Our Coast: Outdoors 2019

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Let’s Roll!

Mountain Biking Trails Open Now

Welcome to the new Klootchy Creek Mountain Bike Trail System, the first official trails on the North Oregon Coast.

Built mostly by volunteers in partnership with the North Coast Trail Alliance, the trail system is located primarily on Lewis & Clark Timberlands. Trail use is free with a recreational permit (also free).

PERMITS AND INFO: ENTRANCE:

OPEN:

permits.greenwoodresources.com Klootchy Creek County Park, two miles east of the Highway 26/Highway 101 Junction Daylight hours, year round (Except under extreme fire danger.

Permit holders will be notified.)

permits.greenwoodresources.com

Lewis & Clark Timberlands, managed by GreenWood Resources, is pleased to invite community members and visitors into the forest to enjoy its natural beauty and family-oriented recreation. We hope to see you here on two wheels soon!

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Hunting

is about so much more than hunting

By Matt Winters

• Our Coast Outdoors editor

Dad and Ducks Dad was an enthusiastic duck hunter and we boys loved going out with him, though in truth he wasn’t that great a shot. For him and for us, it was more a matter of spending time together in his big brown Ford F-250, driving down gravel roads listening to college football games on crackly AM stations.

It always seemed that he ought to be better with a shotgun than he was. After all, he won fistfuls of ribbons on an Army rifle team. But boy, it sometimes appeared he was missing ducks on purpose. And you know, come to think of it, maybe that’s what he was up to. Didn’t want to clean the darn things, or just tired of blood sport.

Before I was born, dad and his brother Giles, a dentist up in Seattle, used to hunt big game together until one day when dad’s soft heart broke over wounded deer. He never would hunt four-legged It sometimes creatures after a day when he looked deep into a appeared he was deer’s dying eyes. His compassion or queasiness or missing ducks on whatever you want to call it may have slowly extended itself to cover ducks and geese, as mine purpose. And you now has. know, come to Or maybe dad just couldn’t ever quite master think of it, maybe coming on things sideways. When hunting ducks on the fly, you have to aim for where the duck’s going that’s what he to be, not where it is. But dad was direct man — was up to. some of his opponents in court and elsewhere thought he was too direct — and it may have been foreign to his nature to lead a target.

Why ever it was, he’d go a whole season sometimes and only bag three or four ducks, and those he’d end up giving away to a retired osteopath we liked. He had false teeth and so didn’t mind biting down on an occasional lead pellet in those rich red mallard breasts.

Nowadays, I prefer watching them paddle through the marshes near Cape Disappointment, waiting for that indiscernible moment when I’ve come a foot too close and they explode away out of one pond and escape to the next one over.

Shores of Ocean Lake December lake water cold as frozen liquid air seeped through our boot seams and wicked into wool socks. It was a pure sort of pain, the kind of experience that will wake you clear up, as alive as alive can be. To remind myself of those crystalline days I have only to run a finger around the rim of my ears, where frostbite has tattooed a trail of tiny scars.

We walked all crouched over in high grass that had been dried and frozen to the point of shattering as if made from brittle tubes of old chemist’s glass. Near the water, black muck too smelly to freeze would ooze up over our boots as we broke through a crust of thickly frosted ice.

I vividly remember the odor of that oxygenless mud mingling with the sharp acid sting of cordite as we sprang to our feet blazing away at innocent birds. About nine times out of 10, the whole flock would lunge to the left or right and fly on as little ruffled as if we had been firing on them with tennis rackets.

To be honest, it was a thrill to see a duck tumble out of the sky after a shot.

There’s something satisfying about a successful hunt, a sort of elementary feeling that, worse comes to worse, you can feed yourself and your family. Or maybe it’s just the simple satisfaction of being able to hit something, like shooting at a tin plate at the carnival midway and winning an ugly stuffed animal for your girlfriend.

My brothers and I still harbor profound nostalgia about our hunts with dad in what already seems like an ancient time. I dream of his pipe smoke still lofting around us as we stomp our feet on a frozen shore, waiting for wild ducks.

My dad, Elmer Winters, was an enthusiastic duck and goose hunter, but often appeared to miss on purpose.

Dad lost the outer sliding tube from his grandfather William Giles’ bird call during one of our hunts together and improvised a replacement from soldered brass sheeting. Instead of regretting the loss, I’ve come to appreciate how it reminds me of dad’s economical ways.

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outdoors OUR COAST

PUBLISHER Kari Borgen EDITOR Matt Winters

EXPERIENCE THE COLUMBIA-PACIFIC REGION • 2019 • NUMBER 1

DESIGN & LAYOUT John D. Bruijn ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Sarah Silver ADVERTISING SALES Lisa Cadonau Heather Jenson Andrew Renwick

6

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ADVERTISING DESIGN Kevin Weidow Richard Ridgeway Amber Linthakhan Rei John Jolley

Digging Razor Clams on Our Coast

GET CONNECTED Interact with us and the community at DiscoverOurCoast.com

22

Fishing the North Fork Nehalem River

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FOLLOW US facebook.com/ourcoast twitter.com/ourcoast pinterest.com/ourcoastguide EMAIL TO US editor@discoverourcoast.com WRITE TO US 949 Exchange St., Astoria, OR 97103 VISIT US ONLINE DiscoverOurCoast.com offers all the content of Our Coast Magazine and more. Discover all the wonderful attractions, lively entertainment, and local quirks of the Columbia-Pacific region.

Wildlife Abundant on Our Coast

Year-Round Birding Opportunities

Razor Clams 101 .....................................................6 Willapa Nation Wildlife Refuge.....................10 The North Fork Nehalem River......................14 Elk Camp................................................................20

Wildlife.....................................................................22 Sea Kayaking ........................................................26 What’s that Bird? ................................................28

Our Coast: Outdoors is published annually by The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer.

Check out: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife httmyodfw.com

Copyright © 2019 Our Coast.

All rights reserved.

The Daily Astorian: 800-781-3211 Chinook Observer: 800-643-3703

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wdfw.wa.gov

DailyAstorian.com ChinookObserver.com

EO Media Group

For information on hunting and fishing seasons and licensing, and the latest outlook and conditions

On the cover: The John Day River east of Astoria provides water access to Cathlamet Bay, the Columbia River estuary and the biologically rich islands of Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. A favorite hunting, fishing and wildlifewatching area, the John Day hosts a vibrant float-home community — the envy of all who encounter its splendid beauty and unforgettable peace.

Vince Warren of Brownsville, Oregon captured this wonderful atmospheric image of a special home. It’s easy to imagine how gratifying it must be to return there after a full day on local waters. For more Vince’s photography, please see https://vincewarrenphotography.zenfolio.com

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Razor Clams 101 Words: David Campiche Images: Our Coast Archives

6 • Our Coast: Outdoors 2019

Digging clams is a fun coastal outing for both locals and visitors

W

e dig razor clams under a rare golden sun – it’s an exercise or obsession not always reserved for good weather. The falling moon is faint but full. It is early morning, low tide. Later, if we are lucky, we will feast on eggs and razor clams. Even now we feel confident.

Standing on the north end of the Long Beach Peninsula on the ocean side of Leadbetter State Park – or digging the Oregon beaches – one can imagine that springtime is well on its way. Clam beaches stretch north and south of the Columbia River. I am a Washington resident and tend to dig clams on the long narrow beach that defines the Long Beach Peninsula. Occasionally, I pick up an Oregon clam permit and dig clams on one of the beaches south of Astoria. Information on seasons, locations and licenses are conveniently posted on the respective websites of the The razor clams Oregon Department of are deep in the Fish and Wildlife and the sand and quick Washington Department of to escape these Fish and Wildlife.

The razor clams are human beings deep in the sand and quick with extraction to escape these human beings with extraction equipment. equipment. Though a lifetime advocate of the clam shovel, today – arthritis flaring – I choose instead a clam gun. Angling at about 15 percent toward the ocean, I cut through the heavy gray sand, once and twice and rapidly. On the third pass – finger covering the gun’s half-inch air hole – I pull up a plump razor. It is about five inches in length and smells pleasantly of ocean and sand. Clam limits are set at 15 clams per person. Except with a special permit, you are not allowed to dig another person’s clams.

Holes are not always easy to discover. On windy gray days when the surf is up, the holes must be stomped out.

Stand and watch other diggers to get the idea. If you ask a few, generally a kind citizen will offer assistance.

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Holes are not always easy to discover. On windy gray days when the surf is up, the holes must be stomped out.

Stand and watch other diggers to get the idea.

We are digging on a small spit of sand. It appears flat and plain, but the truth is of another nature. Camouflaged on the sand are smatterings of flotsam: clam shells, seaweed. Faded red claws and backs of Dungeness crab. A seagull feather. A dead fish (picked apart by gulls).

Sand dollars and drift logs and, much to my surprise, the carcass of a deer. That carcass has become a rendezvous spot for the raptors: seagulls and crows, raven, and the majestic eagle, all in descending order. All the smaller raptors clear for the eagles. The great birds gorge on the stringy red flesh, somewhat preserved by salt water.

We clean our clams 30 minutes later, a chore not really as unpleasant as all the hype about dirty, smelly hands. I prefer to pour boiling water over my clams. This releases the shells.

Don’t bathe the clams in hot water. Just release the shells. Then, immediately place the clams in cold water and remove the meat from the shell. Cleaning is a simple process but takes a bit of practice. You must remove the neck (siphon), mouth parts (gills and palps) and the digestive tract. Online videos like http://tinyurl.com/cleanthatclam or detailed cleaning steps, such as on the WDFW website, can help.

As we clean the clams, we discuss cooking preparations. A favorite is the flour-dip, eggwash and panko or cracker roll. Messy yes, but once pan-fried, the clams delight locals and tourists alike; delights the hunter-gatherer in us all. My wife prefers chowder, but today we dip our clams in rice flour and sauté the tender flesh in a nonstick pan in small amounts of olive oil and minced garlic. There are no complaints.

We whip up a Cajun mayo – jalapeño Tabasco, ketchup and Cajun spices – and eat the morsels as quickly as the clams fall onto warm plates, or pluck them from fire to mouth like those hungry vultures we met on the beach.

Try as I might, I can’t imagine a better morning: sun-struck, framed by silver and whitecapped surf, treasure-littered sands and those delectable razor clams, all for the price of two gallons of gasoline and a simple smile.

See video of how to clean razor clams at

DiscoverOurCoast.com/razorclams

Shellfish license fees The cost of a license varies depending on the time length of the license, whether it’s combined with another type of license, the state in question, and your age, residency and whether you qualify for disability or military status. In Oregon and Washington, prices range between $7 and $123.55

Where to buy a license You can buy a license online through either the Oregon or Washington departments of fish and wildlife, via mail or fax, or in person at an ODFW or WDFW office or through a designated agent, such as a sporting goods store. For a list of offices and agents around the state – including the ones on our coast – look online.

The Astoria ODFW office is located at 2001 Marine Drive, Room 120, 503-325-2462.

When you dig Oregon beaches from Tillamook Head to the South Jetty of the Columbia River are closed annually from July 15 to Sept. 30, and open the rest of the year.

Razor clam seasons and dig days in Washington vary from beach to beach, October to May. Check online for specific dates.

Resources Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish Washington Shellfish Rule Change Hotline: 1-866-880-5431 Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/fishing Oregon Shellfish Safety Hotline: 503-986-4728 or 1-800-448-2474 Oregon Department of Agriculture's shellfish safety hotline is toll free and provides the most current information regarding shellfish safety closures.

Jack’s Country Store This Long Beach Peninsula shop maintains an excellent razor clam information website: www.razorclams.com

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Willapa National

Wildlife Refuge Words & Images: Lynette Rae McAdams

How I fell in love with public lands Yesterday I walked among ancient cedars, their gnarled roots like the hands of so many great-grandmothers, each holding fast to her place on this earth. The week before found me steathfully on my knees in a wide swath of eelgrass — a private study of the great blue heron, master in the ways of stillness. And last spring, I watched a sunrise over Tarlatt Slough that came so sweet and so slow, it looked as though the fields themselves gave up their very breath at the sight of it.

Spring sunrise at the Tarlatt Slough unit of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge.

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Papilio oregonius: The Oregon swallowtail butterfly.

Jackie Ferrier, refuge manager, says, “Every little piece of it is its own miracle of nature,” and I think I know just what she means: My favorite place on the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge is wherever I happen to be standing.

Signed into American law in 1937 by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and designed to safeguard migrating birds, the refuge works to preserve, protect, and restore more than 16,000 acres on and around Washington’s Willapa Bay — all of it divided into separate sections. Taken together, these units form a network of rare ecosystems — from the saltwater marshes of Leadbetter Point, to the open grasslands at the bottom of the bay; from dense old-growth forests, to wind-swept Pacific dunes; from the swollen streams that meander the Willapa Hills, to the rich tidal mudflats that encircle the estuary — all of it combines to form a singular, globally important stop on the great Pacific Flyway.

Stretching from the Arctic Circle all the way to Patagonia, the flyway is used by birds who travel some (or all) of that distance, twice each year, relying on places like this to rest, nest, or simply refuel. Thanks to its unique environs, the Willapa refuge is able to attract and shelter more than 200 feathered species, all who, in a crowded world of ever-shrinking habitats, need it more and more.

Spring and fall bring an explosion of birds — literally millions — with aerial formations

and rituals so intense, their presence eclipses all other aspects of the refuge.

And while they’re certainly worthy stars of the show, they’re not the only creatures who benefit from this wide blanket of protection.

layer after layer of water and light and nutrients, coming together to create one grand tapestry — all on public lands, held in trust, and just as accessible to you and I as to the coyote or the hummingbird. >>

My favorite place on the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge is wherever I happen to be standing.

Through the marvelous piggyback effect that rules the natural world, mammals large and small can all call the refuge home, along with amphibians, reptiles, fish, and, those astonishing spineless wonders — the invertebrates! — whose group encompasses everything from clams, oysters, and insects, to spiders, slugs, and snails.

The same soggy wetlands that shelter the northern pintail also nourish the skunk cabbage that flowers in early spring — a delicacy for black bears, lumbering out of torpor. To the ponds and sloughs that beckon the American widgeon and the mallards, the playful northern river otter also arrives — on the hunt for crawfish, mice, or, if he’s lucky, a succulent duck egg (maybe even two).

Every nook and cranny teems with life:

Pseudacris regilla: The Pacific tree frog.

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A sculpture of a salmon skeleton greets visitors who embark on the art trail at the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge headquarters on Willapa Bay.

Ancient cedar trees are the focus of the trail at the Teal Slough unit

Well, almost.

As a human, wandering, the refuge in perfect happiness does require a bit of savvy, and it’s important to keep in mind at least these things: The Willapa is a world of many splendors, but most of them are muddy; wild animals are smart enough to want to keep their distance; and mosquitoes here can swarm so thick, I’ve seen the most stoic of outdoorsmen beg for DEET. So hear this now, and repeat it like a mantra: Boots, binoculars, bug spray; boots, binoculars, bug spray. (I promise you, you’ll thank me later.)

And finally, there’s this small fact: Much of wildlife watching is actually wrapped up in waiting, and this can bring frustration. But often, these are the moments when the refuge offers up its greatest gifts.

Like one long afternoon I remember last year, searching a stream bank in vain for the endangered Dunn’s salamander. Defeated, I dropped to the water’s edge, only to notice for the first time, the perfect universe that lay at my feet. Skating across the reflective surface, water striders moved in a synchronized ballet, their fragile insect bodies sending out vibrations of light and shadow. Below them, piles of twigs and decaying leaves dressed the welcoming bed for a soon-to-spawn salmon; from the axis of a nearby fern, a Pacific tree frog sang out its approval.

So here you have come, on the lookout for something flashy, maybe hoping for a herd of thundering elk.

But have you missed the Oregon swallowtail, feasting there on the last of the summer thistles? Can you see how it moves its soft butterfly body, over the prickly spines and to the flower’s center, probing ever deeper for another sip of nectar?

Bend in closer, she has a tale to tell, and therein lies the secret to it all.

Can you see her unfurling it from her magnificent wings, hear her whispering it, once, before she sets off on the wind?

Listen: There is magic in the minuscule; and sometimes, the way to see clearly is to stop looking quite so hard.

How very lovely it is, to discover at last, that we are all a part of something larger than ourselves.

See more Willapa National Wildlife Refuge photos at :

DiscoverOurCoast.com 12 • Our Coast: Outdoors 2019

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Willapa National Wildlife Refuge

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The Willapa National Wildlife Refuge has no entrance fees, and visitors are welcome every day during daylight hours. For the safety of wildlife and the protection of delicate habitats, dogs are not allowed on refuge lands. For more information, visit www.fws.gov/refuge/Willapa or call 360-484-3482

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1. Refuge Headquarters Milepost 24 on U.S. Hwy 101, directly across from Long Island Home to the WNWR main office, this unit offers parking, refuge maps, a public boat launch, vault toilets, and two chances to stretch your legs. The short and delightful Willapa Art Trail is a boardwalk path over ponds, streams, and saltwater marshes that uses art to educate along the way; the more challenging Cutthroat Loop Trail branches off to climb through dense forest.

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1.6 miles north of WNWR Headquarters on U.S. Hwy 101 Walk the road behind the gate up and through the forest, and follow the arrows to some seriously big, seriously beautiful old trees. Ancient cedars twist their way to the heavens amid a temple of giant Sitka spruces. At trail’s end, there’s a peek-a-boo view of Willapa Bay.

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South end of Willapa Bay (launch from headquarters; pay close attention to tides) Accessible only by private boat, this 5,460-acre island is comprised of lush coastal forests surrounded by rich mudflats. Black bears, deer, and elk call the island home, as well as birds and amphibians of every variety. Five primitive campgrounds (20 sites total) dot the perimeter, and hiking trails abound, along with public clam beds. Don’t miss the Don Bonker Cedar Grove: 274 acres of 1,000-year-old Western red cedar, near the island’s center.

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Approximately 5 miles south of WNWR Headquarters on U.S. Hwy 101 Home to Greenhead Slough, site of a major recent restoration project, this unit is accessed mainly by elk and deer hunters.

Park at the gate near the bridge, and follow the old road east and into the forest.

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From Sandridge Road, turn east onto 95th Street; at the “Y,” veer right and continue to the refuge gate.

Enjoy this easy piece of water as it slips on out to Willapa Bay. Offering great views of the spring and fall bird migrations, this spot is also roaming ground for coyotes, deer, and elk (and happens to be downright beautiful, year-round).

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From Sandridge Road, turn east onto 67th Place; this long road terminates at the refuge gate, where three units essentially converge Dominated by grasslands, this place is a smorgasbord for migrating birds, elk, otters, coyotes, and long-tailed weasels. Soggy fields offer an ideal environment for inter-species games of hide-and seek; walk the gentle road toward the bay and watch the food chain in action.

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7. Leadbetter Point From Sandridge Road, follow the signs to Leadbetter State Park (end of Stackpole Road); a Discover Pass is required at this unit only.

Bordering the state park (and sharing parking and restrooms), this remote tip of the Long Beach Peninsula is sacred nesting ground for the protected Western snowy plover and a playground for thousands of others. A network of trails provides access to panoramic views of Willapa Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

Birders, prepare to swoon.

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Words: Tim Trainor • Images: Joshua Besssex

I cast upstream of the waterfall — as instructed — and watch my bait float down through the braided green water of the North Fork Nehalem River.

Guide Drake Radditz had spent the previous night curing the steelhead eggs now gobbed onto the hook, treating them with salt and borax and food coloring so they hold together and look appetizing to a fish.

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t the tail end of the drift, there it is: the silver flash of an underwater steelhead, the bend of the rod, the tenuous connection to a strong and wild thing. Fish on.

Whether you are just dipping your toe into the sport or already are a seasoned pro, the Columbia-Pacific region is one of few left in the world where you can fish for every salmon species on this side of the ocean, and that’s in addition to world-class clamming and crabbing and saltwater fishing in bays and open ocean.

Radditz lives in Warrenton and spends much of the year guiding anglers down the Trask, Wilson, Kilchis, Nehalem, North Fork Nehalem, and Necanicum rivers in search of salmon and steelhead. And when the fish are elsewhere, he goes and finds them — running multi-day excursions down the Deschutes and the John Day in Central Oregon, the Salmon River in Idaho, and oneoff, far-flung tropical locations.

But the North Coast is his home, and the fishing there matches anywhere else he has traveled to — for variety, for productivity, for a challenge.

“You just have to be ready for anything,” he said. “That’s the fun of it.”

Salmon and steelhead are the primary quarry for North Coast recreational anglers, and that’s what most of Radditz’s clients target too.

If an angler wants to fish a specific river

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or stretch of water, Radditz can tell them when best to schedule their trip. And if a client only has a free day to fish, Radditz is always aware of what tributary is fishing best.

“It’s a little luck,” he said. “But overwhelmingly it’s practice and knowledge.”

Robert Bradley is a fish biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s North Coast district.

He grew up in the Eugene area, cutting his fishing teeth with bobbers and worms

There’s very few places in the world where you can fish what you fish here. and panfish. But like most Oregon anglers, he soon caught the salmonid bug, and the year-round ability to scratch that itch is one reason he moved to Tillamook.

The variety of fish excites him as both a biologist and an angler. “In particular, we have some of the last coho hatcheries left,” he said. “There’s very few places in the world where you can fish what you fish here.”

Bradley also appreciates the variety of waterways. The region is home to big rivers, medium rivers, small rivers, and the tiniest streams. There’s saltwater and freshwater

and places where the two meet. There are lakes, reservoirs, and — most days — plenty of puddles.

“When one river is blown out, isn’t fishing, something else is,” said Bradley.

“The North Fork (Nehalem) is a good example. When the bigger rivers are out, it can be right on.”

Conditions were prime in early January on the North Fork Nehalem, which stands apart from the other fantastic coastal rivers in the region. It’s farther from Portland than the Trask and Wilson, which cuts down on the crowds.

The dangerous rapids help reduce them even further. The usual guided day float begins at the ODFW fish hatchery and ventures over three named rapids, known colloquially as Jack, Queen, and King. Their difficulty — and their well-earned reputation for claiming lives — keep away all but the most experienced river runners.

The best place to fish for winter steelhead on the North Fork is the canyon section downstream from the hatchery. It is also the most scenic. Waterfalls tumble and thunder off both sides of the canyon, bald eagles glide overhead, tufted ducks and common mergansers float nervously downstream. The day trip finishes at a tidally affected, brackish takeout roughly eight river miles downstream. Through the canyon, bank access is difficult, meaning anglers won’t feel the heat-of-the-run pressure that can be stifling on other waters.

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A GUIDE

FOR FINDING A GUIDE

Choosing a fishing guide can be a dicey proposition

A good koan for fishing anywhere throughout the west is usually: The farther the walk, the better the fishing.

Radditz has seen plenty of elk while oaring down the North Fork, and once a bobcat. From the raft, it’s hard to believe that a state highway is no more than a short climb and walk away.

The river itself is stunningly beautiful. The North Fork Nehalem flows elegantly over bedrock, and the river’s relatively quick elevation drop flushes out gravel and dirt. It gives the water itself a sparkling green color, and the sharp, slippery chutes mean that only rafts or pontoons can make the journey intact.

It’s the waters Radditz targets — places that amateur, weekend worm- and flydrowners rarely reach. That’s where the professionals thrive, and Radditz and the river were at their best in late January.

We fell into a day of shockingly simple catching. That was mostly because of Radditz’s knowledge of the river, his varied equipment and his recommendation of where and how to fish. It required good casting and constant line mending, but when the bait swung naturally in front of a steelhead, there was a strike more often than not. On casts that were less than perfect, Radditz would often whisper, “Let it fish,” which meant not to reel in and abandon hope, but to let the bait float downstream and see what happened. Sometimes that worked, too.

I was well aware that it is rarely that easy.

Steelhead are not hungry in January in the Nehalem. They eat eggs of their own species because those may have been fertilized by a competitor. Removing them from the ecosystem means less competition for their own offspring, should they be lucky enough to spawn successfully.

Anglers have similar concerns, though thankfully we don’t resort to cannibalism. But escaping from the crowds and cutting down on competition is a way to increase the odds of success. The North Fork Nehalem is harder to get to by car than more well-known North Coast rivers, its best holes are difficult to access by foot and hard to fish from shore, and rafting it can be dangerous and sometimes deadly.

If you make it to this spectacular stretch of water, you will be rewarded — whether the bite is on or not.

More fishing the North Fork Nehalem River next pages

You’re choosing both a business partner and a buddy — there’s important work to do, but you have to spend a whole day in the boat with this person. You want to have a good time doing it.

And there is a lot at stake. Many people can only afford a guided fishing trip once or twice a year, most only once or twice in a lifetime. So getting stuck with the wrong guide can turn what should be a memorable day on the water into an unproductive one or, worse, an infuriating one.

So here’s a guide for finding a guide, some helpful tips on ways to make your trip a success before you ever wet a line: Before searching for a guide, ask yourself what kind of guide you are searching for.

Every angler is different, and their expectations for a guide are different too. Some want a nononsense professional who keeps the chit-chat to a minimum and puts all their energy into putting the boat and the bait in the right position. Others want a more gregarious partner, who waxes about history and ecology and great fishing stories as they putter across lakes and row down streams.

Think about the kind of person you want to spend the day with first.

Do your due diligence If fishing is important to you, odds are you’ve met a guide, had one recommended, or know one who lives down the road. In the fishing mecca of the Columbia-Pacific region, throw a stick toward a river, and odds are it will hit a guide or two before the water.

But while a guide might be easy to find with a phone book or a Google search, that might not be your best choice. Finding the kind of guide who will mesh with you takes work.

Word of mouth is key. Ask your buddies who you fish with often, who know you best. Ask them about guided trips they’ve taken and who they found to be most productive and competent, and who they would avoid. But be wary of the secondor third-hand recommendation. A friend of a friend of a friend might not know what is best for you and may stick you with someone you’re not compatible with. When you see an ad in the newspaper, call up the guiding service and ask lots of questions. Fly shops and sporting goods stores have good tips, too.

Once you find someone you like, don’t let them go Treat the guide well and remind them how much you appreciate them. Tip them cold hard cash or cold hard whiskey. Help drag the boat out of the water when you stop for lunch, and help lift it onto the trailer when you’re done for the day. Be careful with equipment, and listen carefully to directions.

Exchange phone numbers and email addresses, and make it clear that you love fishing and they should call you when the river is at its best. Many guides love a good client as much as a client loves a good guide. If you create relationships with quality professionals, make a good impression, and treat people with respect, your network will strengthen and expand. Pretty soon, you’ll have the personal connections necessary to choose the guide who fits you best each and every time. And when you’ve got that, the fish better look out.

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BAITING THE HOOK

CASTING THE LINE

Natural bait is common for most steelhead fishing — the fresher the better. Eggs can be harvested from hatchery fish, cured and colored, and used to catch more.

Casting for steelhead with a fly rod isn’t pretty — the equipment is heavy, and the rods are stiff and made for standing up to big fish.

It's similar for spin casting — clunky and heavy. But accuracy is key, and getting the bait to the right spot is half the battle.

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With a steelhead on the end of the line, the work has just begun. They dart and jump, try to run for cover, or bolt downstream. An angler must learn to give line to avoid breaking off but also muscle the fish when conditions demand it.

A guide will have numerous setups ready for their client — rods rigged to fish at different depths, with a different style, or using different bait. Invariably you'll get hung up and snap off — that's 20 minutes lost to fishing if you're by yourself on the shore. But a good guide will just hand you another rigged up rod, and you're back at it.

The North Fork Nehalem is not for the uninitiated. Rapids can become extremely dangerous at certain flows, and they have proven fatal in the past. That means few non-professionals even attempt to float it, cutting down the fishing pressure.

SETTING THE HOOK

LANDING THE FISH

For those used to catching trout on their favorite river, trying to hook a steelhead can test your instincts. A quick reaction is key to hooking up with a wily trout, but steelhead need a little more patience, as they often nibble and nose at bait before chomping down.

Fish don’t count unless they make it to the boat, and a steelhead hooked is not a steelhead caught. Perhaps no other fish their size is as difficult to land — the varying river currents, holes and shelves, and places to break off all work to the fish’s advantage.

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Elk Camp

Good hunting, great food and best friends

Tuesday afternoon Bernie Boucher and Jim Hilbert were bored at elk camp so they decided to take a drive and see if they could spot some animals. The weather had finally broken so the pair of hunters were wearing their Romeos and sweatpants on a leisurely jaunt.

They stood on a landing high above a deep ravine and on the opposite hill spotted a buck and doe sauntering into the open. Seconds later, a legal bull elk appeared from nowhere and Bernie took aim “about eight inches above the front shoulder” and squeezed the trigger. His 300 ultra-mag struck the elk with a “thwack,” according to Bernie, and dropped in its tracks. The shot across the valley was estimated to be about 600 yards.

“He staggered near a white stump and went down,” Jim says of the elk. The pair took care to study the landmarks, then got into their fourwheel drive pickup and quickly drove about a mile to where a creek bisected the ravine. Another pickup from camp magically appeared via cellphone communication and backed down a narrow logging road with saplings brushing by on both sides. A spool filled with 1/2 inch crab line and a winch were used to bring the 700 pound animal out and Jim and Bernie forded a rain-swollen creek and clambered up the opposite bank, their orange hunting vests hardly visible in the 20 • Our Coast: Outdoors 2019

Words: Kevin Heimbigner

underbrush as they ascended.

“Landmarks never look the same up close as they do far away,” Bernie explains. “We were on our hands and knees at the last,” Jim says as they quickly found the three-point with double eye guards that Bernie’s long-range shot had brought down. The horns were removed to protect them from damage during the tow and the pair secured the elk’s hooves for the pull back to the road.

A bull elk appeared from nowhere, Bernie took aim and squeezed the trigger. His 300 ultra-mag struck the elk with a ‘thwack,’ dropping in its tracks.

After a couple of hang-ups and a few vine maples and small alders being cut through, the elk snagged on a 100-year old stump at the creek’s edge. When the elk finally gave way it catapulted over both channels of the creek. “It looked like one of those motorcycle jumps when the elk shot across both creeks,” Jim related. Another short tow and the three-point lay safely on the narrow Cat road.

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Jim and Bernie went to work gutting the animal with the help of Joe Calderone and others. On the count of “three” the hunters hoisted the elk into the bed of the pickup and headed back to camp. When Bernie and Jim entered camp there was already a buzz of activity as everyone knew via cellphone that the fourth elk of the season was coming in after dark.

The camp consists of three RVs and two carports, one graveled and the other has a wood floor and is used as the cookhouse. There are eight men in camp and all have their duties. Two have never shot an elk before, Mike is the cook and his creed is, “If you’re hungry enough, you’ll eat it.” Fred Krause is a polio victim who “does anything anyone else can do and I thank God for that,” and at 67 is into helping when and where needed. “I’m spoiled being up here,” he chimes.

Bernie rigs an ingenious hoist to the ball of his pickup and the elk is lifted by a series of pulleys for skinning and further cleaning.

Knives are continually being sharpened by Joe. “The old boney knife is the best,” Krause says of his decades old instrument. Fred does cleanup, helps with cooking and is “the organizer.”

Opening day, Hilbert and his sister-in-law Kristi both bagged elk early in the morning. Jim shot his The camp consists while it was just getting up from its of three RVs and bed while Kristi got hers when it two carports, one began to run. “I’m not sure I could graveled and the have made that shot she made,” Jim other has a wood admits with a proud grin. floor and is used as Larry Kemmer also hit an elk on Nov. 4, but the animal ran away. “I the cookhouse. saw its head spin and thought I had gotten him, but then it got up and ran away. There was no blood and someone else saw the same elk running at full speed a day or two later. The only thing I can think is that I hit it in the horns.” Of course, that brought a round of good-natured teasing.

As Bernie’s elk is skinned and final preparations are made for taking the meat to Glen McCulley for hanging and butchering, the members of the camp begin to give Boucher a hard time about his shot. It is discovered that the elk was hit in the upper neck from 600 yards. Boucher says with mock humility, “I didn’t want to waste any meat, that’s why I shot him there.” Someone says maybe if he’d have backed up a 100 yards he could have gotten an even cleaner shot.

When asked if he was lucky or just that good, Bernie says, “I ain’t saying nothing.” Whether lucky or good, the members of the camp have now taken four elk and as Mike says, “That’s meat on the table for the families.”

It’s now after 8 p.m. and Mike fires up a propane grill and puts on a plate of hamburgers for a late supper. Jim and Bernie pass the traditional Jagrmeister celebratory drink and a chunk of freshly cut tenderloin is tossed on the stove that has been blazing all evening.

“I sear the tenderloin about a minute or two on each side and it’s done,” Mike explains. “It’s pretty hard to mess this up,” he says as the meat begins to sizzle instantly.

Mike says he likes spending time with his two boys and two sonin-laws during the week or so in camp. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native moved to Washougal shortly after his time in the service because of the “peace and quiet.” Jim, who is a distant relative of Gilbert Tinker who founded Long Beach, says, “This is about the eighth or ninth year of elk camp.” He and his son recently shot a cougar and Jim has taken seven elk in that time. “Well, is it time to start reminiscing and arguing about where to hunt tomorrow?” he asks. Mike suggests a trip to a nearby elk camp of some fellow hunters to rub it in.

As Mike turns the tenderloin and everyone begins to settle in by the warmth of the crackling fire it is hard to imagine that the elk camp tradition will end any time soon.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Elk hunting camps are a special part of autumn life for many throughout the West, bringing together families and close friends out in the woods in an annual effort to fill freezers before winter sets in. My mother ate so much venison during the Great Depression and World War II that it held no appeal for her, but she quite liked preparing elk for family meals in the form of roasts, or ground and mixed with cow suet. Partly in remembrance of those hunting camps of my childhood, several years ago I asked writer Kevin Heimbigner to document one such camp in the Willapa Hills.

Though time has moved on, it remains a good representation of those experiences. — Matt Winters

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THERE ARE ABUNDANT OPPORTUNITIES ON OUR COAST TO VIEW AND PHOTOGRAPH WILDLIFE When it comes to watching wildlife, Our Coast is the place to be, with more bald eagles than anywhere south of Alaska, and more pelagic and coastal seabirds than anywhere else on the West Coast.

Seals and otters, huge herds of deer and elk, migrating and resident songbirds and waterfowl all can be observed in numbers that will amaze the whole family. It’s time to discover just where these beauties can be seen.

Images: Our Coast Archives A mother river otter decides how best to neutralize a Dungeness crab at Cape Disappointment.

The deer on the Peninsula and in Astoria are semi-tame. Be sure to keep a close eye for them along local streets and highways.

Great blue herons are picturesque residents of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge and Clatsop County.

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Bald eagles on Clatsop Beach.

Eagles, Hawks and Falcons Peregrine falcons are frequently observed swooping down from tree top perches as they intercept prey in Leadbetter Point State Park. Bald eagles and other birds of prey are often spotted anywhere in the vicinity of Willapa Bay and the Columbia River. They are particularly obvious along U.S. Highway 101 between the Astoria Bridge and Ilwaco.

Herons Living here on Our Coast we are fortunate indeed to have a very large and healthy population of great blue herons. They are quite common in the area.

A bald eagle snatches a fish from a Long Beach Peninsula lake Eagles are an everyday sight throughout the Columbia-Pacific region.

Pelicans Pelicans, cormorants, Caspian terns, kingfishers and other bird species all gather in great numbers along the Columbia River estuary east of Ilwaco, through Chinook and on past the Dismal Nitch unit of Lewis and Clark National Park.

Swans Trumpeter and tundra swans can often be observed in Peninsula lakes, especially Black Lake near Ilwaco and Brisco Lake north of Long Beach.

Elk For something a bit larger, how about some elk watching? A short drive out to the Bear River area at the south end of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge situated on the east side of the bay is a good place to start.

Black-Tailed Deer Deer are almost too common to notice on the Peninsula and the mainland, chomping rosebushes wherever they go.

Geese and Ducks Waterfowl in a myriad of colors can also be seen near the refuge headquarters. Casual sightings of dozens of species of ducks are quite common. Wood ducks are a particular favorite among area residents, many of whom build nesting boxes for them.

River Otters If it’s something altogether different you’re looking for, how about putting the binocs to some river otters? They can often be seen swimming and frolicking in the canals and lakes in the center of the community of Surfside just west of Oysterville, or even in Black Lake or small creeks around Ilwaco.

More wildlife photos next pages

Short-eared owls are year-round residents of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge.

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A brown pelican on Clatsop Beach.

Black bears are active on the Long Beach Peninsula and nearby areas, which have Washington state's densest populations of bears.

24 • Our Coast: Outdoors 2019

Sea lions often congregate on a dock at the East End Mooring Basin in Astoria.

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A bull elk walks with a calf on Clatsop Beach.

Snowy owls occasionally venture as far south as Fort Stevens State Park in the winter.

An osprey works to build its nest. These birds of prey can be spotted in Warrenton, Fort Stevens State Park and Broadway Park in Seaside.

Trumpeter swans hang out in Black Lake in Ilwaco and other lakes and wetlands in the area.

A pair of oyster catchers explore the tide pools during low tide at Haystack Rock.

White pelicans used to be uncommon near the mouth of the Columbia, but are being observed closer to the ocean in recent years

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SeaKayaking Kayaking guides who are worth their salt will tell you flat out: You can’t just paddle out to sea. Unless you’ve spent hours learning to brace your boat against the breakers and roll sideways like a sea otter in the surf, they’ll say: Stick to the rivers and bays.

Words & Images: Cassandra Profita

There are benefits from stepping out of your comfort zone and climbing into a sea kayak.

T

he ocean along the North Coast is riddled with rip currents, eddies, overpowering winds and, of course, crashing waves.

“You really do need a good foundation of skills to go into the ocean,” says Mark Whitaker, who was manager of Columbia River Kayaking in Skamakowa, Wash. for 11 years. “It’s also good to go with an experienced person. You really need to be able to negotiate the surface.”

It’s sound advice that I’ve dutifully followed for six years – even though I own a 16 1/2 foot sea kayak. Seeing as a 12-footer is really all you need to paddle around inland waters, I’ve always wanted to step up my game and get my sea kayak into the sea.

Even one trip would justify all the years of hauling four unnecessary feet of hull into waterways up and down the North Coast.

But I still don’t have the skills. And I don’t know an experienced person who’s dumb enough to take an unskilled paddler into the ocean.

26 • Our Coast: Outdoors 2019

So, I’d just about given up on going out to sea – at least until I had the time and energy to take a class.

Then I found a loophole. Or maybe it was a loop tide.

I could race alongside freighters in the Columbia River shipping channel or slip through sloughs with blue herons and bald eagles in the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge.

Either way, I made it to the open ocean without getting pummeled by waves or risking life and limb. Without learning to roll or brace. I would say it was cheating the system, but it wasn’t. It was using the system – the ever-present ebb and flow of the tide – to sneak a brief but glorious paddle in the Pacific.

It wouldn’t have happened without the guidance of Kayak Tillamook founder Marcus Hinz.

“I’ve have this sea kayak,” I whined to him over the phone from Portland, “and it’s never seen the sea.”

I suppose if kayaks could “see” things, mine has seen plenty of the Pacific: From the roof rack of my Subaru, swerving around the curves of U.S. Highway 101; From way out in the mouth of the Columbia where the river gnashes its teeth on the bar; From Nehalem Bay as it necks down toward the beach; and from the sweeping saltwater in Willapa Bay, where the ocean drapes foamy white tongues across the horizon.

Sure, my boat has “seen” the sea.

But I wanted it to feel the might of the ocean under its royal blue frame. I wanted it to ride those massive swells and slice through their choppy peaks. I wanted my sea kayak to be a sea kayak – and do the things it was made to do.

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Sea kayaking can offer enthusiasts a wonderful view in addition to the experience.

I just didn’t want to spend four hours flipping the thing around in a swimming pool to get there.

I’d bought the used boat right after moving to Astoria in 2006.

One look around the inland peninsula and I knew I was going to need a vessel. There’s water everywhere!

And the tides are fierce – even in the bays and estuaries. I took a salesman’s advice and bought a long and slender plastic boat that slices through current like a knife and easily withstands the occasional run-ins with rocks and concrete (oops!).

It paid off immediately. I could race alongside freighters in the Columbia River shipping channel or slip through sloughs with blue herons and bald eagles in the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. I could circle around East Sand Island and gawk at the terns or paddle out to Long Island in Willapa Bay to camp and rake my own steamer clams.

“I like getting into places most people will never get to and having this intimate connection with the water itself,” says Hinz. “How it moves on its own time on an annual cycle really makes me fall in love with the entire planet.”

Of course, you can fall in love with the planet without paddling out to sea. Hinz floated behind a coyote for a full minute without being spotted and watched a baby black bear playing in the woods. He snuck up on a herd of elk and felt the ground shake when they ran off.

“It sounded like the forest was coming down,” he says.

You don’t even have to be on the ocean to see hundreds of jellyfish swimming in a rainbow of yellows, pinks, purples and blues. The tide sweeps them right into Pacific City’s Sandlake in the fall.

“I’ve had salmon bounce off the hull of my boat,” Hinz says. “I’ve had a river otter growl at me. It sounded like it was choking.”

I don’t think Hinz set out to show me how to sneak up on the sea.

He took me and several clients on a plodding paddle through Nestucca Bay and never mentioned going into the ocean.

But the trip was perfectly timed so that we reached the mouth right as the tide was turning.

The ocean looked like the Red Sea after Moses parted its waters.

To the north, waves were breaking northward away from us. To the south, the waves turned southward. In between, the water was fantastically flat and glistening in the sun. The Pacific had left a window open, and we floated right through.

We paddled past the mouth of the bay, past the beveled edges of the beaches on either side. Soon I was able to turn my boat around to face east, and I looked in on West Coast from the outside.

For 10 minutes, I paddled the Pacific in a real sea kayak.

Then the window closed, and a wall of waves pushed me back into the bay where I belong.

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What’s that

Bird?

Birding along the coast offers year-round opportunities. More than 340 species have been recorded, as restoration projects and wildlife preservation have become priorities Words & Images: Our Coast Archives

W

Townsend’s warbler at the Mill Ponds in Seaside.

alk among the rivers and streams, fresh- and saltwater ponds, marshes and tidal estuaries of the North Oregon and Southwest Washington Coast, and you feel an earthy connection to the habitat, food sources and environmental stewardship that makes this corner of the world an ecological paradise for birders, bird lovers and nature lovers to cherish.

What better introduction to nature than the many easy hikes and accessible viewing spots in the area?

Some of the most accessible bird viewing opportunities can be found in Seaside, where the North Coast Land Conservancy has purchased or restored several sites for wildlife viewing. Take an easy walk among the willows and spruces at the Neawanna Mill Ponds off Avenue S, where nearly 250 species of birds have been recorded. This reclaimed former lumber mill provides the Some of the most photographer with a great place to accessible bird record wildlife in action. Fiddle with your shutter speed to capture viewing opportunities action or your depth of field can be found in setting to create drama, and you Seaside, where the have a great record of your North Coast Land memories along the coast.

The Necanicum Estuary, Conservancy has which can be accessed from purchased or Seaside at Franklin Avenue or restored several sites Gearhart at Wellington Avenue, is for wildlife viewing. one the best places to witness the annual migration of shorebirds, including thousands of sandpipers and plovers. Brown pelicans congregate on the beach at Gearhart Spit and the dunes are home to nesting northern harriers and short-eared owls.

Young children and the young at heart get a real treat in Cannon Beach at Haystack Rock, when the summer awareness program is staffed with knowledgeable volunteers. You can view tufted puffins, black oystercatchers and a variety of gull species with provided binoculars and spotting scopes. The staff also provides an interpretative tour of other creatures in tidepools and on the rocks. The newly created walking paths between Ecola Creek and the Little Pompey Wetlands also offer ample opportunities to view a variety of bird species.

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Students peer through spotting scopes and binoculars toward nesting seabirds on Haystack Rock including the tufted puffin.

Blue heron on the Skipanon River.

Caspian terns in the Necanicum Estuary.

The 6-mile Fort to Sea Trail in Fort Clatsop National Memorial passes through sand dunes, old growth forest and tidal marshes to create a pristine environment. Trek through the solitude and abundant wildlife, with shuttle service available at the end of the hike in Sunset Beach State Park. Combine this with a canoe trip from Netul Landing down the Lewis and Clark River or Youngs River to the Columbia.

Another prime viewing area is Fort Stevens State Park in Hammond, with its miles of flat bike trails along lakes, freshwater marshes and estuarine wetlands, finishing at the South Jetty of the Columbia River. Watch the waves crashing on the rocks, view gulls and sandpipers, and enjoy the antics of brown pelicans as they dive for food or play follow-the-leader.

In Astoria, the waterfront Riverwalk boasts a bird list approaching 170 species along with up-close and personal viewing of California sea lions, harbor seals and the occasional river otter. Coxcomb Hill, home of the Astoria Column, provides a spectacular panoramic viewscape of the entire lower Columbia River and is the best spot for watching the spring migration of forest species returning from the Neotropics to breed here in the Oregon Coast Range.

East of Astoria, the Twilight Eagle Sanctuary offers chances to view thousands of ducks, geese and swans in the fall and winter. Bald eagles, northern harriers and peregrine falcons are attracted to the waterfowl bounty and are easily observed as they hunt and loaf.

Equally astounding are the opportunities for birding on the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington. Drive to the tip of the Peninsula in Leadbetter Point State Park for a tremendously diverse viewing opportunity. You can easily stroll the four distinct trails in the park to see different ecosystems and the effect the twice-a-day tides have on wildlife and waterfowl. Willapa Bay at Leadbetter Point is best known for spring and fall concentrations of shorebirds including long- and short-billed dowitchers, marbled godwits and black-bellied plover, which come to ply the rich mud for invertebrates.

One of the best spots to feel the sand beneath your toes or take in the smells of the saltwater marshes is on the Peninsula’s Discovery Trail, an 8.5-mile trail through picturesque forests, a coastline with lighthouses, sand dunes, lakes, rivers and marshes, all with boardwalks, bridges and good nearby hiking trails.

The trail meanders from Long Beach through the Sitka spruce wetlands of Beard’s Hollow to end in Ilwaco and Baker Bay.

Osprey at Broadway Park in Seaside.

Pelicans over the Columbia River.

Puffins can be spotted on Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach.

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First Annual

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Manufacturer representatives from a wide scope of popular NW brands will be present, including Kershaw Knives, Gerber, Danner & Keen footwear

MULTIPLE GIVEAWAYS! Lots of Outdoor stuff to enjoy the Pacific Northwest

YYour oour Authorized A Honda Marine Dealer

CLATSOP CLA ATSOP PO PPOWER WER EQUIP EQUIPMENT, MENT T, INC. 349122 HWY. HW WY. 101 BUSI BUSINESS NESS ASTORIA, 97103 ASSTORIA, OR. 971 03 1-800-220-0792 503-325-0792 1-800-2 220-0792 • 503-32 25-0792

The Clatsop County Fair July 28th - Aug 1st, 2020 Destination Honda

30 • Our Coast: Outdoors 2019

92937 Walluski Loop Astoria, Oregon 503-325-4600

Outdoors 2019:OUTDOORS

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1:00 PM

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Our Coast: Outdoors 2019 • 31

Outdoors 2019:OUTDOORS

8/21/19

1:00 PM

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Work & Play

Built For Alaska Fit For Ever yone • Deck Boots • Ankle Deck Boots • Deck Shoes

“Quality merchandise and great service” 95 Hamburg Lane, Astoria, OR 97103

(503) 325-4341

w w w. E n g l u n d M a r i n e . c o m