its highly alkaline nature, it proved unsuccessful, so in 1968 the Colvilles turned to Lahontans. As with Lenore, the trout survived and grew quickly, but unlike Lenore, Omak, for the most part, has gone undiscovered, even as it holds the state record, an 18-pound, 4ounce fish. To ensure good fishing, the tribe annually stocks 100,000 cutts.

FISHING TECHNIQUES VARY at Omak. This former channel of the Columbia covers twice the area of Lenore, inundating over 3,200 acres, and reaches depths of over 300 feet. Its edges are generally steep and rocky, sharply reducing shore fishing areas.

The only exception is the shallower south end, which attracts most bank anglers, particularly fly fishermen. Boats, float tubes and pontoon boats are utilized considerably more often than they are on Lenore. Downriggers and fast-sinking lines are very common, and trolling gear is a widely accepted technique. Jointed Rapalas, Needlefish, Ross Swimmer Tails together with Luhr Jensen J-Plugs and Super Dupers are the more popular choices. For the fly fishermen, the venerable chironomid is effective, but not nearly to the extent as at Lenore. One under a strike indicator will catch fish, but damselfly patterns, Woolly Buggers and leeches seem to be more effective. Omak’s cutts are attracted much more to darting, rapid retrieves than Lenore’s. Intermediate or even fastsink fly lines are wise choices here. The water is crystal clear, so fluorocarbon tippet and leader with 2X or 10-pound test is advisable. Olive or lighter green fly patterns usually produce the best results, although black, brown and white are effective at times. Besides damselflies, red-sided shiners are a favorite food for these Lahontans, so tying red crystal flash into a pattern can be beneficial. For fly fishing, April and May provide some of the best opportunities for

catching large numbers of big fish. During the false spawning run schools cruise the shallows, and one of my best days here was off a sandy beach on the southwest portion of the lake with two friends. We positioned ourselves 75 to 100 yards apart, notifying each other as a school moved through our area and what direction it was heading. With forewarning we were able to cast out and slowly strip in until the school was spotted, then speed up the retrieve so the fly would be moving right by their noses. This system worked well and we were able to land over 20 fish apiece, including several in the 6- to 8pound range. But there are also times where it’s difficult to use this method, so one suggestion has been to bring something to stand on to help locate the fish. In Pyramid Lake, Nevada, the remnant of the Ice Age lake where Lahontans originally evolved, step ladders are used.

THIS MONTH IS an excellent time to fish Omak because the damselfly hatch will be on. Damsels need water temperatures around 60 degrees to fully stimulate the hatch, and in most years, May is when it gets there and puts the fish into a feeding frenzy. Next month fishing changes dramatically. June 1 marks the end of MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 65

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the catch-and-release portion of the season (three-fish daily limit, only one over 14 inches), the false spawning run is over, and water temps send the trout to cooler depths. Lures and trolling predominate, but fly anglers can still find fish by switching to type 2, 3 or even 4 fast-sink lines. As summer sets in, fish disperse and will be found along the thermocline, the zone between the warmer and cooler water. Since the lake is 10 miles long and a mile wide, a fish finder is an invaluable necessity and you may have to cover a lot of water before even putting out a line. Once you find a school, use different fly patterns or lures on each pass. One day’s hot lure may be completely ignored the next, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

OMAK IS OPEN year-round and, located entirely within the Colville Reservation, requires a tribal license to fish (day: $7.50; season: $35). Because of the lake’s size, it may take several days to find the ideal fishing area, so it might be wise to buy seven-day license ($25). In addition to a dark-to-dawn closure, the extreme south end of the lake is also closed to nontribal members. As with many Central Washington lakes, wind is a constant consideration, and here it can be severe and even dangerous. The northern por-

tion of the lake is a little more protected, but is also the deepest. For this reason you will usually need to get much further down. It is considerably easier to fly fish the shallower, but windier south end, taking care not to venture too far from shore. Facilities on the lake are somewhat spartan, but the town of Omak is only 7 miles to the northwest. There are no suitable areas for overnight camping, and the only launching area for larger boats is Mission Bay, at the extreme northern end of the lake. (The immediate area is closed to fishing until June 1.) Get here via Highway 155 and the North End Omak Lake Road. There are some spots off the Columbia River Road, south of Omak, where smaller, more portable boats can be launched. Both Lenore and Omak can provide excellent early fishing in terms of both numbers and size. Each lake presents the opportunity to have a 20-plus-fish day and the possibility of a 30-inch cutthroat. If you are a social animal, Lenore can definitely meet your wishes. If you prefer a more relaxing, solitary environment, Omak should be your destination. It is seldom, if ever crowded and remains productive throughout the season. If you have never visited Omak, the month of May might a good time to do so. NS

68 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

FISHING

Trout In Town 15 lakes with familyfriendly parks in Western Washington’s urban areas to hit this spring. By Jason Brooks

TACOMA—Washington’s general lowland lakes trout season opener has finally come and gone. Anglers are back home after traveling to their favorite lakes to “commune” with nature and secure fresh trout for dinner. But if you were one of those who didn’t make it out or – worse yet – can’t easily get out of the city, there is hope. If you only have a few hours or can find a day to take the family out, there are plenty of local places that offer fishing. Urban lakes with public parks are great places to spend quality time. They offer the fishermen in the family a chance to wet a line while others can enjoy other activities on the playground, basketball court, or even just sitting back and reading a book. Most parks also have picnic areas with barbecues for those with time for a day-long outing. Let’s take a look at some of the city lakes in Puget Sound that get hefty plants of trout and feature great bank access that can be fished by those who can hop on a bus or even ride their bike to water’s edge.

VANCOUVER’S KLINELINE POND is an old gravel pit turned urban trout lake that lies next to Interstate 5 and is surrounded by trails, grass fields and bulkheads providing plenty of shoreline fishing access. Despite its small

Oftentimes surrounded by city parks, urban waters may be the only place where folks have a chance to be out in nature and stand a chance to catch dinner. That’s what these anglers are doing at Bradley Pond, behind Puyallup’s massive South Hill Mall and Village complexes. (JASON BROOKS)

size – just shy of 12 acres – it is one of the state’s best-stocked lakes, receiving over 30,000 rainbows – including jumbos and triploids – and browns throughout the year. On occasion, 10-pound broodstock ’bows are let loose too. This little lake also offers some warmwater species such as bass and bluegill. Grass carp have been planted too, but you can’t fish for them or keep any that are caught. The towns they’re associated with can’t be said to be urban – at least on

the scale of others along I-5 – but Longview’s Lake Sacajawea and Centralia’s Fort Borst Pond are wellstocked and surrounded by parks. Further up the interstate, Olympia-area anglers have Long Lake. At 310 acres those with a boat will do better, but thanks to a decentsized Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife access on the west side of its upper end, there is some room for plunking. (Note that fishing at the city park next door isn’t allowed). The lake is slated to receive 29,450 MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 69

FISHING planter rainbows throughout the year and 750 jumbos, which will make for some great catching. Not to be confused with Long Lake is Long’s Pond, another great little lake that is open only to juveniles. Surrounded by Lacey’s Woodland Creek Community Park, and with plenty of parking and other activities for when the kids get bored, this lake receives plants that are timed with the Olympia School District’s spring and summer breaks, so keep it in mind when want to get the kids off the couch.

IN THE TACOMA area, for those who find themselves with a few hours to go fishing, try 30-acre Waughop Lake at Fort Steilacoom Park. Since the entire lake is inside the park you don’t have to worry about access. It only receives about 1,500 planted trout each March, but also has bass and other warmwater fish. The park offers a large dog area, a vast running and walking trail system to enjoy the day, and is a great place to take the family. Federal Way boasts a lot of little urban lakes with parks that are planted, including North. Opening in late April, it fishes well into May as it receives a plant of 9,500 rainbows. There isn’t much bank access at this lake just east of Weyerhaueser’s corporate headquarters, but the WDFW access site on its north end offers a fishing dock and ample parking if you happen to have a boat. Off the same exit (S. 320th St.) but on the west side of I-5, Steele Lake has both a WDFW access with boat launch and some bank room as well as a city park that offers more fishing access. The lake is 46 acres and receives 8,500 rainbows in April, making it another great urban lake for post-opener fishing. One unique feature of the city park is its very large fishing pier. It encompasses the swimming area so anglers trying to fish don’t have to compete with swimmers enjoying the water since 70 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

You might be surprised with a big trout at the end of your line. While most in-town lakes are wellstocked with catchables, a few get hatchery broodstockers, triploids and jumbos to spice up the action during season and at special fishing events. The author’s son Ryan shows off a nice one from Bradley Pond. (JASON BROOKS)

they are actually behind those fishing. The long pier also allows bankbound anglers to get out away from shore and fish deep waters where the fish will head when the weather heats up. You don’t have to worry about losing fish to weeds or trying to cast under trees. Shimmied in between I-5 and Highway 99, Angle Lake in SeaTac features the same kind of fishing pier at its public park. It received 3,000 rainbows in March.

SEATTLE’S GREEN LAKE is probably the most well-known and ideal urban water around. With a famous walking trail all the way around its 250 acres as well as the surrounding residential neighborhoods, shopping centers and, of course, coffee houses and cafés, the lake is truly one where you can go to enjoy a bit of nature in the city. Green offers several fishing docks, plenty of places to plunk from shore and sit on benches, boat rentals on its east side, and receives 21,400 rainbows planted between March and

May. Recent years have also seen a bonus Father’s Day plant. By summer, fishing slows down due to increasing water temps, weeds and all the paddle boarders cruising around. But in May, as this magazine’s editor who lives nearby will attest, it is a great place to slip away for a little while with the family to wet a line. Similar to Angle, Ballinger is pinched between the interstate and Highway 99 (as well as Highway 104), but it sits on the King-Snohomish County line. Public access to the 105-acre lake is primarily through the city of Mountlake Terrace’s park on the east side and which features a long fishing pier and a boat launch (gas motors not allowed). Open year-round, Ballinger receives 8,400 rainbows from March through May, so the fishing is good before the summer starts up. A picnic area, bathrooms and barbecue grills are available at the park, which is surrounded by a golf course ($24 for nine, $35 for 18 on weekends). The other access to the lake is on its west side, off 74th Ave. W., a sliver of land where cartoppers can be wrestled down to the water.

LYNNWOOD-MILL CREEK-Everett anglers have several options, including Martha. Not to be confused with the lake of the same name near Stanwood (Snohomish County’s founding fathers had three stock names for standing waters: Lost, Echo and Martha), this one’s 59 acres opened in late April after receiving 7,250 rainbows. Unlike most other Westside lakes it also gets a boost from 10,500 cutthroat fry in June, but due to heavy cormorant predation this lakes fishing can be hit or miss. Martha has a gravel WDFW access site with a boat launch while the county park next door has ample shore access, two fishing piers and what’s described as an “elaborate playground” for the kiddos. Silver Lake, just 5 miles north of Martha, is a special place to me as my

FISHING Providing urban fishing opportunities has long been a priority in Puget Sound, as this photo taken back in the day along Seattle’s favorite trail shows. (BICYCLING AND FISHING IN GREEN LAKE PARK, 1950, JOSEF SCAYLEA, GENERAL SUBJECTS PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION, 1845-2005, WASHINGTON STATE ARCHIVES, DIGITAL ARCHIVES, DIGITALARCHIVES.WA.GOV)

grandfather used to take me there when I visited in the summer. I remember fishing off of the sandy beach during one rainstorm and catching a rainbow that was a couple of pounds. With 589 triploids slated this year you have a chance at catching a big trout as well as filling your limit on catchable size ones too,

72 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

thanks to the 11,000 planted from March through May. Silver also has decent kokanee fishing in late summer. Float tubes and cartopper boats can be hand-launched at Hague Homestead Park, just off of Highway 527 along the lake’s northeast shore, and where there is also a fishing dock. Also, this side of the lake has a

trail and several docks. At the city of Everett’s Thornton A. Sullivan Park on the west side you will find bathrooms and play areas, including a swimming beach – just don’t expect to fish here like I did when I was a kid as it is heavily used by swimmers – as well as a fishing dock. And finally, Bellingham’s Padden Lake offers a lot of shore fishing access with a city park that includes a fishing dock and a launch for nonmotorized boats. The park also has a dog area and a nature walk trail to keep the kids or nonfishing family members interested in the outdoors. The 152-acre lake gets 21,500 catchable rainbows before it opens in late April and also sees releases of cutthroat fry as well as kokanee. With its variety of activities, including ball fields, hiking or walking trails, playground, picnic areas and a golf course, Padden is the sort of place where you can stay the entire day. These are just a few of the I-5 cor-

MAY 2014

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FISHING ridor’s urban lakes with public access and good fishing. Details on many more can be found on WDFW’s Fish Washington website (wdfw.wa.gov /fishing/washington).

ONCE YOU’VE DECIDED on a lake, fishing them can be pretty easy if you keep a few things in mind. Perhaps most importantly, as the waters warm, weeds begin to grow and can become the hardest part about fishing in these lakes. If you find yourself not catching anything but notice others around you are, take a look at the length of their leader. Most urban waters are shallow and grow weeds quite well. I start with a 3-foot leader on a sliding egg sinker. If I don’t get bites within a half an hour, I change to a 4-foot leader to get my bait above the weeds. It also helps to use floating baits such as Pautzke’s Fire Bait or Berkley’s PowerBait or Power Eggs. Another

74 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

trick is to use an injector needle or worm injector found at most tackle stores and fill a nightcrawler with air, allowing it to float. (You can also use it to inject the worm with scents if fishing one under a bobber.) Of course salmon eggs and marshmallows always work, but make sure to bring plenty of the latter as the kids tend to eat more than the fish. Once the weeds on the bottom are too thick or tall switch over to a simple bobber setup. Just make sure to use baits that will sink, such as a piece of prawn cured overnight in Fire Cure, or salmon eggs, which I like to soak in different bait scents. From shore, a standard 5- to 6-foot trout rod makes it easy to cast under and around trees or brush. I recommend using fairly strong mainline, up to 10-pound test, and 8-pound leaders. Even though you are mostly fishing for 10- to 12-inch trout, you might have to pull them through some grass or weeds.

From docks I’ll size down on line but go long on rod, breaking out my 81⁄2-foot 6-to-12-pound steelhead stick for longer casts. Make sure you take a long-handled net as you don’t want to lose that fish or go into the drink as you try and hoist it onto the dock. You don’t have to drive for hours to get away for a day’s fishing. Some of the best outdoor adventures can be found right inside the city you are trying to get away from. Pack up the car with picnic supplies, fishing gear and lawn chairs. Don’t forget the Frisbee and even the family pet and make a day out of going to a local park with the family for some great bonding time. Fish for a while, and when the kids get bored, head off to the playground or if they’re old enough, set a time to meet back up at the picnic table. Going fishing doesn’t mean you always have to get up early and fight for space at the boat launch. It can be as simple as heading across the city to the park. NS

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COLUMNS

Trout Season Hits The High Cascades I f I had to pick one lake where I’d be just about guaranteed to catch some nice trout and have some outstanding mountain views, it would be Lava Lake.

CENTRAL OREGON By Scott Staats

Most anglers have no problem catching their limit of five trout at this lake on the other side of Mt. Bachelor from Bend. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife stocks about 67,000 fingerlings each spring, most of them being Crane Prairie stock known as “Cranebows.” Those released last year should be about 10 to 12 inches long this season.

With South Sister in the background, an angler leisurely waits for a bite on Lava Lake. (SCOTT STAATS) MAY 2014

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COLUMNS

Browns grow plump at Wickiup Reservoir, where casting dragonfly nymph patterns or trolling big plugs can sometimes yield stout Teutonic trout. (SCOTT STAATS) There are usually a good number of holdovers in the high 20-inch range, although most fish average 10 to 15 inches. These fish are pretty feisty and aggressive to any fly that has peacock in it, and either stripped on an intermediate sink line or wind-drifted is a sure bet. Suggested patterns include Zug Bugs, Prince Nymphs and Woolly Buggers. A standard 5-weight, 9-foot rod works well with an intermediate sinking line. For spinfishing, the best success comes on PowerBait or worms and marshmallow. This technique floats the worm about 3 to 5 feet off the bottom, just above the weeds, since the fish tend to concentrate in the deeper, cooler water. Another successful method is meal worms and a bobber near shore. Some anglers troll small spoons or spinners and a worm. Lava Lake Lodge (541-382-9443) offers a full-hookup RV park, boat rentals and moorage, full-service grocery store and tackle shop, gas, propane, showers and laundry. TO THE SOUTH, Wickiup Reservoir adds brown trout to the angling menu. Its fish can be a little finicky this time of year, but one of the best ways to catch them in the Deschutes Arm of the reservoir is by using dragonfly nymphs. For those interested in catching big browns, try trolling early and 78 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

late in the day with lures such as Rapalas in the main part of the reservoir and in the Deschutes and Davis Arms. Trout will also hit worms, PowerBait and a variety of flies. For kokanee, troll with typical kokanee gear or try jigging. Bass hit plugs and plastic worms or grubs. Target them near the dam and around wood structures. According to ODFW, Wickiup has natural production of both kokanee and redbands. For brown trout, the state has been stocking about 6,000 fingerlings each year. To increase your chances, get a two-rod license for $17. This validation allows anglers to fish with two rods or lines on standing water bodies, which include lakes, ponds and reservoirs. For more information on access and fishing at Wickiup (as well as Lava) call Twin Lakes Resort (twinlakesresort.net). The resort posts photographs of large trout taken from local waters. FOR STREAM ANGLERS, the 10-mile Fall River is born from crystal-clear springs and flows at a fairly constant temperature and level most of the year. The clear water can provide challenging fly fishing. You can see the fish, but they can also see you. The best place to start is at the Fall River Hatchery. This time of year there are usually always midges on the river. Small black stoneflies can also be present. A good set-

up for Fall River is a 3- to 4-weight rod with a 7½-foot leader and 6X tippet. Anglers have luck on nymphs and dry flies. Any small, dark pattern in size 18 to 20 will work. Other options include dark midge patterns in size 18 or 20, little black stoneflies in 18 or 20, black caddis size 16, scuds about size 12 or 14, egg patterns and leeches. An average-sized rainbow in the section by the hatchery is about 10 to 12 inches. Some larger trout can be found near the headwaters. The upper section of river can be more challenging, as there are more downed logs in the river and more trees on the banks. Rainbows and brook trout can be found throughout the entire river, browns can be caught from the hatchery downstream, and whitefish and occasional kokanee can be found below the falls. Browns up to 30 inches are possible and rainbows in the 5and 6-pound range have also been caught. That said, you don’t necessarily fish Fall River to catch big ones. Most people do it for the challenge and to improve their style of fishing. The entire river is fly fishing only with barbless hooks and a limit of two trout per day. Upstream of the falls is open the entire year. The river downstream of the falls opens May 24. WELL DOWNSTREAM, MAY means only one thing on the lower Deschutes: the famous salmonfly hatch. Water temperatures will determine when the hatch begins, but usually midmonth is a good time to head out. Most years the hatch will last into at least mid-June. The golden stone hatch is not far behind the salmonfly hatch and can also last well into June. During the salmonfly hatch, the banks of the river crawl with these 2-inch-long bugs, which are a tasty feast for hungry redside rainbows that are at their spawning peak. You don’t need a lot of finesse; just slap your fly hard on the water and wait for the exciting strike of a fat redside. Short, precise casts along the bank under trees or other heavy cover are your best bet. This is where the trout hang out, awaiting the bugs to drop in the water. NS

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MAY 2014

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FISHING Dent Bridge will be the site of good kokanee fishing this month. (TERRI RORKE, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS)

‘Buzzin’’ For Dworshak Kokanee From his Everclear-dipped corn to trolling speed and more, how expert John ‘Buzz’ Nanninga and son fish the big reservoir. By John Black

OROFINO, Idaho—It isn’t often a clueless rookie gets a chance to learn from the master, so when John “Buzz” Nanninga invited me to go fishing with he and his son Cliff, I jumped at the offer. We were going to Dworshak Reservoir for kokanee, an especially exciting opportunity because Buzz is considered to be the local guru for the species. He began fishing this manmade lake when it opened in 1973 and now spends 20 to 30 days a year mastering kokanee techniques here. Dworshak is also a highly respected smallmouth bass lake – the past two Idaho state records have been caught

here – and crappie and trout are also present in good numbers. But the Nanningas prefer the delicious-tasting landlocked sockeye salmon. So it was that the fish also known as blueback was the target of the day as we left Lewiston for the lake. During the 60-minute drive and our breakfast stop, we exchanged fishing tales, with special emphasis on Buzz’s annual salmon trip to Alaska. He and Cliff are also avid goose hunters and it is fun to hear their experiences. Buzz is vibrant and agile, and I was a bit in awe when I learned he is 87 years old and that he and his equally dynamic wife Patty had just celebrated their 65th anniversary.

Over the years Buzz has seen the kokanee population go up and down, including a spike in 2010 thanks to ongoing nutrient suplementation efforts, and this year and next should see particularly good fishing. State fishery managers say that last season saw around 143,000 2-year-olds in the reservoir in July, and this July may see a quarter million. Even better, 2013’s fry estimate of 4 million could turn into “considerably more fish” next season – and all the more reason to follow Buzz’s advice.

DWORSHAK HAS SIX boat ramps and we launched at Big Eddy, the nearest one to the dam. As we prepared the boat, MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 81

FISHING

Cliff reminded me that there are three ways to do things: the right way, the wrong way, and Buzz’s way. Today, as is always the case, we were doing things Buzz’s way. Buzz has a trademark “Captain’s Chair” that has been recovered a time or two but is the epitome of comfort and experience. Cliff was at the helm and Buzz was in the chair when the lessons began with a discussion of handling a hookup. One of the challenges of kokanee fishing is landing the fish. They have very soft mouths, and those that are hooked in the side of the mouth are often lost. It is impossible to totally eliminate this, but the Nanningas have a 82 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

couple of techniques that help. First, they use 10-foot-6 light-actions rods to minimize resistance when a kokanee hits the bait. Once the fish is hooked, Buzz prefers a slow, smooth retrieve. Some kokanee fishermen believe in “horsing” to minimize the time the fish is in the water. They feel this ups their land rate. Buzz rejects this and his method worked very well for us. Sometimes kokanee are tightly schooled, and when the bite is on, staying over the school can produce several fish in a very short period of time. But sometimes it seems they need to be targeted one by one, and there can be lengthy downtimes between bites. Kokanee feed on plankton and

mysis shrimp, and when you find an area where there is a good presence of bait, the fish will be present in good numbers. But Dworshak is a big lake and the fish move at will from one spot to another, so finding them can be a challenge. Also, there is an almost a daily variance in depth. This is where experience pays off and Buzz and Cliff call on their years of local knowledge to hit spots that have been productive in the past. They also trust their fish finder, though this is never foolproof. Kokanee are attackers and often you will have fish on though the finder is otherwise blank. That is because the fish attract from distances outside the scope of the finder’s range of

FISHING vision. Buzz explains there are also predictable trends of migration that must be considered. Normally, the southern part of the reservoir near the dam is the most productive early in the year. When we fished in mid-March for this article we actually started right at the dam and then went a bit further north around Indian Creek later in the day. As the season progresses, the fish will move slowly but surely uplake, towards their spawning grounds. Therefore, areas around Dent Bridge see more action in May while waters further north are most productive in July and August. Water temperature also plays a big role. When we fished, the lake was an icy 39.5 degrees. By midsummer, it will get up to about 65 degrees. This means the fish will tend to be shallower in spring and gradually deeper as water temps rise. But even with these factors in play, finding the schools can be difficult and Buzz is not afraid to move frequently to find a productive spot. So, part of Buzzin’ is taking boat rides to find where the fish are biting.

THERE ARE HUNDREDS of kokanee lures and attractors on the market. Some of the lures are fished by themselves but even more are fished behind dodgers or multi-bladed attractors. Buzz has tried many through the years, but prefers a St. Maries Special from the Blue Goose Tackle Shop (208-2454015) in St. Maries. These have a ¼ inch between the bend of the top hook and the eye of the trailing hook. Buzz uses a 2-ounce weight and a 4- to 6-inch rubber snubber with Jack Lloyd attractors. This provides a perfect combination of attention-grabbing spin and sustaining a hookup because of the stretch of the snubber. Buzz, like most kokanee anglers, has tried different baits, including “a smorgasboard” consisting of a piece of corn, a maggot and a salmon egg on each hook. He has settled on a single piece of corn on each of his double 84 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

hooks. This is an important element of Buzzing. He buys only white shoepeg corn and takes great care to make it baitworthy. He washes the kernels until all the mush and oil is eliminated. Then he treats them with Everclear alcohol to help firm them up. After that careful preparation, you better believe that Buzz is an advocate of properly placing the corn on the hook; doing it improperly will draw a rebuke, which I know from personal experience. Best results are obtained when the kernels are mounted on the hook so that the open end of the kernel points away from the hook and leader. This takes a bit of practice but even a rookie can do it after a few goofs. Buzzin’ does not include the use of downriggers. Buzz figures the time spent setting and changing them can be better spent using multiple rods with linecounters and varying depths. This was certainly true the day we fished as the three of us used five rods (Idaho offers a second-pole permit for $13.75) and had them all in the water and actively fishing within seconds of every spot change. Trolling speed is also important. Basically, Buzz and Cliff believe in a slow troll, especially in cold water, but sometimes fish are more active and a faster troll will get the best results. The key is to vary speed until you lock on to what’s working on that particular day. This can be from .9 to 1.4 mph. Once you find the right combination of speed and depth, you are Buzzin’!

KOKANEE BITE ALL day, year-round at Dworshak, so when to fish is more a matter of personal comfort than catching a narrow feeding window. They can be caught as early as February, but the water is cold and the fish are less aggressive. They are also small that time of year. The fish grow rapidly as summer nears, so April’s 9-inchers will be 12 or even 13 inches in July. They will also be more aggressive when the water warms up, so your chance to catch a nice string

Buzz Nanninga (above) prefers a St. Maries Special spinner (top), and stresses bait prep and placement. He uses white shoepeg corn cleaned and dipped in Everclear. Best results are obtained when the kernels are mounted on the hook so that the open end of the kernel points away from the hook and leader. (JOHN BLACK)

of these tasty fish is at its best in the May-July timeframe. By mid-August, the season is over as the fish are on the spawning grounds and turning red. Summer days here are generally hot, so most people prefer fishing in the morning. Also, the wind is more likely to blow in the afternoons and this complicates trolling at the slow speeds you need to be successful. Another factor is boat traffic. In the summer, especially on weekends, the reservoir is loaded with boats zipping hither and yon and the noise spooks fish and curbs the bite. As noise increases, the fish will go deeper and deeper and finding them becomes more difficult. All of this means you should be on the water as early as possible while the temperature is cool and the water skiers are still sleeping.

FISHING DWORSHAK IS A wonderful place for a family vacation. The countryside is beautiful and the recreational opportunities are numerous. The Army Corps of Engineers (corpslakes. usace.army.mil/visitors/visitors.cfm) and Idaho State Parks (parksandrecreation.idaho.gov) websites detail campsites, which range from secluded to full service with all the amenities. There are boat and jet ski rentals available, and the hiking and biking trails are abundant too. Plus, if you practice Buzzin’, you will catch fish. And when you catch them, you are in for a treat, especially if you cook them the Nanninga way. This calls for seasoning them to your taste and then sticking them in the microwave with a little water to prevent curling. The rule of thumb is four fish on high for four minutes. No muss, no fuss and absolutely delicious. Now you’re really buzzin’! NS

IT’S CLEAR, THIS LAKE’S GOOD FOR KOKANEE TOO! Well to the west of Dworshak Reservoir, Clear Lake in eastern Pierce County, Wash., is where you’ll find kokanee angler-tackle maker Toni Pollock-Bozarth as well as myself this month. We start off searching for the fish at midlake, which is the deepest area. I simply start on the outside of the center of where it starts to get deep, around 60 feet, and then do circles like a spiral, making each pass a little closer to the center. Once I find the fish, I target that area and depth. Pollock-Bozarth changes the depth she’s fishing every 15 to 20 minutes and her gear every half hour until she finds the combination that works. For tackle, she uses a dodger, preferring one by Dick Nite in what she calls a “splatter” color, and then behind it, she ties on one of her specialty

lures, a Wannafish A Lure Pink Splatter Squiddy Thing that includes the Mack’s Lure pink squid that noted Eastern Washington guide Shane Magnuson also uses. The whole outfit then gets a heavy dousing of scent – Pollock-Bozarth’s favorites are anise, garlic or Dick Nite’s DNA – and the hooks are tipped with either maggots or shoepeg corn. Clear is best fished both early in the day and season. As summer comes on the water skiers and inner tubers like this lake as it is surrounded by summer homes. Fish from sunrise to about 9 a.m. and you shouldn’t have an issue with the speed demons. That said, early on, the best time to fish this lake is midmorning. There is ample parking at the state boat ramp in Clear’s northwestern corner, off Highway 161 south of Puyallup, and which also features a toilet. –JASON BROOKS

MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 85

FISHING

BEATIN’ Black And Blue

Rockfish suspend above a reef off Three Arch Rocks near Garibaldi. (ANDY SCHNEIDER)

Tips for catching the plentiful rockfish, lingcod along the Oregon Coast By Andy Schneider

DEPOE BAY—The North Pacific provides a very unique fishery, one that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Its cold waters are home to nearshore rockfish. Go on a bottomfishing trip in the Hawaiian Islands or South Pacific and you will likely catch many of the characters from Finding Nemo, but very few edible species. Bottomfishing in the Atlantic and Gulf waters for grouper and hind is so heavily regulated that it’s not a worthy pursuit. But here in the Northwest, we can harvest multiple tasty species a day, all a short run from any port on our coast. And Oregon’s and Washington’s is a dramatic one, with steep cliffs that drop straight into the sea, pinnacles that stand on their own against the constant beatings of the ocean, and lots of rocky peninsulas that jut defiantly into the Pacific. What makes our coastline so scenic also provides superb fishing that begins right offshore. What could be better or more unique than enjoying the sights of our shore while fishing for thriving rockfish over rugged terrain that extends well into the depths of the ocean?

BLACK, BLUE AND China rockfish range from Alaska’s Cook Inlet to Southern California and do well on our shallow-

water reefs. They can almost always be found suspended over that structure, sunken pinnacles, jetties, steep dropoffs and dense kelp beds. There, they’re mostly concerned with feeding and will not often turn down a wellpresented meal in the shape of a swimbait, diamond jig or curl-tailed grub. These rockfish will also school up and aggressively feed on the surface when schools of baitfish swim past the reefs. You can, of course, begin to figure out where bottom structure is without losing a bunch of jigs first by using the chart plotter function of your marine electronics, oldschool National Oceanic & Atmospheric Admininistration charts/maps and – more and more popular – apps on your tablet or smartphone. Plug promising structure waypoints into your plotter and verify that they don’t fall outside of a fathom-line restriction area or inside a marine reserve. Once on the water, motor in on potential hot spots from the downcurrent side, paying attention to your angling electronics to see what depth the rockfish are suspending at. Another advantage to this stealthy approach is being able to spot any fish actively feeding on the surface or downcurrent from the reef. Oftentimes a school of anchovies, herring or candlefish will drift past a reef, pulling the entire reef population with it. If you have a lot of tidal push, make sure to position the boat far enough upcurrent to allow your lures to drop to the reef before you drift off of fish-holding structure. MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 87

FISHING While a strong current may be difficult to fish in, the action is usually very good. Since rockfish don’t have time to examine your offerings, they will attack aggressively before their “prey” drifts away. When you have a strong current, bump your lure weight up and slowly back into the current with the boat, to allow more time over the reef. As you’re drifting over the reef, pay attention to what depth you are marking fish. When utilizing a linecounter reel, the ever-popular 18- to 24-inch pulls, or guestimation, drop your lures to the depth that the fish are holding at. One sure way to have a slow day on the reef is to take the word “bottomfishing” too much to heart when the fish are actually suspending above it 20, 30 or 40 feet. When you are dropping your lures, make sure to pay attention that your bait is, indeed, still plummeting. Many times suspended rockfish will pick up a lure, just feet below the surface, confusing many anglers about whether their reel has suddenly stopped working. When this happens to you, reel fast till you feel resistance, then set the hook! Diamond jigs and shrimp flies are the lures of choice for these rockfish species. Three- and 4-ounce jigs are the most common for our shallow reefs, but having heavier jigs onboard will ensure that you can still fish when the current is strong. Tie one or two dropper knots above your diamond jig at 20 and 30 inches, then slip a shrimp fly into the dropper knot. Most diamond jigs come with a treble or double hook on the bottom of the jig, but those can make the lure prone to snagging on the reef. Swapping out the tail hook to a single or double-assist hook on the top of the jig, while an expensive initial investment, will pay off quickly with saved jigs.

LINGCOD, LIKE ROCKFISH, are found from the Gulf of Alaska to Baja California, occupying all depths this side of the continental shelf. But instead of suspending, lings tend to sit tight to, and often inside of, rocky structure where they can ambush their prey. Even with the newest CHIRP sonar technology, you won’t be able to spot one. It’s best to simply pursue these beasts where they are close to a food source and have structure to hide in: reefs, jetties and any other structure that offers a rocky crevice or cranny for them to hide in. Position your boat directly over the reef and lower your bait to bottom and bounce it. While I just wrote not to do that for rockfish, it’s almost a necessity to get a lingcod’s attention. Once you get a bite, set the hook quickly and pull the fish away from its lair. Legal-sized lingcod are much larger than your average rockfish – indeed, they didn’t get that size by eating small baitfish or tiny shrimp! True predators, they like large meals. A blue-, purple- or black-label herring on a mooching rig is very effective for luring one out of hiding. 90 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

The reefs around Three Arch Rocks, which rise out of the Pacific off Garibaldi, are a good spot for bottomfish, but be aware that the seasonal bird-nesting closure is in effect this time of year. (ANDY SCHNEIDER)

ROCKIN’ ROCKFISH SPOTS Oftentimes, the farther from port a spot is, the higher the quality of fish. If you’ve got the boat, fuel and good weather for it, high points, small reefs and rocky structure 10 miles or more from harbor can see substantially lower pressure. But there’s also a reason closer-in spots can see lots of boats: they’re fishy. Here are some starting spots: Hammond/Ilwaco: The sunken end of the South Jetty holds a large population of lingcod and black rockfish. But pay close attention to the tides here as you will be fishing in the middle of that little rip known as the Columbia River Bar. Going south towards Gearhart will reveal bottom structure that is easier and safer to fish. Garibaldi: Three Arch Rocks offers lots of reefs in 40- to 150-foot depths 6 miles south of the Tillamook Bay jetties. While there is a 500-foot seasonal closure from May 1st to September 15th around the rocks to protect nesting birds, it shouldn’t limit your fishing because of the number of reefs in this area. Depoe Bay: Government Point just offshore from the viewpoint north of the self-proclaimed “world’s smallest harbor” is a popular starting point for bottomfishermen, but gets fished heavily since it’s such a short run from the harbor. Going north towards the mouth of the Siletz River off jettyless Lincoln City you’ll find less-fished reefs and higher quality fish. Newport: There are so many reefs in the 8 miles of water between the Yaquina Head Lighthouse and Seal Rock that it would be difficult to fish them all in a weekend. Pay attention to your fish-finder and find where the schools of fish are holding. Again, usually the farther from port you get, the more plentiful are the fish. –AS

FISHING A 4- or 6-ounce banana weight with a 3-foot leader of 25pound test with two 5/0 hooks is one of the most effective setups. When you catch a small kelp greenling, rig it onto your mooching rig instead of herring (make sure to remember to count the greenling as part of your bottomfish limit). When sending down the bait, you might not get an aggressive bite. Instead, you may only feel additional weight on your line. This means a ling has latched onto your greenling. Slowly and steadily start your retrieve and get someone ready with a net. As soon as the bait and hitchhiker come to the surface and you try and lift the lingcod out of the water, it will release its grasp on the greenling, so you must be fast. Baitfish-mimicking swimbaits also work well, but don’t skimp when it comes to buying them. Avoid the pawed-over bargain pile and instead look to the end caps where Berkley, Fishtrap and Big Hammer Swimbaits are sold. A 3- or 4-ounce jig head will get your swimbaits in front of a rockfish. There is a simple joy to bottomfishing that can be easily shared amongst friends and family from a charter or private boat. Hooking multiple, hard-fighting fish and coming home with extraordinary table fare is reason enough to venture offshore, but conquering the unknown deep is something that will keep you venturing offshore again and again. Because you never quite know what you could hook into when you drop your bait into the fertile Pacific. NS

92 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

ORE. COAST ANGLERS CATCH ROCKFISH FROM CALIF.

This black rockfish swam at least 606 miles between its tagging last August off Monterey, Calif., and landing by an angler aboard Newport’s Gracie K in March. (YAQUINA BAY CHARTERS)

Add another fish to the list of highly migratory species – sort of. While most black rockfish are home bodies, researchers this past winter said that two tagged off Central California went for 570- and 606-mile swims north to Depoe Bay and Newport where they were landed by sport anglers. An important fishing stock, the species has been studied by several West Coast agencies. WDFW found that 75 percent of black rockfish its scientists tagged moved 6 miles or less from their release location, but that 2 percent moved 60 miles or more. Maps show many dispersing around the Washington Coast and some to the north Oregon Coast, but one swam from roughly Neah Bay south to Newport. Black rocks are among the species that ODFW is recruiting volunteer anglers to catch inside and outside marine reserves during eight-hour trips out of Port Orford, Newport, Depoe and Garibaldi this spring and coming fall. To help out, call (541) 867-7701 ext. 241. –NWS

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96 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

FISHING

Overlooked Bottomfish Anglers finding rockfish, lings over ‘relatively mundane’ features out of Westport. By Jeff Holmes

WESTPORT—Crunchy, crispy, juicy, savory, salty, and sweet – good fish and chips is a quintessential Northwest food. Fish bought from the store can be good – sort of – but the best fillets are freshly caught. May is a great time to begin thinking about bagging some Pacific rockfish and lingcod from Northwest ports for your family fish fries, but not from every port. In the not-too-distant past, one could catch a variety of tasty Pacific bottomfish species throughout Puget Sound, but today, whether you eat at Ivar’s on the Seattle Waterfront or at a gourmet restaurant up the hill, the fish you’re chomping on did not swim in Elliott Bay. Rockfish, lingcod, halibut, true cod and other Pacific bottomfish used to thrive in the sound, but their numbers have declined dramatically over recent decades. Conservation efforts are underway to stabilize stocks, which means limited fishing for lings in Puget Sound and zero fishing for rockfish. Long gone are the days of successful fishing from hotel windows on the waterfront and of bottomfishing charters operating out of Tacoma and Seattle. Thankfully the state of fisheries is far more stable along the Pacific Coast in Washington’s Marine Areas 1 (Ilwaco), 2 (Westport), 3 (La

An angler prepares to cast his bait again to hopefully add to this haul off Westport. (ANDREW MORAVEC)

Push), and 4 (Neah Bay). Here, black and yellowtail rockfish, aka “rock cod,” are delicious and abundant and waiting to be caught. Stillgenerous daily bag limits (seven in

Oregon and 10 in Washington) and a bonus of up to two lingcod a day allow for a substantial haul of ultrafresh, firm, white fillets. Rockfish and lingcod meat is in prime condiMAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 97

FISHING tion during the early season of May and June and declines noticeably as waters warm. Especially in this warm-water El Niño year, it’s a good idea to harvest an early supply of fillets for the Northwest’s best fish and chips and all of your favorite white fish recipes. If you’ve never been bottomfishing or have never eaten same-day-caught rockfish and lingcod, it’s one of the quintessential Northwest sporting – and dining – experiences.

THE SOUTHERN ENTRANCE to Grays Harbor is the closest bottomfishing port to Pugetropolis, and is also less than three hours from Portland. The waters off Westport are home to vast schools of black rockfish, strong populations of lingcod, and large midwater schools of extra-tasty yellowtail rockfish. Familes from around the Northwest have come to Westport for generations to stock up on fillets, and the easy-to-get-to port is still churning out limits for good skippers on most days. This is especially true during the early season, when more and larger fish occupy the jetty and the rocky patches and small reefs to the north of Grays Harbor, fishing grounds that have drawn Westport’s bottomfishing fleet for decades. For much of that fishing history, most boats in the harbor were big party vessels equipped to take out 16 to 24 of your closest friends, and those big boys are still present and fill a valuable niche at the best prices in the harbor. Today there are other, sportier options worthy of consideration and a little more cost for a better experience. As has always been the case for our tyee-landing friends to the north in British Columbia, smaller charter boats are becoming increasingly popular in ports in Washington and Oregon. Smaller crews usually mean more individual attention and more flexibility in fishing options, plus less chance of 98 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

Capt. Mark Coleman, who has pineered daytrippin’ for albacore, battles a nearshore bottomfish to the net. (ALLWASHINGTONFISHING.COM)

exposure to jackasses on a big boat of random passengers. Today I always opt for a smallboat experience over a big party boat. After years of thinking I was more succeptible to seasickness than I actually am, I had a breakthrough several years ago when I realized sucking diesel fumes from big, oldschool charter boats was mostly what was making me sick. Where did I set up on each of the many bottomfishing trips I’d taken out of Westport and elsewhere over the years? Right in the stern, home to belching diesel fumes. So I learned to fish the side rails or bow when in diesel boats, but my preference these days is to avoid the craft altogether by fishing on a faster, more modern boat. I’m a big fan of twin four-stroke engines and short run times. All Rivers and Saltwater Charters (allwashingtonfishing.com) has

made a name for itself as perhaps the Northwest’s sportiest and most successful tuna fishing outfit, and Capt. Mark Coleman brings the same philosophies to his Westport bottomfishing trips. Instead of lugging and chugging for two hours or more to the fishing grounds at 12 knots, Coleman’s Defiance Guadalupes (he has two: the Reel Tight and the Reel Ultra) rocket to the tuna grounds at 27 knots. These fast, stable, shallow-drafting craft allow his anglers safe access to waters as shallow as 10 feet deep, places the big boats couldn’t possibly fish. Faster boats also mean later departure times and faster runs back to the harbor, usually with limits of rockfish and lings Coleman’s deck hand will fillet and bag for a minimal charge.

MARINE AREA 2 does not resemble Areas 3 and 4 to the north at all,

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FISHING notes Coleman, both in terms of bottom composition and in length of runs to good fishing. If you leave the harbors at La Push or Neah Bay, within a short run or paddle anyone with decent electronics can find distinctive rock pinnacles and humps that hold bottomfish. But as Coleman puts it, “If you took that approach in Area 2, you’d never stop to fish. Ninety percent of our spots look relatively mundane, but a slightly different bottom composition holds the fish – maybe a field of small boulders, something pretty indistinct. This makes bottomfishing out of Westport tougher for a lot of private boaters, and definitely underscores why the best possible electronics make a big difference.” Black rockfish are especially abundant out of Westport, and they can reach up to 8 pounds. Last year as a client reeled in a very large 6-

pound rockfish, the boat’s biggest ling of 2013 chomped ahold and was deftly gaffed by Coleman before its head broke the surface. The surest way to piss off a ling and start it thrashing is to expose its head to the sea air. He notes he doesn’t intentionally use big rockfish as his magic 40-pounder bait, but it happens accidentally, and also intentionally, albeit with smaller live baits. Utilizing the bait tanks on his tuna boats, Coleman will add a few kelp greenling or small rockfish to the tank to chase large lings with live bait, one of my favorite methods of fishing.

COLEMAN AND CREW are good at finding fish and excellent at providing a sporty fishing experience. For rockfish, they use medium-weight Okuma Reflexion spinning rods and Okuma RTX reels spooled with

TUF-Line. These light setups consistently bring in lings too, and even occasional nearshore halibut. Using spinning reels allows Coleman to have his clients cast swimbaits to shallow-water rockfish and fish schooling near the surface. Some rockfish species remain plastered to the reefs of the Pacific, but blacks suspend at all depths from time to time and can be taken on topwater gear. Later this spring I’ll tag along on a commercial small dory trip out of Pacific City with fishing-shop owner Marshall Stickrod (stickrodbaits.com) of Otis, Ore., who even uses topwater gear in his commercial presentations. Lingcod are much less likely to suspend than black rockfish. They make a living hiding in ambush amongst the rocks on the ocean floor. Coleman uses one-piece 8foot Okuma SST rods and Coldwater reels to present heavier offerings in deeper water for lings, and once they’re in the box for the morning, he and his deckhand stash the heavy SSTs and run toward the beach for light-action rockfish fun.

A BOTTOMFISHING TRIP out of Westport adds up to one of the least expensive and most delicious hauls of fish available in Northwest waters. As a bonus, May’s close-in halibut fishery presents anglers with a good shot at a bonus flatsider. Several of Coleman’s clients got lucky last year before the meager 2,000-pound nearshore quota was exhausted. Halibut are wonderful, but black rockfish are too and are often overlooked because people don’t bleed their fish, which renders pink fillets infused with blood. Yuck. Properly cared for, black rockfish are amazing fish that make real-deal Northwest fish and chips, as do lingcod. Lings may be even better grilled, baked, or butter-poached and are almost too good to fry. Almost. NS

100 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

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Northwest Sportsman 101

102 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

COLUMNS

Mr. Barn Door H

ooking a huge halibut d u r i n g Washington’s short inside season is any angler’s dream come true, and for Ryley Fee it’s hapWESTSIDER pened twice in the By Tim Bush past four years. A hard-core angler, the first of Fee’s slabs, caught in May 2010, was a heavyweight champion weighing in at 225 pounds, and his most recent catch, landed last May, was also monster-sized, at 180 pounds. So how does this guy whose online persona – Sky-Guy – is tied more to the river fishing world do it? I sat down with him over beers to find out. “People use a whole bunch of lures and bait types, but I think herring catches the most halibut,” says the Woodinville-based fisherman. “I take a horse herring right out of the package and rig it to spin just like a cutplug, placing the front hook so it’s jacked 90 degrees and tying the trailing hook alongside the herring with Miracle Thread, making it bomb proof. I think a spinning bait gives it more action and contrast. Slide a 6- to 10inch Silver Horde green glo, red glo or all-glo hoochie over the front hook and herring head. Not having a static presentation is key to halibut fishing, especially with a large horse herring.” Each spring, as Fee transitions from chasing wild winter steelhead to saltwater pursuits, he spools up with 80-pound mainline and ties 24-inch leaders with two 9/0 Gamakatsu Big River hooks spaced 6 to 10 inches apart, depending on the bait. “I tie up to a weighted spreader bar with heavier weights depending on the current and depth. It’s important in order to drift over the bottom straight up and down for less hang-ups in the immediate vicinity of the bottom,” he says. Adding a ball-bearing swivel between leader and spreader helps large lures twist

before they hit or leave structure. If current does get too quick, back-trolling into it will keep you fishing longer during a strong tide and keep blowback to a minimum.” As for where to fish, he will “look for structure with ridges and dropoffs, with sand and mud next to a ridge or dropoff, along edges of structure.” Keying on 100- to 180-foot-deep water, he will hit up all the popular spots in northern Area 9, eastern Area 6 and the south side of Area 7, including Hein, McCurdy, Protection Island and Dallas Banks. “I want to be clear,” adds Fee, “For big ones, don’t be afraid to look off the beaten path for water that has the right depth and some structure.”

Ryley Fee poses with his 180-pound halibut from last season while his 225 from 2010 lies on the deck. They’re among the largest flatsiders caught out of the eastern Strait in recent Mays. (RYLEY FEE) and spin, especially in deep currents. “Maximize your fishing time on the water by being fully prepared before your trip,” says Fee. “That means all leaders/rigging ready to go. Bring an extra rod in case you have a backlash or gear issue so you don’t have any downtime.” “NEXT THING ‘HOW’ is how you run your boat,” he says. “Have the captain constantly call out depth changes so your fishermen and -women know to retrieve or let line out

FURTHER WEST IN the Straits is where you’ll find Mike Jamboretz (jambossportfishing.com), but he recently ducked back inside to speak at a SnoKing Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers meeting. “During winter, these fish come up shallow where they spawn and the big fish just stay there. Out to Tatoosh, Table Top and Swiftsure Bank is good. Halibut fishing is mainly done on the Canadian side of Swiftsure, so have a Canadian license. Look for humps and structure, which have a lot of fish,” he tips. He continued with good techniques. “If current is going towards structure, don’t fish that forward side or ledge. Start on top and bounce down. Rocky structure usually is ling and rock cod territory; sandy is when you usually find halibut,” he says. “Keep multiple lines on one side of the boat – the side that lures fall away from the boat – and have everybody drop at the same time together and hit bottom at the same time. Fish two different color lines so you are able to tell guys’ lines apart. Don’t jig too high or too much. Find that bottom, take up the slack and then feel the bottom with your rod horizontal against the rail and just lift and tap, lift and tap. Don’t let it drag; you’ll get hung up. You’ll catch more fish if you are making MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 103

the lure swim.” Where Fee likes herring, Jambo’s tackle box will be stocked with B2 squid and prescented Berkley Power Bait single-tail grubs in deepwater colorations, and pipe jigs – copper piping filled with lead. “Two dissimilar metals in saltwater creates a slight voltage which seems to work,” notes Jamboretz. “Twelve-ought hooks are easier for releasing fish because of the larger gap.” Whether fishing inside or outside waters, if the fish aren’t biting, try elsewhere. “Don’t keep pounding dead water. If two drifts don’t produce, move on,” Fee tips. AS FOR LANDING huge halibut, take it from a guy who’s lifted a minimum of 400 pounds of flatsider off the bottom the past few Mays. “You want to make a lot of short gains,” says Fee. “Lift up, then reel.” Then there’s securing the catch. “Use a flying gaff (spear with a detachable tip) for fish over 100 pounds,” he says. “Ensure the fish’s head doesn’t break surface before you harpoon or gaff it. Once the spear is through, there’s potential for the fish to thrash and they will always dive hard right after harpooning so have your drag loose! After being subdued by the side of the boat, gaff it first, then take two mooring lines and hog tie the tail with a slip knot and tie off to a cleat. It’s wise to have two gaffs and two guys holding the fish with gaffs. That’s a pretty good handle on it. Take a stout knife and cut the gills.” On Jambo’s Malia Kai, they gaff most fish, aiming their 3-inch spikes for the stomach. “Gaff them before they hit the surface,” instructs the skipper. “Use two gaffs for a big fish and flop it in the boat upside down. They get confused – brown side up, that’s the way they swim. Whack them in the head a few times. With a harpoon, be selective where you put it in the fish and use ¼-inch poly rope hooked to a cable connected to the point.” Fee prefers to subdue the fish with a double tap of .45-caliber hollowpoints. “Works perfect! After that, let it die, making sure it’s dead before bringing a huge halibut aboard,” he says. Oh, and one more thing: “On these two big fish, they’ve both been caught after 2 p.m. We didn’t give up! Even on a slow day we grinded through it. Halibut bite all day long. They are ambush opportunists and are gonna eat the first thing they see. The early bird doesn’t always catch the worm.” NS

SEASONS Marine Area 1: Opens May 1 for Thurs.-Sun fishing until 80 percent of quota landed; nearshore fishery opens May 5 for Mon.-Weds. fishing. Area 2: Opens May 4 for Sun., Tues. fishing for three consecutive weeks, closed May 25, 27; if quota remains, reopens the following Sun. and/or Tues.; north104 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

ern nearshore fishery opens May 4, continues until quota reached. Areas 3, 4: Opens May 15 for Thurs., Sat. fishing through May 24; possible June 5 or 7 reopener. Area 5: May 22-25, 29-31, and June 7. Areas 6-10: May 9-10, 17, 2225, 29-31, and June 7. Areas 11-13: Closed.

Puget Sound Lingcod! The long winter is over and so is the wait! Lingcod season is finally here and while the season is only a month and a half short, the action can be fast and furious! These jewels of the deep are not only some of the hardest fighting game fish around; some would also crown them the creme de la creme in terms of table quality. Karl, who is a proud owner of a 26’ Wooldridge Pilothouse, is versed on the intricacies of what it takes to put large lings in the box. “When it comes to lingcod fishing, you want to look for structure like rock ledges and reefs. Sharp drop-offs are the best.” Lings won’t lay over sand, so a good GPS sounder is a must. Jigs in the 4- to 6-ounce range will produce but live sand dabs on a mooching leader and dropper seem to outproduce everything else.

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These toothy predators are bottom dwellers, so make sure you have enough lead to get down in the strong currents. Once the bottom is felt, give your reel a few cranks and allow the sand dab to swim. If you happen upon a wiley ling, hang on! Areas 5-11 will be open but Areas 8-10 are top producers. To conserve numbers of these prized fish, a one ling limit between 26 and 36 inches is imposed on anglers this year. Fishing is limited to depths of 120 feet or shallower and hooks must be barbless. Always refer to the official WDFW website for emergency regulation changes. Have fun out there!

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106 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

COLUMNS

Back-up Spots For Weathered-out ’Buts

he basic rule for this month’s halibut fishery is By Doug Huddle don’t put off ’til tomorrow an inside flattie trip if you can do it today. That’s, of course, if it’s an open day, you really want halibut steaks or cheeks, and don’t want take a road trip to the coast or Canada to get them. Just 10 days in May and one in June and 57,373 pounds of halibut are allocated for this year’s Washington inland waters fishery. The jigging days are arrayed in five clusters of from one to four days with the first open day set for May 9. There are two main reasons for fishing early. The first is to capitalize on the maximum number of mouths that can gobble your bait. Halibut occurrence in Puget Sound has a seasonal flow and ebb to it. The mature fish that have migrated down the Pacific Coast from the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea spawn in deeper, offshore (continental shelf slope) waters during the winter. Then in their postspawning phase they slide into the shallower Strait of Juan de Fuca, Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound estuary to feed and regenerate, taking advantage of the relatively forage fish- and shellfish-rich shallow environs of our inside or nearshore waters. Gradually, as the spring days lengthen, they drift out and back north into deeper, colder waters. The sound’s and straits’ fishery takes place fairly low down on the exodus shoulder of the abundance curve, therefore fishing the earliest days potentially puts you on the most halibut. A second reason for going out sooner rather than later is this year’s inside management regime. The so-called Puget Sound zone (waters out to mouth of the Sekiu River) fishery was given an overall catch limit of 57,373 pounds, about 26 percent of the 214,100 pounds allocated to the state’s sport fishery. Previously, when inside halibut fishing effort was less frenzied, managers staggered the openings on two subzones (Marine Area 6 inward and Marine Area 5),

NORTH SOUND

If the weather cooperates this month, saltwater anglers will find halibut “hungry for herring off spreader bars around Smith Island,” where Dan Belles, Heath Hansen, Glen Grisham and Joe Davis landed this quartet a few seasons back, and other banks in the eastern Straits and North Sound. But longtime local angler Doug Huddle has some tips for alternate locations should the wind and waves build up during Washington’s few inside opener days. (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST) allowing anglers from the earlier inside options to partake of a later fishery in the strait. Fishing pressure has increased inside, so much so that last year inside jiggers landed more pounds of halibut than they were legally entitled to. This year managers coincided the inland openings so anglers must make either/or decisions because, in effect, there will be no later opportunity out of Sekiu. Like all quota-driven fisheries held under the aegis of a treaty or court decision there are two closure mechanisms, the first a fixed date and the second is some point short of the ending date where managers estimate that governed anglers have caught their due. Washington’s inside fishery is under the

same inseason magnifying glass as their coastal counterparts and could be shut down early if and when managers estimate a quota may be reached, even if it’s before the June 7 last day. Bottom line for anglers with a yen for those delectable whitemeated fish is to make them a priority over all else and go early. WITH SO FEW days available, the next dilemma for jiggers is a float plan that factors in contingencies for fishing depth, tide and wind. There is no guarantee that opportunity will be added due to weather/sea conditions, and there’s the real threat that on any given open day, you could get blown off your favorite spot and the tide turn. MAY 2014

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COLUMNS The most lucrative locales – Eastern, Middle, Hein and McArthur Banks and Smith Island – also happen to be the most exposed. Between the wind and tidal currents, loiter time for effectively jigging of these points is all too short. It’s good to have back-up options in mind and a little extra money in your boat fuel budget for relocating. Fortunately in the San Juans there’s almost always a lee shore or bight in which to escape a big blow with its attendant swell and wind-wave action. Not all host halibut, but some are simply overlooked, and it’s not so much an actual lack of halibut, but rather the use of other fishing tactics not keyed to these bottomfish that is the reason a locale’s depths seem

to be sans flatties. If wind and sea condition militate against staying in a particularly exposed “outside” location, around the San Juans on their west side in the Haro StraitBoundary Pass reach or on their eastern flanks in Rosario Strait, there are “proven” halibut haunts. The shoaling waters on the south and southeast side of Boundary Buoy are known halibut producers, as is the gentling ramping bottom in the channel to the south of Skipjack Island, especially a 354-foot-deep kettle or depression just off the southeast shore of the island. Keep in mind that at the bell bobber in the middle of Boundary Pass you’re flirting with the line that separates U.S. from

SAFETY MOST IMPORTANT Discretion versus fishing deserves a moment of attention. To apply the old saw concerning aircraft pilot valor to this realm of fishing: There are old halibut fishers and bold halibut fishers but there are no old, bold halibut fishers. Nothing about these “inland” marine waters should be taken lightly or overlooked, and I can testify to their potential lethality. I remember crossing Rosario Strait one dark day in the sweet spot of the wake of a Washington State ferry so it flattened some of the wind waves on the swells generated by a vicious southerly gale just to get back to Anacortes’ Washington Park launch. I remember swamping a 19-foot Boston Whaler in the trough of the trio of standing waves roaring past Point Lawrence on an outgoing ride to get to the lee of the Orcas northshore during another southeasterly storm, then landing at Orcas and staying overnight. I remember on one bright, sunny day taking green water over the bow, wave after wave, so that the windshield stanchion on the cabin ended up bent. The deck pump just barely kept up with the water because the swells forced me to close the scuppers. I made three quartering tacks to get partway back into Bellingham Bay and ended up landing at the Alaska Ferry Terminal. There the agent for a small cruise company told me I had to immediately leave their dock, so with the 40-knot northwesterly blowing and 6-foot wind waves crashing the bay I invoked the harbor-of-refuge rule and stayed firmly moored under the gangway of their dock. I remember from my experience many more close calls in and around the San Juans where sticking to the original plan, engaging in bravado or trying to force my way into the teeth of trouble just to go out or come straight home was foolhardiness verging on the suicidal. Be well-equipped with safety/exposure gear, maintain your boat, its powerplant and electronics and know its performance limits. Then check and double check the weather forecast, keep the VHF scanning between the weather and hailing channels, watch the horizon and pay attention to that little feeling in the back of your mind that something might be about to go wrong. Know when you should head for port and make that decision to trump all your other desires. Halibut are delicious but not to die for. –DH 108 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

Canadian waters. Always stay south and east of the buoy. Look too to the uneven shoal bottom on the north side of Stuart Island centered on Satellite Island around the two 60-fathom rises there. Over on the east reach, waters north and especially south of Tide Point on Cypress Island are known to yield halibut. Years ago an inattentive friend of mine fishing there failed to pay attention to his drift or mend the depth of his salmon mooching rig and bounced the bottom in close to the point in 30 feet of water. He ended up with a 46-pound flattie for his negligence. The southerly trending tail of Lawson Reef west of Deception Pass (don’t fish the reef itself ) also produces halibut, as does the rather nondescript bight or stretch of water from Deer Point northeast to the Peapods on the east side of Orcas Island where there is significant gravel bottom and a broad area of uniform 26- to 28-fathom depth. The aforementioned gravel/small rock character of the bottom is a fair key to the presence of halibut inside. These are good feeding grounds for young crab and shrimp, and therefore a good table setting for foraging halibut. Mud and sand bottoms are less enticing to them, but you may find these strong, wide-ranging swimmers in transit on such substrates. Another sea-bottom conducive to harboring halibut are rises or shoals. Though they can be found when spawning at depths of from 500 to 1,700 feet, halibut forage for prey in shallower, more bountious waters. It’s those places to which halibut gravitate and it’s up to you to intuite, through thoughtful chart perusal, knowledge of other species and trial-anderror experimenting, where these underwater halibut lairs might be. WHETHER USING HORSE herring on an old-fashioned stiff-wire spreader bar (with a lead weight on the other end) or a dartshaped or skirted curl-tailed jig as well as one of the newer light- or sound-emitting lures, the advice that rings true for halibut success is keeping your terminal offering in contact with the bottom. It’s thought

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Though hardly River Runs Through It scenery, dry flies cast under overhanging trees or dead-drifted, and small spoons and spinners retrieved slowly will yield cutts and bulls at the Skagit mouth.

110 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

that adult halibut hug the bottom no matter where they are. This behavior is compatible with their physiologly and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assumed they seldom, if ever raise, more than several feet off the saltwater substrate to claim prey. Other tactical traits leading to success for halibut are making noise; bouncing your jig or lead on the bottom frequently; and leaving a scent trail from a shrimp or herring-oil-dipped lure or a plug-cut or whole herring. You may also want to rig out pots and mount pullers on your boat. There will be a great May tie-in between shrimp and flatsiders for saltwater fishers in that of the 11 days open for halibut, eight coincide with openings for spot shrimp. The dual fishery days are May 9, 10, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a ninth dual opener, June 7, but prawn fishing by then will only be allowed in Marine Subarea 7 West in the San Juans. Two more creel-eligibles, lingcod and Pacific cod, are on the menu for halibut days, but jiggers must be working waters

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COLUMNS 120 feet or deeper for this keeper rule to kick in. THE LOWER SKAGIT below Mount Vernon is back in the May-June fold of open freshwater stream fisheries, thanks in part to the admonitions of retired state fish biologist, Curt Kraemer and current WDFW district biologist Brett Barkdull concerning its closing. Virtually all the federally protected winter-run steelhead have passed through by now, and the Skagit’s native char stock (including bull trout and Dolly Varden), though also under the ESA aegis, is currently healthy enough to surrender specimens 20 inches or longer. Just be aware that the regulations are different from those in force in this area of the mainstem and its North and South Forks later on. Use of gear qualified as “selective” (barbless hooks, no bait) is mandated with the further proviso that hooks may have a gap (point to shank) no wider than 1⁄2 inch. The two most active quarry here that

should be the focus of anglers are searun cutthroat trout and the aforementioned bull trout. The cutthroat action on light spinning gear or fly rod can be quite lively and entertaining. Many are smaller than the 14-inch minimum keeper size. The bull trout are a treat but more difficult to fish for with the bait ban in place. The old method for them, now outlawed, was to back-troll (pull downstream) a 6to 7-inch whole herring, simulating a crippled downstream-migrating smolt. That worked very well in the North Fork, especially below the Fir Island Road bridge as well as the cozy confines of its three or four distributaries spilling through the marshes between Craft and Ika Islands onto the tide flats of the bay. Annually an untold numbers of young steelhead, Chinook, coho and cutthroat smolts’ lives were spared by a small number of ardent pliers of those sloughs who coaxed a few big char out of their ambush lairs. Certainly, successful fly fishing tactics

(the breadth of patterns and presentation) are close to “common” knowledge with the cutts finding a fairly wide array of dry tie-ups in both gaudy attractor and drab imitator patterns enticing. Several anglers I know also are experimenting with a few smaller streamer patterns. Dry flies often are cast in close to or actually under overhanging trees or undergrowth and dead drifted to good effect. The streamer technique, depending on the pattern, may be presented in a downstream-oriented retrieve simulating outmigrating pink and chum fry. Feeding immature cutts and kelts (spawned out adults) often also loiter around and amid large woody debris, which occasionally requires considerable finesse to fish successfully without losing terminal tie-ups. If you work spinning lures such as small Dick Nites, Rooster Tails or Miracle lures, present or drift them downstream then retrieve into the current at a very slow cranking speed, letting the current impart both loft and action to the offering. If you choose to work faster water, use a drop sinker off a three-way swivel. Motorized watercraft obviously have run of the river here and there are six well-spaced launch ramps. Edgewater Park at Mount Vernon (mainstem); Spudhouse (mainstem); Conway Bridge (South Fork); Milltown (South Fork, Tom Moore Slough); Skagit Wildlife Area Headquarters (South Fork, Freshwater Slough); and Blake’s (private resort on the North Fork) serve the public on all three open reaches. But anglers in drift or oar/paddle-powered craft also can easily work great stretches of these reaches from, say, the Spudhouse down to Blake’s or from Conway to Headquarters. NEXT ISSUE: Kokanee fishing in the big four waters, June kid’s derbies, upper Skagit spring kings, and opening-day followup. NS Editor’s note: Doug Huddle lives in Bellingham, is retired from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, and has written about hunting and fishing in the Northwest for more than 30 years.

112 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

Northwest e s a c w o Boats Sh Part 2

Jerry Wooley

Duckworth Boats Northwest SportsmanWe all have interesting stories about how we got into our lines of work. What’s the Twitterverse/140-character version of yours? Jerry Wooley After engineering stints with the Navy and Boeing, I was able to match up my passion for fishing and manufacturing at Duckworth Boats. Today, the company manufactures three distinctly different brands sold through 50 dealers in the U.S., Canada and Russia. NS How many people do you employ? Have you been able to add staff since the recession? JWThanks to our loyal customers and dedicated dealers, the downturn was relatively short for us. Our total employment is quite a bit north of where we were before, and we are still hiring. NSWhat are some of your new products or new features for 2014? JW We are most excited about the new 22-foot Duckworth Pacific Silverwing. We can’t build enough to satisfy demand from our dealers. The Silverwing is an offshore, hardtop model with more standard fishing features than anything else out there. The hull is modeled after our popular Offshore series with a very aggressive bow vee to tame often-choppy Northwest waters. It’s the perfect boat for the Columbia, Puget Sound, coastal waters and big lakes. NS How is boat-manufacturing technology changing and where do you see it headed? JW We are building our manufacturing future today. First, the introduction of the computer into the boat-manufacturing process through 3D modeling of the designs that are translated through our computer numerically controlled (CNC) router ensures exact part cuts. Second, new product development is continual. Third, we use lean manufacturing techniques to reduce waste in our system, enabling us to deliver the highest quality and value to our customers. The common element that makes it all work is the wonderful staff of boat-building craftsmen who pull it all together. NS What Northwest fishery are you most excited about this year? JW Certainly the fall run of salmon on the Columbia is on everyone’s mind, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The bass and walleye fishing throughout the West just keeps getting better. We’re a sponsor of the Oregon Tuna Classic and will have a team fishing the events again this year. NS Who is your company’s typical boat buyer? JWWe don’t consider any of our customers “typical.”The only commonality they all share is their high expectation of quality and reliability. Duckworth owners use their boats year-round for everything from fishing to wakeboarding to overnight or multi-day excursions. NSWhat’s the most notable catch out of one of your company’s boats? JW Just last month, Team Duckworth placed first and won “big fish” in the 2014 Spring Classic salmon tournament on the Columbia. The team caught a rare five-fish limit of kings in a 235 Navigator while fishing in the Kalama, Wash., area of the river. For more info, see Duckworthboats.com.

Bruce Larson

Weldcraft Marine Northwest Sportsman What would you say is your company’s proudest accomplishment in hull engineering? Bruce Larson Every welded aluminum boat built strives for strength. Weldcraft achieves that objective. Tongue and groove extrusions are welded continuously in the chine, gunwale and keel areas, resulting in incredibly tough, lifetime boats. Weldcraft engineering assures running performance and uncompromised durability. It’s the product of tight tolerances, a commitment to consistency, a running surface that’s true, and dozens of design and construction details that have established Weldcraft as a leader in the heavy-gauge welded aluminum boat-building community. From reverse chine bottoms that lift effortlessly and transform inboard or outboard horsepower into bristling performance, to spacious interiors, generous walk-through areas and cavernous storage, Weldcraft exudes clever engineering throughout. NSWhat are some of your new products or new features for 2014? BL Weldcraft’s 18- and 20-foot Anglers have really taken the company in a new and exciting direction. Weldcraft has been widely known for its longstanding heritage as a big whitewater jet boat. No wonder, as the Snake River is just down the street from the factory. Weldcraft construction was developed to withstand some of the most powerful and dangerous whitewater on the planet. From there, we’ve branched out into offshore designs and most recently into our new Angler series. These boats are exceptionally roomy for their length. Generously sized at 18-foot-7and 20-foot-7, these boats feature 66-inch-wide bottoms and 34-inch sides that make them incredibly roomy and seaworthy. They’ve caught on fast and been well received by anglers across the West. NSWhat sets your craft apart from the competition? BL Weldcraft’s long history in the market and tens of thousands of customers gives the company an uncommon understanding and maturity in meeting our customers’ needs, developing and testing new products, and understanding the importance of every phase of our customers’ boat ownership experience. A company is only as good as the support it provides its customers, and Weldcraft understands the best support is building it right from the start. In the unlikely event a customer does have an issue, then the measure of excellence turns to how fast it’s corrected. Weldcraft understands better than most that customers are the center of their universe and business. The designs and continual improvements reflect that customer commitment and absolutely differentiate Weldcraft from every other builder in the business. Finally, look at the company’s longevity. With nearly 50 years of building experience, few manufacturers have that longevity and you see it in the boats. That’s why in 1 foot of Weldcraft there’s about 20 feet of weld – you only get that kind of construction from a company that’s been around with an intimate knowledge and unchallenged commitment to excellence. NSWho is your company’s typical boat buyer? BL Passionate boaters and anglers who range in age from 35 to 70, mostly male, but not entirely, and primarily located in North America, although Weldcraft customers are found worldwide. NSWhere can prospective buyers see your boats or learn more about them? BL Weldcraft has a very useful website (weldcraftmarine.com) to get folks started, but nothing beats going to a dealer and seeing these boats firsthand. There are several Weldcraft dealers to talk to in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, California, Canada and beyond. MAY 2014

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Byron Bolton

Kingfisher Northwest SportsmanWe all have interesting stories about how we got into our lines of work. What’s the Twitter verse/140-character version of yours? Byron Bolton Since childhood, boats and fishing have been my passion. From river racing to fishing with my family at the local lake to chartering an offshore course Northbound with close friends.

Jerry Spiess

Northwest Boats Northwest Sportsman What would you say is your company’s proudest accomplishment in hull engineering? Jerry Spiess Quality. Pure and simple. There are many ways to weld an aluminum boat, but there is only one way to weld a Northwest Boat. The highest-grade aluminum is mandatory. Premium-grade material maximizes durability. The continuous welds inside and out are made by expert craftsmen. Everything we do is done to guarantee that a Northwest Boat will last a lifetime, or two. We believe quality pays, but you shouldn’t have to pay extra for it. NS How many people do you employ? Have you been able to add staff since the recession? JS The tough times are behind everyone in the marine industry and the recovery is well underway. In fact, we’re building more boats today than any other time in our history. NSWhat are some of your new products or new features for 2014? JSWhen it comes to value, the 187 and 207 Compass models are making exciting waves. Their exclusive construction is the product of innovative engineering that ensures consistency, durability and outstanding performance. With a 34-inch side height, 66-inch bottom width and 90-inch beam, you’ll enjoy plenty of room, seaworthiness and security – even in big water. Built to be the best deal in all-welded aluminum boating, the Compass offers the latitude adventurous boaters long for. You don’t have to spend more to get more. NS How is boat-manufacturing technology changing and where do you see it headed? JS Fuel efficiency is a major focus. Engine technology is driving the changes, but we’re looking closely at hydrodynamics as a way to reduce the cost of operating our boats. Much like aerodynamics in the automotive industry, we’re working on ways to reduce weight and friction to make every gallon of fuel go farther. NSWhat sets your craft apart from the competition? JS All Northwest Boats are now certified by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). Similar to ISO-9000 certification, the NMMA requires that our boats satisfy an additional set of quality assurance standards to ensure the furthest degree of safety and quality. NSWho is your company’s typical boat buyer? JS Owners of Northwest Boats aren’t ordinary, and we’re no ordinary boat builder. We don’t “claim” to be legendary; we’ve earned it. From our family-owned roots we’ve grown into a family boatfriendly company that crafts the finest heavy-gauge welded aluminum boats on the water. We listen carefully to our customers and take their advice. NSWhere can prospective buyers see your boats or learn more about them? JSVisit a dealer and bring a tape measure. Compare the side height. Compare the beam. Compare the interior space. Northwest Boats measure up better than other boats the same length. 116 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

NSWhat would you say is your company's proudest accomplishment in hull engineering? BB KingFisher’s exclusive Pre-Flex technology makes traditional hull design concepts obsolete. The KingFisher hull is built on a jig system, forming the hull with “Pre-Flexed” components. Preloading the hull components prior to welding forms a hull with unparalleled strength, impact resistance with the comfort of sound damping. Once completed, the hull is removed from the jig, remaining in the shape our engineers intended; creating a safe and reliable boat that will last a lifetime. The concept of Pre-Flex has been around since the dawn of architecture. Arching a structure towards or against the load strengthens the structure’s capability to handle the load. NSWhat are some of your new products or new features for 2014? BB Newly redesigned stylish Falcon XL’s feature the widest, deepest and longest models in the 16to 18-foot class. Three new Flex XP models round out our Multi-Species series. The XP’s target the hardcore angler looking for that massive casting deck, incredible stability on the roughest waters and an impressive hole shot. Our mid-size coastal series welcomes the all-new Coastal Express. Easy to trailer, easy to launch and easy to own. With its super-sized cockpit and roomy cabin, the 26- and 28-footers make Buoy 10 and Puget Sound a breeze to navigate. NSWhat sets your craft apart from the competition? BB We are renowned for our custom-built quality for anglers and practical outdoorsmen who seek maximum value, safety and performance from their fishing machines. We’re serious anglers too. Many of our staff compete in angling tournaments as well as enjoy fishing in their leisure time. Thanks to input from our loyal customers, dealers and our employees, we can deliver class leading fishability to the marketplace. When we say, “We Understand, We Fish Too”, we mean it. NSWho is your company's typical boat buyer? BB We are renowned for our custom built quality for anglers and practical outdoorsmen who seek maximum value, safety and performance from their fishing machines. NSWhat’s the most notable catch out of one of your company’s boats? BB Have you seen our Facebook page? How could we possibly decide on a single catch? Our employees and customers have posted monster muskie, 40-pound salmon, huge greenbacks, and nearly every other species found in North America. A quick tour of our factory will highlight some of the trophies our proud employees have caught. For more info, see kingfisherboats.com.

FISHING

d n i W Comes Up Good forecast, simple tactics can make for great May days at this Chinook bubble fishery. By Andy Schneider

CARSON, Wash.—The 8,500 springers predicted back to the Wind River will be huge improvement over last year’s disappointing run, and if it’s anything like 2012’s return off a similar forecast, it could yield 3,500 for sport anglers this season. While Chinook began to be caught last month, early May often sees the hottest action at this bubble fishery where the daily limit is two hatchery kings and two-polin’ it comes into play.

Magnum FatFish are popular – and deploy it 50 to 75 feet behind the boat. The second most popular technique is trolling herring or prawn spinners. Run your cutplug the same as you did on the Lower Columbia, with 5 to 6 ounces of lead, a flasher and 5-foot leader to two 4/0 barbless hooks.

THE MOST POPULAR technique is to flat-line troll a plug. Simply clip on one – Magnum Wiggle Warts, 3.5 Mag Lips, FatFish and

Kyle Phillips of Yakima shows off a Wind River springer. (ROB PHILLIPS) MAY 2014

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FISHING This fishery has two major trolling patterns. The first is in the bay where the Wind River plume offers clear, but cooler water temps. The second troll is right on the buoy deadline. While the Columbia usually runs 3 to 5 degrees warmer than the Wind, it can have poor visibility during heavy spring flows. There’s also the little challenge of controlling your troll amidst 2to 3-foot white caps. Going into the wind and waves may be wet, but it is usually easier to keep a consistent troll speed of 1.2 to 1.5 mph. Going with the breeze makes it tough to keep your plugs or bait from swimming too fast, but multiple sea anchors can help control speed on the downwind tack.

HERE ARE MORE tips for fishing the mouth of the Wind River: Wash your plugs: Scent can play an important role in putting fish in

the boat. Sardine, shrimp, herring and anise are all popular and productive scents for the Wind River. Just don’t forget to thoroughly wash your plugs after each use to get all the sticky scents off. Lemon Joy and Crest Toothpaste will remove any lingering odors. Keep your plugs working: While there isn’t usually a lot of weeds and debris in the Columbia or Wind River bubble, there is just enough to foul a plug. Your chances of catching a spring Chinook with a messedup plug are slim to none. Pay attention to your rod tip and make sure your plug is working as it should. Neutralizing the wind: Even with sea anchors deployed, a downwind troll can be too fast. Kicking your trolling motor into neutral from time to time will help keep your troll speed down. Bring a buddy: Having another

angler along not only helps when it comes time to net fish, but also for parking. Many times the closest parking spot can be a 1⁄2 mile away from the boat ramp, but only 40 feet from the river. Have your buddy park your rig and then pick him up at the river’s edge. And have him bring along a second rod – May 1 marks the opening date for two-poling it at the Wind, with the $14.80 endorsement. Bring the binoculars: While this fishery’s techniques and tackle appear simple, some anglers have a much higher success rate than others. Watch what these anglers are doing different and mirror their habits. Know when to pull the plug: If it isn’t happening at the Wind, pull out and head to Drano Lake, 8 miles east on Highway 14. It offers a decent midmorning bite in the main lake and a consistent afternoon bite in “The Circle” by the bridge. NS

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COLUMNS

Springers Transition From Mainstems To Tribs M

ay is the m o n t h spring Chinook move into the upper reaches of the big rivers like the Columbia, Willamette BUZZ RAMSEY and Snake and their tributaries as well as some coastal rivers. If you’re relatively new to fishing salmon in tributaries, realize that while all river fishing methods can produce, especially when these salmon are moving through the riffles and tailouts, springers (unlike steelhead) will mostly be found holding in the deep holes, often referred to as salmon holes. For the bank-bound angler this means using enough weight to get your drift fishing outfit near bottom. Another approach is to suspend your bait (egg cluster and/or sand shrimp) near bottom under a bobber capable of floating a 2- to 3-ounce sinker. This method can make pulling limits easy when fishing the big, deep, perhaps slowmoving holes where salmon can collect in large numbers. Often the most productive fishing methods for those fishing from drift or power boat include back-bouncing bait or bait-wrapped Mag Lip, FlatFish or Kwikfish. The boat fishing method that dominates the terminal fisheries within Drano Lake and at the Wind River mouth is to rig a couple of rods with a herring or prawn spinner in combination with a flasher, like a 6- or 8-inch Fish Flash, close to the boat and a couple rods with diving plugs trailing 40 to 70 feet behind your craft. The idea behind a near-boat presentation (a flasher and bait) fished in combination with plugs trailing 40 or more feet behind is proven trolling strategy. The reason: fish initially attracted to your gear, due to the commotion caused by your flashers, may not bite right away, or by the

Shane Magnuson of Upper Columbia Guide Service shows off a nice Wind River springer. (BUZZ RAMSEY) time they swim toward your gear you’ve moved some distance ahead – just in time for your trailing plugs to come into striking distance. According to guide Bob Barthlow (509952-9694), a regular at Drano, the deepdiving Mag Lip in the 4.5 size is his favorite for this method and produces when trolled 60 to 70 feet behind the boat. It’s easy: Let your Mag Lip or other plug out

behind your moving boat and set the hook when your rod tip surges downward. If you’re a bank-bound angler, you can find success at Drano or the Wind mouth too by casting and retrieving diving plugs. And while the Columbia is closed to boat fishing for salmon from Bonneville Dam to the Tower Island powerlines near The Dalles Dam, this section of the big river is open to bank fishing. This means salmon MAY 2014

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holding off the mouth of Drano are available to those casting plugs from shore. Salmon-sized spinner harnesses (sometimes called spinner-and-bait or spinnerbait rigs or bait actionizers) are effective for salmon at the Wind, Drano and other places anglers troll for salmon. These big harnesses are normally fished in combination with a prawn, sand shrimp or herring. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had the best success running spinner-and-bait combinations near bottom and rigging not only my herring but prawn and sand shrimp such that it spins when pulled through the water. Although commercially made salmon spinner harnesses are available, many anglers tie their own by snelling a couple of single hooks in tandem, adding a string of plastic beads (sometimes in combination with a few size 12 Corky drifters), a plastic clevis and spinner blade. Barthlow employs this method too with his favorite blade style being a size 4 or 41â &#x201E;2 Toman Cascade. The key to hooking and ultimately landing fish on spinner and bait combina-

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The Deschutes is among the rivers forecast to see the largest returns of Chinook this spring, making for good angling below Sherars Falls, where these anglers were trying their luck. (ODFW) Here are the number of springers state agencies expect to return to fishable tributaries: Snake: 46,700*; Drano Lake: 13,100; Deschutes: 13,000; Yakima 9,100; Wind: 8,500; Clackamas: 8,200; Cowlitz: 7,800; Sandy: 5,500; Cascade: 4,233; Chehalis: 3,024; Klickitat: 2,500; Quillayute: 2,002; Hood: 1,300 * Hatchery kings at Lower Granite Dam tions is to wait until Mr. Salmon pulls your rod tip down three to four times before setting the hook. Just treat the bite the same as you would when using a herring

or bait-wrapped salmon plug. NS Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s note: The author is a brand manager for Yakima Bait. Find Buzz on Facebook.

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Good Things Expected On McKenzie

May marks beginning of spring Chinook return to south Willamette Valley river. By Troy Rodakowski

MOHAWK VALLEY, Ore.—Spring Chinook numbers back to the upper Willamette watershed are projected to be better than we have seen for several years, and the focus on these salmon – which are also the subject of yet another lawsuit over hatchery practices – should switch from the courtroom to one of the big river’s most important tribs as fishing kicks into gear this month. In early March, as the snows began to melt in the McKenzie’s headwaters, swelling its tributaries with clear, cold water, the river’s spring Chinook nosed out of the Pacific into the Columbia. From there they turned off into the Willamette, kegging below the falls at Oregon City and dodged a big gathering of sea lions. Still hundreds of miles from anglers in the upper valley, nonetheless, excitement built there as reports from Portland heralded signs for the season ahead. This month, McKenzie springers that have made it past the fleet and pinnipeds and up the I-5 corridor approach the final leg of their journey. This is now prime time for anglers from Salem to

Eugene to wet a line. The mainstem Willamette between the university towns is fishable for springers as well as steelhead beginning in late April. By the middle part of June most fish have arrived in the McKenzie or at least the upper reaches of the Willamette. In addition to the fish count at Willamette Falls, angler reports from the lower river are important for tracking the run and optimizing your window of success in the trib. But also watch the river’s levels and temperatures because early-, mid- and late-run fish will migrate at different rates depending upon conditions. Springers move anywhere from 18 to 25 miles a day, and have been known to hold or fall back downstream when waters cool or flows change. Typically, once fish leave Oregon City, it takes 10 to 14 days for them to reach the McKenzie. You can monitor passage at the falls online at dfw.state.or.us; click on Fishing and hit “Fish Counts.”

HOT SPOTS On the McKenzie itself, springers can be found from Camp Creek, where

Local guide Jarrod Kelso shows off two dandy spring Chinook from the McKenzie.(HOOKEDFORLIFEFISHING.COM)

the river meets the Willamette, all the way up to Leaburg Hatchery below Vida. The reaches below the salmon hatchery – the 6 to 8 miles down to Holden Creek Lane – provide good opportunities and are probably the most heavily fish, but the lower McKenzie also has good water. From the I-5 bridge at the north end of the city of Springfield below Deerhorn, Hayden and Hendricks is where most folks find their MAY 2014

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FISHING fish. Areas of particular note are waters near where the Mohawk River and Cedar Creek enter the McKenzie. There are several stretches that hold resting fish and boats will oftentimes float and anchor near these holes. Bank anglers can also find access

through private property or near public boat landings or parks. Hayden Bridge to Armitage Park is one of the most popular. Here you can find ample bank access, trails up- and downriver, and some nice deep pockets to fish. Bank anglers and drifters should be

aware that jet sleds are allowed on several lower portions of the McKenzie. And everyone should have a head’s up for debris, submerged logs and other obstructions in the river during the early spring. Check with other fisherman, local agencies and the Oregon State Marine Board’s boat launch pages (oregon.gov/ osmb/pages/access/access.aspx) before a float.

TACTICS The McKenzie is a smaller river with clear, cold waters, so being able to read the flows and learn from experienced anglers really pays off. Jarrod Kelso is among several guides who work the McKenzie. His Hooked For Life Guide Service (hookedforlifefishing.com) offers a decked-out Pavati with three doors for easy access, and he provides all gear, food and even fillets your fish at the end of the day. Most anglers like to back-bounce, run divers and bait, or flat-line Mag Lips in deeper waters. Drifting Corkies and fresh roe works well for both salmon and summer steelhead too. And sand shrimp fished just off the bottom can be quite productive. In fact, many anglers swear by them and won’t fish if they can’t use them. Bring your float rod. Back-bouncing can be done with great success on drifts in the deeper, slow-moving holes and fast-moving waters near seams. However, water speed has to be just right to make this work. Too fast and you will overshoot the fish; too slow and you won’t reach where they’re lying. Daily limit on the river is two adipose-fin-clipped kings or steelhead. Between the mouth and Hayden Bridge, only artificial flies and lures can be used, but from Hayden to Leaburg Dam bait is allowed. Note the gear rules for the waters right below the dam and the opportunity to retain unmarked 24-plus-inch steelhead from there down to Hendricks. NS 126 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

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128 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

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Duc Out For Springers Good prospects on the West End river, but Hoh ‘dip-in’ fishery a no-go due to low runs there.

Sol Duc River springers will again show in good numbers, with more than 2,000 hatchery fish projected to return to the North Coast stream. These Chinook are known for their incredible fight and larger average size than their Columbia River cousins. Here, Bill Blowers of the South Sound holds a beautiful fish caught with Mike Zavadlov. (MIKEZSGUIDESERVICE.COM)

By Jeff Holmes

FORKS—Caffeine overloads, upset stomachs, concerned wives and girlfriends, horrendous fuel bills, sunburns, and chartreuse-dyed fingers and clothes. These are a few of the symptoms associated with the middle stages of springer fever, and as this issue hits mailboxes and newsstands, many thousands of us around the Northwest are afflicted. Right now, Lower Columbia anglers are sweating and delirious in anticipation of another shot at the big river, just as the disease is progressing for upstream anglers getting their first cracks at this year’s robust springer run. Although some severe cases of springer fever will drive victims to pursue the oily Chinook well into summer, most cases run their course by mid-May. There’s no sure cure for the affliction except to catch lots of fish

and to fill a freezer with plenty of barbecue’s worth. With several hundred thousand spring kings returning to Northwest waters, treatment options abound in 2014 and will continue into the summer. A very solid bite emerged on the Columbia from Longview to the mouth of the gorge when the front end of the run finally showed up. For a few days in mid-April, Facebook flashed with chromey Chinook and guide-boat limits, until the dreaded bite-killing east wind blew down the river. Lower still, despite the presence of lots of fish moving past Cathlamet and fewer anglers to contend with, a previously good bite ground to a violent halt for most during the season’s last few days. Chinook were scattered, suspended, and lock-jawed. Reports from upriver at Kalama, I-5, and elsewhere tempted some to move, but

many of us near Cathlamet ground it out in the traditional pinch points and travel lanes. One of those anglers was Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife fisheries biologist David Low, whose geographic area of focus is the Olympic Peninsula, from the Queets River north to the shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I watched Low and a fellow biologist troll flashers and herring over a 3-foot-deep hump at the head of a mainstem island on the season’s second to the last day. They pointed and ooohed and ahhhed while a salmon slashed past their herring three times before turning around and slamming the bait. Low grabbed his rod, and they netted that keeper a few minutes later. Sweetness.

I FIRST MET LOW two days earlier during a phone interview about Sol Duc MAY 2014

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Springer season has been good to me so far, and here are a few reasons why: 1) Cured sardines. Instead of paying $7.99 for three at the bait shop, I bought an entire case containing 80. The end result is 480 bait wraps that outfish fresh and last for years, all for $25 plus a few bottles of Nate’s Baits Sardine Cure; 2) I upgraded my plug and herring rods to the Fetha Styx Chrome sSeries and my reels to Okuma Catalinas. For my plunking rig I've been fishing Okumas SST plunking and bar rod outfitted with a heavy Ambassadeur reel. Springers are worth good gear to get them in the net. 3) I never fish with barbless treble hooks for salmon, opting instead for open-eye siwash hooks or the new Big River bait hook. Hook-up and landing ratios improve dramatically when you leave the crimped trebles behind. I'm a barblesshook proponent, but I wonder when Washington and Oregon fishery managers will more clearly articulate the rule to the public and define what a barbless hook is. Similarly, demonstrating the scientific efficacy of barbless hooks versus barbed would do a lot to educate the skeptical. (JEFF HOLMES)

River spring Chinook. He has the fever too, and seemed happy to discuss the Forks-area stream, which will again be host to over 2,000 hatchery springers in 2014. Add to that another almost 1,000 wild springers, and the forecast looks very similar to returns over the past few years. Low says fishing should be very good at times, and catch data suggests excellent opportunity in May and June, with potential for excellent fishing into July depending on water conditions. Sol Duc springers are a large stock of spring Chinook that average 10 to 15 pounds but regularly reach the mid-20s, with some fish legitimately topping 30 pounds every year. They are deep-bodied and known for their extraordinary fight and slabbed sides, which catch the current during the fight and make them difficult to corral in heavy water. Low says this year’s run will be comprised of lots of 4-year-olds (the 10- to 15-pounders), but there will be larger fish too, and the promise next year of many large fish when the 5-year-olds from the same year-class as this seasons 4s come back to spawn. The 2014 fishery boundary is limited to the Quillayute River and that portion of the Sol Duc stretching from its confluence with the Bogachiel upstream to the Sol Duc hatchery pumphouse, and the daily limit is an attractive two hatchery-origin adults per angler. What has changed this year is the closure of the lower Hoh River “dipin” fishery, a phenomenon where Sol Duc hatchery and wild springers enter 130 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

the lower few miles of the Hoh. The Hoh Tribe sometimes nets several hundred Sol Duc springers in the Hoh, and guides and anglers have enjoyed opportunities as well. Salmon and steelhead from many river systems dip into the cold, glacial water of the Hoh, and then turn around and go to their natal streams. Spawning surveys in the Hoh reflect almost zero hatchery fish on the spawning grounds, which is good news. Still, due to critically fragile wild stocks in the Hoh, the river is off limits this year and will likely be closed into the future for spring Chinook. Low says the long-term prognosis for spring and summer Chinook stocks in the Queets and Hoh – the two major glacial rivers on the North Coast – does not look especially good right now. Numbers are low in both rivers, and fish are off limits to non-tribal fishermen. Historic photographs of giant glaciers on Mount Olympus are exponentially larger than the rapidly melting ice patches that now dot the mountain. Spring and summer Chinook in the Hoh and Queets evolved in heavy, cold runoff all summer long, and that’s changing. The loss of the Hoh dip-in fishery will frustrate a few, but the protection of wild stocks requires it.

WITH MANY MILES of the Quillayute and Sol Duc to fish and lots of lots of salmon forecasted, there should be plenty of springer opportunity on the North Coast again in 2014. Sol Duc fish trickle into the river beginning every year in

February. A few are always caught early, with more in April, and then with May and June taking turns as the top retention month. Catch statistics over the last five years also reflect a good number of fish taken in July, but for the last two years, May has been by far the best month to retain fish. Springers were again first reported caught in Forks this year in late February, with several being caught and kept by guides and clients throughout March. At the time of this writing in mid-April, occasional Chinook continue to show in the catch, along with summer-run steelhead, which are also available in May and June. Some Sol Duc anglers specifically target kings with big, bait-wrapped plugs and spun herring and anchovies, while some use a smaller, more all-purpose salmonid bait to tempt steelhead and multiple salmon species. Some use both approaches depending on conditions and objectives. In the July issue of Northwest Sportsman, I’ll feature a day on the water with guide Mike Zavadlov (mikezsguideservice.com) as we pursue the river’s summer steelhead, summer coho, chrome sockeye, spring Chinook, and sea-run cutthroat. Everyone knows that Forks is an amazing place to fish fall salmon and winter steelhead, but opportunities to fish for chromers exist year-round. And for those with Chrome’s Disease and a bad case of springer fever, a trip to the Sol Duc this spring could put you into the fattest, chromey-est, and biggest springer of your life. NS

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134 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

COLUMNS

Tell Us Why You Won’t Bite Biologists hope to figure out how to get the Clackamas spring Chinook fishery back on track.

hy won’t Clackamas River spring Chinook bite? It’s the question that biologists, sport STUMPTOWN anglers and guides By Terry Otto are asking. The Clack used to boast one of Oregon’s better spring Chinook fisheries, but its first returning salmon of the year have become notorious for their nonbiting ways. Even in good years when the river sees 6,000, 7,000 or more adults back, anglers bag few of them once the fish pull up out of the Willamette River. Over the years the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has wrestled with this problem, which has persisted even though many of the facilities on the Clackamas, such as the river’s dams, have seen fish-passage improvements. Hatchery releases have been adjusted to try to get the fish to hold longer too, but early results have been lackluster. Now, it’s not as if these fish won’t bite at all. According to ODFW district biologist Todd Alsbury, catch records do show that they are ending up in fish boxes – just not aboard boats pulling out of Barton and Carver. “They contribute to the Willamette and Columbia River fisheries,” says Alsbury, “but harvest is poor in the Clackamas.” THE RIVER RECEIVES over 1 million spring Chinook smolts annually. Decades ago they were stocked into the upper river, but plantings were shifted to the state-run hatchery near Estacada to reduce hatcherywild interaction on the spawning grounds. That is when the bite problems started. Guide Wayne Priddy of Priddy Good Fishing (priddygoodfishing.com) has been guiding on the river for decades, and he recalls when he used to catch hundreds of springers in the Clack each year. “I caught seven springers in the Clackamas last year,” he says. “It’s gotten to where I

Ack! Why’s that Clacka-keeper going back?!? Oregon district fisheries biologist Todd Alsbury releases a radio-tagged Clackamas River spring Chinook. Biologists use fish such as this to study the run’s migration upriver. (GARTH WYATT, IMAGE COURTESY PGE) don’t fish it much anymore.” He says the fish used to bite well, driving a fishery that filled most holes with boats, while bank anglers lined the shore below River Mill Dam. “Even the bite at McIver Park is pretty much gone,” he adds. And yet the returns to the hatchery and fish traps to the dam show that they are moving through the river. They just aren’t stopping along the way. ODFW IS PAINFULLY aware of the problem, and has been wrestling with it for the last five or six years. Some returning adults have been caught and radio tagged so they can be tracked as they move up the river, and smolts released at different sites have different fin-clips to tell where they were planted. Alsbury says the department has also been changing the stocking regimen in an attempt to get the returning adults to linger longer in the river. These include planting

some smolts out into Eagle Creek and Clear Creek, two tributaries of the Clackamas. “We think these changes have started to slow them up in the Clackamas,” says Alsbury. “We’re trying to get them to hold up in the river a little more.” Spring Chinook acclimated in the creeks should hold up in the river below them and wait for the creeks to rise enough to enter. The department restarted the Eagle Creek plantings years ago, and adults have been returning there for four or five years now. The results have been mixed. Some years they hold up in the river below the creek, and pull into the creek itself when the flows are high. But in other years they give the creek a pass, and head upriver looking for cold water. Initial releases into the creek were from smolts reared elsewhere and acclimated to the creek a few weeks before release. “In the past we had the best results with springers stocked into Eagle Creek after MAY 2014

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COLUMNS

No, biologists aren’t trying to remove a hook from deep inside this Clackamas spring Chinook, nor are they attempting to take its temperature – but in a sense they are trying to figure out why the run is “sick.” They’re inserting an esophageal tag in hopes of figuring out how to get springers to hold up more in the river. If they can figure that out, anglers could catch more of them. (GARTH WYATT, IMAGE COURTESY PGE)

Thanks to a new smolt collector at River Mill Dam below Estacada, more outmigrating smolts, like this fall Chinook, are surviving their downstream journey. (GARTH WYATT, IMAGE COURTESY PGE)

being raised there,” says Alsbury. “We’ve started to raise them at the hatchery again. We really hope that will improve their returns.” The first release of creek-raised smolts happened this spring. The Clear Creek acclimation site saw its first adult returns last year, and although some anglers started targeting the area, the jury is still out on whether it will help much. Still, the best bets for finding springers in the Clackamas will be at the mouths of these two creeks, and below the hatchery at Milo McIver Park. If the fish do hold, anglers could do well. Alsbury is optimistic the new regimen will slow the springers down and improve the bite. If it does, the Clackamas could see a return to its glory days. After all, the fish are there, they just don’t bite well. Still, anglers like Priddy remain skeptical. “It’s hard to get excited when you work hard for one bite a day,” he says. IN THE MEANWHILE, millions of dollars in habitat restoration and upgrades to dams

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and other facilities have gone into the Clackamas in an effort to revive its lackluster wild runs. In addition to the new fish ladders, a smolt collection facility has been built at the River Mill Dam to reduce the mortality of outmigrating juvenile salmon and steelhead. The preliminary results have been better than hoped for, with an estimated 20 to 30 percent more fish being collected than expected. A similar facility will soon be completed at the North Fork Reservoir. “We hope to get the mortality from the dams down to 1 or 2 percent,” says Alsbury. Warm water issues in the river are being addressed too. A new channel was cut through Faraday Lake, and a new flow regimen is helping to keep the water colder for longer. More improvements will be made over the next five to 10 years. These changes have had a “significant impact,” already, says Alsbury. Still, he is cautiously optimistic. “It’s a little too early to tell what level of improvement we will see over the long run.” NS

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Of Sliders And Steelhead T INLAND NORTHWEST By Ralph Bartholdt

he Arizona Diamondbacks knocked off the San Francisco Giants in the last three games of a seven-game series and Mel Stottlemyre, Jr., is back in Phoenix preparing for the next 155 games of the regular season. Stottlemyre, a former Kansas City Royals hurler is a Diamondbacks bullpen coach, a high-octane position that assures the right pitcher with the right attitude is in the game

career provided, has been the family’s secondary passion for as long as Mel can remember. While following his dad from ballpark to ballpark across the country as a boy, there always seemed time to soak a line. Often Mel, his dad and brother, Todd, were accompanied by Yankees players Willie Mays and Thurman Munson who also chose fishing as a way to unwind. “As long as our family was involved with baseball our whole life, it seemed like fishing went with it,” Stottlemyre said. After a career pitching yakkers and fastballs in the South, along the Atlantic and in Kansas City, then turning from playing to coaching at clubs that included the Yakima Bears and Missoula Osprey, he had already returned to the rivers of the Northwest. He moved his family to Lewiston and spent off-season days on the river that pushed heavily through the valley, the seasonal highways of anadromous fish. At his dad’s prodding he earned a guide license, and when the ballparks were shuttered worked for local river outfitters before starting Stotts.

at the right time. There’s no fishing around. It’s a job that requires surgical skills, sharp eyes and attention to detail. He’ll apply a more diluted and laid-back version of the same skills later in the season, when the boys of summer have melded into fall and fishing has replaced baseball as his No. 1 priority. Stottlemyre along with his dad, Mel Sr. – a former New York Yankee – operate Stotts Fishing Adventures (stottfishing.com) in Lewiston, a business that takes advantage of one of the nation’s most prolific river fisheries and a passion that hearkens back to the family’s early days in Central Washington. As a kid Stottlemyre attended school around Yakima fishing a lot of local rivers, often with a fly rod when he and his siblings weren’t following their dad during the Major League Baseball season. Junior’s first steelhead dragged him around the Klickitat River as a 9-year-old. “I was wading, of all things,” Stottlemyre recalls. He realized immediately Batters feared them, and now the steelhead on the Clearwater should as well. Retired pitchers Mel Stottlemyre and Mel Stotthat this fish wouldn’t be tlemyre, Jr., who hurled for the Yankees, and the Blue Jays, A’s, Cardinals, Tigers and Diamondbacks, respectively, operate a guide service on Idaho’s big-league steelhead stream, the Clearwater. (STOTTS GUIDE SERVICE) ratcheted ashore like the trout he was accustomed to catching. Guiding, he feels, brings it all back home. It ran, and he ran after it. “I fell in love with taking people up the river in a boat,” he said. “It created a whole different fight and rush,” the 50-year-old “Seeing their thrill and fight. It’s the same thrill I got as a kid. That said. “I still get that feeling when a client hooks into one, and I recreates a lot of satisfaction.” member that feeling.” When he’s not in a boardroom or the bullpen, when the lights that shower the field get clunked off, the parking lots empty and the jets leave quiet contrails over the baseball cities of America, FISHING, ALONG WITH the paycheck that a successful baseball MAY 2014

Northwest Sportsman 139

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140 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

Stottlemyre’s mind fins back to the river that fishtails past his home port. In addition to its reputation as a fishing destination, Lewiston is a baseball town whose small state college team has sent 15 players to the show since 1980. And this year’s forecast Chinook run has been more than a blinking light on Stottlemyre’s radar. “We all know there’s a nice run coming,” he said. His two full-time guides give him regular updates on the happenings. According to the Idaho Department of Fish & Game’s latest rules, anglers will be able to keep four Chinook per day, including one adult on the Clearwater River, its North and Middle Forks and the Lochsa River. On the South Fork of the Clearwater River fishers can bag two per day. On the Salmon, Little Salmon and Snake Rivers in Hells Canyon anglers can keep four Chinook per day, including two adults. As state managers mull a year-round salmon fishery on the Clearwater, Stottlemyre is content to be a part of the system that flows through pine- and fir-studded valleys, black basalt chutes and the golden shoulders of dinosaur hills, far from the flush of traffic and the whirl of commerce. While a lot of people spend small fortunes fishing outside of the Lower 48, he said the Clearwater provides a similar opportunity closer to home. It was that opportunity that hooked him years ago. It’s a seasonal sickness that for Stottlemyre kicks in around August. “I get my frame of mind geared toward steelhead,” he said. “You study it, you love it, you eat it, you breathe it.” His favorite technique is side-drifting with eggs, running from hole to hole, from bank and run to trench to assure his clients see a lot of river, and a lot of fish. Even on those big-fish days that can (“I know it sounds crazy”) number 30 or 40 caught, Stottlemyre said he doesn’t lose the charge of hooking up. “You see a client’s excitement, you see their face and it feels like you’re fishing,” he said. “I still get that thrill.” After careers pitching, the Stottlemyres are adding catching to their repetoire. NS

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142 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

Krystal Flash Nightmare Article and images by Chris Gregersen

he Krystal Flash nightmare is a bold version of a tried-andtrue standard. The nightmare color scheme has proven itself time and time again for both winter and summer steelhead, and with the winter run winding down and the summer-runs trickling in, this makes an excellent go-to jig for this time of year. The attractive flash of this jig makes it shine over its subdued counterparts this time of year when water conditions are higher and the fish are fresh and aggressive. As spring progresses into summer I’ll tone down the flash of this jig and opt for more subdued colors and smaller sizes. This not only helps catch fish that have been pressured, but also matches the jig better with the natural forage that steelhead will feed on throughout the summer.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED Black marabou feather, 1⁄8- to 1⁄16-ounce white, glow, or UV-painted jighead, Krystal Flash chenille or Midge Flash, white saddle hackle, thread, cement.

JIG OF THE MONTH

Midge Flash, which is a finer shaped version of Krystal Flash that works well for delicate presentations. Repeat this process, adding three or four layers of marabou vanes and Krystal Flash until you’ve built your tail up.

3) COLLARING 1) TAIL FIRST Starting with black marabou, peel off the vanes from about a quarter of the marabou feather and wrap them on a 1⁄8- to 1⁄16-ounce white, glow, or UV-painted jighead. Select for the vanes closest to the base of the feather, avoiding the tip altogether. While tying in the end of the feather is easiest (and how virtually all marabou jigs are tied), these vanes have the least body and action of the whole feather. Next, cut off a small pinch of Krystal Flash (five or six strands) and wrap them evenly over your marabou. For smaller jigs, try

2) WHIPPING THE BODY After your tail is finished, tie in a 4- to 5inch piece of blood-red Krystal Flash Chenille. Wrap this forward towards the jighead, holding back the chenille fibers with each wrap to avoid pinching them down. Once you reach the jighead, tie this off with several tight wraps.

To finish this jig, we’ll add a white saddle hackle collar to add a bit more body and contrast to the jig profile. Trim off the thick fluffy base off this feather and peel back a few vanes, leaving a small stem to attach to the jig. Anchor this tip in, and wrap the hackle feather a few times around the collar, again holding back the vanes with each wrap to make sure you don’t pinch them down. After a few wraps, tie the tip of the feather off and trim it down to the base. Throw a few half hitches on and add some super glue, and you’re ready to rock!

4) VARIATIONS Try tying this jig using the Woolly Bugger jig technique from the January issue.

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HUNTING

Tips For Fooling Hard-Hunted Toms

Turkey guides talk May gobblers. By Terry Otto

ay toms are a tough bird, right? They’ve been hunted hard for two weeks, and there are less receptive hens around as most head to the nest. They have heard a lot of calls, maybe tussled with a decoy too, and seen their buddies get shot. Yet there are some advantages to hunting May. Most turkey gunners disappear after the second weekend, seriously reducing pressure through the 25th, when Idaho’s spring season ends, and the 31st, when Oregon and Washington’s wrap up (if only the deer woods could be so barren of competition for so long!). The toms have to travel farther to locate the remaining receptive hens, making them vulnerable, and once April’s big pressure passes, the birds relax a little. In short, May is a good investment for turkey hunters. However, the toms are jumpy and educated, so while you might have gotten away with mistakes early, that won’t cut it late. Bring your best game, or stick to hunting toms in April. Expert hunters and guides know how to adapt to the changing behaviors of turkeys over the course of the full season, and they continue to collect quality toms. Here are a few tips gleaned from some of Oregon’s best turkey hunting guides. Take these tips to heart, and you might lure that May longbeard into range this month.

COVER GROUND The late season is golden for

Many hunters proudly walked out of the woods with their gobblers last month, but May shouldn’t be overlooked either. You’ll just need to rethink your strategies from the early season, including hunting different areas, covering more ground, tweaking your calling and adjusting your camo and decoy usage. That’ll score lateseason birds, like the one guide Jeff Miller put client Jeremy on in late May 2011. (NORTHWESTHUNTING.COM)

Eric Strand of Strand Outdoors. He’s the owner of S2 Calls, a premier line of professional game calls (s2calls.com), and hunts turkeys all season long. “There are two days I hate during the season,” Strand says. “Opening day, when the woods are full of people, and the last day, because it’s over for the year.”

His first tip is to lace up those hiking boots. “You are hunting at the end of the gobbling cycle,” says Strand. “The birds are gobbling less, so you might have to go further to find a hot tom. They are covering a lot of ground trying to find a hen, so you need to cover a lot of ground too.” MAY 2014

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SKIP APRIL’S SPOTS

You will also need to get away from those early-season killing grounds. The smart, long-lived toms have moved out. Indeed, Strand’s second tip is to not hunt where you saw birds early. He says that’s especially true if you hunt public lands. “They will be moving up following the line of the snow melt,” he says. “They want that green-up as the snow recedes.” Strand advises you to go in farther, and don’t go in from the same place. “Those birds learn. They hear a hen in those areas, they figure it’s a hunter.”

MATCH THE FOLIAGE

Guide Jeff Miller of Field ’N Marsh Outfitters and Kennels (northwesthunting.com) will be swapping coat and pants as he puts clients onto birds on the 15 private ranches scattered

across Southern Oregon he has permission to hunt in May. That’s because when it comes to hunter-wise late-season toms, he says it is important to match your camo to the conditions and area where you will be hunting, “Later in the season it is more important to wear camo that matches the vegetation where you hunt,” says Miller. “There is more foliage that time of year, and more greens.” He adds that the foliage closes in in the late season, and the birds are harder to see. A hunter who bumps into a tom unexpectedly will do better if he matches his surroundings.

EASE OFF THE CALLS

Every guide interviewed for this article talked about the importance of calling less. “Less calling is always better,” says Miller. Strand agrees. He adds that most hens are on the nest in the last weeks of

the season, and the woods are naturally quieter. “Call a lot less,” he says, “and try not to sound like a hunter!” Not only should hunters back off on their calling, but Craig “Gus” Augustynovich of Fins and Feathers Guide Service (finsandfeathersguides.com), who manages over 25,000 acres for turkey and has guided in Douglas County since 1994, suggests you should also tone down your audibles. “You want to use soft, quiet calls,” he says. Augustynovich also warns against using shock calls. “Don’t use owl calls or predator calls,” he says. “It’s not usual, and it makes the birds suspicious.” It may not sound as sexy as calling a tom from position, but patterning the toms will give you a decided advantage. “Try to find out where they want to go, and get in front of them,” says Augustynovich. Strand also stresses the need to figure out the birds’ regular travels and intercept them. “Try to get around them or get above them,” he suggests.

DECOY SPARINGLY

Early-season toms are suckers for decoys, but for this phase of the hunt not so much. “I use decoys some, but you have to know the bird you are targeting. You can end up chasing them away,” Strand advises. Smaller toms or jakes that have been beat up all season will often turn and run upon seeing another tom. However, if you know there’s an alpha tom around, they can work. Augustynovich was not a fan of decoys until he discovered Dave Smith’s line, including a strutting tom which he uses to attract older, mature toms. “They work great,” he says, “but I wouldn’t use them on public land.” Miller says that size matters with faux birds in May. “Smaller decoys can be more effective late,” he says. He says a small decoy is less threatening to smaller toms and jakes. NS 148 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

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COLUMNS

Snake In The Rice O

n the long list of dumb things I have done in my life I often count my adventures rattlesnake hunting. IN THE WILD By Randy King Most days don’t start off snake hunting, they just develop into it. This past year I only nabbed one snake and it was at the prompting of my sons. When I was younger, however, my snake-hunting escapades were much more involved. While out whistlepig hunting one day in the 1990s I encountered a rock bluff south of Boise that looked like it would give me ample elevation for shooting. My buddy Ryan and I gathered our 10-22s and headed out across the sage hills. Upon arrival we took a seat, cracked a beer and began to look around. I then heard the rattle sound off next to me. On my right was a snake – not a big one, but big enough. I jumped up, not so much scared but not wanting to get bit either. Looking around I found a rock and a stick, both critical elements in a snake hunter’s arsenal. Sure, I had a gun, but I had no intention of firing a .22 bullet square into lava rock. Quickly I smashed the snake with the rock as close to his head as I could manage. This does double duty on snakes. First, it breaks their back, normally, and this limits how far they can strike. Second, hitting them with a rock most often causes them to run and not hold their ground. A snake on the run is much less dangerous than a snake on the defensive in a tight coil. I have never had a snake strike at me after I hit with a rock – sounds odd, but it seems to work for me. With the snake now on the run I used

Snake fried rice. (RANDY KING)

CHEF

the stick to pin it to the ground right behind the head. With one quick motion I pulled out my pocket knife and severed its dangerous end. I hooted a little and Ryan gave a quick mocking round of applause. I then buried the snake head under a large rock to prevent it from causing harm to others in the future. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but legend says rattlesnake heads can hold their poison for months on end. Better safe than sorry.

WHEN YOU FIND one snake in the spring, others are often nearby. I have run across several dens of snakes in my adventures. I found a 30-pound ball of them under a stump one spring; one of my boys still talks about it. Knowing snakes den up I began looking for more snakes, aka trouble. Straddling a small gully at one point, Ryan pointed out that I had two snakes directly below me, curled on themMAY 2014

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SNAKE FRIED RICE Yeah, that’s right, snakes and rice. This recipe came out of a trip to Taiwan a few years back. I ate snake in a market after a few too many beers with the Consulate. It was served in a ricey broth that was packed with ginger, mint and cilantro. It was amazing. I can’t seem to ever get the broth right, but I have managed to make a mean friedrice interpretation. The Rice ½ cup dried white rice 1 cup water Add rice and water to a small sauce pan. Heat until boiling, then turn to a simmer and cover. Let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the rice is cooked. Remove from heat and let stand. Do not stir. The Flavors 2 tablespoons cooking oil (I love bear fat, but canola or sesame oil will work)

154 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

1 each rattlesnake cut into 1-inch sections (substitute 10 ounces of chicken for the weak-hearted) 3 tablespoons fine diced ham 1 tablespoon fresh ginger 1 clove garlic 1 egg ½ cup sliced cabbage ¼ cup shredded carrot 1 cup cooked rice 1 tablespoon siracha 11⁄2 tablespoons soy sauce ¼ cup packed cilantro and mint leaves (50/50 of each) 2 tablespoons sliced green onions Note: While I usually recommend adding salt and pepper to most meals, the soy sauce and siracha more than compensate. A nonstick pan works best for this dish. Heat a medium-sized sauté pan, or wok if you have it, on medium. Add the oil and brown the snake sections. Remove snake from pan. Add the diced ham and brown. Next add the ginger and garlic; brown lightly. Slide all the goodies in the pan to one side and crack in

Inspired by a snake dish served in a Taiwanese market, our chef’s colorful recipe calls for (clockwise from top left) cilantro and mint leaves, an egg, rattlesnake meat cut into 1-inch sections, carrot, green onion, ginger and garlic, cabbage and (center) ham. (RANDY KING) the egg and pop the yolk. Let the egg cook until almost set, then scramble it with the other ingredients. Next, add the cabbage, carrots and cooked rice. Toss all the ingredients together. Let the rice start to brown a little while cooking, about three to five minutes. Don’t stir very often. Add the siracha and then gently pour in the soy sauce covering as much rice as possible. Add the snake back to the pan, and then add the cilantro, mint and green onions. Toss all together and serve hot. For more recipes, see chefrandyking.com.

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selves, unaware that I was about to be hunting them. One of the snakes began to rattle; I smacked it with a rock. The other snake began to crawl off; I grabbed it by the tail and tossed it out of the rocks and into a sagebrush. With some of the best Wild West shooting I have ever seen Ryan proceeded to head-shoot a moving rattler, still in the sagebrush, with one shot. Best part: we were hunting that day in Teva sandals, cut-off blue jeans and no shirts. The other snake, now trying to escape, received a stick to his head and a quick cut on the neck. Three snakes down, it was a good day of snake hunting. Some years I get lucky and my truck tires do most of the work for me on rattler-snakes (I steer for the head). I have cast a bass gig into a crack in the rocks and hooked a rattlesnake before; he was a fine campfire meal. One especially stupid day gathering morel mushrooms out of Riggins I watched a local redneck pull – I kid you not – the rattle off a snake

156 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

with one hand while distracting it with his other hand. Unreal. Stupid. Perfect story for the grandkids. Luckily, I have managed to get this far in my life without being bitten by a snake, but it is still questionable that I should have passed on my genetics. The jury is out; hopefully my boys take after their mother. To this day, when I go out in the desert I wear long pants and boots. I have done burned up my snakekilling karma in stupid gear. THE SNAKE’S DEAD – so now what? Start off by skinning and gutting the thing immediately! Why? Snakes piss when they die. That pee will get on everything that you own in moments and the smell will never come out. I may exaggerate a bit, but snake pee does stink. Do yourself a favor and get it off the meat promptly. Next, if you can, cool it down. Like any other meat heat is your enemy. On particularly hot days while out fishing I will

soak the meat in a section of moving river water to cool it down. After the meat is cool store it somewhere out of the sunlight, such as the shade of a tree or in a waterproof bag in a river or stream. Idaho does not have a season for snakes, but the Department of Fish and Game lets a person take up to four rattlesnakes per day, with no more than five in his or her possession. In Washington a hunting license is required to hunt rattlesnakes (as with all native wildlife). There is no daily limit. To cook the snake I often employ the sausage-rope method. With a few sticks I will roll the snake up into a tight concentric coil and then skewer the meat into one big wheel. I find this keeps the meat moister than not. Snakes do not have a huge amount of meat on them in the first place, so I want to enjoy what I do get. I have cut the snakes into 1-inch sections as well. These I often serve in a Thaistyle curry soup with sticky rice. NS

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Resident Reloader Likes Accuracy Of New Scale H

andloading is a precision game, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a candidate for a blown-up gun, with or without damage to one’s By Dave Workman hands and/or face. I’ve known guys who threw double charges of pistol powder into a .45 ACP case by accident, only to destroy handguns they were firing. One pal blew the magazine out the bottom of his Colt Commander while damaging the frame and slide rather badly. Another nimrod overcharged a rifle cartridge and when the gun went off, it locked the bolt in place. I’ve personally run hot loads in handguns that came out with flattened primers, a sure-fire warning sign that you are overpressure. When the loads are so hot that you can no longer read the brand name of a cartridge on the case head, it’s time to start pulling bullets and back off the powder charge at least 10 percent. My electronic scale gave up the ghost not long ago, after years of service and thousands of loads, and in its place I now have a Lyman Accu-Touch 2000. This baby will operate either AC or DC, and can weigh up to 2,000 grains or 130 grams. What is important to me is that this unit is compact. I’ve got a small loading bench – or maybe I’ve just got a lot of stuff on it – but the AccuTouch 2000 fits perfectly between my two presses. The Lyman model has a clear plastic cover that pivots back out of the way or may be removed during use. It is lightweight and portable, and when you’re down at the range it operates on the power of a 9-volt battery.

ON TARGET

SPRING, AS I have advised frequently in this space, is a good time for long hours at

been accurate enough for him to put the hurt on three deer I’ve watched him shoot, one at better than 300 yards. The brass and powder charge were the same as I use. Different bullets perform differently out of different guns. Where one can make the most important contribution to accuracy, in my humble opinion, is with the type of powder and the weight of the charge. I’ve used a variety of brass including Lyman Accu-Touch 2000 electronic scale is the author’s latest acquisition for quality handloads. (DAVE WORKMAN) nickel-plated Federal and Winchester, and plain brass from them, the range and loading bench. That’s why I and Remington. acted quickly when my old scale croaked. However, the past few years have seen One simply does not take chances with my bucks tumble to rounds loaded in oncesmokeless powder. You do not want to exfired Nosler Custom brass. I’m running out ceed or under-charge a cartridge that may of the stuff so I’ll have to buy some more mean the difference between notched tag shortly, but I carefully trim my cases after reand a camping trip with a rifle. sizing them full length, and then I tumble For the record, my winning load for the them. You always want to trim after resizing .30-06 – with which I have killed deer at 350 because that resizing process can stretch yards and beyond – consists of 57 grains of case necks a bit and they must be brought Hodgdon’s Hybrid 100 V behind a 180-grain back within spec. Nosler AccuBond bullet (that’s the one with the white polymer tip). A 180-grain Hornady InterBond has a NO MATTER WHAT brass one uses, or the nearly identical ballistic coefficient, though weight of the projectile, the single most each bullet performs a bit differently after variable component of a handload is the impact. But for our purposes here today, it’s powder charge. This is where I would what happens between the muzzle and imchoose an electronic scale over a mechanipact that matters, because if you can’t hit cal scale in a heartbeat. the target, bullet performance in live tissue Lyman’s Accu-Touch 2000 has a nifty litis irrelevant. tle powder trickler that mounts right on the Northwest Sportsman’s Brian Lull likes scale body with a twist, allowing the user to the loads I put together for him with the carefully trickle, granule by granule if you’re Hornady bullet. Out of his rifle, they have careful, powder to precisely produce a powMAY 2014

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COLUMNS der charge. There’s something else one must do to crank out consistent loads, and this is also where a good scale comes in handy. Weigh your bullets! Don’t believe me – ask anybody who spends the winter loading cartridges for a spring prairie dog hunt where shots out to 400 yards or more on targets that stand maybe 9 inches are not unusual. Bullet weights can vary from their advertised weight; not by much, of course, but maybe enough to throw off your impact point several inches at longer ranges. If you want consistency load to load, eliminate chances of variations wherever possible. I’ve never heard of anybody weighing brass, but I know several people who pick and choose to make sure they don’t have bum shell casings. I carefully sort through my brass to look for splits in the case wall or cracks at the mouth. Lyman’s Accu-Touch 2000 features a storage tray underneath in the rear where the trickler and some weights are kept. It comes with the AC power adapter and sets

162 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

For accuracy, don’t just measure powder charges. Weigh your bullets too! (DAVE WORKMAN) up virtually anywhere. Are there problems with this scale? That depends on what you consider a problem. I’ll be up front about this: The instructions could be better written in places, and might confuse someone who has not used an electronic scale before. This scale is sensitive! I read somewhere on-line where one guy was complaining

that actually breathing on the scale platform can throw it off, an assertion I thought was pure hogwash – until I did it. Is that bad? Nope, that’s actually good in my opinion, because it means the loads you want to precisely measure are going to be precise. With an MSRP of $153.95, it’s my judgment that the Accu-Touch 2000 is worth every penny when measured against the cost of custom ammo loaded by someone else, the money one invests in a hunt that is not successful without meat in a cooler and a notched tag tied to an antler. The unit measures about 5.25 by 7.5 inches. It will fit on virtually any loading bench, and when it’s not in use, just close the cover to keep dust off the top surface and put it out of the way. If you are getting into handloading, get a good electronic scale. There are many brands available from Hornady, RCBS, Lyman and others. Now’s a good time to be buying. But as always, all loading data should be used with caution. Always consult your loading manual. NS

164 Northwest Sportsman MAY 2014

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Burris

Swarovski offers iPhone adapter, ‘New Generation SLC’ Swarovski Optic has some treats worth looking at this year, including the newest entry in their New Generation SLC binocular family, and the PA-i5 adapter for iPhone images. The PA-i5 is designed to work with the iPhone 5/5s. It allows mounting the iPhone 5/5s on the eyepiece of the new SLC binoculars, the EL family of scopes, EL Range and other optics. It turns these optics into telephone lenses for still photos and videos. Also check out the three models in Swarovski’s SLC family. The first two – the 8x42mm and 10x42mm – were actually introduced last October, and the third, the larger 15x56mm, appeared at the SHOT Show in January. Built on a compact design, Swarovski’s SLC roof-prism binoculars deliver high-contrast images that are sharp from edge to edge. These center-focus binoculars have twistdown eyecups, a rugged outer surface that resists dings and scrapes, and they come with neck straps and cases. The 8X model provides a 408-foot field of view at 1,000 yards, while the 10X version brings that down to 330 feet, and the 15X model offers a 234-foot field of view at that distance. The 8X model measures 5.9 inches in length and weighs 28.5 ounces, while the 10X model is 5.7 inches and weighs 28 ounces, and the 15X version measures 7.56 inches and hits the scale at 42.3 ounces. Also check out Swarovski’s new CL center-focus pocket roof-prism binoculars, which are sized to fit into a pocket. Available in 8X or 10X with a 25mm objective lens, the CL pocket binocular has twist-in eye cups. Weighing just over 12 ounces a piece, the 8X model offers a 357-foot field of view at 1,000 yards and the 10X model allows for a 294-foot field at that range. They are both 4.3 inches long and 2.5 inches wide when closed. swarovskioptik.com

Timber to tactical – Vortex’s new Viper HS-T riflescope is sure to dazzle with its feature rich versatility Blending many of the best features of Vortex’s incredibly popular Viper HS and Viper PST riflescopes, the new Viper HS-T (Hunting Shooting Tactical) is positioned to be big a hit among hunters, as well as tactical enthusiasts. Available in 4-16x44 MOA and mrad models, the Viper HS-T boasts an all-new, hashmark-based second-focal-plane reticle, perfect for accurate holds at extended ranges. Mrad reticle hashes subtend in .5 and full-value increments. MOA reticle hashes subtend in 2 MOA increments. Both are set for use at the riflescope’s maximum 16-power magnification. Incredibly precise, repeatable and durable target-style windage and elevation turrets built specifically for dialing, top off this highly versatile riflescope’s long-range performance features. And with Vortex’s CRS (Customizable Rotational Stop) system, shooters can quickly re-index their turret after temporary elevation corrections have been made. The HS-T’s 30mm one-piece machined aluminum tube ensures ample travel for optimal adjustment. An ultrafriendly eyebox with generous 4-inch eye relief and fast-focus eyepiece gets shooters on target with ease. XD (extra-low dispersion) glass guarantees sharp, crisp images from edge to edge. Lenses fully multicoated with Vortex’s proprietary XR coatings offer superior light transmission for optimal performance in critical low-light scenarios. Exterior lenses feature ArmorTek, an ultrahard optical coating engineered to protect against scratches, oil and dirt. O-ring sealed and

The new Burris XTR II riflescope series is worth looking at. There are seven models in the series, including a 15x24mm, a 1.5-8x28mm, a 2-10x42mm, 3-15x50mm, 420x50mm, 5-25x50mm and an 8-40xmm. Designed for competitive shooters and tactical operators, they feature a thicker tube, Hi-Lume multi-coated lenses, precision-adjustment knobs and Zero Click Stop technology. The new Veracity series includes four models, a 210x42mm, a 3-15x50mm, a 4-20x50mm and a 5-25x50mm. They all feature a 5X zoom system, ¼-MOA, front-focal plane reticles and easy-adjustment knobs. burrisoptics.com

Big news from Nikon this year is their two new offerings in their iconic Monarch line The new MONARCH 7 30mm binocular features a new, sophisticated body design that is lighter and more compact. Its improved optical system features 30mm objectives, a wide apparent field of view and Nikon’s ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass lenses. The sharp, crisp views of the MONARCH 7 are

now even more portable and more convenient to take with you on your next adventure. Available in 8- and 10-power models, the Monarch 7 is sure to be a winner with Northwest Sportsman readers who value high performance in a compact binocular. Nikon’s Spring Instant Savings promo will expire on the 11th, so hurry to your local Nikon dealer for the chance to upgrade your optics for this year's hunting season! nikon.com

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