Northwest Sportsman Mag - Aug 2020 by Media Index Publishing Group

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Sportsman Northwest

Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource

Volume 12 • Issue 11 PUBLISHER James R. Baker

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

ALUMAWELD STRYKER

EDITOR Andy Walgamott THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS Dave Anderson, Jason Brooks, Scott Haugen, Sara Ichtertz, MD Johnson, Randy King, Buzz Ramsey, Jaqueline Siegel, Dave Workman, Mark Yuasa EDITORIAL FIELD SUPPORT Jason Brooks GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak SALES MANAGER Paul Yarnold ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Jim Klark, Mike Smith DESIGNER Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker OFFICE MANAGER Katie Aumann INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER Lois Sanborn WEBMASTER/DIGITAL STRATEGIST Jon Hines

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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 There’s less Chinook opportunity at Buoy 10 this season than in the past, but the second half of August is still prime time. Famed Northwest salmon and steelhead angler Buzz Ramsey holds a fall king caught during 2017’s fishery. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 11

GEARING UP FOR ALBACORE

Oregon and Washington recreational anglers caught more tuna in 2019 than ever before, so with albie catches ramping up at press time, skipper Dave Anderson gets us ready to head out and tap into the Northwest’s hottest summer fishery!

ALSO INSIDE 97

SHORT BUT COULD ‘BUOY’ SWEET With fall Chinook retention at Buoy 10 only slated for two weeks this season, you better be on your game when it comes to salmon fishing at the mouth of the Columbia River. Mark Yuasa checks in with guide Austin Moser for where and how to get on fish in late August.

103 ROCK THE JETTY FOR SALMON Most people associate Buoy 10 salmon fishing with boats, but our landlubber MD Johnson knows the North Jetty is also productive. He has tips and tricks for running anchovies under a bobber, as well as the best spoons to toss for the fall Chinook and coho entering the Columbia this month. 125 LESSONS FOR AUGUST BEARS No need to wait for fall deer and elk seasons and hope to bump into an incidental black bear – “all day is prime time” in August. With bruin season firing up this month across the Northwest, Jason Brooks shares great advice for tracking one down.

(DAVE ANDERSON)

133 838: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Hunter Jacqueline Siegel’s preseason preparations put her in position to confidently make a long-range shot on an elk if she had to, but she also had to overcome her fear of heights just to find a bull.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Go to nwsportsmanmag.com for details. NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Periodical Postage Paid at Seattle, WA and at additional mail offices. (USPS 025-251) POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northwest Sportsman, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Annual subscriptions are $29.95 (12 issues), 2-year subscription are $49.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Index Publishing Group, or call (206) 382-9220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues may be ordered at Media Index Publishing Group offices at the cost of $5 plus shipping. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2020 Media Index Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A.

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(JASON BROOKS)

NORTHWEST PURSUITS

More To The Season Than Just Salmon

We get as carried away as the next local magazine with our unrelenting focus on salmon, salmon and also salmon, but Jason reminds us that there are plenty of other fish in the sea – literally. Rockfish, lings and – unusually for an August off the Washington Coast – halibut are more than willing to bite this month, he counsels.

COLUMNS 87

FOR THE LOVE OF THE TUG First Catches Come Full Circle Sara and her boyfriend Ben have very different happy places – the rivers and the ocean, the bank and boats, respectively – but as their lives begin to mesh together, a trip on the Pacific with Sara’s friends yields a special catch for Ben.

115 BUZZ RAMSEY Get Ready For Puget Sound Silvers With August marking the start of prime time for ocean-returning coho to Puget Sound waters, where half a million or so are expected this year, Buzz plumbed the depths of two local sharpies’ knowledge for tactics that are sure to put a silver bow on your salmon season. 139 CHEF IN THE WILD Plentiful Harvest? Put It Up! Freezer full? There are many other ways to pack away bumper harvests for later use! With big game seasons on the horizon, Chef Randy kicks off a series on preserving meat with a treatise on canning. 145 ON TARGET Summer Is When Serious Shooters Do Their Serious Reloading “Pride in a good shot, a clean quick kill and the knowledge that you did this from the ground up.” Those are just some of the benefits of reloading your own hunting bullets, Dave writes as he begins a multipart series on the ins and outs of “rolling your own.” 153 GUN DOG Prepping Hunting Pups For Road Trips Bird hunting season is straight ahead and if your plans include a longer road trip with your gun dog, now is the time to start considering all the things you’ll need to bring for your four-legged companion. Yes, the list is actually a little bit long, but Scott gives you a head start in his latest gun dog column! 16 Northwest Sportsman

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(CHAD ZOLLER)

THE BIG PIC:

HIP Check

How the Harvest Information Program collects key details on waterfowl and other far-flying flockers, as well as their pursuers, informing management decisions.

DEPARTMENTS

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THE EDITOR’S NOTE Helpful new videos

FISHING AND HUNTING NEWS Tern predation on Columbia steelhead smolts found to be ‘additive’; Coquille bass targeted; Idaho critters make unexpected journeys; Washington wolf petition rejected

PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD Salmon, turkeys, trout and more!

PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS Coast, Fishing monthly prizes

THE DISHONOR ROLL Central Willamette Valley fish and wildlife troopers earn award; Oregonians cited for illegal guiding; Jackass of the Month

DERBY WATCH Tough times for derbies; Upcoming events

OUTDOOR CALENDAR Upcoming openers, free fishing days, events, more

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THEEDITOR’SNOTE

With his dad Alex behind him, Miguel reels in his line while fishing on the Duwamish-Green River for coho last September. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

ate on the Duwamish-Green River all you want – it’s a Superfund site, it’s an Unwild and Unscenic River™, its coho quit biting in approximately 1914 BC – but it does provide a great entry point for Seattle and King County’s incredibly diverse angling community to get into salmon fishing. Late last September, I was proud to introduce my niece’s boyfriend, who is from Guatemala, and his young son to fishing the muddy DGR for coho. Miguel had seen some fish jumping in the river and was interested in learning how to catch them. After the lad and his dad Alex gave it a go without success, I was enlisted to help teach them. There can be nothing more important than expanding our ranks in all directions, so I happily agreed to meet them the next weekend. I arrived with a quiver of fish poles and an overloaded tackle bag, and Miguel and Alex brought their powerful interest in joining Northwest anglerdom. As I began my lesson Miguel turned and said “I like fishing,” and he gave a good go of it, but alas, nothing bit for us. (If only they’d made their interest known to me a few weeks earlier, we could have had some ridiculous fun on pinks!) Still, I was more than happy to lend a rod and a mess of lures for their continuing education.

IF I RECALL correctly, I also briefly talked about which fish in the DGR are safe to eat – ocean-going species like coho, Chinook and steelhead – and which are not: resident fish and shellfish. It’s a question I’ve faced many times from quizzical fellow staffers at our office, which is along the river. And it is one that is now being addressed by multiple partners working to “get this critical message to the fishers – especially members of the Cambodian, Latino and Vietnamese communities – who fish that stretch of river.” How? YouTube, of course! A video series in each language also has advice on licensing, tackle, fishing how-tos, filleting and recipes. For more, see deohs.washington.edu/srp/duwamish-fishing-videos. “Community organizations have been advocating for effective health communication about fishing in the Duwamish River for nearly 20 years,” said BJ Cummings, community engagement manager for Superfund Research Program in a press release. Partners include Duwamish Community Health Advocates, Public Health–Seattle & King County, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 10, and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. My hope is that similar videos are made for waters across our region, luring new residents into fishing and helping keep families safer. In doing so, we’ll grow a wider spectrum of advocates for salmon and other species, clean water and healthy habitat. –Andy Walgamott nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2020

Northwest Sportsman 23

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HIP Check

Long required for migratory bird hunters, the Harvest Information Program collects key information on waterfowl and other far-flying flockers, informing management decisions.

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PICTURE By M.D. Johnson

lot of things in life can be complicated, such as taxes and fuel-injected car engines. Fortunately for those hunters who pursue migratory game birds each fall, the Harvest Information Program needn’t be on this list of complications. HIP? What’s that? Glad you asked.

INTRODUCED INITIALLY AS a pilot test

Waterfowl hunters wait for mallards and other ducks to fly into their spread on Southwest Washington’s Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. (BRENT LAWRENCE, USFWS)

in 1992 in California, Missouri and South Dakota, HIP became a national requirement of all those hunting migratory birds in 1998. “HIP is a program that allows biologists to estimate how many migratory birds – e.g. ducks, geese and doves – hunters harvest in this country each year,” said Karen Waldrop, Ph.D., and chief conservation officer for Ducks Unlimited (ducks.org). “It also tells us how many people are participating in hunting these species.” It’s a cooperative partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state game agencies, whereby two important pieces of information are gathered. First is identifying the nation’s migratory bird hunters, and second: what types of migratory birds do these individuals pursue? Note the emphasis on the phrase migratory bird hunters and not exclusively waterfowl hunters. We’ll get to that distinction in a minute. But getting HIP-certified is only step one in a potentially two-step process. That’s because not every migratory bird hunter will progress to the second step, a much more in-depth harvest survey distributed by the USFWS. The key word here is harvest. While HIP tells the states and the USFWS who the hunters are and what they hunt – ducks, coots, swans, snipe or doves, to name just a few birds – the in-depth survey provides accurate harvest information, such as how many and what species. That’s HIP in a nutshell.

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Northwest Sportsman 27

PICTURE

Data for HIP is often collected as a hunter buys a new license, though in some cases that’s not always as reliable a source of information as it could be – for example, the customer service counter at big box stores, where the impetus is to get through as many people as quickly as possible. (JULIA JOHNSON) program? This one’s simple – every hunter who pursues migratory birds must sign up for HIP. Who collects this information? How is it obtained? We’ll get to that momentarily, but for now let’s define migratory birds. Does this term mean only waterfowl – that is, just ducks and geese? Perhaps incorrectly, HIP has become associated more closely with waterfowl hunters. However, the program applies to much more than just duck and goose hunters. The USFWS definition of migratory game birds includes any species of, well, migratory bird, including not just ducks and geese, but coots, brant, swans, doves, woodcock, rails, snipe, sandhill cranes, moorhens, bandtail pigeons and gallinules. For all of these birds there is a set season. But wait, some Northwest hunters might say, “If I only hunt ducks and geese – no snipe or rails, nor moorhens or gallinules, whatever in the heck moorhens and gallinules are – why is it that I have to answer questions about those species?” “(USFWS needs) to be able to contact 28 Northwest Sportsman

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people who hunt various birds,” said Frank Rohwer, president and chief scientist of Delta Waterfowl (deltawaterfowl.org). “What this does is it narrows the field and allows the USFWS to ask more detailed questions about what was harvested. They can even ask hunters to send in wings to help determine age, sex and other important data.” One more note: Once HIP certification is complete, proof of that completion must be carried with the hunter in the field, and, like a hunting or fishing license, must be presented to a wildlife officer representing either state or USFWS offices upon their request. This proof of completion varies from state to state, and it’s the responsibility of the hunter to make sure he or she is HIP-certified and possesses the necessary documentation while afield.

WHO COLLECTS THIS info? When? Is there a cost? Today, HIP information is gathered in a variety of ways, depending upon the state where HIP is completed. Often, this process

is conducted either at the time a hunting license is purchased at a store, online or via a state-specific toll-free telephone number following the purchase of a hunting license. At the license counter, the license agent should ask the HIP questions as part of the licensing process. If he or she does not, inquire as to the state requirements regarding HIP. “I usually buy my hunting license at a big box store, and I’ll call them out,” Rohwer said without hesitation. “I’ll say, ‘Hey, I just got HIP-certified, and you didn’t ask me any of the questions.’ I know there are questions and I want to answer them because I want to be a responsible hunter.” As for cost, the answer is yes or no. In some states, Washington and Oregon, for example, HIP certification comes free or as part of the license purchase price. Others states like Idaho and New Jersey charge a nominal fee designed to cover any administrative costs. Any cost, then, depends entirely on the state that issues the hunting license and HIP certification.

and number of ducks harvested, including any birds downed but not retrieved. There is a third step to the process, known as the Parts Collection Survey, or more commonly, the Wing Survey. A still smaller subset of hunters will be asked to provide one wing from each bird harvested during the season. With these, researchers can determine species, sex and age for ducks harvested, as well as other limited information for migratory bird species. This gives managers important indications of the health of bird populations in addition to determining how many are harvested. There’s a saying in the computer world: “garbage in; garbage out.” It means one only gets out of the machinery what one puts in. Enter inaccurate information, and, to no surprise, the information received as a result is likewise erroneous. Similarly, wildlife managers stress the importance of having accurate HIP data in order to build upon that foundation. “We use the information we get to estimate harvest,” begins Kathy Fleming, chief of the branch of data management and monitoring with the USFWS. “Those estimates are very dependent on the data we get and the size of those samples, so not only do we get an estimate but we want to know how accurate that estimate is.”

PICTURE

IT’S NO SECRET that wildlife management Better management of migratory bird hunting requires better data. Fowl populations, including mourning doves, are high at the moment, but haven’t always been that way, making HIP an important part of setting seasons that provide opportunity while guarding against downturns. (JULIA JOHNSON)

H.I.P. CERTIFICATION IS only the first piece of the puzzle. The next step of this two-step process is just as basic. The name of every HIP-certified hunter in a state is placed into a general pool. It’s the computerized equivalent of a spinning drum, so to speak. From this single drum or pool, a small number of hunters’ names are selected at random each year, and these individuals are asked to complete a much more in-depth survey; that is, the national harvest survey. Think of it like winning the lottery. These surveys are broken down into five separate categories: waterfowl (ducks, geese, sea ducks and brant); doves and bandtail pigeons; American woodcock; snipe, rails, gallinules and coots; and sandhill cranes. 30 Northwest Sportsman

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Responses to the HIP questions allow the proper survey to go to the appropriate hunter. That means that duck hunters receive duck surveys, dove hunters receive dove surveys, and so on. It’s important to note, however, that the occasional duck hunter might receive a dove survey, or vice versa, in order to try to sample hunters who have switched from one to the other. The national harvest survey asks hunters to maintain a voluntary hunting record throughout the course of the hunting season. Think of it as a hunting journal or diary. For example, our Hunter X, now known to be a duck hunter by virtue of his or her HIP responses, will provide information that includes the date, county of harvest

agencies today are being challenged to do more with less. And as agencies try to be more responsive to these challenges, HIP faces its own set of trials. “The number of hunters has been declining, and most people are familiar with that fact,” Fleming said. “And HIP is our main source of information as a sample framework for our harvest surveys. Over the past 10 years, (survey) participation has declined across the board. People are inundated with requests to take surveys, so that’s negatively impacted our sample in that we (now) have a smaller number of hunters for our surveys, while we also have a lower response rate from those hunters selected. That’s our number one concern going forward for HIP.” But, you might be asking, what does HIP mean to me, the individual being asked to participate in this annual series of inquiries? “The vast majority of hunters who

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PICTURE

For the first time since 1955, state, provincial and federal agencies in the United States and Canada didn’t perform the annual May waterfowl breeding population survey, but hunting managers will use long-term data to inform flock counts and wetland conditions. (CHAD ZOLLER)

WATERFOWL BREEDING, HABITAT SURVEY CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19

he U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service cancelled the annual Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey for the first time in its 65-year-history, due to restrictions stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. The report came from Ducks Unlimited, which said the cancellation will not affect the 2020-21 hunting season. This survey has traditionally involved state wildlife agencies and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Not only was this survey cancelled, but USFWS and CWS also won’t participate in the American Woodcock Singing-ground Survey, Mid-continent Population Sandhill Crane Survey, and Arctic Goose Banding Program. And the U.S. Geological Survey cancelled the North American Breeding Bird Survey, data from which is also important in monitoring bird abundance and regulating harvest of some species, the DU announcement said. There is good news, however. According to Ken Richkus, chief of the USFWS Division of Migratory Bird Management, the agency will be using “long-term” data and models to produce a forecast for this spring’s duck numbers and habitat conditions. “Decisions to cancel the May survey and other migratory bird monitoring this spring were based on our priority of protecting the health and safety of the American public, our partners and our employees,” Richkus said. Another factor in this process is the current travel restrictions in Canada. They may affect some of the goose banding efforts. Ducks Unlimited Chief Conservation Officer Karen Waldrop had this to say: “These surveys are the bedrock of effective harvest management in North America and have helped sustain waterfowl populations and abundant hunting opportunities for over 60 years. Although we will miss the anticipation and excitement that comes with the annual release of the May survey results, we don’t expect the cancellation of surveys to impact seasons and bag limits for the majority of species. The combination of healthy, robust waterfowl populations and our long-term experience with these data gives us faith that the waterfowl management community can project populations with a high level of certainty.” –Dave Workman

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participate are doing so because they know it’s important,” Fleming said. “They understand why it’s important as hunters. And we view our hunters not just as people answering a survey, but as partners in data collection that directly affects their hunting opportunities. So it’s different from a survey that asks, ‘What did you watch on TV last week?’ We’re actually asking hunters to provide us with scientific data on their harvest.” When asked what would be tangible benefits for the migratory bird hunter, Fleming said, “I would say there are a lot of benefits to hunters for providing quality information. Hunters and the public want us to make wise decisions about managing migratory birds, and that’s the number one thing we can do with good information.”

IN CLOSING, A final note: Like the migratory bird hunters upon whom it depends, HIP’s story has been one of evolution; a series of modifications and improvements have been made over the course of its history. What hasn’t changed since HIP was introduced nationwide in 1998 is the importance of hunters providing good information. Seasons, bag limits, hunting zones, unique opportunities and habitat management decisions are all connected to you, the hunter who answers the questions. “We’ve been in this prolonged period of liberal bird hunting seasons,” said Fleming, “with really good habitat conditions for most species. And I think a lot of hunters don’t know or remember some of the restrictive regulations that were used in the 1970s to 1990s, so they don’t see the need for getting really good information every year. They think there are a lot of birds and, with fewer and fewer hunters every year, that we don’t need good data. But nothing could be further from the truth!” “Just because we have liberal seasons now doesn’t mean we can relax our need for information. It’s a very important part of being able to set the season framework and have an entire strategy that lets us know when we have to be conservative and when we can be liberal. But that requires data annually, not just every few years.” So as responsible hunters, we’re all in this together, and it all starts, each year, with each of us getting HIP-certified. NS

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NEWS

A Caspian tern flies over East Sand Island, on the Lower Columbia near the Pacific Ocean, while carrying a salmonid smolt. (DAN ROBY, OSU)

Tern Predation On Steelhead Smolts ‘Additive’: OSU Study C

olumbia steelhead smolt predation by Caspian terns was found to be“additive”and is having “a significant impact” on runs, a recent study found, contradicting other work. Scientists with Oregon State University found that “the birds are not only preying on fish that would perish for some other reason, but are adding to the annual death toll by eating steelhead smolts that would have survived without tern pressure.” That’s a different conclusion that one reached by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Fish Passage Center researchers, who

posited that the smolts would have just died some other way – instead of due to birds, because of bass, for instance – and thus tern predation was “compensatory.” Science is of course a work in progress as conclusions are challenged to see whether they hold up, but the impacts of Caspian terns are being scrutinized because of how many Endangered Species Act-listed Columbia fish stocks – 13 – that have to swim past what was the “largest breeding colony” of the birds in the world before the number of breeding pairs was reduced by 29 percent. What OSU Professor Emiritus Dan Roby

of the College of Agricultural Science’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife wanted to look into was whether that reduction resulted in greater survival of steelhead smolts and returning adults. “Without clear evidence that reduced predation means greater survival to adulthood, management to reduce predator impacts would be a waste of time and resources,” Roby said in a press release. To tackle the question, Roby, fellow OSU scientist Dr. Quinn Payton, Real Time Research in Bend, and Nathan Hostetter of the University of Washington

nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2020

Northwest Sportsman 35

NEWS collected just over a decade’s worth of mark-recapture data for nearly 80,000 tagged smolts to estimate the likelihood of the fish living or dying. That made for an apples-to-apples comparison for smolt survival and tern predation. “Our results provide the first evidence that predation by Caspian terns may have been a super additive source of mortality during the smolt stage and a partially additive source in the smolt-to-adult life stage,” he said. “A persistent pattern was clear: For each additional 10 steelhead smolts successfully consumed by Caspian terns, about 14 fewer smolts from each cohort survived outmigration.” And eating those 10 was also found to result in one less adult returning to spawn. Bottom line, according to Roby, is that “tern predation was primarily additive and therefore has a credible, significant impact on prey survival.” The paper was published in Ecological Applications and comes to a different conclusion than what USFWS and

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COQUILLE BASS TARGETED

ynamite’s still illegal, but bait, spears and spear guns were all greenlighted for smallmouth on most of Southern Oregon’s Coquille River after state managers pinned part of the blame for low Chinook returns in recent years on bucket biologists’ bass. The goal of the temporary regulations in place through the end of October on the mainstem Coquille and its East, Middle and North Forks and the South below the Forest Service border is to reduce impacts on salmon. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says the bass are “partly to blame for poor returns” of fall kings, with 2018’s and 2019’s runs coming in “extremely low.” The nonnative species may also be preying on lamprey in this river that flows into the Pacific at Bandon, south of Coos Bay. According to ODFW, smallies were illegally introduced into the Coquille, with the first discovered in 2011. The Umpqua, renowned for its bass fishing, is the next river system to the east. With ideal habitat and water temperatures, smallmouth have been expanding their range in the Coquille. The state agency posted maps showing known and unconfirmed smallmouth range in the river, as well as where anglers and spear fishermen can access the lower mainstem and the South Fork. –NWS

FPC found in their Journal of Wildlife Management article – that “management efforts to reduce the abundance of the [tern] colonies are unlikely to improve the survival or conservation status of

steelhead,” according to OSU. Funding for the new study came from federal and county hydropower interests, which have had their own impacts on steelhead runs. –NWS

NEWS

Commission Denies Petition To Codify WDFW Wolf-Livestock Protocols

P Idaho state fisheries biologist Greg Schoby holds a large bull trout. (IDFG)

Idaho Critters Make Unexpected Journeys W hen it comes to fish and wildlife migrations in the Northwest, Chinook, steelhead and mule deer are the standard bearers, making epic journeys from where they’re born to richer pastures and back again. But a couple of other critters also make long-distance movements, albeit with less fanfare. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game highlighted a bull trout and whitetail does that put on their traveling shoes, illustrating the importance of habitat connectivity for species that are not known to wander far and wide. While some bulls do go to sea, like those in Puget Sound rivers, Inland Northwest fish move between river systems through the year. These “fluvial” char may overwinter in bigger waters before moving to small streams to spawn, IDFG says. Such is the case with one bull trout that biologists captured in Hells Canyon in January 2018 as a 12-incher, tagged it and let it loose. It was caught again there the next January, now measuring 16.5 inches,

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then in late spring was discovered in the Imnaha River of far northeast Oregon. “Then in July, the fish traveled more than 186 miles to spawn in a small mountain stream in the Salmon River country in Central Idaho,” IDFG detailed. Last winter it had returned to Hells Canyon and in late spring it was right back in the Imnaha. Odds are that right now it’s somewhere in the River of No Return Wilderness, contemplating yet another trip back to the canyon and then the Imnaha. As for those whitetails, for the first time in almost two decades IDFG biologists collared does in far north Idaho’s predatorrich Unit 1 to better understand the herd’s survival and seasonal movements. Data showed that most did in fact stick close to where they were captured, having their fawns there, but some went miles and miles before giving birth. One doe, No. 200744, was tagged on the east side of the lower half of Priest Lake, then swam across it and struck up Granite Creek to north of Roosevelt Grove

ointing to the need for flexibility, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission earlier this summer unanimously denied a petition to require nonlethal tactics be used to reduce wolf-livestock conflicts. Hardcore out-of-state wolf fanatics had asked them “to place enforceable constraints on when, where and how lethal removal may occur” by codifying preventative measures, but members of the citizen panel rejected that approach as too shackling. In moving to dismiss the proposed rulemaking, Commissioner Kim Thorburn, the Spokane birder, said that just like you can’t always keep deer out of your garden or raccoons out of the chicken coop, so it goes with wolves and livestock. She said working on a case by case basis was a better approach and that rules “take away flexibility.” Wolf conflicts, including lethal removals, are guided by protocols developed in 2017 with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wolf Advisory Group stakeholders – instate representatives of the livestock, hunting and conservation worlds. They stress preventing conflict through range riding, delayed turnout, moving sick or dead cattle off the range and other measures first but allow for agency director Kelly Susewind to consider taking out wolves in packs that commit three rapid-fire depredations or chronically kill cattle, sheep or other domestic animals over a 10-month window in an effort to head off further losses for both herds and packs. In one case this year, Susewind did authorize removals (none had occurred at press time), while in another on the other side of a troubled mountain range he didn’t. Meanwhile, losses began to accelerate there.

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NEWS of Ancient Cedars. But that was nothing compared to two other does, Nos. 200631 and 200917, that were captured in roughly the same spot as 200744. They covered 20 miles in two days before splitting and ending up north of Upper Priest Lake. Why? The deer aren’t talking, leaving biologists curious about the unusual energy expenditure at a key part of their lifecycle. Maybe it has to do with accessing somewhat richer habitat for their fawns, but North Idaho is pretty green overall. Or perhaps it’s related to maternal memories passed down over time. The collars on those three and 137 other whitetails in Unit 1 as well as 6 and 10A up the St. Joe River and east of Dworshak Reservoir, plus devices on other big game, cougars, bears and wolves should help produce “an integrated picture of the large mammal community in northern Idaho.” “We’ll be able to follow these deer from spring through winter, getting a much better understanding of what our deer need to successfully survive and reproduce and what their main causes of mortality might be,” says IDFG’s Micah Ellstrom. –NWS

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Six Northeast Washington wolves gather along a forest road near a fenceline. (WDFW) Commissioners Bob Kehoe and Dave Graybill suggested the petitioners’ boxchecking approach could backfire on them. The request came from the Center for Biological Diversity of Arizona, Cascadia Wildlands of Eugene, Western Watersheds Project of Idaho’s Sun Valley region and WildEarth Guardians of New Mexico. They and others have been working on multiple fronts to pick away at how wolves are managed in Washington, including lawsuits in state and federal courts, and imploring Governor Inslee to step into the fray. –NWS

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Northwest Sportsman 41

READER PHOTOS Shawna Bailey shows there’s more to Lake Chelan than Mackinaw – the big fjord has landlocked Chinook too! She caught this one while fishing with sister-in-law Tara Bailey. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)

Maybe it was the “Sound Advice” offered in our June issue or maybe his daddy just has the fishery dialed in, but either way Nate Belisle enjoyed good fishing for resident coho on Seattle’s Marine Area 10 in late spring. He limited with a second during a two-hour outing trolling a white hoochie behind a purple haze flasher. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST) Mike Campion landed an “epic piggy” in the San Juan Islands in mid-July, this hatchery Chinook. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)

A homemade fly did the trick on this Central Oregon kokanee for Jon Stark over the Fourth of July weekend. He was pulling it behind a Paulina Peak Performer Dodger. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)

Pine Hollow Reservoir east of Mt. Hood served up an eye-popping rainbow for Grant Clare in June. He hooked the 12-pounder while trolling a Rapala Countdown. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)

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

nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2020

Northwest Sportsman 43

READER PHOTOS Three springs, three Blue Mountains foothills gobblers in a row for Jack Benson! (COAST HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST)

Turkey season started later than usual in Washington this year but that didn’t slow Brandon Jewett down. Along with guiding a newby into two birds, he bagged a pair himself after the coronavirus-delayed hunt fired up in May. (COAST HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST)

Rosalie Kearney took time off from her other hobbies – gardening and quilting – to catch these two nice Chinook out of Sekiu, in the western Strait of Juan de Fuca. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)

Todd Hanson and Gerald Chew paid a visit to Southwest Montana in early July for a little trout fishing, catching near-twin browns while nymping the Beaverhead. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)

No doubt Luke Andrewjeski loved catching this 15-pound-or-so summer Chinook on the Upper Columbia near Chelan Falls. Wenatchee High School varsity boys tennis team coach (and Northcentral Washington fishing sharpie) Don Talbot put Andrewjeski and several teammates on salmon last month. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST) 44 Northwest Sportsman

AUGUST 2020 | nwsportsmanmag.com

PHOTO

CONTEST

WINNERS!

Jerry Han is the winner of our monthly Fishing Photo Contest, thanks to this shot he sent of son Corbin and his mid-March walleye from the midColumbia. It wins him gear from various tackle manufacturers!

Jeff Benson is our monthly Coast Hunting Photo Contest winner, thanks to this pic of daughter Carly and her Southeast Washington spring gobbler. It wins him a knife and light from Coast!

For your shot at winning a Coast knife and light, as well as fishing products from various manufacturers, send your photos and pertinent details (who, what, when, where) to awalgamott@media-inc.com or Northwest Sportsman, 14240 Interurban Ave. S., Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. By sending us photos, you affirm you have the right to distribute them for our print or Internet publications. nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2020

Northwest Sportsman 47

2 Oregonians Cited For Illegal Guiding

regon game wardens appear to be cracking down on illegal guiding this year, making two busts in recent months. One occurred in late May when an Oregon State Police fish and wildlife trooper cited Kyle Buschelman at a Nestucca River put-in after finding him with “an envelope of cash and clients ready to fish.” It followed an investigation into the 41-year-old Eugene man’s on-the-water activities. Per OSP, Buschelman tried to claim he was fishing with friends, but the money he had on hand was “comparable to standard guide fees for that number of passengers,” and he eventually acknowledged he had been booking trips on the Willamette and McKenzie Rivers, as well as Tillamook County waters. Troopers said he explained that “he had not gotten around to

“E

KUDOS

xceptional work” by the Mid-Valley Team of the Oregon State Police’s Fish and Wildlife Division led its troopers to be named the 2019 Team of the Year. Members, who are based out of the cities of Salem and Albany and patrol Benton, Linn, Marion and Polk Counties, include Sgt. James Halsey, senior troopers Jim Andrews, Steve Kenyon, Casey Hunter, Chris Boeholt and Ron Clement, and trooper Zac Cochran. They were recognized in late June.

completing the licensing renewal process.” Buschelman and the prospective clients were otherwise properly papered to fish. The other happened in late March when Carl Burge was about to take several fishermen out of Fred’s Marina, at the head of the Multnomah Channel. OSP said the 40-year Carlton man “did not have the license and certification required of guides.” According to troopers, Burge also apparently drew attention to himself by acting “in an unprofessional manner toward other guides and their clients while on the water. Further, he did not have the appropriate inspection decals on his boat.” The state marine board requires guides to annually certify they carry liability insurance and their first aid and CPR training are up to spec, while some

operating on larger waters also need a Coast Guard license, OSP says. Failing to register as a guide is a class A misdemeanor. “Standards set out for fishing and other guides help keep Oregonians safe. If you are thinking of becoming a guide, make sure you do your research and find out what licenses and permits you need before accepting payment for guide services,” said Lt. Ryan Howell of OSP’s Fish and Wildlife Division. “People need to do their homework and guide safely and legally.” The rules are also intended to “create a level playing field” for the guides who do it right and pay the fees. “When people skirt the rules, it impacts those who do go through the correct process,” said Yvonne Shaw of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Stop Poaching campaign.

“The nomination of the Mid-Valley Team specifically mentioned their teamwork and described them as a selfless group of highly motivated troopers with [an] outstanding work ethic. They have done an excellent job of fish and wildlife enforcement this past year and are very deserving of the award. The team is tenured and experienced, and their willingness to help others, including those outside of their assignment within the Northwest Region, was specifically noted during the selection process,” OSP stated in a press release. The Mid-Valley Team is believed to be the first to be twice honored with the award, having been recognized with it in 2015.

“I’ve worked with some of these guys for a long time. They are passionate about catching wildlife violators,” Sgt. Halsey told the Albany DemocratHerald. There are around 120 Oregon fish and wildlife troopers and their beats vary from the Sagebrush Sea to the Pacific, the air to special investigations, habitat to commercial fisheries. Roughly half of the OSP division’s funding comes from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the agency’s South Willamette Watershed manager praised the Mid-Valley Team’s work. “We couldn’t manage without this team,” Brian Wolfer told the Democrat-Herald. Kudos!

JACKASS OF THE MONTH

f a game warden has already had to ask you three times if you’re absolutely positively 100 percent totally sure you only have half a five-gallon bucket worth of spot shrimp aboard and you know you in fact have a lot more, it might be a wise moment to fess up. A pair of Washington shrimpers saw it another way in June and decided to hit for the cycle instead, earning themselves gross misdemeanor citations in the process. Our tale takes us to the tail end of a four-hour opener on Hood Canal in June as the men, who were returning to a private

MIXED BAG

Officer Mark Hillman counts spot shrimp during a bust on Hood Canal. (WDFW)

beach, were contacted by the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Sgt. Kit Rosenberger and Officer Mark Hillman. Showing their bucket, the duo initially said they were a skosh under their limits, but the sharpeyed sergeant suspected they had more. That’s because he could see a second

five-gallon pail “nearly full to the top placed in the rear of the boat behind multiple items.” Rosenberger gave them several chances to come clean, but after having to ask a fourth time if the half-full bucket was all they had and they said it was, “he told them he knew they were lying and were now under arrest,” WDFW reports. Whoops! Counting the contents of both buckets turned up almost 400 spotties; the daily limit is 80 per person. Between hauling three limits too many, hiding them and lying about it, not only was the two bozos’ gear seized but they were cited for failure to submit their catch for inspection and first-degree overlimits. The extra shrimp were also seized and given to more deserving folks at the Port Townsend Food Bank. nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2020

Northwest Sportsman 49

Tough Times For Salmon Derbies I t’s nothing compared to the suffering being felt around the world due to Covid-19, but for the record, two more Northwest summer salmon derbies were cancelled. Yet as one popular series also won’t be held in 2021, two tuna events are a go this month. Let’s take this one by one. Coronavirus restrictions made “it virtually impossible for us to safely hold a derby this year,” Brewster organizers announced on Facebook of their late July-early August event. On the bright side, North-central Washingon anglers can at least fish for summer kings after an unexpectedly large return led to much of the Columbia opening. Covid “challenges and restrictions” and “a desire to keep everyone healthy and safe” led the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association to scrub its midAugust Buoy 10 Challenge – the second important fundraiser the Portland-based

fish and fishery advocates have had to scrub in recent months. And after awarding a brand-new, loaded KingFisher 2025 Escape HT at the conclusion of September’s still-scheduled Everett Coho Derby, the Northwest Fishing Derby Series will lock up shop through next year. While the series has seen numerous events cancelled due to coronavirus – including two salmon derbies that were to be held on the South Sound this month – it was really hit hard by fishery reductions impacting resident Chinook that go into effect this coming winter, bonking three blackmouth derbies in the San Juan Islands and a fourth in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca. It all leaves the Northwest derbyscape looking pretty threadbare these days, but there are still some takers who feel they can pull off events while ensuring participant safety and comply with health

By Andy Walgamott

NORTHWEST FISHING DERBY SERIES EVENTS*  Now-Aug. 7: Slam’n Salmon Ocean Derby, Brookings  July 29-Aug 2: The Big One Salmon Derby, Lake Coeur d’Alene  Sept. 12: Edmonds Coho Derby  Sept 19-20: Everett Coho Derby More info: nwfishingderbyseries.com *Given ongoing Covid-19 precautions, confirm events before attending. mandates. At press time that included the Aug. 14-15 Washington Tuna Classic and Aug. 28-29 Oregon Tuna Classic out of Westport and Garibaldi, respectively. Both donate catches to local food banks, with the OTC also benefiting Ducks Unlimited, and the WTC Mission Outdoors. For more, see missionoutdoors.org/wtc and Oregontunaclassic.org.

nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2020

Northwest Sportsman 51

OUTDOOR

CALENDAR* Black bear hunters take the field starting Aug. 1 in Oregon and Washington. Chad Smith spotted this mountain bruin last year while scouting for big game. (COAST HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST)

AUGUST 1

Fall bear season begins across Oregon, Washington; Opening of salmon fishing on the Columbia from Puget Island to Warrior Rock, and from Bonneville Dam to Tri-Cities 2 Denman Wildlife Area 3D Archery Event (registration, $); info: myodfw.com /workshops-and-events 7-9, 14-16, 21-23, 28-30 Chinook, hatchery coho retention openers on Columbia from Warrior Rock to Bonneville Dam 6 Tentative Washington Coast halibut opener; following opener dates vary by marine area; info: wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/halibut 8 CAST for Kids event on the Umpqua River (Elkton, registration); info: castforkids.org 13 Crabbing opens in Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Marine Area 7 North (Boundary Bay, Georgia Strait) 14 Opening of salmon fishing on the Columbia from Buoy 10 to Puget Island 15-16 Oregon Free Fishing Weekend 27 Last day of Chinook retention on the Columbia from Buoy 10 to Puget Island 28 CAST for Kids event on Yaquina Bay (registration); info: see above 29 Opening day of bowhunting season for deer and elk in Oregon; CAST for Kids and Take a Warrior Fishing events at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (registration); info: see above 30 Opening day of bowhunting season for deer and elk in many Idaho units; CAST for Kids event at Prineville Reservoir (registration); info: see above

SEPTEMBER 1

5 5-6 12 13 14

Washington cougar, deer (bow), dove, grouse and various small game openers; Northeast and Southeast Washington fall turkey openers; Oregon statewide grouse, dove openers; California and mountain quail opener in Western Oregon; Northeast Oregon steelhead opener CAST for Kids event at Clear Lake (Spokane, registration); info: see above Oregon nonselective coho opener and following Fridays and Saturdays through Sept. 30 or when 3,000-fish quota met Washington bow elk hunt opens; CAST for Kids event on Lake Washington (Renton, registration); info: see above

CAST for Kids event on Hagg Lake (registration); info: see above Opening of fee pheasant hunting at Fern Ridge Wildlife Area

15-23 Bandtail pigeon season in Oregon, Washington 15-25 High Buck Hunt in several Washington Cascades and Olympics wilderness areas, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area

17-20 2020 Seattle Boats Afloat Show, South Lake Union; info: boatsafloatshow.com; 21 26 28

36th Annual Portland Fall RV & Van Show, Expo Center; info: otshows.com Opening of fee pheasant hunting at Denman, Sauvie Island Wildlife Areas Washington statewide muzzleloader deer hunt opens; Take a Warrior Fishing event on Lake Washington at Renton; info: castforkids.org Opening of fee pheasant hunting at EE Wilson Wildlife Area

* Check ahead. Some events may not take place due to Covid-19 concerns. nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2020

Northwest Sportsman 53

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FISHING With anglers starting to catch albacore early last month out of Westport, now is the time to get your hooks, rods, reels and other gear ready for tuna season off the Northwest Coast. (DAVE ANDERSON, BOTH)

Gearing Up For Albies Following a record-smashing season off the Northwest Coast, hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how to get ready for this summerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fishery. By Dave Anderson

argeting tuna off the coast of Washington and Oregon is by far one of my favorite fisheries during the summer and early fall. I will always remember feeling like a king the first time I took my own boat out to the tuna grounds and

successfully brought home 13. However, fast forward to today and looking back on that trip, there were several mistakes we made that could have easily been avoided if I would have had the knowledge at the time. A mediocre day can turn into full fish boxes and busy canners with some proper preparation and knowledge.

I would like to share a few tips that I wish I had known back then that can help turn your first trip into a successful haul of delicious tuna.

ASK ANY EXPERIENCED tuna fisherman, the goal is not to troll around all day and pick up a few here and there; the goal is all about live bait fishing. nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2020

Northwest Sportsman 63

FISHING

An array of author Dave Anderson’s albie gear – from rods and reels to weights and hooks to different types of lures – is ready for deployment in the North Pacific this summer and fall. (DAVE ANDERSON, ALL)

Bait fishing is about as exciting as it gets. Imagine all of your buddies standing around as chaos ensues, and you have fish hanging and boiling all around your boat. When departing Westport or Ilwaco in the morning at first light, we all pick up live bait. A proper-sized bait tank with round edges and the correct flow is key to making sure you have lively anchovies and not rolled dead bait when you get to the tuna grounds. The size of bait tank you are going to need will be determined by the capacity your boat can handle, as well as consideration of overall storage capacity, including for ice to ethically harvest and care for your catch. Smaller boats that carry fewer people and have less overall storage capacity would not have a need for three scoops of bait. However, larger boats with more people and more storage capacity, such as most charters out of Westport or Ilwaco, generally take two or three scoops each day.

AS FOR RODS and reels, my minimum number of setups would be four troll rods, nine bait rods, and a couple jig rods if I were running a charter or larger capacity boat. However, if I was running my own smaller boat 64 Northwest Sportsman

AUGUST 2020 | nwsportsmanmag.com

FISHING

WASHINGTON ALSO SAW RECORD TUNA CATCH IN 2019

lbacore catches reached new heights off the entire Northwest Coast in 2019. Last fall we reported here that Oregon recreational tuna anglers had set an all-time high, and data we received last month shows Washington fishermen put a record number on ice too. Pacific Fishery Management Council figures show those landings were 98,602 and 87,618, respectively. The tallies topped previous big catches of 61,486 off Oregon in 2012 and 78,249 off Washington in 2015.

Marlene and Gordy Yamaguchi show off one of the record 87,572 tuna Washington recreational anglers put on ice last season. They were fishing 45 miles out with Gary Lundquist and friends. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)

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It’s an unusual alignment in records dating back to 2004, given how the fishery is driven by convergence of phytoplankton blooms with tuna-friendly water temps, good weather conditions, and proximity of the vast schools to ports – factors that can vary widely off our 400-mile coastline. But it’s also one more sign of how tuna angling has grown in the Northwest. As few as 12,089 and 4,849 were caught in Washington and Oregon back in 2005, at the relative dawn of the modern fishery. Evergreen anglers went on just 1,515 tuna

trips that year, but in 2020 took 14,438, the most yet, according to PFMC figures. Even as the number of express charter boats making daily trips grows, private anglers are getting more and more adept at getting on the fish, likely after learning from skippers like Mark Coleman and applying that knowledge on their own, as Dave Anderson advises in his main article. The private fleet accounted for 72 percent of last year’s Washington catch, 63,435 fish, sharply up over 2017 and 2018 when fishing was poorer and landings were lower. High abundance makes it more worthwhile for ever-savvier freelancers to make the run out. Anglers averaged 6.07 fish in 2019, up from 3.24 the year before. Data for Oregon is a little muddier because guided catches are included in the tally, but 94 percent of 2019’s haul was classified as landed by private boats. Westport accounted for a combined 53,357 private- and charter-landed albies last season, the most for any Northwest port. Other top harbors were: Charleston: 41,442; Ilwaco: 32,524; Winchester Bay: 14,984; Garibaldi: 12,316; Newport: 9,928; Depoe Bay: 5,843; and Brookings: 5,778. But even as Oregon’s catch hit new highs in 2019, the size of the albacore also appeared to be the lowest in 15-plus years. Preliminary stats showed the fish averaged just 25.67 inches, more than 3 inches shorter than the average since 2004, 28.9 inches. A Department of Fish and Wildlife ocean manager speculated it was related to a “strong younger age class that is available to the fishery.” With coronavirus concerns, it’s unclear if 2020 will top 2019, but that big year-class could potentially be good news if ocean conditions are cooperative. Some of the season’s first sport-caught albies were brought to port early last month. An All Rivers and Saltwater Charters crew caught 17 fish 50 nautical miles out of Westport on July 2 on a mix of jigs and bait, “and left them biting,” according to a report on Facebook. –NWS

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Northwest Sportsman 67

FISHING

Anderson battles a tuna. You can grind away on your own to figure out the fishery, but he says a better way is to hop aboard a charter and learn from top skippers. He also increased his knowledge about the fishery during a stint as a deckhand. (DAVE ANDERSON)

with less than six anglers, the number of bait rods would be significantly less, but I would always have four troll rods, two extra troll rods to the number of anglers and two jig rods. I have fished a lot of different rods from Shimano, Seeker and Thrasher. They all work great, but the price range varies quite a bit throughout those few manufacturers. Choice of rod will just depend on your budget. Your rods do not need to be sensitive. Tuna fishing is not a finesse fishery and there is no such thing as a nibble. You also never set the hook while tuna fishing. For bait rods, length will be determined primarily by how long they need to be to clear your engines when you are following your fish. Typically, 7-foot-6 to 8-foot rods in 68 Northwest Sportsman

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medium heavy will be the size you will need. Troll rods will be stout 6-footers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the same type you use for halibut fishing. Finally, jig rods will be based on your personal preference and range from 6 to 7 feet. For reels, the biggest key is to make sure you have durable open-faced models that can hold up to the power and runs these fish make. There are a lot of great options from Avet to Shimano that I use. When I first started tuna fishing and did not want to break the bank, I bought Penn reels, which worked fine. As with any type of fishing, you can spend as little or as much as you want on gear. When it comes to line, I prefer 65-pound braid on my troll reels and 50-pound braid on my bait and jig rods. All the rods will have a top shot

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 80-pound monofilament on my troll rods, 30- to 40-pound fluorocarbon on the bait reels and 50-pound fluorocarbon on the jig reels.

MY TACKLE BOX for tuna is rather simple. I have a handful of Zuker and Berkley clones in my favorite colors of pink and white, zucchini, Mexican flag, black and purple. I also have cedar plugs and a couple varieties of swimbaits from Savage Gear and Big Hammer. My other tackle box of gear consists of numerous sizes of live bait hooks with rings ranging a couple sizes up and down from No. 1 to match the size of anchovies that we pick up in the morning. I also carry a good amount of Shimano Flat Fall and Butterfly jigs that I pick up at Sportco (sportco.com)

in Fife near Tacoma. I will also carry various sizes of 1/8- to ¼-ounce egg sinkers, as well as pencil lead and surgical tubing, in case the weather is garbage or if anglers are having a tough time getting their anchovies to swim down. These weights can sometimes be very handy in these situations. I also have a lot of various-sized swivels and snaps. Make sure to beef up your gear, as salmon swivels and snaps will not hold up to tuna. Think gear the size you use for halibut fishing.

TUNA ARE MY favorite species to target off the coast and chasing them also provides opportunities to catch other pelagic fish as well. I cannot stress enough how important it is to get out and book a charter and learn from the fantastic captains we have on our coast. I ran my boat a couple times before I finally booked a charter with Mark Coleman of All Rivers and Saltwater Charters (washingtontunacharters.com). He is one of the best tuna fishermen in our area and I learned a lot by going on this charter. It basically opened up my addiction to tuna fishing and made me a much better angler overnight. The following summer, I worked as a deckhand for a charter, gaining more knowledge and experience. Shortly after that, I got my captain’s license to run trips on my own. It will save you so much time, energy and frustration if you start by learning from a professional as opposed to jumping out there after just reading a few articles and watching YouTube videos, like I did when I first started. You will also see how to properly bleed, ice and care for your catch, as these charters handle thousands of fish per year. The other major part of tuna fishing you will learn by going on a charter is how to convert from trolling to live bait, and tactics to keep the bait stop going. To be honest, that’s where the real fun starts! Meanwhile, I hope this gives you a good starting point when looking for gear to get into this great fishery off the Northwest Coast. NS 70 Northwest Sportsman

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rowing up in the Lewis Clark Valley, aka the “Jet Boat Capital of the World,” it was an easy career choice for Steve Stajkowski to start working in the aluminum jet boat industry. In the early 1980s, when he was still in high school, Stajkowski got a job at a manufacturer, starting as a cleanup boy and working his way up the ladder. He was eventually able to experience every aspect of the aluminum jet boat manufacturing process, and he was fascinated. “During breaks, before or after work, I was always using the tools of the trade, learning how to fabricate, building various boat parts, and grabbing a welder whenever possible,” says Stajkowski. His interest didn’t stop there. After high school, he enrolled in a night welding course at the local college, but he concluded that he was better off getting a handson education and on-the-job experience that was much more specific to the aluminum jet boat industry. By the late 1990s, Stajkowski had started working for himself, and a few years

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later, he designed the very first “inboard tunnel hull” jet boat with the ability to run extremely shallow debris-filled waters. “Most all aluminum jet boat manufacturers, past and present, produce the Hells Canyon River Jet Boat design, which I call the typical jet boat design,” he explains. “All of them are pretty much the same with truly little design differences. When you live in the jet boat capital of the world and the gateway to Hells Canyon, it stands to reason that they would all be similar. Form follows function.” Stajkowski continues, “My type of tunnel hull aluminum jet boat was not designed specifically for Hells Canyon use, and it did not look anything like the typical jet boats. There is only one Hells Canyon in the entire world. I designed the tunnel hull jet boat to target all the thousands of other types of rivers and shallow bodies of water around the globe.” After nearly a year of CAD work designing the boat, the structure, and optimizing the material use, the first jet boat was produced in 2007, and a new company, SJX

Jet Boats, was born. What makes Stajkowski’s jet boats unique is that they are designed with a structure he calls a heavy-duty, lightweight construction. The continuous full-length welding, accompanied by a double bulkhead floor structure system, allows an SJX jet boat to flex as a unit, preventing any possibility of fractures or cracks beginning. All of this combined with the truly brutal testing they do on a continuing basis gives SJX the confidence to place a lifetime hull warranty on every jet boat produced. “To date, we have had zero warranty claims on our tunnel hull design,” says Stajkowski. But perhaps the biggest attraction for SJX’s customers is having the shallow-water abilities to reach places that other typical aluminum boats cannot even come close to, opening up so many more hunting, fishing and recreational possibilities. This has never been more important to outdoor sportsmen and -women than right now, when social distancing is the new normal. Says Stajkowski, “The SJX jet boat allows people to get away from it all and go to places where there is not a chance of any other boats sharing their space.” For more info, visit sjxjetboats.com.

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COLUMN

A trip to the oceanic Safeway this month could yield rare groceries for Washington bottomfish anglers who are used to just lings and rockfish this time of year. Covid-19 concerns pushed halibut season from May and June to select days starting in August. (JASON BROOKS)

Summer Not Just All About Salmon S

almon tend to command center stage when it comes to fishing in the Pacific Northwest. As the year begins, we NW PURSUITS await the first springer By Jason Brooks to be caught, then the North of Falcon process kicks off and lets us know when to plan our summer and fall fishing vacations. Sure, deep-diving Chinook, acrobatic coho, aggressive chum and tasty sockeye are all good reasons why salmon are at the top of our list for fishing trips. But most of us have gone to local restaurants or even famed chain eateries and ordered fish ’n chips. If it’s a special occasion, say, a birthday, the waiter may serve up a fillet of

baked halibut or pan-seared sea bass. When it comes to actually going fishing, salmon are our top pick, but when it comes to eating, it’s the “other fish” that tend to end up on our plate. That is why this August, and even into September and through October, you might want to remember that there’s more in the salwater than just salmon.

MARINE AREA 4, otherwise known as Neah Bay, was finally opened for fishing in late June. This is the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where the Pacific Ocean meets Puget Sound. In normal years, bottomfishing opens up in March and runs through October, with a subseason for halibut on select days in May and June. Of course, this is not a normal year and

the halibut season is expected to open in August. This is a unique opportunity to head out and catch some of the besteating fish at a time when the ocean is a bit more calm and predictable than in spring, when storms still clash with the coast. Before you head out to the halibut grounds, realize that you are passing by some of the best rockfish, aka sea bass and lingcod, waters. Rockfish can’t be kept in Puget Sound proper, but out here on the briny blue they can. Depending on which side of Tatoosh Island you are on will determine your daily limit. Most anglers target black sea bass, as they tend to school in large groups and hang out around pinnacles. The fish are aggressive and you can get your limit quickly if you hit the right spot. They are also found around

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COLUMN kelp beds and you can fish for them just like you would for bass at your favorite lakes, pitching grubs and jigs. They fight hard and taste good. Keep in mind that you can catch several other kinds of rockfish, though not all of them can be kept. Popular species include canary and copper rockfish. The canary is orange with mottled white along its sides and can grow to impressive sizes. However, they look a lot like yelloweye, which must be released. Vermillion are bright red and are also often confused with yelloweye. Be sure to know the difference and know how to use a descender device to safely release all rockfish that you won’t be keeping. Kelp greenling are often found near

kelp beds and some people like to eat them. Personally, when I catch one, I go find a rock pile and send it safely back down to the bottom, albeit it on some razor-sharp Gamakatsu Big River 4/0 hooks – these fish are a lingcod’s favorite treat. Speaking of, lings are often thought to be a springtime fishery. This is mostly because Washington’s ocean season opens in mid-March and since there are no other fisheries going on, anglers head onto the Pacific aboard charter boats to get some for summer fish fries. In Puget Sound, the lingcod season ended back in mid-June, but for the ocean it runs to the end of October. Depending on which marine area you are in, there might be a minimum size

No guarantees, but a peek at Washington’s record fish list shows that the state’s biggest halibut was actually landed in late summer, a 288-pounder from Swiftsure Bank back in 1988. Al Malave works a flattie up from the depths. (JASON BROOKS) 76 Northwest Sportsman

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limit, so be sure to check the regulations. Lingcod like to live in rocky areas and around pinnacles. Expect to lose some gear when fishing for them. One way to keep from snagging up your favorite dart or jig is to remove the standard treble on the bottom and replace it with Gamakatsu Stinger hooks. These are two single hooks tied together with a braided tether. Run it through the top eye of the dart so the hooks are at the top of the jig. This way, when you drop down and hit bottom, it’s not the hook that hits first. Reel up a few cranks and then jig the rod up and down.

WHEN IT COMES to the how-tos, regardless of whether it is rockfish,

COLUMN lingcod or halibut, you will get more bites when you use attractant scent. This is because you are often moving with the tide and it can be hard to stay right on top of the fish. You can draw fish to your lure if you use scent. Halibut anglers know this, especially those who anchor and use a scent bag to bring the big flatfish to their location. Lingcod will also cruise along to find your

bait if they smell it. Rockfish are aggressive and always feeding, so scent can create a feeding frenzy. One thing to think about with scent is using varieties with ultraviolet added or a liquid UV that can be added. Pro-Cure has done extensive testing on fish off Oregon, Canada and Alaska. They have a couple of specifically formulated scents that will really help when it comes to catching lings

and halibut, along with rockfish. First is the Flounder Pounder, which you would think is just for flounder, but it is a bait oil that is designed to break apart and sink to the bottom where the fish are hanging out. You can get the bait oil version with added UV flash that helps your lure or jig glow at deeper depths. This is also a great additive to a scent bag if you are on anchor. The other scent that I use

There’s more to the rockfish family than black sea bass. Canary and coppers are available, but they can look like yelloweye, which must be released. Author Jason Brooks holds a canary, identifiable by its white fin edges versus dark for yelloweyes, among other traits. (JASON BROOKS)

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WHERE TO GO

inally, Marine Area 4 is open, but with closures of the Makah and Quileute Reservations to the nontribal public, it and Area 3 to the south seemed all but unreachable for the average angler. With August being a month of stable weather, you might be able to get out on the water from other ports and make the run to those areas. Always know your limitations, both in the size and capabilities of your vessel, as well as your sea navigation skills. Those wanting to fish Area 4 can reach the fishing grounds from Sekiu. It is a long run, so be sure to have plenty of fuel on board. Depending on if the tribal ports of Neah Bay and La Push open up, and if you choose to venture to them, those who own smaller boats can easily make it to nearby rockfish and lingcod areas. This is what makes this fishery so much fun, as you don’t need to venture across an ocean bar, like you do out of Westport, Ilwaco and ports further south. But if the reservations remain closed or close back down during the season, be sure to have a plan B. The south jetty out of Westport on a calm day provides some good rockfish opportunities. Either way, be sure to check the weather forecast as well as the ocean conditions at the NOAA website, which will also give you tides, wave heights and winds. –JB

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COLUMN

There are many scent products available that will draw fish to your lure, but Brooks swears by this brand’s lines, which he says are “specifically formulated scents” based on testing off the Northwest Coast. (JASON BROOKS)

Red- and orange-meated fish get all the attention this time of year, but the ocean’s still serving up fish and chips. (JASON BROOKS) 82 Northwest Sportsman

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most often when bottomfishing is their Butt Juice heavy liquid scent. Again, this is a blend of scents and is designed to create a large scent field to attract fish. If you are jigging with darts or other hard lures, then using Pro-Cure’s Super Gels will stick to them much better than the bait oils, which are mostly used for injecting into soft baits, baitfish such as herring, or using in a scent bag or a way to disperse the scent as a scent trail. Lingcod are known to hitchhike, sinking their teeth into a fish you actually caught and simply not letting go, even though they are not hooked by the hooks themselves. Using an added scent helps keep them on the lure, but be sure to have the net ready. Lings are often docile until they break the surface of the water. This is when they will let go, so it is best to have a long-handled net with a big basket. Scoop up the fish before it makes it all the way to the surface and then hang on! The big, toothy fish will thrash wildly and if you can safely hold the fish over the side of the boat and give it a quick bonk, then it will be safer to bring aboard. Some anglers use a large, clean plastic

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garbage can as a bleed bucket. This is a great idea, as all of the white-fleshed fish, no matter if it is a rockfish, lingcod or the coveted halibut, should be bled right away. Action can be fast and oftentimes a boat full of anglers will catch multiple fish at a time. In fact, if you add a shrimp fly to your line, you are likely to bring aboard two rockfish at a time and maybe even get a lingcod hitchhiker, making it three. The idea is to put the fish in the garbage can, slit the gills and let it thrash around in the can, keeping the deck clear, clean and safe while you get back to fishing. Once the fish are bled out, be sure to get them on ice right away. For short, halfday trips, I often fill my cooler with ice and add sea water to it, making an icy-cold saltwater slush. At the end of the day, it is best to fillet your fish before leaving the dock. Most marinas have a fish-cleaning station, but be sure to take a scrub brush and clean off the table, as seagulls really like to hang out on them after anglers leave. Also know that most of these facilities use a water pump at the end of the dock, which means you are using saltwater. I carry a large water can with about five gallons of freshwater, along with some plastic tubs, in my truck. All of the fillets go into the tubs and get a good freshwater bath to get the saltwater off of them. I keep the skin on the fillets so that I can identify the fish. The skin also helps protect the fillets when I get home and vacuumseal them, two fillets per bag, skin side out. Wrap the fillets in a heavy plastic wrap and vacuum-seal. This way if the vacuum is lost, the fish will stay fresh and not freezer-burn. When it is time to make a meal, thaw the fillets and remove the skin. I have kept fish this way in my freezer for up to two years with no worry of freezer burn.

AUGUST IS OFTEN thought of as the height of the ocean salmon season and the start of some of our river fisheries. In the Northwest, Chinook, coho and sockeye hot spots might be at the top of anglers’ destination lists, but when it comes to dinnertime, it’s not all about the salmon. Head to the coast and enjoy a day of catching fish for dinner. NS

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COLUMN Ben Potter and author Sara Ichtertz have different happy places – the ocean and rivers, boats and bank, respectively – but they both enjoyed a trip last season off the Southern Oregon Coast, where Potter caught his first Pacific Chinook. (SARA ICHTERTZ)

First Catches Come Full Circle O

h, how we never forget our first. All the firsts in one person’s life? Pretty FOR THE LOVE incredible really. OF THE TUG Some of those firsts By Sara Ichtertz crash upon us like that sneaker wave we never saw coming while throwing spinners for fall fish off the jetty. Quite the rush! After you realize you are

fine, you think maybe you enjoyed it in some crazy kind of way too! Those are the ones that make the ride worthwhile and are experiences we will not soon forget. As I think of my firsts, I feel this little fish tale of firsts is pretty cute and so I shall share it with you today.

LET’S QUICKLY GO back to junior high – don’t worry, we won’t stay there long. Sara was confident in who she was, making

sure her wit and sparkle outweighed her flaws, and she found herself student body president before she had even kissed a boy. But as fate would have it, that same year her first real crush snuck up on her very much like that sneaker wave. What did I find before I knew it? I thought I was in love. I found a boy who wanted nothing more than to impress me. Riding me on his wheeler around the ranch I held onto him tightly, as if we

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COLUMN The silvers were snappy that day on the briny – and remarkably flat – blue. Tina Fountain shows off a red-meated coho. (SARA ICHTERTZ)

were defying death together. I remember loving the way he was fearless, the way he smelled, and the way he looked into my eyes like no one had before. He and his big ears, with those happy eyes just smiling, so glad to have me in his presence. Before too long that moment every girl wonders about arrived and we shared our first kiss, a first for both of us. I remember it like it was yesterday. But we went to different schools and with the way life was, we were not destined to be together. Or were we?

LIFE UNFOLDED IN a way I’ve come to trust, and I find it incredible that the little boy with the big ears who stole my first kiss would walk back into my life 24 years later and steal my heart. Trying to impress me still, there he was back in my life, fancy North River jet boat and those big blue eyes. That boy grew into his ears, had a way with words, and when he kissed my hand for the first time it was unlike anything I had ever felt. I laughed at it all like, Is this really happening? But I loved how I instantly felt: I could authentically be me, be so comfortable even after all this time. There was an undeniable connection and comfort I felt when we were together, so I trusted those feelings. After all, my heart calls my shots, and I’m sure it always will. The sleepless nights I dealt with, fearing the thought of dating as a grown-ass woman, were rough. I told myself I would just love the rivers. That is basically what I had been doing for some time anyway, so why not just dive into the rivers and be the best mom I could possibly be? I would just give up on love. He, on the other hand, had other plans. He told me I had always been that girl and he always hoped I was happy, but if he could have the chance to try and make me happy, he was going to. It is hilarious to me that he thought that fancy boat would just win me over. Little did he know that I kind of hate boats; I only embrace them to connect with fisheries that my two feet are incapable of accessing. Even though his boat wasn’t the golden ticket he was hoping for, he did very much make me feel a whole new realm of connection and passion. And in 88 Northwest Sportsman

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Northwest Sportsman 89

COLUMN think this day forever bonded the four of us; no matter how busy we will be with life, that friendship is forever. Time apart does not cause a rift, but time together is counted as the blessing that it is. And those are my kind of people.

I WAS SHOCKED by how close to shore we

A harvest made not far behind the breakers. “I loved being able to watch the surf and see the beach from a different perspective,” writes Ichtertz. “Some people will never know this type of day, but I am thankful knowing I will never forget it.” (SARA ICHTERTZ) feeling such things he stole my heart, but wildly enough, I so willingly gave it to him. And that brings us to my first time ever trolling for salmon on the big blue.

I SAY MY heart is on the river because it is. With river fishing, I am in total control of my approach for the most part, and I love that. The forest environment is fitting, truly feeds my soul and has always given me great comfort. There is something undeniably right about fishing the ocean as well, but it just isn’t my comfort zone. The ocean’s power is second to none and I’m thankful my boyfriend Ben’s love for his boat and that big powerful body of water has me excitedly embracing the new. I had the opportunity to treat us to a day over the bar with my wonderful friends Guy Springman of Valley Boy Guide Service 90 Northwest Sportsman

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(find him on Facebook and Instagram) and Tina Fountain. Ben wasn’t too sure about not being the captain, as he is one of those kind of guys, but I assured him we were in for a great day, one of the few keeper coho openers of the season. He agreed to let me take charge and so off we went over the bar on one of the most gorgeous days ever. There was young love on that boat between the four of us, which was pretty awesome because Tina and I have been through a lot over the past couple years. Watching a couple work well together on a boat has always fascinated me! It was beautiful to watch Guy and Tina’s shared passion. Feeling their love and seeing my friend shine in a way I had never seen brought happiness to my soul. When we find the person who brings that out in us, we tend to treasure it a little more the older we get and as life continues to unfold. I

were when we dropped our lead, Short Bus Flashers and herring overboard. I loved being able to watch the surf and see the beach from a different perspective. It was just stunning to be able to embrace the power and beauty that is Mother Nature, all while hunting for the freshest of harvests – crab and salmon. Some people will never know this type of day, but I am thankful knowing I will never forget it. The sun rose over the dunes and no sooner than I was able to take in the moment, off went my lover’s rod. With such spastic hits, right away I thought we had a silver on our hands. As Ben fought the fish, he almost instantly insisted I take the rod. That isn’t my style at all – I prefer to get the fish from the holder in the boat fishing department – and I wish I had stood my ground, as in no time flat I had lost the first fish of the day! Lame! Barbless hooks on a day where we can keep silvers seems silly to me. I know, I know, I am not in charge for a reason. The ocean was calmer than many a lake I have been on. He was still. He was calm, though his power never goes unnoticed. Not even the sway of the sea could be felt and that was a relief to me, as sometimes that bad boy makes Sara feel as if she needs a nappy. The heat behind the sunrise shocked me and for the first time ever I was too hot for my ocean attire. As I wondered if the beautiful day would affect the bite, I ditched my rubber boots and rolled up my trousers. Steady on our course, we waved back to the giant sunfish doubling as a shark, and there it was! Ben’s rod went off once more. Spastic as ever, the silver bite was on. Ben landed his first salmon in my presence and I loved how he made that decent-sized silver appear tiny. We landed quite a few silvers on the hunt for the real deal, that heavy, strong, constant pin and pull! Guy and Tina stayed

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steady on the bait and flashers, leading us to that very bite we were after. Once more Ben’s rod started knocking but there was nothing spastic about it this time. It was fully committed and I knew right away my lover was about to experience his first ever run and total display of power that is a Chinook. And I was thrilled. Looking back on it now, I’m thankful for the timing and the setting. I love that his first Chinook was on the ocean, as that is his happy place. I loved having my knowledgeable friends there to guide him while I captured the moments from behind my camera. If it had just been us two, the narrative wouldn’t have been so smooth, I know that for a fact! I love hearing him talk of the football field’s worth of line his “3-footer" peeled off his reel, as he had never felt any fish of that magnitude in his life. But I think what I love the most about Benjamin’s first Chinook is that he says it meant so much to him because he was with me. Those are the kinds of firsts in my life that feed my soul even though the tug of it all was not my

own. I love that this passion feeds me far beyond my own successes.

WITH THE OCEAN producing already this season off the Southern Oregon Coast, I look forward to the future and look back on last year with a smile. It truly was the start to a whole new beginning, and it gives me hope. Out of all the catches in my life, never have I fallen so hard for anything. When we live life, dealing with those hard lessons, all we can do is learn and never give up. If we find a connection that is felt deeply and mutually, it is best to treasure it. Ben tells me often I am the best catch of his life, and that is a first for me, so I will take pride in honoring that always. His happy place might be on the ocean and that is fine by me. I accidentally gave that boy my heart without even realizing it, and I am good with that as long as he knows my heart is on the river and I couldn’t change it, even if I tried. NS Editor’s note: For more on Sara’s adventures, see For The Love Of The Tug on Facebook.

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FISHING

Short But Could ‘Buoy’ Sweet With Chinook retention at the mouth of the Columbia only slated for two weeks this season, here’s how to make the most of the fishery. By Mark Yuasa

t was a beautiful mid-August morning with the sun’s pink and orange hues peeking above the wispy clouds as we slowly motored out of the Port of Astoria on the Lower Columbia. This 20-mile fishing area where the big river feeds into the Pacific Ocean – commonly known to anglers as Buoy 10 – is the annual staging ground for close to a million or more migrating Chinook and coho. The red navigational marker located outside the Port of Ilwaco marks the western boundary and the upstream end is the Tongue Point-Rocky Point line above the Astoria-Megler Bridge. Normally, Astoria and Ilwaco are sleepy towns, but when August rolls around, thousands of anglers with boats in tow fill up the hotels, campgrounds and marinas, and they remain one of the top late-summer fishing locations. Our trip with Austin Moser, owner of Austin’s Northwest Adventures Guide Service (austinsnorthwestadventures. com), began with a brief, 10-minute jaunt above the bridge in front of Astoria, where hundreds of boats were already trolling along half a dozen anchored container ships.

Despite the mid-August start of salmon season at Buoy 10 and only two weeks of Chinook retention, more than a few thumbs ups will be flashed at the mouth of the Columbia this month. (MARK YUASA)

Excitement built as we saw numerous boats hooked up. We dropped our gear in 25 to 30 feet of water and began trolling downstream. Seagulls squawked above and other birds dived into the huge schools of baitfish flipping on the water’s surface.

It didn’t take long for my son, Tegan Yuasa, to hook into a feisty king that made a run about 75 yards away from the boat. Everyone reeled in their lines as Moser kept his boat positioned away from others as Tegan battled the fish. After a few minutes we caught a nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2020

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FISHING “I’ve noticed the time of day isn’t as vital as knowing where the fish are moving up the river during certain tidal series,” says Moser, here having just netted a client’s salmon off Astoria. (MARK YUASA)

glimpse of the king a few feet below, then Moser netted the 15-pound fish. The king’s chrome-bright color indicated it had just moved into the river from the ocean. “I love fishing Buoy 10 and it’s one of my favorite fisheries,” Moser said.

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“There’s just no other place like it in our state.” In a span of one hour, we kept two more kings and lost a handful. Then the bite faded and Moser got on his cell phone to network with other guides and anglers to see where the

bite was happening. He got word from Tom Nelson of 710 ESPN The Outdoor Line that there was a “chew” happening on the Washington side of the river just above the bridge in a series of long, deep channels that run parallel along Highway 401. Soon after arriving we found more decent action and put two kings in the cooler. We finished at a place known as Desdemona Sands, a series of shallow bars flanked by pathways and located in the middle of the river below the bridge. This long, sandy, underwater bar exposed at low tides is the divider where migrating salmon head upstream through channels and is best fished during a mid- to late flood tide as fish hug the dropoffs. The day concluded by hooking a hatchery coho and one more king.

MORE WATERS TO WORK, FORECAST Those spots are just a few of Buoy 10’s fishy locations. Many anglers

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FISHING work the buoy line on the Oregon side just below the bridge; the Church Hole off Fort Columbia State Park; the Wing Walls located outside the Port of Ilwaco; and the northern tip of Fort Stevens State Park west to Hammond. The actual Buoy 10 area isn’t a hotspot but can be productive for mainly coho. “I’ve noticed the time of day isn’t as vital as knowing where the fish are moving up the river during certain tidal series,” tipped Moser. “Also, just watching what others are doing around you is key.” Despite an unusual early season closure from Aug. 1-13, the bulk of the 512,878 fall Chinook forecasted to return this year will likely come in when the Buoy 10 area opens Aug. 14-27. The daily limit is one salmon (minimum size for Chinook is 24 inches, 16 inches for hatchery-marked coho). Then from Aug. 28-Sept. 22 it’s open for hatchery coho only.

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GEARING UP A stout 9- to 10-foot moderate-action fishing rod (rated 15-30 pound) is my choice. I like to use a Shimano Tekota levelwind linecounter reel with 25-pound monofilament or 50to 65-pound braided mainline. “Flasher colors can be huge around Buoy 10 and if you see a guide or other anglers catching them on a certain color, then you want to be on that color,” Moser said. On a smaller tide, Moser will use Pro-Troll flashers with an EChip. On bigger tides, switch to a triangle flasher like a Fish Flash or KoneZone. When running lead attach a plastic weight slider, two 8mm beads and a six-bead chain swivel to the mainline. Add 16 inches of 30-pound monofilament to your flasher to a 6-foot, two-hook mooching leader (4/0 and 3/0 octopus-style hooks). A 20-inch dropper line to a 10- to 20-ounce lead sinker ball will keep

your presentation bouncing off the bottom. Keeping the line angle at 45 degrees is very important when trolling and is determined by the weight of the sinker ball. A green-label cut-plug or whole herring is the preferred bait, but don’t be afraid to use a whole anchovy with a Trinidad Tackle Anchovy Classic Bait Head. In a strong current the helmet makes the bait last a lot longer and it doesn’t put pressure on the hooks. There are helmets for herring as well. Another new lure gaining popularity is Yakima Bait’s SpinFish, while others will still stick to a wide variety of traditional, old-school spinners. Divers like a Delta Diver are simple to use and will get your bait down to the preferred depths. It consists of your mainline tied to the diver and trailed behind an optional flasher to a two-hook mooching rig and your bait of choice. NS

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FISHING

Rock The Jetty For Salmon The Columbia’s North Jetty offers boatless anglers a top opportunity to catch fall salmon – here’s how. By MD Johnson

“

ey!” It was my brother-inlaw, Gordie. “Yeah,” I answered, never once taking my eyes off my orange and black float. “There’s a chipmunk in your bag of sunflowers,” he said. “Yeah, yeah,” I shot back. “I got plenty.” “No,” Gordie said, “I mean there’s a chipmunk in your bag of sunflowers. In it! Eating them.” Turning to the rocks, I saw he was right. There was a chipmunk in my bag of sunflower seeds. Thirty seconds maybe, and the small rodent emerged, cheek pouches filled with David’s Jalapeno Seeds, and disappeared into the nether reaches of the North Jetty. “Um … huh,” was all I could conjure up. So I had that going for me. And then there was my first jetty salmon experience. Maybe it was my first salmon experience. I’m not sure; it was a long time ago – like 1993-long-time-ago. I’d been doing as my then-girlfriend/now-wife Julie had instructed. Rig like this. Bait like that. Cast. Let it drift. Retrieve. Monotonous, it was. Cast. Swing. Retrieve. Nothing. Repeat. Ad nauseam.

Most people associate Buoy 10 salmon fishing with boats, but author MD Johnson of nearby Cathlamet knows the North Jetty is also productive for anglers tossing bait under a bobber or big spoons for the fall Chinook and coho entering the Columbia River. (JULIA JOHNSON)

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FISHING But somewhere in the midst of all that routine, as my chipped red pear of a bobber rode the face of a swell, I’ll be damned but it disappeared. I knew enough to hit the fish. Once. Twice. The telephone pole of a rod doubled over and the drag started screaming. “Hell,” I thought. “This is fun.” So I lowered the rod tip, and let the fish do with me as he chose. “Hey!” Julie’s voice cried out. “What are you doing?!? Quit playing with that fish and get it in here!” OK. I got it. This is serious stuff. No playing. Hook. Land. Bonk, if legal. Repeat. Ah, the days on the North Jetty, that long pile of rocks where I learned to fish for silvers. And the occasional king. It’s where I’ve been witness to a

thousand incredible sights – porpoises with their little ones, mama otters and their broods, jetty raccoons, birds of all shapes and sizes, and, one year, whales breaching through schools of anchovies not 50 yards from the rock where I stood, mouth open. Amazed. And, the reason why we go back time and time again, the salmon. When I’m there, I don’t mind the crowds. Nor the heat. Or the flies. Or the occasional bouquet of sunripened gull guano wafting from the outer reaches of the rockpile. In my mind, the North Jetty offers the boatless a better-than-boating opportunity to catch their salmon in a one-of-a-kind setting, minus the joys of the ramp, the fuel consumption of nonstop trolling, and the frustration

The jetty is fishable seven days a week for salmon when either Washington’s Marine Area 1 or Buoy 10 is open, and this year that means anglers here will get a two-plus-week headstart on the fleet that works the waters a bit further out. (JULIA JOHNSON) 104 Northwest Sportsman

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of playing bumper boats on the Lower Columbia. Oh, and the bobbers. Let’s not forget the bobbers.

THE NORTH JETTY For those unfamiliar with the North Jetty, it’s a 2.5-mile-long, recently remodeled, per se, rock structure located at the mouth of the river on the Washington side designed to help keep the shipping channel from silting in (so quickly). The jetty can be accessed via Cape Disappointment State Park; however, ownership rests with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As a note, at the time of this writing (July 9), parking for this popular fishery is, in my opinion, extremely limited. There’s space at Waikiki Beach, located at the south end of the

FISHING jetty, but given nice summer weather, the lot fills up quickly. There’s space at the terminus of the road for eight or nine rigs, unless some clown parallel parks his F-350, which I’ve seen done, thus radically cutting down the amount of room here. And there’s a bit of a circular parking lot to the north of this, though for only a handful of rigs. The westernmost parking lot – the largest and most convenient to Benson Beach and the outermost half of the jetty – is closed, I’m assuming forever, as the Corps left it covered with a couple feet of sand, hydro-seeded it, and planted it in dune grass, hoping, I’m told, to re-establish a primary dune to prevent storm surges from ravaging the backside, or beach side,

of the jetty. I’m looking into this, and will report as information becomes available. All in all, though, it’s pretty slim pickings, and somewhat a dogeat-dog kind of parking situation. Oh, and a couple last notes. Do not park at random. Park personnel frown on this. And you’re going to need a Discover Pass if you plan on staying a while, either an annual or daily one. The next question regarding the jetty salmon fishery is where and when, with “when” referring to the tides. Where? Truthfully, anywhere you can find a rock to stand on and room to cast. In the past, I’ve seen silvers caught by folks wading into the surf off Waikiki Beach at the jetty’s north end, all the way out damn near to the tip and everywhere

And now for the obligatory warning: The North Jetty was not built for fishing, rather to aid shipping in and out of the mouth of the Columbia River. The rocks may shift, big waves may wash over them, a kraken may be hungry for something besides fish – angle at your own risk. (ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS) 106 Northwest Sportsman

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in between. Have I seen one 10-foot stretch of boulders outfish another 50 feet away? Absolutely. I imagine it has to do with how the rocks lie as they stretch away from the jetty proper, and how these rocks funnel or direct the currents, some to the fish’s liking and others, apparently, not so much. Trial and error, guesswork; call it what you will. Me? If you were to divide the jetty into four equal sections top to bottom – that is, northeast to southwest – you’ll find me in the third block southwest of Waikiki Beach, unless, that is, crowds prevent it. Why? Tradition, mostly. And consistency. Still, anywhere can produce on any given day. When? Used to be I subscribed religiously to the “hour before slack/

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FISHING

JETTY HARDWARE

’m a bait guy at heart; however, and that said, since returning to Washington and the North Jetty in 2015, I’ve really discovered the niceties of throwing hardware off the rocks. While I’m sure there are infinite hard baits that will work for jetty silvers, I, along with many others, am partial to a very small handful of tried ’n true lures, including: Mepps Flying C: Comes in size 4 (5/8-ounce) and 5 (7/8-ounce) formats, and in a variety of colors; however, pink, orange, and chartreuse, all fitted with the silver blade, seem to be the ticket. Money says the majority of the spinners being thrown on the jetty are pink Flying Cs. Mepps Longcast: As the name implies, casts the proverbial country mile. I prefer the silver body/blue fin/rainbow trout blade. Mepps Syclops: If I were limited to a single hard bait for the jetty, this would be on my short list of two. A size 3, or 1-ounce, spoon in rainbow trout pattern; hands down. Seems to work best on sunny days. In fact, we have a saying, albeit corny: “Sun’s out. Rainbow trout.” Silly? Sure, but it’s tough to argue with success. I’ve also had good luck with fire tiger, pink, and straight polished silver. Mepps Little Wolf: My second spoon, this one in ¾-ounce size and, again, in rainbow trout. It’s just a little bit smaller profile than the Syclops. Sinks a little faster. Rolls a little tighter. And works well with lighter tackle, if you dare. Yakima Bait’s Original Rooster Tail: In ¾- or 1-ounce servings – for the jetty, that is – and in over 100 finishes; however, you’re going to want a green, lime green, or chartreuse body and a plain silver blade. –MDJ

hour after” mantra in terms of the tides. Now, it doesn’t seem to matter. I fish when I can. I will say that a bigger exchange on the flood does seem to produce a little more activity. Fish are riding that water in, I’m assuming, and a good current gives our anchovies a killer spin – we’ll get to that in a minute.

RIGGING OFF THE ROCKS And finally, the how part of the North Jetty equation. Now mind you, 2015 was an exception to everything I’m about to say. That year and in late August, you could have put a Baby Ruth candy bar on a mooching rig and caught fish. A lot of fish. In fact, I watched a young lady throwing what I at first thought was a Baby Ruth and hooking fish after fish after fish. Turned out it was a big brown ugly crankbait of some nature. Didn’t matter; everyone was catching fish off the jetty that year. 108 Northwest Sportsman

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But – bait. I’m 56, but still get excited watching a big bobber disappear under the surface. That in mind, we throw a lot of bait off the jetty. Anchovies make up 95 percent of that, with herring comprising the remainder. We order fresh anchovies from the folks at The Chinook Store in, yep, Chinook. Sometimes we’ll get them from Cracker Box Bait, also in Chinook. Either way, we try to get the best, never-beenfrozen anchovies available, and then sprinkle them with pickling (ice cream) salt immediately. Toughens them up a bit. And then we keep them on ice throughout the whole of the trip. As for the gear and rigging, it’s simple. Lamiglas or Okuma Celilo baitcasting rods in the 8-foot-6 to 9-foot range and packing Abu Garcia 5000 or 6000 series reels spooled with 30-pound braid. Five- to six-inch black cigar floats – note: I’ve gotten away from the pear-shaped reddish/

Johnson is partial to bait, but wouldn’t head for the jetty without a stash of bent metal on hand. He considers a Mepps Cylops among the best, and rainbow trout a top finish. (JULIA JOHNSON)

pink, orange and lime-green bobbers of yesteryear, but I’m too grown up for that! – or homemade corks made out of closed-cell pool noodles, aka water weenies, I shape with an electric fillet knife and finish with an 8-inch coffee stir stick and a single Zip-Tie. The lineup is such: bobber stop, small bead, 5mm bead, bobber, 5mm bead, quality snap swivel, 1- to 11/2-ounce beaded banana weight, and a 30-inch – give or take – 25to 30-pound slip-tie mooching rig sporting Nos. 4/0 and 3/0 barbless hook. Sometimes I’ll run store-bought mooching rigs; more often, I’ll tie my own using the same hook pairing, only I’ll use red Daiichi Bleeding Bait hooks. Do I think the red hooks make a difference? Yes, yes I do. How deep? For silvers, I’ll set the bobber stop the length of the rod, or 8-foot-6 deep. For kings, about half again that depth. If you’re catching

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FISHING This year’s coho forecast is on the low side, but they’ll still pull into the Columbia willing to bite as ever. Washington’s North Jetty and Social Security Beach on the Oregon side offer options for intercepting hatchery silvers from shore. (JULIA JOHNSON)

sea bass instead of salmon, you’re running the bait just a little bit deep.

BAITING UP For me, hooking an anchovy to a mooching rig was at first quite intimidating. A challenge. Do it this way. Spin this. Twist that. Wrap the line just so. Tighten according to the moon phase. Stand on one foot. Hold your mouth just so. Wait, wait, nah, that’s not it. Today, I’m an advocate of the Simple Method. After opening the hooks a bit, I put the point of the top one (the 4/0) to the black dot atop the anchovy’s head, down, and out the bottom jaw. This helps hold the bait’s mouth shut, at least for a few casts/retrieves. The bottom (or 3/0) hook I wrap once, and put it in and out along the lateral line about 11/2 inches ahead of the tail, making sure to get it behind the backbone. Is this “behind the backbone” element absolutely necessary to success? No, but it does help hold an often fragile bait onto the hook(s) a little better. Finally, pull the hooks together until you get a gentle curve in the bait. A nice bend. Not straight. Not a “U” shape. A bend. The bottom line, I believe, is this. I truly don’t care how you secure

TAC TIP: REWIRING A MOOCHING RIG

’d love to take sole credit for this one, but I saw it on Fisherman’s Life, a YouTube channel I’ve been known to frequent. Instead of a traditional mooching rig, this young man threads his anchovy on a piece of wire. Here’s how and why he does this is, and why I now do it: 1) Let’s say your bait averages 7 inches. I’ll take 16 inches of thin stovepipe wire – say, 17 gauge – and double it over. With the loop end, I start twisting the two rather tightly to within about an inch of the end. Now you have a large loop (1/2 inch by ¼ inch), several inches of twisted single strand wire, and two inch-long legs, we’ll call them. 2) Take a finishing nail and stick it in the loop. With pliers, give the large loop a single twist. What you’ll have now is a big loop, small loop below, twisted single

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strand, and two legs. 3) I’ll pass one of the legs through the upturned eye of a 4/0 hook, with the other lying along the shank. Then, with needle-nose pliers, I’ll make several tight turns overtop both the shank wire and the shank right below the eye. Done correctly, it will look like a snelled hook, only instead of mono, it’s 17-gauge stovepipe wire. I’ll make several of these at home, with the finished product ranging from 5 to 7 inches in length. 4) Onsite, I’ll take an anchovy in one hand, wire in the other. The larger loop goes into the vent headed north and out the mouth. The smaller loop is positioned at or slightly ahead of the eyes. Ideally, the hook has been buried, with only the end and the point showing.

5) Two more steps. Now, I’ll take a small picture nail and push it downward from the top of head through the smaller loop and out the bottom jaw. Next, I’ll use a dental rubber band, the kind kids use for their braces. I’ll loop it over the head of the nail, and stretch it down, hooking it over the nail point. Theoretically, this locks everything together into a single fishcatching unit, as well as effectively holds the anchovy’s mouth and gills closed and the bait looking more natural. 6) And finally, take the bait as a whole – head in one hand and hook in the other – and impart a graceful bend to the wire; a little more or a little less, depending on the spin you want to achieve. Clip a quality snap swivel to the larger loop, and you’re fishing. –MDJ

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your anchovy to your hooks. What is important is the spin, and many of you have heard this before: The tighter, the better; the faster, the better. At times, a slow, lazy bait/spin will catch fish; however, nine times out of 10, it’s the quick spin that proves effective. There are a couple schools of thought when it comes to working the bait. Or not working it, as the case may be. And you’ll see both out on the jetty. One tactic is to cast and do nothing. Wind moves the bobber and bait. Current may do the same thing. Or it just sits there. Waiting. For some, it’s the ticket. Like fishing for farm pond bluegills; only these ’gills are much bigger. Conversely, there’s the more active approach. At slack tide or with no natural movement, I’ll impart my own movement. I cast, let the bait settle, and then aggressively pull the beaded weight to the bobber, picking the anchovy up until I can actually see it shining, even at a distance.

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Then, I’ll let it fall. Often, the hit comes on the fall, with the bobber simply disappearing. Slow days, and this up ’n down can be the trigger. Current, be it ebb or flood, is best out on the jetty. Cast as far right as possible without interfering with your neighbor, let the bobber move on its own to 11 o’clock, and then begin a stuttered retrieve. Start … stop … start … stop. As the bait moves toward 10 o’clock, then 9 o’clock, the spin picks up and the bait rises in the water column. Closer. Nothing. Closer. Nothing. And then, 6 feet off the rocks, a big silver slash crashes out of the depths, and transforms that graphite stick in your hands into a throbbing thing with a life all its own. Been there, done that. Many times. It’s like working those last few feet of pheasant cover. Fish to the rocks, throw and fish to the rocks again. Tiring? It can be. You get tired, try tactic one; that is, cast and sit. Cast and sit. It works. Sometimes. NS

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COLUMN

Get Ready For Sound Silvers K

eeping track of where the salmon fishing will be good each year can be daunting. But when I saw BUZZ that nearly 530,000 RAMSEY coho were forecast to return to Puget Sound this season, I started thinking the fishing might be pretty good in Northwest Washington, compared to the 181,000 expected to enter the Columbia River. I’ll come clean; I haven’t chased coho in Puget Sound for many years, but I remember catching limits of good-size fish while trolling off of Possession Bar and in front of the Ballard Locks in years past. So to update my perspective, I made a few calls to anglers who have more knowledge than most on the topic of how and where to catch ocean coho as they return to Puget Sound. And I’ll also admit that I lied when I told my fishy friends I would only share the basics and not their secret gear, methods or fishing spots, all of which you can find in this column.

August marks the start of prime time for coho in northern Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with September best in southern portions of the inland sea. Brian Eglseder caught this pair in Marine Area 10 a couple seasons back while fishing with Devin Schildt. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST)

PUGET SOUND IS an immense body of water. Its mouth, the east-west Strait of Juan de Fuca, marks the boundary between Washington and British Columbia, while a southward turn at Port Townsend takes it past Seattle and Tacoma before finally reaching all the way to Olympia. Puget Sound is really a huge inland waterway that, due to its unique shape, more closely resembles the tidal portion of a humongous (we are talking really big) river, with countless salmonproducing streams contributing to its flow. According to professional angler Tom Nelson of The Outdoor Line radio fame,

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COLUMN

A) B)

Keys for targeting Puget Sound coho include A) working the middle of the channel in northern waters, B) finding rips and trolling parallel to them, and C) running your gear high up at first light. (A, B: ANDY WALGAMOTT; C: FRANK URABECK) chasing coho salmon in the Strait and north Puget Sound is a much different proposition than Chinook, as coho are most often found in the middle of the channel, along a rip line, or where baitfish congregate. Starting in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and extending into Admiralty Inlet, some of the popular trolling areas include Sekiu, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Point No Point, Possession Point, Pilot Point, Humpy Hollow and the Shipwreck. The Shipwreck marks the eastern border between Marine Areas 8-2 and 9; coho aren’t open this year in the former area, and only hatchery silvers can be retained in the latter. Unlike Chinook, coho are rarely found lurking deep in the water column, and they don’t often position themselves downstream from points of land, 116 Northwest Sportsman

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depending on the direction of daily tide swings (unless baitfish draw them in), or deep-water structure. These fresh-fromthe-Pacific salmon simply ride the flooding tide into the Strait and North Sound waters and therefore are most often found in the shipping channel. One of Nelson’s top tips when searching for coho is to find where two currents meet, often referred to as a rip, which is distinguishable by a change in water color, accumulation of seaweed, or is visible due to surface chop. What he has found to be effective is to troll parallel to and on the clean-water side of the rip or current lines. Nelson will generally position his lines shallower (25 feet down) in the early morning, when the light is low. As the morning light yields to the coming day, he

will drop one or two of his lines deeper (up to 100 feet), depending on what depth is producing best. However, he always keeps one line at what has proven to be his most consistent coho-producing depth of 35 feet. When it comes to trolling speed, Nelson keeps his boat between 21/2 and 31/2 mph. And while trolling direction might not always matter, he tends to troll with the current, as oftentimes the coho will face into the flow and you will encounter more fish if you troll the opposite way they are facing. Because the timing of the tides changes about an hour each day, and timing differs depending on location, it’s important to have a quickly available reference. Puget Sound tide books and daily current charts are readily available in print, on the web, on your smartphone via a tide app like Ebb

COLUMN Tide or Fishhead, and on most modern-day marine electronic GPS programs. According to Nelson, Puget Sound coho have a real nose for bait, so he often gives them what they want by trolling herring. He likes to plug-cut them for a fast spin. Depending on what the salmon are responding to best, he will at times troll herring strips in combination with a hoochie, also called a plastic squid. While Puget Sound saw the highest biomass of spawning herring in decades this spring, given that the anchovy population has also boomed in recent years, he plans to fish more of those this season. Nelson’s trolling spread includes two downriggers and one center rod. On the downriggers, he runs his baits in combination with 11-inch rotating flashers and positions them about 10 to 12 feet back, as tidal currents can quickly tangle lines positioned too far behind the boat. Because coho like a faster action than Chinook, his leader, from flasher to bait,

averages 26 to 30 inches. It’s different with his center rod, where he rigs a diver (like a Deep Six) or standard trolling sinker in combination with a Fish Flash and 36-inch leader back to his offering. And while Nelson only had a few SpinFish samples last season, they were a game-changer for him on some days and he is excited to give them a workout again this time around. As you might know, SpinFish represent a new concept in combining lure and bait, in that you can pull this lure apart and fill its bait chamber with any bait. “Given how well coho respond to scent, SpinFish is one lure to not overlook,” Nelson says.

SOUTH SOUND COHO Fellow outdoor writer Jason Brooks fishes the south end of Puget Sound, which encompasses Marine Areas 11 and 13, basically everything south of the northern tip of Vashon Island. According to Brooks, chasing coho down

While 80 to 90 percent of Puget Sound coho are caught by boat anglers, shore-based fishermen can have good days working points, especially those on Whidbey Island’s west side. That’s where Charlie Bingham caught his first salmon while casting off Lagoon Point with his dad and grandpa. (FISHING PHOTO CONTEST) 118 Northwest Sportsman

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here is much different than in the north, as the inland sea is generally narrower, especially around the well-named Tacoma Narrows, and therefore the daily tide flow is more intense. This causes the fish to not (I repeat: not) be found midchannel, where they would have to battle heavy currents. For this reason, coho returning to the South Sound are mostly found along current edges, the downstream side of islands, and off points of land that cause the in-and-out flow of the tide to slow. Some of the more popular fishing areas are where surplus hatchery-bound fish might hold. For example, and according to Brooks, hatchery coho headed for Minter Creek (10,000 expected to return this year) hold in Carr Inlet. “If you try this area, keep in mind you must stay 1,000 feet away from where the creek mouth enters the inlet,” he warns. Brooks also shared how hatchery coho bound for the Squaxin Island net pens (35,000 expected back this year) can linger

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COLUMN SpinFish, a new hinged scentholding lure from Yakima Bait, is showing promise for silvers on the salt. Gretchen Dearden shows off a coho hooked on one last season. (GRETCHEN DEARDEN)

for weeks along the west shoreline, just off the kelp beds, from Point Evans to Fox Island. These are two of his favorite coho haunts, where he runs two lines off downriggers and normally keeps his gear positioned 25 to 45 feet down when trolling. Just like Nelson, he mostly employs 11-inch rotating flashers to attract fish to his offering, which he sets 12 to 15 feet behind his downrigger release. He often fishes a hoochie squid in combination with a herring strip attached to a 271/2-inch monofilament leader in 30-pound test. His favorite hoochie squid is the purple haze OAL12R color made by Gold Star. Brooks keeps his trolling speed at 21/2 to 3 mph, but says that it is difficult to always maintain that pace when the incoming tide is at its fastest. In fact, when the tide flow is peaking (running in fast) he often takes a break, as it’s just too much work to keep the gear working correctly due to the water being fast-moving and often littered with kelp and weeds. For this reason, he focuses a lot of his fishing time during the last hour of the flood, when tidal currents are slowing, and plodding the slower-moving ebb (outgoing) tide when the water is mostly clear of debris. He also advises that the best bite of the day is often one hour before and after the tide change. If you don’t have downriggers, you can find coho salmon success trolling a diver, like a Deep Six, or a 4- to 6-ounce trolling sinker in combination with a Fish Flash. While the Fish Flash will draw fish into your gear, it imparts no action to trailing lures or bait, so it fishes best with action-producing spoons or herring rigged to spin. “Another option, given the importance of scent, might be to try a SpinFish filled with canned tuna rigged on a 36- to 48inch leader,” Brooks advises.

KEEP IN MIND that Puget Sound is divided into 10 different marine areas, which are described (as well as mapped) in the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s 2020-21 Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet and online at wdfw.wa.gov. Although seasons, limits and others restrictions are available in print, they can change during the season. If in-season changes do occur, WDFW will send out a news release. To keep updated on regulation 120 Northwest Sportsman

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changes, it’s a good idea to get on the department’s email list. In addition, online you will find a list of rule corrections and updates that have accumulated since the pamphlet was printed. Plentiful numbers of ocean-returning coho start flooding into the Strait and North Sound by the second week of August. It usually takes another week for the fish to flood into the South Sound. You might find them lingering in areas where herring, anchovies and candlefish congregate, often given away by bird activity. As the season progresses, and if rains hold off, the fish will begin to stage off river mouths, where you might see them jumping. And while this fishery can last from several weeks to a month or more, the fish can quickly move into tributaries if heavy rains bring the rivers up. While it takes a pretty good soaking for rivers to rise significantly, as the ground can soak up a lot of moisture this time of year, a big rainstorm can cause rivers to rise enough for the coho to quickly migrate out of Puget Sound and into tributary streams on their way to the hatchery or natural habitat that produced them. This can make targeting the salmon within Puget Sound a little unpredictable. I mean, it’s not like you can plan your vacation around a consistent year-to-year fishery, as early rains can spoil the party. However, with half a million fat coho scheduled to return to Puget Sound this season, this is one fishery to not overlook. NS Editor’s note: Buzz Ramsey is brand manager for Yakima Bait Company and a member of the management team. For more, go to yakimabait. com. Find Buzz on Facebook/Instagram.

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HUNTING

Lessons For August Bears No need to wait for fall deer and elk seasons and hope to bump into an incidental bruin then – ‘all day is prime time’ this month. By Jason Brooks

early 30 years ago, I was sitting in a treestand and reading a Pat McManus book, passing the time until the sun began to set and the temperature cooled down. When it came time to turn the page, I would glance up to see if a bear had arrived while I was distracted.

About an hour and a few chapters into the book, my glance turned into a heart-pounding stare at a chocolatecolor-phase black bear. Back then we could use bait to attract bears, which allowed hunters to confirm no cubs were around and to wait for a clear and ethical shot. I made mine, hit the bear and it rolled over and died. It was then that I began to realize I had

just harvested my first bear. Fast forward three decades and I still get excited when I see black bears. Baiting is no longer allowed in my home state of Washington, but with the largest population of black bears in the Lower 48, there really is no need to use bait. Over the years I have learned to find bears and watch them, learn from them, and harvest

The wilds above North-central Washington’s rugged upper Lake Chelan have long been author Jason Brooks’ hunting grounds, and where he and his youngest son ventured last August in search of a bear. (JASON BROOKS)

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HUNTING

Baiting bears was banned by Washington voters in 1996, but that doesn’t mean you can’t hunt over patches of natural baits. Ripe chokecherries and other wild fruits attract hungry bruins this time of year. (JASON BROOKS)

a few of them. Berry fields prove to be the most productive areas and thanks to the wet climate of Western Washington, along with the alpine meadows of the Cascade, Selkirk and Blue Mountains high country where huckleberries flourish, you too can find a bear of your own. If you prefer to hunt lower country, then you need to find the food source for the bears that stay low. Salal, salmonberry, rose hips, chokecherries, Oregon grape and even devils club are among the sugary vegetation sources that provide food for these bruins. If you venture towards the coast, then bears can be found foraging in coves and eating shellfish, or along rivers fishing for salmon, though it is not the same as Vancouver Island or Southeast Alaska. This is because most of these areas in the Pacific Northwest are developed. There might not be houses and gas stations, but there are roads and recreation 126 Northwest Sportsman

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areas where people flock to. Bears like solitude, so they have adapted to push into the trees and stay away from the popular areas. Finding bears is still about finding their food source, no matter where you decide to pursue them. Last year the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife decided to open the general fall black bear season on August 1 statewide, with a two-bear annual limit. Tags are available over the counter and the season runs through most deer and elk seasons. This allows hunters who are out hunting bucks or bulls, does or cows, to harvest an “incidental” bear. But there is no need to wait until September, October and November to head out and look for bruins. August is prime berry time and that means feeding bears. As the month wanes, the high country starts to cool down. It only takes one or two nights of cooler weather to concentrate the sugars in

the berries. Once this happens, you can find bears out all day long feeding. That is one of the best things about bear hunting in late summer and early fall – all day is “prime time.”

LAST AUGUST, MY son Ryan and I were spending a few days with my dad at the far end of Lake Chelan. These are my home waters, where I grew up and even spent a summer working on the Lady of the Lake ferry that ventures to Stehekin and back to Chelan each day. It was common for us to spot bears along the lake back then, feeding on berries and staying cool in the shade of the deep canyons cut by creeks fed by glaciers. Fast forward several decades and Ryan had wanted to harvest a bear since he first saw one in the wild when he was 6 years old. Driving down a logging road, the bear was just as surprised as we were when we came around the corner. It was right in the

HUNTING

Moving branches in a berry-rich gulch on a windless evening were a giveaway that a bruin was feeding heavily. Ryan Brooks bagged the bear, his first, with a 150-grain Accubond out of his Kimber Mountain Ascent in .280 Ackley Improved. (JASON BROOKS)

middle of the road and ambled away as we approached. Ryan yelled in excitement, “Bear!” and we watched as it made its way across a clearcut. Now that Ryan was a hunter, and having taken several deer, turkeys and an elk, he was set on finding a bear. Our uplake adventure was mostly to get out and do some fishing and just relax without video games or Facebook interrupting our lives with turmoil or political news. It was a much-needed break from the rest of the world, the reason why most of us hunt. It allows us to “get our heads straight” again and remove all other worries in the world. Bear hunting is also a primal pursuit, as you are chasing a predator. Although they are more of an omnivore than a carnivore, you should know that your quarry will 128 Northwest Sportsman

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defend itself if necessary. For those who don’t hunt, it might be hard to understand bear hunting. I’ve had people ask if we eat the bear meat and they are surprised when I say we do. Bear meat is marbled and easily made into sausages, cured hams and stews.

LOADING THE BOAT to head up to my father’s cabin, I reminded Ryan to grab his rifle. What once was my Kimber Mountain Ascent in .280 Ackley Improved, it was commandeered by Ryan when he used it to take his first elk the year before. He made sure to let me know that he had no intentions of ever using another rifle, and that meant it became his. The .280 AI’s ballistics are very close to the 7mm Remington Magnum, but the recoil closely resembles the

.280 Remington. Nosler offers several variations of commercial loads for the .280 AI and this rifle likes the 150-grain Accubond, which is what Ryan used to harvest his elk and would be taking along for his bear hunt. The days were hot as we explored the Stehekin Valley. We rented mountain bikes and rode up to Rainbow Falls. We stopped at the old one-room schoolhouse and learned what it was like to live in a remote town. Now there are restaurants, shops, a famous bakery and more hiking trails than you could ever hike in one trip. The Stehekin River flows through the wide valley and several creeks feed into it, all of them gin-clear and full of rainbow and cutthroat trout. One evening, we decided to take the rifle for a walk up one of the many creek drainages that drop into Lake

HUNTING Chelan. This area burned in 2015 and the ash made the soil acidic, which most berry plants thrive in. This is why Washington’s high country is so full of various berry varieties; volcanic eruptions over the thousands of years have fertilized the soil, making for a perfect growing environment with spring and summer rains. Looking down into a cut, which would have been full of water during the spring runoff, we noticed it was thick with chokecherries. The ripe fruits hanging in clusters looked good enough to make a pie with. Then the bushes started to wiggle and move, yet there were no thermals blowing this evening. It was calm and quiet – until branches on the chokecherry bushes started snapping. A dark-colored bear finally appeared, coming around the far side at only 60 yards. Ryan took a knee and steadied the rifle and the Nosler Accubond did the rest. Just like my

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first bear, and every bear I have taken since, the tell-tale moan as life left the bear let us know it was finished. Ryan wasted no time crossing the downed timber and pushing through the berry bushes to get to the bruin.

WE SPENT THE last of the daylight looking at the bear, taking pictures and talking about his admiration for the animals. I learned that Ryan had spent a lot of time researching and learning about them. He showed me the bear’s teeth and noted how worn they were, revealing it was an older animal. Then he noted how the claws weren’t as sharp as he thought they would be, like a cat or mountain lion, but instead more like a dog. He told me how bears can’t retract their claws like cats, and this is why they are duller than he imagined. Petting the fur, he remarked how thick it was even for August, as the long hair helped repel mosquitoes

and protect the bear from thorns as it climbed through thick berry patches. By the time we had skinned the animal and removed all of the meat, the moon had risen well above the ridgeline. It was a bright summer’s night, and we didn’t need headlamps to hike our way back to the cabin, except when we were in the shadows of the forest. Just before we left the rest of the bear to nature, Ryan did one last thing: he slit open its stomach. It was something I would never do with a deer or elk, but bears don’t have multiple stomachs like bovines or ruminants do, and there it was, full of berries. It was a reminder that if you want to find bears, all you have to do is look for their food sources. Though we can’t bait them anymore in Washington, you can hunt natural food sources like berry fields and draws full of chokecherries, which pull them in just as reliably. NS

HUNTING

838: Practice Makes Perfect A hunter’s preseason prep put her in position to make a long-range shot on an elk, but she also had to overcome her fear of heights to find a bull.

Jacqueline Siegel didn’t set out to make a longdistance shot, but she was confident she could connect on a bull at range if she had to, thanks to the “time and effort” she put in behind the scope before her elk hunt ever opened. (JACQUELINE SIEGEL)

By Jacqueline Siegel

lthough far from perfect, when it comes to hunting, practice was a key fundamental in shooting a bull elk at 838 yards. I was never a big fan of long-range shots over 600 yards. Not because my 6.5300 Weatherby and VX-6 Leupold optics were not capable, but because deer and elk can run several hundred yards and even up to a couple miles after a well-placed shot. If you have to hike several hundred yards in challenging terrain, it can take a long time to get to the animal. And all too often, many hunters lose

their animals entirely. However, if the opportunity presented itself, I wanted to be confident, and I wanted to be proficient in my shot. I did not want to miss, or even worse, injure the animal.

ABOUT A MONTH prior to my hunt, I practiced long-range shooting. I did not visit a range and shoot at still targets from a bench. Rather, I went to the woods, a more realistic environment. I shot objects from 700 to 1,000 yards consistently, and incorporated scenarios likely encountered on a hunt. Utilizing a Kestrel meter and a

shooting application on my phone as a backup, I located a target, ranged it, proned-out, dialed in the minutes of angle (MOA), and shot. I practiced at different ranges with both range applications, different angles on the ground, different shooting positions. I practiced breathing, and even practiced a few free-hand shots. My objectives, proficiency and consistency had been achieved, and as they strengthened, so did my confidence. If a long-range opportunity presented itself during a hunt, I did not want to waste time deliberating whether I was capable of making the shot, and I did not nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2020

Northwest Sportsman 133

HUNTING want to waste time, even a matter of a couple seconds, orchestrating a shooting position. Furthermore, if a device failed, I wanted the aptitude to manage the failure with minimal

impact to my resolve and disposition.

THE HUNT WAS challenging, and the weather unseasonable. It was far too warm, and the animals most likely

Looking back from where her quarry fell, Siegel took her shot from just to the left of the peak, 838 yards away. (JACQUELINE SIEGEL)

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disappeared to higher elevations. I hunted 6 to 10 miles a day for several days in search of elk in those dismal conditions. I spent hours reminding myself

HUNTING to remain positive, and reflected upon why I was so passionate about hunting. Although there are few things in life that compare to the feeling of harvesting an animal, hunting is so much more than the hunt itself. Spending time in the woods is what I love. By seven in the morning, I have witnessed more wildlife, more beauty and more magnificence than most people see in their lifetime. Five days into the hunt, it was time to go high. Not to hunt, but to glass. This was typically never a viable option of mine, as I am terrified of heights. But I knew this was most likely the only way to identify a possible location where there could be elk. Unbeknownst to me, at the peak of the mountain that I climbed that day was a rock face. With rifle and pack in tote, I had no choice but to scale the cliff. Consumed with fear, I shook like a leaf, and must admit to a couple of tears. I swore I would never

do anything like that again. Even as I questioned whether scaling the mountain was worthwhile, the view was breathtaking. Again, I was reminded of my passion. And to my surprise, elk were in fact located. Unfortunately, they were miles away, and they were on private property. Although unattainable, seeing elk was reaffirming, and it re-energized my hunt.

AFTER A COUPLE days and many more miles hiked, fear gave way to desperation. As the final days of the hunt neared, I believed the only way to see elk again was at the top of that dreaded mountain. I hoped to locate even just one elk, and then formulate a plan to get within a reasonable shooting distance. As I made my way up the mountain and closed in on the frightening rock face, I stopped and glassed for a minute. My knees weakened, and

my hands began to shake. But this time it was adrenaline, not fear. A couple ridges away, two bull elk were feeding downhill. The elk were ranged at 838 yards. It was a matter of seconds before they disappeared into the thick forest. A stalk was impossible. At this moment, my actions were instinctive; the hours of practice resonated. Calmly, I assumed a prone position. I dialed in my MOAs, slowly breathed in, slowly exhaled, and in one shot, the bull elk dropped and expired immediately. I kept my eye on the animal in case he got back up. After a few moments, a quick celebration. A prayer of gratitude for the absence of suffering. A prayer of gratitude for the harvest. And during the hour-long hike to get to the elk, I relished in the most incredible feeling of accomplishment, and attributed this success to the time and effort spent in practice. NS

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COLUMN Freezer full? There are many other ways to pack away bumper harvests for later use, including canning. (RANDY KING)

Put Up Or Shut Up (About What To Do With A Bountiful Harvest) A

s a chef and a passionate wild game cook, I am often asked CHEF IN THE WILD about how to store By Randy King food for later use. Folks want to know how to “put up” the scores and gains from hunting, fishing and foraging. Basically, how can they make delicious food, preserved for later use, with the excess bounty of their exploits? I often hear refrains like:

“My freezer lid won’t shut; I need some ideas!” “I need me some jerky. Thoughts?” “My grandma’s jam was the best! Do you know how to get some wild currants?” “I love summer sausage! Want to make me some?” “Goose sucks; any tips?” “What the hell am I supposed to do with this many morel mushrooms?” “My huckleberry patch is right on top of that mountain …” OK, I’ve never actually heard that last

one, but a guy can dream. Wanting to prolong the joy of a bountiful harvest and still have something delicious is completely natural. Just ask a squirrel. It makes my day when people ask for advice – I get to pontificate on what I am good at and share outdoor stories. What is not to love? It’s when summer finally hits that I slow down and realize what I have done around my house. The year, up until now, has been an accumulation of experiences. I can see fall headed my way and my heart begins

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2 ‘HEAT AND EAT’ RECIPES

o use canned meat, simply crack the jar open and warm it up. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Bruin Taco Meat I’ve used canned bear in quesadillas and simple roadside tacos. It is a great little item to have in your camp box, and it makes dinner after a hard day on the trail that much easier. Just heat and eat! 2 pounds cleaned bear meat, diced ¼ cup canola oil 1 packet taco seasoning 2 cloves garlic, crushed ½ onion, diced 1 cup chicken stock or water Place a heavy-bottomed 12-inch pan on medium heat for five minutes. Add half the canola and carefully add the meat a little at a time. Do not overcrowd the pan; the meat will not brown properly. Add more oil as needed to keep the pan from becoming dry on the bottom. When all the meat is brown, add it all back to the pan and toss with taco seasoning. Remove meat from pan to a plate. Add garlic, onion and chicken stock to the pan. Bring the pan to a boil, scrape the bottom for all the good chunks of brown. This is called “fond,” by the way. Remove pan from heat. Next pack the meat into clean, widemouthed jars. Then add the pan drippings to each jar, distributing them evenly. Make sure to leave at least half an inch of head room in each jar. Top each jar with a clean lid and clean ring. Place into a pressure canner and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Be sure to follow all instructions for canning very carefully. (See 140 Northwest Sportsman

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Wild game chili is just one meal that can be made and preserved by canning. (RANDY KING) my website, chefrandyking.com, or find a good pressure canning resource online to make sure you do this all correctly.)

Canned Chili This stuff is bomb-proof if done right. Again, just crack a jar and heat the contents. Hope you don’t have house guests! 1 cup dry pinto beans (Soak beans overnight covered in water. This is optional but I like the texture of the beans better when they have soaked overnight.) 1½ pounds bear or other game meat, diced, raw ¼ cup cumin 1 small onion, diced 1 cup frozen corn (or garden fresh if you have it) 10 cloves garlic, crushed 1 6-ounce can green chilies 1 tablespoon red chili flakes 1 can diced tomatoes, pureed Salt and pepper Beans from above 1 beef bouillon cube, dissolved in water 3 cups water

This recipe calls for a raw pack of the ingredients. That means that all the items in the recipe get mixed beforehand, then placed into the jars to cook. Basically, the canning process cooks the things in the jar. In a mixing bowl add the diced game meat, cumin, onion, garlic, green chilies, chili flakes, tomato puree, beans, salt and pepper. This mix will be on the thick side. Fill each pint-sized jar, leaving an inch of headspace on the top. Next pour the water/bouillon cube mix into each jar, barely covering the beans. Use a chopstick to stir the mix and get out any excess air bubbles. Follow the sanitation and lidding procedures above. Can the chili for 90 minutes at 11 pounds of pressure; if you are above 3,000 feet in elevation, can for 90 minutes at 12 pounds of pressure. Again, find a resource and make sure you follow all guidelines for making safe pressure-canned food. When you want to eat, simply heat the chili to a boil and garnish. For more wild game recipes, see chefrandyking.com. –RK

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to ache. I can see this past spring, slowly turning brown on the foothills of Boise. The focus has been on putting up for so long that I forget to just enjoy the bounty sometimes.

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RULES FOR ‘PUTTING UP’ Putting up food via canning, smoking, fermenting, drying and pickling was done for ages as a preservation method. With the advent of modern refrigeration and freezing, the need to do so has long since passed. But getting the same flavors out of fresh food is hard. You can’t get that twang of a summer sausage without some fermentation. You can’t get jerky without the smoke. We put up not because we need to anymore, but because we like what it does for our palate. Food safety still needs to be followed, of course. As with all food preparation, sanitation needs to be a primary consideration. Is the space you are working in clean? Are your hands clean? The last thing you want is for poor sanitation to ruin the hard work of putting up. I have had this happen – a jar of jelly once bubbled over in my pantry. Why? Because I was probably in a rush and didn’t wipe the rims of my jars well enough. A tiny little hunk of jelly prevented the jar from sealing correctly, then the jar sat in a warm, dark location for months, getting just enough air to start to ferment. Then came the smell. Then along I came to repaint the shelf. Indeed, process matters when making canned, smoked or otherwise preserved food. With fall coming, we’ll be taking a look at different methods in this and coming issues. NS

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Summer Is When Serious Shooters Do Their Serious Reloading M

e t a l l i c cartridge reloading got the better of me more than 40 years ago, and since then, ON TARGET I can remember only By Dave Workman two deer I’ve shot that fell to factory ammunition: one in southern Utah and the other in far eastern Montana. The rest that I can think of all were taken with carefully measured handloads, and most with one shot. One of the largest mule deer bucks I ever killed was in southeast Wyoming. I used a 165-grain Speer boattail

at 225 yards (my companion paced it off) and the bullet hit so hard it spun the fourpointer completely around 180 degrees and he dropped behind a big sagebrush. I took a Snake River muley at 255 yards on the move about 10 years ago, using a 180-grain Nosler AccuBond with the white

polymer tip – the heavier bullet fares a little better in the breezes that sometimes come up those deep canyon breaks – and the

Author Dave Workman toppled this four-by-five mule deer buck with a shot from his Savage bolt-action chambered in .308 Winchester. He used 165-grain handloads topped with Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets. (DAVE WORKMAN)

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bullet just sledged him. Don’t take this wrong. If you’re not a handloader, today’s factory ammunition is the best ever, and I clobbered that Montana muley with two shots on the move using .350 Remington Magnum factory loads in a test gun. At 250 yards, the bullets struck high in the shoulder and down he went. The Utah buck fell to a 165-grain Speer factory load, and there was no argument when that two-by-three hit the dirt. None of those deer went down by accident. Those success stories and notched tags came only after a lot of enjoyable hours at the loading bench, followed by more enjoyment at the range. But it’s not just pouring a bunch of powder into an empty case and hoping for the best.

THE BASICS The rules of reloading don’t change from caliber to caliber. The process is the same whether you’re putting together loads for prairie dogs or bull elk.

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For loading rifle ammunition, the singlestage press is best. The author has been using this vintage RCBS model for decades without a hitch. To the right is his Lyman (orange) case trimmer, and to the rear is a box of dies with his favorite loads on a small chart inside the lid. (DAVE WORKMAN) The initial investment in reloading gear may seem like a fair chunk of change, but over the years, that investment pays off in ways one can’t imagine until you’re dining on fresh-barbecued venison chops or some small loin steaks and eggs for breakfast. It pays off when your brother uses a borrowed round to make a phenomenal uphill head shot on a buck that took three of us to load in the truck, and that was after he’d been field-dressed. It pays off in the wallet too, after awhile. I suggest starting with a single-stage press – mine is an old RCBS and it has loaded thousands of rounds, one at a time – but reliable equipment is also available from Hornady, Dillon, Lyman and others. Shop around, get what you want, and invest in a couple of good loading manuals. 148 Northwest Sportsman

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If you want to fudge, the empty shell carrier from a box of pistol cartridges works great as a loading block. (DAVE WORKMAN) You’ll need bullets, and I’ve never gone wrong with boattails, from any maker. In my experience, the boattail typically has the highest ballistic coefficient (in layman’s terms, the bullet’s ability to go through the air with the least wind resistance, translating to better downrange velocity and trajectory). But you need to match the bullet to the task, and not all bullets have boattail designs. I shoot reloads in a leveraction .32 Special Winchester Model 94, and those 170-grain softpoints all have flat bases. But at 200 yards, that little levergun delivers and the ammunition works great in brush country. Buy good loading dies. My loading bench has Hornady, RCBS, Lyman and Redding dies, and they are all superb. Follow the instructions for setup.

Pick the right propellant, and there are lots of choices. This is where the loading manual comes in handy. Consult the recommended loads, and study the data. Don’t buy a powder that isn’t among the recommended choices for the caliber you’re loading. Pick a good powder and stick with it. In my case, I’ve settled on a couple of reliable propellants that have delivered the goods time and again. For example, for my .30-06 loads, I really like Hodgdon’s Hybrid 100V. IMR 4895 or H 4895 are also good powders for my loads in .257 Roberts and .308 Winchester. I have tried other powders, but for me, these have delivered. Good brass is a must. It needs to be deprimed, cleaned (including the primer pockets), resized and reprimed. All of

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COLUMN You’ll also probably want a loading block, a slotted tray into which you place cases for charging with powder. However, you can cheat by using the black plastic cartridge trays from a box of 20 or 50 centerfire cartridges, such as .44 Magnum or .45 ACP. They’re great for this task, so don’t throw them away.

EXPERIMENTING IS GOOD

Don’t guess! The consequences can be serious. Get up-to-date loading manuals from every bullet or powder manufacturer whose products you might use. This represents only part of Workman’s library of loading manuals. (DAVE WORKMAN) these steps should be done slowly and carefully. I resize my brass, trim the cases if necessary so they are within spec, and then throw the brass in a tumbler. This cleans off the case lube and also removes

burnt powder residue. You’ll need a good electronic scale. Mine is a simple one from Lyman with its own powder trickler for making precise, consistent powder charges.

Bob Nosler once told me during an interview that reloading is a game of recipes. That’s as good a definition as I’ve ever heard. I didn’t just pick a suggested load from a list of data and lock it in. Each rifle has its quirks, I’ve learned. Where one load will work superbly in one rifle, it might be mediocre in a different gun. Be willing to try maybe half a dozen different loads to see how each performs. If you find a load that groups tightly and consistently, stick with it. You can adjust the scope for point-of-impact, but so long as the groups remain tight, once that rifle is zeroed, you’re in business. Record your loads. I have a pal who used to keep records on every round he fired at a gun range. He knows what works, and what hasn’t. I log the favored load for each caliber on the inside of the lid for that particular set of loading dies. That way, I never forget the powder charge and bullet weight.

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I prefer handloading in the summer because it allows me to spend leisurely hours in the evenings at the range. It’s not too hot, the sun is at my back, and I’m never in a hurry. I can fire two shots, open the bolt and rack the rifle, and allow the barrel to cool. The reason for that should be obvious. When the opportunity arrives to press that trigger for real, you’ll be shooting through a cold barrel. You need to know how that round will perform. You’ll have pride in a good shot, a clean quick kill and the knowledge that you did this from the ground up. That’s reloading, and over the next couple of months, we’ll talk about it more. NS

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Prepping Hunting Pups For Road Trips B

ird hunting season is almost here, which means preparation for those road trips starts now for both you and your canine hunting partner. At this point, GUN DOGGIN’ 101 hopefully you’re both By Scott Haugen in hunting shape, but just like you, your gun dog needs to have all the gear, food and first aid supplies ready for the hunt. Here’s a rundown on things to consider. IF TRAVELING TO other states or into Canada (assuming the border is reopened to nonessential travelers this hunting season), make sure your dog is up to date on rabies and any other vaccinations that may be required. If hunting in Canada, you’ll need a current health certificate issued from your vet. Be sure to get a first aid kit ready for your dog with all medications, bandages, tape, gauze and ear/eye ointments. Be sure to include anti-inflammatory, joint and pain relief medicines. Prior to hitting the road, make a list of veterinarian offices you can get in contact with along the way. Check for clinics that are open after hours and on weekends, when most hunting takes place. Keep their phone numbers handy and easily accessible when in the field so you can immediately contact them should an emergency develop. If your dog travels in a kennel, make sure it’s firmly secured so it doesn’t slide around on the bed of your truck. Speaking of bed, bring a cushion or mat for the dog to sleep on inside the kennel. Your dog might even have its own bed to toss on the floor. Taking a blanket or sheet to put on hotel

The list may be longer than you expect, but be sure to have all the gear your gun dog may need when embarking upon any hunt this season. (SCOTT HAUGEN) beds and furniture will help keep them clean, and don’t forget towels; I can never have enough grubby towels for the dogs, especially when it’s wet and muddy outside. DON’T FORGET FOOD and water bowls. I’ve covered a lot of ground this year with my

dogs, and have fallen in love with Yeti’s new Boomer 8 Bowl. The stainless steel bowl is the most durable I’ve ever used; ideal for rugged road travel and abuse. The nonslip bottom is perfect, and the bowl easily cleans up. It’s also a nice bowl for water and it keeps it cool. I actually take a five-gallon

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COLUMN jug of water for my dogs on road trips, so they can drink whenever we stop. When traveling with dog food, keep it in the original bag (this should also be done at home). Dumping food into metal or plastic bins can lead to quick spoilage. Instead, close the bag, then put it into a bin for travel. Companies invest a lot of time and money creating the perfect bag to keep dog food fresh, so trust and use them. If you’re a fan of treats, freeze-dried foods for the field, along with raw or canned foods that can be used as toppers, are great choices for the road. Freeze-dried foods don’t leave oil in your pockets and are a great protein source, while food toppers offer a fun, healthy change for your dog’s diet. Large cow bones, gambrel tendons and bully sticks are good to bring on road trips, too. You don’t want your dog’s diet to be boring on the road or at home. Should your dog have a favorite toy, bring it. Yes, it’s OK for a hunting dog to like toys. My 8-year-old pudelpointer Echo’s favorite toy is actually a plastic lid

Upland bird hunts throughout the West can take place in big, rugged country, and being prepared is important for you and your dog’s safety. Here, author Scott Haugen’s dog Echo brings in a blue grouse that fell in a deep canyon in the Cascade Range. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

from a paint bucket. Kona – my 3-yearold pudelpointer – prefers a soft rubber frisbee. Both dogs love bumpers, but these are training tools, not for play. Yes, bring those bumpers along for short training sessions, which are great to engage your dog in while on the road.

IF YOU HAVE a selection of leashes and collars for your dog, bring them. I have a short, 1-foot-long leash I like using when walking in populated areas and around other dogs where immediate obedience is a must, a 3-foot-long leash I use in small areas, and an 8-foot-long leash I prefer using in big, open

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COLUMN On this hunt, Haugen and Echo encountered a porcupine, loads of grass seed, thistles and cacti, but being prepared to deal with each resulted in an opening-day mixedbag limit of ducks, valley quail and pheasants. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

phone numbers: my cell, my wife’s cell and my home phone number. I will not engrave my dog’s name on any collar, as I don’t want someone picking them up and knowing their name. I want that person to call me so I can get my dog back and pay them for their efforts. Finally, don’t forget dog vests, your e-collar, remote control and charger, along with a hair brush and nail clippers. Nail clippers are great for trimming splitting nails, while a brush might be used daily to remove noxious seeds.

WHEN YOU LOOK at this list, it’s longer than you may have expected, which shows the importance of being organized so you don’t forget something. Your dog is your hunting partner and they need you to look after them and make sure they have everything they need when you both hit the road this hunting season. NS areas where I can give the dog a bit more freedom while still maintaining control. It’s a good idea to bring an extra collar along in case something happens to one. I

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like collars with a built-in reflective strip so I can see them in the dark with my flashlight beam. I have my collars custom-engraved with the word Reward, along with three

Editor’s note: To watch Scott Haugen’s series of puppy training videos, visit scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.