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Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource
Volume 14 • Issue 8
Your Complete Hunting, Boating, Fishing and Repair Destination Since 1948.
PUBLISHER James R. Baker EDITOR Andy “Way Over The Line Of Respectful Journalism” Walgamott THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS Dave Anderson, Jason Brooks, Scott Haugen, Sara Ichtertz, MD Johnson, Randy King, Buzz Ramsey, Troy Rodakowski, Rachel Voss, Dave Workman, Mike Wright, Mark Yuasa EDITORIAL FIELD SUPPORT Jason Brooks GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak SALES MANAGER Paul Yarnold ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Kelley Miller, Mike Smith DESIGNER Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker OFFICE MANAGER Katie Aumann INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER Lois Sanborn WEBMASTER/DIGITAL STRATEGIST Jon Hines DIGITAL ASSISTANT Jon Ekse 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 Shane Magnuson of Upper Columbia Guide Service holds a spring Chinook caught at Drano Lake, where he and Buzz Ramsey fished for the year’s first run of salmon last month. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
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CONTENTS
ALSO INSIDE
VOLUME 14 • ISSUE 8
119
(JEFF HOLMES)
BASSIN’ MADE E-Z
Bass fishing has two strikes going against it here in the Northwest – our preference for native salmonids, and bass media’s fixation on making the fishery seem overly complex – but not if Jeff Holmes has anything to say about it. He shares how May and June offer “the best opportunities for catching big largemouth and smallmouth using a variety of simple, reliable methods and cheap gear.”
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WORK STRUCTURE FOR PUGET SOUND LINGS Lingcod won’t be winning beauty contests anytime soon – “Buggy eyes, a bucket-sized mouth filled with canine-like teeth, odd-shaped fins, a pot belly,” writes Mark Yuasa – nor will their Puget Sound dens make Better Homes and Gardens, but that’s where you gotta fish if you want to catch one of the tastiest fish that swims in the Northwest.
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HEAD FOR THE SPRINGER TRIBS Whereas the Lower Columbia fishery dominates the early spring Chinook season, by May angling transitions to the big river’s many tributaries. Jason Brooks shines a light on more than a dozen that should be worth fishing.
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REWARDS UP FOR PIKEMINNOWS The 2022 pikeminnow season on the Columbia and Snake Rivers opens this month with an across-theboard raise for anglers participating in the venerable program meant to boost survival of outmigrating salmon and steelhead smolts. MD Johnson interviews manager Eric Winther on the program’s longterm success and what to look forward to this year.
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THE BOISE’S CROWN JEWEL Tucked into the first set of mountains rising out of Idaho’s Snake River Plain, the South Fork of the Boise River is home to a trophy fishery for big rainbows. Our roving fly fisherman Mike Wright lays out the roaded and canyon stretches of this nationally renowned stream, and has some advice for best patterns.
111 WATERS OF MANY SMALLIES When Lewis and Clark came through, they learned from Native Americans that the little river meeting the Columbia near the future Washington-Oregon state line was the Walla Walla, the “many waters,” and today it is host to many bass in spring. Jeff Holmes shares where and how to catch ’em. 149 PUT IN A LATE SHIFT May’s turkeys are almost a different species than April’s, requiring different hunting tactics. That’s something Troy Rodakowski has learned the hard way over the years, but also that those who persevere and change up their methods can also find success.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Go to nwsportsmanmag.com for details. NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. Periodical Postage Paid at Seattle, WA and at additional mail offices. (USPS 025-251) POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northwest Sportsman, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. Annual subscriptions are $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 © 2022 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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58 NORTHWEST
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PURSUITS
Gear Up For Ocean Halibut
Following up on his Puget Sound flattie feature last issue, Jason turns his eyes to the Washington Coast, where halibut opens up this month and a pair of ports that have been closed for two seasons are accessible again to nontribal anglers. Get the boat and gear ready for fishing on the high seas!
(COAST FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
COLUMNS 97
BUZZ RAMSEY Count On Spinners For Trout Action With their size, color, flash and vibration, spinners are great lures for catching trout at Northwest lakes in spring, and nobody knows that better than Buzz. He shares tips for getting the most out of the tackle, both in the lowlands now and mountain waters as the temperatures heat up.
105 FOR THE LOVE OF THE TUG Who Says It’s Just Fishing? For Sara, taking her son and daughter into Mother Nature and teaching them how to catch trout was about much more than just that. She shares how those adventures helped them build lifelong problem-solving foundations. 133 CHEF IN THE WILD Idaho’s Killer-tasting B’s Randy and his youngest son had aspirations of catching bass on Idaho’s Snake River – better known for its returns of B-run steelhead – but settled for bluegills, which might have been tastiest of all in the end, if our chef’s Honolulu-food-court-inspired panfish recipe is any indication! 155 ON TARGET Sidearms For Hikes, Fishing Longtime outdoorsman Dave W. shares three of his favorite sixguns for packing while hiking in the woods, fishing remote waters or just camping “where the nearest company might have teeth and a bad temper.” 161 BECOMING A HUNTER So You Want To Try Bowhunting, Eh? Dave A. traces his interest in archery back to a grandfather who taught him the basic fundamentals, and it has grown into a lifelong calling. If you’re thinking about taking up perhaps the most challenging way to pursue Northwest big game, Dave points out your path forward. 169 GUN DOG Spring Training Should Include Hunting Too There is no offseason with gun dogs. For Scott, spring is not just a chance to work on his pup’s behavioral issues, keep them in shape and have some fun while doing so, but get in some more – yep! – hunting. Find out how Scott addresses all these issues, and what critters he, Kona and Echo pursue this time of year.
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(RACHEL VOSS)
THE BIG PIC
Women’s Goose Hunt Grrrows
Central Washington sportswoman Rachel Voss hosts annual event to help support fellow females in the outdoors and national R3 efforts – recruiting, retaining and reactivating hunters.
DEPARTMENTS
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THE EDITOR’S NOTE Marching orders
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READER PHOTOS Beautiful steelies, ’bows and bugeyes, plus a buck, bright, bass and bird!
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PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS Coast Hunting, Fishing monthly prizes
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THE DISHONOR ROLL 5 sturgeon saved from poaching; Kudos; Jackass of the Month
45
DERBY WATCH NSIA’s Spring Fishing Classic returns; More upcoming events
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OUTDOOR CALENDAR Upcoming openers, events, deadlines, more
nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2022
Northwest Sportsman 21
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THEEDITOR’SNOTE
T
here were blunt words from Washington hunting defenders after the Fish and Wildlife Commission kiboshed 2022’s edition of the longstanding limited-entry spring bear season. “This is just the beginning.” “Will hunters put boots on the ground for their heritage, or will they piss and moan and do nothing to help themselves?”
THE FIRST WERE the words of Brian Lynn, the national Sportsmen’s Alliance spokesman and Spokane-area resident, during a Fish Hunt Northwest show. Lynn put the commission’s new tack away from its traditional mooring squarely on the Democratic governor’s shoulders. “The animal rights movement has an ally in Jay Inslee; they know that,” said Lynn. “He stepped in and changed wolf (management) that the commission agreed on and working groups have agreed on. ... He’s stepped into mountain lion stuff. The people he has put into commissioner seats are advancing his agenda.” It’s the governor’s prerogative, of course, who they put on the citizen panel that oversees Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife policy – albeit with much wider stakeholder input than we’ve seen of late – but the board could become even more skewed when two pro-hunting and -fishing members’ terms end December 31. New commissioners are already talking about reinterpreting the commission’s and WDFW’s mandates – “maximize” fishing and hunting ops while conserving fish and wildlife in perpetuity – with one former member last month urging, “Resource extraction of a subset of diversity must be secondary.”To be clear, all fish and wildlife face mounting challenges, but I don’t understand how sidelining those with the strongest, most devoted connection helps in the least.
WHILE INSLEE IS pretty untouchable by voters until fall 2024, most other state lawmakers actually face re-election battles this year. “The entire house is up this year and half the Senate,” notes Brian Blake, who voiced the second set of words above. “Every seat matters.” He should know. Blake’s a former state legislator who represented the South Coast before 2020’s Republican sweep of his region. He foresees a wave election this fall and advises sportsmen harness it. “Hunters should be door-belling for candidates and marching in parades with candidates. Work to elect legislators who can stop the anti-hunting agenda,” he said. A Democrat and multiyear Hunters Heritage Council legislator of the year (though definitely not in favor with some sportfishing groups), Blake was a backstop in Olympia on hunting and gun laws. “Majorities matter,” Blake stated. “Hunters/conservationists need to work for the future of our heritage or not. It is their call.”
HE WAS ECHOED by Lynn. “Everything is politics these days. You’re off the bench, man, you’re in the game. You’re either in the game or you’re not – you’re in the stands. Are you part of the conservation movement, which believes in hunting and fishing and the wildlife management model that we use, or are you part of preservation, where it’s hands off, humans aren’t involved, hunters aren’t involved? It’s conservation versus preservation.” Many of us, including yours truly, are loath to get involved in politics, but what about when things are visibly sliding away like this? “Hunters have one chance. Will they get out on the ground and work for pro-hunting/conservation candidates from August through the election?” Blake asked. “Elections and hunting season happen simultaneously and hunters need to participate in both if we are to retain our heritage.” Marching orders from both sides of the aisle for the good of our common opportunities and management thereof. –Andy Walgamott nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2022
Northwest Sportsman 25
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PICTURE
Women’s Goose Hunt Grrrows
Central Washington sportswoman hosts annual event to help support fellow females in the outdoors, national R3 efforts – recruit, retain, reactivate. By Rachel Voss
W
hat started as a small hunt the first year for women interested in waterfowl hunting has now turned into one with a waiting list of nearly 40 for the 2023 ladies’ goose hunt in Moses Lake. We have had women from all walks of life and ability levels join us, from ladies who have never picked up a shotgun, to women who have 10-plus years in the sport. The participation of women in waterfowl hunting continues to soar, thanks to multiple components. With leaders in the outdoor industry recognizing this trend, they continue to provide resources that help encourage the growth. Whether it be gear built specifically for us ladies or mentor programs offered by nonprofits like the Delta Waterfowl Foundation, women are jumping into the sport left and right, and it’s so awesome to see!
In what’s become an annual event, 27 women waterfowlers enjoyed a great January hunt in Central Washington’s Columbia Basin, bagging over 50 geese and 22 ducks. Participants came from as far afield as Idaho and Oregon to get in on the hunt meant to be fun and help expand women’s involvement in hunting and conservation. (RACHEL VOSS)
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Northwest Sportsman 29
PICTURE One reason I host these hunts is that I’m a big promoter of ladies supporting ladies in the outdoors, and I’m also a huge believer in the national R3 push – recruitment, retention and reactivation. I love nothing more than getting new women involved in the sport and seeing them engaged. I love conservation of our natural resources and I want to see the tradition of hunting be around for my grandkids. Putting these hunts on is a way for me to see the R3 initiative through.
THE 2022 EDITION was no different than the first hunt: Women who started off as strangers left as friends for life and shared a bonding experience like no other! It makes my heart happy to see ladies supporting one another, laughing and creating bonds while doing something they love! It also helps that we have an amazing guide who shares the same set of beliefs
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Organizer Rachel Voss (center) says her hunt attracts seasoned hunters and newbies, and her cause is aided by Moses Lake-based waterfowl guide Austin Sandmann of HonkStomper Guide Service. (RACHEL VOSS) – women can waterfowl hunt and they can excel at it, just like the boys! Austin Sandmann, the owner of HonkStomper Guide Service, and his guides go above
and beyond to ensure that we all have a killer time and that we all want to return year after year. They are willing to help and teach the ladies the ropes, all while joining
PICTURE
Voss (second from right) rallies the gals. “Women who started off as strangers left as friends for life and shared a bonding experience like no other!” she writes. (RACHEL VOSS)
us for hours of laughs. “We have been doing the women’s hunt for a couple years now. It’s a huge hit!” says Sandmann. “It’s a ton of fun to guide all the ladies and they definitely know how to shoot; they are even really good at shooting your decoys, lol.” “But in all seriousness,” the guide adds, “I think women are the next upcoming hunters and I think it’s awesome taking them out. I have a 5-year-old daughter and look forward to her joining us on more women’s hunts in the future. More women should get into the outdoors! I hope we can keep this thing going for many more years to come. We had 27 ladies this season and I hope to double that next year!” I knew this hunt has the potential to be big, but I had no clue about how big. With how popular it has become, I quite possibly may be putting two separate weekends on this season. NS Editor’s note: Author Rachel Voss is a selfdescribed waterfowl and elk junkie who lives near Yakima and advocates on behalf of Washington hunters at the state level.
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READER PHOTOS The Oregon Coast was good for Jarod Higginbotham and son Hunter, who caught a broodstock and wild winter steelhead during a float down the Wilson. (COAST FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
Didn’t take Jessica Faris long to tag her first buck – 10 minutes after sunrise on last fall’s opener, she bagged this whitetail near Colville. (COAST HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST)
Washington’s youth turkey season was good for Grace Bolt, but she had to work for this 3-year-old Merriam’s near Goldendale. “We finally stuck that bird on mile 7 out of 9. She said the truck felt good to sit in when we got back!” reports her dad, Mike Bolt. (COAST HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST)
It’s time for another great installment of Jo’s Fishing Adventures – this time at Burke Lake in the Quincy Wildlife Area early last month. “While my dad and I were chatting with some folks putting by in their boat, Jo calmly set her peanut butter and jelly sandwich down and proceeded to set the hook as though she were bobber fishing for steelhead. Her massive hooksets do make me rather proud,” states her father, Brandon. “She stood up as the fish came flying out of the water in front of the passing boat. ‘Whoa!’ said the guy in the boat. ‘You might want to give that one to Daddy! That isn’t one you want to lose!’ Replied Jo, ‘Don’t you take this fish from me, Daddy.’ I never would have dreamed it. If looks could kill, the fella in that boat who said that would be dust. She reeled and reeled and finally dragged the bruiser up on the bank. ‘That’s my biggest fish yet, Daddy!’ I’m sure it won’t be her biggest for long.” (COAST FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
For your shot at winning great fishing and hunting products from Northwest Sportsman and Coast, respectively, send your full-resolution, original images with all the pertinent details – who’s in the pic; 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, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. By sending us photos, you affirm you have the right to distribute them for use in our print and Internet publications.
nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2022
Northwest Sportsman 35
READER PHOTOS Dylan Howard hoists a beautiful bugeye he got to bite a blade bait on the Mid-Columbia in midwinter. (COAST FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
A stormy day was no match for Daniel Demarest’s desire to go fishin’! He braved 2- to 3-foot waves to hook his first walleye, but when his rod started “stinging” him and it began to hail as a weather cell moved past, it was time to head for port and fry up his catch. (COAST FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
Leo Borchers had a bang-up day on the Tacoma area’s Lake Steilacoom in early April, trolling up this stringer using pop gear trailed by a Rapala Minnow. They were the first fish Leo’s caught and the report is that “he loves fishing now!” (COAST FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
An Oregon Coast stream served up a beautiful broodstock steelie for Carissa Anderson this past season. (COAST FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
When Mom needed an hourlong break, Anthony Clements took his kids steelheading – and the fish cooperated! He caught this Oregon winter-run on a nightmare jig on the third cast. (COAST FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
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READER PHOTOS A Brad’s dodger and Dutch Fork Custom Lures offering did the trick on this Central Oregon reservoir rainbow trout for Rhonna Schnell. (COAST FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
Certainly one of the nicest hatchery winter steelhead from last season is proudly held by guide Nic Norbeck. (ELITEGUIDESERVICE.COM)
Wally Sande didn’t start out that late March day on the Mid-Columbia expecting to catch a 6-pound, 11-ounce smallmouth – he was jigging for walleye, in fact – but that’s how things turned out! Sande was running a Kit’s Tackle Glass Minnow jig in the superstition pattern. (COAST FISHING PHOTO CONTEST) Spencer Lake near Shelton was where Eric Shager caught this 6.14-pound broodstock rainbow in late February. He was fishing a gold Kastmaster decorated with Hyper-Vis tape and daubed with Pro-Cure mojo. (COAST FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
This 20-pound Hanford Reach fall Chinook was literally a dream come true for Jeanne Sutton. Originally from the South, she was fishing in early October with boyfriend Mike Pollard, who says the big fish was also one of several salmon Jeanne landed last year. (COAST FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
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PHOTO
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For your shot at winning a Coast knife and light, send your photos and pertinent (who, what, when, where) details to awalgamott@media-inc. com or Northwest Sportsman, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. By sending us photos, you affirm you have the right to distribute them for our print or Internet publications.
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Northwest Sportsman 41
MIXED BAG A near-90-inch sturgeon was rescued from a boat moored at a Lower Columbia marina in mid-March, as were four other smaller sturgeon being kept on ground lines under a dock. (OSP)
5 Sturgeon Saved From Poaching
O
regon fish and wildlife troopers say they were able to live-release five sturgeon that were being illegally retained on a Lower Columbia bay – including a 7-plus-footer that had been kept in a boat. They were tipped off in early March by a pair of bank anglers on Scappoose Bay who saw a sturgeon hauled aboard a boat rather than be immediately released, as required. That led troopers to put the area under surveillance and a couple days later, Troopers Scott Bernardi and Justin Morgan contacted three men at a local marina. At first, the trio said they hadn’t caught anything, but two lines leading under the dock caught the officers’ eyes. Up with the lines came four sturgeon, all alive, and an inspection of the men’s boat turned up an 88-inch-long sturgeon. It wasn’t clear if it was the same fish witnesses had seen kept a couple days beforehand, but it takes decades upon decades for sturgeon to reach that length, and the implications of the near-poaching
of the fish – likely a female – reverberated with state officials. “Sturgeon are a long-lived, slow-growing, and late-maturing species,”said Tucker Jones, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Columbia River manager. “Management actions taken today can have repercussions long into the future and rebuilding efforts can be quite prolonged. They already face numerous ecological, environmental and other human-caused challenges on the road to recovery – poaching, especially of adult oversize sturgeon, is a huge issue.” With the Columbia’s population a “fraction” of what it once was, retention fisheries have become a rarity (catch-andrelease is mostly open year-round), and they specifically target juvenile fish, leaving the breeding stock to do their thing and rebuild numbers. The bigger the female, the more eggs – and the stronger the temptation for nefarious sorts to poach them for their caviar, which reportedly goes for $100 an ounce on the black market. In the end, one guy apparently took the
KUDOS
We give Northwest game wardens and county prosecutors a lot of props for their work policing and protecting our region’s fish, wildlife and wildlands, but let’s give the behind-the-scenes folks who dispatch officers to poaching incidents a hand too! In celebration of mid-April’s National Public Safety Telecommunicators week, Washington Fish and Wildlife Police posted a pic of their Wildcomm crew “to recognize the incredible staff at headquarters who assist the community when they call, provide valuable support to officers in the field, and are essential to the work we do here.” Thank you! (WDFW)
rap. He was cited for possession of oversized sturgeon, which, it turns out, “is a Class C Felony under new charge classifications,” according to ODFW. Other citations included misdemeanor possession of sturgeon, fishing without a resident license, angling with barbed hooks and no combined angling tag. Two rod-and-reel setups and the barbed hooks were seized for evidence. And by reporting what they saw, the tipsters qualified for Turn In Poachers Reward Program cash or preference points.
JACKASS OF THE MONTH
S
ure, just because your fishing license is suspended doesn’t mean you have to avoid all water up to and including a daily shower. But when an Oregon fish and wildlife trooper spotted an angler he knew to be sans fishing privileges
lurking around the Siuslaw during steelhead season, he checked with a county deputy and was perhaps unsurprised to learn the guy had plans to fish a stretch of Lake Creek, one of the Central Coast river’s tributaries. With that info in hand, the trooper busted out his spotting scope and saw said license-suspended scofflaw fishing
The Horseshoe with not one, not two but three different rods at different moments. And that led him to seize not one, not two but three different rods, as well as issue a criminal citation to Joe Blows Off The Rules Against Angling While Suspended. We’d say that might teach the joker a lesson, but sometimes these people … nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2022
Northwest Sportsman 43
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Spring Classic’s Back
I
t’s been a couple years since the Spring Fishing Classic was last held, but the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association is bringing it back this month. “We are looking forward to having an in-person event, a welcome return to our fantastic fishing derbies of yore,” NSIA stated on its website (nsiafishing.org), where you
can also register for the May 21 derby. The fundraiser targets spring Chinook, and proceeds go towards fish and fisheries advocacy work performed by the Oregon City-based organization. The 2020 and 2021 editions were not held due to the pandemic. This year’s prizes include a $500 Fisherman’s Marine & Outdoor gift card for
MORE UPCOMING EVENTS Now through mid-October: Westport Charterboat Association Biweekly Lingcod Derby; charterwestport.com/fishing.html Now through Oct. 31: WDFW 2022 Trout Derby, select lakes across Washington; wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/contests/trout-derby May 1-31: May Surf Perch Derby, Oregon Coast between Humbug Mountain, Horsfall Beach; tonyscrabshack.com/perch-derby May 5 through quota: Westport Charterboat Association Daily (Thursdays, Sundays) Halibut Derby; info: see above
May 13-15: 2022 Detroit Lake Fishing Derby; detroitlakeoregon.org May 13-15: Pikeminnow Fishing Derby 2022, Wanapum Pool; quincyvalley.org May 21: 11th Annual Lake Stevens Kokanee Derby; facebook.com/ LakeStevensKokaneeDerby May 21: Brownlee Crappie Shootout Kayak Fishing Tournament, facebook .com/brownleecrappieshootout May 21-22: CRWWA Rod Meseberg Walleye Classic, Potholes Reservoir;
By Andy Walgamott biggest springer, $500 FMO gift card for mystery weight, plus a team competition based on average fish weight. The event will be based out of Camp Withycombe in Clackamas. Registration is $85 per person, and teams can have two to seven anglers. Call (503) 631-8859 for more. crwaa.profishingtournaments.com May 28-30: Huntington Catfish Derby, Brownlee Reservoir/Snake River; facebook.com/groups/926993987464891 June 11: Kokanee Power of Oregon Detroit Lake Derby; kokaneepoweroregon.com/derby June 11-12: CRWWA Gordon Steinmetz Memorial Walleye Classic, Banks Lake; info: see above June 25-26: CRWWA-LRWC Governors cup, Lake Roosevelt; info: see above July 23: Kokanee Power of Oregon Green Peter Junior Fishout; info: see above
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Northwest Sportsman 45
2022 SPECIALS AVAILABLE FOR MAY, JUNE, JULY, AUGUST & SEPTEMBER. There has been no fishing pressure in our waters for over two years. SALMON
The most successful Salmon Hatchery on the Pacific Coast is just 30 miles from Zeballos. For the past several years, over 50,000 Chinook Salmon have returned each fall to the Conuma Creek spawning grounds where the hatchery is located. Most of these migrating Salmon start to come through our waters starting in May. We have non-spawning Chinook Salmon in our waters year-round—Winter Chinook (Kings, or Springs). In May you'll be catching on average 12 to 18 pound Salmon—absolutely the best table fare.
HALIBUT
We are located very close to an amazing halibut fishery that seems never ending. We can't remember a trip where we didn't hook into many of these amazing eating fish. Come with us, and we'll show you how to bring up white gold. Be prepared with coolers!
Limited trips left, book now before we are sold out!
DAY TRIPPER
Up to 4 people per boat, expect full limits Three Great Locations: Zeballos, Tahsis & Tofino - One Night’s Accommodations In Zeballos - Solo Anglers Welcome - Maximum 4 Anglers/Trip - Up to12 hour Trips - Food & Drinks - 28’ Covered Boats - Halibut quota Available
$455.00 USD + 5% tax /per person Book Your Day Trippers Trip at zeballostopguides.com/day-trips Complete and submit the form. TRIP LIMITS for Day Tripper Package: 4 Salmon of which 2 can be Kings and two can be Silvers, 1 Halibut up to 70 pounds, 3 Lingcod and 4 Rockcod. We have purchased Halibut Quota from the Commercial Halibut Fleet and if you wish to take extra Halibut, the cost will be about $5 per pound.
HALIBUT EXPRESS
Drive-In 3 Nights / 4 Days Package Join us for our 11th annual Halibut Express starting May 1st, 2022! - 20 hours of guided fishing - 3 nights accommodation at the Cedars Inn - All meals including wine with the dinner meals - Cleaning and filleting of your catch - All fishing tackle provided (You are welcome to bring your favorite rod and reel)
Party of 2 fishing 2 per boat: $1395 + tax USD Per Person Party of 3 fishing 3 per boat: $1175 + tax USD Per Person Party of 4 fishing 4 per boat: $795 + tax USD Per Person TRIP LIMITS for 3N/4D Halibut Express Package: 8 Salmon of which 4 can be Chinook (Kings), 2 Halibut, 6 Lingcod, and 8 Rockcod. We have have purchased Halibut Quota from the Commercial Halibut Fleet and if you wish to take extra Halibut, the cost will be about $5 per pound.
LEARN MORE
zeballostopguides.com/halibut-special Call 250-337-2158 Email: doug.zeballostopguides2022@gmail.com
NOTES: Fishing Licenses required and can be purchased April 1, 2022
Guide and Staff gratuities not included Bring your own coolers ... you’ll need them!
Don’t wait—packages sell out fast every year, contact us now!
OUTDOOR
CALENDAR* MAY
1
2022 Northern Pikeminnow Sport-reward Program fishery begins on Columbia and Snake Rivers – info: pikeminnow.org; Proposed Southern Oregon Subarea halibut opener – info: dfw.state.or.us/MRP/finfish/halibut/management.asp; Washington Marine Areas 5-11, 13 lingcod opener 1-7 Tentative razor clam dig dates on select Washington beaches (final digs of spring season) – info: wdfw.wa.gov 3 ODFW Intro to Hunting in Oregon ($, register), ODFW Roseburg office – info: myodfw.com/workshops-and-events 5 Tentative Columbia Subarea/Area 1, Area 2 halibut opener (Thursday, Sunday fishing thru May 22); Tentative Areas 3-5 halibut opener (Thursday, Saturday fishing thru May 21) – info: wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/halibut 7 2022 Clear Lake (Spokane) Kids Fishing Event, Fairchild Air Force Base – info: wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/contests/youth; ODFW Adult Beginner Fly-Fishing Workshop ($, register), Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery – info: see above 11 Start of Columbia estuary sturgeon retention (open Wednesdays and Saturdays only; season scheduled to run thru June 4, but 1,920-fish quota in effect) 12 Proposed Oregon Central Coast seven-day-a-week all-depth spring halibut opener – info: see above 15 Oregon fall controlled big game permit purchase application deadline 19 Washington big game special permit application deadline (midnight) 19-22 Anacortes Boat & Yacht Show, Cap Sante Marina, Anacortes – info: anacortesboatandyachtshow.com 25 Last day to hunt turkeys in Idaho; Spot shrimp opener on Puget Sound waters 26-29 Tentative Washington halibut openers in all open areas (dates vary by area) – info: see above 28 Fishing opens on select Washington streams; Skykomish River hatchery summer Chinook, steelhead opener 31 Last day of Oregon, Washington spring turkey season; Last day of Oregon spring bear season
JUNE 1
North Fork Nooksack, Skagit and Cascade Rivers hatchery spring Chinook opener; Grimes Lake fishing opener; Area 11 hatchery Chinook opener 4-5 Oregon Free Fishing Weekend 11 Free Fishing Day in Idaho 11-12 Washington Free Fishing Weekend 16 Area 10 coho opener; Mid-Columbia River hatchery summer Chinook opener from Bonneville Dam to Pasco 16-22 Lower Columbia hatchery summer Chinook dates (no sockeye retention) 18 Chinook and hatchery coho opener on Areas 3 and 4; Hatchery coho opener on Oregon Coast south of Cape Falcon; Rods and Reels in Need Fish Expo, with special guest Bill Herzog, plus tackle, kids fish pond, food, music; Thurston County Fairgrounds – info: Larry Stamp, (360) 507-9718; CAST For Kids fishing event on Emigrant Lake (Ashland) – info: castforkids.org 20 Oregon controlled hunt draw results expected 25 Chinook opener on Oregon Coast south of Humbug Mountain 26 CAST For Kids event on Bowman’s Pond (Winston, Ore.) – info: see above
JULY 2 Area 2 Chinook and coho opener 14 Area 10 hatchery Chinook opener 14-16 Areas 7, 9 hatchery Chinook retention days * While Covid-19 restrictions have eased, always confirm public events before attending. nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2022
Northwest Sportsman 47
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Gear Up For Ocean Halibut
L
ast month I detailed the halibut fishery in the calmer waters of Puget Sound and the eastern Strait of Juan NW PURSUITS de Fuca, which opened By Jason Brooks April 7. These areas will continue to be a great place to go for the small boater for several more weeks, but starting this month anglers can also venture onto the Pacific for the big flat-sided fish. 58 Northwest Sportsman
MAY 2022 | nwsportsmanmag.com
Opening the first week of May with a two-day-per-week fishery, the ocean is where you will find the larger and more abundant halibut. And unlike last year when two of the more popular ports were closed, La Push and Neah Bay have been reopened by tribal authorities. This makes some of the halibut grounds reachable for smaller craft when ocean conditions are good, but more importantly is that with rising fuel prices anglers can get to the grounds without going through all of the
gas in the tank. Marine Areas 3 and 4 have the largest halibut quota of all of the areas, a combined allowance of 133,847 pounds. This means the areas will likely stay open through their published seasons, but be sure to check before you go. The open dates are posted on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website (wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/ regulations/halibut), which helps anglers plan trips or make adjustments when the weather doesn’t cooperate. Fishing is on
COLUMN
The Washington Coast opens for halibut this month, and for the first time since 2019’s seasons Neah Bay will be open for nontribal visitors (as will La Push). The port on the Makah Reservation is the jumpoff point to productive Swiftsure Bank and other rich bottomfishing grounds. (JASON BROOKS) Thursdays and Saturdays, except Friday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. Marine Area 2 has a quota of 68,555 pounds and is a very popular place to go since there are many charters out of Westport that target these fish. The quota here goes fast, but depending on ocean conditions it can be open into midto late June (open days are Thursdays and Sundays, but only the Thursday of Memorial Day Weekend). And if the season is closed, the charters will adjust
to take you on a bottomfishing trip or out for salmon (Chinook and coho open July 2 here, and June 18 and 25 in areas to the north and south). Be sure to ask when you make your reservations. Ilwaco is the launch for fishing off the famed Columbia River Bar and Marine Area 1. This is the most dangerous river bar crossing in North America, and possibly in the world. Be sure to check weather and bar conditions before you go. There are also several charters in the area that might be
a better way to reach the halibut grounds, which are open Thursdays and Sundays, except only the Thursday of Memorial Day Weekend. One great thing about fishing out of Ilwaco is that the Dungeness crab rules match those of Oregon, with that state’s smaller minimum carapice size of 5¾ inches for males and daily bag limit of 12. As you head out of port to go halibut fishing, drop a few crab pots. The jetties right out of Ilwaco are also great places
nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2022
Northwest Sportsman 59
COLUMN to fish for rockfish, surf perch and lingcod. If you get there and the bar crossing is not ideal for your boat, then the day isn’t wasted. You can head to the jetty, using it to protect the water you plan on fishing, and still get in some angling for greattasting fish. Then go pull those crab pots.
BACK TO THE North Coast and Neah Bay. This popular area fills up fast, with anglers booking up all of the hotels, motels and camping spots quickly. You can instead launch out of Sekiu, but it is a long run and with fuel prices as high as they are, it might be a good idea to call around and find a motel and then trailer your boat to Neah Bay. Last year anglers had to run out of Sekiu and it was hard to find a place to stay there, so we called around and found a motel in Forks. It added an extra hour to the launch but it beat having to haul the boat from Port Angeles in the morning. Swiftsure Bank is a very productive spot for halibut, Pacific cod and black cod. It is also a long run from Neah Bay in the open ocean, heading northwest towards Canada. This bank is shared by both countries, so be sure to keep an eye on the GPS and make
Bait is a great way to fish for halibut, but the weights needed to reach their deep haunts make checking setups after a missed strike a pain. One workaround is adding a scent-slathered glow-in-the-dark squid skirt to the rig to ensure something’s still fishing down below. (JASON BROOKS)
sure you don’t cross the line. Also expect company. Two years ago we were out at Swiftsure and noticed several commercial fishing boats, as well as sport anglers. Here the tribes will put out ground lines, like “trot lines,” which is a rope with multiple leaders and hooks. This can be a good thing if you don’t accidently hook into the line because the multiple baits draw halibut to the grounds. It is best to see where they are setting their lines and stay a few hundred yards away. There are several
places to fish for halibut and a good place to find them is on WDFW’s website at the “Places to go fishing” tab I detailed last issue. Another good option is to hire a guide or charter for the day and learn the area, baits, gear and even how to fillet a halibut. If you decide to fish Areas 3 or 4, be sure to know the regulations. There is a 20-fathom (120-foot) bottomfish restriction here. This means from June 1 through July you cannot fish for bottomfish in waters deeper than 20 fathoms, with an exception on halibut days for certain species. In Area 3 there is also a rockfish conservation area where no fishing is allowed, so be sure to check out the regulations and the map. And in Area 4 there are different limits and species restrictions depending on which side of Tatoosh Island you are fishing, either east or west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh Line.
GEAR FOR OCEAN halibut is a bit stouter than
Another good rig is a heavy jig, but in Washington waters only two hooks are allowed per line for halibut. (JASON BROOKS) 60 Northwest Sportsman
MAY 2022 | nwsportsmanmag.com
what is used in calmer Puget Sound. This is because you will likely be fishing in waters from 200 to 400 feet deep – I have heard of Area 2 anglers fishing in even deeper water. Electric reels are well worth their money, but if you don’t have one by now, you probably won’t find one in tackle stores. I have been looking for the Daiwa Tanacom 750 since the sportsman’s shows and each time I call the many sporting goods stores, I hear the same story: “We haven’t had any of those in stock in over two years.” Not only are you fishing deep, but also in strong currents and big swells. This means using heavy weights to reach and
COLUMN stay on bottom. Last year we started with 3-pound lead balls and I picked up a fish on the first pass. It was a small halibut, around 20 pounds, but I knew the ocean conditions were not going to get any better. It was slack tide and I kept that fish. My fishing partner wasn’t so lucky and as the tide began to build, we noticed he wasn’t getting down to the bottom with his 3-pound weight anymore. It took 5 pounds of lead to get the bait to the halibut, but hauling that much weight up each time he got bit was just too much. We called it a day and headed for port. Fishing a combination of an artificial bait, such as a 9-inch glow-in-the-dark squid skirt filled with Pro-Cure Butt Juice Super Gel, and a black label herring allows you to keep the bait down after you miss a bite. The hope is that not all of the herring is gone, and with the squid skirt and its scent trail you are at least still fishing. This allows you to only have to check your bait after a few bites or each hour, or before running back to the top of the bank. Anytime you don’t have to haul 3 pounds of lead up 300 feet just to rebait or check the hooks is a good thing. The hooks I prefer are tandem 9/0 Gamakatsu Big Rivers tied on 100-pound Izorline monofilament. These hooks are a sickle style and super sharp for their size. The hooks penetrate the tough jaw of a halibut and stay there. To help with keeping the bait from bouncing along the sand and gravel bottom, it is a good idea to stack several large Corkies inside the squid skirt. This also helps with keeping the ProCure from washing out of the squid skirt, as it provides surface area for the Super Gel to stick to.
LAST MONTH WE got to go out and test our halibut gear on inside waters, a prelude of sorts to the ocean seasons, where you don’t want to find out your hooks are dull or the gears in the reel need a good shot of grease while you are bobbing up and down on large swells. Look at the published open dates for the marine area you plan to fish, the long-term weather forecast, ocean and wind conditions, and call the motel to make reservations. It is time to hit the Pacific for halibut. NS 62 Northwest Sportsman
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Author Jason Brooks hoists a decent flattie. Whether you head out in your boat or a buddy’s, or on a charter, this month and next – depending on the quota – is go time for halibut on the Washington coast. (JASON BROOKS)
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Northwest Sportsman 63
FISHING
Lingcod can be found throughout much of Puget Sound, but with its rocky substrate the San Juan Islands are one of the better places to jig, and for bigger fish too. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
Key In On Structure For Lings Puget Sound’s ‘stable’ fishery for toothsome and tasty species opens for business May 1.
By Mark Yuasa
T
he lingcod is a rather frightfullooking creature with buggy eyes, a bucket-sized mouth filled with canine-like teeth, oddshaped fins, a pot belly and mottled brown/grayish skin. While not easy on the eyes, anglers are charmed by their steely fight when hooked and beloved tasty, white-fleshed meat. Even more appealing is a relatively wellestablished lingcod population along most of the West Coast and from
Washington to Alaska. “We just reviewed the catch-perunit-effort for the past decade and overall things are quite stable in Puget Sound,” says Bob Pacunski, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s research scientist and senior groundfish biologist. Lingcod populations in inner Puget Sound saw a decline in the 1970s, but with improved management, they slowly began to increase in the early 1980s and have since remained strong enough to allow a six-plusweek-long sport fishery in spring and
early summer. “Sport catches of lingcod continue to be good in the San Juan Islands (Marine Area 7), where most of the angler effort comes from,” Pacunski says. “The 2020 catch in Marine Area 7 was 69 percent above the 15-year average and just over twice of what it was in 2019.” Lingcod catches in Saratoga Pass and northern Puget Sound (Marine Areas 8-1 and 9) have remained fair to good in recent years, according to Pacunski. Some places have seen a decline in catch during the past five nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2022
Northwest Sportsman 65
FISHING A family trip last season yielded a limit of five lings for Chad Smith (center), wife Sara and their sons Logan (right) and Zac, plus brother-inlaw Kyle McCullough (left), including a 35-incher that snapped Chad’s rod in two when it hit. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)
years, including Port Susan and Port Gardner, and central and southern Puget Sound (Marine Areas 8-2, 10 and 11). While not even closely related to a true ling – a native Atlantic Ocean fish – or cod for that matter, our lingcod are part of the greenling family and grow quickly to harvestable size in a span of around three years. Washington’s inside fisheries are structured after spawning season, thus allowing optimal reproduction. The sport lingcod fishery is open May 1 through June 15 in the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Sekiu to Port Angeles (Marine Areas 5 and 6), San Juan Islands (Marine Area 7), and most of Puget Sound (Marine Areas 8-1, 8-2, 9, 10, 11 and 13). The lingcod daily limit is one per angler. Minimum size limit is 26 inches and maximum size is 36 inches. This slot limit is one reason why lingcod populations have remained somewhat robust in Puget Sound and includes releasing the oversized females.
ANGLERS WHO DO a little homework on 66 Northwest Sportsman
MAY 2022 | nwsportsmanmag.com
how to catch a lingcod will certainly raise the bar of fishing success. “Locating structure off the bottom is key and I look for rocky ledges or rock piles on my fish finder,” says Justin Wong, owner of Cut Plug Charters (seattlesalmonfishing.com) in Seattle. “Even a small 2-foot depression can be an ideal spot for lingcod. I also prefer to fish an hour before and after slack tide (high or low tide depends on location), since it’s the best period to keep your gear right in front of their face.” Lingcod are a nonmigratory, rather solitary and predatory creature that inhabit rocky pinnacles, reefs, rock piles, steep dropoffs or ledges, breakwaters, jetties and almost any structure and hard rocky bottom. Lots of locations in Puget Sound see heavy angler traffic, especially when the season first opens, and they’ll get quickly fished out of keeper-sized fish. Picking the right time to fish can make or break success, Wong says, particularly when the current is running hard and/or the wind is
blowing. During these periods you’re prone to snagging and losing tackle around rocky structures, or you’ll breeze over a fishing hole before you even get your line down. This is where positioning your boat becomes a key element to catching lingcod. Lingcod often just hide in their lair (think of an unfriendly neighbor like Oscar the Grouch) only to swiftly lunge out at unsuspecting prey swimming just outside their shadow. Sometimes adult fish will even dine on their own juvenile nieces and nephews. Many anglers like to target them off the breakwater at local marinas. For shore-bound anglers, local piers around Puget Sound offer a chance to catch lingcod, and the most practical way is casting metal-style jigs. In Puget Sound, look for lingcod around the San Juan Islands, Point Evans near the Narrows Bridges, Possession Bar, Alki Point, Toliva Shoal off Steilacoom, Itsami Ledge off Henderson Inlet’s north end, Utsalady Bay, Burrows Island, Smith Island, Lopez Pass, and artificial reefs south of Richmond Beach, north of the Edmonds Marina and southeast of Alki Point. After the Puget Sound season closes, anglers can continue to target lings off the coast at Neah Bay, La Push, Westport and Ilwaco (Marine Areas 1, 2, 3 and 4); these waters are open daily through the third Saturday in October, which this year falls on October 15. The western Strait of Juan de Fuca from the Sekiu River mouth west to the Bonilla-Tatoosh line (the start of Area 4) is also open daily through October 15 for lingcod.
LINGCOD EAT JUST about anything, including flounder, rockfish, octopus, sculpin, kelp greenling, herring, crabs, squid, octopus and pollock. But a favorite meal is the abundant Puget Sound flounder population found along sandy-bottomed areas. That makes flounders the top choice as live bait amongst anglers. To catch flounder, use a lighter
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Our Story
d Tom invite Dwight, Michael an of ed ris mp co ly mi The Sawin fa ith them aboard the fun of fishing w e nc rie pe ex me co you to lingcod, are opportunities for their boats. There Spring on and tuna fishing . rockfish, halibut, salm ockfish n them for lingcod/r is a great time to joi d halibut trips. trips as well as limite s look d operated businesse Our family owned an nces rable fishing experie mo me g tin ea cr to d forwar family! in Dwight for you and your
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FISHING trout-style fishing rod and reel. Attach a 1- or 2-ounce lead to a short leader and hook. For bait, use a small chunk of a Berkley PowerBait Grub or a herring strip. Bounce it off the bottom until you feel a vibration or tug on the line. Make sure to have a livewell or aerator on the boat to keep your flounder spunky; a large bucket filled with seawater will even do the job. Just remember that some marine areas have different aggregate bottomfish daily limits. This means you can have a certain number of bottomfish species in total onboard. Don’t go over the limit with the fish you keep plus the ones still in your livewell. You can use basic salmon fishing gear for lingcod, but a stiff, fastaction 7- to 8-foot jigging-type rod is effective. Any salmon-type reel works and fill it with about 200 yards of 30-pound-test braid. “I’ll never use anything heavier
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68 Northwest Sportsman
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than 30-pound-test braided line, since the areas you tend to fish are very snaggy,” tips Wong. “It makes it a lot easier to break off lighter test fishing line when you’re stuck on bottom.” From your mainline, tie a slip swivel to a 3- to 6-ounce lead ball attached to a short 30- to 50-pound monofilament or fluorocarbon leader and a pair of 6/0 or 7/0 barbless circle hooks to a live flounder or whole or cut-plug bluelabel-size frozen herring. An alternative is a variety of soft plastic 4- to 6-inch squid jigs or grubs in root beer, glow or dark motor oil color. Metal-style jigs commonly used for salmon work, although snagging them on bottom could put a hefty dent in your wallet. Slowly drop your bait or lure down to avoid tangles, then crank it up a foot or two off the bottom and try a short vertical twitching motion to trigger the lingcod’s attention. Some anglers simply like to keep the pole
in a rod holder and let the live bait do the work. Keeping in touch with the bottom is key, as is checking your gear often since it’s literally being dragged across the rocky bottom. Nothing is subtle once a lingcod takes your bait. It can be a very hard jolt and there’s no need to set the hook. Just be ready for the ride of your life. Then slowly but steadily reel in your catch, as what often happens is a lingcod will literally be latched onto your bait and not the hooks themselves. Have the net or gaff ready once the lingcod nears the surface. Gently place the net underneath the fish before it tosses the bait or begins to thrash wildly on the water’s surface. NS Editor’s note: This story was written by Mark Yuasa, who is a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Communications Consultant and is a longtime local fishing and outdoor writer.
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FISHING
Head For The Tribs Seek out May spring Chinook in the streams that feed the Columbia. By Jason Brooks
W
ith May upon us and summer just around the corner, spring Chinook anglers will be looking towards the main tributaries of the Columbia for some last-minute chrome fish. The Columbia is more of a freeway for these salmon than a spawning ground. Chinook that have been out in the ocean for the past three to five years have been returning to the Columbia since early February but the main portion of the run is in late April. That means when May rolls around, the fish are getting closer to the exits for their natal rivers, the tribs that feed into the mighty Columbia. This year’s run forecast is for 197,000 springers back to the mouth of the Columbia; of those, 122,900 are headed to rivers above Bonneville Dam, located near the town of Cascade Locks, Oregon, and 74,100 to rivers below there. Of those lower river fish, 52,900 will be returning to the Willamette River. With headwaters in the Oregon Cascades, it reaches the tidally influenced Columbia downstream of Portland. There, Sauvie Island creates a current break and returning fish mostly take the Multnomah Channel offramp near the town of St. Helens.
SEVERAL SPRINGS AGO, Buzz Ramsey and I headed out of Ridgefield to fish the Willamette run. This is often overlooked by Washington anglers, but a quick stop at any sporting goods retailer in the area or logging onto myodfw.com can provide you with
A state fish checker records information on a spring Chinook catch. Whereas the Columbia fishery dominates the early season, by May angling transitions to the big river’s many tributaries. (JASON BROOKS)
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FISHING an Oregon fishing license, opening access to the single largest springer run in the region. Crossing the mainstem Columbia on a windy day made for an interesting start as we kept an eye on the conditions. Navigating whitecaps on top of wind-pushed rollers and a tide switch was no fun, but once we
entered the Multnomah Channel, the water calmed down. It was towards the end of the incoming tide and this meant trolling through the ebb. Buzz broke out the rods and the first thing I noticed was that his setups had tandem Big Al’s Fish Flashes. The two triangle flashers were inline and behind them was a spinner. The other rod was set up
the same way but for a herring brined in Pro-Cure’s Brine-n-Bite and dyed chartreuse with Bad Azz bait dye. Buzz explained that in the spring, the water is often cool due to snowmelt and also off-color. The twin flashers produce a lot of flash and would get the attention of spring Chinook. Once the tide started to change, it was time to anchor up. Buzz kept out the one trolling rig with the herring, as it could continue to do its job. The other rods had wrapped Mag Lip plugs in metallic finishes with bright contrasting colors, either in chartreuse or hot orange. It reminded me of the days in the late 1990s when we trolled blaze orange Wiggle Warts. Looking towards the trees that lined the Columbia downriver from us, we realized that the winds were getting worse. It was time to get off of the water. This is the thing about all spring Chinook fishing: weather – not the fish box – often dictates when it is time to go home. On the flip side, the lower Willamette fishes well into July, when 3.5-size spinners behind Pro-Trolls are popular. For other Oregon tributary springers, look to the Clackamas and Sandy Rivers. If you are fishing the short section of the Clackamas below the Highway 99 bridge, where it meets the Willamette, you can use two rods per angler for salmon with the endorsement. The Sandy is a great fishery as well, with ample boat access. This river is expected to get back 5,600 spring Chinook this year, which is 300 more than predicted last year and right around 2021’s actual return of 5,676 fish. With the river being so close to the metropolitan area of Portland and a good jet sled fishery, it can be popular amongst anglers.
ON THE COLUMBIA’S north bank, another Gear choices run the gamut in May, but in the still relatively cool waters, troll fisheries include a mix of baits and flasher styles. (JASON BROOKS) 72 Northwest Sportsman
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springer trib is the small Kalama River. It offers just about everything for the angler who has a drift boat or raft, or the bank angler. Here you can drive along the road that parallels the
FISHING river and find access points for bank fishing. For those who prefer to float, be sure to keep an eye out on the forecast, as river levels can fluctuate in the spring with warmer weather melting the Cascade snowpack and rainy days saturating the ground. This is a fun river to fish, as you can float eggs just like in the fall Chinook fishery. This can help get the bite going as you target fish stacked up in pools and along seams. Throwing spinners such as Blue Fox Vibrax will also get a bite going and is a go-to for cloudy days and off-color water. This year’s Kalama forecast of 2,000 is on the lower side, and the limit has been reduced to one hatchery springer a day. Keep an eye on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s rulechange notice page (fortress.wa.gov/ dfw/erules/efishrules) in case of an emergency closure. The famed Cowlitz doesn’t seem to be the same river it was several years ago. Spring Chinook have been struggling a bit but there are fish still returning to the river. With
a predicted run of 4,000, it was open in March and April but closed as of May 1. If the returns come back stronger than predicted and the river is opened, it would provide a chance to double up on a spring Chinook and a steelhead. On the lower river, near I-5, anglers back-troll plugs or bait divers with eggs and sand shrimp. A few miles upriver and it turns into a boondogging show, where you drift bait alongside the jet sled and then reel up, run up and do it all over again. The deadline fishery at Barrier Dam is extremely popular, so expect company if opened. The fish here are also getting a bit tired and are very finicky. It seems that once they decide to bite they bite anything, but when they decide not to bite, then nothing works. The Lewis is expected to get back 2,400 springers and is another option. Where broodstock collection needs are a concern on the Cowlitz and Kalama, that’s not so much the case on the Lewis, but again, keep an eye on the emergency rules.
One of the longest-lasting springer fisheries is on the lower Willamette, where kings can be caught into July, though many anglers are long burnt out by then. (ANDY WALGAMOTT) 74 Northwest Sportsman
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ABOVE BONNEVILLE DAM is where you will find most May spring Chinook anglers. Two primary tributary fisheries are the Wind River and Drano Lake. The Wind is expecting back 4,200 fish, which is nearly 1,000 more than what actually returned last year (3,227). The mouth fishery is an interesting one, with a point where bank anglers pitch plugs, sometimes modified and weighted to extend the cast, as well as spinners. Boat anglers do the best along the deadline and down into the far western corner. It was nearly two decades ago when I learned a “trick” that is common now. I was fishing with a few buddies and one guy noticed that boats were getting tangled while longlining those orange Wiggle Warts. He put on a dropper weight and kept his plug close to the boat, and it helped control the depth of the plug to match the fish we were seeing on the sonar. In three passes we had three fish, our daily limit, and headed for the boat launch. Now it seems everyone is using dropper weights.
FISHING A hooked Chinook makes a run for it at Drano Lake, one of the more popular waters. Confines are tight in the productive western end, but the rest of the lake shouldn’t be overlooked. (JASON BROOKS)
The main reason the deadline fishery is so popular is because it extends into the Columbia, where you may also intercept other uprivertributary-bound fish. And while the mouth is the best, the steep-walled canyon stretch is another option for bank anglers. Be sure to check the regulations and also keep an eye on the fish counts to time your outing. Drano is a staple for springer anglers and features a predicted return of 3,800 fish, on par with last year’s forecast of 3,900 and actual return of 3,299. The years of dragging a Wiggle Wart are all but over for those who fish the “Toilet Bowl,” which is the deep water near the Highway 14 bridge. This bridge is the deadline and there are signs letting you know that you are about to cross over and get a citation. This is because fish destined for further upriver will drop into the current 76 Northwest Sportsman
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break and rest for a bit before continuing their journey. The parking area and ramp were redone several years ago, but it still isn’t big enough when the fishery is hot. Get there early and prepare to wait before getting the boat launched. Most who fish in the tight corner of Drano prefer to use prawn spinners. Back in the day when we first started using this technique, the top producer was the Eric’s Prawn Spinner, but now there are several on the market. Mack’s Lure makes a prawn rig that uses the famed Smile Blade that is made of Mylar and spins at very slow speeds. This is beneficial at Drano when you might come to a near standstill with the amount of boats in the Toilet Bowl. The lake portion of Drano does produce a fair amount of fish. Here, long-lining plugs is still very popular. For colors, it is hard to beat the blaze
orange of the 1990s but also look at chartreuse, watermelon and fire tiger patterns. Further up the Columbia Gorge, the Klickitat also has a reduced limit of one hatchery springer this year, plus fishing-day restrictions. But on the other side of the Bonneville Pool, the Hood is open and expecting a “good return” of 1,200. According to Oregon fishery officials, it’s good for bank anglers and the peak of the run is in late May. And while the Deschutes is closed, further upstream the Umatilla is open and its forecast of 3,000 is twice as many as came back last year. Daily limit is two hatchery springers. The run peaks in mid-May, and there’s boat fishing at the mouth upstream of the Highway 730 deadline and “multiple” bank angling opportunities up to the Umatilla Indian Reservation boundary – just make sure of ownership.
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FISHING KEEP AN EYE on the dam counts and any announcements from both the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Idaho Fish and Game Department for possible seasons in tributaries further upriver. IDFG estimates 39,631 spring Chinook are expected to arrive in Idaho, which would be the most since 2015, though about 5,000 fish below the 10-year average. Daily limits vary by fishery, so be sure to check the regs (idfg.idaho.gov). When the Clearwater and Snake River systems have enough fish for an opener like this spring, then head to the confluence of these rivers at Lewiston. Here you can fish for spring Chinook that are destined for places such as Orofino for Clearwater River-bound fish and Riggins for Rapid River-destined fish and those heading up the Snake River. It is a big melting pot of springers. Even though these fish are a long
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ways from the Pacific Ocean, they are still extremely bright, with silver sides and deep red flesh full of rich oils. Again, trolling plugs is a top producer for this fishery. In the event that Northcentral Washington rivers get enough fish for openers, look to the Icicle just outside the town of Leavenworth. It had a season last year and was pretty decent. This fishery is really short, about 3 miles of river that is fishable, primarily by boat because most of the banks are privately owned. While there are a few spots for bank access, most Icicle anglers launch their drifter early and sit on anchor in the few deep holes. Floating eggs tipped with a piece of herring is a good bet on this river. If you get a chance to either plunk or back-bounce, then a Spin-N-Glo tipped with some herring and cured eggs is common, but don’t forget to take a jar of tuna balls as well.
The Yakima gets a spring Chinook opener from time to time but don’t expect one this year. If it does open up, then it can be a fun place to go for the bank angler, depending on the regulations and which stretch of the river is open.
MAY IS TIME to fish for tributary spring Chinook. Pack the truck, hook up the boat and head to Columbia feeder streams for some of the best-tasting salmon in the Pacific Northwest. I admit, it is strange to drive to Idaho to fish for salmon, but tributary springers are fun to catch and targeting them helps focus fishing pressure away from rivers where escapement goals aren’t being met. As far as the famed rivers of Southwest Washington, it is hard to say why the fisheries are faltering but hopefully with more fish returning further east, the runs to west begin to rebuild too. NS
FISHING
Rewards Up For Pikeminnows Season on the Columbia, Snake opens this month with across-the-board raise for anglers. By MD Johnson
W
hen I think about it, it’s somewhat hard to believe. Go fishing. Make money. No tournament. No competition to speak of. Just cast a line, sit back and reel in the green folding paper. Pretty neat, huh? And that, for the few outdoorsy types who aren’t aware of the opportunity, is the Bonneville Power Administration’s northern pikeminnow program in a nutshell. From May 1 typically through September, enterprising anglers on portions of the mainstem Columbia and Snake Rivers can earn money simply by fishing for, catching and turning in – think bounty! – 9-plusinch-long pikeminnow. It’s nothing new, this bounty program. In fact, and something I didn’t realize, the program has been in full implementation since its inception in 1991. And with the program since day one has been Eric Winther. A veteran with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Winther is a fisheries biologist who also serves as the project leader for what he technically refers to as the Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Fishery Program. On a recent dreary morning in Cathlamet, I had the chance to sit, per se, with Winther and discuss the program – past, present and future –
A Northern Pikeminnow SportReward Program angler unhooks a fish caught below Bonneville Dam. To protect outmigrating salmon and steelhead smolts, the program has paid fishermen to remove the native species from federal hydropower system waters plus the Lower Columbia since 1991, and this year’s bounties have been boosted by a buck across the board to try and spur waning participation. (PIKEMINNOW.ORG)
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FISHING To help anglers, the program’s website (pikeminnow.org) features a host of tools, including how to join the effort, hot spot maps, fishing tips, upcoming clinics, plus annual reports, weekly catch stats and a free $10 coupon. (PIKEMINNOW.ORG)
G P
which, as some of you reading may know, includes an increase in the dollar amounts paid per fish during the 2022 fishing season. Interesting, what he had to say.
Northwest Sportsman A recap, Eric, of the program. What it is. Why it is. Where it is. Eric Winther So it’s been in effect since 1991. There were concerns about predation on salmon smolts up at McNary Dam. You could see the pikeminnow at the base of the dam chasing the smolts, and in large numbers. Studies throughout the 1980s determined the predation was indeed a concern, and so the pikeminnow program was started in ’91. Since these are native fish, we’re not trying to eradicate them; we’re trying to crop them down by targeting 10 to 20 percent of the fish population 9 inches long and larger. Again, they’re a native fish, and they do have a purpose. The dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers have changed the (aquatic) habitat, and made it a lot better for pikeminnows, which prefer slower-moving water. NWS To jump ahead a bit, Eric. Tagged fish offer a financial incentive, but there’s more to these tagged pikeminnow than simply money, yes? EW The reason we tag fish – as I mentioned, it’s a native fish – is we 82 Northwest Sportsman
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need to document we’re hitting that exploitation rate, that 10- to 20-percent target, and we do that by mark and recapture, using those tagged fish. I always get the question about how many tagged fish do we put out there, and it’s between 1,500 and 2,500 in any given year. Author’s note: By way of a little more background, Winther explained the boundaries of the program; that is, what waters or stretch of river system will be open to anglers engaged in the program for the 2022 season. These will include the mainstem Columbia River from the mouth upstream to Priest Rapids Dam above TriCities, as well as the Snake River from the mouth upstream to Hells Canyon Dam. “The reason those boundaries are included,” Winther explained, “and other areas are not is because that’s where the federal hydropower dams are, and the program is funded by Bonneville Power. This, then, is in part mitigation for having those federal dams on those river systems.”
NWS So, huge river systems. Can you hope to have an impact with the program? EW Simply, yes. There’s no doubt that pikeminnow are the main fish predator of juvenile salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. That’s well documented. You can debate a little bit on how much effect we’re having, but … well, our average is 160,000 (plus)
fish removed annually over the course of 31 years. And I don’t think there’s any way you can say it doesn’t make some difference. You can debate how much, but I believe [the program] definitely makes a difference. Now the problem is, just because we save a smolt from being eaten by a pikeminnow doesn’t mean it doesn’t get eaten by a cormorant or, coming back, a sea lion. It’s hard to quantify, but I feel good about it. It does help. Author’s note: For this year’s pikeminnow season, the reward tier amounts – that is, the money per fish – have increased by a buck to $6 for the first 25 fish over 9 inches; $8 for 26 through 200; and $10 each for any over 200. Tagged fish are worth $500. Good news for anglers, but the catalyst for more questions about the program.
NWS Two-part question, Eric. One, what’s hoped for with the increase in per-fish dollar amounts, and two, who’s footing the bill? BPA entirely? EW We’re hoping to improve participation. For whatever reason and during the last two years – whether it’s Covid-related, and that’s certainly a factor, or river conditions – participation has really dropped off. The last two years, we’ve really struggled to get enough anglers out there to make a dent. Thankfully, we did still reach our 10- to 20-percent target goal. The problem is if we
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FISHING
Program manager Eric Winther’s two best fishing tips are to bring a selection of different baits, and to move around if you’re not finding any pikeminnows. “They’re a predator and they’re always moving; maybe it’s the tide or the current or the water level,” he says. (PIKEMINNOW.ORG)
continue this downward trend, we might put ourselves in the position of not hitting that goal. So we know historically that the best way to get a “bump” in effort and increase harvest is to increase the reward. Typically, we have a $1.5-million reward fund for the pikeminnow program. The monies, then, were already allocated but because participation and harvest was down so much in the last couple years, we haven’t been utilizing the full amount of that fund. So it’s been leftover funds. We’re not permitted to “roll it over,” and so we just, so to speak, changed the way that money would be distributed. It’s a fine line, making sure you have a reasonable reward (in order to get) reasonable participation out there versus so high a reward that you have the potential for corruption or unsavory characters.
NWS And that brings to light another question – cheaters and cheating?
EW Whenever there’s money involved, there’s a little bit of that issue. During 84 Northwest Sportsman
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the first five to 10 years of the program, things were new. It’s a huge area, and (those first years) were kind of the Wild West a bit. Since then, though, we’ve gotten a much better handle on the program. The tagging helps, as those fish are only tagged (and released) within the program boundaries. And our policies and procedures for dealing with potentially questionable catches are much better today. I’d never say we’re 100 percent perfect, but I’m pretty confident that the fish we’ve taken in in recent years are from within the program area and caught under program rules.
NWS To change the subject radically, Eric, are they edible? Ever eat one?
EW Yes, I have eaten them, and they are edible. They’re a white-fleshed fish. The problem is they’re bony, and the other problem is as a predator, they tend to carry with them (an array of) heavy metal compounds in their fat, like sturgeon or salmon. But they’re good. I’ve had them pickled; if you can deal with the bones, then
smoking or canning or doing fish balls … but they’re just not very flavorful. Just kind of “blah.”
NWS If we can be so bold, Eric, your No. 1 tip for catching pikeminnow?
EW [Laughs.] I would say a wellstocked bait cooler. By that I mean having three or four, at least, different baits, which would include fresh uncured salmon eggs; the heart, liver, bloodline out of a salmon or steelhead; chicken livers; nightcrawlers; and maybe crawdads. I would make sure I had three or four baits. That’s one, but now that I’m thinking about it, the other one would be moving. These fish move around constantly. They’re a predator and they’re always moving; maybe it’s the tide or the current or the water level. Most people go out and try a spot, and they stay too long. It’s like they’re waiting for the fish to come to them. If you’re not finding them, keep moving. NS Editor’s note: For more, see pikeminnow.org.
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FISHING The South Fork Boise River is nationally renowned for its trophy rainbows, with some trout exceeding 20 inches. (IDFG)
The Boise’s Crown Jewel
Tucked into the first set of mountains rising out of Idaho’s Snake River Plain, the South Fork is home to a trophy fishery for big rainbows. By Mike Wright
I
t may not be all that obvious, but when you travel through the arid terrain of Southwest Idaho you’re also driving by or near some of the best trout fishing waters in the state. One prime example of this is Boise and its suburbs. With more than half a million people residing in the area, it is
difficult to believe the trout angling is that spectacular. Odd as it may sound, a resident of Boise doesn’t even have to leave the city limits to get into some very good fishing. In fact, the third largest brown trout ever taken in Idaho (a 35-inch, 20-plus-pound monster) was caught within sight of the Capitol building. That’s because the urban portion
of the Boise River contains rainbow and brown trout, plus approximately 35,000 mountain whitefish. In addition, around 20,000 hatchery rainbows are stocked on a regular basis – even a couple hundred steelhead from the Snake most winters. With the catch-and-release philosophy prevalent in the Boise area, many of these fish remain in the river. nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2022
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FISHING Probably the best time to fish this section of the Boise River is early spring and again in late fall and winter. During the warmer summer months, a bikini hatch takes place, with a sizable number of individuals floating the river. When the hatch is in session, serious anglers may want to find other spots to try their luck. Some will move into the upper portions of the Boise. The higher elevations and cooler waters of the North and Middle Forks provide some excellent fishing opportunities, without the distraction of thinly clad floaters. There are some special regulations on sections of these waters, so it would be advisable to pick up a regulation booklet and a map. When fly fishing the system, an Elk Hair, Hemmingway or Goddard Caddis would be a must. There are also excellent mayfly hatches, so it would be advisable to have a good supply of Parachute Adams, Purple Hazes, Pale Morning Duns and Blue-wing Olives in sizes 14 to 18. Good nymph patterns would include gold-ribbed Hare’s Ears, Pheasant Tails, beadhead Prince
Nymphs and Chironomids, ranging in sizes 12 to 16. Woolly Buggers and Muddler Minnows are also effective in the deeper holes. For the lure fisherman, Panther Martins, Mepps and Rooster Tails are good choices, but in many cases they will need to have a single barbless hook.
AS GOOD AS the trio is, the real crown jewel of the Boise system is the South Fork, which was also the first in this part of Idaho to be managed strictly as a trophy trout fishery. While closed to fishing in early to midspring, it reopens on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, May 28 this year. The productivity of this branch is due to several factors, including the fact that, like the Columbia Basin, the stream flows through rich volcanic soil, which leads to excellent aquatic weed growth, which in turn leads to excellent insect hatches throughout the year. Another factor that has affected the fishery has been the construction of the Anderson Ranch Dam. Among
other purposes, the structure was built to provide irrigation for the agricultural industry in the valley. It also created a tailwater fishery and provides enough water during the winter to ensure trout survival. For the wade fisherman, the first 10 miles downstream from the dam, which are paralleled by road, provide excellent fishing during the summer months. The average water flow during the summer is around 1,500 cubic feet per second, which makes for ideal fishing conditions. After irrigation season, releases are reduced to around 1,000 cfs, which is excellent for waders but wreaks havoc for those who prefer to fish from a raft or a drift boat. When the water levels are too low, it can be very difficult to navigate through this section of the river. However, for those who are able to maneuver through it, the fishing can be spectacular. Further downriver, below the Danskin Bridge, is a 17-mile canyon section of the South Fork that is only fishable by boat, and it is highly recommended that those who float
The South Fork features a 10-mile roaded tailwater stretch below Anderson Ranch Dam and a 17-mile canyon section between Danskin and Neal Bridges that is only accessible by boat. (ANDY BRUNELLE, USFS) 90 Northwest Sportsman
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FISHING it be well experienced on the oars. In an effort to limit the number of craft on the stream, a prohibition on outfitting has been instituted.
THE MAIN DRAWS of the South Fork are
State biologists regularly monitor the blue-ribbon stream’s wild rainbow trout population and have seen it grow since a 2013 wildfire and subsequent debris flows. Higher runoff scoured out more spawning areas, resulting in a good cohort of larger fish, even as overall numbers slowly reset to stable preblaze levels. (IDFG)
While the South Fork between Anderson Ranch and Neal Bridge is closed in April and May until the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, the section between the bridge and the upper end of Arrowrock Reservoir (seen here at full pool) remains open under general rules. (CIFRASER1, FLICKR, CC BY 2.0)
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the lure of catching wild native trout and the number of 18- to 20-plusinch rainbows. The excellent river conditions, along with prolific insect hatches, have led to outstanding growth rates. The population of large rainbows has remained very high. As Art Butts, a fisheries biologist for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s Southwest Region, has stated, “Recently we have more of the larger rainbows than we have ever seen in the South Fork.” As for the wild trout population, it is a somewhat different situation. A large portion of the native redbands have interbred with the coastal strain of rainbows, making it more difficult to ascertain just how many, if any, true native rainbows are present in the fishery. However, IDFG has had a no-stocking policy for over 30 years, so it might be justifiable to consider the trout in the river now to be natives. Nearly a decade ago, a major wildfire hit the South Fork area, 2013’s Pony-Elk Complex, and it was felt that it would actually have a positive impact on the fishery. Without the vegetation to hold back spring runoff, a great deal of silt would be scoured away, thus improving the spawning grounds and increasing the number of smaller fish in the stream. According to IDFG surveys, the trout population decreased the year after the fire, but by 2017 had rebounded markedly, “with a large group of fish between 10 and 14 inches … likely a direct result of increased spawning gravels and habitat resulting from the post-fire debris flows.” By 2020, these fish represented “a large group of fish 16 inches or greater,” though the population as a whole went down somewhat and now “appears to be stabilizing back towards pre-fire levels.” Some IDFG officials
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FISHING and anglers are concerned, but at least for now, the number of larger fish has been excellent.
THE SOUTH FORK produces a cornucopia of insect hatches throughout the season, and like many fisheries in the Northwest, midges are the first to appear. They begin as early as January, making a chironomid imitation the fly of choice. Some adults may start hatching out, but the numbers are rather limited. When the midge adults do finally start to appear in sufficient numbers to attract surface feeding, a Griffith’s Gnat or Renegade in sizes 16 to 20 are the most popular patterns. Some blue-wing olives can also be found on the water in late winter and early spring. They pretty much disappear during the summer, only to reappear again in the fall. By June, the selection of food increases dramatically. Early in the month, PMDs along with caddis adults begin making an appearance in large enough numbers to cause feeding frenzies. This time frame
The river also hosts bull trout, but they are strictly a catch-and-release species. (IDFG)
is also when the mayfly known as Epeorus alberte – imitated by one of my favorite dry fly patterns, the Pink Albert – is often found floating on the surface. By mid-June, golden stones, salmonflies and occasionally cicadas will appear. To the trout, this time of year is like finding a box of Whitman’s Sampler chocolates on the water. They may prefer the coconut cream for a while, then suddenly another kind of chocolate becomes more desirable. The dry fly angler would be well advised to stock his or her fly box with a wide assortment of patterns. By late summer and early fall, cranefly and terrestrial imitations, along with Yellow Sallies, should be added to the fly box. Although the South Fork is best known for its dry fly fishing, a variety of nymphs, such as Pheasant Tails, gold-ribbed Hare’s Ears, Prince Nymphs and soft hackle Peacocks, should be included.
AS YOU CAN imagine, the quality of the fishing on the South Fork of the Boise is not exactly a deep, dark A well-stocked South Fork Boise fly box should include Pink Albert nymphs and adults, adult Pale Morning Duns (top row), along with Chironomids and Pheasant Tails (second row), caddis, cicada, cranefly and terrestrial imitations, and Yellow Sallies. (MIKE WRIGHT) 94 Northwest Sportsman
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secret. Besides the residents of the Boise area, devoted anglers from all parts of the country descend on the stream each year with thoughts of giant rainbows dancing in their heads. The vast majority of the angling pressure is concentrated on the section from the Anderson Ranch Dam downstream to the Neal Bridge, which is a few miles above the top end of Arrowrock Reservoir. It is certainly understandable why this section of the river is so popular, but the water above Anderson Ranch Reservoir up to and including Big and Little Smoky Creeks is often overlooked. To those anglers seeking a little more secluded fishing experience, this section of the South Fork could definitely be considered. Although there are not as many fish in this section, there is still the opportunity to catch one measuring 20 inches or more, plus the possibility of landing a rare bull trout, which must be released immediately. These upper regions are definitely worth checking out, but again, bring a map and the fishing regs. Next time you travel through an arid, sagebrush-covered area, it might be advisable to remember the fishing possibilities of the Boise River. The surroundings may not seem like trout heaven, but there is more than meets the eye. NS
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COLUMN With their size, color, flash and vibration, spinners are great lures for catching trout at Northwest lakes in spring. Author Buzz Ramsey likes to cast from his drift boat towards shore to cover shallower water earlier in the day before sunlight drives the fish deeper. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
Count On Spinners For Trout Action T
he trout hit my spinner with a vengeance and immediately headed across the lake before performing a double somersault. It then BUZZ RAMSEY changed direction and headed for a submerged stump located near the shore we had been casting toward. I pulled back on my rod and managed to turn the torpedo-acting fish away from the barkcovered obstacle before he took off again. Although this rainbow trout wasn’t as
large as a salmon or steelhead, its speed, acrobatics, fast runs and the fact that we were experiencing nonstop fishing action made catching this and the other trout we encountered that morning a lot of fun. After all, any fat trout measuring more than 12 inches is considered a good one, and this fish was pushing 20. We’d tried several different fishing methods during our morning adventure. The first was to slowly troll small FlatFish and Mag Lip plugs 50 to 60 feet behind our boat, all tipped with a ¼-inch section pinched from a white-colored and scentfilled PowerBait maggot.
Trolling plugs produced for the first hour but the trout either moved or wised up to this tactic, which forced us to try something different. It has always amazed me at how fickle trout can be in regard to what method, lure, size and color they do and do not like at any given time, and how what works on one lake might not produce very well on another.
IT WAS THEN that we switched to casting and retrieving spinners. After all, there are few fish that can resist the sonic vibration produced by a blade spinning around a wire shaft. The other thing appealing about nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2022
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COLUMN Most anglers casting spinners for trout employ 6- to 7-foot rods in combination with spinning reels filled with 6-pound-test monofilament fishing line. Keep in mind that long rods offer more casting leverage and thus distance, which is why most of Ramsey’s trout casting rods are in the 7- to 7½foot range. You can add scent by tipping one prong of your hook with a PowerBait or Gulp! maggot or pinching a short section from a scent-filled worm. Yakima Bait has developed a spray-on scent that won’t mat down the hackle on your spinner and works on other lures and baits too. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
fishing spinners (and casting spoons, for that matter) is they allow you to cover a lot of water in a short amount of time. Our strategy was to cast and retrieve spinners toward shore while working our way around the lake before the midmorning sun drove the fish off the shallows and into deeper water. My job was to keep our drift boat 60 to 80 yards away from the bank while sons Blake and Wade cast toward shore. I got a few casts in too while working to keep the boat straight and slowly moving us along so we would constantly cover new water. Our best-producing spinner, at least that morning, turned out to be a chartreuse-colored Rooster Tail spinner tipped with a 1/2-inch section pinched from a Gulp! worm. Tipping lures with a scent-filled product works better than you might think, as it can turn slow fishing into hot action, and is something we often do. Trout, like all fish, are attracted to 98 Northwest Sportsman
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spinners due to their size, color, flash and vibration. And although any one of these ingredients will catch fish, when combined into one product – a well-designed spinner, for instance – they are more than a little effective for catching every type of game fish that swims.
WITHOUT A DOUBT, the most popular way to fish a spinner is to employ the castand-retrieve method. It’s so easy: Just tie a spinner on the end of your line, cast into a nearby body of water and reel/retrieve your spinner back to you. When it comes to finding trout, what I’ve observed is that they are likely to be found cruising near the surface or in the shallows when water temperatures are cool, early or late in the day, or when the light is low due to cloudy conditions. Fish are more likely to be found near bottom (or at some level above it) during the middle of the day when the sun is bright.
Warm surface temperatures can also drive coldwater fish, like trout, to more comfortable levels deeper in the lake. To determine the depth your spinner is running, and be able to return to it, may require you to practice what’s known as the “count-down” method. In preparation for learning this technique, realize that most spinners having casting weight built into their design will sink at a rate of 1 foot per second. Here’s how: cast out, and allow your spinner to fall freely to the bottom, counting one-one thousand, two-one thousand, etc., until it hits bottom, signified by your line going slack. Now that you know the bottom depth based on counting, you can begin your very next retrieve at varying depths above the lakebed, which will help you avoid hanging bottom or catching weeds or moss on subsequent casts. Using this simple procedure will allow you to search for fish at different depths and reliably return to the
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COLUMN fish-producing level once trout are located. In addition, working your lure near bottom, especially on a deep lake, may require you to step up to a larger/heavier spinner size. For example, you might switch from a fairly light spinner – 1/16 to 1/8 ounce – when working it near the surface to one weighing 1/4 ounce or more when scouring the depths. Of course, spinners with built-in casting weights come in a variety of different blade shapes, which affect the tone of their fish-calling/sonic vibration and influence pulling resistance. For example, a Rooster Tail spinner features a semi-wide blade shape that will allow you to work it fast when searching for fish but then slow down your retrieve speed once fish are located. Spinners with wider blade shapes, like those offered by Mepps/Blue Fox, produce A little tip from a guy who has fried a few fish in his time – the author recommends halving your trout fillets and then battering them with Pride of the West, available at grocery stores, or a slightly watery homemade batter that helps dissolve remaining fish bones when the fish is fried a little crispier. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
more fish-calling vibration than narrower blade shapes and facilitate the slowest of retrieve speeds – a feature that can be very appealing to the sometimes-finicky trout. Keep in mind that spinners are often most effective when retrieved slowly, just fast enough to keep the blade turning. Strikes are usually definite, but some fish will just stop the spinning blade, so when in doubt, set the hook.
WHAT WE CAUGHT during the abovementioned trip was a mixture of rainbow, brown, cutthroat and brook trout. When it comes to eating quality, they are all good but it’s the brook trout that have the sweetest-tasting flesh. They’re mostly tiny at the lake we were fishing, so we don’t get to keep many. Our eating preference among the others is cutthroat, rainbow and browns, in that order. What we do is fillet the sides off, including the belly bones, and slice each side fillet into lengthwise strips about an inch wide, dip in a thin batter and deep fry in oil until golden brown. Most of our friends can’t believe how
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COLUMN good-tasting they are. Our favorite store-bought batter is one called Pride of the West. However, we often mix our own with ingredients that include: 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup corn starch and 11/2 tablespoons of baking powder. Just mix with water. As mentioned, we often make our batter a little thin and fry our fish a little crispy so as to dissolve the lateral bones that remain in the side fillets. There are literally thousands of lowland and high-elevation lakes in the Northwest. And while the former can produce hot trout fishing during the spring season, the action generally slows on many as water temperatures increase with the approach of summer. It’s then that many avid trout anglers switch their focus to mountain lakes, where the water remains cool and the fish bite all summer long. Either way, don’t pass up on the fishing fun to be had catching trout with spinners this season. NS Lowland lakes are where it’s at in spring, but as their waters warm with summer’s arrival, head to the mountains to keep the spinner bite going. Buzz’s sons Blake and Wade show off stringers they put together at a higher elevation lake when they were younger. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
Editor’s note: Buzz Ramsey is regarded as a sport fishing authority, outdoor writer and proficient lure and fishing rod designer.
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Who Says It’s Just Fishing? C
hildhood – even though it was quite some time ago, it amazes me the pieces FOR THE LOVE of it that I carry to OF THE TUG this day. I’m pretty By Sara Ichtertz positive we all do. I know I was blessed, as the pieces I carry are not a burden. Though there were trials and tribulations, they never crushed me. They never stopped me from believing in myself and my own abilities. The unwavering love from my folks allowed the hard times to help me in the long run, not hurt me. Their ways allowed life’s pain to never become me, but rather allowed me to learn and grow from it. They allowed me to build this foundation, and it has proven to be quite strong. I realize no matter what structures we might develop or try to develop in life, our foundation remains the same. We will face storms of mass destruction and that foundation has everything to do with how we handle the rough times, and more importantly, how we move on from them. What a huge thing, what a huge responsibility, and at the same time it can be such a huge gift. Truly the greatest gift we as parents can ever give our children is to help them possess a foundation worth standing on. Life will never be perfect, but how you see life is huge. My children will not look back necessarily at what I bought them, but what I gave them. As time continues to show me, I’m so happy knowing I dove into
For author Sara Ichtertz, taking her son Nate fishing and teaching him how to catch trout was about much more than just that – it was a way for him to learn how to solve problems and build a lifelong foundation around that. (SARA ICHTERTZ) motherhood and Mother Nature with my whole heart, and with the best of intentions.
I CAN’T EVEN fathom that my son will be 13 years old next month. I am three times his age and realize his foundation for life is pretty much laid, but I can’t help but wonder
if I’ve given him everything he needs within it. Out of all of the reusable things in life, time is simply not one of them and as I see my children turning into the people they ultimately are, I am thankful I gave them something money cannot buy. Give them love. Show them love. Give them space to
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COLUMN test the waters without you hovering over them. And no matter the outcome, as long as they try, encourage them in a positive way, as we are the most influential people in our children’s lives. As Mother’s Day approaches, I find myself feeling thankful I was able to pack us up and pack us out into some of the most beautiful places on Earth. I am so grateful that I believed in these two feet and this heart, as they were all I needed to lead our way. With just tiny trout rods, split-shot, nightcrawlers and maybe a bobber or two, we learned so much more than how to catch trout. In gaining strength within myself, I was able to not only learn from my children, but learn about them as well. My daughter Ava loves all God’s critters and, honestly, she would rather be in pursuit of her forest pet for the day than hunting for the fish. She is driven and confident, and that’s what matters to me more than anything. I have watched her personality traits develop as we fished, and even though she may only fish to put a smile on my face, she has gained many strengths that I don’t think she would have if I had handed her a tablet instead of a trout rod. Brother, on the other hand, fishes very much for his thrill of the pursuit and his love of the tug. Nate’s ability to now look at the water and choose his own fishing approach will help in dealing with the troubling times we face in life. Good or bad, he will know how to think for himself, and that is huge. Children need something to believe in; why not help them believe in themselves?
LOOKING BACK ON it now, even though trout fishing was often the core of our adventures, it was not the point; it was far deeper than that. I could have taken a completely different route in their little lives, but I stood strong in my beliefs and felt passions galore when embracing the outdoors with my children and remaining unplugged from the electronic stimulation boom that was all around us. We did indeed find countless trout, so many in fact I got to where all I could hope was that their hooksets were effective as I had gotten to where I had zero desire to bring so many tiny trout home. Those little fish will swallow that hook in no 106 Northwest Sportsman
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Ichtertz’s daughter Ava “loves all God’s critters and, honestly, she would rather be in pursuit of her forest pet for the day than hunting for the fish. She is driven and confident, and that’s what matters to me more than anything.” (SARA ICHTERTZ)
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COLUMN time flat. But if their hooksets had all been just perfect, we wouldn’t have had ourselves nearly as many fish fries, nor buckets of brined trout for the smoker, because losing fish kept them trying to perfect their skills. I realize now how beautiful all of that really was. Together we pursued those little fish. Together we found them. Together they gained strengths their foundations needed. Together we prepared our harvest, and together we came to our table, enjoyed each other’s company, and shared so much more than the little fish before us. Where I sit now nearly a decade later, I am amazed at how when Mother’s Day rolls around, Nate is the one who gathers the gear. Having learned what we would need from a young age, he is ready to pack us up and pack us out! Ava packs a dandy of a picnic, just like her momma, and it’s wild how I can truly relax now. All those tangled reels I never gave up on were worth it. Here I am a decade into embracing nature independently as a mother and sitting back and watching
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my children stand on their own two feet. I watch them rig their own rods, tie their own knots, bait their own hooks with confidence and cast the setups like they mean it. This in no way came overnight. It took years of devotion from all of us. And now Nate and Ava are capable of teaching their cousins to fish the banks of whatever water lies before them. They gladly hand off fish, and I love it. Seeing such sights helps me live my life with little regret as the years fly by. They have amazed me in their growth and their abilities. Brother has shown me a far more effective way to clean those little buggers and nowadays he is who cooks up the little fish with pride. Go for it, son! Honestly, they taste better and better each time he is the one who cooks them. And so I realize that all of the good you do will come back to you full circle and ultimately will live on inside of them as well.
AS THEIR ABILITIES have grown, my responsibilities have changed. By allowing my kids to truly give it a whirl (not me
just handing off one fish after the other – I know I can fish, but I wanted them to understand the work behind the thrill of success as that’s so important in life, no matter the thrill), they see what it takes. Carrying myself with patience and grace I let them fail without harsh judgment, as they need know what failure feels like in order to truly succeed. We all do, and so if fishing was my safe way to allow them to think they were “just fishing,” then I am good with that. Success has a whole new meaning when you actually earn it. I don’t want to burden my babes with adult problems; I just want them to know they have the skills to face them when they’re off building their own lives. Motherhood is flying by and the day will come that they no longer have my hand to hold, and in that moment I hope they see my smile and remember: They do not need my hand because they have built these amazing foundations worth standing on themselves. My heart is on the river and I couldn’t change it, even if I tried. NS
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nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2022
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FISHING
Waters Of Many Smallies The lower Walla Walla is host to hordes of bass in spring, and here’s where and how to catch ’em. By Jeff Holmes
T
he chilly north and south forks of the Walla Walla River tumble west out of Washington’s and Oregon’s Blue Mountains into the heavily irrigated Walla Walla Valley. Bull trout and redband rainbows still thrive up in the Blues in both forks, and steelhead and some of the Northwest’s biggest spring Chinook still swim to spawn in these pristine waters. The Walla Walla is a very small river system, like most of the streams that drain the Blues. But its reliably cold waters and ideal habitat make it a stronghold for native fish and their strict environmental requirements. The bull trout and resident rainbows stay safe tucked away in the hills, but to reach the mountains as adults and, worse yet, to escape the mountains to the sea as smolts, salmon and steelhead must run a gauntlet of dangers after the two forks converge to form the mainstem Walla Walla. One of those dangers is a large run of smolt-gobbling, spawningclass smallmouth bass that enter the mainstem Walla Walla in early April, just the females, followed a couple weeks later by swarms of smaller males. Once they spawn prolifically in the stream, gobbling crayfish all the way, they turn their attention in May and sometimes early June in big-water years to snatching swarms of hatchery and wild smolts. As irrigation takes its toll on flows and as the numbers of smolts thin, most of the spawner bass follow the smolts to the Columbia where they tuck into the river’s depths.
A float down the Walla Walla – a Native American name for this Southeast Washington river of “many waters” – in May looks a lot like this: bass, beers and bruhs. (JEFF HOLMES)
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FISHING Smolts lucky enough to make it to the Columbia encounter yet more dangers in the big river: dams, slow-moving reservoirs, smallmouth and walleye, birds, and other predatory fish that thrive in the dammed Columbia. Roughly half of the smolts do not make it to the Columbia and end up in mostly smallmouth but also pikeminnow and channel cat bellies in the Walla Walla.
SPRING SMALLMOUTH FISHING in the lower section of the mainstem Walla Walla can be incredible, despite my futile efforts and those of others like my friend, Walla Walla’s Jerry Yokel, to kill and fillet as many as possible. Years ago he asked me to float a middle stretch of river with him, but I was without a craft and much money at the time. I bought and later intentionally returned a cheap pontoon from Costco, a prick move for sure, but I enjoyed and was turned onto one of the most unique fishing experiences in Washington. We launched next to the Highway 12 bridge just west of the town of Touchet, floating a half mile down that tiny stream into the slightly less tiny Walla Walla. Yokel had already been floating the stream that spring, cleaning up on bass by fishing crayfish imitations that yielded big stringers, which he trails
Dr. Laci Hubbard-Mattix, a former student of mine from Eastern Washington University and one of my favorite people whacked and stacked big smallies and IPAs on a highly fun and fishy day on the Walla Walla. This bruiser ate a slow-hopped Yamamoto DT grub on a jig head in 6 inches of visibility. Walla Walla bassing is still more than viable in blown-out conditions. (JEFF HOLMES) 112 Northwest Sportsman
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behind his little whitewater kayak. On that day, however, the bass had turned away from crayfish to dine of floods of smolts trying to survive the gauntlet of death in the small stream. We switched to smolt imitations and kicked the bejeezus out of the smallies, along with a10-pound catfish that looked comical with half of it sticking out of my trout
My good friend Barry Allen of Aberdeen is a talented tribal artist and world-class Spey fly tyer. He took a break from his artistry this May day to enjoy some trashy bassin’. (JEFF HOLMES)
net. I even landed a 201/2-inch female smallmouth and her mate on the same lure – an F-11 rainbow trout Rapala – on the same cast! Now I fish the river in a 14-foot raft with an NRS fishing frame, and this spring I am “hard at work” once again trying to rid the river of as many bronzebacks as will fall for my friends’ and my lures. The fishing can be great, the fish are often big, and the floating experience on this ribbon of life is even better. We’ve seen bobcats, badgers, foxes, coyotes, beavers, otters, mink, mule and whitetail deer, bull snakes, rattlesnakes, 1-pound toads, and a spectacle of birds. Four types of owls (barn, short-eared, screech, and greathorned) are conspicuous here, along with eagles, hawks, night herons, greatblue herons, turkeys, pheasants and songbirds galore. The river’s banks lend themselves to prominently displaying the tracks of the area’s critters, and a few years ago during an unsuccessful trip in March, we saw where a wolf patrolling winter range had clearly stalked and failed to catch a mule deer just a few miles above Ninemile Canyon!
THE WALLA WALLA is a spectacle of smallmouth and wildlife and is an oasis on a mostly bleak, industrializedagriculture-dominated landscape. With nearly half a million people living a short drive from the stream and
plenty of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife public land available along this eminently floatable river, it seems like the stream might be overrun with anglers, but it’s not because the Walla Walla is tough to fish from shore. Steep, soft banks and tall grass full of rattlers dissuade anglers, and soft, muddy shorelines and a largely unwadable bottom make fishing tougher than one might expect on a little stream. It’s also tough to access to float, while the floating itself is easy and dreamy. It took me a year of intense fishing and exploring to dial in the river’s access points, but it was not hard work, whereas dragging my big-ass raft in and out of the river can be a chore. That said, if you want to join me in whacking and stacking gluttonous smallmouth, here’s some starting advice on access and tactics. First, I am not going to give away all the floating access info. Go check it out and get creative; you’ll figure it out. But here’s one amazing, all-day float to start with. Just west of Touchet, Highway 12 crosses the Touchet River. There’s a small parking area between the highway and railroad bridges where floating craft can be crudely launched into the Touchet. The river meanders a half mile to the Walla Walla, which twists and turns for several beautiful and lucrative miles to a bridge and WDFW access on Byerly
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Northwest Sportsman 113
FISHING Some friends mock me for fishing cheap spinning combos with mono, but a minute after I took this pic, this guy took a header out of my raft. Somehow I grabbed his 230ish pounds and kept him from getting wet, but he threw my rod a good 25 feet down this run, never to be seen again. (JEFF HOLMES)
Road. It’s critical to be river right and to be ready to tuck in below the bridge or risk overshooting it, but this is easily accomplished by anyone with any business floating class I water. Float and fish at your own risk, but this is not an especially risky float. It is, however, quite long. You have to start early and make ground to do it in a day, but it’s worth it. Not only do many smallmouth seem to spawn and feed in this stretch, but the scenery is fantastic, and its common not to encounter another floating angler. This article might change that, but I doubt it. Plus, there’s plenty of good water and fish for many times more anglers to enjoy the float too. For those who are shorebound, check out vast amounts of public land that stretches from the Byerly Road bridge I mentioned all the way down to Ninemile Canyon. Lower, below Ninemile Canyon, try Wallula Game Department Road. At the mouth where the river flows into the
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Columbia is Madame Dorian Park, which has a boat launch and plenty of shore access. It’s popular with those trying to feed their families with catfish. From here one can access North Shore Road, which offers access a few miles up the stream. The lower 3 miles of the river is broad, slow and serpentine and flows through a unit of the McNary National Wildlife Refuge. I recently bought a motor mount for my raft to cruise through this stretch and for plowing through wind, but I see lots of bank anglers here, especially those seeking channel cats.
I FISH WITH light-action 7-foot spinning rods with small spinning reels spooled with straight 8- or 10-pound monofilament line. There are lots of snags, and some of these occur while underway in a strong spring current. I like lures to break off fairly easily instead of having them come rocketing back at my head or raft. This is especially the case for the
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beginner and intermediate anglers. Mono also allows nonexpert anglers to tie and retie all day long without the challenges of braid and the need to have sharp scissors or nippers at the ready at all times. I like to keep it chill, or as I might say out on the river when
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I don’t give two frigs about anything but fun and being stupid, “hella chill.” Fishing mono is a throwback to childhood I enjoy immensely. I stick mostly with plastics, both for imitating crayfish in April and early May and for imitating smolts in late
April through early June. The window the fish feed on crayfish versus smolts changes every year with weather, water temps and snowpack, so I recommend coming ready with plenty of options for both food sources. Bring plenty of jigs, tubes, curl-tailed grubs, double-tailed grubs and other favored crayfish imitations in natural crayfish colors. Bring a variety. Similarly, bring yet more jig heads to fish flukes, paddle-tail minnows and other plastics imitating smolts. I also bring Rapalas, a small assortment of other topwater minnows, slim-profiled shallow-diving plugs and steelhead-sized spinners with silver and brass blades. When the flow is strong, as it is in early and midspring, fish for these bass like they are steelhead – better yet, like they’re coho. You’ll find them tucked into soft-water seams, backwaters and eddies. In April they seek out sun-warmed slack water on the river’s edges, but in May they are all over the damn place. NS
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FISHING
Bassin’ Made Easy Plentiful, in lakes and rivers throughout the Northwest and simple to fish for, largemouth and smallmouth are at their prime in May and June. By Jeff Holmes
B
ass are not native to any of our Pacific Northwest waters, and they generally take a backseat to trout, steelhead and salmon on magazine covers and in online fishing discussions. Still, many of us – maybe most – have great memories associated with bass fishing, and a whole lot of us are fairweather bassers who love it but don’t chalk it up as a favorite activity. The older I get and the more the writing is on the wall about the future of coldwater fisheries, the more I think about and enjoy the simplicity and joy of catching what snobby steelheaders often call “ditch pickles.” The notion that bass fishing is simple is hard to fathom if you watch fishing shows or know a tournament bass angler who dresses in an actionfigure outfit bedazzled with sponsors’ patches and who drives an 80-mph bass assault boat equipped with many thousands of dollars in rods, reels and tackle. But the truth is that this is total overkill. Bass fishing is fun, easy and inclusive of beginner anglers. It’s a great way to get more engaged in fishing, hone one’s casting and rod handling, bring people into the sport, and take a break from complicated regulations and competitive, highly technical fisheries. I’d caught hundreds of dinks and a few 2-pounders by the time I first encountered a giant, but that outdoor moment had a profound impact on
When I was younger I waited for the heat of summer before I turned my attention to bass and away from trout. Now I relish the period from March through June, with May being the sweet spot. (JEFF HOLMES)
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FISHING me and is a cherished memory. I’ve probably written about it before, and if you know me and bass fish with me, you’ve undoubtedly heard this fish story about the fish I never actually caught. As an 11-year-old, I stood on a 6-foot cliff at Spokane County’s Chapman Lake, fishing a red-and-white bobber over a split shot and an offering of a chunk of nightcrawler impaled on a pretied Danielson snelled hook. An 11-inch
rainbow pulled the bobber under, and I set the hook and reeled. On the way to the shore, the biggest bass I’d ever seen – bigger than I believed existed – rose from the depths at the base of the cliff and grabbed my trout, dwarfing it in size by an order of magnitude. It was easily a 7- to 8-pounder. Within a second or less, a second giant female bass of equal size rose from the depths alongside it and grabbed the part of the trout that
Where largemouth largely lurk in lakes and other stillwaters, smallmouth occupy both reservoirs on the Columbia, Snake and other systems and rivers. The latter species has an impact on outmigrating salmon and steelhead smolts, and also tastes better than the former, the author reports. (CHAD ZOLLER) 120 Northwest Sportsman
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wasn’t in the first bass’s mouth! Both bass lost out, and I reeled in a heavily descaled and molested little rainbow. That moment piqued my curiosity and ultimately lit a fire for catching big bass during the windows of the year that are easiest and most pleasant. For me and for most parttime bassers, May and June offer the best opportunities for catching big largemouth and smallmouth using a variety of simple, reliable methods and cheap gear. Those were the good old days for me in many ways, including the good old days for Chapman Lake before the public was abruptly banned from the rustic resort and boat launch there, shutting generations out of one of the most special and treasured fishing lakes in the state. For 10 years we’ve been kept out, but the person who orchestrated that is about to get a rude surprise because the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has an easement and is well into executing a plan to get us back on the water. Chapman is the first in a chain of three great bass lakes that grow largemouth to 10 pounds and smallmouth to maybe 5 (Bonnie and Rock are the others), but these are just three of the many lakes in the Spokane area that offer excellent bass fishing. Sprague Lake, among a few others, is now one of the state’s crown jewel largemouth fisheries. But all of Washington and most of Oregon are loaded with bass-filled waters. Arguably there is no more available gamefish than bass unless you count pumpkinseed sunfish and yellow perch as desirable gamefish. Come to think of it, outside of small ponds, I can’t think of any perch and sunfish lakes that don’t also have bass. They are everywhere, and right now is a fantastic time to fish for them.
IN MANY LAKES and in some rivers, largies and smallies can be found living in the same habitat and can at times be caught on back-to-back
FISHING casts. But if you’re new to the game, there are three important distinctions to make for even fairweather bassers like me and maybe you. Distinction One: Generally, you won’t find largemouth in rivers and streams unless it’s in sloughs and other backwaters. They do not live in moving water, but smallmouth thrive in rivers and streams. For example, the TriCities area offers fantastic bass fishing in the Snake, Columbia, Yakima and Walla Walla Rivers, and it’s home to the almost-9-pound state record caught 56 years ago on the Hanford Reach. There are still occasional monsters caught, but no one has seen a fish like that for some time. That’s because there is an overabundance of smallmouth here, such that the average size of fish has decreased markedly due to competition with their own species and other nonnative species like walleye. In the Tri-Cities area there are very large largemouth topping a verified 10 pounds at times, but there are many fewer opportunities for the species than in the rest of the Columbia Basin, the Spokane area, Northeast Washington and much of Western Washington. Why? Largemouth are where you find stillwater. Washington and much of Oregon are blessed with plenty of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and sloughs. Distinction Two: Whereas there is no denying (except for those in denial) that smallmouth have a massive impact on juvenile steelhead and salmon smolts in the Columbia River watershed, the impact of largemouth bass on the native juveniles is nearly imperceptible. Killing smallmouth is very different than killing largemouth. I fill small coolers with smallmouth on the Walla Walla (see my article on page 111), but I will not kill a spawning-class largemouth, and since I don’t eat them, I don’t kill small largemouth either. Distinction Three: Largemouth and smallmouth bass are very different as breeders and as table fare. Taste 122 Northwest Sportsman
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Kennewick’s Timothy Holland joined me a couple of Mays ago for some good fishing in a Columbia River backwater. We pulled spinnerbaits and Senkos to good results. (JEFF HOLMES)
is a matter of, well, taste. But to my gustatory leanings, largemouth taste like how a dirty aquarium smells. As a kid I tried eating them alongside fried perch and bluegill and smallmouth, and I was repulsed. I checked a while back to see if my tastes had changed as my tastebuds aged, and no, they have not. This is useful because largemouth are slower and less prolific breeders than smallmouth, which taste significantly better. You can kill all the smallmouth you want – we all could – and it wouldn’t dent the populations in the Columbia River watershed. In 2012 WDFW liberalized (read: eliminated) limits on smallmouth, walleye and channel catfish and
predicted it would do nothing to the population. They made this move solely to avoid threat of lawsuits aimed at WDFW being perceived as managing for increased abundance of non-native predators that have a documented impact on ESA-listed salmon, steelhead and lamprey in the Columbia River watershed. Bass and walleye enthusiasts with a poor grasp of legal drivers and a lack of concern for salmon and steelhead cried that the sky seemed to be falling. They cried that it was End Times for these beloved smolt-eating fish, but this logic was trash, and the biologists were right (again). Fishing is good and, in many cases, better today for smallmouth and
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FISHING
BASSIN’ AFTER DARK
F
or Pacific Northwest walleye, kokanee, catfish and steelhead anglers, nightfishing is a popular pursuit. But for most casual bass anglers, fishing hours are leisurely and end when the sun is down and darkness washes across the landscape. Few of us hit the water after dark or in the blue-black of the super-early mornings, and even fewer of us fish from midnight to sunup. But if you have an idea of where the fish are at a given time of the year, going to those places in the dark and fishing large lures is a great starting point for potential nighttime success on some real hawgs. Per the law of energetics in biology, big critters (including fish) need to gain more calories from meals than they expend. To get really big in our slow-growing Pacific Northwest waters, big bass have developed a strategy where they target large meals. Big bass do not have a strategy like a baleen whale – straining plankton as they swim – or big rainbow trout, which can gorge on zooplankton to achieve pretty large sizes. Bass are gluttonous ambush predators. As juveniles, they will attack lures much larger than they are, and as adults, they will attack the largest lures in your arsenal, provided you fish where they are. For example, largemouth and smallmouth are likely to be shallow in May and either staging to spawn, spawning or just finishing their spawn. But in the heat of summer, bass may be shallow or they may be 45 feet deep, such as in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. When fish are shallow, big swimbaits, buzzbaits and topwater lures are fun and effective ways to elicit a savage ambush attack under cover of darkness. These tactics allow fishing by sound and feel. But if I wanted to bass fish in front of my house on the Columbia River in the heat of July, I would troll the biggest, deepest-diving cranks I own and plow the bottom in 30 to 40 feet of water where big smallmouth live and gorge during the hottest months. The key, then, to successful nighttime bassing is understanding where the fish are and focusing on those areas. May and June are excellent months to fish topwater lures in the dark when largemouth and smallmouth are still shallow and when water temperatures are ideal for feeding. The weather is generally pleasant at night in late spring and bass are prone to be active and willing to look up for a meal. Throwing black or other dark-colored spinnerbaits is a proven tactic. But buzzbaits and other topwater presentations are the most fun and are also effective when the fish are shallow. Rainbow, brown and tiger trout will also strike bass lures in the dark in lakes where they co-occur, and walleye are often very shallow under cover of darkness. Like big walleye, trophy bass will bite at night during all phases of the moon, but nights surrounding the full moon make it easier to fish and also see what the hell you’re doing. –JH
walleye throughout the watershed. Go ahead and kill and eat smallmouth after smallmouth. It won’t matter, and you’ll get a great meal, albeit with a mercury-consumption warning. Just consider releasing the slow-growing, slow-breeding largemouth to live to fight another day.
LETHAL LURES FOR NEWBIES AND CASUAL BASSERS Last week I fished with two friends of very different angling competencies. The predicted chilly 54-degree day we already found dubious topped out at 124 Northwest Sportsman
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42 degrees with big wind and snow. The next day, 2 to 12 inches of snow fell everywhere in Washington and northern Oregon, including unlikely places like the lower Columbia Basin and ocean beaches. None of us caught anything that day except for a fat yellow bullhead on a bottom walker and worm harness after we gave up on bassing. But two of us were fishing effectively and were much more likely to tempt a lockjawed smallmouth or largemouth bass, or even walleye, to bite than our friend, a renowned local bluegrass and country musician. We
Clarkston’s Travis Mattix nailed this trophy smallmouth on a large trolled plug at 1:30 a.m. in Tri-Cities this spring. Trophy largemouth and smallmouth alike will eat under cover of darkness, and offering them a big meal is a great way to land a larger class of bass. (JEFF HOLMES)
slowly fished grubs, small swimbaits and crankbaits in close proximity to the bottom and likely rock piles and depth changes, while our fiddling friend changed lures every 10 minutes. His attempts became more and more desperate and futile, but we didn’t want to disrupt the good times and breach boat etiquette by telling our very kind friend that throwing a big spinnerbait in 12 feet of water and burning it across the surface in 49-degree water was never going to catch anything, especially during a cold front.
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Northwest Sportsman 125
FISHING
Want to catch big bass? Cover a lot of water with a reliable big bass catcher. A large white spinnerbait with a willow leaf blade is my go-to, and chartreuse or chartreuse and white is a close second. My biggest fish ever, a 23½-inch fat largemouth from the Cheney area, gobbled a big white spinnerbait almost as soon as I could get the blade turning. Spinnerbaits in May account for plenty of smaller bass too like this nice specimen. (JEFF HOLMES)
That day I thought about other times on the water with impatient and very green bass anglers and the ineffective antics I’ve witnessed. These included fishing as-seen-on-TV lures like the Helicopter Lure and Banjo Minnow over 100-foot-deep water and other places bass don’t live, along with many other gaudy lures more likely to hook an angler at the store than a bass in the Pacific Northwest. It’s not just important to fish lures that bass will actually bite; it’s also 126 Northwest Sportsman
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key to fish the right lure at the right time at the right depth and location. That varies from largemouth to smallmouth and between bodies of water, but here are some super basics. Bass do not cruise the surface looking for bugs. They are ambush predators that locate themselves where the food is, and that’s usually on the bottom near structure, whether obvious things like logs and docks or just rocky or weedy bottoms or patches of bottom that they prefer.
The kind of bass (big ones) you want to catch eat anything big enough to tempt their fancy, but that’s mostly crayfish and fish. Have I fished with a dude who used a duckling lure before? Yes. Do bass eat ducklings? Sometimes, over the few weeks of the year there are ducklings on the water. But that guy caught nada and would have been better off imitating perch, bluegill, shiners and other minnows, and even hatchery trout. Many of the Northwest’s biggest largemouth target hatchery rainbow and other trout. That was the first tip I got as a kid from old-timers after seeing those monster bass attack my trout. I took it to heart. An F-11 rainbow trout Rapala and other trout-imitating hard baits and swimbaits have accounted for a large percentage of the scores of bass over 4 pounds I’ve landed in a lifetime of fairweather bassing. May and June are the easiest times to find spawning-class bass in the shallows before summer temps load lakes with weeds and algae. That’s not to say May and June do not present challenges with weeds. Here is my approach to being ready for weeds and other likely conditions in May and June. I keep bassing stupid simple, cheap and fun. I fish only a small handful of lure types, ones that are easy to fish and reliable. Similarly, I fish inexpensive rod-reel-line combos. First, I prefer to cast a spinning reel, but baitcasters are fine choices, just not mine. These combos are what I choose to fish: 1) A medium-action spinning rod (6 1/2 to 7 feet) and reel with 10-pound braid and a mono topshot for fishing clear, nonweedy waters with curl-tailed grubs, tube baits, small crankbaits and Senkos, all in natural colors like cinnamon, smoke, motor oil, pumpkinseed, dark greens, purples, etc. I can also drop shot or fish finesse topwater lures like that floating F-11 Rapala with this rig. 2) For weedier places where a real bass angler might employ flipping rigs and other heavy tackle, I just fish a stout spinning rod (7 to 7 1/2 feet)
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FISHING and a medium-sized spinning reel spooled with 20- and 30-pound braid (two spools). I prefer 20-pound test for fishing spinnerbaits (white, white and chartreuse, black or purple for dark conditions), Senkos, nonfinesse topwater baits (Zara Spooks, Torpedos, Chatterbaits, buzzbaits), crankbaits, and for bass fishing in the dark in general. I tie directly to my braid and catch plenty of fish. When the weeds are bad or when I am purposely throwing lures into reeds, spatterdock (big lily pads), and other heavy cover, I use 30-pound test and, again, direct tie to braid. Thirty-pound braid, a size 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG, or extra-wide gap, hook and a couple packs of Senkos are absolute magic on Northwest bass in heavy cover, and horsing them out and bringing them to hand is an addictive challenge. I also troll for bass in the summer with plugs in the Snake and Columbia, and I just use the same medium-action
8 1/2-foot rod I use to troll for walleye and steelhead, paired with an Okuma Coldwater reel spooled with 15- to 20-pound braid. When bass are super deep in the Columbia, I have reels spooled with 10-pound braid, which slices through the water and allows my lures to attain maximum diving depth. Another rig I own, solely because I raft fish for bass, is a cheap Okuma Celilo 7-foot rod in light action, paired with a variety of my favorite inexpensive spinning reels, mostly Pflueger and Okuma spooled with old-school 8-pound-test mono. When I lose these rigs overboard while in motion in a busy smallmouth raft, I don’t cry over spilled rods. Direct tying to mono also means getting fishing faster after frequent break-offs.
A FISHERY FOR ALL LEVELS I am obviously no sage authority on modern bass fishing, but I am an expert at having fun while catching
bass – nice ones – pretty reliably. I keep it simple and fish during the best times with simple tackle and gear. I don’t break the bank, and I don’t worry about much except safety (ask me about my boat wrecks…) and getting friends and coworkers on the water to BS, watch wildlife and drink the 4Ws in moderation (whiskey, wine, White Claws and water). Bass fishing can be what you want it to be in Northwest waters. If you want to spend money and fish tournaments, that’s cool. For some it becomes a year-round passion, and some travel to far-flung bass waters for vacations. But if you just want to put in a bunch of days bass fishing every year during the best time of year with really simple gear from literally any floating craft, I recommend it. I also recommend not letting society’s expectations about your boat (or lack thereof) or your gear dictate your own choices about
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FISHING
It doesn’t hurt to have a super-sleek bass boat, 19 rods and a Power-Pole shallowwater anchoring system, but even a leaky swimming pool tube can be a productive fish-catching platform, albeit one with slightly less horsepower. (AMY WALGAMOTT)
how you fish. I have personally bass fished from shore, docks, pool rafts, float tubes, pontoons, rowboats, barges, whitewater rafts, drift boats, NuCanoe kayaks, small aluminum motor boats and – these days – a 20foot aluminum jet sled. I had fun and caught fish in all these ways, and you can too. Most of us will never own a bass boat, but there’s a bass-boat adapter kit out there that can transform most boats and even kayaks into a bass-catching machine, and that’s a Minn Kota bow-mount trolling motor – better yet, one with iPilot and the GPS-enabled “spot lock” feature, which acts as a virtual anchor, even in windy conditions. Boat control is key, and a bow mount on the water is like adding four-wheel drive to a two-wheel-drive vehicle in the snow. I fish a 24-volt 80-pound thrust Minn Kota Terrova, and I’m jealous of friends’ Ulterra model, which self deploys and is very reliable and on my wish list. NS
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Northwest Sportsman 131
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COLUMN
Idaho’s Killertasting B’s T
he cliffs of the Snake River Canyon soared above us. The layers of basalt reminded CHEF IN me just how finite the THE WILD time I have on this By Randy King planet really is. My son and I had parked at a trailhead frequented by mountain bikers, hikers, sturgeon fishermen, high school avoiders and families like mine. From there, we hiked a trail away from the river and to Halverson Lake, a small creek- and canalfed depression that pools water near Melba, Idaho. It has no motor vehicle access and therefore has better fishing than other locations. We were there to catch bass, or that is what I told myself. I knew it was a little early in the year for really hot bass action, but I was starting to have bass fishing withdrawals. I have been on a fly fishing kick the past few years and have avoided my soft plastics for a long time. When the shed was recently cleaned out, I remembered fondly the process of catching a bass – the casting methods, the retrieve methods, the smack of a big bass hitting a Gamakatsu hook and making a run for it. Bass fishing has trained into me the idea of “setting” the hook with as much force as I can manage – most times nearly wrenching my back out of place. (For better or worse, like when ocean fishing and setting the hook like that leads to more fish lost than hooked …) I have taken my older sons bass fishing several times at local ponds, with some decent success. Mostly it’s on semiprivate waters that involve a lot of hiking and
Chef Randy King and son Jordan had aspirations of catching bass on Idaho’s Snake – known for its returns of B-run steelhead – but settled for bluegills, which might have been tastiest of all in the end. (RANDY KING)
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HAWAIIAN-STYLE BLUEGILL
W
alking into the food hall in Honolulu for the first time was a blast of sensations. It was muggy, with lots of boiling pots of water and steamers making rice. It was crowded, with lots of folks shopping for groceries and getting a quick bite to eat. It was hot, as the concept of AC did not seem to be a concern. And it smelled absolutely fantastic. How fantastic? It smelled like I had been living a lie. I could smell laulau pork and ginger being steamed in ti leaves. I could smell noodles being fried in sesame oil and served with char siu pork and shrimp. Basically, I had died and gone to heaven. Weird fish were lined up on beds of ice. Fish tanks were filled with swimming critters of all varieties. There were rice balls and Spam with nori. Sensory overload. Then I saw something that was familiar but exotic at the same time. It looked just like a panfish from my little area of Idaho – a bass/bluegill combination, maybe a pound in total, sliced down its sides and deep-fried
Hawaiian-style fried bluegill. (RANDY KING) 134 Northwest Sportsman
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brown in color. The whole fish, head and all, was cooked and then topped with some sort of sauce. I could get behind this; it was familiar but new at the same time. I had seen this done with trout at family fish fries, but never in a food hall and never in this style of cooking. I purchased one immediately and have been trying (and failing) to get the recipe right ever since. But this spring, I think I have a close approximation to the Hawaiian-style fried fish I had. I use bass and bluegill for my recipe, but surfperch, crappie, yellow perch or any flaky white-meated fish that can hold its shape after scaling would work great.
FRIED PANFISH 1½ cups canola oil for frying (heated to about 350 degrees) 3 pounds of whole fish (about six bluegill or two or three “keeper” bass) 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder Salt and pepper 1 cup corn starch
PONZU SAUCE ½ cup soy sauce ¼ cup orange juice ¼ cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon water 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper ½ knuckle of ginger, crushed 1 garlic clove, crushed 1 green onion, sliced Step 1: Prepare the fish by gutting as normal, then with a pair of kitchen scissors cut off the fins (ventral, pectoral, anal and dorsal, but I leave the tail). Next scale the fish with the back of a spoon. I do this while running a slight trickle of water on the fish to keep scales from exploding all over my kitchen. Then make three or four slices down the sides of the fish (see cooking fish photo, next page, as an example). Wash the fish off again and check for more scales (look closely around the pectoral fins and collar). Pat dry and reserve fish. Step 2: Make the ponzu. Combine all ponzu sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reserve. This will make more than what you need, so strain and store the remainder for other uses! Step 3: Season the fish. Mix the chili powder, garlic powder and onion powder in a small dish and then season the fish with it. Step 4: Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pan to about 350 degrees. When hot, dredge the seasoned fish in the corn starch. Make sure to get a good coating on the fish. Fry each fish until GBD, or golden brown and delicious, about four or five minutes a side. Be careful not to burn them, but you do want a dark brown color. Step 5: Season and serve. Pour some ponzu sauce on the fish as it comes out of the oil and serve right away. The fish is best hot and crispy! For more wild game recipes, see chefrandyking.com. –RK
COLUMN
Gutted and scaled bluegill fry on the author’s grill. King says he scores their sides three or four times to increase the surface cooking area and provide for more even heating. He fries the fish in oil until they’re golden brown and delicious, or GBD, as he likes to say. (RANDY KING) not asking a lot of questions. This Sunday the older boys were off at work, but the little one and I had time, sunshine and a purpose: Find a bass.
WHEN WE SHOWED up to the lake, I saw that my favorite bass-catching boulder was occupied by another fisherman. Apparently, someone else had had the same idea, and a better alarm clock than I did. Oh, well. We found a perfectly acceptable backup location with a nice sandy beach and some big rocks about 30 feet offshore providing cover. Then we started casting our jigs, our spinners, our crankbaits, gut busters, lady fingers, zipidy-do-dahs, crap flappers, honkey lighters, hoosker-doos, hoosker-don’ts and one single cast of a whistling kitty chaser. And not a bass was caught. Jordan eventually stopped fishing. 136 Northwest Sportsman
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He began to dig a hole in the sand with a stick. Not that I don’t like a little sand engineering, but not while fishing. I rere-re-retied Jordan’s pole, this time with a bobber (strike indicator for those who fly fish) and a couple of worm-baited circle hooks. I went back to my oldest of fishing mantras: When in doubt, fish with worms. It was not long before the first strike. Jordan’s bobber gently dipped below the surface of the water, the tell-tale sign of a biter. A quick fight later and the first fish was on the bank. It was a nice “keeper” bluegill. I smiled and my son smiled back. He rebaited his hook and we split up. I kept tossing plastic. He kept landing fish with worms. About half an hour later I could hear the reel on Jordan’s little bass pole singing, the whine of the drag being pulled out. I was having a bit of a crisis understanding why. The hand-size bluegill we were catching should not produce that noise.
Did he have on a big bass? That was what we were “after” here at the pond. Or a catfish maybe? I had caught those in here. I fretted but wanted to keep my distance. I looked over at my youngest son. He was standing on a boulder on the edge of Halverson Lake to get a better view and a longer cast. He reeled aggressively; his rod bent. I could see a fierce determination in his eyes; I didn’t want to go help him and helicopter-parent this victory. He was doing something hard, and I needed to let him finish the job. The reel seemed to calm down a little and I slowly started picking my way down the rocks over to him. Soon on the bank was not a bass but a double-up on keeper bluegill. Two fish in one cast! The fight had been hard but that only made Jordan’s victory that much sweeter. He unhooked them and added them to the creel. Eight keepers on the string. Enough for dinner. Perfect, bass or not. NS
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stonehorseoutfitters.com Northern Alberta nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2022
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144 Northwest Sportsman
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Put In A Late Shift May’s turkeys are almost a different beast than April’s, requiring different hunting tactics. By Troy Rodakowski
T
he month of May brings warm weather and big, lazy gobblers that like to bask in the sun and feed on newly hatched insects and pollinating seed heads. The old boys are less interested in hen yelps and infrequently gobble from the roost before going mute for the reminder of the day. Now and then you’ll find one that will talk, but those birds are few and far between. Despite it all, this is my favorite month of the year for several reasons. Most hunters have left the woods, tagged out or just plain given up. Wildflowers are in bloom, there is new life over every hill and I get the sense of having the woods to myself. Last season I went out during the last week of May. The birds were pretty quiet and I really wasn’t expecting much. It was still early when I saw a small group of turkeys a ridge over, but they were beating feet the opposite direction. Looking through my binos, I scanned the ridgeline carefully before moving any further. Just as I was about to move, I saw a red head bobbing through the tall grass and caught a glimpse of a nice beard swinging from his chest. The bird was working the ridge to the east and I knew where the trail he was on puked out in the valley below. Gathering my gear and almost running, I made it to a place where I could set up and likely cut him off. I wanted to check the gobbler’s temperature, per se, and see if he’d give away his location, so I hit a
Late-season toms are tough but very rewarding. Author Troy Rodakowski and his dad Terry show off a May bird taken in Southern Oregon. (TROY RODAKOWSKI)
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HUNTING quick three-yelp sequence on my mouth diaphragm. Instantly, the bird sounded off less than 75 yards above me. My heart began to beat quicker and though I’d been in this position hundreds of times before, it was as if it were my first. I was hunting with my Browning Citori chambered with 3½-inch blended turkey loads. Boy, was I excited, but something didn’t seem right and somehow I knew in the back of my mind that I should be parked against the big ponderosa pine that was 30 yards up the trail. But there just wasn’t enough time at the pace he was moving and I was unfortunately curled up very awkwardly in front of a wild rose bush. My shotgun was growing increasingly heavy as the seconds ticked past and I could feel my hamstring beginning to cramp.
By this time of the spring season, many hens are already raising broods, but gobblers are still searching for their last chances at love, though are generally much quieter. (TROY RODAKOWSKI)
Oh, the joys of getting older. It was then that I heard it, the spit and drum of a mature gobbler’s fanning. He was there just 12 yards away, moving through the wild roses, and I only had one small window if I was going to shoot. Slowly I eased the safety into firing position as the bird came out of strut and raised his head. He knew something was wrong; there was no hen and he had just laid all of his cards on the table. This bird wasn’t used to not getting his hen. With a “put, put, put” and a quick turn, he was gone. Sitting there for a long while, I played it over and over in my head. Yup, I should have fired. My hesitation haunts me to this day, as that particular longbeard beat me good and I’ll never forget it. Indeed, although I didn’t pack him out of the woods, the story always brings a smile to my face.
LATE-SEASON MUSTS
Longbeards are just a part of the spring turkey hunting experience. The variety of wildflowers in bloom during May will please any outdoor enthusiast. (TROY RODAKOWSKI) 150 Northwest Sportsman
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Probably the single most important thing about hunting late-season birds is patience. You better have a lot of it and be able to sit and wait for a few hours at a time. Trust me, the wait
HUNTING is well worth the reward. Knowing birds’ travel routes and roost sites is extremely important as well, since setting up and waiting along these places is a major key to success. I like to advise fellow hunters to keep calling to a minimum. If you don’t hear turkeys calling, be mindful about how much sound you make while hunting. Make sure to bring your binoculars and use them as much as you can. The vegetation is all fresh and by now concealing a good amount of bird movements. There have been numerous times that I used binoculars to spot birds
so I could then sneak within range to intercept them, turkeys that I would not likely have seen with my bare eyes. Sitting and glassing pays off, more often than not.
THE SILENT TYPE Be prepared for the silent bird that makes absolutely no sound at all as he approaches. This has happened to me a lot, especially during the month of May. Most of these birds I harvest along trails that lead to and from roost sites. Other good places to find them are along trails with small streams that harbor amphibian life
PACK FOR LATE SPRING
Remember your insect repellent since mosquitoes, biting flies and ticks are terrible this time of spring. Also, make sure to protect yourself and watch for poison oak. Be careful handling all of your equipment and clothing following each hunt. Wash with solutions that are recommended for removing the oils produced by poison oak. And be prepared to encounter coyotes, mountain lions and bears, as they are also on the prowl for fresh turkey meat. –TR
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and insects. A good portion of winter runoff and snow melt have dried up, so the turkeys will also seek shade in these locations, especially during days that push the mercury into the 80s. With most hens on the nest or already tending poults, gobblers will be wandering most of the day, feeding and looking for other birds. Late-season toms will take their time moving, and by this I really do mean “take their time.” They really are in no hurry for anything except being turkeys, eating and doing turkey things. As a hunter, you are very much on their time and usually waiting on them. But one of the most rewarding turkeys that you harvest will be a late-season bird for many reasons, many of which I have already mentioned. This is definitely one of my favorite times of spring to chase these magnificent birds. Make sure to give it a good honest try and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. NS
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COLUMN
Ruger Blackhawk in .41 Magnum is one of author Dave Workman’s favorite sixguns, and it’s not a burden when going into remote summer fishing holes where the nearest company might have teeth and a bad temper! (DAVE WORKMAN)
Sidearms For Hikes, Fishing M ay is as good a time as any to start thinking about firearms to take along on ON TARGET camping and fishing By Dave Workman excursions. One never knows when a gun will come in handy, and it’s better to have one and not need it, than to need one and not have it. Personally, I never head off the pavement without at least a good sidearm
of ample caliber to stop a predator. For those who balk at that sort of preparation, I’ll simply remind them about S.J. Brooks. He was the unfortunate fellow who was attacked and killed while riding a bicycle along a gravel road in King County north of North Bend and Mount Si in 2018. The animal responsible was a healthy specimen, subsequently killed by wildlife agents, but that didn’t bring back the victim. I remember at the time KOMO News in Seattle accurately reported that cougarhuman encounters are rare, but it only
takes one to ruin your day. Black bear encounters might occur more often, and this time of year you’re more likely to run across a sow and cub(s) – it’s happened to me once or twice over the years and, fortunately, momma wasn’t in a mood to tangle, but that doesn’t mean someone else’s luck will be as good as mine has been. When I’m fishing (I plan to do a fair amount of fly fishing as time allows this summer) I’ll either be carrying a Ruger Blackhawk in .41 Magnum stoked with
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COLUMN handloads pushing a 210-grain Nosler JHP propelled by 20.0 grains of H110. Either that or a long-barreled Ruger New Vaquero in .45 Colt, loaded up with 250-grain roundnose/flat-point pills launched by 6.9 grains of HP38, a load I’ve used for years and found to be consistently accurate, with recoil well into the manageable range. Later in the summer, it’s reasonable to also have a good sidearm along if you’re berry picking, primarily because a high country huckleberry field is frequently a place you might run into a bear. I’d much rather fire a shot or two in the air than have to get serious with an animal, and I have no argument with those who opt to carry bear spray. The .357 Magnum is also a good choice for outdoors use. I’ve often carried a Model 19 Smith & Wesson double-action revolver in the woods, especially on the trail, loaded with 158-grain JHP bullets pushed along also by H110 (use a magnum primer). This load performs well out of my gun’s 2.5inch barrel, so I have no reason to change. Get a decent holster, a carrier for spare cartridges or a full cartridge belt, and you’re in business. Incidentally, if you don’t already have your 2022-23 Washington hunting (and fishing) license, you need to get that taken care of. One never knows when a
A .45 Colt revolver (this one is a Ruger New Vaquero with 7.5-inch barrel) can be a potent deterrent to unwanted company in the backcountry. (DAVE WORKMAN)
coyote might come snooping around your wilderness camp and to plug those pesky predators, a license is required.
GOBBLER SEASON CONTINUES
The .357 Magnum is another good choice for travel well away from the pavement, and Workman has carried this one for many years on the trail. (DAVE WORKMAN) 156 Northwest Sportsman
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Speaking of hunting, spring turkey season continues through the end of this month and for those who still haven’t notched a tag, you just might pay some attention to Page 4 of Washington’s regulations pamphlet. There you will find a little chart showing the percentage of harvest during the 2020 season and which management units those numbers came from. By no small surprise, 68 percent of that spring’s statewide take came from Northeast Washington, a combination of Merriam’s and Rio Grande turkeys. Having been up in that country during the fall months, driving by some rural farm areas and finding what looked like
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COLUMN regiments of turkeys, it’s a cinch the birds took hold very well over the years. Also by no surprise, in Klickitat County another 10 percent of longbeards were conked (Merriam’s), and down in the Southeast counties, 10 percent more of the spring harvest was produced (Rios). Disappointingly, only 9 percent (Merriam’s) were taken from the North Central region, including Okanogan, Chelan and Douglas Counties. The season continues through May 31, and temperatures will certainly be climbing the final couple of weeks of the season.
WYOMING FISH & GAME Having hunted a couple of times in Wyoming – bringing home a monster mule deer buck on one of those occasions on a hunt with Outdoor Life’s Jim Carmichel some years back – I occasionally get some interesting mail from the state Game and Fish Department. According to the latest report from that agency, they’ve got a program called
“Access Yes,” which last year opened up more than 2.6 million acres of land for hunting. That is a lot of hunting country by anyone’s standards. Here’s how they do it: “Revenue for Access Yes comes from the sale of lifetime and annual conservation stamps, courtimposed restitution fees from individuals convicted of wildlife violations and Access Yes account interest. The program also benefits from donations from organizations and individual hunters and anglers, with 51 percent of all donations from residents. Combined, these sources generated $1.02 million for the program last year.” The part about fines made me grin a bit because that seems like Western justice to me; game law violators helping pay for access for honest outdoorsmen and women. According to Wyoming Game & Fish, there are currently 343 walk-in hunting areas and 60 hunter management areas throughout the state. If you’re thinking about an out-ofstate hunt sometime year after next, better start planning right now. NS
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MAY 2022 | nwsportsmanmag.com
Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, will be greeting members in Houston in late May at the annual meetings and exhibits, the first since 2019 due to Covid cancellations the last two years. (NRA)
NRA Meetings, Exhibits Back
T
he National Rifle Association will gather for its 2022 annual members’ meeting and exhibits May 27-29 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. This is the 151st annual meeting, and it is scheduled on Memorial Day Weekend, so it might be something of a “mixed blessing,” with a smaller-than-record crowd and an extra day to travel home. Established in 1871 by former Union Army officers concerned about the mediocre marksmanship of their soldiers during the Civil War, the NRA has become the leader in firearm safety. The organization has fielded thousands of volunteer firearms instructors over the years, training millions of honest citizens in the proper, responsible use of firearms for hunting, competition and personal protection. Whenever some newspaper reports about “gun safety” organizations supporting gun restrictions, they’re really using “camo-speak” to disguise the gun prohibition lobbying groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety and the Seattlebased Alliance for Gun Responsibility. –DW
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COLUMN
So You Want To Try Bowhunting, Eh? O
nce you have reviewed the hunting regulations and made a decision to participate in the BECOMING archery season, how A HUNTER By Dave Anderson do you get started? What does it take to get into archery? In my opinion, archery hunting is probably the most fun but also most frustrating discipline in big game hunting. As a young boy, I grew up with a grandfather who had a strong passion for shooting archery. My youth was spent learning a lot about archery from him. He would blow up balloons and place them on straw bales so I could shoot them with my recurve. I was very fortunate to have someone take the time to teach me the basic fundamentals of archery. Starting at such a young age, I learned very quickly about the responsibility and safety aspects surrounding the sport of archery, as well as shooting in general. Disclaimer: I am not an expert archer, but this article will detail what I believe it takes to really get into bowhunting. Depending on the state you are hunting in, you may need to take a bowhunter education course prior to hunting. The requirements for obtaining an archery permit will be detailed in the state’s regulation pamphlet or can be found online through the state’s fish and game website. For instance, in Idaho, if you are a firsttime bowhunter, you need to show proof of a completed bowhunter education course in order to buy an archery-only permit. In addition, if you were born after December 31, 1974, you will also need to show proof of a completed hunter education course. These courses are necessary, in
Author Dave Anderson – here with a trophy Central Washington bull elk – traces his interest in bowhunting back to a grandfather who taught him the basic fundamentals of archery. (DAVE ANDERSON)
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COLUMN
Where rifles and muzzleloaders allow hunters to harvest animals at greater distances, archery requires a closer approach, either stalking or sitting over game trails. And while today’s modern bows and arrows allow for longer shots at game, Anderson says he won’t take any of more than 50 yards, with all of his kills coming between 10 and 45 yards. (CHAD ZOLLER) my opinion, to partake in hunting safely and ethically, especially for individuals who are just getting into the sport. These classes will teach you a lot. There is a lot of misinformation and different opinions that can be found online, so taking a professional course will provide you with all the necessary tools, especially from a safety standpoint.
THE BOWS THAT are available on the market today can shoot far with ease and be very accurate, but it still takes a lot of time and practice in order to be confident and precise. I personally would never take a shot over 50 yards with my bow. All the elk and deer I have ever harvested with my bow have been taken within 45 yards, and some as close as 10 yards. 162 Northwest Sportsman
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The reason why I choose not to shoot beyond that range is that there are a lot of things that can go wrong during a shot, regardless of how confident I may be. For example, an animal can jump the string and spin. I have witnessed a shot that looked textbook-perfect change in a matter of milliseconds. In addition, I also shoot a 70-pound bow with heavy arrows that carry a lot of kinetic energy down range. Not everyone can shoot that poundage, nor do they have to. Each state has its own requirements in regards to minimum poundage and grain of arrows. It all boils down to having respect for the animals you are hunting and doing the best job you can to quickly end its life without having the animal suffer. To get started, I would recommend
researching and visiting local archery shops. For the most part, there will be an archery pro who can help you put together a bow package and get you set up for hunting. I prefer to go in and get a feel for the shop. Talk to the archery pro and make sure it is someone who is easy to talk to, exhibits patience, and is someone who will spend time with you and really get you what you need. In addition, some archery shops also provide lessons, which is highly recommended when just starting out so you can develop good habits that will set you up for success.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, you will need to pick out a bow. And just like everything else in life, you get what you pay for. There are a ton of manufacturers out there, including Hoyt,
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After acquiring the right gear, the most important thing is to practice, practice and practice some more, a step that should definitely not begin the month before season. One good option is shooting on a 3D course, like the one Eastern Oregon’s Elkhorn Archers annually hold in the Anthony Lakes area. (BAKER COUNTY TOURISM) Matthews, Bowtech, Prime, PSE and several others. These companies all make great bows, and they make them for all different types of applications as well. These could be short axle to axle bows for hunting from tree stands or blinds, or longer axle to axle bows, which I prefer since I am taller and typically hunt from the ground, spot-andstalking or calling in elk. These companies also have competition bows. My one piece of advice would be to make sure and shoot a few different bows to see which ones feel best for you. Not only try shooting, but also letting down a bow with a nocked arrow to see how it feels coming down. There are some bows that let down easy, while others make it feel like your arm will come out of its socket. The archery shop will definitely be able to get you into the right bow. You will need to add a rest to your bow to get it ready for hunting, and these also come in a lot of different options. There are drop-away arrow rests (my preference), containment rests and shoot-through rests. Again, try different ones and pick what works best for you. I have used a Trophy Taker drop-away rest for years with 164 Northwest Sportsman
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a lot of success. They work amazing and have not let me down. I also have used and had success with Hamskea rests. The next piece of equipment to add to your bow would be a sight. You probably are noticing a trend in that there are also a lot of different options when it comes to sights. You have fixed-pin sights, moveable pin sights, and some even have three pins in the mover. The brands are endless, but this is one piece of your bow setup that I would definitely not scrimp on. I have shot Montana Black Gold for years with plenty of success, but there are a ton of other great options out there as well. The archery shop will also install a peep sight in your string to line up with your sight to shoot. The peep sights come in different sizes and styles as well.
YOU WILL NEED a quiver to hold your arrows on your bow and protect your broadheads while out in the field. Quivers come in single- or two-piece units. Both styles work great; it all comes down to personal preference. I have been using the Tight Spot arrow quivers for several years and love them.
They are nice because, depending on where you are hunting, you have the option to remove the quiver from your bow and set it next to a tree. This can be handy if you are sitting on a water hole or a wallow. Once you have a quiver, you need arrows. I could talk arrow types for days, but in general, you will need to choose one with the correct spine for the poundage of bow you are shooting. There are a ton of different arrow brands and your archery shop should be able to set you up with a good set. You will also want to purchase field tips to use when practicing and broadheads for hunting season. This is another subject I could write an entire article on. There are fixed and mechanical broadheads. Some broadheads are good and some are bad. There are also a plethora of different opinions out there in regards to broadheads, so take your time to research and talk to your archery pro or other professionals in the field. I only shoot fixedblade broadheads and have had great success through the years on both deer and elk with Trophy Taker Shuttle T-locks. Lastly, if you are shooting a compound
COLUMN Becoming a bowhunter opens a world well beyond big game – Carl Lewallen arrowed this fall turkey a few seasons back. (COAST HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST)
bow, you will need to have a release to shoot your bow. There are so many options and your archery shop will help you select the right one for you. I prefer a wrist-strap-type release myself, but I am also a creature of habit and haven’t tried anything else since this type of release has always worked well for me.
MY FINAL THOUGHT is also my biggest piece of advice for anyone looking to jump into archery hunting: Do not go out and buy a bow in August, shoot it a week or two and then run into the woods and expect to be successful. Archery takes a lot of patience, practice and persistence. You could get lucky and it works out; however, in all honesty, in order to be successful in the sport of archery, you should practice daily. In addition to shooting daily, try and get out to a 3D range or take lessons to help you perfect your shot so you can be successful in the field. Practicing is the key to success to help you keep it together when in the field and executing the best shot possible. NS
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Every spring and summer, author Scott Haugen hunts California ground squirrels with his dogs, which create numerous training situations. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
Spring Training Should Include Hunting Too I
break down my spring dog training sessions into four categories: fixing what needs fixing; staying in shape; having fun; and hunting. Yes, hunting. GUN DOGGIN’ 101 First and foremost By Scott Haugen comes fixing what flaws I saw last hunting season. For me, it
was cutting down on the aggressiveness of Echo, my female dog, when hunting with other dogs. To do this, I’m training with bird skins and wings, disciplining her to focus on pleasing me and not getting too wrapped up in the bird. Next, I’m training her alongside my male dog, Kona, that she was most competitive with on retrieves last season, even to the point of taking birds out of Kona’s mouth as
he brought them in. It’s taking time and discipline, but it’s working and we’ll be ready for next season.
MY SECOND SPRING training goal is to keep my dogs in shape. One of the biggest mistakes hunters make in the off-season is letting their dogs get lazy and out of shape. Nothing cuts a dog’s life shorter than being overweight. My vet once told me that by nwsportsmanmag.com | MAY 2022
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COLUMN taking off Echo’s extra 11/2 pounds one summer, I added a year to her life; that’s how critical a good diet and exercise are to a dog. To keep my dogs in shape, I run them twice a day, going on hikes at least three times a week. My dogs are pudelpointers and have slender back ends, so I keep those muscles in shape by running them up hills and in rough terrain, where they have to push with their back legs. Do intense training in the morning and evening when it’s cool, so dogs don’t overheat. As water temperatures warm up, swimming is a great way to keep dogs in shape. Running them alongside you on a mountain bike is another good option, because simply jogging with your dog won’t get them in shape as it’s too slow for them. Third, have fun with your dog. Having fun both inside and outside provides great
Running your dog in rugged terrain keeps them strong, in good shape and toughens their feet. (SCOTT HAUGEN) 170 Northwest Sportsman
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mental stimulation for your dog. Be sure and change things up because you don’t want your dog to get bored. Take them to different fields to play, as well as different places in the yard and even in the house on those rainy days. Having fun with your dog still requires communication, which helps to continuously build the bonds between you and your dog while allowing you to instill discipline and other important training rules.
FINALLY, GO HUNTING with them. A dog’s level of intensity instantly escalates once you break that gun out, even in the spring and summer. Go on a hunt for varmints or invasive birds and your dog will be forever grateful, not to mention put into a great training scenario. My dogs love hunting California ground squirrels and it’s great restraint for
COLUMN them being by my side as I cover ground, making them hold when I shoot, then directing them on retrieves. Marking an approaching duck or flushing quail is easy, but not often do dogs see ground squirrels before you shoot, meaning control and communication are important to achieve a successful retrieve. One summer I was at a dog trainer’s house when he pointed at a giant cherry tree. “That right there is my most valuable training tool. I’ll sit here all day long picking off starlings that come in for the cherries. Dogs of all ages benefit from training while hunting,” he said. Eurasian collared doves are another invasive species that can be hunted year-round in most states. A couple buddies shot 450 of these doves one afternoon in a cattle feed lot, and said they didn’t begin to scratch the surface. Eurasian doves are larger than mourning doves and easy for dogs to mark, and they’re great eating. Rock doves are another invasive species that can occur in large numbers. Rock doves decoy well, making them ideal off-season targets for duck hunters and their dogs. This spring and summer, make every effort to regularly get your dog in the field. Each time you’re out with them is an opportunity to communicate and train. And the more exercise and hunting they can get, the better hunting dogs they’ll be. NS
Eurasian doves are an invasive species that can be hunted year-round in most states, making them ideal birds for off-season training. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
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Editor’s note: Scott Haugen is a full-time writer. See his puppy training videos and learn more about his many books at scotthaugen.com and follow him on Instagram and Facebook.
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