NW Sportsman Mag May 2019 by Media Index Publishing Group

FISHING • HUNTING • NEWS

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Sportsman Northwest

Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource

Volume 11 • Issue 8

Your Complete Hunting, Boating, Fishing and Repair Destination Since 1948.

PUBLISHER James R. Baker EDITOR Andy Walgamott THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS Randall Bonner, Jason Brooks, Roger Davis, Scott Haugen, Sara Ichtertz, Randy King, Buzz Ramsey, Mark Veary, Dave Workman, Mike Wright, Mark Yuasa EDITORIAL FIELD SUPPORT Jason Brooks GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold DESIGNERS Kayla Mehring, Jake Weipert PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker OFFICE MANAGER Katie Aumann INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER Lois Sanborn WEBMASTER/DIGITAL STRATEGIST Jon Hines ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@nwsportsmanmag.com CORRESPONDENCE Email letters, articles/queries, photos, etc., to awalgamott@media-inc.com, or to the mailing address below. ON THE COVER Sal Backman, then 8 years old, shows off a lunker early May smallmouth he caught on Northwest Washington’s Lake Whatcom. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and get daily updates at nwsportsmanmag.com.

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 11 • ISSUE 8

FEATURES 77

HOW TO EXTEND PUGET SOUND SHRIMP SEASON It’s a here-and-gone opportunity for the prime shrimp species, but also a lasting season for overlooked ones. Spots are the big spring draw for Puget Sound shellfishers, but coonstripes, dock and pink shrimp make for tasty meals, great fish bait and months of on-the-water fun. Jason Brooks details how to make the most of shrimp season!

111 ROAD TRIP! FISHING BRITISH COLUMBIA’S WHITETAIL AND WHITESWAN LAKES With their famed Kamloops and Gerrard strains of ’bows, these two waters draw anglers to fish, camp and enjoy more activities in southeast British Columbia. Break out your gazetteer, tackle box and hot springs bathing suit as Mike Wright takes us on a trip into the Great White North. 119 BE A NORTHWEST SPRING BASSIN’ ASSASSIN Roger Davis makes the most of our region’s solid spring bass fishing, starting early and working through the spawn in May and June for fat largemouth. He shares his top lures for getting big mama bass to bite this time of year! 127 OSOY-WHO?! OSOYOOS BASS, THAT’S WHO The Okanogan’s known for big mule deer bucks, but its Lake Osoyoos boasts some pretty big bass. They might have forever gone unnoticed by the angling public had not a Washington warmwater fisheries bio discovered the secret in 10 years worth of statewide tournament data. Find out what the numbers say and how to fish this overlooked gem!

(YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

EASTERN WASHINGTON TROUT The Evergreen State’s big opening weekend has come and gone, but lakes in the 509 area code will continue to “fish well into mid- to late June,” with beautiful surroundings to match. Mark Yuasa shines a light on some of the very best opportunities east of the Cascades.

133 GO TIME FOR WILLAMETTE VALLEY BASS Western Oregon is far from the ancestral homes of both Randall Bonner and bass, but the Alabama native knows that the myriad waterways of the Willamette Valley host good largemouth fishing during spring’s spawn. He shares what he’s learned about catching bass here this time of year. 139 ON HUNTING AND FISHING Bagging her first blacktail was quite an accomplishment for Sara Ichtertz, and while she hasn’t returned to Oregon’s deer woods with a rifle and tag since then, the experience provided something else she needed for her true passion, fishing the Beaver State’s salmon and steelhead rivers.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Go to nwsportsmanmag.com for details. NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Periodical Postage Paid at Seattle, WA and at additional mail offices. (USPS 025-251) POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northwest Sportsman, 14240 Interurban Ave South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Annual subscriptions are $29.95 (12 issues), 2-year subscription are $49.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Index Publishing Group, or call (206) 382-9220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues may be ordered at Media Index Publishing Group offices at the cost of $5 plus shipping. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2019 Media Index Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A.

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Plans Key For 69 Backup Strait of Juan de Fuca Halibut THE KAYAK GUYS:

Sheltered areas near shore provide kayak anglers good places to fish for halibut, and few know that better than Mark V., who has put a buttload of research into catching ’buts in Washington’s Strait of Juan de Fuca, as well as along the Oregon Coast. He shares the four main factors for finding flatties.

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COLUMNS 91

SOUTH SOUND: Smorgasbord Of Spring Fisheries To Hit “Late spring offers just about every kind of water for every kind of South Sound angler,” writes Jason in inviting fellow Tacoma, Olympia and JBLM residents to explore the many options. “Between the big lakes, foothills ponds and expansive saltwaters, you might be a bit surprised that Washington has a lot to offer even with low steelhead and salmon returns.”

107 BUZZ RAMSEY: Trolling Tricks For Trout Buzz discovered the value of trolling on a trip as a youngster with his uncle, who had different ideas about the best gear to use for trout. It’s knowledge that Buzz has refined over the succeeding decades, and this issue he shares that wealth as spring fishing hits its peak throughout our region. 147 CHEF IN THE WILD: You See Tree Rats; He Sees Appetizers Squirrel hunting is nowhere as big in the Northwest as it is in other corners of the country, but Chef Randy and his brood are taking advantage of a new Idaho season – and not just to quiet down the woods at deer camp, but to bring home some different meat for the pot! Bushytail rillette hors d’oeuvres, anyone? 155 ON TARGET: Why Spring Is The Best Time To Buy A New Rifle For Fall Dave has five good reasons – lol, as if you needed more than one! – why spring is the best time to make a new rifle purchase, as well as details a new trio of big game and plinking rifles from Sturm, Ruger. 163 GUN DOG: Is Treat Training Right For Your Pup? “Using treats to train a puppy is a debate that’s been going on for years, and really has no right or wrong answer,” writes Scott H. this issue. “Ask some of the best dog and animal trainers, and they will tell you treats are the reason for their quick, consistent success. But as a dog owner, is quick and easy what you’re after?” 14 Northwest Sportsman

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22 (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

(DETAIL, WASHINGTON DIGITAL ARCHIVES)

THE BIG PIC:

THE 100+-YEAR WAR

Fishing license fee increase proposals have always been contentious, starting in 1907 with Washington’s first.

DEPARTMENTS

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THE EDITOR’S NOTE Columbia reforms fallout continues

FISHING AND HUNTING NEWS Late winter tough on SE WA big game; Tax on high-end camping, hiking gear to fund WDFW has hearing; NOAA touts fish habitat, flood mitigation benefits of finished Tillamook project; Northwest wolf numbers increase again in annual counts; Willamette steelhead run up as 13 Falls sea lions killed; Elwha fishing closure extended two years

READER PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD Steelhead, walleye, trout and more!

PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS Yo-Zuri, Ontario Knife Co. monthly prizes

THE DISHONOR ROLL Long-range elk shooter apologizes for bad decision; Third SW WA poacher sentenced; Ocean patrol finds big ling overlimit; Kudos; Jackass of the Month

DERBY WATCH Sammamish perch derby to benefit kokanee; Ongoing, upcoming events

OUTDOOR CALENDAR Upcoming openers, events, deadlines, boat shows, minus tides, more

THEEDITOR’SNOTE

Western Washington’s pheasant release program was at risk of being cut after WDFW's fee bill faced stiff pushback following the commission’s Columbia salmon reforms vote. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

he fallout continues from the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission’s March vote to freeze Columbia River salmon reforms and continue to allow gillnetting for the time being. A major national fishing trade organization called on Governor Jay Inslee to reject it, in a Fishing Wire op-ed Buzz Ramsey wondered if it wouldn’t be the straw that broke the candidate’s presidential ambitions, major Northwest angling groups asked state lawmakers to reverse it, two Westside dailies issued opinion pieces against it, and at press time the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s proposed license fee hike was stuck tighter than a king in 9-inch mesh in the Senate. Decisions do have consequences.

NATE PAMPLIN, WDFW’S policy director, acknowledged as much during an interview early last month in which he and another state staffer laid out the implications that not passing the fee bill or extending the Columbia salmon and steelhead endorsement would have on fishing and hunting opportunities over the coming two years. They told me fisheries on the big river and for Puget Sound winter-runs, five hatcheries producing 2.6 million fish, trout lake rehabs, and the warmwater, Master Hunter and Westside pheasant release programs were on the chopping block. Some of that undoubtedly was well-worn scare tactics – I asked Pamplin if he wasn’t mulling cutting my Methow deer season too. But on the flip side, claims that the commission’s vote “restores year-round non-tribal gillnetting” on the Columbia’s Endangered Species Act-listed stocks was just as much of one, especially with this year’s Chinook forecasts all down from 2018’s predictions which only allowed for just four days for mainstem netters last year. In a street fight, anything goes. AS I WRITE this I couldn’t say how this will turn out – the legislative session is scheduled to wrap up in late April, but if recent years are any indication, things may drag on through May and into June. I do know that the commissions – Washington’s as well as Oregon’s – violated the trust we put in them to carry out the agreedto fishery reforms, and doing away with gillnetting by 2017 on the Columbia was the centerpin of that effort. That it’s still on the table in 2019 is huge and anglers are right to be angry about the delay. And I know the failure of the fee bill and endorsement would have real ramifications too. “… (This) would actually make us less able to deliver the things they’re upset at us for not having more of,” WDFW Director Kelly Susewind told his commission. We’ll have updates at nwsportsmanmag.com, where we report on issues like this daily. –Andy Walgamott

nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

Northwest Sportsman 19

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The

100-plus-year War

An early 20th century angler balances along the banks of an unknown Washington river. (FISHING/ASAHEL CURTIS, 1910-1930, ASAHEL CURTIS, GENERAL SUBJECTS PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION, 1845-2005, WASHINGTON STATE ARCHIVES, DIGITAL ARCHIVES, HTTP://WWW.DIGITALARCHIVES. WA.GOV, ACCESSED APRIL 11, 2019)

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PICTURE Fishing license fee increases have always been contentious, starting with Washington’s first. By Andy Walgamott

f you think there’s anger about proposals to increase the price of fishing and hunting licenses today – why pay more for less! fire all the back-office hacks first! not until they get rid of all the wolves! – it’s safe to say not much has changed in the past 112 years. A February 1907 article that my mom dug up while doing genealogy research stated that some Washington anglers weren’t all that excited by a new-fangled idea to start charging them to fish in state waters. “One sportsman characterizes the law as an attempt to deprive a man of the right to take his family out once a year for a day’s fishing,” the Tacoma Daily News reported. The cost: $1 for your home county, $5 for anywhere in the state. “No man will want to take out a license for every member of this family for the privilege of catching a few fish while on a picnic or camping trip,” the brief article quotes an unnamed fisherman as saying. “If he happens to take them outside the county in which he resides, he will be up against the proposition of paying a state license fee of $5. The law is the worst ever

proposed and if it is passed, fishermen should unite to test it in courts,” the man continued. Lawsuit! While a measly five greenbacks is how much I paid our sales manager after she won our March Madness pool (thanks, Gonzaga), for a dad during the days of the Teddy Roosevelt Administration, $5 actually represented a helluva lot more: $135.21 in today’s dollars, according to officialdata.org. Nobody likes to pay more for anything, but you can understand the backlash from a guy suddenly having to contemplate outfitting the whole fam damily with licenses.

BUT ANOTHER FISHERMAN of the day saw it differently. “There was much objection when the hunting law was passed,” they said during a time when the county license for deer, birds and other game was also $1 and the statewide one was $5, “but nobody now denies its

good effects.” To add a little more perspective, today’s freshwatersaltwater combo license plus the Columbia River salmon steelhead endorsement, a pair which essentially let you fish anywhere, runs $64.10 after dealer fees, or $2.37 in 1907 dollars, per officialdata.org. At this writing it wasn’t clear that WDFW’s fee bill would unroll itself from the Senate gillnet it’s been caught in and be passed into law, but if it does it would raise the price of those two licenses to $72.34, or $2.68 back then. “I’m willing to pay $1 a year for my fishing,” the enlightened angler, who lived at a time when you didn’t have to travel across county lines to find good fishing, told the Daily News. “Why should not fishermen and hunters be treated alike? One thing is sure – that is that we’ve got to do something very quickly if we are to have any trout at all.” Indeed, some things never change. I couldn’t tell you if the proposal was approved that year, and I couldn’t tell you what hunting and fishing fees back then went towards. I assume wardens, county game commissions buying elk to restock overharvested herds, perhaps the state’s budding hatchery system and maybe printing the super-brief regulations books – just four pages for the 1905 big game pamphlet. I do know the coffers were raided by the unscrupulous. In launching this magazine in fall 2008 I wrote about how in 1930, after county

(TACOMA DAILY NEWS)

officials took money that had been raised to build rearing ponds at Tokul Creek hatchery and used it to buy vehicles instead, Ken McLeod founded a magazine titled The Northwest Sportsman as part of an effort to put fish and game management under state control and we haven’t looked back since. Today, all of our license dollars – Every. Last. Penny. – by state and federal laws go to the management of fish, wildlife, angling and hunting opportunities. And I cannot deny that “good effect” as we struggle to maintain and try and grow the opportunities we still have against a king hell tide of habitat destruction that’s come on since 1907, politicians’ and even sportsmen’s apathy, and the roller coaster of bust-and-boom game cycles. NS

nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

Northwest Sportsman 23

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NEWS

Tough Late Winter For Elk, Deer, Even New Pronghorns In SE WA

he six-by-seven bull rose with the rest of the herd of 150-plus elk that bitterly cold March morning outside Walla Walla and began trudging south through the snow. But then as Scott Rasley, a longtime Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife staffer and wildlife conflict specialist for the Blue Mountains, watched the animals make their way towards the Oregon state line, “like they do every morning,” he witnessed something extraordinary. The big bull turned to its left, then “laid down, put his head back, and died in 30 seconds.” Didn’t take any final breaths, didn’t let out any death moans. Just. Died. On the spot. “I have never seen anything like that in 38 years,” Rasley said. He said the bull otherwise looked like it was in OK shape and was suffering no apparent external injuries. “The bull had the normal amount of lack of fat that we would find this time of year. And after a late and very cold snowy winter, basically none,” Rasley said. It was a hard thing for him to see, given

how he much he’s enjoyed working with elk – “a magnificent animal” – for WDFW in some of the state’s best wapiti country over the past 35 years. “I always hate to see a magnificent bull like this die for no reason,” Rasley said.

BUT IT WAS also symbolic of the harsh conditions Eastern Washington deer, elk and antelope suffered through in February as below-zero temperatures and record or near-record snows hit the region and lingered well into March, burying forage and pushing the animals below their normal winter range habitats. The bull’s death and those of other critters were briefly described in biweekly WDFW Wildlife Program reports from February and March. “Veterinarian Mansfield and Wildlife Health Technician Cole have been receiving an increase in reports of dead mule deer in eastern Washington,” reads one section of the March 1-15 report. “To date, necropsies and laboratory testing indicate that the deer are in a state of chronic negative energy balance, likely a

result of prolonged winter weather and deep snow pack.” It states that one deer had a “severe” ulcer, probably because it had been suddenly forced to forage on things its stomach couldn’t deal with. “When eaten, they ferment in the stomach, producing large amounts of acid, which cause ulcers and enter the bloodstream, usually resulting in death,” the report states in reminding us that it’s not as easy as just putting out piles of corn or whatnot for starving critters. That report and others from February show photos of carcasses of deer found on the Grande Ronde and recently translocated pronghorns near Tri-Cities, as well as a cow elk in the snow on the 4-O Wildlife Area that was still alive but too weak to stand with the end near. “We lost a lot of deer along the Snake River, as well,” Rasley added. “Most were last year’s fawns. I can’t remember the last time we had 40 mile an hour north winds with below zero temps and heavy snow at the same time. Pretty sad.” Most impacts occurred east of the

This bull elk got up with the rest of its herd on a subzero morning near Walla Walla this past winter but then simply keeled over and died a short while later. (SCOTT RASLEY, WDFW)

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Northwest Sportsman 27

NEWS Cascades, but hungry trumpeter swans in the Sequim area “decimated” an organic farm’s broccoli and cauliflower crops when everything else was under a heavy blanket of snow, according to one report. With winter-weary deer and elk expected to struggle through more bad weather, in early March WDFW closed several wildlife area units on the eastern side of the Blue Mountains to public access to reduce disturbance on wintering game. On the south side of the range, ODFW urged shed antler hunters to postpone their searches. But the Wildlife Program reports also shared images or stories of wildlife powering through late winter: a herd of 23 bulls hunkered behind a tree line to get out of a cold wind on a 3-degree day; the snow burrows of sage grouse in the northern Columbia Basin; large numbers of elk gathered at Yakima and Kittitas Counties’ feedlots; turkeys in hay barns; a cougar taking shelter under a barn. It’s the nature of nature, the strong –

and the lucky and the accidents of birth – survive the cold season to reproduce, strengthening the herds and flocks.

I EMAILED BIOLOGISTS across the Eastside’s southern tier to find out how this winter compared to the last harsh one that hit this country, 2016-17, which began a lot earlier. Paul Wik, WDFW district bio for the Blues, feels that 2018-19 was “likely less severe” because the worst weather occurred during that late seven- to eightweek window. But he also thinks deer and elk may have entered this past winter with less fuel in the tank, per se. “I think that the animals were likely in poorer condition than normal going into this winter due to the lack of fall greenup that normally occurs,” Wik said. “With the fall rains occurring too late in the year for grass to germinate in the fall, the deer and elk were not able to access higher nutritional forage in the fall, predisposing them to the severe late-winter conditions.”

As for the impact hunters might see, he says some parts of his district could see reduced deer harvest this fall, but the impact may be larger in 2021 when last year’s fawns would be legal bucks. “Our deer surveys in December documented normal fawn recruitment, but that was prior to the winter weather which may have impacted them,” Wik said. In the district to the north, Michael Atamian confirmed winter was “hard” on deer and elk. “In general I would say it was not as hard as the 2016-17 winter in Spokane and Lincoln Counties. However, in southwest Whitman County this year was likely a bit harder than 2016-17 on mule deer,” he reported. “We might see a bit of an impact in harvest success a couple years down the line in the Whitman County area,” Atamian noted, adding, “However, the ability of a hunter to secure private land access will have greater impact on their success overall.” –Andy Walgamott

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NEWS

Tax On High-end Outdoor Clothing, Tents, More Gear To Help Fund WDFW Gets Hearing

Members of the Walgamott-Eckstein family set up a tent while camping in Washington’s San Juan Islands. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

n idea whose time has come, an “unfixable” one – or something in between? Washington lawmakers heard all sides during a hearing on a bill that would add a .20 percent tax on high-end hiking jackets, big-ticket tents and other recreational equipment and clothing over $200 to help fund the upkeep of WDFW-owned fish and wildlife habitat. The bill was unlikely to pass anytime soon, but is meant to start a conversation amongst lawmakers and the public. Citing a ring of invasive knapweed around a state wildlife area sign in Okanogan County, prime sponsor Rep. Joel Kretz (R-Wauconda) said he was trying to fix a long-standing problem for the agency since the Great Recession chopped a big part of state General Fund support for its myriad missions. “I think $2 million would give us a start,” he told members of the House Finance Committee earlier last month, That’s how much a fiscal note says House Bill 2122 as initially written would raise on average over the coming six years for WDFW’s Wildlife Account, from $800,000 in 2020 to $2.9 million in 2025 Hunters and anglers presenting their licenses at that point of sale would be exempt as we already pay through federal excise taxes via the venerable PittmanRobertson and Dingell-Johnson Acts.

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“That group has been paying the freight for a pretty long time,” Kretz pointed out. Firearms, boats, mountain bikes and other equipment wouldn’t be affected.

BUT REPS FROM the retail industry say they oppose it, including for its broad language and the dollars that outdoor activities already generate for local economies and state taxes – $26 billion and $2 billion, said Mark Berejka of Seattle gear giant REI. “This bill is not a fix and it is not fixable,” he told legislators. He also questioned how the sportsman exemption would work when buying items online, and complained that the bill had been “sprung” on his industry. Thomas O’Keefe of American Whitewater stated that the bill would tax the skis he straps on on federal lands but not the paddle he’d use at a WDFW water access site. Another speaker wondered if horse saddles would be taxed. James Moshella of the Washington Trails Association said his group was opposed, but that if such a tax was going to be imposed it needed to have a broader conversation and also should benefit all state lands – WDFW, DNR and State Parks – that hikers use. BUT ORGANIZATIONS CLOSER to WDFW’s mission expressed support. Jen Syrowitz, a hunter and hiker with Washington Wildlife Federation, called the bill a “fair ask of the

recreational community.” She said there was a “disconnect” between state residents and our wildlife and the bill would help everyone understand they’re all stakeholders in WDFW carrying out its conservation mission. Syrowitz called the tax nominal, and in offering Audubon Washington’s support, Adam Maxwell said it amounted to“60 cents on a pair of Nikon Monarch binoculars.” He said that the dollars WDFW receives generate a 350 percent return on investment to state coffers. Calling himself an avid hiker and photographer, Chris Bachman of Spokane’s The Lands Council said, “I’m glad to pay the tax.” He added that what would be taxed under the bill needs to better defined, a work-in-progress sentiment that was echoed by Tom Echolls of the Hunters Heritage Council and Mitch Friedman of Conservation Northwest. The former signed in as “other,” the latter in support. Also testifying was WDFW’s Nate Pamplin. He said his agency was supportive of the intent of the bill, which came out of legislative requirements for state fish and wildlife overseers to review their operations, conduct an audit, and look for efficiencies and convene stakeholders, the Budget and Policy Group, or BPAG. He said that that found that the department’s mission benefits all Washingtonians, and it should be funded that way. Asked by Rep. Ed Orcutt (R-Kalama) how much WDFW lost in General Fund revenues due to the recession 10 years ago, Pamplin said funding went from $110 million in the 2007-09 biennium to $75.6 million in 2009-11 to $57.7 million in 201113. While it recovered to $94.4 million in the current two-year budget cycle, with inflation it’s still $30 million below where it might otherwise be. Rep. Kretz said the dropoff could be seen in “lapses in management” and in his opposition to habitat acquisitions, such as Scotch Creek, where the aforementioned weed-ringed wildlife area sign stands. Pamplin thanked Kretz for dropping the bill and the committee for the hearing, and said he looked forward to working with stakeholders on it. –AW

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NEWS

NOAA Touts Fish, Flood Benefits Of Finished Tillamook Project

OAA’s work with community partners restoring estuary habitat in Tillamook Bay, Oregon is revitalizing tidal wetlands for threatened Oregon Coast coho salmon, and helping reduce flooding in the surrounding communities and farmlands. The project’s benefits to fish were realized immediately – 443 acres of different estuary habitats critical to juvenile salmon are now available, including mud

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Before and after images from the Tillamook Estuary Partnership show the effect of removing levees and tide gates near the mouth of the Trask River, restoring juvenile fish habitat. (TILLAMOOK ESTUARY PARTNERSHIP VIA NMFS)

NEWS flats, open water with vegetation, marsh and others. Often called “nurseries of the sea,” estuaries offer unique conditions, like slow moving water and tides that bring in nutrients, which keep fish safe and allow them to grow. A recently published report also confirms the project’s flood reduction goals were achieved. Shortly after project completion, in October 2017, a flood occurred at the site. Our restoration work resulted in widespread reduction in flood levels and duration including along Highway 101, a key commercial and transportation corridor. In total, about 4,800 acres around the project site showed reductions in flood levels. This project, like many others we work on, shows how restoring habitat back to its natural functions can help coastal communities be more resilient against severe weather. Nature-based approaches are being shown to provide these, and many other economic benefits, along both the east and west coasts of the United States. Almost 90 percent of the Tillamook

Estuary’s historic tidal wetlands have been lost to development and agriculture. Like many other species relying on estuary and wetland habitats, loss of these areas is a primary contributor to the decline of Oregon Coast coho salmon. Additionally, Oregon’s winters bring storm surges, heavy rainfall, and snow melt. Combined with high tides, this often causes flooding in the area. Flood losses in Tillamook County exceeded $60 million from 1996-2000. To achieve the mutually beneficial project goals, old levees, fill, and tide gates were removed to create tidal estuary habitat. This functions as a “flow corridor,” allowing flood waters to move freely and quickly away from the town of Tillamook. Now, nearby properties and more than 500 structures are protected from flooding. It’s estimated that $9.2 million in economic benefits will accrue from avoided flood damages over the next 50 years. The project reconnected hundreds of acres of marsh habitat and restored 13 miles of new tidal channels. This will significantly benefit Endangered Species

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Act-listed Oregon Coast coho salmon. Historically, more than 200,000 of these salmon would return to Tillamook Bay each year. That number was down to just 2,000 in 2012. This habitat is critical for juvenile salmon to feed and grow, and will help with the broader goal of species recovery along Oregon’s entire coast. The Southern Flow Corridor Project is the result of tremendous community support and collaboration. NOAA Fisheries’ Restoration Center, within the Office of Habitat Conservation, and the West Coast Regional Office, worked with more than a dozen local, state, federal, tribal and private partners on this effort. Key partners include the Port of Tillamook Bay, Tillamook Bay Habitat and Estuary Improvement District, Tillamook County, the State of Oregon, FEMA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Institute for Applied Ecology, and the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership. We provided funding for the project through the Communitybased Restoration Program and the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, and onthe-ground technical assistance. –NOAA

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NEWS

Elwha Fishing Ban Extended; Good Chinook Forecast

he Elwha will remain closed to fishing for another two years, until mid2021, to give salmonids more time to colonize the northern Olympic Peninsula river and rebuild their numbers. “Monitoring has shown that salmon and steelhead populations are expanding into newly opened habitats, but have not yet achieved recovery goals,” Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind reported to the Fish and A Chinook excavates a nest inside Olympic National Park following complete removal of Elwha River Dam. (JEFF DUDA, USGS)

Wildlife Commission in early April. Ahead of removal of the two dams on its lower end, Glines Canyon and Elwha, the river has been closed to all sport and tribal fishing since 2011. Chinook, coho, chum, steelhead and bull trout are taking advantage of the new habitat in the pristine national park watershed, with the seagoing char observed as far as 40 miles upstream, above “five major canyons,” according to a Peninsula Daily News report from last fall. WDFW district fisheries biologist Mike Gross says there are also encouraging signs with Chinook, including this year’s conservatively estimated forecast of 7,400, which is well above 2018’s prediction of 5,200 and above the actual return of 7,100. He says that last year’s strong showing of 3-year-olds should translate into a good number of 4-year-olds this fall and 5-yearolds in 2020. That good three-year push of fish should help propel the Chinook population further

and further up the Elwha “These early recolonizers play an important role in establishing spawning and juvenile rearing in habitats of the upper watershed,” Susewind told the commission. The Elwha is fabled for once hosting returns of truly massive Chinook before the dams were built in the early 1900s. “Hopefully the ocean cooperates the next few years,” says Gross. As for coho, the ocean forecast is 1,679, and he expects between 1,000 and 1,200 to actually return to the river. The extension of the moratorium, which was agreed to by WDFW, the National Park Service and Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, is slated to run from June 1, 2019 through July 1, 2021. Susewind told the fish commission that “recreational, subsistence and commercial fishing will resume when there is broad distribution of spawning adults in newly accessible habitats above the former dam sites, and when spawning occurs at a rate that allows for population growth and diversity, producing adequate escapement and a harvestable surplus.” –AW

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NEWS

Northwest Wolf Numbers Up Again In Annual Counts

The alpha male of Northeast Oregon’s Chesnimnus Pack walks through a snowy scene this past December. (ODFW)

regon and Washington wildlife managers reported wolf numbers increased yet again, growing to a minimum of 263 animals roaming the landscape, and again acknowledge that many more are likely out there. In the northern state it marked a tenth straight year of growth, with new packs popping up in Skagit, Kittitas and Columbia Counties and on and near the Colville Reservation. At the very least in Washington there are 126 wolves in 27 packs with 17 successful breeding pairs at the end of

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2018, up from 122, 22 and 14 in 2017. The rise occurred once again despite tribal hunting and state removals to head off livestock depredations. Washington wolf policy manager Donny Martorello did call the 2 percent growth rate “modest,” but said that the increase in breeding pairs in the North Cascades to three was important. “We’re pleased we’re taking another step towards the recovery objective. The local recovery objective is four,” he said. It was expected in some quarters

including this one that the 2018 annual count would be significantly higher based on the work of Dr. Samuel Wasser in Northeast Washington and the South Cascades. His scat-sniffing dogs found evidence of 60 different wolves in Stevens and Pend Oreille Counties during a timeframe that the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s official count listed a minimum of 30. But Martorello said that Wasser and WDFW were largely working at opposite ends of the wolf population cycle, the University of Washington researcher after litters were on the ground and wolf numbers were highest, and the state agency in the dead of winter, which can see 50 to 60 percent mortality among young-of-the-year animals. “We’re doing a minimum count when the population is lowest,” he said. Minimum also means the animals that wolf biologists can visually count out of aircraft or on trail cams.

IN OREGON, THE same protocol is used, but ODFW uses a slightly different metric for what it considers a pack, four wolves travelling together, not two. The agency reported that there were at least 16 packs

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NEWS at the end of 2018, up from 12, with at least 15 of those successful breeding pairs. There are another eight groups of two to three wolves. Overall, the known population increased 10 percent to a minimum of 137. State wolf coordinator Roblyn Brown noted that the species continues to spread across Oregon, with the White River Pack near Mt. Hood producing a litter. While poachings decreased from four to two, livestock depredations increased by 65 percent, with 30 calves killed or injured by wolves, along with two guard dogs. Those were primarily caused by just three packs, Rogue in the federally listed part of Oregon, and Pine Creek and Chesnimnus in the eastern third. Brown said that livestock producers are adjusting their operations to reduce the threat of attacks. ODFW reports its 2017-19 wolf budget is $678,223, which mostly comes from the federal Pittman-Robertson Act Grant Program.

ONE OF WASHINGTON’S six new packs was formed in the upper Skagit Valley when the male that’s been hanging out near

Marblemount since 2017 was joined by a female this winter. The duo are being called the Diobsud Pack, after a local stream. It’s being termed the first pack west of the Cascade Crest, though several wolves ran in the border-straddling Hozomeen area of the upper-upper Skagit a few years ago. Local state Sen. Keith Wagoner (R-Sedro Woolley) said that he disagreed “with the thought that these animals moving into Skagit County and breeding is good policy.” The new Butte Creek Pack runs in the Blue Mountains and includes one that dispersed from elsewhere in the state, and the Naneum Pack is in northeast Kittitas County. And the Nason, OPT (for Old Profanity Territory), and Sherman Packs are on or north of the Colville Reservation. WDFW’s annual count underscored yet again that wolves are doing quite well in Washington and are likely to continue to do so, and it will be taken into account as the agency reviews the status of the species and its robustness. That process will begin this month and will use Washington wolf data instead of other states’ to update population models. It will also incorporate

mortality and fecundity data. Based on that review, WDFW will make a recommendation to the Fish and Wildlife Commission next February on whether gray wolves’ continued state ESA listing is warranted or not. Well down the road that could potentially lead to hunting opportunities similar to those already enjoyed by members of the Colville and Spokane Tribes. WDFW reported that tribal hunters took six wolves last year, while four were lethally removed after repeated livestock depredations in the federally delisted third of the state. Two other wolf deaths are being investigated. Five packs depredated on at least one farm animal in 2018, with 11 confirmed cattle and one sheep deaths and 19 cattle and two sheep injured, the most since 2014. WDFW spent $1.2 million on wolf management last year, with more than three-fifths of that funded by personalized and endangered license plate sales. In June, ODFW’s commission is expected to vote on an updated wolf plan that followed extensive input. –AW

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NEWS

Willamette Steelhead Run Up; 13 Falls Sea Lions Killed

A California sea lion with a captured salmonid at Willamette Falls in May 2016. (ODFW)

ild Willamette winter steelhead, an iconic run that is considered by many to be the most imperiled fish in Oregon, are posting some their best returns in three years. ODFW’s biologists hope this is the beginning of a turnaround, and evidence the fish are responding positively to the removal of one of their most voracious predators – California sea lions. To date [April 1], more than 2,400 winter steelhead have crossed Willamette Falls into the upper river and its tributaries on their way to spawn, in what’s shaping up as the best return in years. Based on passage numbers to date, ODFW is projecting the total return this year will come in around 3,200 winter steelhead. That would be nearly double last year’s return of 1,829 fish, and nearly a fourfold increase from the record low return of just 822 fish in 2017. “We’re excited to see some of the best winter steelhead returns in recent years,” said Dr. Shaun Clements, ODFW senior policy analyst. “We’re encouraged by the fish numbers and by the success in implementing the sea lion removal

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program. We’ve definitely been able to reduce predation this year and provide some relief to the fish.” ODFW biologists have been monitoring Willamette wild winter steelhead for a number of years and have shown that California sea lions were consuming up to 25 percent of the winter steelhead run. Biologists warned that unless something was done to protect the steelhead from such heavy losses to predation, the fish were in imminent danger of going extinct. Sea lions are federally managed, so in 2017 ODFW applied to the National Marine Fisheries Service for authorization to remove California sea lions from Willamette Falls. Following a year-long public review and comment process, an authorization was granted last November. Trapping began a month later in midDecember, and ODFW has since removed and euthanized 13 California sea lions. Many of these animals had been present in the vicinity of Willamette Falls since last August and almost all had been coming to the Falls for a number of years. The 11th sea

lion was removed on March 13. With the removal of this animal, there were no sea lions on the lower river for six days, and the steelhead were free to move through the lower river and over the falls without being preyed upon by sea lions. This respite from the sea lions took place during a warming trend when daily crossings increased from double to triple digits. Lots of steelhead were moving into the Willamette, and, for the first March in many years, there were no sea lions hunting them. Unfortunately, the respite was short-lived, as more California sea lions have since moved into the area. On March 22, two more California sea lions were trapped and euthanized. “We typically see an increase in sea lion abundance at the Falls in April as additional animals move in to feed on the more abundant spring Chinook,” said Clements. “We always expected it would take 2-3 years to fully manage predation at this site but we’re encouraged by the early results.” ODFW will get a final count on winter steelhead at the end of May, when the spawning migration typically ends. –ODFW

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Northwest Sportsman 43

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The Port of Garibaldi encompasses three coastal towns, including Bay City, Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach. Besides housing RV parks and lodging, restaurants, seafood processing, a lumber mill, and commercial and charter fishing, the Port’s harbor has moorage for 277 vessels. The Port’s property also features the Lion’s Club Lumbermen’s Park and an antique train display. A walking path is also a popular draw for locals as well as visitors to Garibaldi.

READER PHOTOS

In the battle between a big Yakima County carp and a 5-year-old, Hudson Friedrich came out on top! He was fishing with his dad Jake and they were using corn. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

Darrel Smith shows off a super-chrome wild Hoh River steelhead, caught on a super-cold day this past February. “It was just about flawless and so bright,” he recalled of the winter-run. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

Cousins Jake and Cole Mandella enjoyed pretty good silver fishing last September, landing these limits while fishing the big Everett Coho Derby. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

Begorrah! Dax Sullivan enjoyed a great St. Patty’s Day on Lake Roosevelt, catching this nice rainbow on a stickbait while fishing with his mom and dad. Family friend Gary Lundquist forwarded the image. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

With warm memories from his Midwest childhood, Dave Anderson likes to make a run to the Mid-Columbia to catch a mess of walleye in early spring, this year with friends and guides TJ (background) and Jim Hester. “Call me crazy, but I would eat a plate of walleye over a plate of halibut any day of the week,” says Anderson. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

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

Northwest Sportsman 45

READER PHOTOS

A poor return of steelhead to Idaho still yielded good fishing for Rick Itami. He worked the Salmon River near Riggins and despite frigid waters, hooked 15 and landed 13 over three days. Itami reported that one hen he caught sported an ODFW tag and when he called it in, he learned that the fish had been captured Sept. 8 at Sherars Falls on the Deschutes, 40 miles above the Columbia. “Now I’m kind of sad that I harvested the fish knowing how far it had to travel to get to where it could hit my marabou jig under a bobber,” Itami said, adding, “OK, maybe not that sad.” (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

It was a slow morning just above Grand Coulee Dam for most anglers, but not Remington Wiebe! “She was the only one catching,” reports her grandpa, Hank. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

Those glorious mid-March days we enjoyed after a harsh late winter got North Sound basser Roger Davis chomping at the bit to get on the water, where he found a willing biter in this 8.6-pounder. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

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Consider Nathan Holder’s nice coho a heads up for summer and fall fisheries in parts of Western Washington – South Sound and the Columbia system should see strong returns, and you can bet Nathan and his dad Marvin will be chasing them. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

They don’t call ’em bugeyes for nothing! Ashley Stanley shows off a walleye from Lake Rufus Woods, caught in early spring. She also hooked a very large sucker that weekend, though released it so it could make more walleye forage. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

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PHOTO

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WINNERS!

Amanda Wiles is the winner of our monthly Yo-Zuri Photo Contest, thanks to this great shot of son Kayden and his Western Washington rainbow trout that made last issueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cover. It wins her gear from the company that makes some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best fishing lures and lines!

Grizzled bowhunter Carl Lewallen wins our monthly Ontario Knife Co. Photo Contest, thanks to this pic of he and his last-gasp Western Oregon blacktail from last season. It wins him a knife from Ontario Knife Company!

For your shot at winning Ontario knives and Yo-Zuri fishing products, send your photos and pertinent (who, what, when, where) details to awalgamott@media-inc.com or Northwest Sportsman, PO Box 24365, Seattle, WA 98124-0365. By sending us photos, you affirm you have the right to distribute them for our print or Internet publications. nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

Northwest Sportsman 49

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MIXED BAG

Long-range Elk Shooter Apologizes For Bad Decision

art of being a hunter is taking smart, ethical shots that immediately kill our quarry and allow us to begin processing the carcass as quickly as possible. After one subject hunting in Northeast Oregon winged a shot at a toofar-off elk, which subsequently was wasted, they were sentenced to write a letter to area residents. It appeared in the March 2019 Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Division newsletter. To wit: “Dear Citizens of Wallowa County, Please consider this as my sincerest apology to the citizens of Wallowa County, Oregon, for my poorly managed decision

to engage in long range shooting, thus resulting in the loss of my meat. I have learned that this method is not an effective means of hunting, unless you are far more equipped than the average hunter. I could have taken better steps both before and after my shot to prevent the wasting of the animal. You need to have your pack prepared to spend a minimum of one night in the mountains. Get a good lay of the land you will be hunting in to know how you will get to the animal before you shoot. Having good spotters is a must when shooting long distance. After the shot it could take most of a day to get to the animals location. Whether

By Andy Walgamott

you see it go down or know you hit it or may have missed. If it goes out of sight you need to pack up and get there right away. When you reach the animal it should be field dressed and ASAP and hung in trees if available in game bags. If the game meat is sour smelling you need to contact your local game warden for meat verification. You cannot make that decision on your own. Going forward I will use my experience, which I have learned from, as a way to educate others.” Something for all of us to consider and learn from.

Another SW WA Poacher Sentenced T he third of four major members of a loose-knit Southwest Washington poaching ring was sentenced last month. A Skamania County judge ordered Joseph A. Dills to serve a year and pay $14,000 in fines after he pled guilty to illegal big game hunting, hound hunting and wasting game last fall, according to The Daily News of Longview. Dills was also told to stay away from other members of the group, including his father, for half a decade, and he cannot own hunting dogs. The newspaper reported that the 32-year-old can do his time on work release to pay the fine, but noncompliance could

bring even heavier fines and result in hard time instead. It’s at least the second time in the past dozen years that Dills has been in trouble for poaching. A member of the “Kill ’Em All Boyz,” he pled guilty in 2007 to seconddegree hunting violations and illegally baiting bears and was sentenced to over two months in jail and to pay more than $2,000 in fines. His most recent conviction came out of a December 2016 traffic stop by Oregon State Police wildlife troopers investigating a string of headless bucks shot and left on winter range near Mt. Hood. They matched a trail cam photo of a truck with one spotted in The Dalles and pulled it over. Inside were William

J. Haynes and Erik C. Martin, whose cell phones led to a treasure trove of evidence linking that duo with Joseph Dills and his father, Eddy Dills, and accusations they and others were complicit in the illegal killings of dozens upon dozens of deer, elk, bears and bobcats in Washington and Oregon. Since pleading guilty to 15 counts, including five felonies, in January (Northwest Sportsman, March 2019), Haynes was sentenced to a year in jail and fined $14,800, according to The Daily News. Eddy Dills received three-plus weeks of home detention. As for Martin, he is scheduled to go on trial in Skamania County on May 13 for 28 wildlife violations.

JACKASS OF THE MONTH Sometimes poachers get their just desserts; sometimes they are dessert. So it was for the suspected South African rhino poacher who early last month was not only killed by an elephant but was then eaten by lions. While it’s possible the man was just a poverty-stricken farmer trying to feed his family and not a hardcore poacher trying to feed illegal markets, in announcing the retrieval of his remains, the country’s park service stated the obvious: “Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that.”

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MIXED BAG

Cannon Beach Ocean Patrol Finds Big Overlimit Of Lings

ive people were cited for going way over the limit on lingcod and rockfish off Oregon’s North Coast, as well as retaining undersized fish, and apparently it wasn’t their first rodeo. “The boat owner said that they had done this before, and if he had seen the troopers coming from further away, he would have dumped all of the extra fish overboard,” reported state fish and wildlife troopers in their March newsletter. The incident occurred during a joint OSP-WDFW ocean patrol from the mouth of the Columbia River south to Cannon Beach. Somewhere off the popular seaside destination, the crew spotted a fishing boat and decided to make contact with it. As they approached they saw one angler toss a couple lings overboard, according to OSP, and on the deck were “multiple undersized lingcod.” The quintet claimed that those fish and some in a cooler were the only catch of the day, but a consent search turned up many more. In the holds were 37 lings, 16 of which were also under the size limit – the daily limit is two, 22 inches or better – and 22 rockfish.

Lingcod and rockfish seized from operators of a boat who were well over their limits for the species. (OSP) “The anglers were found to be 27 lingcod over their daily limit and six rockfish over their limit,” OSP reports. The five received criminal citations for exceeding daily limits on marine fish and lingcod, and retaining undersized lings. The fish were seized. The case is similar to one reported

on these pages last year in which four individuals checked at the Hammond Marina were criminally cited for being 54 over the limit on rockfish, and one of them for keeping a too-short ling and an offlimits cabezon. Seized fish are typically donated to local food banks.

KUDOS A North-central Washington game warden has been named WDFW Police Officer of the Year for his “outstanding performance”in 2018 and the “great work and leadership” he’s shown throughout his career. “Officer (Eric) Oswald is very ‘well rounded.’ His commitment to protect the state’s natural resources, lead by example, and serve his community set himself apart,” supervisors stated in a Facebook post announcing the honor last month. He works Chelan and western Douglas Counties and has been with WDFW for the past 16 years, and before that was an Oregon State Police trooper. “As a veteran, Officer Oswald’s positive approach to adapt to change and mentor young officers 52 Northwest Sportsman

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(NW CHAPTER SCI)

to be part of the team has defined him as a true leader. Officer Oswald will also give advice and guidance to help his fellow officers to become excellent investigators, interviewers, and experts at handling bear and cougar conflicts,”

WDFW stated. He was presented with a plaque during the NW Chapter of Safari Club International’s conservation banquet by chapter president Mike Rex (middle right), and past presidents Alain Smith (left) and Gary Tennison (right).

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Northwest Sportsman 53

Perch Derby Highlights Plight Of Seattle-area Kokanee Stock

By Andy Walgamott

The 2nd Annual Lake Sammamish Perch Derby will be held Saturday, May 18, with cash and prizes to be awarded for anglers who bring in yellowbellies like this one. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

nother yellow perch derby will be held on Lake Sammamish, this one on Saturday, May 18, part of a larger effort to recover the lake’s kokanee population. It follows on an initial derby put on last September by Trout Unlimited, who say that catching yellowbellies will help the metro water’s landlocked sockeye. Juvenile perch compete with kokanee for zooplankton, key forage for the native fish. Headquartered at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah, the derby begins at 8 a.m. and runs till 1 p.m.

“There will be adult and kid divisions with prizes awarded to the person catching the longest perch, the heaviest perch, and the heaviest 25 perch, and also a bonus prize for the largest pikeminnow caught by registered anglers,” reads a TU event announcement. Tickets are $30 for adults, $15 for kids, and all proceeds go towards recovering Sammamish kokanee. Those in the King County lake have been struggling for decades as the surrounding area has urbanized and water quality has declined. Despite efforts to prop up the

population in recent years, there has been an alarming decline in spawning numbers. Less than 20 were counted in tributaries in fall 2017, prompting an emergency response from county officials. TU was among the groups that in 2007 petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the stock under the Endangered Species Act, but in 2011 the feds declined to do so, saying it wasn’t an independent population. According to state biologist Aaron Bosworth, yellow perch were introduced into Sammamish in 1915, and though

2019 NORTHWEST SALMON DERBY SERIES  July 12-14: Bellingham Salmon Derby  July 24-28: The Big One (Lake Couer d’Alene) Salmon Derby  Aug. 1-4: Brewster Salmon Derby  Aug. 3: South King County PSA Salmon Derby  Aug. 10: Gig Harbor PSA Salmon Derby  Aug. 17-18: Vancouver (BC) Chinook Classic

 Aug. 31: Columbia River Fall Salmon Derby  Sept. 7: Edmonds Coho Derby  Sept. 21-22: Everett Coho Derby  Nov. 2-3: Everett Blackmouth Salmon Derby For more details, see nwsalmonderbyseries.com.

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it’s unclear who put them there, it came near the end of the era when the U.S. Fish Commission was moving Eastern gamefish into Western waters. These days, efforts are being made to get them out of the lakes, or limit their impacts to young salmonids. During last fall’s derby, 636 perch weighing 146 pounds were weighed in, with Jeff Stuart accounting for nearly 19 pounds alone, most of anyone. He also had the longest in the adult division, a near 11½-incher, while in the kids division, Wesley Mehta weighed 7¾ pounds of perch overall and Carson Moore brought in both the longest and heaviest perch. Sponsors include Washington State Parks, King County, Bass Pro Shops, the Snoqualmie Tribe. For more info, see lakesammamishkokanee.com/perch-derby.

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ONGOING/ UPCOMING EVENTS  Now through the end of season: Westport Charterboat Association Weekly Lingcod, Halibut Derbies; charterwestport.com  Now through Oct. 31: 2019 WDFW Statewide Trout Derby; fishhunt.dfw. wa.gov  May 1-31: May Perch Derby, Humbug Mountain to Horsfall Beach; tonyscrabshack.com/perch-derby  May 17-19: Detroit Lake Fishing Derby; detroitlakeoregon.org  May 18: 10th Annual Lake Stevens Kokanee Derby – info: Snohomish Sportsman’s Club Page on Facebook  May 19: Surf Perch Derby, Long Beach Peninsula; surfperchderby.com  Late spring: Probable 11th Annual Mack Derby, Odell Lake, Oregon; odelllakeresort.com/fishing/ mackinaw-derby  June 1: Richland Brownlee Fishing Tournament, Brownlee Reservoir; basecampbaker.com  June 15: 3rd Annual Richland Crappie Shootout Kayak Fishing Tournament, Brownlee Reservoir; basecampbaker.com  June 29-30: Salmon Derby, Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island; nootkamarineadventures.com  July 27, 2019 Surf Fishing Tournament, Ona Beach State Park; everylist.com For more Washington contests, see wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/contests.

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NORTHWEST MARINE TRADE ASSOCIATION ANACORTES – After coming off a highly successful launch of the Anacortes Boat & Yacht Show in 2018, hopes are running high for the upcoming show on May 1619 at the Port of Anacortes’ Cap Santé Marina. More than 300 boats are expected to be on display, as the Northwest Marine Trade Association (NMTA) and Anacortes Chamber of Commerce have teamed up for this show. “There is lots of strong energy from exhibitors as we head into the second annual Anacortes Boat & Yacht Show,” said Katie McPhail, the NMTA’s boat show director. “I look forward to seeing how far we can grow in our second year. There is momentum for growth and a lot of potential!” Several different types of crafts will be on display. Boats for sale include new and brokerage types in the water at the marina, and at nearby boatyards – Banana Belt Boats and Inside Passage Yacht Sales – located just south of the marina. A 10,000-square-foot tent will be filled with an array of boating accessories and electronics. A free shuttle and bus service will be provided. “After last year’s successful show and the growing interest in boating, we’re excited about the upcoming event,” said Kelly Hawley, owner of Tom-n-Jerry’s Boat Center Inc. and Master Marine Boat Center Inc. in Mount Vernon. “The layout is much nicer than last year and will be much easier for potential buyers and current boat owners to navigate.” Details for the event can be found anacortesboatandyachtshow.com. Tickets cost $10 for adults, with $15 for an unlimited pass. Kids 17 and under get in for free. Current military and veterans will receive a 50-percent Salmon for Soldiers’ ticket discount during every day of the show, and yacht club members get in free on Thursday and Friday. E-tickets are on sale as well. Accommodations are available for all price ranges with several offering pristine views of the surrounding waters. Attendees who stay at participating hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts will receive one free show ticket per adult guest. For details, go to Anacortesboatandyachtshow.com. anacortesboatandyachtshow.com • anacortes.org 58 Northwest Sportsman

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MAY Northern pikeminnow sport reward fishery begins at all stations on Columbia 1 and Snake Rivers – info: pikeminnow.org; Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca lingcod opener; new lower Skagit River spring Chinook opener 2 Proposed Washington Marine Areas 3-10 halibut opener (other dates: 4, 9, 11, 18, 24, 26); Proposed Columbia River Subarea, Washington Marine Area 2 halibut opener (other dates: 5, 9, 12, 24 in both, 26 in subarea) 2-5 Mid-Columbia Boat Show, Columbia Point Park & Marina, Richland, Washington – info: midcolumbiaboatshow.com 4 WDFW Kid’s Fishing Event, Clear Lake, Fairchild AFB – info: wdfw.wa.gov/ fishing/contests/youth 5-11 Series of daylight minus tides 9-11 Proposed Oregon Central Coast all-depth halibut weekend 10 ODFW Adult Beginner Wizard Falls Fly-Fishing Clinic ($, register), Camp Sherman – info: myodfw.com/workshops-and-events 11 Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca spot shrimp opener – info: wdfw. wa.gov; WDFW Kid’s Fishing Events, Columbia Springs (Vancouver), Whatcom Falls Park (Bellingham) – info: see above 15 Oregon fall controlled big game hunt permit application deadline 16-18 Proposed Oregon Central Coast all-depth halibut weekend 16-19 Anacortes Boat & Yacht Show, Cap Sante Marina, Anacortes – info: anacortesboatandyachtshow.com 17-23 Series of daylight minus tides 18 ODFW Family Fishing Events (free), Powers, Middle Fork, McNary Channel Ponds – info: see above 20-24 WDFW Walleye Week – info: facebook.com/WashingtonFishWildlife 22 Washington big game special permit application deadline; Fishing opener on numerous Oregon waters 23-25 Proposed Oregon Central Coast all-depth halibut weekend 25 Last day to hunt turkeys in Idaho; Idaho quality trout waters opener; Fishing opens on select Washington streams; Family Fishing Event (free), Mt. Hood Pond – info: see above 31 Last day of Oregon, Washington turkey season, some Washington bear hunts JUNE 1 Proposed Central Oregon Coast nearshore, Southern Oregon Subarea halibut openers; Fishing opens on select Washington waters 1-2 Free Fishing Weekend in Oregon 1-9 Series of daylight minus tides 6-8 Proposed Oregon Central Coast all-depth halibut weekend 6, 8, 20, 22 Possible Marine Areas 3-10 halibut openers, depending on quota 8 Free Fishing Day in Idaho; ODFW Youth Outdoor Day ($, register), EE Wilson WA, Family Fishing Events (free), Cleawox Lake, Denman WA – info: see above 8-9 Free Fishing Weekend in Washington 14-22 Series of daylight minus tides 15 Final day for spring bear permit season in remaining Washington units; Family Fishing Event (free), Alton Baker Canoe Canal – info: see above 16 Portion of Skagit River opens for sockeye fishing 20 Date ODFW controlled hunt app results available no later than – info: or.outdoorcentral.us/or/license; Family Fishing Event (free), Shevlin Pond 20-22 Proposed Oregon Central Coast all-depth halibut back-up weekend (if quota) 22 Washington Coast Chinook, hatchery coho opener; Hatchery coho opener on Oregon Coast north of Humbug Mountain

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Northwest Sportsman 61

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Backup Planning Key For Straits Halibut Author’s note: This article is dedicated to the memory of Bryan Crawford, a Port Angeles kayak fisherman who died in a tragic car accident in May 2013. OhBryant, as he was known on the Northwestkayakanglers.com forum, was one of the first kayak fishermen to succeed at catching halibut in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and was valued by many for both his inspiration and the knowledge he shared.

hursday morning dawns to the heavy, echoing thud of swells on a breakwater. You THE KAYAK GUYS knew that there Kayak Guys was a chance of By Mark Veary encountering some surf during this halibut opener, but the optimist in you was counting on the fresh swell and west wind to hold off for one more day, like the National Weather Service had predicted. “What now?” you ask yourself.

“Hiking? Trout? Sightseeing?” How ’bout we suck it up and go halibut fishing? Unless you live on the Olympic Peninsula, committing to a specific Marine Area 3 or 4 open day is a significant gamble. Swell predictions and ocean winds aren’t beholden to a forecast. They are the dynamic results of countless variables that resist being summed and scoped via humandefined forecast models. They don’t care about the reservation you made three months prior, or the week of prep

you put in leading up to the numbing four-, six-, or even 18-hour drive. They simply are. Just as a swell doesn’t die when it hits a sea stack, neither should you yield to the first obstacle that threatens your halibut trip. Not when there’s 90-plus miles of fishable coastline stippled with prime halibut habitat stretching out to your east. If you don’t already have plans B, C, D and E in hand, it’s time to fire up the interwebs and start putting X’s on your map.

THERE ARE FOUR primary variables to consider when chasing halibut in the Strait of Juan de Fuca: wind, swell, tide and location. Wind: The only potential deal breaker on the Olympic Peninsula is the wind.

Sheltered areas of the Strait of Juan de Fuca provide kayak anglers a good place to try their luck at catching halibut. Jed Rivera battles a hot one beside his watercraft. (MARK VEARY)

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COLUMN A flotilla of kayakers prepares to launch in the Strait. This year’s proposed open dates in Marine Areas 5 and 6 include May 2, 4, 9, 11, 18, 24 and 26, and June 6, 8, 20 and 22, with fishing dependent on sufficient quota being available. (MARK VEARY)

Author Mark Veary calls wind the “only potential deal breaker” for Straits halibut, and closely monitors websites like iwindsurf.com to check for Plan B locations should it be too gusty where he’d like to put in for the day. (IWINDSURF.COM) While high tide is ideal, if you find a shallow nearshore feeding area, throw out the anchor to fish it on the outgoing tide. (MARK VEARY)

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While it’s possible to find shelter from moderate breeze that have a southern element, a direct north or any other direction sustained over 10 to 15 miles an hour will require serious consideration before you launch. Luckily, most days the farther you get from the ocean, the more manageable the winds are going to be. My first stop when scrambling for a fallback is iwindsurf.com. Spot forecasts are fine, if somewhat slow, but this website’s forecast map allows me to see the entire Straits, with overlaid color bands that define expected wind strength and direction over time. This lets me know, at a glance, just how far inland I’ll need travel to fish safely and whether I’ll need to fish in the lee of a point or headland. Swell: Everything else being equal, if it’s simply the size or period of the swell that’s sent you scrambling for an inland alternative, you may not need to travel any further than Snow Creek, Shipwreck Point or Sekiu along Highway 112. Depending on the swell direction, this stretch can be flat and glassy even when the outside buoys are rocking at 10-plus feet. Keep in mind, though, that those outside swells are likely to reappear with a vengeance at west-facing points as far east as Salt Creek, Angeles Point and Ediz Hook, especially on an incoming tide. Tide: Generally speaking, the best time to be fishing for halibut is during the hours around a high tide. That said, it’s usually only the last half of the outgoing and the middle of the incoming that should be avoided.Luckily, as you move east along the Straits, the tides get later and later. For example, a 7:00 a.m. high tide at Neah Bay will show around 8:30 at Ediz Hook. Also, if you’re lucky enough to find one of the shallow, nearshore gravel beds where halibut feed, it’s possible to fish on anchor through the outgoing, letting the tide-borne scent of your bait draw these monster flatfish to you. Location: Long before I hit the road for the Olympic Peninsula, I spend hours researching the different nearshore halibut fisheries along the Straits. Ten years of chasing these unicorns has equipped me with a surprisingly long list of potential halibut holes from Neah

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COLUMN Bay to Dungeness Spit, all gleaned from various fishing websites such as Salmon University, Halibut Chronicles, Northern Washington fishing blogs and even local chamber of commerce websites. Once I’ve located a possible target, I’ll pull up NOAA bathymetry and habitat maps to zero in on the structure and depth. In some cases, I’m even able to identify GPS waypoints to preload into my fishfinder. Though we all like to be given coordinates to a sure thing, the hunt is half the fun. Catching a fish on someone else’s numbers is nice, but there’s truly nothing more satisfying than the moment when days of research, driving and peeking down dead-end gravel roads culminate in an epic battle and a well-placed harpoon shot.

FOR YOU OREGON readers, the June nearshore halibut openers will soon be upon us and I know that many of you will be headed to PC for your shot at a flatfish. While you’ll still be at the mercy of

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Veary has compiled a “surprisingly long list” of hali holes between Neah Bay and Sequim by perusing websites and researching leads via NOAA bathymetric maps. He calls this photo of potentially good flatsider water “Promise.” (MARK VEARY)

nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

Northwest Sportsman 73

COLUMN Jed Rivera and the author prepare to head back in with their halibut limits safely secured. (MARK VEARY)

wind and swell, you don’t have to fish in a crowd. The same kind of research I’ve used to identify Northern Washington halibut haunts can be brought to bear in locating your own slice of halibut heaven along the Oregon Coast. The locations of most nearshore halibut beds are jealously guarded, but a little research can open a world of opportunity.

AS FOR SAFETY, where do I begin?! This fishery is probably one of the most dangerous in the Pacific Northwest. You’ll be chasing big, powerful fish in often cold and unforgiving conditions, so let’s stick with the KISS basics. Wear a PFD and immersion gear you trust with your life. Move slowly and purposefully once you’ve hooked up. Do not let any lines wrap around a limb or an accessory on your kayak. Have a wingman. And finally, secure your catch as though it could come back to life and seek revenge for its demise – because it can and it will. NS

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Northwest Sportsman 75

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How To Extend Your Shrimp Season Spots are the big spring draw for Puget Sound shellfishers, but other species make for tasty meals, great bait and longer lasting opportunities. By Jason Brooks

hose who head to Puget Sound for its bounty of seafood know that this time of year means spot prawns. For a select few hours

or days, shellfishermen drop pots in deep waters in hopes of collecting the largest member of the shrimp family in the North Pacific. But for some, catching the daily limit of 80 per person on the opener

or any successive days allowed on the water just isn’t enough to satisfy that desire for shrimp scampi, garlic shrimp, shrimp gumbo and all of those other dishes Bubba mentions in Forrest Gump. What if I told you that there

It’s a here-and-gone opportunity for one shrimp species – spots, like these caught in the San Juans by Wyatt Lundquist and Joe Morcombe – but also a lasting one for overlooked ones like coonstripes. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST) nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

Northwest Sportsman 77

FISHING was another shrimp, one that can grow to decent sizes – in fact, it’s the second largest member of the family in these here parts – and that you can fish for them seven days a week in most marine areas? There is such a shrimp, the coonstripe, which is plentiful in Puget Sound, and starting in early June the

limits are 10 pounds a day. Indeed, while prawns are the most desired – because of their size anglers often go out for the few hours/days we get to catch them and then stow the shrimp pots away for another year – there are other options and an even better season and less gear restrictions when it comes to the other popular species.

SHRIMP ARE INTERESTING creatures and the term “prawn” is used interchangeably, though they are the same crustacean. There are actually several varieties in Puget Sound, with the most common being the large spot, then the coonstripe, dock (which are often confused with coonstripes) and pink shrimp, which are the most prevalent.

CURING SHRIMP FOR BAIT

t’s not just coonstripes that can be used as bait. Salmon feed on all shrimp species, so the smaller dock and pink varieties work too. Curing them is simple because a shrimp as bait needs no extra scents, flavors or sulfites to entice the bite. You are really only doing two things: preserving and coloring them. Preserving is done using both chemical preservatives such as salt and “cooking” with acids and other chemicals. Raw shrimp work best and the fresher the shrimp, the better the bait. This is why catching your own makes for the best bait. Shrimp are very “delicate” when it comes to heat and cooking; even a day in the hot sun will change the meat and start the decaying process. You will notice when shrimp are raw that they are translucent with a natural UV to them. Once they start to “cook” they turn white and lose the UV properties. When you add a cure you are preserving them, and by using fresh bait you can keep that translucent color as well. This is best done by adding the cure, or even just a strong dye, a few hours prior to fishing them. Keep the shrimp frozen until you are ready to go fishing. For long-term storage and tougher baits, cure them up and then freeze them. A cured shrimp topped with salmon eggs makes for a good-looking bait. (JASON BROOKS)

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With shrimp a part of the diet of salmon and steelhead, it only makes sense that they would make great bait too. Author Jason Brooks maintains they’re relatively easy to cure up, as they don’t need “extra scents, flavors, or sulfites to entice the bite.” (JASON BROOKS)

The chemicals in commercial cures help preserve the shrimp, as well as dye them. Once cured they will keep in a refrigerator for several days if not weeks and will freeze for up to a year or more.

THERE ARE TWO primary methods for curing prawns with a commercial cure such as Pro-Cure’s Shrimp and Prawn Cure. They both start the same way, which is to mix the cure in water (never use tap water as it contains chlorine; instead, use river or bottled water). First put the premeasured amount of powder into a ziplock bag and add just enough water to start to mix it together and make a paste. Then add the rest of the water. By doing this you will keep the cure from balling up and not mixing with the water. Once you get the cure to dissolve into the water it is time to add the shrimp. First sort the shrimp by size. Put the shrimp into glass jars that have plastic lids. Then pour

the wet cure over them and seal them up. You want to use a glass jar because the shrimp easily poke holes in plastic bags. For the wet cure method, you are now done; simply put the shrimp in the refrigerator for a few days to let the cure and dyes penetrate the bait. You can store them in the fridge for a few weeks or longer this way, but for longer periods like a few months, there are two options. You can freeze them in the jars (being sure to leave enough room for expansion of the water-based cure) or you can remove the cure by pouring it out, then filling the jar with rock salt, covering the shrimp. Again, you can either keep the container in the refrigerator or in the freezer until you decide to go fishing. Be forewarned that the dyes used in commercial shrimp cures are very strong and will stain everything they come into contact with, especially kitchen countertops! –JB

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Northwest Sportsman 79

FISHING A buoy and flags mark the location of a shrimper’s pot. State regulations require buoys be marked with the user’s first and last names and their home address. Pots also must have 1-inch-square mesh for spots, but when those are closed but coonstripes and pinks are open, ½-inch mesh is allowed. (JASON BROOKS)

You’ll find Puget Sound shrimp in typically deeper waters than crabs, so either have plenty of pot pullers on standby or buy an electric unit to yard ’em up. Trishana Israel coils rope into a bucket while pulling a pot up in the San Juans. (TRISHANA ISRAEL)

Coonstripes (top) are smaller than coveted spot shrimp (bottom), though no less tasty and actually more valuable to Northwest salmon and steelhead anglers, who can cure those they don’t want to eat for fish bait instead. (JASON BROOKS)

Female shrimp will lay from a few hundred eggs up to 4,000, and after hatching the larvae free float at the mercy of tides. They will grow and shed their exoskeleton until reaching maturity, when they will settle near the bottom and live the rest of their lives. Most shrimp prefer gravel to muddy bottoms and will feed on both decaying plant matter and dead animals, making them omnivorous. Most live from two to four years, depending on species, and they are a major food source for bottomfish and salmon. Spot prawns are found in deep waters, with Hood Canal being the most popular place to find them. They are also very common around the San Juan Islands and in the deep waters of northern Puget Sound. Look for shelves and large gravel flats in depths as deep as 500 feet, though most target them around 350 to 400 feet.

YOUR SHRIMP POT must have 1-inch mesh and no liners are allowed. Bait is often a mixture of shrimp food pellets, canned cat food, and a scent additive such as Pro-Cure’s crab and shrimp attractant. For all shrimping in Washington 80 Northwest Sportsman

MAY 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

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Northwest Sportsman 81

FISHING Shrimping is a popular pursuit with some families, including the Burdyshaws who report that their granddaughter Bella (here) and Rowan Anderson have gone with them “every year since they were babies.” Bella holds a cluster caught in Hood Canal. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

Long after quotas are met and spots close for the year, opportunities to catch coonstripe and dock shrimp continue, with a generous three-plus-month season in Puget Sound, the San Juans and Strait of Juan de Fuca. (JASON BROOKS)

the pot must be marked using a yellow buoy with your contact information. You are allowed two pots per person, but only up to four pots per boat. Each person must have their own container for shrimp, as limits need to be separated by license holder. Heads can be removed in the field and the days that spot shrimp are open, the daily limit is 80 shrimp total. For days when spot shrimp is closed the limit is 10 pounds per person, and you must retain the heads in the field, though they can be removed. The poundage limit pertains to the whole shrimp, not just the tails. Unlike the required 1-inch mesh for spot prawns you can use a ½ inch mesh for the nonspot prawn seasons. Be sure to check specific marine area rules, as there are often depth restrictions when it comes to shrimping for nonspot varieties to keep bycatch down. Coonstripe shrimp grow up to 7½ inches, but most are smaller. Found in waters from 30 feet deep to 300, the species is one of the most prevalent in Puget Sound. The larger ones make for great eating with “popcorn” fried shrimp or sautéed and served in a variety of shrimp dishes. But you also want to keep the smaller ones, if the rising popularity of fishing “coonies” for bait is any indication. Indeed, go into just about every gas station between Montesano and Brewster and you will find “coonshrimp” cured in glass jars and covered in rock salt. (Some might actually be dock shrimp, which, again, look very similar but are a little smaller than their cousins). Pinks are one of the smallest varieties that are readily catchable in Puget Sound and rarely reach 5 inches in length. They’re great in recipes calling for small shrimp tails, such as a salad shrimp, but be sure to keep a few to cure up for sockeye fishing and winter steelheading.

STARTING OUT SHRIMPING, you want to seek out large flats with sandy or 82 Northwest Sportsman

MAY 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

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Northwest Sportsman 83

FISHING

So what do you do with all that shrimp you catch? Eat it, of course! They’re delicious whether battered and deep-fried or grilled on the barbecue. (JASON BROOKS, ALL)

muddy bottoms in areas where there is little current, since the shrimp primarily move around by using currents and tides. Protected coves, bays, and inlets that are deep are where you will find shrimp. Since nonspot varieties live in shallower water, it is best to target them around where the 100-foot depth contour 86 Northwest Sportsman

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starts. Vary your depths until you find the shrimp. Good bait is the most important part of shrimping. Though most who go after crabs think it is OK to use rotten bait, you will actually get more with fresh bait. Conversely for shrimp, the more “stinky” it is, the better. Again, their main food is

decaying matter, and since we tend to use fish- and animal-based baits, canned cat food comes to mind most often. But adding to the cat food can help you catch more shrimp. To do this, premix some shrimp food pellets with canned cat food and a shrimp attractant until it is the consistency of peanut butter. Using a disposable container such as a plastic cup with holes in it really helps. Freeze the prepackaged cups of bait and put them in a ziplock-type bag so as not to spill any in the boat or in the ice chest. When you get ready to deploy the pot, put the bait cup into the bait bag and drop it overboard. Soaking time varies, since there is no time limit on nonspot prawn days. I prefer to let the pots soak a few hours to let the bait melt and create a scent trail. It is best to have the pots deployed through slack tide so the shrimp in the area can find the bait. When it’s time to bring up the pot, one of the most important things to remember is to pull at a steady pace without stopping. Even with the ½-inch mesh, if you pause the shrimp will swim out. The idea is to pin the shrimp against the bottom of the pot as you pull it up. An electric pot puller really helps in keeping the shrimp in the pot during the retrieval, especially when pulling from 100 feet deep or

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he Pacific Ocean creates large wind waves, as fishermen we are often running directly into these waves or running into a “head sea”. With a few tips we can improve the ride and minimize the impact on the passengers and crew. A “bow down” running attitude of your vessel is important to slice through the seas. Position moveable ballast weight (coolers, fishing gear, etc) forward. Use trim tabs and negative engine trim to force the bow down. This will allow the sharp entry of your bow to slice through the waves. In a particularly large head sea it is advisable to quarter the waves at an angle, applying engine power at the bottom of the swell and easing back on the throttle as the vessel crests the wave. Fuel usage will increase to some extent, although having the boat propped correctly should minimize the additional fuel usage. The engine should be able to reach the manufacturer’s recommended WOT rpms with a fishing load and full tank of fuel. Often vessels are propped lightship and when running in ocean conditions with a load are over propped creating excessive fuel consumption. A vessel designed to operate safely in ocean conditions will have a large proud bow with a sharp entry combined with a high dead-rise at the transom. An enclosed pilothouse keeps the crew safe and dry with ocean rated windshield’s. This is one instance where weight and heavy duty construction allow the boat to punch through the seas year after year. As always the occupants should have on the proper life preservers as well as working communications and safety equipment.

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Northwest Sportsman 87

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more. During spot prawn days they are a must, since it is common to fish more than 300 feet deep. One way to help keep the long pot ropes out of the way is to use a garden hose reel. Have one person working the pot puller while another winds rope onto the reel. This will reduce tangles and help make things work much better, plus you can stow the full reels when not in use.

THERE’S MORE TO Puget Sound shrimping than just fleeting May moments for spotties. Look to the other varieties with more liberal seasons and which can also be used to make a delicious dish and help you catch tasty salmon and winter-runs. Hauling up a bunch of coonstripe, dock and pink shrimp extends the season, makes for a great day on the water and adds to the bounty of Puget Sound’s seafood. NS

SHRIMP SEASON DATES May 11 marks the start of shrimp season in most of Puget Sound, but with opportunities for spots varying by marine area, it’s best to check the regs for where you’ll be dropping pots. Suffice it to say that some waters are open daily for spots till the quota is met (Areas 4 and 5) and some are on a Thursday-Sunday schedule (Area 6 outside of Discovery Bay, and Area 7 West) until the quota is filled. Some are open on set dates (Area 7 East) and some are open for limited hours on limited days (Disco Bay, Areas 8-1, 8-2, 9 and 12), while others are open for mere hours on the 11th (Areas 10 and 11). Then there’s Area 13, which won’t even open this year due to a low abundance. But after May’s mad rush, less sought after coonstripe, dock, humpback and humpy shrimp reopen June 1 through Oct. 15 in Areas 5 through 13 plus east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh Line in Area 4, daily limit 10 pounds. For more specific details, open the Shrimp section at wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/ shellfishing-regulations. –NWS 88 Northwest Sportsman

MAY 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

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COLUMN My, what big teeth you have! Target rocky areas and waters with underwater obstructions for lingcod during Puget Sound’s late spring season. (JASON BROOKS)

South Sound-gasbord Of Ops To Be Had M

ay going into June is a starting point of summer for all South Sound anglers to enjoy. Those who prefer SOUTH SOUND to chase after lowland By Jason Brooks lakes trout are still filling stringers with stocker rainbows as late April’s opening day crowds diminish. Bass anglers know that the spawn is on and that finding largemouth and smallmouth can be fun as the aggressive fish defend their beds. As the spawn trails off the fishing can get tricky but the bass move to their summer hideouts, where pitching plugs and swimbaits can make for quick action. And those who like to fish the salt get to drop pots for spot prawns and bounce jigs off of rock piles for lingcod, while resi-

dent coho start to fatten up.

IF SALTWATER FISHING is in your spring angling diet, lingcod are open for a few short weeks, and a few South Sound locations provide some good action. Look for rocky areas or jetties. The famed “Galloping Gertie” bridge that spanned the Tacoma Narrows until it fell into Puget Sound is home to large octopus and a good population of lingcod. Continuing a bit further along the Tacoma shoreline, with the railroad tracks perched on top of large boulders, creating perfect lingcod habitat, you might try Titlow Park. Though there really is no shore fishing due to the railroad tracks, anglers with boats can do well here. It is best to not let your jig hit bottom but instead keep it a few feet from the rocks or use live bait such as greenling. Another place to try for lingcod is

along the shore between Point Evans and Gig Harbor, where large boulders line the shoreline. Use your sonar and find the boulders that are home to some of the best-tasting fish in the sea.

HOOD CANAL IS closed for lings, but there are spot prawns to be had. At this writing, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is opening Marine Area 12 for shrimping on May 11, 15, 29 and June 1, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Spots are found deep in this long fjord and an electric pot puller really helps bring them up. You can find a few “recipes” for bait on the internet, and most start with a cat food base. From there mix in some Pro-Cure shrimp attractant and some shrimp feed pellets. The bait can become a serious mess if you try and load your pots inside your boat. One trick is to freeze it in paper cups so you can place them into the pot and tear the paper away. When you drop the pot, the bait

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COLUMN melts and it chums up the water to get the shrimp into your pot. One other thing that I do is to coil my long shrimp pot ropes on a garden hose spool. This keeps everything tidy in my boat and keeps me from having a knotted mess if the pot drops too fast.

ANOTHER TOP SALT opportunity is to try

The depths of Hood Canal are good to work for plentiful spot prawns. (JASON BROOKS)

for catch-and-release sea-run cutthroat. They’re one of the best fisheries for South Sound anglers in late spring and early summer. As chum salmon fry wash out of the rivers and streams, these trout congregate and gorge on the fry. Troll small spoons along the kelp beds or near the shoreline where creeks or rivers dump into the saltwater. With chums spawning in just about every stream in the South Sound, searun cutties can be pursued at several area public beaches and state parks. Penrose State Park on the Key Peninsula is a known SRC hangout. With its good beach access, those with waders or a float tube can venture out and fish for these feisty trout. Also look to Narrows Park along the Gig Harbor side of the Narrows Bridges. Here you will also find resident coho. Those with

a boat can troll with, say, St. Croix Wind River Kokanee series rods, which provide a lot of action and fun, along the beach here just outside of the kelp bed and catch both trout and salmon. The coho will run small, from 1½ to 3 pounds, and the season is open yearround. You can retain clipped and unclipped fish in Marine Area 11, but south of the bridges in Marine Area 13, only hatchery silvers can be kept. All sea-run cutthroat need to be released.

ON DRY LAND – or least South Sound’s lowland lakes – besides trout, most also have populations of bass. May means warming water temperatures and the largemouth and smallmouth will be on the spawn. It is up to you if you want to try and catch them on their beds or leave them alone until postspawn. If you do decide to target them now, be sure to release them right away at the same spot you caught them. Later in the month the bass will be in postspawn and will disperse. As they move back under docks and into lily pad fields topwater baits can be a lot of fun and exciting. Fly anglers can try poppers, while baitcasters should pitch plugs or drop-shot plastics.

The days and months before summer comes on in full are prime for bass fishing, with many local lakes supporting populations of smallmouth or largemouth. A recent analysis of tourney catches showed the average caught at Lake Tapps weighed 1.67 pounds. (JASON BROOKS) 92 Northwest Sportsman

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Short Window For Lings! The smell of spring is in the air and lingcod season is finally here! While Puget Sound anglers are only allotted a short month-and-a-half window to take advantage, the upside is action aplenty! These denizens of the deep are not only some of the hardest fighting fish around but most would agree their table-fare quality is second to none.

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When it comes to lingcod fishing, you want to look for structure like rock pinnacles, ledges and reefs. Sharp drop-offs are the best. Lings don’t lay over sandy bottoms, so a good GPS/sounder is a must! Jigs in the 4- 6-ounce size will produce well, but live sand dabs on a mooching leader and lead dropper weight will consistently outfish everything else, as well as lure in larger fish. These alpha predators are bottom dwellers, so make sure you have enough lead to get down to the bottom in strong currents. Once the bottom is felt, give your reel a few cranks and allow the sand dab to swim naturally. If you happen upon a wiley ling, keep the rod tip bent as lings are known to escape back down to their cavey homes. This is where a good, strong quality mainline comes in handy! Areas 5-11 will be open, but 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. Be safe and have fun out there!

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COLUMN Fly fishing is one of the best ways to explore the waters along the shorelines or in the shallows, where chironomids are emerging from muddy lake bottoms. Those who prefer to troll should try Rooster Tails or F4 FlatFish in frog patterns and black. A lightweight rod such as the Wild River Kokanee makes for a fun fight. Pair this rod with a small levelwind reel and 10-pound Izorline XXX mainline and you have a set-up that is good for not only planter rainbows, but the rod’s namesake and even SRCs.

WITH THE SNOWPACK that came on late

Whether it’s fun or fillets you seek – here’s some tasty, tasty lingcod – South Sound waters can provide both this time of year. (JASON BROOKS) Lakes Kapowsin, Tanwax, Ohop and Clear in southern Pierce County are known bass waters, but those looking to try a few “not so popular” lakes can walk into Waughop Lake, located inside Fort Steilacoom Park, or the northern end of

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Lake Spanaway, in the county park.

TROUT ANGLERS WILL also notice the lowland lakes are now largely void of novice boaters and the stocker fish are settling into their new lakes.

this past winter it might be several weeks before the summer steelhead rivers come into shape next month. In the meanwhile, late spring offers just about every kind of water for every kind of South Sound angler. Between the big lakes, foothills ponds and expansive saltwaters, go out and explore a few other fisheries and you might be a bit surprised that Washington has a lot to offer even with low steelhead and salmon returns. NS

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FISHING

Trout Fishing, Scenery Shine In Spring On Eastside Washington’s opening weekend has come and gone, but lakes will continue to ‘fish well into mid- to late June,’ with beautiful surroundings to match. By Mark Yuasa

hile the west side of the Evergreen State garners most of the trout fishing attention in spring, those who live there or head east of the Cascades will find hundreds of lakes far away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Eastern Washington fisheries – especially those in the northern tier – are a magnet for anglers aiming to catch trout that are often bigger and more abundant during late spring and early summer. “We always like to say the fishing is really good here in our region of the state, along with some great side benefits that include spectacular scenery and landscape, camping and hiking opportunities and wildlife viewing,” says Bill Baker, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife fisheries biologist. The landscape varies from green forests and mountainous terrain to dry shrub-steppe and farm fields with waterways as equally diverse as lakes, ponds and reservoirs in all shapes and sizes, to the solitude of high-mountain lakes in the Cascades and Selkirks. “In many years the trout fisheries (in Eastern Washington) are just starting to thaw out after the statewide

Good trout fishing can be had in Eastern Washington everywhere from lakes in grand coulees to those in cool forests. Gary Erickson hooked this 5-pound rainbow at South Twin Lake, on the Colville Reservation. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

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FISHING opener and they’ll fish well into mid- to late June before the water temperatures heat up and slow down fishing,” Baker says. “Our trout fisheries are primarily made up of fingerling plants, but we also have some catchables (averaging 11 inches) that are planted each spring.” Eastside lakes are managed by WDFW in such a way that young fry/fingerling survival is very good thanks to optimal water conditions

An angler in a pontoon works the shores of Chopaka Lake, in northern Okanogan County. (JEFF CLARK, BLM)

and ample feed, and therefore are the main source of trout available for anglers to catch. This is unlike Western Washington lakes that depend primarily on hatchery plants of catchable-size trout due to a relatively low fry survival rate.

IN REGION 1, covering Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla and Whitman Counties, there was a whopping

2,037,900 fry/fingerling planted in spring or fall of 2018 that are now fair game to catch. These are mainly rainbow trout and kokanee, but also include brown, cutthroat, tiger, Lahontan, eastern brook and golden trout. Lakes receiving the biggest fry/ fingerling plants in Region 1 included: Curlew, 128,000; Ferry, 25,000; Swan, 25,000; Fishtrap, 65,000; Fourth of July, 60,000; Sprague,

Phil Reich will tell you that trout fishing continues well into spring. He caught this nice one while fishing from shore at a lowland Eastside lake in May 2017. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

DON’T FORGET THE DERBY! WDFW’s statewide derby is happening now through Oct. 31 and participating in it could land you not only a fish but some wonderful prizes too. More funding by sponsors was funneled into the 2019 derby, with about $39,000 ($38,000 last year) worth of donated prizes totaling more than 1,000 prizes from 130-plus participating businesses. Prize 98 Northwest Sportsman

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values range from $25 to $1,000. Eastside lakes planted with tagged fish include: Asotin County: Golf Course; Chelan: Beehive and Wapato; Columbia: Blue and Watson; Douglas: Jameson; Ferry: Curlew; Franklin: Dalton; Grant: Corral, Deep and Rainbow/Vic Meyers; Okanogan: Alta, Conconully Lake and Reservoir, Pearrygin, Spectacle and Wannacut; Pend

Oreille: Diamond; Spokane: Badger, Bear, Clear, Fish, Liberty, Williams and Fishtrap; Stevens: Cedar, Loon, Starvation and Waitts; Walla Walla: Bennington, Hood Park and Quarry; Whitman: Garfield Pond; Yakima: I-82 Pond 4 and 6, Lost, Myron, Rotary and Tims. For details, go to fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/ Home/FishingDerby#lakes. –MY

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FISHING 100,000; Badger, 60,000; Chapman, 100,000; Clear (Spokane), 135,000; Liberty, 90,000; Williams, 121,000; Loon, 90,000; Pierre, 60,000; and Rock, 481,500. Region 2 – covering Adams, Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan Counties – received a robust plant of 3,376,026 fry/ fingerling. Lakes garnering the biggest plants were Quail, 146,550; Sprague, 193,156; Fish (Chelan), 144,175; Upper Wheeler, 100,200; Wapato, 28,863; Jameson, 139,995; Banks,

1,020,700; Billy Clapp, 265,370; Blue (Grant), 188,550; Canal, 27,615; Corral, 23,912; Lenore, 78,102; Park, 126,115; Potholes, 81,841; Warden, 73,528; Alta, 40,000; Pearrygin, 60,000; Spectacle, 30,000; and Wannacut, 50,000. In Region 3 the total plant was 391,934 and the top three lakes are located just east of the Cascade crest: Kachess, 104,226, and Keechelus, 255,232, at Snoqualmie Pass; and Bumping, to the south near Goose Prairie, 26,680.

HERE ARE LAKES Baker recommends for late spring and which offer a wide range of boat, float tube and bank fishing opportunities. “Curlew Lake in Ferry County (989 acres) has good boat fishing opportunities in May and early June,” Baker says. “It is mainly a rainbow trout fishery but has some very nice yellow perch to catch and we encourage anglers to take those.” Curlew gets a strong dose of trout plants and there is a cooperative net pen that releases 80,000 fish on top

TOP OKANOGAN WATERS Rainbows get a lot of attention in Eastern Washington, but they’re far from being the only fish to catch in spring, especially in the Okanogan. That’s where Ryan Fortier is based, and he gave us his best bets for this season. “Kokanee fishing has been gaining in popularity, with Alta and Conconully Lake being the two most popular and consistent fisheries,” the WDFW District 6 fisheries biologist says. “The Alta pressure is getting a bit heavy, but Conconully can handle the larger crowds well. Patterson Lake near Winthrop has a good age-class coming up this year compared to the last

five years. The other stocked lakes are Bonaparte, Spectacle and Conconully Reservoir. Palmer is not expected to have a fishery for another two more years.” On the spinyray front, there are plenty of options too. “Palmer, Leader, and Washburn Island Pond have been the most popular fisheries,” says Fortier. “There are lots of campers staying at the DNR campgrounds at Palmer and Leader who fish and swim on the lakes. Washburn Island was stocked with some largemouth two years ago and has produced some good sizes.” But if your sights are set on trout, he

Spring is one of the most beautiful times to check out the highland lakes of Eastern Washington. Here’s the view down onto Bonaparte Lake, where the size of tiger trout borders on being “tall tales,” according to the district fisheries biologist. The state record 18.49-pound hybrid came from here in May 2015. (USFS)

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has options for those too. He expected Pearrygin, Alta and the Conconullies to produce as usual at the opener last month, and that is likely to continue into May. “Wannacut near Tonasket has produced the largest fish on average over the previous two summers,” he says. Unfortunately, Fish Lake, not too far to the south, is “in need of a rehab” to get rid of overabundant bullheads, Fortier says. It sounds like he expects quality trout waters like Aeneas, Blue, Chopaka and Davis to continue as they have, but there are two other lakes to start plugging into your radar. “Buzzard (Loup Loup Pass) has been growing in popularity, and Campbell (Winthrop) has received low pressure despite better than usual sizes since the 2014 fires,” he hints. Speaking of fires, Black Pine Lake high in the mountains west of Carlton was closed much of last summer due to wildfire activity, so it “should probably have some good carryovers for cutthroat when the snow clears in late May,” Fortier says. And if you’re looking for something a little exotic that affords a chance to break a state record, you could do worse than Bonaparte Lake and its brook-brown hybrids. “The tiger trout sizes reported in the lake have been bordering on tall tales,” says Fortier. “We will try to do a more intense survey this year to get an idea of what has changed and if the rumors are true.” –NWS

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FISHING of the 128,000 fry/fingerling that WDFW planted last October. Waitts Lake in Stevens County (455 acres) is a consistent producer for rainbow and brown trout. It is also boosted by a cooperative net pen plant, plus a small dose of fingerling plants occurred last October. “In the Colville area there’s some smaller lakes that have good rainbow production like Starvation, Mudgett and Cedar in Stevens County,” Baker says. “All three are consistent producers and not accessible to larger watercraft but are good for those using a small boat or float tube.” A decent cutthroat fishery that heats up in May is Marshall Lake, located in Pend Oreille County about 6 miles northwest of Newport. It is also worth looking at once water temperatures cool down in September and October. This beautiful lake covers more than 190 acres and sits at an elevation of 2,728 feet.

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Don’t forget Lake Rufus Woods! It will have been stocked with 22,000 2-plus-pound triploid trout between March and June, according to tribal managers’ plans, good news for anglers like Augustine Jimeno. He caught this one there fishing PowerBait off the bottom. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

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FISHING Another hidden gem on the edge of Pend Oreille County is Frater, a small, 13.60-acre lake that sits at an elevation of 3,200 feet in the Colville National Forest. Baker says there are rainbow and tiger trout lurking for bank anglers and those using a float tube. There isn’t a boat launch but small cartoppers can be launched. Browns Lake (87 acres), located in the Kaniksu National Forest, lies in a breathtaking area with a nice campground. It used to be stocked with rainbow trout that are now naturally producing and receives yearly plants of westslope cutthroat trout fry that grow to 8 to 16 inches. Stevens County’s Loon Lake, located 28 miles north of Spokane, is larger and covers more than 1,086 acres but is a popular summertime kokanee fishery, with the action heating up in mid- to late June. Many warmwater species inhabit the lake, and it is stocked with tigers

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too. Loon has resorts and is good for boat fishing. Bayley Lake (16 acres), on the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge near Colville, is a fly-only catch-andrelease fishery that produces some great catches of rainbows.

TO THE WEST, bigger waterways include Conconully Lake (292 acres) and Reservoir (382 acres) in Okanogan County. Both are very popular on opening day but there’s usually a lot of trout leftover to catch in late spring and early summer. Spectacle and Bonaparte, located near Tonasket, are good trout producers and fish well into early summer. Alta, also in the Okanogan, has great shoreline access in the state park and has been known to bend fishing poles well into summer. Pearrygin, a rather narrow lake east of Winthrop, has a nice resort and launch site that gives up a good

share of rainbows. Wannacut, 4 miles southwest of Oroville, has deep, cold water that’ll keep the trout bite going well into summer. Other Eastside areas on the “must go” trout list are West Medical near town of Medical Lake; Rainbow in Columbia County; Blue and Park in Grant County; Potholes Reservoir, located south of city of Moses Lake; Clear in Yakima County; Columbia Park Pond in Kennewick; Fio Rito in Ellensburg; Rotary in Yakima; and Liberty located between Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. Those willing to trek further into the woods should look to the almost 950 lakes sitting above 3,500 feet, with the bulk of those in remote areas of Okanogan and Chelan Counties. Most have self-sustaining trout populations, while some are stocked periodically with a variety of trout species. For details, go to wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/ locations/high-lakes. NS

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Trolling Tricks For Trout A

lthough I don’t remember exactly where, other than it was a big lake in Eastern BUZZ Oregon, I’ll always RAMSEY remember the time my uncle took me fishing for trout. That trip was only my second trout fishing experience, since my stepfather didn’t fish and the only ones I’d caught previously were from a pay-to-play trout farm. In desperation, because she didn’t know what else to do, my mother had taken me there to fish. As a young person interested in the sport far more than anyone would consider normal, I couldn’t sleep the night before our departure. I’d spent a week preparing for our trip and reshuffled my clothes and what fishing tackle I had more than a few times. The week before my mom even took me to the local fishing tackle store, where I picked up some new fishing line and a few lures that looked good to me. During the three-plus-hour drive to my uncle’s favorite lake, he educated me on what trout did and didn’t like. You know, secret stuff like: how you had to use blue fishing line or else no fish; how only large lake trolls would attract them; and that small trolling plugs never seemed to work, at least on this lake. In addition, we were going to really catch them because he had these classified “red” worms no one else knew about, which would produce when all else failed. My uncle obviously knew his stuff and his sharing of fishing secrets totally captivated me as I hung on to his every word, and learned how I had brought all the wrong tackle.

TROLLING FOR TROUT is effective because you can cover a large amount of water in a short amount of time. And while trolling will allow you to do this, don’t go too fast. The slower the better, as trout are almost

Buzz Ramsey discovered the value of trolling on a trip as a youngster with his uncle, who had different ideas about the best gear to use for trout. It’s knowledge Buzz has refined and taught to his son Wade, here with a nice stringer of rainbows a few seasons back. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

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COLUMN Either lures or bait can be trolled alone or rigged on a 20- to 30-inch leader behind your troll. Small thin-bladed spoons like a Triple Teaser or U-shaped Super Duper are designed specifically for this. Tiny vibrating plugs like a FlatFish, Mag Lip or Hot Shot work too. Worms, even my uncle’s secret “red” ones, can produce when threaded on a hook extended back from your troll on a leader. Using a troll, particularly a large one, adds weight to your outfit and can interfere with the fight of small trout. For this reason, small trolls, or not using a troll at all, are popular. However, there are times when trolls attract hungry trout when all else fails. You should realize you don’t need to rig a troll on every line to draw fish into your gear. Using one or two to “call” fish into your lures can work, and allows you to fish other lines “clean,” i.e., with just a spoon, spinner, or plug attached.

Among the author’s favorite lures to troll with are trout-sized plugs, but he’s also partial to small, thin spoons behind small lake trolls. (BUZZ RAMSEY) always more interested in a lure or bait presented in a slow fashion. This is especially true early in the fishing season when the water has yet to warm, causing the trout to be more sluggish than after the lake has warmed under the summer sun. Most trout gear such as plugs, lightweight trolling spoons, lake trolls and trout dodgers and flashers are designed to be trolled slowly, usually from less than 1 mile per hour to maybe as fast as 2 mph. And while trolling slowly is important, don’t forget to go in a zigzag pattern. Fish that are initially attracted to your gear get bored quickly when your lure doesn’t run away when approached. Changing your speed and/or trolling in an erratic fashion will duplicate this natural response and can greatly improve your success. It’s also a fact that you can make more zigzags with a short boat than a long one. This knowledge is why those fishing from small boats, providing they’re zigzag trolling, sometimes have the advantage. If you have a large boat you can achieve similar results, although not always as effective, by zigzag trolling and varying your boat 108 Northwest Sportsman

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speed. Simply speed up for a few seconds and then cut your engine until your lines begin to stall, and then start up again.

TROUT ARE CURIOUS and interested in quickly investigating an easy meal before another fish beats them to it. When several fish are feeding, the movement of their silvery bodies can be similar to a dinner bell going off, which will attract other nearby fish. The spinning blades of lake trolls or small 4/0 dodgers represent this activity and therefore attract hungry trout. Fish are attracted to both the reflection of the blades and the sonic vibration the moving blades create. Lake trolls come in different sizes and finishes. Some of the more popular names for large-sized trolls are Cowbell and Ford Fender. Smaller bladed trolls, like a Worden’s Rooster Troll, don’t interfere with the fish fight like trolls fashioned with bigger blades. As a general rule, choose tiny-bladed trolls on small- to medium-size lakes, and larger models for big lakes where the fish are often scattered out more and it might take more flash to draw them in.

I WAS A little red-faced while rigging up in front of my uncle that day. You see, I had pink line, a small willow leaf troll and several trout-sized FlatFish plugs. If only I had consulted him before my trip to the tackle store! He gave me a strange look as I assembled my gear, while reminding me how I could try my lures, but would soon be begging for one of his. I changed plug colors several times and finally hit on one that produced (it was a secret for a long time but now exposed), an F-4 FlatFish in a coachdog color. Well, guess who caught the most and biggest fish? My uncle hardly spoke a word during the long drive home and when he did, it was to apply his logic to my success. Looking back on that fishing adventure I suppose the reason for my success was: I’d rather be lucky than good. However, the real lesson learned by me and my uncle was: Trout can be finicky, so keep changing your offering – not only the lure, but different sizes and colors – until results are achieved. Even though my uncle never invited me trout fishing again, I was more than ready for my next fishing adventure. NS Editor’s note: The author is a brand manager and part of the management team at Yakima Bait. Like Buzz on Facebook.

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FISHING

Road Trip: Fishing BCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Whitetail, Whiteswan Lakes Famed rainbow strains draw anglers north of the border for fishing, camping, other activities.

By Mike Wright

ritish Columbia has long been considered one of the finest trout fishing destinations in the world. It is home to both the Kamloops and Gerrard strains of rainbow trout. These long-lived fish mature slower, but gain weight rapidly, not losing nearly as much during spawning as do other types of rainbows. Many can reach truly spectacular size but become more selective in their feeding habits, often frustrating anglers in search of trophies. Two excellent examples of the outstanding fishing opportunities available for the subspecies in BC can be found at Whitetail and Whiteswan Lakes. The pair lie in the southeastern corner of the province, a short ways from the small town of Canal Flats, which is a little less than an hour north of Cranbrook and two and

a half hours from Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Both lakes are well known for trophy-size Gerrards ranging up to 11 pounds, as well as a good number of brook trout, which reach 18 inches or more in length.

WHITETAIL LAKE IS 10 miles west of Canal Flats by way of the Findlay Creek Road, which meets Highway 95 just north of the town. This is a reasonably decent road, although it can be rather rough in some places. On the righthand side of the road near the lake is a sign pointing the way to the campground and boat launch. As a word of caution, do not take the Blue Lake Road, but continue on the Emily Creek Road until you reach the Whitetail Lake Recreational Area sign. It might be advisable to keep your speed down on this road since there are some cavernous potholes near the campground and

boat launch. There are 30 sites in the campground, which seem adequate, though it does get crowded during certain times of the year, so it would be advisable to arrive early. Whitetail is crystal clear, making the weedbeds readily visible against the light bottom of the lake. There is a rapid drop-off toward the middle of the lake, with the best fishing generally around the transition zones between the shallower and deeper sections. Probably the most productive time to fish Whitetail is right after ice-out (usually the first part of May) through

The Great White North is home to some great fishing for rainbow trout at Whitetail (here) and Whiteswan Lakes. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re located in southeastern British Columbia, about a two-anda-half-hour drive north on Highway 95 from Bonners Ferry, Idaho. (STEVE FOWLER) nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

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FISHING Both lakes feature campgrounds and boat ramps and are situated in the stunning Canadian Rockies. That’s 8,963-foot-high Flett Peak looming over the lower end of Whiteswan Lake. (STEVE FOWLER)

June. Chironomids are the preferred patterns for the early part of the season, with damsels, Carey Specials, and various mayfly and caddis patterns becoming more popular as season progresses. Although the lake is fed by snow melt and a number of small feeder streams keep it cool most of the season, often the fish tend to head for the deeper recesses of the lake shortly after ice-out. But with the start of the damsel hatch in late May and early June the fish begin to migrate back into the flats and shallower weedbeds at the north end of the lake. By mid-July into August, the water warms to the point where fishing slows down at midday. However, in the evenings during this time of season the topwater fishing can be very productive. A Parachute Adams, Purple Haze, Elk Hair and Goddard Caddis, Griffith’s Gnat and Royal Wulff all will work well. Whitetail Lake is under trophy regulations, which means only flies and lures may be used. Along with minimum sizes and season closures, bait fishing is not allowed. This maintains the high-quality fishing opportunities in the lake. It should also 112 Northwest Sportsman

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be pointed out that the use of droppers (a second fly) is also not allowed. This particular regulation is not unique to Whitetail, but is in effect throughout British Columbia.

ALTHOUGH ANGLING PRESSURE tends to be concentrated in Whitetail’s northern section, due in part to the close proximity to the campground and boat launch, the middle and southern portions also have plenty of fish. This is especially true during the warmest part of summer, when many of the fish migrate to the deeper middle part of the lake. Trolling along the transition zones and into the deepwater areas is a very popular strategy during the heat of summer and again before the advent of the damsel hatch. This is a particularly productive time for lure fishermen using Dick Nites, FlatFish or similar lures. Trolling wet fly patterns with a fast-sink line can also be effective in midsummer, but the flies need to very close to the bottom. Black, brown or olive leeches, along with small nymph patterns such as Pheasant Tails, Hare’s Ears and Princes can all produce fish.

At times the use of a Booby Fly pattern can be very effective, although it is probably best not to discuss the reason the fly received its name. This pattern needs to be fished with a fast-sink line, letting it settle near the bottom and employing a very rapid retrieve. It is not very effective when trolled. The trout in Whitetail tend to be very selective, so it is best not to become overly attached to any one fly pattern or type of lure. Changing your offering frequently is often a prerequisite for success. But if it seems impossible to match the trout’s preferred cuisine, another option is to try Findlay Creek, which parallels much of the road into Whitetail. The stream can be very good for small cutthroat and occasionally some very nice-sized bull trout. Even though chances of catching “Wally the wall hanger” are rather remote, the creek can provide some good action.

THE OTHER TROPHY fishery in this part of BC is Whiteswan Lake, which is on the other side of Canal Flats, 15 miles to the east. It’s the centerpiece of the beautiful Whiteswan Lake Provincial Park, which is surrounded by majestic peaks that remain snowcapped well into the summer. Like Whitetail, Whiteswan has become famous for its large and feisty Gerrard rainbows, which can reach weights of up to 12 pounds or more. It also contains a large number of brook trout, which can often reach lengths in excess of 18 inches. Even though there is a considerable amount of natural reproduction in the streams that flow into the lake, the rainbow population is augmented periodically with a hatchery stocking to maintain the productivity of the fishery. And it has some special regulations to check out in advance. One major difference between the two lakes is that Whiteswan allows ice fishing. Though that season is short, brook trout make up the majority of the fish caught, since they tend to cruise the shallows while the rainbows head for the deeper recesses of the lake.

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Along with Kamloops- and Gerrard-strain rainbows, the lakes hold eastern brook trout. The fish can be found shallower in spring, but move to the depths as summerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heat comes on. A mix of flies and lures work well, but regulations vary, so check the BC sportfishing pamphlet for gear restrictions. (STEVE FOWLER)

Like Whitetail, spring and fall are usually considered the best times to fish Whiteswan. Even though it is considered to be a high-elevation lake, during the main part of the summer the water becomes warm enough that the fish migrate to its deeper sections. As the warmer weather sets in, it is generally considered best to fish the edges of the transition zones between the shoals and the deeper water. It would be advisable to use fast-sink line to reach the area where the fish are holding.

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Since the water of the lake is very clear, it would be beneficial to use fluorocarbon leader and tippet. The lake is very popular and the trout can become leader shy as the season progresses. Early in the season scuds, a type of freshwater shrimp, black, brown or olive leeches and the venerable chironomids, in black or red, are the most productive. Later on, damsels, Pumpkin Head Leeches and Carey Specials become more popular. When the hatches begin to

appear, dry flies such as Adams, Elk Hair Caddis, Renegade and Humpy patterns all work well. Also effective are small nymphs, such as the Prince Nymph, Pheasant Tail, caddis and water boatmen. In the fall, the leeches, Woolly Buggers, Soft Hackle Peacocks and Doc Spratleys will produce fish. Like Whitetail, the trout in Whiteswan can be somewhat selective, so it might be necessary to change flies frequently.

WHITETAIL LAKEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PARK has ample, well-maintained facilities with 114 campsites available, along with two paved boat launches, one at each end of the lake. In addition to the outstanding fishing opportunities, anglers also have access to a wide variety of other activities, including miles of hiking trails, wildlife viewing areas and, just outside the park, the Lussier Hot Springs. A trip to Whiteswan is all but guaranteed to be a very enjoyable experience.

FISHING AND JUST A short distance as the crow flies west of Whiteswan lies a much smaller lake right off the main road. Alces Lake is within the provincial park and is blessed with excellent facilities, including a campground and a boat launch. It is often overlooked by anglers en route to the far more

popular Whiteswan, but it provides some excellent fishing for rainbows, which average 12 to 14 inches, with some occasionally reaching a trophy size of 10 pounds or more. Alces is stocked annually with yearling rainbows, which grow rapidly, due in part to the excellent

insect hatches and beneficial regulations including a fly-fishingonly requirement. If fishing is slow on Whiteswan, or you just prefer trying a smaller lake, Alces â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or Moose Lake, as it is often called (Alces alces is the scientific name for moose) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; may be a good option. NS

Another view down Whitetail Lake. (STEVE FOWLER)

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FISHING

Be A Northwest Spring Bassin’ Assassin Tips for catching Westside largemouth in May and June. By Roger Davis

n the Pacific Northwest, May and June just may be the best time of the year to be a bass fisherman. Out of the six bass I’ve caught over 10 pounds here, five of them were caught in these two months, and not just spawners. During the months of March and April, bass filled their bellies, gorging themselves for their annual spawning ritual, which for us in the Northwest is usually always May or June. This next month will have bass in all stages: from prespawn, to spawn, to postspawn. Here I will break down the fishing over the next month and share some fishing techniques that have proved successful for me over the years.

EARLY MAY (PRESPAWN) This just might be the best time to land a giant bass. The biggest females have fattened up for the spawn, and with that just weeks away they are at their largest size and most susceptible to being caught because they are still heavily feeding. During this time of year my motto has always been, the bigger the bait you throw, the better chance you have of fooling and landing one of these fat bass. I am a heavy user of large swimbaits, jigs and spinnerbaits this time of year, but I am going to focus on swimbaits. On most bodies of water I recommend using two types. One would be a soft-bodied weedless lure, such as a Huddleston or a 3:16 Mission Fish or Rising Son in the 6- to 8-inch range, for bodies of water that have

Roger Davis makes the most of our region’s solid spring bass fishing, starting early and working through the spawn in May and June for fat largemouth like this one caught earlier this season. (ROGER DAVIS)

lots of cover, weeds and pads. I usually fan-cast these baits through cover and weedbeds with a steady retrieve. They are pretty easy to fish and are used much like you would a spinnerbait. The other type of swimbait I recommend is a glide bait. I either go with a trout-style glide in the 8- to

10-inch size, such as the Hiroshima Trout, or a bluegill-style bait in the 5to 7-inch range, such as the MattLures Hard Gill or the SlyGuy Gill. I usually reserve these baits for clearer bodies of water, where I rely on the action and size of the bait to draw the fish from long distances. nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

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FISHING

A longtime local basser once told the editor big baits wouldn’t do well on Northwest fish, but Davis would disagree. He’s found large bluegill imitations really draw the ire of bed-protecting bucketmouths. (ROGER DAVIS)

I typically will slow roll them at a steady retrieve until I get to a piece of cover such as a dock or laydown where I think a bass may be hiding. I will then give a couple quick turns of the reel to cause the bait to rapidly dart side to side as if it is trying to get away from something. Most big bass can’t resist passing up such a large meal and don’t want it to get away, so they strike, and strike hard. Fishing glide baits takes some practice because you have to be able to visualize what the bait is doing in the water at all times. Whenever I pick up a new bait, I practice with it in clear water to understand what kind of action it has when I turn the reel handle at different speeds and pop the rod tip. With glide baits it is important to understand it’s the action that you, the angler, impart that generally ends up inducing a strike. One of the most beneficial things about using a large swimbait is its ability to draw follows from big fish.

If you do get a follower that doesn’t eat your lure, take note of where it was. I usually always leave the area alone and come back an hour or so later and try a different type of lure. The key is not to spook the fish. If it sees you, your chances of catching it immediately afterwards are zero. When returning to a spot, stealth is key. Making long casts past your target and stopping your bait on the cover is the key to drawing a strike from the largest bass.

THE SPAWN May’s full moon falls on an explosive day in the Northwest, the 18th. As long as that coincides with sunny weather and water temps above 60 degrees, you can find most largemouth throughout the region on spawning beds. This time of year you’re going to want to invest in a decent set of polarized sunglasses so you can spot fish and nests in the shallows.

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FISHING

A selection of good lures for this time of year would include a mix of large hard and soft baits. The author’s tackle box features (left row, top to bottom) Sly Guy Replica Gill; Hiroshima 8.5-inch Hardtail Trout; 8-inch Huddleston Deluxe Trout; (middle, top to bottom): 3:16 7-inch Rising Son; 3:16 6-inch Mission Fish; KGM King Kraw; Huddleston Huddle Bug; (right, top to bottom) River2Sea Bully Wa Frog; Spro Bronzeye Frog; Revenge ½-ounce Buzzbait; Wahoo ½-ounce Buzzbait. (ROGER DAVIS)

Largemouth love to spawn on hard surfaces and will fan and clean a spot anywhere from 2 to 5 feet in diameter. These beds can easily be

spotted because of their lighter color compared to the surrounding area. I usually will continue to throw large swimbaits, but switch to a

bluegill-style bait because bass hate bluegill invading their nests and will aggressively attack them when they get close. It also doubles as a good search tool because nesting bass will typically follow the lure back to the boat, even if they don’t strike. Once they’ve revealed the position of their nest, then comes the hard part: making a giant, wary female bass that isn’t feeding angry enough to strike a lure on her spawning bed. There are countless lures and techniques, but I rely on just a few baits to get that big bite. First is a soft bluegill bait such as a MattLures Ultimate Gill or a Huddleston Gill. Cast out past the nest and hop the bait onto it. Normally, the lure will get an immediate reaction. But do not set the hook into a smaller male. Instead, continue to cast onto the nest until you find that sweet spot that gets the female’s attention. It can be very frustrating and time consuming, but patience

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FISHING and persistence usually pay off when fishing for spawning bass. If the bluegill isn’t getting the reaction I want, I will switch to a natural craw-style bait, such as the KGM King Kraw, or the Huddleston Huddle Bug rigged on a football jighead with an exposed hook. As with the ’gill bait, I recommend tossing it out multiple times to find that sweet spot. Normally if bass don’t take to the bluegill, they will crush the craw. Lastly, if all else fails, I rely on a heavy drop shot. I use 15-pound fluorocarbon with a 1-ounce weight and a 2/0 octopus hook about 6 inches up from the weight. My go-to baits with this setup are the Basstrix Bait Fry in perch or bluegill pattern or the infamous 5- or 6-inch Senko in green pumpkin, wacky rigged. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try different things. You may find something that works for you that nobody else is using, and that can be really rewarding.

LATE MAY-JUNE (POSTSPAWN) Catching big females after they’ve spawned can be even tougher than during the spawn, although it’s not impossible. Even though they are fatigued and not very interested in feeding, they are hungry and didn’t grow to that size just by swimming around the lake. My go-to technique for these big bass after the spawn is topwater. Topwater is the most exciting way to catch a giant bass, in my opinion. There are four types that I use this time of year and which consistently produce for me. They are a stickbait, such as a Spook, Sammy or Lunker Punker; a wake bait, such as a 3:16 Wake Jr. or Deps Buzzjet; a hollow-body frog, like a Spro Bronzeye or River2Sea Bully Wa; and finally a buzzbait. On clear bodies of water, I rely on the stickbait and wake bait because they make a lot of commotion, can be worked slowly, and can draw fish from long distances. I generally fish these around areas offshore from where the bigger bass have spawned, 124 Northwest Sportsman

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such as off the end of docks, swim docks, weedlines, points and dropoffs. Working the baits slow with frequent pauses is key this time of year. Bass aren’t going to chase much, so leaving it in their strike zone as long as possible will increase your chances of agitating a fish just enough to swallow your lure. On shallower stained bodies of water with lots of weeds and pads, I rely on hollow-body frogs and buzzbaits. Fish in the same types of areas near spawning flats, but toward deeper water. The good thing about these two types of lures is that they can be worked over the heavy vegetation where many of the largest female bass will be hunkered down after spawning. Worked slowly, they will draw those fish to the surface to see what all the commotion is. Some of the most viscous topwater strikes and largest topwater fish I’ve ever caught have been on frogs and buzzbaits. The lures can cover a lot of water, and when that bite is on, you can catch

“I was once that guy who had no confidence in (large baits), but I can assure you, if you throw them often enough in the right conditions, you will catch the fish of a lifetime,” writes Davis, here with a big largemouth caught on an oversized buzzbait. (ROGER DAVIS)

giant after giant.

MAY DAY PAY DAY In conclusion, one of the most important things to remember is to be on the water during the prime times. In early May, look for incoming fronts or a falling barometer. From midMay into June, look for the full moon and warm, sunny days for spawners. Late May through June, fish under overcast skies and calm conditions for nonstop postspawn topwater action. Don’t be afraid to throw large baits and experiment either. I was once that guy who had no confidence in them, but I can assure you, if you throw them often enough in the right conditions, you will catch the fish of a lifetime. Remember to use appropriate tackle with whatever style of baits you are throwing. I wish you luck out there this next month and hope you get the fish of your dreams. And always remember to catch and release, especially with a trophy bass. Tight lines! NS

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Northwest Sportsman 125

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FISHING Bass anglers (lower left) work the western shore of Lake Osoyoos just below the international border in this image from the Washington Department of Ecology’s shoreline photo viewer. (DOE)

Osoy-who?! The Okanogan’s known for big bucks, but one BC border-straddling lake also boasts large bass. By Andy Walgamott

bit earlier this spring a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife staffer’s analysis of a decade’s worth of bass tournament catches spiked my interest in Lake Osoyoos, and it might also pique yours. The data posted to Facebook (next page) showed that out of 18 waters across Washington, the fattest average fish was weighed at this relatively overlooked international border-straddling Okanogan River

lake, 3.34 pounds. Now, 3.34 pounds might not seem like that huge of a bass – it roughly corresponds to an 18-plus-incher – but it’s also more than half a pound heavier than the next closest entry on the tourney waters list. Better than bucketmouth and bronzeback destinations like Grant County’s Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir, Seattle’s big metro waters Lakes Washington and Sammamish, and numerous pools of the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

So how exactly has Osoyoos and its bass flown under the radar? “I suspect they are large in there because conditions are perfect and they have been left alone for the most part,” says Dr. Daniel Garrett, a state warmwater fisheries biologist stationed in Spokane and who crunched the numbers from 14 contests held there. According to Google Maps, it’s a two-hour drive further to Osoyoos from both the Lilac and Emerald Cities than it is to more centrally nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

Northwest Sportsman 127

FISHING located Moses and Potholes.

IF YOU’RE NOW reprogramming your GPS, your next question might be along the lines of, so tell me, what the heck are these fat Osoyoos bass gnawing on anyway? “I’m sure they would eat a sockeye smolt,” says Garrett, referring to the salmon smolts that rear in the watershed and produce a good fishery at Brewster as returning adults, “but I’d be shocked if crawfish wasn’t driving their growth there for most of the year, as in other systems.” No need to tell that to two Washington anglers who fished a tournament on the British Columbia side of the 5,729-acre lake in April 2018. They brought a monster aboard that might have gone 9-plus pounds had it not been “pooping crayfish all over the deck,” according to an article on Bassfan.com. It stated that the duo’s two-day,

64-plus-pound catch might also have been a record for the entire nation of Canada, though their final margin of victory – 39 pounds, 15 ounces – also suggests that they might have been fishing the spot on the spot on the spot. On the spot. The website reports they were dragging 4-inch Yamamoto Hula Grubs in cinnamon-purple flake and green pumpkin on 1/2-ounce footballhead jigs around rocks next to weeds. “This will put BC bass fishing on the map,” Skagit County angler Shane Hoelzle told BassFan, which observed that otherwise, “largely because it’s a long drive from any large population center, and because anglers have kept quiet, Osoyoos remains largely unpressured.”

THE LAKE IS on WDFW’s map – and it isn’t. The agency says it offers “good fishing” from May through September, but its fancy-schmancy

new website ironically doesn’t list bass in its rundown of “species you might catch” at Osoyoos. At this writing, those spothoarding state zipperlippers only list perch, rainbows, kokanee, Chinook and sockeye as available. In Garrett’s analysis, the lake actually had one of the highest percentages of smallmouth in its tourney catch, around 95 percent. That’s topped only by the MidColumbia River’s Wallula Pool at roughly 97 percent. Bronzebacks also comprised more than 70 percent of the bag at Lakes Washington, Sammamish, Banks and Long (Spokane) in his analysis. But largemouth dominated at two other waters, Box Canyon and Potholes Reservoirs, a reflection of all the habitat for bucketmouths at these Central and Northeast Washington impoundments, he says. “Box Canyon, for example, has a

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FISHING ton of slough habitat for largemouth,” Garrett says. Those off-channel waters and drowned tributary mouths of the Pend Oreille River also unfortunately provided prime places for northern pike illegally introduced from Idaho’s Couer d’Alene drainage to establish themselves before WDFW and the Kalispel Tribe began an aggressive suppression program. While that effort appears to be working, walleye are now turning up in increasing numbers.

GARRETT HOPES TO drill further down into the statewide tournament data, including catches by month and season, but notes that out of the 146,124 bass caught and recorded at events held between 2008 and 2018, at least 112,213 were smallmouth and 33,503 were largemouth. “They don’t add up to the 146,124 fish because there are a few missing data

points because anglers didn’t report their smallmouth and largemouth. Not very many, though,” he notes. WDFW’s permit to hold an event requires organizers to report how many fish of each species were caught, their total weight, the biggest and smallest fish, and how many were released alive. It turns out that this data may also provide key and unique insights into Washington’s bass populations. Asked on Facebook if the end of size and bag limits on the Columbia in 2013 and 2016 had had any effect on the fish, WDFW stated, “Average weights of bass weighed in tournaments have not changed significantly in the Columbia River Pools. The average since 2016 is slightly higher than the 10-year average.”

IF YOU WANT to get on Lake Osoyoos this spring and summer, there are two

Rank

Name

County

10-yr. avg. tournament bass weight (pounds)

Osoyoos Lake

Okanogan

3.34

Moses Lake

Grant

2.74

Potholes Reservoir

Grant

2.57

Umatilla Pool (Columbia River)

Klickitat

2.45

Bonneville Pool (Columbia River)

Skamania

2.36

Lake Sammamish

King

2.31

Wallula Pool (Columbia River)

Benton

2.24

Lake Washington

King

2.22

Lake Whatcom

Whatcom

2.21

Lake Chelan

Chelan

2.15

Long Lake

Spokane

2.13

Silver Lake

Cowlitz

2.11

Box Canyon Reservoir

Pend Oreille

2.05

Riffe Lake

Lewis

1.86

Banks Lake

Grant

1.84

Lake Roosevelt

Stevens

1.81

Lake Tapps

Pierce

1.67

Lake Bryan (Snake River)

Whitman

1.33

A table put together by state warmwater fisheries biologist based on 146,000-plus bass caught on 18 waters over the past 10 years shows the average weighed at Lake Osoyoos is much heavier than those from the next four closest waters, all in Central Washington. (WDFW) 130 Northwest Sportsman

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boat ramps on the Washington side, including at Osoyoos Lake Veteran’s Memorial Park at its south end and Deep Bay Park on its west side just off Highway 97. “The lake is really shallow on the US side, so anglers have done well fishing the points where there are rapid depth changes,” says local WDFW district fisheries biologist Ryan Fortier. “This habitat lets the fish move up and down the slope rapidly as they follow their forage.” With the lake’s “very clear” waters, he advises against using bright color patterns or blades. “Molted crayfish colors are the way to go and the action to mimic, Fortier tips. As for water levels, snowpack in the Okanogan/Okanagan River headwaters was lower than it’s been coming out of recent winters. “The lake will be filling up early this year in anticipation of drought conditions, so anglers should expect conditions similar to 2015 rather than the flooding that occurred last year,” Fortier reports. Again, be advised that Osoyoos belongs to two countries and where the border of one ends and the other begins is not exactly marked with giant maple leaves and ’Merica signs. A destination for watersports lovers – the region is called by some BC’s Palm Springs – boaters on it are watched much more closely than on your local neighborhood lake, if you get our drift. And no, this is not like the Columbia shared with Oregon or Snake shared with Idaho, your Washington fishing license is not valid whatsoever on the Canadian side of the lake. Anyway, a source tells me the biggest bass are all on our side of Osoyoos anyway – USA! USA! USA! And over the coming months you might just spot one of WDFW’s warmwater bios doing a little field research there. “I need to take a trip to see this lake,” says Garrett. See you there, Doc! NS

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FISHING

Go Time For Valley Bass

Western Oregon is far from the ancestral homes of both Randall Bonner and bass, but the Alabama native knows that the myriad waterways of the Willamette Valley host good largemouth fishing during springâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spawn. (CARY MCLAREN)

The spawn makes for good largemouth fishing in Willamette watershed ponds, lakes, sloughs. By Randall Bonner

ith the change of seasons, the spawning period for largemouth has arrived, though the bite can sometimes be as fickle as the weather here in the Willamette Valley. Bass typically begin to seek out shallows when the temperature ranges between 50 and 60 degrees. As air temperatures drop and rise, so does the range of depths the fish will be found at as they move back and

forth into their spawning areas until the temps and weather become more stable. One day they might hanging near the edge of drop-offs, and the next they might be holding tight to cover or cruising the shallows. Being able to pinpoint their locations and find successful patterns takes a little flexibility in your tactical approaches.

WHEN BASS ACTIVELY migrate to their typical spawning areas, look for them to use bottlenecks to cruise from one large body of water to another.

Creeks that empty into a lake can also bring in warmer water where fish might stage. Flooded backwaters also typically warm up quickly and can hold fish early in the season. Anywhere thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a ditch or a hole in these areas will typically hold fish seeking both cover and warmer, more ideal temperatures. With spring rains, high, stained water is more common. While that may decrease visibility, it will also allow you the advantage of a stealthy approach. Chartreuse, white or even nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

Northwest Sportsman 133

FISHING black are the bait colors that will be particularly visible in stained water. Using a larger profile lure will also help draw attention to your presentation. Using some patience and slowing down your retrieve will draw more strikes from sluggish fish that aren’t up for chasing down a meal. Suspending jerkbaits, jigs and finesse worms are great baits to fish slowly. As visibility increases under the surface, the ecological makeup of the water is still in transition. Weedbeds are still dormant, and much of the aquatic landscape is bare. Bass are more likely to hold tighter to permanent cover like wood or riprap when they begin moving shallow. During transitional spawning patterns, particularly on warmer days, the same fish may be cruising flooded edges, points or drop-offs. The flats between these transitional holding areas will eventually become established as spawning territories as spring progresses. When the weather heats up, the bite will typically follow. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and shallow crankbaits are good presentations for drawing reaction bites from territorial bass that are beginning to actively feed more in preparation for the spawn. Lipless crankbaits are also a great option for quickly covering a diverse range of depths. A warming trend with several consecutive days of fair weather will often trigger aggressive feeding behavior. However, once these prespawn patterns have been established in shallow areas, bass typically won’t retreat back to the depths and will instead wait out cold fronts holding tight to cover. When the weather doesn’t cooperate, fish tighter to cover.

THE FREEWAY LAKES, Waverly Lake,

Salem-area bank angler Dustin Sharpe set a new personal best last June, catching this 7-pounder on a wacky-rigged Yum Dinger in Bama bug. (YO-ZURI PHOTO CONTEST)

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Adair Pond, Truax Island, Bond Butte, and Cheadle Lake are all good spots to fish in the middle Willamette Valley for spawning bass, though they will get overgrown and be more

As the author’s bass hound Wrangler looks on, Max Kitzmiller reels in a lure at Freeway Lakes just south of Albany. Between artificial waters like these, the many farm ponds in the region, and the sloughs of the Willamette River, angling opportunities for bucketmouths are ubiquitous in the valley. (RANDALL BONNER)

difficult to fish by the time mid-June rolls around. On the larger side, Fern Ridge Reservoir is another good bet for largemouth. For more options and fishing advice, check out myodfw.com’s warmwater pages. Those list many more sloughs, ponds and reservoirs from the top of the valley to the bottom that offer bass, either largies or smallies. The prespawn is a great time to take advantage of some of the best days of bass fishing you’re likely to see all year in Oregon. Between the aggressive, territorial behavior and females eating copiously to pack energy into their eggs for the spawn, there are plenty of opportunities for great catch-and-release action. NS

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FISHING

On Hunting And Fishing Bagging a blacktail was an accomplishment for Sara, and while she hasn’t returned to the deer woods, it provided something else she needed for the rivers.

By Sara Ichtertz

ife often has a funny way of swishing us about in our early years. There are sports and events we embrace simply because they’re part of our parents’ lives. Their sports. Possibly even their passions. There are those who truly are blessed in the fact that their truest passion is found thanks to their folks’ ways of life. There are also others who embrace the life they are given, finding strength and little joys each step of the way, though their true passion is still waiting to be discovered deep within. Growing up on an old ranch was perfect, even though I wasn’t meant to be a rancher. Mom and Dad embraced hobby farming to the best of their ability, pouring their passion into raising our milk cow, our chickens, our beef, our pigs, our pygmy goats, our sheep, and our garden as my sisters and I watched. It had beautiful end results that led to my folks growing and providing

Hunting for game and fish might have some similarities, but for Sara Ichtertz finding success in the woods with her first and only buck provided a powerful push towards building the confidence to tackle salmon and steelhead. (SARA ICHTERTZ) nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

Northwest Sportsman 139

FISHING the majority of food for our family of eight. I believe that seeing their desires and passions go hand in hand with hard work has a lot to do with me being exactly who I am today. I saw what was possible when these two factors collide and even though as soon as my chores were done, I ran to the creek as fast as my feet could carry me, I am thankful Mom and Dad raised us girls exactly as they did. With that in my childhood I have always loved growing gardens! I dabbled in a pig project. Had chickens. Loved the eggs and growing my own meat. However, the only thing that felt effortless was the gardens. Even though it was very much hard work, it didn’t feel as if it were, leading me to believe vegetable gardens are indeed a passion of mine. The protein I was also growing, not so much.

SO I NEEDED to find a way to put meat in my freezer. Knowing that there are blacktail deer in my woods that I could hunt I decided to become hunter Sara. Presenting my idea to my husband Roy at the end of the summer his eyes lit up. I had accompanied him in the woods for many years, but as the photographer, the picnic packer. If we were blessed and he got a buck, I loved playing butcher. Processing meat is something I have always enjoyed. If I’m going to cook it, I might as well cut it the way I want it. I did not know how to shoot a highpowered rifle at the time, but within the week Roy took me shooting. In his gentle demeanor he gave me the rundown of his Browning’s workings and then he shot first. Before I knew it it was my turn. I will never ever forget shooting that rifle for the first time. Firm grasp on this massive weapon. It was heavy. Perfect sight on my target. Deep breath in, calm breath out, but I did not squeeze the trigger. Dang it! Once more I settled into the stock of the rifle, deep breath in, calm breath out, pulling the trigger this time. Boom! went the rifle and I could not help but 140 Northwest Sportsman

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Scenes from the author’s life growing up on a farm in Oregon. (SARA ICHTERTZ)

give a wild yelp! Like holy you-knowwhat, that was intense! I wouldn’t say I loved it. I would say I am very driven, though, and so I shot devotedly for the next few weeks. My groups became tighter and tighter. At a further distance I began to think I was comfortable enough to hunt, and so I got my first ever general rifle tag and prepared myself for October. I was physically strong. Hiking the woods with my rifle in my arms was something I took pride in, something I took very seriously, even more so than I take springer fishing today, I think. I was never at ease. Though the sunrises, the sunsets, the distant rain on the hills, the silence and serenity did feed my soul as I hunted, I never felt as if I belonged. I usually found myself listening and looking for water. Even though I was physically where I needed to be, that was the only thing I had going for me. I knew with each cracking stick or rustling of the leaves

beneath my boots that I was way too loud. I am pretty sure the entire forest heard me coming. As I hiked to the highest viewpoints, I was certain they could smell my deodorant, my sweat, sense my nerves. My eyesight is not even mediocre, heaven help me. Mighty hunter? Not even close. Stubborn woman? Without a doubt! As my one and only hunting season was passing me by I had only one chance at a buck. I made my rest, readied my rifle, listened to Roy’s guidance and got him within the crosshairs. Deep breath in, finger on the trigger, but I didn’t take the shot and in that briefest moment I did not execute. In doing so I missed my chance and my shot was gone. I absolutely hated that feeling. I know Roy wasn’t impressed. But in that moment I realized that you choose it, it does not choose you.

THE CALENDAR TOLD me I would only

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Northwest Sportsman 141

FISHING have one more hunt. Mildly disgusted with myself I noticed fate had placed that final chance on my 31st birthday. Knowing how much hard work I had put in, I had a positive pep talk with myself. I do believe at the time I was feeling the passion, even though I whole-heartedly know now I wasn’t really. One last hunt. I had told myself that, regardless, I was going to walk away proud of myself. The fact I was comfortable with that rifle was huge, and great successes within the growth of Sara had taken place. So, go have your day, be thankful Roy is going to be with you, and give it your best. Discussing our plan of action, I wanted to get to the top of the ridge before daylight and then work my way down a drainage that still had water. That meant we had to hike up the backside in the dark in order to try and pull it off. I’m not even kidding when I say hiking in the woods in the dark freaks me right out! We made it happen, though, and as beginner’s luck would have it, here he came up the drainage, a perfect little forken horn that did not see or smell me. I didn’t have much time and the angle I was at just simply would not cut it. We guessed his direction and headed there. Of course, the buck moved faster than I and as we came into the opening, there he was. I had absolutely no time to lay down, find a rest – none of this or that. I drew my rifle, held on tight, took that deep breath and exhaled as I squeezed the trigger. I did it all without discussing any of these actions with Roy. I believe I blew his mind and yet he was impressed as well. I followed the buck in my scope, knowing he was hurt badly. Certain that I saw him come to rest beneath a tree we gave him a few minutes before approaching him. I was straight-up trembling! From my head to my toes the most intense emotions pumped through my body, so intense I had to hand off my rifle to Roy so I could sit down. Trying to shake off my shakes I was beyond twirled out! 142 Northwest Sportsman

MAY 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

Ichtertz takes great pride in being able to feed her family with vegetables she’s grown and fish she’s caught, and while she’s found that hunting might not be her thing, processing and cutting up venison is. (SARA ICHTERTZ)

Looking through the binoculars I knew I had my first buck. I couldn’t help but say, “Thank God that is over!” That’s different from fishing, which leaves me with this joyous feeling of “Again! Again!” But I did feel very accomplished and I loved hauling out the meat I had been looking for. I singlehandedly processed my entire buck like a champion. I had provided!

THE MORAL OF my story? Finding where we truly belong in life is never easy. Even with wonderful loving parents or a partner who is willing to help, we all should embrace a path of discovery that we can only find within our own self. We will never actually know where we do in fact belong if we don’t challenge ourselves. Sometimes it takes seeing where we do not belong in order to realize exactly

where we do. At the point of my one and only hunting season, my one and only birthday buck, I had only one hatchery hen under my belt. (Plus my first fish that my brotherin-law put me on the year before. I loved her, but they were not my knots and without a doubt that was the reason she reached out and chose me.) The hunt helped me believe in myself, something I did need. As I said farewell to general rifle season I eager-heartedly began to dream and prepare myself for the run of fish that was just around the bend. I gained such strength within that hunting season that Sara was ready and able to become the river hunter that she was meant to be. In my second winter run I fished multiple drifts I had never laid eyes on, finding steelhead after steelhead by my calls of where I thought I might find fish. That instant joy was

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nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

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FISHING

“... (With) each hookset, headshake and shimmer of it all I fell deeper for these fish. I knew with every beat of my heart that the river is where I belong. This is love, and this is the meat I can passionately put in my freezer,” writes the author, here with a wild winter-run from earlier this year. (SARA ICHTERTZ)

adrenaline packed, and with each hookset, headshake and shimmer of it all I fell deeper for these fish. I knew with every beat of my heart that the river is where I belong. This is love, and this is the meat I can passionately put in my freezer. I just had to learn how to cook it right, because it is not venison, it is fish! Fish used to make me gag.

HUNTING FOR GAME in the woods is so very different than hunting the rivers. I saw so clearly how we track and hunt and analyze where we think a deer might pass us by come daybreak or sunset. It’s somewhat similar to fishing, yet so very different at the same time. In the trembling of it all I felt this so clearly. With hunting, you 1,000 percent must take that moment, seize it and own it, as that shot may be the only one you are presented with for the entire year. They do not choose you, you must choose them. You 144 Northwest Sportsman

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must see the hunt through using a deadly weapon, so you better breathe steady and shoot it like you mean it without hesitation. River hunting couldn’t be any more opposite. Yes, I am quiet, but I don’t need to try and be a high-powered rifle ninja (let’s be honest, a ninja is something this girl could never be). Instead I am able to be exactly who I am in the most natural of ways as the rivers muffle Sara and all that comes with her. I create a beautiful enticer that is presented in the most delicate of ways and when done correctly, those beautiful steelhead and temperamental salmon reach out and choose me! Hunting the rivers with a rod and reel is in a lot of ways like art, and so I see why my heart calls me here in this undeniable way. Yes, execution on the fight must take place in order to harvest your meat or connect with a wild beauty. But I find it incredible that the choice is mine after such a beautiful collision of two worlds as to

whether I harvest this animal. That’s incredible to me. Hunting the woods is just so permanent! It’s so crazy that I damn near barfed once it was over. When fishing I am like a pup when Dad gets home! I could hunt the rivers until the day I die, and God willing I shall. I love how the adrenaline of the fight is felt throughout with no guarantees, and yet when the creature does escape me, it is not leaving with a fatal wound. Yes, I may have a semibroken heart, but the fish swims free. There is something magical about finding where we belong in life. I feel thankful that my journey has led me here, allowing the fish to choose me and in their choosing me, I will forever choose them. My heart is on the river and I couldn’t change it, even if I tried. NS Editor’s note: For more on Sara’s adventures, see For The Love Of The Tug on Facebook.

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146 Northwest Sportsman

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COLUMN

You See Tree Rats; He Sees Appetizers T

he little rat in a tree was looking down on my family and I with disdain. We had CHEF IN THE WILD disturbed the peace By Randy King in “his” campsite. As we set up our tent that day in fall 2017, the little rat ran circles around us. Soon he climbed a tree and began to scream and chirp in anger. “Can we just shoot that thing?” my eldest son bemoaned as he dug for his grouse gun. “Nope,” I said. “They are protected for some reason in the state of Idaho.” I could see the look of confusion on my boy’s face. Squirrels near the house are not protected, ground squirrels are not protected, marmots are not protected, but you couldn’t shoot this little tree yeller and eat ’im? Why? I had no good explanation. So we listened to him express his distaste for humans in his woods for a whole weekend. Little pinecones fell on my head as I stoked the fire. At points he would gather his friends to chatter in unison; I swear they tossed stuff onto our tent at night to keep us awake. I never understood why they could not be shot, but I was not about to break the rules either.

FAST FORWARD TO fall 2018, when Idaho added its first “new” season in decades. The Fish and Game Commission “reclassified red squirrels to an Upland Squirrel hunting isn’t as big in the Northwest as it is in other corners of the country, but the King clan is taking advantage of Idaho’s new season on pine, or red, squirrels. And not only to quiet down the woods at deer camp, but to bring home some different meat for the pot. (RANDY KING) nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

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COLUMN

CONFIT A GOOD WAY TO PREPARE SQUIRREL MEAT

outhern folk either have a different way to classify “good” meat for frying or they have better dentists. Since I know that the latter is not true, I have not been able to find a great way to fry a squirrel yet. Most that I have tried to fry have been stringy and tough as nails. That said, enough time and enough garlic cures all things in the culinary traditions.

I get past this toughness by cooking my squirrel legs “confit” style. To confit something is to slow cook it in oil, then let the meat chill completely covered in oil, creating a protective layer of fat. Confit is essentially an old-school Egyptian preservation method for duck that works great on squirrel too. Or rabbit, chicken, grouse, duck and

even pork. Basically, it’s awesome and was created for keeping meat in the eons before refrigeration. To confit something you need to follow three basic steps. Cure the meat in salt, brown the meat, then poach it in oil. The reason that this cooking and preservation method works is because salt creates a hostile environment for microorganisms. Cooking the meat in the hot oil also kills most microbes. Top that off with a layer of microbe-inhibiting fat covering the meat and you can keep confit for up to six months in your cellar or fridge. Below is the basic method of cooking any type of meat confit style. Step 1: Clean the meat very well after the harvest. I will pat it dry with a paper towel while looking for any extra fur, feathers, shot or undesirable blood clots that need to be removed. Step 2: Mix 1/8 cup kosher salt, 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper and 1 tablespoon garlic powder per pound of meat. Toss the meat with the salt mix and place in a gallon-sized ziplock bag. I make sure to pour off any juice that accumulates. After 24 hours I will rinse the squirrel off and pat it dry. Step 3: Brown the meat in a couple of tablespoons of hot oil. Step 4: This one is the hardest – not technically hard, mind you, rather emotionally. The smells from the cooking meat will tempt you. Ignore the enticement and let the meat cook. If you snack on it through the whole cooking process, it will not be the same! Oil Poaching 1 cup rendered bacon fat (if you have it; if not, two sticks of butter) Canola oil – enough to barely cover the meat 8 cloves of garlic 16 black pepper corns 2 bay leaves 2 sprig of rosemary 4 sprigs of thyme 10 sage leaves

Squirrel rillettes – shredded meat preserved in fat – make for an interesting appetizer topper option. (RANDY KING) 148 Northwest Sportsman

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Pack the browned squirrel into the bottom of a home-style cake pan. Then place the garlic, pepper corns, bay leaves,

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rosemary, thyme and sage leaves on top of it. Add the bacon fat and then pour enough canola oil to cover the meat. Tightly wrap the whole mess in tin foil and place it on a cookie sheet. Put the squirrel in a 350-degree oven for two hours, then turn the oven down to the “keep warm” setting. Let it cook for two more hours. Then turn off the oven and let the meat cool for one hour. Next remove the meat from the oven and let cool. Then remove the meat from the bone and transfer it into clean and sanitized Mason jars. Fill to within 1 inch of the lid. Pour oil over the top of the meat, making sure no part of the meat is exposed. If meat is exposed, it can turn faster than it should. Cool the jars in the refrigerator and when totally cooled, cap and store them in the back of the fridge. The confit can keep for up to six months. Keep the oil from batch to batch of confit – it gains more and more flavor over time. To eat, remove the metal lid and microwave the jar for a minute or so – just enough to melt the fat but not heat up the meat. Remove the amount you would like to eat, then make sure to cover the meat in oil again before putting it away. I use confit meat in a variety of ways. I’ve made pizzas, pastas, pot stickers, tacos and many other dishes from it. Confit is a great way to keep your freezer free of odds and ends, and it tastes great too. Confit of Squirrel Rillettes One classic way of using confit for basically every- and anything is to make rillettes. Think fancy dip for dinner parties or for watching baseball. A real “technical” recipe for rillettes is to make confit as above. Then you shred the meat and pulse it in a food processor. Then you add the meat to Mason jars, the low-profile, widemouthed ones (remember, everything looks cooler in a Mason jar …). Pack the meat fairly tight, then pour a thin layer of fat over the top. Let the fat cool and set. Serve rillettes cold or at room temperature with crackers or crusty bread for a fancy tree rat appetizer. For more wild game recipes, see chefrandyking.com. –RK

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COLUMN Game animal at their August 2017 meeting. This reclassification was formalized by the Legislature during the 2018 legislative session. Red squirrels are widespread and abundant, and considered upland game animals in many states. The Department proposes a red squirrel season, concurrent with rabbit and hare seasons.” Not long after, the season for Western pine squirrel, aka red squirrel, opened on Aug. 30, with hunting running through this past March 31. I took advantage of this new season and can report it was a godsend. For years – and no one knows why – the little beast was protected. Idaho has always had a season on fox squirrels – basically, a lawn ornament brought here by park developers. Since they are an invasive species they can be shot all year and at any quantity. We will often hunt the invasive squirrels during the spring, before turkey season. The little buggers will

be hanging out on tree limbs, eating new growth buds. They are very underhunted too, so it is great target practice for the kiddos. Head-shooting a tree rat with a single-shot .22 with open sights is a skill all kids need to have. I am even considering creating a new hunting group for my area – the Boise River Squirrel Hunting Association. I will propose that local landowners give us and the kids’ permission to hunt the river bottoms in order to keep the attic rats at bay. I doubt we will get traction, but why not try? And with the new season for the pine squirrels we can now camp in peace during the fall. The loud chippers will stop and the pot will get even more delicious. The pine squirrel will learn to fear the slings and arrows of my children. Or the .22, but that is splitting hairs.

JUST AS SQUIRRELS are not created equal – some stick to the ground, others climb trees, a few fly – hunting

regulations vary across the Northwest. In Washington you need a big game or small game license to hunt eastern gray, fox and most ground squirrels (though you don’t need one if you are on your own property), there is no bag limit and the season is open year-round with no weapons restrictions. Western gray squirrels, which only occur in a few locales in northern and southern Central Washington and Joint Base LewisMcChord, Douglas and flying squirrels and golden-mantled and Washington ground squirrels are all off limits. Oregon considers eastern grays and eastern foxes invasive and allows them to be hunted year-round, with no limit. Unlike its northern neighbor, however, western grays are considered a game animal and have a late summer-late fall season. Red squirrels can’t be hunted. And besides pine squirrels, you can also hunt fox squirrels in Idaho with a hunting, trapping or combo hunting license. NS

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Why Spring Is The Best Time To Buy A New Rifle For Fall

Author Dave Workman says spring is the best time to make a new rifle purchase because it gives you plenty of time over the coming months to take it afield and get familiar with it. (DAVE WORKMAN)

ot long ago, Sturm, Ruger reintroduced one of the company’s most popular rifles in recent memory, the Hawkeye Alaskan, ON TARGET chambered in three By Dave Workman slamming calibers that are known for their stopping power. It’s a superb rifle, especially for conditions one is likely to encounter in the Pacific Northwest, where in the fall, if it’s not raining, it’s probably getting ready to rain – am I right? Hitting the scale at 8 pounds (unloaded, without scope), the Hawkeye Alaskan is chambered for the .375 Ruger,

the .338 Winchester Magnum or the .300 Winchester Magnum. Either/or, you’ve got a potent load for anything on four legs. This rifle features a Hogue OverMolded synthetic stock with a nonslip, cobblestone-type texture that allows a firm grip even in a downpour. The Hogue stock is impervious to changing weather conditions, which is common during any Northwest hunting season. It is fitted with sling swivel studs and a good recoil pad. With an overall length of 42 inches, the Hawkeye Alaskan features an LC6 trigger three-position safety (which I prefer on any centerfire bolt-action rifle) and integral scope mounts. It’s based on the Ruger Guide Gun platform, and has a solid-steel hinged floorplate and

a nonrotating Mauser-type controlled round feed extractor.

IF YOU THINK this is just a sales pitch for a good Ruger, think again. Ruger’s timing on the reintroduction of this rifle may have been no accident. Springtime is the best time to be purchasing a new rifle for fall’s hunting seasons and there are five good reasons why. First and foremost, this is kind of the “off season” for gun shops and sporting goods stores, so it is likely that you can find the rifle model you’re looking for in stock. If not, it shouldn’t take too long to order one up before the long Memorial Day Weekend. Wait until late summer or early autumn and you just might be out nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

Northwest Sportsman 155

The new Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan is chambered in .375 Ruger, .338 Winchester Magnum or .300 Winchester Magnum. (STURM, RUGER)

Ruger’ 10-22 Competition Rifle from the Custom Shop is a “keeper,” says Workman, who adds that it falls under Washington Initiative I-1639’s “semiautomatic assault rifle” definition. (STURM, RUGER) of luck to get what you want because chances are, 50 other people are looking for the same rifle. Secondly, buying a rifle now gives you a little more time to pair it up with a good scope, yet another item that procrastinators often find themselves rushing around to find at the last minute. Properly mounting a scope is no simple undertaking, and it’s a bad idea to be hasty about this process. I once helped a young lady zero a new rifle that came with a factory-mounted scope and much to my surprise, the scope had not been installed so the crosshairs were lined up vertically and horizontally, but tilted to one side. No wonder she couldn’t produce a good group! A quick loosening of the rings to rotate the scope, retightening and voilà, within five rounds that .270 Winchester-caliber rifle was dead-on at 100 yards, shooting off a backpack as a rest. A third good reason is that buying a rifle now affords one a very long, warm summer for not just sighting in a rifle, but for packing it around on weekend jaunts, including scouting trips. Those lazy summer evenings also provide lots of lingering light at the range to sample different loads in your new rifle, whether factory ammunition or something from your own loading bench. If you are a handloader, you will have the summer to work up loads that perform best for your intended purpose. 156 Northwest Sportsman

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This will allow time to experiment with different bullet weights, perhaps different propellants and get that rifle down to shooting minute-of-angle groups from a cold barrel. Lastly, a spring purchase puts you ahead of the pack in terms of familiarizing yourself with the rifle. Get used to working the safety so it becomes a reflex. Learn the bolt throw and get used to the trigger letoff. The more familiar you are with your rifle, the more likely you and the gun will become a team in the fall.

NOT ONLY HAS Ruger revived a popular rifle model in plenty of time for hunters to grab one up for this coming fall’s activities, SIG Sauer reported – just in time for inclusion here – two new additions to its popular premium-grade Elite Hunting ammunition family. SIG is now offering a load in .243 Winchester and another in .30-06 Springfield. The .243 Winchester is topped with an 80-grain Copper Game projectile, which seems a bit light for what I would recommend for deer-sized game. But this pill goes out of the muzzle at a reported 3,425 feet per second with 2,084 footpounds of energy, and that’s guaranteed to ruin some game animal’s day. That’s a round that seems perfect for coyotes, antelope, mountain goats and similarsized game, and I’ve heard of smaller deer being taken with similar loads. The ’06 is certainly more potent, pushing a 150-grain projectile out of the

muzzle at a reported 2,920 fps, with 2,841 foot-pounds of energy. Goodbye, bucks and even bull caribou or elk, with the right bullet placement. Sheep, you’re history. Goats, say a prayer. SIG Sauer’s ammo is already on sale.

WE MENTIONED STURM, Ruger earlier. Well, the company has also introduced another variation of its popular 10/22 from the Custom Shop. It’s the Competition Rifle, and from what we’ve seen, it’s a keeper. The down side for Washingtonians is that, thanks to Initiative 1639 passed last fall by seriously misguided urban voters, the Ruger 10/22 in all of its configurations now falls within the definition of a “semiautomatic assault rifle,” a gun that Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich told me during an interview a couple of months ago doesn’t really exist. But now that it has been defined by statute, the gun control crowd may try to ban these guns with some future multi-milliondollar initiative. That said, the Custom Shop Competition Rifle is quite a package. It naturally comes with Ruger’s superb 10-round rotary magazine, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It has a CNCmachined heat-treated and stressrelieved 6061-T6511 aluminum receiver with a 30 MOA Picatinny rail on top. Inside is a CNC-machined match bolt that has been heat-treated and nitrided, and the rifle features a dual bedding system to guarantee that the action is securely bedded to the stock. The bolt handle is oversized for easy charging. And about that stock; it’s brown laminate with sling swivel studs, a fully adjustable synthetic cheek rest that may be moved vertically and horizontally. The 161/8-inch stainless steel bull barrel is free floating and features black Cerakote accents. It is threaded with a ½-inch-by28-thread pattern to allow muzzle brakes or other popular accessories. Finally, it’s got Ruger’s popular BX Trigger that is smooth with a crisp letoff. Ruger ships this rifle with a hard case, cleaning cloth, challenge coin and decal. NS 158 Northwest Sportsman

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Is Treat Training For Your Pup? U

sing treats to train a puppy is a debate that’s been going on for years, and really has no right or wrong answer. Ask some of the GUN DOGGIN’ 101 best dog and animal By Scott Haugen trainers, and they will tell you treats are the reason for their quick, consistent success. But as a dog owner, is quick and easy what you’re after? You have to weigh the final results and see what works best for you. My experience with treat training is that, yes, it produces solid results which are great for prompting and reinforcing proper behaviors, but is that your ultimate goal? The other day I was out with a buddy who trained his dog with treats. The dog would not even respond to a simple “come” command until the man started reaching into his pocket for a treat. As soon as the dog saw that, it couldn’t get to him fast enough. But then the dog continually jumped on the man, paying no attention whatsoever to the “sit” command, until the man reached into his pocket once again for another treat, which he didn’t give to the dog until it sat. Yes, the dog did what the man wanted, but the dog had no respect for the man; it was driven by food instead. It was evident the dog didn’t want to please his master, just do what was necessary to get food.

WHEN BRINGING A puppy home, the best training you can do is play with it every single day, for as many hours as possible. This is when the bonds form between you and your pup. This is how you get to know one another. It’s how a pup learns your voice inflections and begins to read your eyes and facial expressions. It’s also how

Developing a solid, trusting relationship with your dog begins the minute they come home, and will last a lifetime. (SCOTT HAUGEN) nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

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COLUMN Doing many different activities with your pup will result in strong bonds being formed through consistent communication and trust. It will also lead the way to a pure and effective training process. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

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MAY 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

you learn the pup’s demeanor and begin establishing a plan of how you’ll teach it to do what you want. Some puppies are bull-headed from the moment you bring them home; others are submissive. These are traits they were born with and that were further developed while spending the first eight weeks of their life with their littermates, when the pecking order is instinctually established. When a puppy comes home, in addition to exploring and learning about its new surroundings, it’s developing a relationship with you. This takes time and communication. Once you gain a pup’s trust through predictable and consistent communication and eye contact, the amount of learning that takes place can be surprising. What’s more, this learning doesn’t have to be prompted by treats. Through playing with your puppy, learning its demeanor and clearly communicating with it in a positive manner, the pup will want to please you, and no reward other than a hug or rubbing of the ears will be necessary. If a pup respects you, it will obey and want to please you. Gun dogs are bred to hunt, so that drive is already instilled. What’s not innate is their desire to obey and please their master. Of the many dogs I’ve hunted with around the world, and worked with over the years, the ones that were trained by developing a solid relationship were much more relaxed and eager to please their masters compared to the ones that were trained using treats.

BEFORE INVESTING IN a puppy, make sure you have the proper time in the coming weeks, months and years to properly develop a pure and honest relationship. What you’ll find is that there’s no substitute for gaining the loyal trust and friendship of a dog through forming natural bonds, versus motivating it to perform certain tasks for treats. The result will be a deep, honest friendship and having a dog that will do anything in the world to make you happy. NS Editor’s note: To see some of Scott Haugen’s puppy training video tips, check out scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2019

Northwest Sportsman 165