Andy “Silly amount of stuff for the win!” Walgamott
THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS
Dave Anderson, Jason Brooks, Scott Haugen, Jeff Holmes, MD Johnson, Randy King, Sara Potter, Buzz Ramsey, Bob Rees, Dave Workman, Mark Yuasa
GENERAL MANAGER
John Rusnak
SALES MANAGER
Paul Yarnold
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES
Janene Mukai, Tom St. Clair
DESIGNERS
Gabrielle Pangilinan, Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Emily Baker
OFFICE MANAGER/COPY EDITOR
Katie Aumann
INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER
Lois Sanborn
WEBMASTER/DIGITAL STRATEGIST
Jon Hines
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@nwsportsmanmag.com
CORRESPONDENCE
Email letters, articles/queries, photos, etc., to awalgamott@media-inc.com, or to the mailing address below.
ON THE COVER
Al Brooks shows off a pair of sockeye caught in Northcentral Washington, where fishing should be pretty good for the tasty species this summer, whether at the Brewster Pool, Lake Wenatchee or Baker Lake. All three waters are featured in this issue. (JASON BROOKS)
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ALSO INSIDE
49 OREGON COASTAL OPS SHINE IN JULY
In his new monthly feature, Bob Rees of The Guide’s Forecast takes a look at the Beaver State’s best July fishing opportunities and likes what he sees along the coast – both offshore and inshore.
77 BREWSTER POOL SET TO EXPLODE
With a potentially very large run of sockeye heading to the Upper Columbia reservoir at the mouth of the Okanogan River, Jeff Holmes details what to expect and how to fish these waters.
86 WASHINGTON SALMON SEASON PLANNER, PART II
Mark Yuasa wraps up his two-part series on the Evergreen State’s 2024-25 Chinook, coho, sockeye and chum seasons with a look at the best fisheries to hit between this September and next April!
101 FLY FISHING 101 FOR SUMMER STREAMS
There are few pursuits finer than wading a stream in summer and casting a fly for trout. Opportunities to do just that abound in Washington, Oregon and Idaho this time of year, and it’s far easier to get into fly fishing than you might imagine. We share how.
131 THE ULTIMATE PACIFIC NORTHWEST PANFISH TACKLE BOX
Leave it to an Ohio transplant to put together a list of gear for catching abundant and ubiquitous crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseeds and other tasty panfish in the Northwest! MD Johnson details the best lines, swivels, hooks, weights, bobbers, jigs, spinners, spoons, tools and more to make sure are in your tackle box.
52 PUGET SOUND KING SEASON SIMPLIFIED
With the mark-selective summer Chinook fishery opening from the San Juans to the Tacoma Narrows all on the same days this month, it pays to have a plan for where and how to fish. Jason Brooks shares how to work Marine Areas 7, 9, 10 and 11 – as well as alternatives elsewhere in the inland sea with longer seasons.
(JASON BROOKS)
BUZZ RAMSEY Chase Salmon On The Ocean 59
True, Buzz is a river fishing expert, but one of his earliest angling memories is of being a young boy bobbing in the salt off of Depoe Bay fighting coho. Fast forward several decades, and Buzz details what he and four other sharpies, including buddy Francis Estalilla, have learned about catching kings and silvers out on the briny blue!
COLUMNS
70 NORTHWEST PURSUITS July Is All About Sockeye!
Jason takes us deep into the hills to catch sockeye, they of the deep-red flesh and delicious dinners. With Baker Lake opening early this month and Lake Wenatchee likely to get cranking afterwards, he shares how to load up on filets this season!
116 FOR THE LOVE OF THE TUG Disconnecting To Reconnect
It’s camping season across the Northwest, time to get the hell away from it all! Sara and family have a special boat-in campsite in Oregon’s Cascades they like to retreat to, but it takes a lot of work to pull it off. She offers up how she preps for the trips, and all the fun they then have in the woods.
123 CHEF IN THE WILD In Search Of Something Rarer Than Bigfoot: Grayling
A magical hunting trip to Arctic Alaska led to Randy catching a grayling, a feat almost impossible to replicate in the Northwest. Almost. Lace up your boots for a trek to catch these sail-finned wonders – and stick around for our chef’s fish curry recipe.
147 BECOMING A HUNTER Suppress Yourself!
Protecting the hearing of their two young sons was one reason Dave A. installed suppressors on he and his wife’s big game rifles, but not the only one. Find out why he considers hunting and shooting suppressed to be “one of the best decisions I have made in the last 20 years.”
155 ON TARGET Guns, Gear Debut at NRA ‘Reform’ Meetings
While January always sees a lot of new guns and gear rolled out at SHOT Show, more than a few products debut at May’s National Rifle Association meetings. Dave W. details new lever- and bolt-actions and reports on the election of new NRA brass, as well as has reminders about summer scouting and some thoughts on wolves.
163 GUN DOG The Gun Dog Deskunking Sagas
When you have a hunting partner that can’t stand skunks as much as Scott’s pudelpointer Kona does, you have to have a deodorizing plan at the ready. Nothing’s perfect for getting rid of that pungent spray, but Scott shares what works best-ish.
(BUZZ RAMSEY)
(ANDY WALGAMOTT)
THE EDITOR’S NOTE
It was exactly a year ago I moaned and groaned to you in this space about not being able to catch Willamette River spring Chinook and having to switch over to shad to at least hook something, anything. Yes, I was looking for some cheese with my whine! But fast forward to 2024 and the situation is inexplicably reversed.
Admittedly, I’m still relatively new to this whole Willamette fishing thing since our move south from the Seattle area in 2022, but it’s been interesting this season. As any number of fellow Willy springer anglers will attest, April and May were tough months. Between notgreat fishing, low counts at the falls and the need for at least 23,000 fish to make hatchery broodstock goals, it’s no wonder some were calling for restrictions on the popular fishery.
After more than a few skunkings, I gave up on Sellwood, OC, HOC and all that, and began fishing for shad. Nothing but snagups ensued in the same spot and with the same flows and same weights that worked last year, so I quit shad and went back to kings – just in time too. We may not be out of the woods with the run yet, but a late push by an apparently increasingly later-timed return surely had managers breathing easier and anglers making hay while the sun shined, including yours truly.
BECAUSE I PREFER to do things the hard way, I lost two of the first four springers that bit for me (the other two were drivebys). When an undersized leader swivel opened up on a fifth fish, I declared it time to switch from off-the-rack wire spinners to rigging up my own soft 3.5 spinners with beadchains. (Also: barbs.) That led to a flurry of tying, tackle store visits, retying, more shopping and just a wee bit of re-retying – not to mention three straight keepers.
Who’s the man now?!
Ahem, with my ego about to get wildly out of control, I went out with a pair of real Willamette sharpies one afternoon last month and, to make a long story very short, was humbled about my newfound ability to scrape at least a bite out of every other outing (or two).
But as I write these words, I’m prepping to get back on the water this evening. I’ve got some re-re-retied spinner rigs I want to give a go before calling it a season, there’s a little bit of space left in our new freezer, and soon it’ll be time to gear up for summer and fall salmon. See you on the water. –Andy Walgamott
Along with beginning to get an inkling about how to occasionally hook a Willamette spring Chinook, the editor “discovered” salmon collars this season – de-freakin’-licious! (ANDY WALGAMOTT)
OREGON
CULVER
Culver Marine (541) 546-3354 www.culvermarine.com
FLORENCE Y Marina (541) 590-3313 www.ymarinaboats.com
PORTLAND Sportcraft Marina, Inc. (503) 656-6484 www.sportcraftmarina.com
WASHINGTON
CHINOOK
Chinook Marine Repair, Inc. (800) 457-9459 (360) 777-8361 www.chinookmarinerepair.com
MOUNT VERNON
Tom-n-Jerry’s Boat Center, Inc. (360) 466-9955 www.tomnjerrys.net
TACOMA
Tacoma Boat Sales & Service
(253) 301-4013 www.tacomaboatsales.com
ODFW Proposes To Increase Hunting, Fishing License Fees
Agency’s budget request, which was approved by the Fish and Wildlife Commission last month, must still be OKed by state legislators next year; also includes $8 million in program cuts.
By Andy Walgamott
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wants to increase the cost of nearly all fishing and hunting licenses as well as create a new ocean angling endorsement as part of a budget request to state lawmakers that includes $8 million in cuts to some programs.
Agency officials say they’ve been notified by the Governor’s Office that it’s unlikely they will see more than a 1 percent increase in new General Fund allocations in the 2025-27 budget. So with license sales – equal to one-third of and dubbed the “working capital” of ODFW’s budget –flat since the Covid bump and unlikely to keep up with expenditures by the end of the coming biennium, the “tremendous” inflation seen in recent years, increasing governmental service charges and other costs they can’t control, they’re asking for
another series of staggered fee increases as part of a broader “portfolio approach” to steadying future finances.
“The last time we did a fee bill was in 2015 and the last time we adjusted fees was in 2020, so we have remained fiscally sensitive. We’ve looked at controlling costs to maintain programs. Within that, we’ve built a healthy ending balance, but … with license revenue relatively trending flat, we’re now considering requesting a fee adjustment,” Shannon Hurn, ODFW deputy administration director, told a budgetary advisory committee in a May presentation recorded on the agency’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/@MyODFW).
ODFW is also looking to further diversify funding sources – in addition to the state General Fund, it receives money from lottery sales, federal disbursals and contracts – to lighten the burden of filling the shortfall on the backs of sportsmen, as well as refocusing
some programs.
Before you light your hair on fire and vow to boycott ODFW (again), this is all still in the early stages. Here’s where we are:
1. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission just formally approved ODFW’s request at its June 14 meeting – while expressing concerns about elements of it;
2. Governor Tina Kotek would need to include it in her budget proposal for the 2025 legislative session;
3. Any fee increase must pass both chambers of the legislature, which has the “final authority to adopt” ODFW’s budget.
4. If approved as is, it would go into effect starting with the 2026 license year.
IT’S A TOUGH sell to many price- and issuesensitive Oregon sportsmen, especially ocean anglers who are being asked to not only pay more for licenses and harvest tags, but buy a whole new endorsement on top
A boat trolling for spring Chinook on the lower Willamette River earlier this season is dwarfed by a bulk carrier being loaded below Portland’s St. Johns Bridge. Oregon fishing licenses, combined angling tags, hatchery harvest tags and two-rod endorsements, among other license products, are proposed to increase incrementally every two years through 2030. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)
and Wildlife is proposing a new “Saltwater Fishing Endorsement” for anglers fishing on the Pacific Ocean to boost monitoring of
of that. This hasn’t been the best year for one of the state’s marquee fisheries, Willamette springers (at least not to start off, anyway), and there is concern about declining mule deer herds and predator management and what’s being done about all that. ODFW’s proposed $8 million program cuts may have been meant as a show of being fiscally responsible, but between it and the fee increase, some read it as being asked to pay more for less. Cuts would include closing two hatcheries, which didn’t set well with commissioners, who asked that a memo be included in the budget request to the governor about that and other concerns they heard from the public.
But a fee hike might have been an even steeper mountain for ODFW to climb if the commission in May had picked the other candidate as the new director and the agency had gone along in late May with Washington on followup Lower Columbia nontribal commercial tangle-net fisheries targeting hatchery Chinook.
If the increase and the rest of ODFW’s current budget proposals are not approved, the agency warned of a “significant negative
impact” and said it would have to slash license- and non-federally funded programs to balance its books. Which programs?
“It is expected that hatchery production, research and monitoring, fish and wildlife enforcement, and field staff, among others, would be reduced,” a budget outline states.
Part of the reason hatcheries always seem to be first on the chopping block in these situations is just how much money they require – $73.5 million of ODFW’s $555.4 million 2023-25 budget. They produce 70 to 90 percent of Oregon’s salmon, steelhead and trout harvests and help bring in “hundreds of millions of dollars to our state’s economy every year,” per a high-ranking official. But the price to operate the hatcheries and pay for fish food has increased 20 percent every two years recently, according to the agency.
For Fish Division, status quo would mean as much as a $10 million shortfall by the end of 2025-27 and $21 million by 2027-29.
THE FEE INCREASES would largely shelter youth licenses or only increase them nominally so as to limit the financial barriers
to entry into Oregon’s fishing and hunting world. But as currently proposed, those for adults would jump notably.
“For angling products, costs are increased between 14 and 50 percent in 2026, followed by a 6 (and) 6 percent increase in 2028 and 2030,” an ODFW summary stated.
For instance, the Sports Pac bundle –which includes fishing, hunting and shellfish licenses, the combined angling tag required to fish for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and halibut, and various big game and bird tags or validations – would rise from $196.50 this year and 2025 to $253 in 2026, $283 in 2028 and $311 in 2030.
A resident angler license would go from $44 to $50, $53 and $56 over those same years. A combined angling tag would jump from $46 to $69, $73 and $77. Hatchery harvest tags would increase from $33 to $43, $46 and $49.
Two-rod endorsements would cost $10 more by 2030, going from $28 to $34, $36 and then $38, while shellfish licenses would rise from $10 to $13, $14 and $15.
The highest percentage increases are being proposed for fisheries requiring more staffing – ODFW points to Rogue/South Coast winter steelhead. Validations for that would double between 2024 and 2030, rising from $2 for residents to $4, while wild steelhead harvest cards would more than double, rising from $10 to $22 for residents. Until management there was split off in late 2022 as a result of an overarching regional fish management plan, both elements were just part of the regular license and tag.
The agency is also proposing a new “Saltwater Fishing Endorsement,” which “would be required for fishing in the ocean” and “help fund nearshore fisheries conservation” for important species like black rockfish. It would cost a flat $7 annually through the end of this decade.
“Sport license dollars are only about 7 percent of the Marine Program budget compared to 36 percent commercial contribution, and an endorsement would help us fulfill the need for fisheryindependent data to support some of those ocean sport fisheries,” argued Mike Harrington, ODFW Fish Division administrator, in that May YouTube video. He pointedly noted that there is a
A sportfishing boat enters Depoe Bay on the Oregon Coast over Memorial Day Weekend. The state Department of Fish
key stocks like black rockfish. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)
concurrent proposal to increase commercial fishermen’s fees too.
Spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy said the proposed ocean endorsement would cover all species including salmon and halibut in the Pacific, but would not be required for shellfish or to fish in the bays and rivers flowing into the Pacific.
As for the $9.75 Columbia River Basin Endorsement to fish for salmon, steelhead and sturgeon in that watershed, it is actually set through a different legislative process than ODFW’s budget. Dennehy said it is currently scheduled to sunset in 2026, but the agency does want to extend it. The CRBE not only pays for hatchery production in offchannel bays at the mouth of the big river for the commercial fleet (sport anglers catch about 30 percent of those fish), but creel surveying in the Columbia Gorge pools, which has “greatly expanded fisheries” there, according to a budget staffer.
HUNTING LICENSING COSTS would increase 12 percent in 2026 and 8 percent in both 2028 and 2030, under the proposal.
An annual license would rise from $34.50 to $39 in 2026, $42 in 2028 and $45 in 2030, with deer tags going from $28.50 to $32, $35 and $38 and controlled hunt applications increasing from $8 to $10, $11 and $12.
“Additional hunting license revenue would support chronic wasting disease research and response,” ODFW stated. CWD has been found in deer and elk on the Idaho side of Hells Canyon, leading to the need for increased monitoring of hunter harvests and more there and across Oregon. The price hike would replace lost General Fund support for that and provide for the hiring of one full-time and eight seasonal specialists, according to officials.
Hunting fees are used to monitor big game herds, support access programs and provide enforcement, critter management and customer service, among other items.
Nonresident hunting, fishing and shellfishing licenses also would be increased, as would temporary licenses.
For comparison’s sake, in 2014, back on the eve of the last series of price hikes,
A young blacktail hunting apprentice helps his dad look for bucks last season. ODFW’s fee package would keep the base youth combination license at $10 through 2030, while increases to other options such as the youth Sports Pac are minimal relative to proposed hikes for adults.
an annual Oregon angling license was $33, youth license $9, Sports Pac $164.75, combined angling tag $26.50, hatchery harvest tag $16.50, two-rod stamp $17, shellfish license $7, hunting license $29.50, deer tag $24.50 and controlled application $8. Of course, that year gas also averaged just $2.69 a gallon in Oregon and the median home price in Portland was only $285,500. Since then, the cost of everything has gone up, and inflation of late hasn’t helped either.
ODFW estimates that its recreational fee increase proposal would generate $17 million in 2025-27.
AT THAT JUNE Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting, the only outright opposition to the license increases came from commercial fishermen. Trawler fleet representatives asked that their various fees not be increased due to a slate of industry woes.
On the hunting side, Mike Totey of the Oregon Hunters Association said his organization by and large supported the increases, but wanted bruin and mountain lion tags to be kept at $16.50 instead of rise to $21 by 2030 so as to not dissuade hunters from purchasing them. He also highlighted the disproportionately of a $30 turkey tag compared to a $38 deer tag by the end of the decade.
While Bruce Polley of the Coastal Conservation Association of Oregon expressed concerns about pushing away anglers of modest means and said that ODFW needs to do more to advocate getting Oregon salmon and steelhead back to Oregon streams, he added that his
organization looked forward to working with the commission and agency so they had the needed resources to conserve fish and provide angling opportunities.
Afterwards, a source of mine likened the situation to a negotiation with ODFW: What are sportsmen going to get out of this in exchange for more money?
CUTS ARE PLANNED to help balance the 2025-27 budget request.
“In conjunction with fee adjustments, Fish Division and Administrative Divisions and the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division will implement $8,000,000 in reductions to ensure the continued financial sustainability of the Department,” ODFW reported.
Elements of that that have drawn pushback include decreasing staffing in the marine mammal program by .75 full-time equivalent. That’s due to “reduced workload given success of management at Willamette Falls,” where three more California sea lions were removed earlier this year and returns of winter steelhead – once on the brink of at least one run going extinct due to pinniped predation – hit a 20-year high, likely due to removals and good ocean conditions.
ODFW also proposes to close Rock Creek and Salmon River Hatcheries (4 FTEs), which drew sharp scrutiny from the commission. A couple years ago, they narrowly voted to shut down summer steelhead production at wildfire-scarred Rock Creek, leading to a firestorm of its own and a lawsuit, but now they appeared to defend it. Commissioner Mark Labhart of Sisters drew attention
(ANDY WALGAMOTT)
to a letter from the Coquille Tribe about ODFW’s potential unilateral closure before the completion of a legislatively mandated hatchery assessment. And a question from Vice Chair Becky Hatfield-Hyde of Paisley revealed that ODFW is set to receive a $17 million insurance settlement for rebuilding at Rock Creek or another location, depending on how details are read.
Closing Rock Creek would “reduce or eliminate” hatchery spring Chinook, steelhead and trout fisheries in the Umpqua, according to ODFW. Shutting down Salmon River would affect a fall Chinook run used as an indicator stock in an international treaty governing salmon harvest. Fish Division’s Harrington told the commission that with so much of ODFW’s budget going to hatcheries, it’s essentially “almost impossible” not to look at cuts to them during a financial crunch. He explained that with Rock Creek having burned down in 2020’s Archie Creek Fire and both it and Salmon River having water sourcing issues, as well as a deferred maintenance backlog at the latter, fixing them would require substantial investments, so it made sense to consider closing them for the time being.
Overall, officials said that the belttightening and fee increases all point to the “long-term need to diversify and stabilize funding for the agency.” As fish and wildlife management becomes more complex, sportsmen “cannot continue to fund the majority of this work – it is simply not sustainable,” ODFW said, and it will only increase barriers to outdoor recreation. They said that they “will be aggressively pursuing with the Governor’s Office, legislators, and partners additional dedicated funding to sustain fish, wildlife, and their habitats for all Oregonians.” At that June commission meeting, new Director Debbie Colbert vowed to make finding new dollars her top priority. One idea that ODFW is exploring is akin to corporate sponsorships, and according to Harrington, there has been some interest already.
“I think we’d be crazy not to accept help right now,” he said.
THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE and Department of Administrative Services’ advice to ODFW to only plan for a 1 percent increase in new General Fund money is relative to the 2023-
25 budget and amounts to $709,150. The agency was advised to “self-fund” its priority new investments by cutting existing programs. While ODFW officials said they are not a fan of the approach, their budget proposal includes “services and supply fund shifts from Marine Reserves to address a critical gap in capacity for engaging on ocean energy siting and a fund shift from the Anti-Poaching program to ensure the efforts to transition the agency to a new website can continue.”
What limited top budget policy priorities ODFW is looking for General Fund help focus on continuing to resolve instream water rights and land use issues, and the Klamath Basin, where four downstream dams have been removed or are scheduled to come out, opening blocked spawning and rearing habitat for sea-going species. There, the agency is looking to build fish screening capacity and reintroduce spring Chinook from hatchery broodstocks. In a late shift ahead of the commission’s approval, funding for wildlife coexistence and wolf monitoring were included as other top priorities for General Fund dollars.
As an exercise, ODFW also looked at just reducing programs instead of raising license fees. But that approach “was rejected because of the significant negative impact on the department’s ability to meet its statutory responsibilities related to fish and wildlife management.”
Officials say the fee increase and cost reduction proposals were developed with input from the public earlier this year. Asked if the license hike should be implemented in 2026 or 2028, when the shortfall is greater and fee increase could be larger, most respondents said in two years, per ODFW.
Staffers also looked at sportsmen’s behavior after past license hikes.
“Declines in participation following those fee adjustments were estimated and then applied to identify pricing adjustments that could best minimize drop out and preserve license sale revenues,” documents stated.
This story is far from over and will have many touch points for Oregon hunters, anglers, shellfishers and others to provide input as ODFW better fleshes out its reasoning over the coming months leading to the governor’s budget release and 2025 legislative session. Stay tuned. NS
The razor clam lady of the Washington Coast serves as an inspiration to all Northwest shellfishers. She was spotted by Billy Meade during a late-season dig at Grayland, south of Westport, who told his wife, “She couldn’t walk very well, but could still dig her own clams,” according to Billy’s dad Bill Meade. Her clam gun and haul are safely stashed in the walker she uses to get around the beach, he added. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)
A two-day spring outing in Eastern Washington served up twice the harvest for Jeff Dwyer. Day 1: Bag this public-land gobbler with 7-yard shot and buddy Nate on the pot call. Day 2: Get shut down by the birds but fill a sack with morel mushrooms! (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)
For your shot at winning great fishing and hunting knives from Coast and Kershaw in our Knife Photo Contest, 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.
A certain Northeast Oregon lake kicked out some very nice kokanee for Rhonna Schnell and crew during a late-spring trip. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)
John Leppell shows off a beautiful rainbow caught on a Western Washington lake while out fishing with buddies. It was the big fish of the day, reported buddy Marvin Holder. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)
Chad Smith enjoyed good outings in the San Juan Islands for nice-sized lingcod closer to the top end of the slot limit than the bottom this past spring. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)
Mallory Blanke was pretty excited to catch this nice Henry Hagg Lake ’bow. It bit a purple hoochie trolled off a downrigger for the 9-yearold. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)
Lakelyn Wall showed the boys how it’s done at Mineral Lake near Mount Rainier. She caught her 6-pound rainbow on an ultralight setup rigged with PowerBait while fishing with her uncle Cory, grandpa Gary Junior and great grandpa Gary. Brother Gauge used a chunk of worm to trick a trout of his own too. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)
A rainy day near Seattle produced a sunny smile for Raedyn Holt, who caught her first-ever fish, this Lake Tapps rock bass. She was out with her dad David Holt. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)
‘Mountain Man’ Poacher Sentenced
ANorth Bend, Washington, man was fined $8,000 and must perform 80 hours of community service after being convicted on three counts related to poaching big game in the upper Snoqualmie Valley.
For some, last month’s sentence for Jason L. Smith, 29, was disappointing, as he had initially faced 32 charges ranging from felony first-degree unlawful hunting of big game to illegal baiting, wastage and retrieving kills from the property of another, gross misdemeanors and misdemeanors (see The Dishonor Roll, October 2023, for more).
The case had been referred by King County prosecutors to the state Attorney General Office’s Environmental Protection Division, which put out a press release about the charges last September but was mum on June’s plea deal.
In early 2021, Smith came to the attention of game wardens, who suspected he had taken several elk illegally. He bragged up his hunting skills on social media, including claiming to have taken a black bear “in the mountains,” where continued on page 46
IBy Andy Walgamott
JACKASS OF THE MONTH
f you’re going to try and pull off a quadruple-digit clam overharvest, make sure you don’t try it on a dead-end peninsula. That was the hard lesson one shellfish swine learned this spring.
According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police, a beachside tipster spotted two people dumping buckets and buckets of clams into a cooler and called them in. Upon arrival, Officer Jesse Ward contacted one of the two, who claimed to have permission to harvest on the tide flat but, to no surprise, no paperwork to do so at industrial levels.
Meanwhile, the tipster called Ward to say that the second shellfish scofflaw was now hunkered behind the staircase of a nearby house. As Ward went to talk to him, he “decided it was a good time to get some exercise in and began running away through the neighborhood,” WDFW Police reported on Facebook.
“Unfortunately for the suspect,” officers added, “he chose to run towards the dead end of the peninsula.” When Ward caught up to him, that resulted in the predictable I’m-justout-for-a-jog-and-totally-not-involved-in-a-massive-clam-overlimit-officer excuse.
According to WDFW, the duo had gathered 73 pounds’ worth of hard-shell clams, which equates to 2,000-plus clams, in Ward’s experience. That’s just a wee bit over the daily limit of 40 clams per person.
Only one had a shellfish license, garnering the other a citation. Both were also hit with overlimits and not using separate containers. Next, they should have a run-in with a judge.
CALENDAR OUTDOOR
JULY
1 Leftover big game tags go on sale in Oregon; Start of Oregon Youth First Time hunt application period; New Washington fishing regulations pamphlet takes effect; Washington Marine Areas 5, 6 (west of Ediz Hook No. 2 buoy) and 12 (south of Ayock Point) hatchery Chinook openers; Steelhead closures begin on Washington-side Columbia Gorge tributary mouths
1-31 Oregon Central Coast spring all-depth halibut backup dates (quota dependent)
13 ODFW Shotgun Skills Workshop (register, $25), Bend Trap Club – info above
14 Area 2 opens for daily salmon fishing
15 Steelhead closures begin on Oregon-side Columbia Gorge tributary mouths; Deadline to purchase Washington raffle hunt tickets
18 ODFW Intro To Hunting Workshop (register, $10), Tualatin Cabela’s– info above
18-20 Areas 7, 9, 10 and 11 hatchery Chinook retention dates
20 CAST For Kids fishing event on Prineville Reservoir – info: castforkids.org
28 CAST For Kids fishing event on Yaquina Bay – info above
AUGUST
1 Oregon and Washington fall bear openers; Columbia River from Buoy 10 to Highway 395 bridge in Pasco fall salmon opener (rules vary by location); Steelhead retention closes on the Columbia from Buoy 10 to The Dalles Dam 1-3 Oregon Central Coast summer all-depth halibut dates
15-17 Oregon Central Coast summer all-depth halibut dates
17 Oregon any legal weapon controlled pronghorn season begins in many units
29-31 Oregon Central Coast summer all-depth halibut dates
30 Idaho deer and elk bowhunting seasons open in many units
Aug. 30-Sept. 3 Buoy 10 any-Chinook retention dates
31 Oregon archery deer and elk seasons open in many units; CAST for Kids fishing event on Clear Lake (Cheney) – info above
SEPTEMBER
1 Washington bow deer opener; Eastern Washington fall turkey opener; Oregon ruffed and blue grouse and mourning dove openers; Fall turkey opener in Western Oregon and select Northeast Oregon units; Steelhead closures begin on mainstem Columbia from The Dalles Dam to Highway 395 bridge
5-11 Hatchery Chinook- and hatchery coho-only retention dates for Lower Columbia between west Puget Island and Warrior Rock
7 Washington bow elk opener; CAST for Kids fishing event on Lake Washington – info above
9 CAST For Kids event on Henry Hagg Lake – info above
12-15 Portland Fall RV & Van Show, Portland Expo Center – info: otshows.com
12-30 Salmon fishing closure dates on Lower Columbia between west Puget Island and Warrior Rock
15 CAST for Kids fishing event on Banks Lake – info above; Washington statewide forest grouse opener
15-25 High Buck Hunt dates in select Washington Cascades and Olympics wilderness areas, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
16-30 Salmon fishing closure dates on Lower Columbia between Warrior Rock and Washington-Oregon border east of McNary Dam
28 53rd Annual National Hunting & Fishing Day – info: nhfday.org; Washington early muzzleloader deer opener
30 Last scheduled day of 2024 Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Program season – info: pikeminnow.org
Oregon Coastal Ops Shine In July
Your monthly Beaver State fishing outlook provided by The Guide’s Forecast.
By Bob Rees
With freshwater fisheries suffering the effects of warm water this month, anglers will look more towards the salt to satisfy their fishing itch. Fortunately, opportunities abound on the Oregon Coast, where July should be a funfilled and productive month for anglers able to adapt to a saltwater experience. Starting in the north, the first half of the month will continue to produce a world-class catch-and-release fishery for Lower Columbia sturgeon. Water temperatures are still cool enough to entice sturgeon on fresh anchovies, but anglers find better success in the deeper water this time of year. Size up your gear – there aren’t many fish under 4 feet in size here.
A nice combination option is ocean salmon fishing out of Astoria. Coho should be abundant and willing; the last few years, anglers have had to go further offshore to catch them. Chinook should be in nearshore waters, most prominently in 25 to 35 feet of water off of Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula. This fishery is hit or miss in July, often targeting the tule strain of fall Chinook, which are still in good shape this early in the season.
Ocean salmon is open coastwide, although hatchery coho numbers are predicted to be down from 2023. Depoe Bay and Newport are often
Lings are among the myriad flings to be had on the Oregon Coast this month – author Bob Rees caught this one out of Garibaldi. There’s also sturgeon, Chinook, coho, rockfish and steelhead on tap between Astoria and Brookings. (BOB REES, THEGUIDESFORECAST.COM)
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the “highliner” ports, but Garibaldi can produce consistent catches on occasion, depending on where the higher concentrations of bait are.
Chinook start to show in the Nehalem estuary, but action is far better in August.
ALBACORE GAIN THE attention of offshore anglers this time of year, often showing around the Fourth of July. Southern ports such as Charleston typically kick off the season, but albies can be found off the northern ports this early as well. Trolling clones is often most productive; live baiting and jigging iron comes a bit later.
Bottomfishing offers up peak opportunity, thanks to better ocean weather, but sea bass and certainly lingcod experience the summer doldrums, making this fishery a bit more volatile this time of year.
Rounding off the ocean experience is crabbing. Dungeness often molt in
early July, making their pursuit more frustrating, but a longer soak time can often produce higher quality crab to cull if an angler is willing to put in the effort. Retaining soft-shelled crab is a poor use of the resource; there’s simply very little meat content to recover.
MOST FRESHWATER FISHERIES are on the ropes this time of year. There’s not much boatable water on the coast or in the Willamette Valley as flows drop and warm. Bank anglers can find summer steelhead on the coast in the Siletz, Wilson and Nestucca systems, while inland anglers ply the Clackamas, Sandy and Santiam systems for chromers. Early mornings always produce the best opportunities; use small baits and soft beads, but hardware works also if you’re able to effectively fish it in the pocket water and broken-surfaced riffles that hold these reluctant biters.
Spring Chinook fisheries are fading, but the lower Willamette River still
offers up some early-morning trolling options at the head of the Multnomah Channel. The overall fishery flailed this spring, however, so don’t go into it with high expectations.
High desert lakes are producing good catches of trout this time of year, some still freshly off of ice-off. Trout fisheries on Wickiup, Paulina, East, Davis and Odell are going well, with higher elevation lakes, including some great hike-in options, producing peak opportunities for rainbows and brook trout.
To the south, Rogue River summer/fall Chinook start to show in the estuary, with trollers finding consistent success by the end of the month. The Rogue receives one of the better returns on the Oregon Coast and the estuary is well suited for success this time of year. NS
Editor’s note: For more information, visit TheGuidesForecast.com.
Puget Sound King Season Simplified
With the mark-selective summer Chinook fishery opening from the San Juans to the Tacoma Narrows on the same days this month, it pays to have a plan where and how to fish.
FISHING
By Jason Brooks
Afew years ago, we launched out of the Port of Everett ramp and headed towards Port Townsend. It is a bit of a run, but Puget Sound Chinook season was opening and it was a mad dash to the fishing grounds. It felt as if I were in a land rush, like when pioneers headed west and would grab up land and mining claims. Now it was anglers hastening west to get to the fish and make a claim on their trolling lane or mooching ground. The season would be short, and the only guarantee was the fishery was open that day. It seems that with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s management of salmon fisheries dictated by encounters and emergency rule changes, the bonanza
of the opener is the only day anglers know they can get out to try and catch some Chinook in Puget Sound, if the tides and weather cooperate. Boats were cruising along and heading to popular points and bays or were already working the tides and trying to find the bait. It was a bit chaotic and those who were late to the game often could not find parking at the launch sites. Indeed, summer salmon fishing in Puget Sound can be a bit hectic, and that is not even considering the emergency regulations and statewide rules to be studied before hitting the water.
NEW THIS YEAR, WDFW is opening four marine areas stretching from the Canadian border to the Tacoma Narrows Bridges all at once in hopes of spreading out the boats and keeping
Chinook quotas from being filled too quickly, or more likely to reduce “encounters,” a term all Washington anglers need to be familiar with and will close fisheries faster than boats running at full throttle. Ever-popular Marine Area 9, along with Areas 7, 10 and 11, will all open Thursday, July 18, for three consecutive days of fishing. That much we are sure about, and it will force anglers to focus on one or two adjacent marine areas instead of in past seasons being able to, say, hit the San Juans in early July, Tacoma after the Fourth, Admiralty Inlet on the midmonth mark-selective opener and Seattle afterwards as kings filter towards Central and South Sound hatcheries.
It will be interesting to see if the simplifying of the opening date actually reduces fishing pressure or
Salmon anglers prepare to net one off of Port Townsend in a past season. This year, the waters of Marine Areas 7, 9, 10 and 11 all will open concurrently July 18-20 for hatchery Chinook, spreading out fishing pressure. (JASON BROOKS)
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just makes it even worse at marinas, launches and parking lots. Then there is the issue of policing the fisheries, as WDFW still deals with law enforcement staffing issues. When you have this much water open and the pressure to fish the few for-sure days, it will be hard for game wardens to be everywhere at once.
On page 90, Mark Yuasa, WDFW saltwater and salmon communications manager, says the agency will assess catches after the July 18-20 opener for all four aforementioned marine areas, with additional opportunities available based on whether quota remains.
But that’s not the only determining
factor. There’s also encounters with sublegal fish, what anglers often call “shakers.” This metric led to last July’s early Area 11 fishery closure after it was determined that too many juvenile fish were being hooked, which can cause mortality.
At least this month’s scheduled days are consecutive, which might make planning and weather windows easier than if they were single days spread out across the week like Washington Coast halibut fisheries in some areas that start in late spring. If the tides and weather cooperate, then the encounter quota could be eaten up quickly with everyone hitting
the waters at the same time, but just maybe the simplified opening day will spread out the pressure.
Area 10 is extremely popular due to being in the sunrise shadows of Seattle’s skyscrapers. Again, the biggest hiccup for Area 11 will be the sublegal encounter quota. This is in place to help juvenile salmon that are still lingering in the area survive, but, given this Chinook fishery’s popularity, it may lead to a closure before the quota of 3,379 marked adults is met, like last year, when 81 percent of the quota was left on the table.
Both Areas 10 and 11 also opened in June, the latter for an early split summer Chinook season, the former for a resident coho fishery that has become extremely popular in recent years. Coho are one of the saving graces to all the popular Puget Sound fisheries, as the seasons go well into the fall. Some have an unmarked, two-fish limit come late September into mid-October. Even if you miss the short Chinook seasons, at least you can head out and catch coho for weeks and months and not just a few days.
THERE ARE WATERS where Chinook season will be less limited. Hood Canal, Area 12, is often overlooked by anglers, mostly because it is split in half, with the north section being a coho-only show and the southern portion of the deep fjord having a good hatchery Chinook season but limited access. It is a long run to the canal south of Ayock Point, but with strong returns of kings back to the Skokomish River, it can provide a place to try your luck.
The river itself is still off-limits to anglers, but the fish must transit the canal first to get there. Boat launches and access points are scarce but can be worth the cruise to the fishing grounds. Chinook are open July 1 all the way through September 30, when these waters switch to a cohoonly fishery. Those who want to intercept Quilcene River hatcherybound coho can start fishing north of Ayock Point come August 1, running
Trolling is a favorite way to fish for Chinook – just don’t decide to run your gear through a known mooching area, and vice versa. (JASON BROOKS)
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through October 31.
Then there’s Area 13, a hidden gem. Well, maybe it’s not so hidden tucked away down there in Deep South Sound, but it is a place where anglers can target Chinook for most of the summer without too much worry of a closure (it infamously temporarily shut down in late August 2022).
WITH THOSE STARTING points, it is time to get the gear ready. When it comes to Chinook in Puget Sound, just about everyone who can reach the fishing grounds – which includes beaches and several public piers, along with some areas suited for small watercraft and mega-yachts – can fish their favorite technique.
One key thing to remember is to “match the hatch” in terms of what the fish are eating and other anglers are doing. Back to that trip years ago with the long run to Port Townsend. We set the lines and were trolling spoons behind flashers when all of a sudden we spotted a small Boston Whaler boat stopped in the traffic jam.
Long rods being lifted and dropped from the stationary boat meant the anglers aboard had decided to mooch instead of troll like everyone else. It did not take long before they realized that they were in the way of a good troll line, as there were boats surrounding them with nets waving – and a few fingers too. The idea is there are mooching areas, such as the ever-popular rip line off Point Defiance near Tacoma, and there are trolling areas. Go with the flow.
Mooching and jigging have become popular once again and for good reason, as they catch fish. It is also a simple technique and you can keep the sublegal encounters to a minimum by upsizing your jigs and hooks. Look for points and rip lines where bait gets tossed around and simply stop the boat, drop the jig or mooching rig down and hang on. Of course, if dogfish have made it to the area, you will soon find out, especially mooching a herring, which the small sharks favor. You will also get them trolling but not as easily as
mooching a cut-plug herring.
Trolling is often done using small spoons this time of year, as Chinook are gorging on sandlance and juvenile herring found in inside waters. Keep the gear deep to stay away from juvenile fish and target mature adults feeding near the bottom as sandlance emerge and where prawns live.
Regardless of which technique you prefer, try to upsize your hooks, which will help keep undersize encounters at a minimum. Learn to use a dehooker tool and never bring salmon aboard that cannot be legally kept.
Puget Sound fisheries are stressed enough and maybe this innovative approach to spread out anglers will keep the fisheries open a bit longer. It will not help with the lines at the boat launch or finding a parking space, but then again, there is always the extended coho fishery to help fill the need to go salmon fishing. Keep it simple and give it a try, as you might only get one chance – or three days – to fish in your favorite marine area for Chinook this month. NS
It ain’t the Puget Sound salmon seasons of old, but anglers willing to buck the wakes of Endangered Species Act listings, low unmarked Chinook returns and changing state management, as well as pay attention to the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s fishing rule change notice page, can still eke out opportunities. (JASON BROOKS)
Chase Salmon On The Ocean
Acharter boat trip out of
Depoe Bay was where, as a young boy, I landed my first limit of ocean salmon. I can still remember the smell of the salty air and the thrill of catching bright coho as they tore through the watery brine in an effort to escape my hook. Celebrating our fishing success that evening, we shared our barbecued salmon with friends who brought fresh crab and shrimp salad to our feast.
If you try your luck for ocean salmon off the Northwest Coast this season, keep in mind that fish will often be running within 20 feet of the surface during the first few daylight hours. And while coho (sometimes referred to as silver salmon) will likely go deeper in the water column as the sunlight becomes more intense, you can bet that the bigger Chinook will mostly go even deeper. Of course, an overcast day or foggy conditions can extend the time salmon spend near the surface. If you are after a big-boy Chinook, you can up your odds by trolling your gear 60 to 100 feet down, or more, after the early-morning bite fades.
In order to find salmon in the huge expanse of water they inhabit, most experienced anglers run until they find a rip line (where two ocean currents meet) before trying their luck. Salmon tend to congregate along rip lines because baitfish, such as herring, sardines and anchovies, often congregate there. A rip line can be visible on the surface and is given away because of a change in water color or line of floating debris found there. One strategy
Bob Spaur of Longview shows off an upriver bright Chinook he caught in the ocean off the mouth of the Columbia River last season. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
BUZZ RAMSEY
COLUMN
when finding a rip line is to troll parallel to the rip on the smooth-water side.
Another giveaway as to where salmon might be congregating is bird activity. Deciphering bird activity to find salmon can result in quick limits. If birds are few, it may mean the same for salmon. Seagulls flying in an erratic pattern indicate they are seeing baitfish and/or salmon in the water below them. When sea birds are flocked together working a bait school, the direction they are flying can indicate the direction the bait and salmon are moving.
And while this column provides the basics for ocean fishing success, real-time info about the areas where fellow anglers are finding fish can go a long way in yielding a successful trip. Where salmon are feeding can be gleaned from local tackle shops, other anglers and/or the internet.
GREEN-LABEL HERRING IS a popular bait size when trolling the ocean for salmon
Herring come in different sizes, with the color of the package label signifying the approximate length of the baitfish. Orange label is the smallest at 3.5 to 4 inches, red 4 to 5 inches, green 5 to 6 inches, blues 7 to 8 inches, purple 8 to 9 inches and black 9 to 10 inches. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
With a Pro-Troll, you will need to rig a 24-inch section of heavy monofilament (author Buzz Ramsey uses 60-pound test) between your sinker and the flasher, which will provide enough freedom for the attractor to rotate properly. For 2.5- and 3.0-size plugs like a SpinFish or Brad’s, try a 30- to 40-pound-test leader of about 30 inches long. To keep the snell on your hook from possibly tearing the bait, most anglers e1mploy 25- to 30-pound leader. Try a 30-inch leader with orange- or red-size herring and a 40-inch leader for green label. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
For a Fish Flash, most anglers employ a combination of 9-foot-6 and 10-foot-6 heavy-action trolling rods when chasing salmon in the ocean, with the shorter rods positioned at the stern of the boat and longer ones near the bow. Doing so increases your trolling swath and helps keep lines from tangling. Linecounter reels filled with 50- or 65-pound-test superbraid are popular. Use 30- to 40-pound-test leaders for lures and 25 to 30 for mooching, which helps in not tearing the bait when attaching. Single hook sizes vary depending on the size of the bait. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
and they are usually rigged on a two-hook mooching leader 5 feet in length. Hook sizes vary depending on the size of the bait and whether you are rigging it whole or plug cut. For example, you might try a 5/0-4/0-hook combination when rigging green-label herring whole and a 4/0-3/0 combination when plug cut.
Mooching leaders tied with the top hook as a slider are popular when fishing whole herring, while a fixed-hook rigging is best for baits that have been plug cut to yield the spinning action salmon can’t resist. When rigging whole herring, the top slider hook can be used to put a curve in your baitfish so it will spin when pulled
Although you can stuff your Brad’s Super Bait or SpinFish with filets of herring, anchovy or sardine, tuna canned in oil works pretty well. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
through the water.
Which size herring the salmon prefer has a lot to do with matching the size bait they’re currently feeding on. Adding a swivel positioned halfway down your leader will go a long way toward eliminating the line/leader twist associated with fishing a spinning bait or lure.
When using herring, it’s important to remember to not move your rod when a salmon starts mouthing your bait. The initial bite may be so light, in fact, that you might think your gear is rubbing bottom – it’s not; don’t move your rod! Let the fish mouth your bait and pull your rod tip down three to four times before pulling back to set the hook; otherwise, you might miss hooking the fish, which is a mistake you shouldn’t make twice. More than a few anglers just leave their rod in the holder until the fish is on.
A TROLLING SINKER, diving planer (like a Deep Six or Delta Diver) or cannonballstyle sinker can be used to take your bait or lure down. To attract salmon, more than a few anglers add an easy-pulling Fish Flash to their setup. Of course, rotating
flashers like Pro-Trolls work for trolling too. Cannonball sinkers are a popular weight choice, especially when fishing rotating flashers, also known as 360s. When rigging a Pro-Troll, keep in mind that you will need to position it 24 to 30 inches behind your sinker via a bumper.
Leader lengths vary when fishing rotating flashers, with many anglers employing a 30- to 36-inch leader when using a Brad’s or SpinFish and a 40-inch leader when fishing spoons or a small redlabel herring. What many anglers do when targeting fish located near the surface is rig 10- or 12-ounce sinkers on their front rods (closest to the bow) and 6 or 8 ounces on their back, or stern, rods. Of course, it will take bigger weights – 16 and 12 ounces or more – to go deep when your fish finder is telling you that’s where the fish are located.
An alternative to fresh or frozen bait is to employ a Brad’s Super Bait or a Yakima Bait SpinFish. Both lures are designed to house bait and allow the scent stream to catch the nose of salmon, all while producing the spinning action that drives fish crazy.
In case you don’t know, a Super Bait is a hinged lure having a rubber band to keep it closed after filling, while the SpinFish is a pull-apart design in which your leader is threaded through both lure halves. While you might fill either lure’s cavity with herring, anchovy or other fresh bait, tuna fish canned in oil works surprisingly well.
THE NORTHWEST COAST offers a lot of opportunity to fish for salmon on the ocean, including off all of Oregon this summer, and one of the best spots is off the Columbia River, to which many of these Chinook and coho are returning. Most anglers reach the ocean between
Cape Falcon and Leadbetter Point by launching out of Ilwaco, Hammond, Warrenton, Astoria or Chinook, all located inside the mouth of the big river. If you depart from here, realize you must pass through the Columbia River Control Zone, which is closed to angling, to reach the open ocean. The Control Zone extends from an imaginary north-south line at Buoy 10 to the South Jetty, southwest from the jetty tip to Buoy 4 (red), north to Buoy 7 (green) and on to the North Jetty. (There are maps in the current fishing regulation booklets for both Oregon and Washington that show this.)
A flood tide is what makes for an
easy bar crossing at the mouth of the Columbia, as well as the entrances of other ports along the Oregon and Washington Coasts. A favorite tide for anglers, guides and charter captains is one where a flooding tide coincides with daylight. The idea is to cross the bar early – when the bar is calm – fish the ocean, where quick morning limits happen more often than you might think, and return to port at or before the top of the flood tide; generally, you’ll have about six hours before the ebb (outgoing) tide can make bar crossings rough. Of course, soft tide exchanges can make bar crossings easy all day long. Realize, however, that when
2024 OCEAN SALMON REGULATIONS
The Pacific off Oregon and Washington is divided into six fishing management zones where daily limits, seasons and quotas for Chinook and coho are managed separately. Restrictions are in place to provide for the harvest of healthy stocks while protecting weak (perhaps endangered) populations.
The fishing zone that encompasses the mouth of the Columbia River (known in Washington as Marine Area 1 and sometimes as the Columbia River Subarea in Oregon) extends from Leadbetter Point (located at the northern end of Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula) to Cape Falcon (near Manzanita, Oregon). The salmon season for this zone opened June 22 this year and could run through September 30 or until 39,000 fin-clipped coho have been harvested. The Chinook quota for this fishing zone is 12,510 fish, fin-clipped or not. The daily limit is two salmon, of which only one of the two can be a Chinook.
The news for the Central Oregon fishing zone, which extends from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain near Port Orford, is that the Chinook season (open now) is expected to last through October 31. Last year’s fishery didn’t open till September
due to weak California fish forecasts. As for fin-clipped coho, the season is open now and expected to remain so through August 18, or until 45,000 hatchery coho have been harvested.
It’s the same from Humbug Mountain to the Oregon/California border, except the selective coho season is scheduled to last through August 4 or the quota is filled. The daily limit is two salmon.
In addition, there is a late all-salmon season for Chinook and coho (fin-clipped or not) that runs September 1-30 from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain with a 25,000-coho quota.
The Central Oregon fishing zone can be accessed from various ports, with the more popular ones being Garibaldi (near Tillamook), Depoe Bay, Newport, Winchester Bay (just south of Reedsport) and Coos Bay. Pacific City is another option.
As for the rest of the Washington Coast, Marine Areas 3 (La Push) and 4 (Neah Bay) are open daily through September 15 or until their subquotas are met. Restrictions are in place for Marine Area 2 (WestportOcean Shores), where fishing is only open Sundays through Thursdays through July 11, but then daily from July 12 through September 15 or until the quota is filled.
IF YOU PARTICIPATE in any of these fisheries, know that you can use no more than two single-point barbless hooks on your line. Both Oregon and Washington have made party fishing legal in the ocean. This means that all boat anglers can continue to fish until each person on board has his or her daily catch limit. Keep in mind that although all rods can keep fishing, you must land your own fish and not tag someone else’s.
Remember to review the angling regulations for the area/zone you plan to fish carefully and be aware that regulations can and do change during the season, often via news releases or emergency rule change notices produced by the state Departments of Fish and Wildlife. In addition, seasons will close if and when allowed quotas for each fishing zone are met.
Don’t take a fish you intend to release out of the water. If you must, you can net the fish but don’t remove the net from the water. Instead, use it to restrain the fish while you remove your hook before releasing it. However, most fish can be easily released from the side of your boat. A sturdy pair of long-nose pliers will make this job easy. –BR
A jet sled returns to port off Oregon’s Central Coast. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)
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the ocean is rough and a big ebb is in play, you should consider another activity.
Since the majority of Chinook spend their lives foraging off British Columbia and in the Gulf of Alaska (late-returning coho do also), they will likely stage north of the Columbia mouth before passing the bar. Chinook numbers will increase daily until they begin to leave saltwater and start their migration up the Columbia in mid- to late August.
If you participate in this fishery, know that you can only use one lure or bait per rod and they can only have a maximum of two single-point, single-shank barbless hooks – no trebles are allowed.
At the Columbia mouth, most years the bulk of the coho (most early-returning coho are south-turning) will likely be found in front of and just south of the Columbia mouth’s red buoy line over water that is 90 to 180 feet deep. The red buoys mark the south side of the Columbia River channel and extend well into the ocean. If you have a chart (ocean map) or map-enabled GPS, you should have no problem finding this area.
All coho must have their adipose fin missing in order to qualify as a keeper. The adipose fin is the small fin located between the fish’s dorsal and tail fin. Anglers should be able to identify fish missing this fin before attempting to net it. And while releasing
the fish next to the boat is the best option, sometimes, and especially with a fish that is deeply hooked or thrashing uncontrollably, it’s best to corral the fish in the net while leaving it in the water to make positive ID and remove the hook before releasing it. More than anything else, this will increase the survival of fish which hold the seeds to recover our native runs.
HERE’S WHAT A few friends and guides I’ve fished with had to say about the salmon fishery from the Columbia up to Westport.
Francis Estalilla: Last year, I said yes to a fishing invite from friend and avid angler Francis Estalilla. We trolled off the Columbia mouth near the red navigation Buoys 2 and 3 for a mixed bag of coho and upriver bright Chinook. Estalilla likes to employ Pro-Troll flashers to draw fish in and because he can easily see that the gear is working due to the pulsating action these flashers impart to rod tips.
His go-to has been to fish small redand orange-label whole herring, as they hold up better than if plug cut. His big takeaway from last season was that “stuffer baits” – Super Baits and SpinFish – seem to produce just as well as real bait with a lot less hassle and cost. Estalilla likes to use a 30-inch leader back to his lures or bait when fishing Pro-Trolls. He says the Seahawk color in both lures is money. He fishes 16-ounce cannonball sinkers on all rods and staggers the depth from bow to stern, with the rods closest to the bow running shallower than the rest. His advice to other anglers is to troll fast for success.
Fishing guide David Hazen (503-4101183): Here is what David Hazen said when I asked him to reveal his strategy when fishing clients off the Columbia River mouth:
“I’ve found the Chinook fishing to be awfully good early in the season north of the Columbia River mouth. We usually troll off Long Beach from the condos to Klipsan, which is a small community just north of Long Beach. Given a northwest wind, I’ve had my best luck trolling east to west and west to east in 25 to 40 feet of water. If the ocean is calm, I’ll troll southward, with the current, parallel to the beach.”
“I’ve had my best success using ProTroll rotating flashers in combination with
Ramsey shows off one of the coho he caught while fishing off the Columbia River mouth with avid angler Francis Estalilla. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
DESTINATION Grays HArbor, WA
Gateway to the pacific ocean & the Olympic Peninsula
COLUMN
2.5 and 3.0 SpinFish stuffed with fresh anchovies. I rig my SpinFish in combination with a hoochie squid. The Chinook seem to like the mad-clown-colored SpinFish the best. Other colors I’ve had consistent success with include silver/red scale, misty river and flame thrower. I keep my leader from flasher to lure in the 30- to 32-inch range. When fishing this area I run 8-inch Pro-Troll flashers on my front rods and the 11-inchers on my back/stern rods in combination with 10 ounces of weight. If the fish go deep, I’ll switch to bigger cannonball-style sinkers. Once I get my clients their one-Chinook limit off Long Beach, I’ll sometimes run south of the Columbia River mouth and fill out our coho limit there.”
Fishing guide Bill Monroe (503-7024028): Bill Monroe likes to fish north of the Columbia River mouth, too, and he catches a mixed bag of Chinook and coho. Monroe’s favorite method is to troll anchovies rigged on a 48-inch leader in combination with a Fish Flash. The way he rigs his anchovies is by using a 4-inch sandwich-style toothpick or bamboo skewer to hold the anchovy in an arched position so that it spins wildly (see inset photo above). To attach it, Monroe runs the top hook of his mooching leader through the throat of the bait with the point piercing its forehead. He lets the trailing hook dangle and extending an inch or so behind the tail of the bait. Because the lengths of anchovies can vary, the top mooching leader hook is snelled as a slider.
Most of the time the current is running south off Long Beach, so Monroe will run up to the Long Beach condos and troll southward. If he doesn’t find fish in that area, he will run farther north before turning around and trolling south. Monroe usually finds fish in depths ranging from 40 to 70 feet of water. He uses 16 to 24 ounces of weight, depending on the depth the fish are running, with his bow rods set at 15 to 20 feet of line out on the linecounter reels, middle rods at 30 feet, back rods at 50. Once he finds the depth the fish are cruising, he will position
all his rods at that depth.
John Keizer: Friend John Keizer is a veteran salmon angler, outdoor writer and seminar speaker who has fished out of Westport a lot over the years. According to Keizer, what many anglers interested in targeting Chinook do is troll the beach north of the harbor in 50 to 80 feet of water. The ocean current typically runs north to south and as such, trolling direction can be important for success. Given that the fish will be facing into the current, the most successful strategy is to run north and troll back toward Westport parallel to the beach.
Typically, the best Chinook bite is early in the day and then fizzles, which is a time when many anglers will search for them in deeper water, near bottom where they can escape the bright daytime sunlight. What has worked for Keizer is to troll a SpinFish rigged 36 inches behind a Fish Flash. The other setup he has a lot of faith in is a ProTroll rigged 24 inches behind a cannonball sinker with a 40-inch leader trailing back to a SpinFish stuffed with bait. NS
Editor’s note: Buzz Ramsey is regarded as a sportfishing authority, outdoor writer and proficient lure and fishing rod designer. As such, fishing rod manufacturer Douglas Outdoors has added Buzz to their ambassador pro staff.
Guide Bill Monroe Jr. uses a 4-inch toothpick to keep his anchovy in an arched position and places the top hook of his mooching leader through the head of the bait. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
John Keizer hoists a nice Chinook he caught while trolling deep in the water column early in the day. (JOHN KEIZER)
July Is All About
COLUMN
Sockeye!
NW PURSUITS
By Jason Brooks
July is all about sockeye! These tasty, redfleshed silver rockets of the salmon family are highly sought after, and July is when the season kicks off.
Growing up in Northcentral Washington, I always found it intriguing when the summer salmon showed up. We would visit the fish ladder and viewing windows at Rocky Reach Dam and point out all the large Chinook and relatively tiny sockeye making their way through the stairstep series of pools as they swam upstream.
As I got older and we began fishing the waters near the mouth of the Okanogan, where these fish were heading towards on their way to natal waters in Canada, we would see all sorts of boats from everywhere. There were hull identification numbers from Washington, Idaho and even Montana among the small boats, large boats, kayaks and even a jet ski once; it always amazed me that so many people would congregate at one spot to catch a 3to 5-pound fish. If you are like me and are getting a bit tired of having to wait hours at the boat launch, enduring the sweltering heat of Washington’s high desert, and then the chaos of trying to zigzag your way around all the boats, then look to other places where you can find sockeye.
BEFORE THE FISH can climb those ladders at Rocky Reach and Wells Dams to the pool known as Lake Pateros, where they stage and wait for the Okanogan River to cool off with late-summer rains, they must first travel hundreds of river miles up from the Pacific. Just as below the two Upper Columbia dams, there are several fisheries where anglers can intercept these salmon. Places like below Wanapum Dam are becoming just as popular with anglers as the Wells Dam fishery, and it’s much closer to towns like the Tri-Cities, Yakima and even Portland. Do not expect solitude, but you can at least save on gas money.
If you know how to fish for summer steelhead in the Lower Columbia, then you have likely caught a few sockeye as well, since similar techniques and
Growing up in Northcentral Washington gave author Jason Brooks and his dad Al early insights into the region’s sockeye fisheries. (JASON BROOKS)
COLUMN
locations are used. Look for shallow edges along sand bars and run a small Spin-N-Glo tipped with a piece of cured coonstripe shrimp. It’s a pretty simple setup and you can even do it from several public beaches. Just be sure to check the regulations and the dam counts, as the sockeye do not stick around. They’re not staging and creating a bubble fishery like
Sockeye swim past a viewing window. All totaled, just over 1 million sockeye are forecast to return to Pacific Northwest waters in 2024, with about half that tally expected to British Columbia’s Fraser River, 401,700 to the Columbia system, 56,750 to the Baker River and the remaining 20,000 to Lake Washington. (JASON BROOKS)
below the dams or the Okanogan.
A BEAUTIFUL PLACE to catch sockeye is Lake Wenatchee and this year the run forecast is for 97,000 fish. Before the lake is opened, there must be at least 23,000 sockeye counted at Tumwater Dam to meet escapement goals, but given that the preseason prediction is for four times
those needs, you can go ahead and make camping reservations now. In fact, you are probably a little late for saving a spot at the state park or nearby, so be ready to travel a ways to find camping or a local hotel in Wenatchee, about an hour away.
Lake Wenatchee is a bit different than other sockeye fisheries in that you cannot use bait or scents. Think back to the old Lake Washington days, when anglers would troll bare red hooks; yes, bait can help increase bites, but it is not a necessity to catch sockeye. Troll with a 5.8 Mack’s Lure Double D dodger trailing a Mack’s sockeye rig tied on a really short leader – and by really short, I mean 9 inches – and you will catch fish.
Years ago, we were fishing for sockeye and not doing so well, so I called Bob Loomis, who works for Mack’s and helps design and test fish their lures. I told him what we were doing, and he said everything sounded like we should be catching fish and then he asked how long of a leader I was using. I replied that we tied them short at 18 inches and he said to cut them in half. The next day we limited the boat in a few hours and that was the only difference we made. Ever since then,
Keep those leaders short! And while the fish like a little meat on the hook, it isn’t an absolute must, as shown at Lake Wenatchee, where bait is barred to protect listed Chinook and bull trout but plenty of sockeye are still caught. (JASON BROOKS)
COLUMN
I emphasize using short leaders, as well as keeping your speeds down to around .7 to 1 mile per hour.
You do not need downriggers to fish Lake Wenatchee and it might be best not to use them. This is because of sunken logs and driftwood that can tangle with the cables. Instead, use a dropper-weight system, much like what is used during Buoy 10 fisheries but downsized. A 1- to 3-ounce dropper weight is often plenty, but be sure to have some 4- and even 5-ounce weights along to keep the gear close to the boat.
Lake Wenatchee has two concerning factors that anglers must prepare for, the first being the scarcity of boat launches, which means long lines at the state park ramp. The second is the afternoon wind; as this is a high mountain lake, it often receives thermals as the day heats up. Not only can the wind make it hard to fish, it can also make the lake dangerous for small watercraft. Be sure to look at the forecast, including the wind forecast, for the days you plan to fish and be ready to seek calmer waters or get off the lake if possible.
Openers are typically announced between mid-July and early August, depending on Tumwater Dam counts.
A SOCKEYE FISHERY that is set in stone for this year is the Skagit River and Baker Lake, which for Westsiders have the advantage of not requiring trailering over a mountain pass or two. Yes, these are two different places to fish, but they are the same sockeye. The fish first head up the Skagit, which is scheduled to be open from Mount Vernon Memorial Bridge to the Dalles Bridge at Concrete through July 15. Anglers who fish the river often back-troll or back-bounce small Dick Nite spoons in common sockeye colors of bright orange, red and pink. Plunking small Spin-N-Glos is also a common technique.
Baker Lake is much like the Lake Wenatchee fishery, except bait is allowed and everyone aboard can keep fishing until the daily limit of four sockeye per person is caught. This is similar to how anglers can keep gear deployed in the saltwater when salmon fishing and it makes sense for the Baker Lake fishery since these fish
are trucked and dumped into the lake for anglers to catch. New this year, the season opens July 6 regardless of whether any sockeye have been released yet or not, so keep an eye on the trap counts to see how many fish have arrived and more. The forecast calls for 56,750, which is 57 percent above the 10-year average.
USE THE SAME terminal gear as you do at the Okanogan mouth and Lake Wenatchee fisheries. A dropper system for all three of these fisheries works best with a 3-foot buffer between the sliding drop weight and the dodger to allow it to give the sockeye rig some action.
For the fisheries where bait is allowed, tip the top hook with a small cured coonstripe shrimp or just the tail of a larger one. Smear some Pro-Cure Super Sauce or Super Gel on the dodger; popular scents include shrimp, anise and bloody tuna. In waters with current or warmer temperatures, such as those found in the Upper Columbia, coonstripe shrimp often fall apart and come off, but if you have smeared on scent, then there is no worry. After all, in Lake Wenatchee, no bait or scent is allowed, and anglers still catch fish. The added baits and scents do help increase hookups. If you have ever seen any of those YouTube underwater videos showing salmon approaching a lure, you will notice that sometimes the fish looks and then swims away while other times it comes in vigorously and strikes. This
is often the difference between using bait and scent and not using it.
Sockeye are small and that means you can get away with lighter gear including rods, which helps keep them on the hook. They are feisty and thrash around a lot, so if you can use treble hooks with barbs, retie your gear to have it as a trailer hook and downsize to a size 4, which will help increase hookups and landing the fish.
Another tip when it comes to sockeye fishing is to use an exceptionally longhandled net. It seems the closer they get to the boat, the more they thrash around, and most are lost right as the net dips into the water. If you have a long handle, you can reach out further and secure the fish before it throws the hook.
Keep an ice chest on hand and bleed the fish and get them on ice right away, especially those caught in Lake Wenatchee or the Upper Columbia, as they are hundreds of miles from the salt and their flesh can break down quickly.
The tiny salmon known as sockeye are sought after for their red flesh and high-oilcontent meat. Anglers will drive hundreds of miles to have a chance at catching some of these fish, but don’t think that you must go where everyone else is. Instead, do some research, check the emergency regulations and head to one of the many places where you can catch sockeye. It is not just an Okanogan show, but instead an entire Northwest pursuit. NS
Spring Chinook have their fans, but the deep-red flesh and high oil content of sockeye make it one of the best-eating salmon that return to Northwest waters. (JASON BROOKS)
Brewster Set To Explode
A large run of sockeye is headed to the Upper Columbia pool at the mouth of the Okanogan, and here’s what to expect and how to fish it.
Story and captions by Jeff Holmes
The sockeye spigot is on full blast this year, and as of mid-June, fish totals over Bonneville were trending way ahead of the gaudy prediction of 401,700. Approximately 56,000 total sockeye had crossed the first dam on the Columbia by June 16. On June 16 alone, 17,177 crossed Bonneville, compared to 4,232 last year and 5,108 for the 10-year average on that same date! We could be heading for a record-breaking year, which we should know by the time the July issue hits mailboxes and newsstands. Whether we break the record run of 664,935 back to the Columbia River mouth in 2022 or not, it is already certain that we are set for a fantastic summer sockeye season and that tens of thousands of these squirmy little salmon with deep-red meat will end up in anglers’ nets and then on dinner tables and in smokers.
As I wrote about in the June issue, sockeye fishing has become popular all the way from tidewater to the Brewster Pool, where hundreds of thousands of the fish will show up this summer to wait out the heat in the Columbia’s
Whereas lots of Northwest salmon fishing can be pretty slow, sockeye fishing on the Brewster Pool in Northcentral Washington this month into August is usually fast and frenetic, perfect for kids. Here, Dante Taylor, age 10, and his dad Tim hoist limits of early-season salmon before the sockeye bag was expanded during 2023’s fishery. Expect a four-fish sockeye limit this July at Brewster if the run continues to pour in at a record pace like it was as we went to press last month. Also note this summer’s Chinook closure in the part of the pool off the Okanogan River mouth. (VERNIE CROSS, VERN’S FISHING ADVENTURES, 509-438-4128)
cool water until shorter days and cooler nights and perhaps cooling latesummer rains lift the thermal block at the mouth of the Okanogan River. When that happens, a mighty wave of sockeye will shoot north to their Canadian spawning grounds. But until that happens, which sometimes does not until very late summer, fantastic
numbers of sockeye will mill around in the Columbia near Brewster, north of Wenatchee, creating a big-tent opportunity for everybody who can buy shrimp and run a boat to harvest arguably the tastiest of salmon.
Speaking of shrimp, stock up now, because angler participation will be high and stocks of coon shrimp at local
FISHING
stores could be low like a few years ago when so many people wanted to chase sockeye that it became hard to find good bait or any bait at all.
Right now, anglers are drowning shrimp spinners to ambush sockeye in select travel lanes in the MidColumbia, especially in and above Tri-Cities, and below and above select dams I will not mention. What I will mention is that you should get your butt to Brewster in your own boat or in one of the scores of guide boats that flock to this Northcentral Washington fishery during big sockeye years, with some guides running as many as three trips a day – and limiting. A handful of sockeye are being bonked at the time of this writing, including by friends in Tri-Cities, but soon many more fish bonkers will be bloody when waves of five-digit-days’ worth of sockeye stream past Pasco and Richland shorelines, where scores of boats will be posted up on anchor. The real bloodbath will come in July when everybody and his brother descends on the Brewster Pool. If you have been sockeye fishing at Brewster, you probably already know what to expect. If you haven’t been but plan to go, here are some important things to know.
FIRST, BEFORE DISCUSSING how to fish and catch sockeye here, which is usually pretty easy, it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into. As many as 300 boats have been counted in the past on the pool, most doing haphazard laps in front of the Okanogan, with a handful fishing further out in the pool trolling for kings. But with a low summer Chinook return expected back to the critically important Colville Tribal Hatchery, the upper middle part of the Brewster Pool – specifically, from the Highway 173 bridge at Brewster east 3 1/4 miles to an imaginary northsouth line drawn between the end of Gun Club Road and Pelican Point –is closed to king fishing. Fishing for kings is open above and below there, including the popular water below
So many sockeye should be stacked up off the mouth of the Okanogan this July that even the most antiquated of fishfinders will reveal the spectacle underneath your boat and as many of 299 other boats that will be fishing around you. Friends with Garmin Livescopes report that watching clouds of sockeye following their dodgers and shrimp is almost as fun as catching the fish.
(JASON BROOKS)
But with the pool itself closed to kings and potentially record numbers of sockeye headed to summer there, expect a clustertruck crowd of epic proportions. Keeping a positive attitude and not getting too frustrated about overaggressive guides and private boaters alike and being patient with newbies with no idea what they are doing is the best policy. There are so many fish available that are typically so eager to bite that there’s no reason to get upset or too frustrated. Come to Brewster (brewsterwachamber .com) expecting a huge crowd and a nightmare at the double ramp at Brewster’s Columbia Cove Park, and just keep your cool until it’s your turn to dump in your boat. Or, stay downstream in Pateros and make the long run upstream to the pool. Launching from Brewster requires about a 2-mile run, which I once turned into a row when my motor conked out on the fishing grounds.
SAFETY IS CRITICAL here, which means keeping an eye out for sun-stroked, drunk and/or overtired fellow anglers making bad, high-speed boating decisions on the way to the fishing area. Once you get to the grounds, collisions tend to be low-speed and
low-impact affairs. Mostly I kid, but it is wise to be situationally aware here, especially in the early-morning dark, the favored time for serious sockeye anglers to make their way to the grounds. Double check that you can launch quickly, that your boat is in great working condition and that your navigation lights are in full working order.
Long, extremely hot days are the norm during the peak of the sockeye season, roughly July 7-21. The fishing can be good earlier and also much later in the season as long as the thermal block still constrains the sockeye in the Columbia, since the fish stay in good eating shape until at least August despite their darkening exterior appearance as July advances toward August. Throughout the whole month of July, daytime temperatures are usually right at or above 100 with no shade in sight, unless your boat has a top or you bring an umbrella, as many do.
Everyone finds a way to beat or at least combat the heat here, but even the nights can be quite warm. You can still try booking an air-conditioned room in Brewster, Pateros, Wenatchee or Omak, but good luck, as most will likely already be rented! Many brave the heat and
Chief Joseph Dam.
FISHING
camp in the parking lot of Brewster’s park or other camping spots in the area, but air-conditioned trailers and RVs offer a welcomed respite here from oppressive heat and bright sun.
On the water, many anglers launch in the dark not just because sockeye bite best very early, but also because they want to limit and get off the water before being cooked by the summer sun. Hats, sunglasses, highSPF sunscreen and even long, light clothes can be essential to extending fishing times on those rare days when sockeye get finicky. If you cook
yourself with a horrible burn on day one of a three-day trip to fill your freezer or, worse yet, suffer from heat or sun stroke, the remainder of your trip can go up in smoke.
There are a few good restaurants in the area (including Camperos Mexican Restaurant, which is excellent), along with fast food, a reliable grocery store, convenience stores and a Napa, but come prepared with most of the provisions you will need. On that day when I had to row a 14-foot boat back from the sockeye grounds in big waves, a buddy and I spent hours
looking for a simple fix and ended up all the way down in Wenatchee after a detour to check a Napa in the town of Chelan. For a frame of reference, Brewster is a small town (population: about 2,000) with more people in the area during summer harvest season, and by harvest I mean orchards and sockeye. Limits this season are likely to be hiked to four fish per angler once fisheries managers see sufficient passage over dams. These Upper Columbia sockeye bound for lakes and streams in Canada average about 22 inches a fish.
Last year, on a huge Eastern Washington fishing-focused Facebook page, someone with a history of burning fishing guides decided to flame one of the industry’s most honorable young men, my friend Tyler Miller. It was a sad display that became hilarious as other guides came to Miller’s defense. Truth is, Miller and all the guides I mention in this article are outstanding people who love to fish with families and kids and create a fun atmosphere in the boat. If you haven’t fished Brewster before, booking a day or two with a guide is a really good idea. But if you can’t afford a guided trip or just want to fish on your own, the learning curve for this fishery is also not very steep. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)
FISHING
AS FOR FISHING, sockeye at Brewster are usually quite easy to catch. This is a fishery made for kids and for anglers of all ages and skill levels. Fill up your boat and you’ll be able to collect a limit for everyone once you dial in the fishing, which is not hard.
A good standard setup is a long, limber rod with a linecounter reel and 30- to 65-pound braid, but you can land these fish on heavy trout gear. Hell, you could land them on a Snoopy or Barbie rod, but you want to get them to the boat before they tangle in the lines of the huddled masses fishing all around you. Run a slider on your
mainline clipped to a lead cannonball. To avoid tangles and cover the water column, run heavier weights (8 or 6 ounces) in the front of the boat and lighter cannonballs (6 to 4 ounces) toward the back. Next, run a bead as a knot protector, followed by a six-bead beadchain or large ball-bearing swivel, 24- to 30-inch bumper of heavy monofilament, large chrome dodger (0 or 00 sizes, with 0 being favored by most), trailed by a 7- to 14-inch leader. The idea behind the short leader is to let the dodger throw around the sharp, business end of your gear.
Almost everyone fishes a two-hook
rig of 1/0 or 2/0 red octopus hooks spaced about 1.5 inches apart on 20-pound-or-so mono or fluorocarbon leader. Many just run two hooks and a coon shrimp or two hooks and a shrimp with a Corky in front, while some will run Smile Blades or other blades that spin at slow speeds. Other rig variations involve hoochies, tinsel, crystal flash and other dressings.
Troll for these fish as if they are walleye, from .8 mph to 1.4 mph, and vary numbers on the linecounters, with 15 to 30 feet of line out from the rod tip being good numbers to start at. Fish generally move from shallow to deeper as the morning progresses to afternoon because of heat, sun and boat traffic.
Successful Brewster Pool sockeye anglers, like my buddy Vernie Cross of Vern’s Fishing Experience (509438-4128), vary leader lengths to let the fish show them what is working. Vernie is a fantastic sockeye angler and a very kind guy who’s great with kids. I recommend him highly for Brewster or for any Columbia River fishery. He cures some mean coon shrimp that he doctors with krill powder, anise and real vanilla extract for sockeye. Almost all of the guides can get you on a limit of sockeye here, but for me it’s a matter of who I want to spend a day with. Among others, I also recommend Tyler Miller of MillerTime Fishing (fishmillertime.com), my close friends Jerry and Ivan Reyes of Flatout Fishing (flatoutfishing.net) and TJ Hester of Hester’s Sportfishing (hesterssportfishing.com).
Years ago, as a snot-nosed 20-yearold guide, TJ practically singlehandedly got the Brewster regulars to put away their downriggers and turn to cannonballs when he put on a threeweek clinic being first back to the dock and running an average of almost three trips a day on a six-fish limit. Now everyone fishes cannonballs. Vernie, Tyler, Jerry, Ivan and TJ are all great people who will make your whole family laugh and feel comfortable in what is primed to be one of the Northwest’s hotter salmon fisheries, in one of its hottest summer spots. NS
Sockeye are a big-tent, equal-opportunity fish because they provide vast opportunities to harvest delicious salmon for anyone with almost any type of watercraft, they are easy to catch and they’re also relatively easy for kids and inexperienced anglers to reel in. Here, Stella Cam, 7, shows off a sockeye she caught last summer while fishing aboard Vernie Cross’s guide boat with her dad, Tommy. (VERN’S FISHING EXPERIENCE, 509-438-4128)
Salmon Season Planner, Part II
With 2024-25 Washington Chinook, coho and chum fisheries now officially set, here’s a look at the top fall, winter and spring opportunities.
By Mark Yuasa
We highlighted Washington’s 2024-25 summer salmon season possibilities in this magazine’s June issue, and now let’s look at opportunities from this September through April 2025!
While many tend to focus on fall hunting seasons or other activities – I’ll keep school and work out of the equation – you’ll be surprised to know that a decent number of salmon fisheries are well worth your time to catch late-migrating Chinook, coho and chum.
Meanwhile, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife fishery managers are planning to keep close tabs on possible summertime mountain snowpack issues, potential drought, high water temperatures and low water level issues in rivers and streams. Keep in mind that these conditions could have an impact on salmon migration and fish survival. They could lead to potential in-season management changes or closures to freshwater sport salmon fisheries in the late summer and early fall timeframe.
If you missed out on the June issue,
Following on his
a look
preview last
out
Washington summer salmon
issue, Mark Yuasa takes
further
in the calendar to highlight fall opportunities everywhere from the Columbia system to Puget Sound and the coast. Guide Bill Harris prepares to net a fish for buddy Mike Bolt at Drano Lake in October 2022. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)
FISHING
be sure to get a copy and read up on more helpful tips to improve your time on the water, since right now we’re just heading into peak salmon season, with a multitude of choices blossoming across Washington!
SEPTEMBER
Fall is peak time for migrating coho and look for them in all open marine areas of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The combined 2024 Puget Sound hatchery and wild coho forecast is 722,134 – down slightly from 760,029 in 2023 – and should provide decent fishing like what we
saw in 2023.
There are many areas close to the greater Seattle area that provide fishing excitement for coho, including Central and Southcentral Puget Sound (Marine Areas 10 and 11), which are both open for a nonselective coho fishery through November 15.
In these two areas, spend your time in the deep-water shipping lanes off Jefferson Head, Kingston/President Point, Richmond Beach south to Meadow Point north of Shilshole Bay, Point Monroe, Shilshole Bay south to West Point, Elliott Bay, Blake Island, the Fauntleroy Ferry area
southeast to Dolphin Point, both sides of Vashon Island, Redondo Beach to Dash Point and the Tacoma area of Commencement Bay, and around Point Defiance Park from the Slag Pile to the Clay Banks.
In northern Puget Sound/Admiralty Inlet (Area 9), you can chase hatchery coho through September 23 and then it switches to nonselective coho September 24-30.
While you should look at the obvious places in Area 9, coho can often be found in more obscure locations, including the unmarked shipping lanes and channels where tide rips are commonly found. Most anglers will fish Midchannel Bank off Port Townsend; Point Wilson north of Port Townsend; the east side of Marrowstone Island; Fort Casey, Bush Point, Lagoon Point, Maxwelton and Double Bluff off the west side of Whidbey Island; Point No Point; Possession Bar; Scatchet Head; and Pilot Point.
Fishing in Deception Pass, Hope Island and Skagit Bay (Area 8-1) is open for nonselective coho through October 13, and Port Susan and Port Gardner (Area 8-2) are open for nonselective coho through September 24. Look for fish along the entire southeast side of Whidbey Island from the Possession Point Bait House to the Clinton Ferry Terminal at Columbia Beach and the Langley/Sandy Point area, as well as on the mainland side in Browns Bay and from Picnic Point to Mukilteo, plus Hat Island, Camano Head, the west side of Camano Island from Camano Island State Park north to Rockaway Beach, outside of Oak Harbor and Utsalady Bay.
The San Juan Islands (Area 7) revert to a nonselective coho fishery September 1-29. Look for coho along the outer edges of the island chain – the west side of San Juan Island, Rosario Strait and north sides of Waldron and Orcas Islands.
Nothing says September like silvers, and there will be plenty of marked and unmarked fish to chase on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, San Juans and Puget Sound. See the regs for retention rules, as they differ by marine area and timeframe. (MARK YUASA)
The Strait of Juan de Fuca at SekiuPillar Point (Area 5) and Port Angeles (Area 6) are open for hatchery coho through September 26 and then
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CLARIFICATIONS TO JUNE INFO
Here are clarifications from the June issue on four Puget Sound marine areas that anglers need to be aware of when making plans to go fishing later this month.
The San Juan Islands (Marine Area 7) are closed in July for all salmon fishing outside of July 18-20, when it is open for hatchery Chinook and hatchery coho. Area 7 is open daily beginning August 1 for hatchery coho and September 1-29 for a nonselective coho-directed fishery. The expected 2024 Chinook catch quota is 2,181 (2,181 in 2023), total unmarked encounter limit is 3,845 (4,258 in 2023) and the total sublegal – fish under the 22-inch minimum size – encounter limit is 2,141 (2,544 in 2023).
Northern Puget Sound/Admiralty Inlet (Area 9) is closed in July for all salmon fishing outside of July 18-20, when it is open for hatchery Chinook and hatchery coho. Area 9 is open daily August 1-September 23 for hatchery coho and September 2430 for a nonselective coho-directed fishery. The expected 2024 Chinook catch quota is 3,900 (4,300 in 2023).
The central Puget Sound (Area 10) hatchery Chinook fishery is open July 18-20 only. Area 10 is also open daily for nonselective coho through November 15. There are some pockets of summertime closures within Marine Area 10, so refer to the regulation pamphlet for details. The expected 2024 Chinook catch quota is 3,166 (3,566 in 2023) and the total sublegal encounter limit is 6,477 (7,748 in 2023).
The southcentral Puget Sound (Area 11) hatchery Chinook fishery is open July 18-20 only and not Thursdays through Saturdays only beginning July 18, as stated in the June magazine. On other days in July, Area 11 is closed to all salmon fishing and then open daily August 1-November 15 for a nonselective coho-directed fishery. The expected 2024 Chinook catch quota is 3,379 (3,379 in 2023) and the total sublegal encounter limit is 5,907 (3,845 in 2023).
WDFW will assess the Chinook catch after the initial three-day opener on July 18-20 for all four marine areas. Additional Chinook openings may occur in each marine area based on available quota. –MY
switch to nonselective coho from September 27 through October 15.
The Sekiu area is known to generate some larger-sized ocean-migrating “hooknose” coho. Remember that the main coho migration highway along the entire stretch of the Strait is located well offshore, usually anywhere from a mile to 2 miles out in 200 to 300 feet of water and even deeper off the edge of the main shipping channels. Keep a sharp eye out for tide rips and current breaks where krill, baitfish and hungry birds tend to attract coho.
It is a relatively easy fishery, and coho are usually found early in the morning and late in the day from right on the surface down to 50 to 125 feet. Even though downriggers are effective when trolling at the exact depth, many fish are simply caught by anglers using a whole or cutplug herring behind a 4- to 6-ounce banana weight. On some days when the coho are thick, you can even skip troll a bucktail fly or a “cut-plug hot
dog wiener” – verified by yours truly – with scent along the surface.
If the catch quotas don’t get eaten up prematurely, the coastal ports of Neah Bay (Area 4), La Push (Area 3), Westport-Ocean Shores (Area 2) and Ilwaco (Area 1) will still be open for Chinook and hatchery coho in September. Areas 2-4 are scheduled to stay open until September 15, Area 1 September 30. Again, all ports could close sooner if catch quotas are met.
The Bellingham Bay Terminal Fishery is open through September 30 for those looking to catch a late Chinook or coho; Samish Bay is closed.
In Hood Canal (Area 12), a 2024 forecast of 103,742 coho (down slightly from 112,710 in 2023) should provide some good times. Areas south of Ayock Point are open through September 30 for coho and hatchery Chinook; October 1-15 for coho only; October 16-31 for coho and chum; and November 1-30 for chum only. Areas north of Ayock Point are open
State managers are pointedly noting that they will be watching river levels come late summer and fall due to a low winter snowpack and that it may impact some salmon fishing opportunities. These Westside anglers are trying their luck for adult and jack coho. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)
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through October 15 for coho only; October 16-31 for coho and chum; and November 1-30 for chum only. The Hoodsport Hatchery Zone is open through September 30 for coho and hatchery Chinook; October 1-15 for coho only; October 16-31 for coho and chum; and November 1-30 for chum only. There are fishing closures around several river mouths and bays in Hood Canal during the fall period to be aware of.
Switching to the other side of the state, the Columbia in the Hanford Reach area comes alive from September through mid-October for fall Chinook, better known as upriver brights or URBs. Every year brings a different scenario in this free-flowing 50-mile stretch of water between dams and set amidst an awesome landscape and scenery. The 2024
URB forecast is 261,800 compared to a 2023 forecast of 278,500 and an actual return of 338,991.
Fishing from below Priest Rapids Dam to the Old Hanford townsite powerline crossing remains open through October 15 for Chinook and coho. Look for the best action around White Bluffs and above Vernita Bridge. To track the optimum time to hit the Hanford Reach, anglers will closely monitor the fish counts at McNary Dam, located a mile east of Umatilla, Oregon. A variety of gear will catch fall Chinook, so be sure to carry a wide arsenal in your tackle box. Water speed and currents will dictate what style of gear to use. Also know that most of the fishing grounds are found above and below the rough gravel boat launch near the Highway 24/Vernita Bridge, which turns into a
small village filled with motorhomes, campers, tents and boat trailers. Anglers who stay here should refer to WDFW’s Medium blog to learn about changes coming this fall and in the coming two years to address damage and ensure safety at the site.
September nibbles and bites: While many fall river fishing opportunities are set to open in September, anglers should check the WDFW website (wdfw.wa.gov) for emergency closures and rule changes. Lake Washington north of the Highway 520 Bridge is open September 16 through October 31 for coho. The Tulalip Bubble Terminal Fishery is open Saturdays and Sundays September 7-22. Sinclair Inlet and Port Orchard are open for coho and hatchery Chinook through September 30, then October 1-November 15 for coho only. Sections of the Samish River are open in September and can be a productive Chinook fishery, but be sure to check regulations and rules; the area below yellow marker at wingwall is open September 14 for veterans and active military only. Whatcom Creek is open Saturdays and Sundays only through September 15 for hatchery Chinook.
OCTOBER
In Deep South Puget Sound (Area 13), fishing is open year-round for salmon, but in October, try around the Squaxin Island area. That’s where a good number of hatchery-produced coho – the 2024 forecast is 48,081, up from 45,417 in 2023 – should yield decent action. There are many other passages, inlets and bays where coho are readily available. Northern and southern Budd Inlet also have certain rules, so be sure to check the regulation pamphlet for details.
In the eastern Strait, Dungeness Bay is open October 1-31 only for hatchery coho. The 2024 coho forecast for the Dungeness River is 14,305 compared to 14,654 in 2023.
Many anglers tend to give up on Buoy 10 at the mouth of the Columbia River once the Chinook have passed, but others will stick
Hanford Reach upriver brights are one fall salmon fishery to really look forward to. Centered on the freeflowing Mid-Columbia below Priest Rapids Dam, it serves up nice-sized Chinook. The author’s son Tegan Yuasa caught this one on a guided trip with June cover dude and guide Austin Moser. (MARK YUASA)
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around for a hatchery coho fishery open daily through December 31.
Along Washington’s southcentral coast, Grays Harbor (Area 2-2) east of the Buoy 13 boundary line is the gateway to decent fall coho fishing. WDFW is forecasting a Grays Harbor basin return in 2024 of 143,051 compared to 214,271 in 2023. Anglers should check the regulation pamphlet for catch limits and regulations.
The Grays Harbor North Bay Fishery is open through September 15 for hatchery Chinook and hatchery coho only. The harbor’s coho fishery (you can also retain chum) mainly occurs in the south channel (referred to as the East Grays Harbor fishery) just outside of the Johns River boat launch – located just west of Aberdeen off Highway 105 – and is open September 16 through November 30.
Anglers start their trolling pattern at the “Goal Post” (a set of rotting wood pilings), which is the entrance
And while winter blackmouth opportunities are a sliver of what they used to be, there are still chances to fish in the cold rain for feeder kings in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Central and Deep South Puget Sound. (MARK YUASA)
marker to the Johns River, and then point their bow due east into the south channel.
The south channel is a trough running east to west along the shoreline toward the Chehalis River mouth. Many anglers use the O’Leary Creek mouth or Stearns Bluff, a landmark hillside just east of the Johns River, as the ending spots for their troll pattern.
Fishing gear consists of a 6- to 10-ounce sinker ball to a three-way slip swivel with a triangle-shaped rotating flasher and a 6-foot leader attached with a cut-plug herring and/ or a spinner lure. Let out 12 to 25 pulls of fishing line – this is a shallowwater fishery, with depths of 15 to 35 feet – so your bait or lure presentation is spinning just off the sandy bottom or at mid-depth when you mark fish higher up in the water column.
Just upstream of Grays Harbor, there is an active troll fishery for coho during the fall on the lower Chehalis
River from the Montesano boat launch to the lumber mill. October nibbles and bites: Keep tabs on Lower Columbia tributaries, as certain rivers like the Cowlitz, Kalama and Lewis can produce some fun lateseason salmon action. Several Puget Sound region rivers are also open in October, including sections of the Cascade, Green, lower Snohomish, Nisqually, Nooksack, Puyallup and Skagit. If you plan to fish in a river, be sure to check what salmon species you can retain, specific regulations, emergency closures and when fishing is open by going to the WDFW website or regulation pamphlet. The Westport Boat Basin sees a fair number of penraised coho returning in the fall and is open through January 31, 2025; check the regulation pamphlet for specific rules directed at the boat basin. Lake Sammamish is open October 1-November 30 for coho only, and then December 1 through May 31, 2025, for hatchery coho only.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
Hood Canal (Area 12) is open November 1-30 for chum and popular places include Hoodsport Hatchery terminal fishery area, Eagle Creek south of Potlatch State Park and the public-access shores off Highway 101 from Eldon to Hoodsport. The fall chum forecast is 254,900, compared to 231,153 in 2023.
Many coastal river fishing options could come to life for salmon in the late fall and early winter, including the Bogachiel, Calawah, Chehalis, Hoquiam, Newaukum, Quillayute, Quinault, Satsop, Sol Duc, Skookumchuck, Wishkah and Wynoochee. In particular, the Humptulips stands out for late-season fishing as fall Chinook and coho begin to arrive in early October, and it can be decent well into December. Fishing is open September 1 through October 24 for salmon (only hatchery Chinook and hatchery coho and all chum can be retained) and from October 25 through December 31 for salmon (only hatchery-marked coho and all chum
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can be retained).
On the southern coast, there are also some options to catch salmon on sections of the Naselle, Nemah, North and Willapa Rivers. The normaltimed coho run is typically made up of hatchery fish and the late run is typically comprised of wild coho. The best time to fish for these fish is November through January.
Whatever river system you choose, be sure to check the WDFW regulations pamphlet and website on when fishing is open and what salmon species you’re allowed to keep. All river openings in the fall are highly dependent on potential later summer drought, high water temperatures and low water level issues in rivers. This could lead to in-season management changes or closures.
Late 2024 nibbles and bites: Any fall and winter chum salmon fisheries in estuaries of Deep South Puget Sound (Area 13) are dependent on in-season
updates on chum abundance, winter chum conservation implications and co-manager agreement. Anglers can keep tabs on the WDFW webpage for any changes at places like the Kennedy Creek estuary in Totten Inlet, Johns Creek estuary in Oakland Bay, North Bay near Allyn and Perry Creek in Eld Inlet.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025
Marine area fishing options are slim during this time, but you can still find winter hatchery Chinook and resident hatchery coho lurking in Area 13.
Under proposed 2024-25 permanent regulations, the mainstem Lower Columbia from the I-5 Bridge to Buoy 10 is open daily from January 1 through March 31 for early spring hatchery Chinook salmon fishing. The 2025 forecasts will come to light sometime in early winter. These spring Chinook primarily enter freshwater from February through
June – although some poke their noses in by January – with the peak occurring in April and May.
MARCH 2025
Winter hatchery Chinook fishing begins in earnest with central and southcentral Puget Sound (Areas 10 and 11) open March 16 through April 30. Each marine area could close sooner if the total encounter threshold or sublegal fish (those under the 22-inch minimum size limit) and wild “unmarked” fish encounters are achieved sooner.
The Area 10 total winter Chinook encounter limit is 4,787 (4,953 last winter), total unmarked encounter limit is 735 (953) and total sublegal encounter limit is 4,055 (4,181). In Area 11, those figures are 1,196 (1,191 last winter), 209 (259) and 840 (816).
Locating baitfish, knowing key underwater structure and tidal influence are key during the winter
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period. Most fish tend to hunker down right off the bottom, so trolling, mooching bait and jigging are the preferred fishing methods.
Most will target winter Chinook –commonly referred to as blackmouth for their dark gumline – off the Clay Banks at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Point Dalco on the southwest side of Vashon Island, the “Flats” outside of Gig Harbor, Southworth, Allen Bank off the southeast side of Blake Island, West Point off Shilshole Bay, Point Monroe, Richmond Beach to Shilshole Bay, Kingston/President Point and Jefferson Head.
And there’s always Area 13, since it is open year-round. Most will try off Gibson Point, south of the Narrows Bridges on the west side, Hale Passage, Fox Island, Johnson Point and Anderson Island.
APRIL 2025
In the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Sekiu
and Pillar Point (Area 5) are open for a winter hatchery Chinook fishery from April 1-30. Length of the 2025 winter season will be dictated by the total sublegal Chinook encounter limit of 2,168 (3,707 in winter 2024). Pro tip: Be sure to book your trip on the front end of the season rather than later because these waters could close sooner if the preseason projected catch is exceeded.
Sekiu is known for producing larger-sized fish in late winter and early spring. Chinook range from 5 to 13 pounds, with a few hitting 15 to 20-plus pounds. The key to success is locating baitfish and fishing certain areas during an outgoing or incoming tide.
Most will start at the Caves, located around the corner of the breakwater from the resort docks, and head toward Eagle Bay. Other choices include the green buoy off Slip Point, Mussolini Rock, the Coal
Mine and Slide areas, or further east to Cod Fish Bay and Pillar Point. Troll with downriggers using a rotating flasher with a whole or cut-plug herring, plugs, spoons, Needlefish or a variety of plastic squids. Others will drift or motor mooch with herring or use jigs like a Point Wilson Dart, Crippled Herring, Dungeness Stinger or Buzz Bomb.
Regardless of when or where you go, before heading out check the 2024-25 WDFW regulations pamphlet, available now at statewide tackle shops and license vendors or on the agency’s website at eregulations .com/washington/fishing. For rule updates, go to the WDFW emergency fishing rules webpage, wdfw.wa.gov/ fishing/regulations. NS
Editor’s note: Mark Yuasa is a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife communications manager and longtime local fishing and outdoor writer.
Dutch Harbor, AK
There are few pursuits finer than wading a stream in summer and casting a fly for trout. Opportunities abound in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and it’s far easier to get into fly fishing than you might imagine. (JEFF HOLMES)
Fly Fishing 101 For Summer Streams
Top 10 tips for catching trout in the moving mountain waters of the Northwest.
By Jeff Holmes
Every time I pick up one of my several fly rods, I am reminded of how much I love the sport, and I don’t even have to be in the act of fishing. If you’ve dabbled with a fly rod or have always wanted to, this July is a perfect time to buy a small amount of gear and plug into a simple and beautiful sport. Fly fishing is fun and pure and need not involve elitism and thousands of dollars of posh gear. It’s more intimate and connected to the rhythms of nature and the life cycle of the fish than any form of gear fishing I know. I never caught more
fish or visited more beautiful places than when I was obsessed with fly fishing and its simple effectiveness, and that’s especially true when it comes to fishing moving waters in the mountains in the heart of summer.
A few weeks ago, I found myself stuffing my fly rods into their rod tubes and securing scores of other rods with the simple but brilliant Reed’s Rod Wraps (reedsrodwraps .com), which have saved me a lot of broken rods over the years. I know that because I constantly break rods when I don’t secure them with these ingenious little elastic fasteners. Memories spawned by those fly rods
made me wish that I hadn’t drifted away to my current unwieldy focus of fishing pursuits, this despite my love of topwater bass fishing, backtrolling plugs for steelhead, filling my freezers with ocean fish, and more. As I packed those rods and moved my vast amounts of fishing gear out of my house and my shop and into a trailer bound for a nicer home with two –count them: two – shops to stuff with disorganized gear, my thoughts drifted out of my moldy, black-widowy shop. The sounds, smells and sights of forests and mountain streams flooded in: moose, bears, warbling warblers, clean rushing water, campfires, dry
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flies being gulped and the tug of native cutthroat and rainbow trout on a 5-weight.
The anxiety I felt leading up to this move was so great that I avoided the task of moving my fishing gear for months. In fact, I finally ended up buying tons of those black and yellow totes from Costco and dumping vast amounts of gear in them haphazardly, planning to sort it all out after the move. Why the anxiety? Part of it is because organizing isn’t my jam and I’m a fishing packrat. But the biggest reason was because I am primarily a gear fisherman these days, i.e., a terminal tackle fisherman who fishes for a lot of species. My life is awash
with gear, including 60-ish rods and as many reels or more geared for kings, sockeye, coho, trout, walleye, bass, pike, panfish, catfish, bottomfish, halibut and even tuna – and I don’t even own an ocean boat.
I found dozens of boxes of lures, spinner blades, Smile Blades, hooks, Corkies, Spin-N-Glos and tons more, including hundreds of plugs. There were even two big boxes of nothing but floats, from pike bobbers to micro bobbers for ice fishing. There was also a box of spawn sac tying materials, a crate of bait cures, sinkers of all weights and purposes, and probably a thousand dollars’ worth of just hooks, illustrating that I have problems.
THEN THERE WAS my fly fishing gear. All of my rods fit neatly in protected tubes. All of my reels fit inside an old fly fishing vest. All of my many fly boxes fit in a small cardboard box, along with lines, leaders, tippets, floatants, nippers, hemostats and a small collection of other trinkets. Two pairs of felt-soled boots and a pair of waders fit in a bag, and that was all of it, all I’d ever need minus occasionally resupplying with some leaders, tippet, floatant and flies. I’ve never crossed the line into being a fly tyer, nor does one need to to get into the sport or to be good at it.
Just the comparison between my fly and terminal gear was enough
Whether through author Jeff Holmes’ field-achieved advice here, local fly shops or via a guided trip, there are many avenues to get into the sport. (GREG SHINE, BLM, FLICKR, CC BY 2 0)
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to make me long for simpler times and served as a reminder to spend more time feather flicking; it also spawned the idea for this article. Here I’m going to give you a top-10 list of indispensable gear and basic skills needed to fish effectively and start improving your skills and catching. I’ll also offer a recommendation on the holy land of summertime fly fishing in the Northwest, perhaps all the West, perhaps all the continent. I’ll stay mum on smaller, more delicate creek and river names, but the North Idaho streams I highlight are no secret and have robust trout populations and protective regulations that have actually led to progressively better fishing throughout the years.
First, however, let’s go over some basics. Acquire all of the following simple pieces of gear and these simple skills, and you can expect to have a
great time on summer trout streams.
1 You will want a 5- or 6-weight 9-foot fly rod or an 8-foot 4-weight rod if you’re only going to fish small streams with little fish. You can spend $1,000 on a rod, or you can get a Cortland, Echo or other less expensive rod for around $125. Or, you can buy an even cheaper rod, get a hand-me-down or buy a used rod. If you’re new to the sport, make sure you like it and want to continue before spending big money. A great time can be had with any fly rod.
2
You’ll want to pair a mid- to large-arbor fly reel that costs less that $100 with your rod, and load it with 50 to 100 yards of Dacron line as “backing.” Look for a reel that is fitted to the same weight rod that you purchase. You can get into something
for $30, and if you look around, you might find a fancy name-brand reel online for a fraction of its retail cost. I own several such reels from Scientific Anglers, Ross and Lamson. But on the flip side, I could have a great time with the cheapest reel at your local sporting goods store.
As for backing, Dacron is preferred because it takes up lots of space on the reel, but I have also used heavy monofilament and old 65-pound braid from salmon reels. You may have some makeshift backing lying around.
3
For summertime stream fishing, you’ll want a weight-forward, or WF, floating fly line in the same size (4, 5 or 6) as your rod. For lake fishing – best reserved for cooler-weather months – you’ll want full-sink or sinktip lines. Sink-tip lines can be killer on streams in summertime, too, but
Knots – most you want, some you don’t. Fly fishing requires a lot of connections – backing to reel and floating line, line to leader, leader to tippet and tippet to fly and/or dropper – making it worth learning how to tie various knots. It’s also wise to take the time to undo any wind knots you pick up while casting before they tighten. (JEFF CLARK, BLM, FLICKR, CC BY 2 0)
Trout fishing on the Stillwater, Boulder, Yellowstone, Bighorn, Shoshone,
Rosebud.
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There’s a veritable blizzard of bug patterns out there, but you can keep it relatively inexpensive in summer by focusing on caddis and terrestrial imitations, Stimulators and Royal Wulffs. Dry flies not only represent what’s available for trout to eat this time of year, but allow you to see how your fly moves in the water in response to currents and mending the line, as well as essentially act as a strike indicator.
start simple. You want a floating line because starting simple is better, fly fishing dries is the best and you can still fish nymphs and streamers with a floating line in mountain streams. Fly line is expensive, and you can pay $60 to $100 for the really good stuff, which is worth it when you fish a lot, since it lasts years when cared for and is critically important to your casting. For new fly anglers, any WF floating line will work. Why do you want WF line? Because casting heavier, fatter line on the front end of the spool enables easier casts and enables you to turn the line over, shooting your leader, tippet and fly forward of your very visually conspicuous fly line.
4
You’ll want to have at least several tapered leaders in 4X (roughly 6-pound test) and 5X (roughly 4-pound test) in 8- to 10-foot lengths.
These fluorocarbon or monofilament tapered leaders are true to their name and start with some fat, stout line and taper down to thin line, the part that is 4X to 5X. The tapering, like the WF floating line, enables you to “turn over” the leader and propel your fly far in front of your floating line. Over time, as you tie multiple flies to a tapered leader, it will become shorter and ultimately thicker. Before you get to a portion of the leader that’s too thick, you’ll want to tie new tippet to your leader to keep the leader long, the line thin so it’ll pass through the eye of your fly and lengthen the overall lifespan of your leader. You’ll need tippet and knot knowledge to achieve this.
5 Get plenty of quality tippet, monofilament or fluorocarbon. I think mono is easier to fish with and is usually about as effective, unless fishing heavily pressured fish. It’s
definitely easier to cut and tie knots with, so I recommend it starting out. Get little spools in 4X, 5X and even 6X if you like a challenge in both knot tying and in landing fish. Sections of tippets can be tied to tapered leaders as they shorten.
There are many knots to join line, but I favor the very simple double surgeon’s, uni or double uni knots. Other knots you’ll want to learn that are a breeze include loop and loop connector knots, as well as knots that affix tippet to the fly, such as the ever popular improved clinch knot. Other knots I tie for fly fishing include arbor knots and nail knots, but there are many more.
6
You’ll need nippers, hemostats (preferably the kind with scissors on them) and fly floatant like Gink or the many other products you can find at fly shops or online that allow
(BAKER COUNTY TOURISM, FLICKR, CC BY-ND 2 0)
HEAD FOR THE MOUNTAINS
The Northwest is laced with mountain streams that beckon anglers during the month of July, and there is probably not a better time for new fly anglers to learn and also enjoy some catching in the process. By July, all Northwest rivers will usually have dropped into shape, especially with this year’s sparse runoff from mountains that didn’t even receive 50 percent of normal snowpack in many cases. It’s not hard to explore the mountains of the Northwest and find small streams loaded with trout, although
backcasting room can be problematic on some of our brushier waters. Exploring and finding special streams is also part of the process and can lead to some of the most rewarding summertime fly fishing.
The Cascades, coastal ranges, Okanogan Highlands, Kettle Range, Huckleberry Mountains, Selkirk Mountains, Blue Mountains, Ochoco Mountains and practically every other major and subrange in the Northwest has trout streams that hold good numbers of eager little fish. There is no mountain range in the Northwest, however,
that can compete with the mountains of Northcentral Idaho.
The extremely wild and beautiful Bitterroot Mountains are home to some of America’s great cutthroat streams and some of our country’s most abundant and pleasant camping, much of which is free. Without a doubt, this is the best place for newcomers to the sport of fly fishing in the Northwest and perhaps in all of the Northern Rockies. For that matter, it is arguably the best region for fly fishers of all skill levels seeking great fishing and a wild
Mountain streams around the Northwest typically provide decent to great opportunities to fly fish for trout in summer. They will likely be flowing lower than usual this season, at least north of the Washington-Oregon border, due to light winter snowpack. (BEN BRIGHT, USFS)
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experience free from grizzlies and rivers that blow out when it rains.
THE ST. JOE River and nearby Kelly Creek and North Fork Clearwater River are famous catch-and-release fly fishing waters that are loaded with beautiful westslope cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, good numbers of bull trout and lots of mountain whitefish. Along their lengths are hundreds of dispersed campsites, along with lots of national forest campgrounds. There can be crowds during weekends and holidays, but even on the busiest days at these remote and stunningly beautiful rivers, there are trails and side roads into the mountains that present opportunities to be alone in nature and to pick huckleberries. Black bears, elk, mule deer, whitetails, moose, wolves, cougars and more make these drainages their homes, as do many other species. Grizzlies are very rare here – a wandering male was accidentally killed last month by a black bear hunter – but carrying bear spray is always advisable in wild places for moose, bruins, cougars, dangerous unleashed dogs and the kind of idiots who subject others to their dangerous unleashed dogs. On the rivers themselves, however, the main danger is falling down out of
excitement while moving between fishfilled holes. And wearing felt-soled boots is a great way to reduce falls on slippery stones by greater than 90 percent. All three rivers are catch-and-release streams requiring single, barbless hooks, but I’ve never found the regulation a hindrance to catching fish, nor to taking total newbies out for successful first fly fishing trips. Most people fly fish here, but single, barbless lures are also allowed – just no bait.
The St Joe is Idaho’s best trout stream, and Kelly and the North Fork Clearwater are right on its heels. After tightened regulations along more of its length in the late 2000s, biologists have been amazed to see more and bigger fisher showing in their annual snorkel fish counts. The St. Joe has sooooooo many mature westslope cutthroats in it, and they’re the Northwest’s most eager fish species to rise for a fly. Fish from 12 to 14 inches are the average, but some days the fish all seem to stretch 16 inches or better.
The river is home to superb numbers of quality fish, and catching them isn’t rocket science. Gaudy attractor flies like Stimulators, adult stonefly imitations, Royal Wulffs, yellow Humpies and more will tempt risers most days, or will at least serve as fish-catching strike indicators with a
small nymph or pupa dropper fished under them. Pheasant Tails, Copper Johns, Prince Nymphs, caddis pupae imitations and Soft Hackles are excellent dropper flies.
Other times, during hatches of the river’s abundant mayflies and caddises, selecting patterns of the right general profile, size and color can be important. Coming equipped with plenty of size 14 to 18 pale morning dun patterns – Comparaduns are my favorite – along with similarly sized X and Elk Hair Caddises, represents the minimum arsenal a flyfisher should have on hand to match hatches on the Joe, Kelly and North Fork. Two flies I would never be without in July and August are foam black ants with a white indicator and grasshopper patterns with yellow abdomens.
Drag-free drifts of flies are important to convince trout that your dry fly is naturally floating downstream on the surface. Dragfree dry fly presentations will get 10 times the rises from trout on Bitterroot streams compared to flies that are unintentionally or intentionally skated across the surface – unless stripping streamers like Woolly Buggers, Zonkers, sculpin patterns and more. Streamers nail lots of cutthroat and also occasional bull trout like the 30-incher I caught on the St. Joe on the Fourth of July a while back. The same is true for those fishing subsurface nymphs with or without a strike indicator, aka, a tiny bobber that affixes to fly leaders.
FOR HELP GETTING set up and for choosing appropriate patterns for these streams, reach out to me through the magazine or go to my favorite sources, Silver Bow Fly Shop (silverbowflyshop.com) in Spokane Valley and Northwest Outfitters (nwoutfitters.com) in Coeur d’Alene.
The St. Joe is located in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, and Kelly Creek and North Fork Clearwater are in the Nez Perce NF. All three are remote, but especially the latter two. Kelly and the North Fork can be approached easily from Superior, Montana or through Pierce, Idaho. The St. Joe can be accessed from St. Maries and Wallace, Idaho, and St. Regis, Montana. Don’t expect any services on Kelly or the North Fork; on the upper St. Joe, there’s nothing upstream of the tiny town of Avery. –JH
Westslope cutthroat highlight the St. Joe and other streams in Idaho’s Bitterroot Mountains, but rainbows, bull trout and whitefish haunt these same waters. (JEFF HOLMES)
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you to dress a dry fly and protect it from moisture to greatly extend the time it will float before it needs drying. Nippers cut line and do so with precise, clean cuts so that you can fit thin-diameter line through the tiny eyelets of some flies. On the back end of nippers is also a fine metal poker to ream out the eyelets of flies to aid you in tying knots. Hemostats allow you to crimp barbs, release fish and cut line in the case of medical hemostats that come equipped with scissors. All of this gear can fit in a shorts or pants pocket, on a lanyard, in a vest, in a short pocket or in a chest pack.
7
You’ll need flies, and here’s a short list of good ones for July and August stream fishing. I recommend focusing mostly on dries when you start out for fun’s sake and the sake
of learning to cast and turn over flies, getting good drifts and getting visual confirmation of what your casting and mending is doing by watching the fly on the surface.
Dries: Foam ants and beetles, preferably black with white indicators and in sizes 12 to 16; X Caddis and Elk Hair Caddis in sizes 12 to 16; Comparadun and Sparkle Dun mayfly imitations in sizes 14 to 18; hopper patterns with different-colored abdomens (yellow, beige and orange) to match the grasshopper types on the streams you’ll fish in sizes 8 to 12; yellow and red Humpies and also small Stimulators with abdomens the same color in sizes 12 to 16.
Nymphs: Prince Nymphs in traditional and purple colors in sizes 12 to 18; Pheasant Tail nymphs in traditional and purple colors in sizes 12 to 18; both gray and olive Hare’s Ear
nymphs in 12 to 18. Fish these with or without an indicator, essentially a tiny bobber like a Lil’ Corky.
Streamers: Black, brown and olive cone-headed Woolly Buggers in sizes 8 to 14; olive and natural-colored Zonkers and Bunny Leeches in size 6 to 12; and olive, brown and purple String Leeches in sizes 6 to 12. Cast streamers (carefully to avoid hitting yourself) perpendicular to the current or slightly downstream in deeper slots, runs and pools and strip the fly back to you 6 to 12 inches at a time.
8
Mending line is one of the greatest victories in learning to fly fish in moving waters. Mending line involves manipulating your fly line and leader such that you do not impact any action on your fly, allowing it to drift “drag-free” and naturally. In the past, I’ve watched friends catch three
The payoff? Stream trout are usually hungry and willing to rise to a fly, and while many will be average sized, more than a few would be considered large for the waters they reside in. (JEFF HOLMES)
Kayak Fishing for Beginning & Advanced Anglers
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FISHING
fish to my 30 when they could not mend, only to see them quadruple their catch on the first day they made the breakthrough to mending and achieving drag-free drifts.
Mending is generally lifting your fly line upstream carefully and placing it above your fly, allowing your fly to drift downstream without a drag. The longer and more consistent your dragfree drift, the more fish you will catch dry fly and nymph fishing in streams.
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In July, waders are generally not needed except for the squeamish and weak, but hey, they deserve to fish too. Just kidding. Lightweight breathable waders work, but what I recommend is a quality pair of feltsoled wading boots, a pair of wool socks and a set of neoprene gravel guards that act like snow gaiters around your boot and ankle to keep small rocks and grit from getting into your boot. This setup is like
having four-wheel drive and a highclearance vehicle versus the rearwheel sedan that is a set of sandals or other shoes. On almost all rock types, felt boots make you exponentially more sure-footed.
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Finally, you’ll want to check your ego and replace it with a sense of discovery and a desire to learn and do something that’s likely really different from the fishing you normally do. Don’t expect to be a great caster. Read about casting basics, watch videos and practice at home or on the water. Expect to throw some wind knots at first, which is when you tangle your fly and leader and tippet in a bird’s nest. As soon as you sense that you have cast a wind knot, let your line fall to the water and try to untangle it. The more you flail around a knot, the worse it will get.
Practicing and getting better is
part of the fun in fly angling, and you should embrace a learner’s attitude, asking questions and seeking resources. There is a lot of nuance to casting, and it took me hundreds of wind knots, some flies to the scalp and lots of flies lost in willows and trees to get to the point where I can cast a dry fly where I want with accuracy and touch. And I’m not great at it either. You don’t have to get great either, but good is within your reach, and you can have fun and catch fish the first time you set out.
IN THE AUGUST issue, I’ll follow up this article with a fly fishing 201 article for summertime streams, that one focused on how to find fish, how to present flies, how to hook fish, how to play and land them and how to release them safely, since most truly great trout streams are catch-andrelease or have very conservative regulations for keeping fish. NS
Disconnecting To Reconnect
FOR THE LOVE OF THE TUG
By Sara Potter
It’s so important to make yourself pause from the tides of life that constantly push and pull you every which way. It’s so easy for all of us to get caught up in the needs of now and set the wants so far back that we might forget about them. That’s no way to live this one life we have and so this time of year, regardless of the adult burdens we all bear, do your family a favor and head up into the hills for a little time away from it all. Free yourself from the “luxuries” of life and connect with your children and Mother Nature herself. There is just something so right about these kind of adventures. We really should feed our rivers of life; not only our own, but our children’s too.
With the way that time never slows down – if anything, it continues to speed up – we really should pack up our gear and teach our children what it means to stop and savor the moments. These trips do require quite a bit of work, but the memories that will live on in your children’s hearts are worth it.
MY SLICE OF summertime trout heaven requires a boat to get us there, but the privacy it provides is right up my alley. No neighbors, no extra noises, no nonsense. Freedom in its purest form. The trout never stop biting, either, and they truly taste so much better when cooked by the lakeside. The sounds we hear are welcoming to the soul and cannot be found within the comfort of home. So many things in nature that we enjoy have a bit of discomfort
The sun rises over author Sara Potter and family’s getaway-from-it-all lake in the Cascades. Their boat-in camping spot provides tons of privacy and none of the noise of a traditional campground. (SARA POTTER)
within them. However, the more of these adventures you go on, the more you learn and the better prepared you become. Preparation is key when dry camping. The more you can do using life’s luxuries at home – running water, electricity – the more enjoyable camp will ultimately be. I like to boil myself a big pot of potatoes for hash browns, and I bake my biscuits ahead of time. I’ll wrap up some tinfoil pork chop dinners – season up the chops, add a few raw veggies, cover with heavy-duty foil –and then use my food saver to ensure that no water gets in them while in the ice chest. I seal all my proteins to ensure I don’t have any cross contamination going on. Safety first! I make my pasta or macaroni salad at home as well, storing it in a glass gallon jar, as they seal up perfect to spend a few days in the chest. I bring whole lemons and onions, fresh herbs and all my favorite seasonings as well. The only time I truly enjoy eating trout is on campouts up at the lake. Those key items make my life at camp a whole lot easier, so if you have the
The small lake’s trout might not be big, but they’re suckers for simple rigs. Potter’s daughter Ava shows off a rainbow that bit a worm behind a pair of split shot. (SARA POTTER)
time to get your prep on, do so. There is just something about a camping breakfast and a lakeside dinner that I love. The work that goes into such meals and cleanup is a real factor, but I am sure my family can taste the love I put into them. Scratch sausage gravy at 5,000 feet is hard to beat. I never had such meals
at camp growing up, so I try to make a point of providing my children with them. Potable water, though it is heavy, is also important for the tastiest of percolated coffee that I love. Patience is key when dry camping. I ready the coffee, build a fire and watch and listen to the lake before anyone wakes. Before I know it, the coffee
Prepping meals at home and making sure they won’t leak or get wet while stored in the cooler is the way to go when camping, whether dry or at a state park, national forest or other campground with water. Doing so just makes life in the woods a lot easier.
is percolating right along and I am a happy gal. The smell of the coffee and crackle of the fire get the family up before I know it.
THE TROUT FISHING can be as simple as some split shot and a worm, or you can challenge yourself with hardware and work on some steelhead skills while chasing these tiny tugs. You can also mix things up and troll a Wedding Ring with a trout-tantalizing bit of worm on the end.
The lake we camp at is not massive in size nor depth, so I keep it simple – no flashers, no tangled nonsense. Ava likes the constant action the nightcrawlers and split shot provide. We mixed things up last year and towed her on her tube while she trolled that simple setup. She loved the tug from her little tube, as this lake is electric trolling motors only. Slow-going tubing fun!
Fun is so important; I try to always ensure my children have some. This beautiful little lake provides it on so many levels for us. Nate always likes to grow within his fishing, and so he fly fished and slayed on spinners. That’s one of the countless things I love about camping so far away from it all: Everybody can do what they like without a ton of pressure or rules.
THE BEAUTY OF nature is all around us, so it is best we embrace it while we still can. Some things simply cannot be duplicated, and seeking them from a television or phone will not do. From the one-of-a-kind call of the bald eagles that are prominent up at our little lake, to the orchestra of frogs as we fall asleep, these parts of nature must truly be felt to understand such beauty.
I went without this type of adventure for a few years of my babes’ lives and only since we have embraced them once more did I remember my why – why I choose to go without the amenities we all take for granted: simply to connect with my children in the beauty of nature. These trips aren’t even truly about the fish, even though they are a big part of them. I will play pioneer woman up at the lake as long as I can, simply to see them smile. You really should too. My heart is on the river and I couldn’t change it, even if I tried. NS
(SARA POTTER)
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ISO Something Rarer Than Bigfoot: Grayling
CHEF IN THE WILD
By Randy King
Adecade ago, I hiked out across the tundra with my cousin and father in search of a caribou off the Dalton Highway in Alaska. The landscape spread out before us in endless waves of green and amber that early September. A chill was in the air, while back in Idaho it was almost 100 degrees. I may as well have been on a different planet. We saw moose, wolves, muskox, ptarmigan, foxes and grizzly bears on the tundra near the Sagavanirktok River. We even managed to shoot a caribou.
But another experience I had on the tundra keeps space in my mind rent-free. Honestly, I think about it more often than the caribou hunt.
THE IMAGE IS of a back eddy in a small Arctic creek filled with topwater-feeding grayling. I watched as their elongated dorsal fins crested the water and the fish swallowed whatever hatch was happening. I remember it took me a long while to cast into the pool. I just watched the fish feed. I knew it was a moment I needed to savor. Eventually I tossed my spinner onto the backside of the eddy and reeled my pink Mepps back through the feeding fish. I immediately hooked into an 18-inch grayling. It rolled in the water, caught some air and bent my Eagle Claw backpacking pole nearly to the breaking point.
I landed the fish and noted that it had swallowed my lure. Blood was coming from its gills. That meant it was dinner.
I took this wonder of a fish back to camp for supper. It was there that I cooked him with a dehydrated curry soup mix I sometimes make and pack with me. (It contains coconut milk powder, curry powder and dehydrated
You are correct, this is not a grayling. You are far more likely to catch cutthroat, rainbow or brook trout at Northwest alpine lakes, but for author Randy King, fishing for grayling in Idaho’s mountains takes him back to a magical hunting trip in Arctic Alaska. (RANDY KING)
FISH CURRY
Lewis and Clark caught grayling on their journey west, taking note of them as a “new kind of white or silvery trout.” But now the fish only exist in 5 percent of their former habitat. Overfishing, competition from nonnative species and the slowing and warming of waterways have all led to massive declines. Michigan lost its native river-running grayling in the 1930s. Montana hopes it can fend off a similar extirpation and has numerous private landowners involved in protecting this “species of concern” in the state.
Idaho and Washington have very small populations of grayling due to old-school bucket biology. Basically, back in the day, fish and game agencies thought it would be a good idea to dump the nonnative species into alpine lakes because 1) the water seemed cold enough to support the populations, and 2) they are tasked with providing opportunities to anglers.
Thanks to that, an acquaintance of mine broke the Idaho state record by landing and releasing a 16.2-inch grayling from a high lake in the Sawtooth Mountains.
For the purposes of our recipe, since the
odds of catching a grayling are pretty darn low, use trout or other fish as a substitute in the following curry dish.
FISH CURRY AND
POTATO SOUP
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 10-inch grayling or trout, or the equivalent thereof, tail, head and guts removed
3 cups chicken broth
1 onion, rough chopped
1 large russet potato, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
2 teaspoons Asian chili paste, like Sriracha
1½ tablespoons garam masala
1 tablespoon cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon ground coriander
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups frozen peas
¼ cup fresh cilantro
Lemon zest
In a large soup pot, add the canola oil and turn heat to medium high. Pat dry the fish
with a paper towel. When the oil is not quite smoking, add the fish one at a time to the pan and brown on both sides. Repeat with remaining fish. Set fish aside for later use. Next add the chicken broth to the pan. Scrape the bottom of the pan for any brown bits – you want to save those. Next add the potatoes, onion, garlic, ginger, coconut milk and Sriracha. Lower heat to medium.
While the soup base is cooking, add the spices – garam masala, turmeric, cumin and coriander – to a small nonstick sauté pan. Turn the heat to medium and gently toss the spices in the pan until they are fragrant, or for about one minute. (This step frees up some of the oils in the spices, making them taste better.)
When the soup base is boiling, add the toasted spices and turn down to a simmer. Cook for about half an hour or until the potatoes are fall-apart tender. At that point, add the frozen peas and return heat to high, bringing the soup back to a boil. Next place the fish gently back into the soup to reheat. Then put the fish in a bowl or plate and ladle a cup of soup onto each one. Garnish with cilantro and a little lemon zest. –RK
Fish curry with potatoes, peas, onion and lemon zest. (RANDY KING)
COLUMN
vegetables. Just add meat and water for lots of flavor and lots of calories.) The flesh was bright white and firm, the meat of a slowgrowing fish. It had a clean flavor, not unlike the stream it came from. I have dreamed of those times recently.
BACK
IN REALITY, I live in the high desert of Southwest Idaho. It’s not exactly a conducive place for coldwater species, more like warmwater bass and catfish. So far, I have not been able to successfully replicate the Arctic fishing experience in my home state.
However, catching a grayling in the Lower 48 can be done, but it comes with good news and bad.
The bad news first. Unfortunately, the only remaining native fluvial (river-dwelling) Arctic grayling population here exists in a single drainage in Southwest Montana. Michigan had some for a while, but they have since gone extinct – one of the many reasons you can’t trust a Michigander. I kid, I kid.
The Montana fish are off limits, as far
as I am concerned. They don’t need me eating them.
The good news is that a smattering of high mountain lakes across the Northwest have fishable populations of introduced grayling (check your regs before you go and start eating them, folks!).
Knowing that keeping and eating grayling is legal in Idaho, as well as having access to stocking records from across the state, I hatched a plan to hike into a
backcountry lake to catch one. As plans go, it seemed reasonable: Gain 2,000 feet of elevation over the course of 4 miles without a trail, all while hoping old fish stocking reports meant the lake still held a population of grayling. Look, I have done dumber stuff with less info, and this definitely seemed like a gamble, but off we went – packs in hand and dog in tow.
When we arrived at the lake it was dark and mosquito infested, as alpine lakes
Given that grayling only occur in very scattered mountain waters in the Northwest, you’ll likely need to make an overnight or extended backpacking trip to find any. Bring bug spray. (RANDY KING)
tend to be at 10 p.m. in July.
The next morning, we began to fish for the grayling, but none were had. Luckily, the cutthroat were plentiful – and quite large. One I caught, and which actually broke my backpacking pole, was just over 20 inches.
My buddy Justin claims to have hooked a grayling there, but until I see a body, I do not believe him. Nonetheless, we are not deterred, and with bank fishing yet to work, we are investigating/investing in backpacking kayaks now. We feel that getting to the deep and cold sections of the lake is a priority and we can’t do that with our current gear.
All in all, I realize two things about my grayling attempt(s) in Idaho. One, I am chasing a feeling from long ago in a distant land, one I might never have again, one I need to hold onto. And two, grayling fishing is just an excuse to go exploring high mountain lakes in the summer, just like caribou hunting was an excuse to go out on the tundra of Arctic Alaska in fall. I need a target to explore for, and at this point in my life I accept that. NS
Brian Brooks’ Idaho state-record catch-and-release grayling, caught in 2020 in the Sawtooth Mountains. (IDFG)
The Ultimate PNW Panfish Tackle Box
What to have on hand to catch crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseeds and other tasty treats.
By MD Johnson
“I’m not afraid you won’t have enough gear. I’m afraid of what your garage is going to look like 10 years from now.”
When it comes to fishing tackle, whether the target species be salmon, steelhead, walleye or – as will be discussed here this month – panfish, the above self-quote is exactly what I’ve told anyone who’s said to me, “You know, MD, I’d like to start fishing. What do you think I’m going to need?” Remember, fellow anglers, when you had one tackle box and one fishing rod?
So, this month we’re looking at panfish and assembling the ultimate panfish tackle box. True, the Pacific Northwest, henceforth known as the PNW simply because it’s quick and easy to type, is known as a hotbed of salmon and steelhead angling. Offshore, it’s rockfish, lingcod, halibut and, come July and the right water conditions, albacore tuna. It’s a big, fishy kind of place, this PNW. No time, I’m told often, for those spinyrayed “dinks.”
But the PNW is indeed home to an incredible array of panfish and panfishing opportunities. Lake Washington? Excellent black and white crappie fishing. Rowland Lake? Crappies. Henry Hagg in Oregon? Crappies. Prineville? Crappies. Brownlee? Bluegills and crappies. Northern California’s Clear Lake? Perhaps the best crappie fishing on
A good selection of slip bobbers, small spinners and spinnerbaits, spoons, jigs and tubes, bait, and light line on a spinning rod will go a long way toward success with crappie, bluegills, sunfish, yellow perch and other panfish species. (JULIA JOHNSON)
FISHING
Panfish have a reputation for being on the smaller size, but they’re not all that way. Brad Hole could have sworn he had a bass on the line when this jumbo black crappie bit at a Tacoma-area lake. It went 2 36 pounds and 16 5 inches long. (KNIFE PHOTO CONTEST)
the West Coast. Idaho’s Cascade Lake? Huge yellow perch.
Then there’s rock bass. Pumpkinseed sunfish. Green sunfish. And because this is my story, let’s throw bullheads in there too. Bullhead catfish, that is; not mud-daubers and/or sculpin. Yellow bellies. Brown bullheads. Black bullheads. Yeah, they’re smaller than most salmon, panfish are, but they’re undeniably fun, ubiquitous, reasonably easy to catch and – dang, son – are they good fileted and fried up in peanut oil.
A WORD FROM the past before we get going here. First, when I was starting out as an angler in northeast Ohio in the early 1970s, the “ultimate panfish box” consisted of Eagle Claw hooks, Water Gremlin split shot weights, round red-and-white clip bobbers and – maybe – a couple chartreuse 1/8-ounce marabou jigs, all housed in a blue metal Old Pal tackle box. Ah, those were the days. Today, though, and as you’ll see, panfish tackle has expanded greatly on all fronts.
(At first, I considered simply remembering the contents of my panfish boxes – plural; see what I mean? – and listing those items here; however, and seeing as I’m happy to find my way home in the evening, I decided to set the boxes out and go through them one by one. Let’s carry on.)
THE BOXES
The tackle box used by the panfish angler can be a simple as a coffee can or Ziploc bag, or as modern as a multidrawer, compartmentalized, handled box weighing, when full, roughly 1.43 metric tons. What you use doesn’t really matter, just as long as you find it convenient. And, of course, it holds your stuff.
That said, the three boxes I’m working with here include:
Plano three-drawer: This plastic box measures 8 inches wide by 9 inches high by 16 inches long, and features a half-metal front locking clasp. Of the three, I like this model the best, as it provides plenty of space and truly does
help keep things organized … until I drop it or kick it over.
Plano Model 757 four-drawer: Another all-plastic hard box, the M757 measures 15 inches long by 8 inches wide by 11 inches high. The uppermost compartment contains almost 200 cubic inches of storage space, while the four compartmentalized pull-out drawers offer additional room. There’s plenty of storage, but she’s big and bulky.
Flambeau soft case: If I have to hike in or I’m paddling my Aquapod skiff and room is at a premium, I go the soft-sided route. Unless I’m mistaken, this bag is actually a duck hunter’s blind bag serving double duty as a tackle bag; however, she seems to work just fine. With over 1,350 cubic inches of interior storage, plus end pockets and a large front pouch, the Flambeau holds four to five gear trays perfectly, along with sundry items such as PowerBait jars, tools, line, towels, Hostess fruit pies, Monster energy drinks and other necessities.
FISHING
FISHING LINE
For panfish, the key word in regards to line is light. And by light, I’m talking 2- to 6-pound monofilament; no need for braid when the target weighs around a pound, unless said targets are bullheads, in which case braid is nice, as it’s more abrasion-resistant than mono, important given that there’s plenty of abrasion potential where bullhead catfish live. Diehard crappie anglers will tell you that braid makes a difference when fishing jigs – it’s a sensitivity and “feel” thing, I reckon – but I’ve never felt challenged when running a simple and inexpensive monofilament. To each his or her own, I figure.
Specifics? There’s a spool of 6-pound Stren Crappie Mono in hi-vis gold; 2,400 yards (!!!) of Cabela’s ProLine in dark green, also in 6-pound test; and a half spool of Berkley Trilene XL in 4-pound test. The reels, a true hodgepodge of older spinning reels including several Shakespeare Intrepid 3000 series, are spooled with 4- or 6-pound mono that is changed annually.
TERMINAL TACKLE AND HOOKS
Some say yes to snap swivels; some say no. I always use small snap swivels – for example, size 1 – when throwing spinners or spoons to eliminate or minimize line twist. I do not use them when fishing any type of jig, as I feel the jig rides and looks more natural without a swivel. As for color, I prefer black. I don’t want a crappie or bluegill striking at a silver or gold swivel where there is no hook. Proof? No, but I could see it happening. So, yes, a selection of black swivels is in the box. Call me a throwback, but I’m still a fan of OEM snelled hooks, despite the fact my wife Julia taught me how to snell my own hooks. And I will, on occasion, snell my own panfish hooks – Aberdeens or egg hooks in sizes 6 to 10, depending on the target species. But if I were being honest, and I am, I’d admit that I always have not one but two cards of Eagle Claw Salmon Egg snells in sizes 6 through 12 in the box. Why? They’re easy, inexpensive, and with few exceptions – clear-waterbedding bluegills – they work just fine
in conjunction with a feisty redworm or mealworm.
WEIGHTS
I’m a huge fan of “earred” (read: removable) split shot, and I’ll have various sizes on hand, either in their individual Ziploc bags or in the greatidea-but-always-challenging-to-open round plastic dial-a-weight containers. There’s a long list of makes and models; I’m partial to Water Gremlin brand, as I grew up with them. Sizes? Some will be as small as B/BB shot, all the way up to weights roughly the size of a lead No. 2 shotshell pellet.
BOBBERS AND FLOATS
Ah, bobbers. I love bobbers. Still occasionally snap on an old-school red-and-white float, one about 1 to 1¼ inches in diameter, especially if I’m working with kids. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that at 60 I still don’t dearly love to watch a bobber disappear under the waves. I do; I really do.
The box, then, will contain a
Ubiquitous in waters from as small as a pothole to as big as mainstem Columbia River reservoirs, panfish are widely available across the Northwest. Plus, unlike salmon and steelhead fisheries, there are never any emergency rule change notices to watch out for. (JULIE JOHNSON)
CONNECTICUT
Connor’s and O’Brien Marina Pawcatuck, CT connorsandobrien.com
Defender Industries Inc. Waterford, CT defender.com
O’Hara’s Landing Salisbury, CT oharaslanding.com
MASSACHUSETTS
It’s a glorious sunrise, viewed in fast forward thanks to the power of your 250 ProXS. Because you need to get there while the fish are still eating breakfast. Learn more at mercurymarine.com or
Captain Bub’s Marine Inc. Lakeville, MA captainbubsmarine.com
Doug Russell Marine Worcester, MA WorcesterBoating.com
Essex Marina LLC. Essex, MA essexmarinallc.com
McLellan Brothers Inc. Everett, MA mclellanbrosinc.com
Action Marine & Watersports Inc. Holyoke, MA actionmarineholyoke.com
Bill’s Outboard Motor Service Hingham, MA billsoutboard.com
Merrimac Marine Supply Methuen, MA merrimacmarine.com
Nauset Marine-Orleans Orleans, MA nausetmarine.com
Obsession Boats East Falmouth, MA capecodboatcenter.com
Portside Marine Danvers, MA portsidemarine.us
Riverfront Marine Sports Inc. Salisbury, MA riverfrontmarine.com
South Attleboro Marine North Attleboro, MA www.sammarine.com
Wareham Boat Yard W. Wareham, MA wareham-boatyard-marina.com
Billington Cove Marina Inc. Wakefield, RI bcoveyc.com
Jamestown Distributors Bristol, RI jamestowndistributors.com
FISHING
The end result of a well-outfitted panfish tackle box? A well-filled cooler. Johnson shows off a mixed catch of bluegills, bullheads and more. (JULIE JOHNSON)
selection of spring-style Thill pencil floats in the 5- to 6-inch range; some of the aforementioned red-and-white round bobbers; ¼- to ½-ounce slip bobbers, these again by Mick Thill or the Inline Slider EZ Float by Beau Mac, along with the necessary bead stops, beads and bobber stops; and finally, a couple clear plastic casting bobbers should I find myself on a Long Beach Peninsula pond early in the morning and decide a fly or popper might be best.
JIGS
Regardless of the panfish species, it’s tough to beat jigs and plastics day in and day out. Twister-tail grubs. Freaky Frank’s worms. Beetle Spins. Tube jigs. Sassy Shad. Classic marabou and chenille leadheads. Berkley’s Atomic Teasers. Gulp! Minnows. Oh, I’m sure there’s something I don’t have in the box, but for the most part, you name it and I’ve got it times 10, if it’s a jig or jig-like lure. Do I have a favorite? When I
travel to Cowlitz County’s Silver Lake, it’s the 13/4-inch Lil Freaky or 2½-inch Freaky Worm from Freaky Frank’s for crappies. But for specks, also known as crappies, generally speaking, I’m old school, tying on a 1/16-ounce marabou jig with a white chenille body and red head. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t find me drifting or tight-lining a 1/16- or 1/32-ounce tube jig in red/white, blue/ white or chartreuse. Mister Twister’s 2-inch Teenie grubs in yellow, white, red, chartreuse and brown/orange –think baby yellow perch, i.e. crappie food! – worked under a slip bobber can be absolutely deadly at time, so they’re in the box.
Bluegills? Johnson’s legendary Beetle Spin or Blakemore’s Road Runner horsehead jig, either or both combined with a small (2-inch) splittail plastic, Teenie grub or Berkley Gulp! Minnow are my go-to. And let’s not forget Creme Lures’ Spoiler Spins, available in a 1½- and 2-inch paddle-tail version and armed with a Beetle Spin-esque spinner blade, a self-proven winner for crappies, big ’gills and yellow perch.
SPINNERS AND SPOONS
Traditional hard baits – spinners, spoons, etc. – are synonymous here in the PNW with salmon and steelhead. Walleye, too, fall to their fair share of spinner-rigged ’crawler harnesses. Sadly, though, these flashy bits of hardware are often overlooked as panfish possibilities, and that is a definite mistake.
That said, and so as not to make that mistake, for I make plenty aside from those associated with the angling arts, I pack quite the selection of downsized spinners, spoons and other bits of aquatic jewelry, per se, in the box, to include:
Mepps Aglia: Dressed (with squirrel tail fringe) and undressed. Potpourri features primarily the long-standing company’s size 1 (1/8 ounce), with a smattering of size 0 (1/12 ounce) and 2 (1/6 ounce) as well. I’m partial to silver blades versus gold because I believe
FISHING
the extra flash of silver can and often does make a difference. Patterns? Rainbow trout is always there; so, too, will be fire tiger and black fury, different from the Aglia with a barrelshaped body, but with the black/ yellow dots blade that simply screams “fish on!”
Worden’s Rooster Tail: Headquartered in Eastern Washington, Worden’s is a subsidiary of the Yakima Bait Company, and their world-famous Rooster Tail spinner comes in more color combinations and sizes than Carter has Little Liver Pills. (Millennials, google that one!) From 1/8 ounce down to 1/24 ounce, they’re all panfish-catching machines. I’ll have at least one in each of bumblebee, rainbow, fire tiger, chartreuse (body and blade) and silver blade with a red/white body.
Panther Martin: The 1/16-ounce silver/black regular, a teardrop-shaped little wonder I call the bumblebee
’cause it looks like a bumblebee – boy howdy, does this one catch all species of panfish, excelling in everything from rocky streams to lily-filled ponds and lowland lakes.
Spoons: Now for spoons and similar non-spinner hardware, perhaps the most overlooked lures for panfish on the docket. For silver salmon, I’m a huge fan of Mepps’ Scylops spoons, a love affair that extends to crappies, ’gills, yellow perch and the like, thanks to Mepps’ downsizing my coho go-to in size 3 (1 ounce) to a diminutive size 00, which weighs just 1/8 ounce. These little pieces of colorful metal can be cast, bottom bounced, trolled or worked under the ice, either bare or tipped with a mealworm or slice of perch belly. Other choices in the spoon category include Luhr Jensen’s 1½-inch Needlefish, Kokanee King and, despite looking like a metal shop project gone wrong, the interestingly shaped Super Duper.
TOOLS, CUTTERS, AND THE LIKE
Lures. Line. Hooks. Weights. Bobbers. Spinners. It’s all in the box, and then some; however, it’s often the “then some,” by definition, that comes in most useful on the water or whilst standing on the bank, and this would consist of:
SOG Multi-tool: As the name suggests, multiple uses.
Hemostats: Fantastic hook remover, whether from your fish or your finger.
Old-school clip-style stringer: I’m taking some of these delicious specimens home.
Fingernail clippers: Best line cutter there ever was.
Hook disgorger: Less than $1. Worth $1 million.
Small penknife: Seems redundant with the multi-tool, but it’s not. Trust me.
Bang Fish Attractant: Garlic flavor works (bassassassin.com). It really does. NS
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Suppress Yourself!
BECOMING A HUNTER
By Dave Anderson
Suppressors are gaining popularity but aren’t used often – at least in the Northwest – for big game hunting. It is now legal to hunt with a suppressor in 42 states, including those I hunt – Idaho, Washington and Montana – as well as Oregon and Alaska. As I mentioned last month, I wholeheartedly believe that hunting and shooting suppressed is the only way to go. Furthermore, once you purchase a suppressor, you will 100 percent buy more.
There are several reasons I believe hunting suppressed is the only way to go and I will touch on them in this article. But most importantly, if you are planning to hunt suppressed, make sure you do your own research so you fully understand what they are and how to use them before looking at purchasing one.
MY TOP REASON for hunting and shooting suppressed is the hearing protection that it offers for you and others you hunt with. This is so important to me solely for the fact that I have my two young boys with me in the field often. The last thing that I want to do is cause hearing damage to my boys or scare them completely away from shooting and hunting. Shooting suppressed makes the whole experience far more enjoyable for my boys, my wife and me.
But to be very clear, suppressors aren’t “silencers” as described or shown in movies. Shooting suppressed will still generate plenty of noise, but they basically eliminate enough of the sound that you are able to shoot without hearing protection and won’t experience any ringing or pain in your ears.
In the past several years, I have made a point to also work with a lot of new hunters, helping introduce individuals both young and old to big game hunting. When training and teaching someone to shoot, taking away the noise factor is huge. The kick of a
Protecting the hearing of their young sons Ryland and Barrett is one reason that author Dave Anderson has adopted the use of suppressors for his and wife Kristina’s big game rifles. The devices are legal in all Northwest states and 42 of 50 across the country. (DAVE ANDERSON)
One thing led to another, and now Anderson has four suppressors, including two Banish Backcountry suppressors from Silencer Central. While he experienced a significant wait to acquire one due to a store closing after he purchased the unit, the process is usually fast and easy. Just remember to have a copy of your federal tax stamp with you while hunting or shooting. (DAVE ANDERSON)
rifle has never bothered me, but I can tell you the noise that a .300 Weatherby makes with a muzzle brake is loud! Most people I know who have started to flinch or develop bad shooting habits is because of the noise versus the actual kick of the rifle. I am not a fan of muzzle brakes for this reason, but I do like the reduced recoil. Once you experience shooting suppressed firsthand, you will never want to go back to nonsuppressed shooting. I can assure you this, even if it’s just for the benefit of being able to shoot without ear protection, but there are other benefits to shooting suppressed that go beyond just hearing protection.
For example, the reaction of big game animals to the sound of suppressed versus non-suppressed rifles is drastically different. I have seen this difference firsthand. Most
of us who have hunted non-suppressed for years are used to seeing big game run for their lives once they have been shot at. But while shooting suppressed, I have witnessed an elk get missed twice at 200 yards and then watched the herd go back to eating. Not that any of us want this to happen, but if you are hunting a small area with a group of hunters, this could be especially important not to scare a herd of elk completely off. From my experiences, most animals will stand around looking confused at first and then after a few minutes they return to feeding or whatever they were doing prior to the shot. Another benefit of the animals’ reaction to hunting suppressed is having better opportunities for follow-up shots.
AS FOR CONSIDERATIONS to make when you’re looking at purchasing a suppressor for hunting, first and foremost is whether one will fit your rifle or not. Do you have a threaded barrel? If not, you will have to thread your barrel. If there isn’t enough meat for your barrel to thread onto, a gunsmith may have to cut it down to achieve this.
A few years back, I switched all my rifles to another manufacturer that made very slim barrels. Once I started buying suppressors (yes, that is plural! I am up to four now), I found that I was disappointed with rifles that had thin barrels for mounting a suppressor to. Through trial and error, I found that carbon fiber barrels have a lot more surface area for a suppressor to tighten down to, so carbon fiber barrels are my overall preference. This is mainly because I am very OCD and found that while shooting suppressed on thinner barrels, the suppressor could come loose easier.
Purchasing a suppressor may seem intimidating and too much work, but the overall benefits far outweigh the hurdles that you might have to overcome when purchasing a suppressor. I am here to tell you that I have had two very different experiences with my purchases and my second was so easy and smooth that I often wonder why more hunters haven’t jumped on the shooting-suppressed bandwagon.
I bought my first suppressor from a gun shop in Western Washington. The process seemed like it took a lot longer than it
should have. I was at the store for almost two hours just getting all the paperwork filled out. I also don’t feel like it was the right choice for my hunting style. Furthermore, it turned into a bit of a nightmare, as the store ended up going out of business. For about a month or two, no one knew where my paperwork or suppressor were. I finally got a call two months down the road from another gun shop telling me that everything had been transferred to them. My waiting period for my first suppressor was about eight months.
Now on to the easy and smooth process for purchasing suppressors. The last three suppressors that I purchased were from Silencer Central (silencercentral.com). It was painless and easy. They helped guide me into what worked for me and my style of hunting. They also worked to help save me money. At the time of my purchase, they had a deal where I bought one suppressor and paid for one federal tax stamp ($200). The other two suppressors that I purchased, Silencer Central covered the cost of the tax stamps, which saved me $400. They also helped me set up a trust for my family so that in case something happens to me, the suppressors will go to my wife and boys one day.
I NOW SHOOT a couple of Silencer Central Banish Backcountry suppressors. These are multi-caliber suppressors rated up to .300 Remington Ultra Magnum. They weigh in at 7.8 ounces and are only 5.5 inches long, making them very manageable for both weight and length.
Now, if you have a rifle with a 24-inch barrel, it will be a different story than for one with a 20- or 22-inch barrel. These are also thread-on suppressors. My first suppressor had a quick attachment to take it on and off. I have found that the only reason I take my suppressor off my rifle is for transportation or cleaning. There is no reason for me not to shoot suppressed.
Also, there is a point of impact difference between shooting with a suppressor and not. In some of my rifles, the impact difference is very minimal, but I have seen a difference of up to 6 inches low and 3 inches left at 100 yards non-suppressed versus suppressed. This would be huge if you were to go in the field without rezeroing after you get your suppressor.
COLUMN
Purchasing and hunting with a suppressor was one of the best decisions I have made in the last 20 years when it comes to updating and improving my hunting and shooting experiences. I cannot stress enough that once you get one, you’ll want one for all your rifles. I highly recommend starting out with a multi-caliber suppressor so you can change it between rifles. However, if you are anything like me, you must have two because you can’t have one and not purchase one for your wife. Also, if you are planning on hunting suppressed, just
remember, you will need to always have a copy of your tax stamp with you while in the field. I have been checked by Idaho Fish and Game and the first thing they asked for was my suppressor paperwork. I hope this article gives you some insights into my experiences hunting suppressed and why I strongly feel it is the way to go when hunting and shooting. If you are considering purchasing a suppressor to use for hunting and shooting, do your research! Understand the process and see if filing as an individual or in a trust is the right choice for you before making your purchase. Recently, I heard that individual applications for suppressors and paperwork for the tax stamp are turning around in just days to a week’s time in some instances, so don’t be overwhelmed by the logistics of the process. NS
“Purchasing and hunting with a suppressor was one of the best decisions I have made in the last 20 years when it comes to updating and improving my hunting and shooting experiences,” states Anderson, here with a bison he took with a suppressed rifle. (DAVE ANDERSON)
CUMBERLAND’S NORTHWEST TRAPPERS SUPPLY
Hide Tan Formula has been used successfully by thousands of hunters and trappers across the U.S. and Canada. No more waiting several months for tanning. Now, you can tan your own hides and furs at home in less than a week, at a fraction of the normal cost. Our Hide Formula tans deer hides either hair-on for a rug or mount, or hair-off for buckskin leather. Tans all fur skins – muskrat, mink, beaver, fox, coyote, raccoon, squirrel, rabbit, etc. It also applies to bear, elk, moose, cowhide, sheep and even snakeskin. Hide Tan Formula is premixed and ready to use and produces a soft, supple Indian-style tan in five to seven days.
One 8-ounce bottle will tan one deer hide in two medium-sized fur skins. Bear, elk, moose and caribou require three to six bottles. Complete instructions are included. You’ll be amazed how easy it is!
Tanned hides and furs are great to decorate your home or camp and also to sell for extra income. Tanned hides and furs are in demand by black powder enthusiasts, American Indian traders, fly tyers, country trading posts and many crafters. Our products are proudly produced and bottled in the U.S. for over 20 years.
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Guns, Gear Debut at NRA ‘Reform’ Meetings
ON TARGET
By Dave Workman
The National Rifle Association met in Dallas in midMay, not only to elect new “reform” officers, but also to see the actual debut of some new products which did not appear at January’s Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show.
This is an interesting phenomenon based on something a couple of industry guys told me years ago at an NRA convention. While the SHOT Show is an industry-only event, not open to the public, the NRA gathering is one of the biggest guns and gear shows open to the public, and it is where manufacturers get to meet their customers. Lots of one-on-one occurs at these events, and with tens of thousands of NRA members coming through the doors from all over the country, it’s a cinch there will be plenty to hear.
For openers, NRA members have elected four “reform” directors – Jeff Knox, Phillip Journey, Rocky Marshall and Dennis Fusaro – and named new officers: President Bob Barr, First Vice President William A. Bachenberg, Second Vice President Mark E. Vaughan and executive Vice President
Doug Hamlin.
James L. Wallace was elected as the 76th director. He is head of the Massachusetts Gun Owners Action League and is also seen as a “reform” board member.
The NRA has been under intense legal pressure from New York State Attorney General Letitia James, and a court trial earlier this year was preceded by the resignation/retirement of longtime CEO Wayne LaPierre.
NEW GUNS
While that election drama was playing out,
new guns were introduced.
Marlin (now owned by Ruger) introduced the Trapper Series Model 1895 lever-action rifle in .45-70 fitted with modern Magpul ELG furniture, including the new Magpul ELG stock and forend, made from reinforced polymer.
The stock has an interior compartment that holds six cartridges. It comes with six length-of-pull spacers and a cheek riser.
Another lever-action introduction has been announced by Taylor’s & Company, the TC73, and it’s an unusual entry, chambered for the 9mm pistol cartridge.
Marlin’s new Model 1895 lever-action is chambered in .45-70 and is fitted with Magpul furniture. It was introduced at late spring’s annual NRA meetings. (MARLIN)
NRA’s new leadership team includes (from left) President Bob Barr, First Vice President Bill Bachenberg, Second Vice President Mark Vaughan, Executive Vice President Doug Hamlin and Compliance Officer Bob Mensinger. (PHOTO COURTESY JIM WALLACE)
Built on the 1873 Winchester platform, it’s got an 18-inch barrel cut with six lands and grooves on a 1-in-10-inch right-hand twist. The tubular magazine holds 10 cartridges.
The TC73 has a walnut stock and forend, semi-buckhorn rear sight, color case receiver and lever, and a blue steel end cap.
This is the first 100-percent made-inAmerica levergun made by Taylor’s.
Uberti has debuted the Hunter Series featuring an 1873 lever-action rifle and single-action revolver, chambered either in .45 Colt or .44 Magnum. According to Uberti, the guns have factory-mounted Picatinny rails. The rifle has a 20-inch barrel, 10-round tubular magazine, checkered walnut forend and curved grip stock. The revolver has a 7½-inch barrel, unfluted cylinder, deep blue finish and checkered 1860-style grips.
Both the .44 Magnum and .45 Colt can be formidable game cartridges in brush country, so this combination in vintage guns may seem nostalgic, but it is also practical, especially in the Northwest.
Franchi showed off several new rifle and shotgun models, including additional chamberings in the Momentum Elite boltaction rifle series, now available in .30-06 and .450 Bushmaster.
In shotguns, Franchi has added Realtree Max-7 camo to its Affinity 3 and Affinity 3.5 smoothbores. These semiauto smoothbores offer models for younger, smaller-frame shooters (Affinity 3 Compact).
SCOUTING SEASON BEGINS
With the arrival of warmer summertime weather, now is a good time to combine fishing treks – or just summer camping –with scouting for game.
I’ve advised about this before and many folks have said it paid off. Last summer, I personally did a day trip to a spot where I’ve seen good and bad years for grouse. Having encountered fool hens on my little trek, I was back there again on the opener and put three blues in the bag, including one I shot with a pistol on opening day.
Moral: You simply cannot overvalue such trips.
Likewise, it’s possible to figure out your deer and/or elk chances by keeping an eye open. Take along a good pair of binoculars, and don’t be shy about looking at the ground for tracks, especially around water sources and in areas where deer may bed during the day. Check game trails for signs of use. I hiked into a lake up behind Snoqualmie Pass a couple of years ago and found what looked like a deer highway on one of the sandy spots along the shoreline. Nobody hunts in here to my knowledge, and I might be back there sometime during the next few weeks to see if there is still plenty of activity. It would be a great spot for a bowhunter – I’m not one – or a fellow who hunts with a handgun, which I’ve been known to do, even at my age. There is something else about these
little junkets. They help start getting your legs and lungs in shape, and usually you don’t even realize it. After a few weekends of doing these hikes, you’ll feel more limber and stronger, and you likely won’t have to stop and catch your breath every 50 feet or so.
If you’re a black bear hunter, it’s a good time to be looking for bruins prior to the August 1 season opener (Washington’s season runs through November 15, Oregon’s the end of the year, Idaho’s various dates in fall). Check huckleberry fields to see how they’re doing. Later in the summer and early fall, you just might find bears chowing down as the berries ripen.
Washington Game Management Units 157, 490 and 522 are closed to fall bear hunting. Hunters can take two black bears during the season, provided they purchase a second tag/license per the regulations.
TRACK OF THE WOLF
At a recent long-range handgunning event south of Spokane, I ran into Mike Satren, who wrote an interesting column in the Coeur d’Alene Press back in 2007 on the wolf “reintroduction” program in Idaho and its impacts on big game herds. He subsequently provided clips of that report, which looked back to the mid-1990s.
The first two paragraphs of that story pretty much summed things up:
“In 1995 and early 1996, 35 Canadian gray wolves were released into central
Taylor’s & Company is now producing a 100-percent American-made lever-action on the Model 1873 Winchester platform. (TAYLOR’S & COMPANY)
Franchi’s Momentum Elite bolt-action is offered in new chamberings. (FRANCHI)
Uberti has introduced the Hunter Series, which features a singleaction sixgun with a 7½-inch barrel and a Picatinny rail for optics. (UBERTI)
Idaho on the orders of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Jamie Clark.
“They didn’t look back.
“They did, however, multiply well beyond the director’s wildest dreams, fulfilling predictions – and fears – of many Idaho natives, including ranchers and hunters who had fought the intrusion of the federal government’s will into what many believed to be the state’s domain: the management of its fish and game.”
The lengthy story quoted Jim Beers, once a wildlife biologist with the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
“Elk and deer populations are decreasing steadily, where the wolves are spreading,” Beers said at the time.
Satren’s article then noted how “the North Yellowstone elk herd stood at more than 19,000 before the time of the ‘reintroduction’ in 1994. As of 2004, with not much else changed, except the addition of wolves, the herd was estimated at 8,335 animals. The winter count conducted on Dec. 30, 2006 was 6,738 elk.”
Even 17 years later, Mike’s observations not only sound familiar, they seem to have been prophetic. At what point will the predator proponents acknowledge the damage their social experiments have done to healthy game herds? NS
Summer’s not just for scouting big game! Author Dave Workman’s preseason patrol to a favorite grouse hunting haunt paid off on 2023’s opener. This is one of three blue grouse he capped. (DAVE WORKMAN)
Wolves along a forest road in Northeast Washington, where big game herds are giving off mixed signals as habitat, environmental, predation and health issues impact deer, elk and moose populations. (WDFW)
The Gun Dog Deskunking Sagas
By Scott Haugen
Ilet Kona out the back door for one last potty before bed. The moment he entered the glow of the porch light, it was clear something wasn’t right. His gate was off, ears and head down. Then I saw the snarl, the one he makes when he gets a mouthful of skunk spray. It was 11 p.m.
“Skunk!” I hollered to Tiffany, who was on her way to bed. I grabbed Kona and wiped his mouth and face with a dry towel we always keep outside. By the time I was done, Tiffany was there. She had dishwashing gloves on and a bucket of hot water with the necessary ingredients. We call it the skunk bucket. This was Kona’s third skunk encounter, and this time we were ready.
KONA’S FIRST ROUND with a skunk found us ill-prepared. We were on a family hike. Both of our sons were with us. It was the middle of the day and we were an hour from home. A half-mile from the truck, we all saw it at the same time – a black and white tail bobbing through tall, yellow grass. Kona and Echo had been chasing bumpers the whole time, so were not leashed. Before we could react, Kona saw the skunk and tore off after it. Echo is shorter and didn’t see it. One of the boys grabbed her.
Kona caught the skunk, gave it a shake and got a face full of spray. Fortunately, he let go. A river was nearby and we had Dawn dishwashing soap in the truck. Kona was covered in skunk spray and the cold water bath seemed to do little good. We’d been camping for the weekend and had to unload everything out of the back of the truck. It barely all fit in the king cab of the Ford F-250. We made it to a pet store near home and
When you have a gun dog that can’t stand skunks – looking at you, Kona – you need to have a deodorizing plan ready. Not all commercial sprays or home concoctions work, author Scott Haugen has learned the hard way. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
GUN DOG
COLUMN
picked up some skunk spray deodorizer. We followed the instructions but weren’t impressed. To be fair, we were late in treating Kona. The skunk smell lingered for several weeks in our truck and on Kona.
The second time Kona battled a skunk was at night, also out the back door. This one he was proud of and didn’t let go. In fact, he brought it to show us. I wiped Kona down from head to tail with a dry towel. Tiffany scrambled to find the ingredients someone had told us about and finally mixed it in a bucket of hot water. We gave Kona multiple baths on the back porch, but this skunk had nailed him good. Despite our efforts, the smell lingered for nearly six months, mostly around his muzzle and neck. We got used to it – nose-blinded, you might say.
By the third encounter, we had it down. Fortunately, this time Kona only took a squirt square in the snout, nowhere else. I held Kona while Tiff worked over his nose, face, ears and neck. After three washings with the solution, which Tiff beefed up this time around too, we took Kona inside and gave him a full body bath with it. That night Kona slept in his kennel, inside the house. The house smelled worse than he did, but in the morning we awoke to a surprisingly skunk-free-smelling home.
OUR EMERGENCY SKUNK bucket recipe is always ready. It consists of 3 cups hydrogen peroxide, 1/2 cup baking soda and 1 tablespoon of Castile soap, mixed
For Haugen and his dogs, this homemade mixture has been the best for removing most skunk spray. Unfortunately, there’s likely nothing that will instantly remove 100 percent of the pungent odor.
(SCOTT HAUGEN)
into 1 quart of warm water. We wash the dog three times with it, rinsing with fresh water at the end of each washing. Done properly, it’s a two-person effort.
When the area sprayed is concentrated, it’s easier to manage. When it’s all over the body, it takes some serious washing. Rubber boots are nice to have handy, and be prepared to come away smelling like skunk yourself. You might even have to throw some clothes away.
After the last washing, we used a blow dryer to get the dog’s hair and skin completely dry. If let to set moist, the
Never has the author seen so many skunks as in the past few years. He catches them on trail cameras pretty much every night, year-round. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
skunk odor returns faster. We always have the skunk bucket ingredients ready to go, along with a few large, old towels. On road trips, even daily hunting trips, the skunk bucket usually goes with me.
I RAISE THIS in part because I’ve never seen as many skunks as I have in the past few years. From roadkills to picking them up on many of the trail cameras I run to encountering them on various hunts, they’re simply thick. No longer do I let the dogs run ahead of me in the dark to reach the duck blind. When letting them out for potty right before bed, we turn on the lights for a few minutes, go outside and holler to scare away skunks, then keep the dogs within sight to do their business. When skunks are prevalent in the back fields at night, we take the dogs out on a long lead. By being prepared, you can get most of the skunk odor out of your pup. But we’ve not found nor have we talked to anyone who has a 100-percent-effective skunk deodorizer. The longer you wait to wash your dog, the harder it is to remove the smell. It’s just all part of being a gun dog owner. NS
Editor’s note: Watch Scott Haugen’s basic puppy training videos and learn more about his many books at scotthaugen.com. Follow his adventures on Instagram and Facebook.
CUMBERLAND’S NORTHWEST TRAPPERS SUPPLY
Hide Tan Formula has been used successfully by thousands of hunters and trappers across the U.S. and Canada. No more waiting several months for tanning. Now, you can tan your own hides and furs at home in less than a week, at a fraction of the normal cost. Our Hide Formula tans deer hides either hair-on for a rug or mount, or hair-off for buckskin leather. Tans all fur skins – muskrat, mink, beaver, fox, coyote, raccoon, squirrel, rabbit, etc. It also applies to bear, elk, moose, cowhide, sheep and even snakeskin. Hide Tan Formula is premixed and ready to use and produces a soft, supple Indian-style tan in five to seven days.
One 8-ounce bottle will tan one deer hide in two medium-sized fur skins. Bear, elk, moose and caribou require three to six bottles. Complete instructions are included. You’ll be amazed how easy it is!
Tanned hides and furs are great to decorate your home or camp and also to sell for extra income. Tanned hides and furs are in demand by black powder enthusiasts, American Indian traders, fly tyers, country trading posts and many crafters. Our products are proudly produced and bottled in the U.S. for over 20 years.
Available at Cumberland’s Northwest Trappers Supply in Owatonna, Minnesota.
Call (507) 451-7607 or email trapper@nwtrappers.com. nwtrappers.com
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Cumberland’s Northwest Trappers Supply is your one-stop trapping supply headquarters, featuring one of the largest inventories in the U.S. We are factory direct distributors on all brands of traps and equipment which allows us to offer competitive prices. Give us a try. Our fast, friendly service will keep you coming back.
Over 50 Years Of Service To The Trap & Fur Industry
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