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Sportsman Northwest

Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource

Volume 8 • ISSUE 2 PUBLISHER James R. Baker ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Dick Openshaw EDITOR Andy Walgamott LEAD WRITERS Jeff Holmes, Andy Schneider CONTRIBUTORS Ralph Bartholdt, Jason Brooks, Summer Dunn, Chris Gregersen, Heather Hodson, Doug Huddle, Randy King, Barb Koos, Leroy Ledeboer, Rob Lyon, Skylar Masters, Stacy Mayovsky, Rebecca McClain, Morgan Nicks, Terry Otto, Michelle Peters, Buzz Ramsey, Alycia Schuster, Scott Staats, Jennifer Stahl, Mark Veary, Terry Wiest, Dave Workman SALES MANAGER Brian Lull ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Becca Ellingsworth, Mamie Griffin, Steve Joseph Mike Nelson, Mike Smith, Heidi Witt, Paul Yarnold DESIGNERS Dawn Carlson, Beth Harrison, Sonjia Kells PRODUCTION MANAGER John Rusnak PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker OFFICE MANAGER/ACCOUNTING Audra Higgins ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Sauro INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn WEBMASTER/INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines CIRCULATION MANAGER Heidi Belew DISTRIBUTION Tony Sorrentino, Gary Bickford ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@nwsportsmanmag.com CORRESPONDENCE Email letters, articles/queries, photos, etc., to awalgamott@media-inc.com, or snail mail them to the address below.

ON THE COVER On a trip west to visit family last winter, hardcore East Coast angler Nina Ji enjoyed a successful though chilly float down the Wynoochee River with guide Ryan McCaughan. (JOEY MANANSALA) ISSUE MOTTO Brightening up the dreariest month of the year in the Northwest five years strong!

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1-877-426-0933 www.verles.com 8 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 2

FEATURES 53 63 69 107 121 125 137

Humptulips River coho, steelhead 5 Southwest Washington steelie streams 4 Northwest Oregon winter-run rivers Rock Lake, Wash., browns, rainbow trout North Oregon Coast bottomfish Columbia estuary crabbing – MAP! Kittitas County quail

DEPARTMENTS 15 17 18

5TH ANNUAL REAL WOMEN OF NORTHWEST FISHING Get ready for our biggest, baddest tribute yet to the fairer sex – pics and stories from 47 of the best female fishers in all of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, including Kristin Bishop, here with a Buoy 10 king! (KRISTIN BISHOP)

18 COLUMNS 59

BUZZ RAMSEY Winter-runs can be mysterious, but Buzz cuts through the water with tips on where and how to catch ’em.

77

WESTSIDER Pugetropolis steelheading suffered a huge hit this year, but Terry details rivers that will have fish this season.

83

91

NORTH SOUND Nooksack and Skagit-Cascade metalheads are on Doug’s mind this month.

CENTRAL OREGON Scott floats the John Day with its top steelhead guide, Steve Fleming.

96

THE LONG HAUL There is no longer haul for many of us steelheaders than the Grande Ronde, but the rewards are rich.

113 BASIN BEACON The north Columbia Basin’s lakes are primed for stellar winter trout, walleye and perch fishing, says Leroy.

133 THE KAYAK GUYS Meet Tyler Hicks who has caught 82 species in the Northwest this year – more than half off his kayak!

145 INLAND NORTHWEST Fellow Idahoans were sketchy about where to chase chukars – until someone tipped Ralph off to Craig Mtn.

The Editor’s Note Correspondence Big Pic: Real Women of Northwest Fishing 42 Outdoor Calender 44 Wright & McGill/Eagle Claw Photo Contest winner 44 Browning Photo Contest winner 47 Derby Watch: Bayside Marine Derby results; Resurrection Derby preview 49 Dishonor Roll; Jackass of the Month 75 Jig of the Month: The Double Egg Dropper Jig 73 Rig of the Month: The Just-in-case-a-nontargetspecies-bites Rig 163 Holiday Gift Guide

149 STUMPTOWN It’s time to put up or shut up on battling timber access fees, Oregon legislators tell Terry in part two of his series on this rapidly growing problem affecting hunters.

151 CHEF IN THE WILD Randy breaks a leg for us this issue – butchers a hindquarter, that is – with a step-by-step photo feature to help you get the most meat out of your big game.

159 ON TARGET What might Santa bring the Northwest sportsman on your list?

Dave has some ideas for puzzled shoppers!

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 mailing offices. (USPS 025-251) POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northwest Sportsman, PO Box 24365, Seattle, WA 98124. Annual subscriptions are $29.95 (12 issues), 2-year subscription are $39.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Index Publishing Group, or call (206) 382-9220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues are available at Media Index Publishing Group offices at the cost of $5 plus tax. 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 © 2014 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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14 Northwest Sportsman

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THEEDITOR’SNOTE

(ANDY WALGAMOTT)

here’s a pair of leaky waders but only half of a fishing rod lying on the floor in my office as I write this, and my favorite season, winter steelheading, is dangerously close at hand.

The waders have leaked for awhile now and mostly I don’t mind, as long as it’s not too cold. I prefer to prowl a river’s banks than lay claim to a boulder for six shivering hours (that sloshing sound you hear along the trail? Me), so there’s a certain amount of bilge-pumping that keeps me from going hypothermic below the knees.

But the rod’s another matter. The top half unexpectedly flew off into the river behind our office while I was casting for coho earlier this fall. As Amy will point out, yes, I’ve got a bazillion baitcasters for bobber-and-jig fishing, but there’s just something about toting along that spinning rod. Probably it goes back to ol’ yeller, the Eagle Claw I landed my first steelies with back on the Sky.

T

TAKING ANOTHER LOOK at those two key pieces of gear in disrepair it strikes me that they could be a metaphor for the state of steelheading these days, at least as it applies to Pugetropolis.

Undoubtedly you’ve heard about the out-of-court settlement between the state and Wild Fish Conservancy that scrubbed most of this spring’s releases, the latest blow to a hatchery program that’s a shadow of its former self. Before the lawsuit, smolt releases had been halved, and scatter planting was kiboshed.

It’s hard to cast for and catch steelhead with only half a rod, let alone when fewer are released.

But while the settlement has ripped a hole in the continuity of the fishery, it won’t affect this winter’s action on the Nooksack, Skagit, Stilly, Snoqualmie and the rest. With past years’ smolt releases pretty much on par, where you found winter-runs last season, you’ll find them again this month and next on those rivers.

Yes, it can sometimes seem like our way of life is in danger of winking out because, frankly, our world of Northwest fishing and hunting is nothing like what our forefathers enjoyed. But there are fish to be had on Pugetropolis streams and elsewhere around the region this month, as stories in the following pages note.

And that’s all the excuse I need to go get myself an early Christmas present or two! – Andy Walgamott DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman

15

CORRESPONDENCE PREDATORS DRAW COMMENTS Furred and flippered fangers were in the news more than usual this fall, and stories we posted on them drew numerous comments.

Our blog headlined ‘Alarming Numbers’ of Springers Being Eaten in Lower Columbia reported on federal fisheries scientists’ preliminary research that suggested a whopping 45 percent of this year’s run never made it to Bonneville Dam because they were killed by sea lions and seals, and sparked a number of comments from frustrated anglers, including this from Steve Burress: “Well duh! What (have) the fishermen been saying for years?

Oh that’s right, they don’t know what they’re talking about. Maybe they should listen to us once in a while.”

Pinniped predation is also beginning to cause alarm in Puget Sound, where harbor seal populations have increased to the point where other federal researchers are checking to see if they’re responsible for chowing down on outmigrating ESA-listed steelhead smolts. That’s not all they’re eating, noted Bellingham’s Rory O’Conner on our Facebook page: “It’s almost impossible to get a blackmouth to the boat in the Puget Sound without getting stripped by a seal. If you really want your fish, you have to horse it hard, which really takes the fun out of the sport. I’ve seen a lot of fish heads landed over the past couple weekends. Not good.”

In Elk Hunter Has Run-in With Northeast Washington Wolves, we chronicled the latest wolf-sportsman encounter, this one involving five wolves around a hunter in the woods north of Colville in late October. After one approached him within close range, he fired, likely grazing it, based on evidence gathered by state game wardens, who cleared his action. While wolf attacks on humans are statistically extraordinarily rare, Bart George, a tribal wildlife biologist and hunter who is no stranger to these woods nor their toothsome critters but also not a fear monger, called it a “scary story.”

MOST LIKED PHOTOGRAPH WE HUNG UP ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE DURING THIS ISSUE’S PRODUCTION CYCLE It wasn’t even close – Gordon Blossom, going on 99 years old next month and quite possibly the oldest hunter in these here parts, crushed it on social media after we posted the pic of he and his Northeast Washington whitetail, taken during this past October’s rifle season.

(BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

TWEET OF THE MONTH We weren’t sure what was the crazier sight earlier this fall – unleaded at one station under $3, or the price at a Shell a mile away a full buck higher. Either way, the timing couldn’t have been better for unleashing a convoy of stocker trucks bearing, er, “rainbow trout,” and headed to very select Pugetropolis lakes:

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 17

Hillary Bruton had a great season off the Columbia’s North Jetty, catching numerous coho. (HILLARY BRUTON)

A Passion A Rekindled

s a little girl, my dad took me and my three sisters on annual daddy-daughter fishing trips for trout in California. Years passed and we grew older and moved to different states.

I had not gotten line wet until four years ago when I met my boyfriend, who happens to be a fishing manager at a Sportsman’s Warehouse. He rekindled my love for early mornings and cold weather just to get that great catch! We live in Vancouver, but we venture to any river as long as there is something swimming.

Whether it’s the Oregon Coast, Klickitat, the Columbia, local rivers or the Snohomish, we never stop looking.

I guess you can say I got two great catches in one! –Hillary Bruton

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I

f it’s December, it’s time for our 5th Annual Real Women of Northwest Fishing feature! We’ve gathered some great pics and stories for our tribute to the fairer sex of Washington, Oregon and Idaho anglers. For one, it’s a self-taught love, others an activity that began down at the bulkhead or with Dad many years ago. For some, it’s come a long ways – Barb Koos tells us about her “all-female” crew now out on the Columbia, while Jennifer Stahl and Rebecca McClain enjoy working in the field, and Heather Hodson is busy bringing more women to the water.

However they reached the water, we salute the Real Women Of Northwest Fishing in these and the following pages! –The Editor

A Love From A Very Early Age Even at eight months pregnant, Summer Dunn was trying to get her springer this past season!

(SUMMER DUNN)

M

y love of fishing started at a very early age. My dad was quite the fisherman, and we would frequently fish for catfish on the Washita River in southern Oklahoma at night, for bass and crappie in the limitless ponds and lakes, and for sand bass and striper in Lake Texoma.

The tug on the end of the line was long engrained in me as a feeling of pure elation.

I’ve long since left Oklahoma and traveled in pursuit of my love for the outdoors and my career as a forester. In my time off from work (and sometimes during), I’ve found myself trying to catch as many different species as possible, from yellowfin tuna and wahoo in the Caribbean to musky, pike and lake trout in the Midwest; yelloweye rockfish and lingcod in Alaska to all kinds of trout in Colorado, Idaho, California and Inland Washington. And now I’m on to the spoils of the great Northwest – Chinook, steelhead, coho and sturgeon.

For me, it’s kind of about checking off a list, but mainly it’s everything that goes into actually getting to the point of feeling the tug and setting the hook or seeing your fly disappear. Like waking up at 4 a.m. to make sure you get a parking spot at the launch or the best spot in the hog line; the first cup of coffee from the thermos; finding the right Pandora station to listen to while you wait; seeing the first bite so that you know the rigging you chose actually works; putting a mend in the line just right so that your fly floats right down the middle of the seam; and seeing the Northern Lights while ice fishing in the middle of Lake Superior.

These are just a few of the reasons I find myself continuing this thing some call a hobby.

And while I have fished in many different places in many different ways, I’m excited to now be in the Northwest where I can continue my love for fishing, and I hope I can instill in my sons the same appreciation that my father gave to me for the great outdoors.

–Summer Dunn

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 19

Heather Holdson holds a St. Joe cutthroat, caught on a fall outing with the group she founded, Spokane Women on the Fly. (SPOKANEWOMENONTHEFLY.COM)

She’s On The Fly

H

eather Hodson works hard to play even harder. Outside of her three nursing jobs, she teaches women’s fly fishing classes and leads women’s fly fishing outings, designs flies for Catch Fly Fishing of Billings, and you just may spot her practicing the kiss-and-release method of trout catching on one of the many rivers in Eastern Washington, Idaho and Montana.

Born in Alaska, Heather grew up in a family that spent many hours hunting and fishing. In addition to teaching wilderness survival classes and running marathons, she’s been fly fishing since 2009, but started to take it seriously in 2012. And recently she started a women’s fly fishing group, Spokane Women on the Fly. Heather explains that SWOTF is a way “There’s no greater rush than seeing that bobber go down, setting the hook and fighting a fish to the point that your arms burn,” says Stacy Mayovsky.

(JP’S GUIDE SERVICE)

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to give women of the Inland Northwest, whether new or experienced, an opportunity to connect with other female fly fishers. So far this year they’ve had several outings, both on the water and off, including fly-tying evenings, casting practice in local parks, and attending fishing film festivals.

“This has truly been my dream for SWOTF – get women on the water, educate on catch and release, teach the fly fishing basics, encourage and share my

passion, get ladies out of their comfort level only fishing with men, and make new lifelong friends. Four of the women I had never met, three caught their first fish on the fly, and they all are going to be amazing fly fisherwomen! I’m pretty excited about what next year is going to bring,” Heather says.

Other plans for 2015 include partnering with Silverbow Fly Shop in Spokane to teach a beginner’s class for women this April. –NWS

It All Started With Dad

I

remember my first fishing pole, this small, pink, dinky thing, and the first fish I ever caught on it. Dad and I caught our own bait by using probes in our lawn to shock the worms and get them to rise to the surface. He also had a 22-foot Olympic hardtop we’d take on the Puget Sound. It had downriggers and all the works. Dad showed me a lot when it came to the world of fishing, and that’s where my love for it started.

I have to give credit to my boyfriend Joe Princen, owner of JP’s Guide Service, too. We have been together for five years

now, and in that time he has introduced me to river fishing plus commercial fishing.

He put me on my first steelhead and taught me how to fly fish. He’s taken me to some of the most remote rivers in Alaska and Prince of Wales Island, where I caught my biggest king yet. I definitely love fishing rivers here in the Pacific Northwest, though.

We started out bank fishing, and then Joey bought a Willie boat. At that time I learned all sorts of techniques. As a kid I thought catching a fish was as simple Continued on page 22

MIXED BAG Continued from page 20

Sue Allen has developed a talent for catching nice winter steelhead over the years!

as putting a worm on a hook.

But I’ve realized fishing, especially for steelhead, is definitely an art and that there is a science to it. There’s no greater rush than seeing that bobber go down, setting the hook and fighting a fish to the point that your arms burn. All the early mornings, sleepless nights in trucks/tents, wind, sideways rain and being soaked to the bone is well worth the pay-off of a gorgeous fish. – Stacy Mayovsky Cindy Howe of Bigfork, Mont., “excels in tournament situations,” husband Mike says, and the duo took second place at a Western Montana ice fishing derby last year.

(HOWES FISHING/A ABLE FISHING CHARTERS)

(ROGER FORD)

After Priscilla Reyes caught this pair of Hanford Reach Chinook 15 minutes apart, the hubster tried to claim luck, but we’d say she needs to be in the boat more often! (GERARDO REYES) B10, John Day, the Juans – Katie Craig was all over the Washington fishing map this year! (NATHAN CRAIG)

Howe About Her!

C

indy Howe co-owns a Northwest Montana charter outfit, and when she’s not taking care of the backoffice aspects of she and husband Mike’s company, she gets out there and enjoys the business of catching ’em.

Fishing’s been a lifelong pursuit. Growing up, Cindy enjoyed clamming the beaches of Long Beach, Wash., with her grandfather, Bill, and fishing for salmon in Puget Sound with her stepfather, Ernie. These days, when winter sets in, she and Mike promote two ice-fishing tournaments, Montana’s Perch Assault series and Ice Duels, a whole new take on the hardwater tourneys held in the upper Midwest, and they’re in the NAIFC Ice Tournament series.

“From Montana lake and rainbow trout to North Dakota walleye and perch to Oregon sturgeon, Cindy regularly proves that when it comes to fishing, she is a real fisherwoman of the Northwest,” boasts Mike. –NWS

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Kari-Lynn Smith flat-out catches nice fish. She followed up a toad winter-run last season with this 20-pound king this past August. (KARI-LYNN SMITH) If we got a fishing report from the San Juans this year, it most likely had the name of Brenda Schmidt in it – here she holds her winter blackmouth derby-winning 21.33-pounder, caught in some pretty sketchy conditions.

(KEVIN KLEIN)

“All you have to do is believe!” says Oregon Coast salmon and steelhead angler Kristin Bishop, who fished everywhere from Astoria to Gold Beach this year. For her, the sport helps carry on the memory of her father, now passed on, and their time together on the water.

(KRISTIN BISHOP)

“Always fishing. Out fishing now,” emailed Tammy Harris while sending these pics of herself and her mom Linda with a pair of kings from a small Washington Coast stream this fall. (TAMMY HARRIS)

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Northwest Sportsman 23

Abundance, Variety L et me begin with the start of my journey. My first experience was in Westport, on the Action Pac with Capt. Dave Driver and deck boss Michael Grevey, my love. It was a day I will never forget. I crossed the Grays Harbor Bar and went out to sea to commercial crab for Dungeness. I had absolutely no expectations or understanding of life on the ocean. I watched the sun come up and go down while the pots were pulled in and crabs filled the boat. As we ended the long but successful day, I felt an emptiness I never knew I had fill with excitement for my next adventure.

I tagged along a few times, observing before I began to engage and help fish.

I learned the work involved in crabbing, which included long hours and hard labor.

I was shown the ins and outs of repairing damaged pots, painting buoys, splicing line,

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A commercial crabbing trip onto the ocean turned into a deckhanding gig for Rebecca McClain, here with a fish box full blue and black sea bass caught a couple miles outside Neah Bay. She also enjoys sportfishing for halibut, tuna and salmon on the Pacific. (JAMBO’S SPORTFISHING)

properly rigging pots, handling crab, and preparing the boat for the days ahead. It gave me an appreciation for fishing and the hard work involved.

Shortly afterwards I began to fish religiously, and my constant desire to learn more grew stronger. With my fishing partner I took up the opportunity to work as a deckhand for Mike Jamboretz, captain and owner of Jambo’s Sportfishing, in Neah Bay. I dedicated an entire summer to fishing for halibut, lingcod, rockfish and salmon. Each day was a new adventure and opportunity to share my passion with others.

I enjoyed it, and have taken the skills I learned there out sportfishing on the Washington coast, from Ilwaco to Neah Bay as well on as many rivers and lakes. One of my most recent trips was out of Ilwaco.

Once we reached the blue water, we began Continued on page 26

Continued from page 24 trolling and watched for signs of albacore.

We located the school and they began to boil by the boat while we enticed them with live bait. The fight began and we spent the next four hours filling the boat up. On our way back we stopped to bring in our pots full of crab, and brought home enough fish to last through winter. I love ocean fishing and the abundance and variety in the Northwest.

For the past six years I have grown to learn so many aspects in fishing. I have been taught the responsibility, dedication, hard work and the sport involved. I find that the most gratifying feeling in fishing is being able to spend the time with my fishing partner. Together we are able to share our passion of fishing by blessing the ones we love with what we catch. Who knows what my next adventure will be! –Rebecca McClain

If Kim Kilburn a fan of Samis Bay king fishing here, she holds double from the Nort Sound estuary .

It would not be a stretch to rank Cat Kaiser up there as one of the West Coast’s most passionate fisherwomen.

From salmon and steelhead to lings and rockfish to bass and trout to sturgeon and, heck, even sharks, nothing with fins goes unnoticed! (CAT KAISER)

... Morga Ostrom is devotee o floating ba for the Samis River’s king and hooknose

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‘All-female Boat’

I

have a friend who owns a jet boat and has learned the ins and outs of fishing out on the Columbia. She fly fishes as well as uses spinning set-ups for salmon.

I was introduced to salmon fishing several years ago, and we were both members on a fishing page on Facebook. We chatted online a bit; turns out she had recently lost her male fishing buddy, and the rest is history.

I watch fishing shows when I can’t go out, take notes on gear and rigging, and we teach one another what we can when we get together. We’ve recently added another woman who we met to the mix, so, including my daughter, we now have four beginner to intermediate fisherwomen on board.

This spring, I will be purchasing

Idaho Falls’ Amy Myers has a passion for steelies, which she fishes for with a spey rod on the Gem State’s Salmon River. (AMY MYERS)

She calls this her first-ever “solo springer,” but Barb Koos wasn’t alone – she was sharing the boat that day on the Columbia with an all-ladies crew, a rarity. (BARB KOOS) a Hobie tandem fishing kayak, and I intend to use it occasionally to take out female veterans interested in spending time on the water, as well as to continue taking fabulous trips with my daughter and my new fishing friends. A trip out through the surf at Pacific City in search of lingcod and other rockfish is most definitely on my bucket list! – Barb Koos

All was well at Azwell, Wash., where Holly Lundgren nabbed her first sockeye ever this past summer.

She also enjoys fishing for walleye elsewhere in the Columbia Basin.

(RYAN ENGLEY)

She’s Found Her Happy Place

M

y sign is Pisces and fishing is in my veins!

I grew up in Longview, and from a very young age I have gone fishing with my dad. We fished on the Cowlitz and Toutle Rivers, and Swift, Yale and Merwin Reservoirs. We moved to Lewiston when I was 16, and our fishing continued on the Snake, Clearwater and Grande Ronde Rivers, and Dworshak Reservoir.

I live in a fishing paradise, where you can fish year-round for several different species. I start the year off fishing the Clearwater for the killer big B-run steelhead with my favorite technique of side-drifting with light tackle. It’s a great challenge reeling in a big steelie with a mediumlight-action 9-foot-6 spinning rod with 12-pound mainline and 10-pound leader!

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Right after steelhead season it’s time for spring Chinook on the Clearwater.

In summer I move over to the Snake for some fast-action bass fishing and monster sturgeon. Fishing in Hells Canyon is spectacular, with beautiful, white sandy beaches and one of the most rugged wilderness places on earth! When fall arrives you’ll find me at Heller Bar near the mouth of the Grande Ronde, side-drifting for steelhead, and moving up the Snake with the fish.

I also like to fish the Columbia, including famous Buoy 10, and have traveled to Alaska and fished the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers. My largest king is a 47-pounder from the Kenai.

Moving to Idaho so many years ago, I never would have thought I’d land my

Michelle Peters is positioned in a prime place – the LC Valley offers the local piscator myriad pursuits, from sturgeon and bass to B-runs and springers. (MICHELLE PETERS) dream job as president/CEO of the Hells Canyon Visitor Bureau. I’ll be honest: I’m very spoiled as I get to fish often with the best guides in the Northwest right here in the Lewis Clark Valley! I have learned many techniques and have been able to teach my sons as well.

I’m definitely one happy-go-lucky fishin’ chick! – Michelle Peters

Though she prides herself in her selftaught ability to catch fish for the freezer, Alycia Schuster “couldn’t bare to bonk” this gorgeously colored summer steelhead buck.

(ALYCIA SCHUSTER)

organizing and reorganizing my little tackle box. Slowly I mastered the fish in that pond, and began to name them as I caught them over again.

That same neighbor saw my passion and would take me fishing once in awhile off of Point No Point. My family could not figure out where my obsession came from, but I think it was somehow in my blood. My dad took me on a guided fishing trip to the Hoh when I was 16. That’s where I caught my first salmon; it was a chum, and it was on a plug. Funny thing is, it was the first chum the guide had seen caught in that river.

idea were empty of fish. And yet at night I couldn’t stop thinking of fishing. Rivers and fish were in my dreams. The catching part slowly came, and with every fish hooked I memorized why, how, where, and when.

SOMETIMES I WISH that I had a family who WHEN MY NEIGHBOR could no longer go

On Her Own

I

was always curious about fishing at a young age. No one in my family fished, but for some reason I had a strong desire to find out what lurked in the cold depths.

One day in the back of my parents’ garage I found an old bamboo fishing rod with an old Mitchell reel with some monofilament line that had probably been spooled in the 1960s – indeed, the reel once belonged to my grandpa. Along with that reel I found an old rusty spinner missing two of the hooks on its old treble. I was maybe 11 years old. I took that old gear and walked through our woods to a private pond. My parents told me many times there were no fish in there. I taught myself to cast and waded into the water. I could barely cast more than 20 feet with the old mono line full of memory. I caught my first bass – and a decent one at that, maybe 2 pounds. I let it go, and triumphantly ran home to prove to my parents there were fish.

From that day I couldn’t get my mind off fishing. I was lucky enough to meet an old neighbor who saw me fishing out there. He was kind enough to give me pointers and a little tackle box of gear. I spent many nights

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fishing and with a family that knew nothing about it, I gave up chasing salmon for years and stuck to lakes, until I met my husband.

He too had never been taught fishing, and one of the first things we did together was I took him out to the private pond and showed him how to fish for bass. Somehow I got lucky and that made him just about as excited about fishing as I was. I now had someone to fish with.

We knew nothing about river fishing, but we had heard about an elusive fish called a steelhead that lived out in Forks. On our first trip there we did everything wrong.

We had no idea what we were doing, not to mention the rivers were blown out. But somehow through that wet, two-day trip with no fish and a ton of lost gear, it only sparked our passion even more. It took another year before I finally hooked my first steelhead, drifting a pearl pink Corky with sand shrimp scent on the Skookumchuck.

I started asking myself, why did I hook one in the spot I did, why did it bite my Corky, why did I hook it the time that I did? I delved into studying everything I could find about fish behavior, reading water, fishing presentation, different methods, bait, lures, etc. I couldn’t get enough – I began studying state hatchery plants and their locations. I scrimped and saved every penny I could for gas and we started driving to every river and figuring out on our own the run timing of every salmon species. That led to so many nights camping in the cold, so many miles hiked to find spots – and so many hours spent fishing empty rivers that we had no

fished, so I didn’t have to spend years teaching myself everything. Or that I had been born into a family with a drift boat, and a dad with knowledge of all the great holes his father had once shown him.

But maybe the struggle is what makes me so passionate about fishing.

I do feel pride in the fact that I am a very successful fisherwoman, and it’s because I worked my butt off. I never chased reports, as people say; I make my own.

I guess what I would want you to take away from this is, I had no one to teach me or walk me through anything. I never had a family to teach me fishing from a young age.

I never had that dad, boyfriend or husband with a drift boat, jet sled or sea-worthy craft, to rig up my rod for me, hook the fish, and hand me the rod to reel it in. I suppose that because of my struggles one of my passions is imparting my knowledge to anyone seeking to expand their own fishing knowledge. I get just as much excitement out of teaching people how to fish and getting them on their first salmon as I would hooking my own. I plan on one day having a family and teaching my children how to fish, so they can have the luxury of being born into fishing knowledge, and I just hope and pray that they continue my passion. My family is very thankful for it, as I now fill our freezers with delicious fish. I spend most of my time now fishing with eggs, and, if I can find the right spot, twitching jigs.

I dream of winter steelhead year-round, but I might dream about spring kings just as much. – Alycia Schuster

“Sorry, Charlie, girls fish too,” said Peggy Engeseth after having the hottest pole and catching the biggest albie that day off Westport.

She also enjoys halibut, ling and salmon fishing.

It was a rough year for Elizabeth Meadows, who appeared here last December, but nothing can keep her down. “Feels great to be back fishing!” she said after a successful coho outing on the Coquille.

She’s gone from going along for the ride to limiting out – Morgan Nicks shows off her three coho from Astoria this past season. (MORGAN NICKS)

(JOHN ENGESETH)

“A hardcore fisherwoman” is how Debra Pedersen is described by her hubbie. In addition to tackling halibut and marlin, she puts kings in their place – here she is with a 32-pounder from the Nehalem, her biggest yet. (MICHAEL PEDERSEN)

(ELIZABETH MEADOWS)

A Curiosity Being Filled

I

She might be more comfortable in an Idaho treestand, but bowhuntress Sara Lamson knows her way around a salmon fishing boat too!

Sharon Knight has lived in the Northwest her whole life but never had the opportunity to catch a fish – that is, until her boyfriend Marlin LeFever came into the picture. It was only a matter of time before the owner of Fishing Addicts NW had her on the river catching fish, and though she admits he hasn’t been able to keep her addicted yet, she loves to be out on the rivers and in the great outdoors nonetheless.

(MARLIN LEFEVER)

(SARA LAMSON)

32 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

’m a full-time student at OSU and am super passionate about fishing.

I grew up fishing with my dad, but it slowly turned from going along for a boat ride and snacks to actually wanting to catch something. A little over a year ago I began wanting to know how and why Dad used specific techniques at certain times.

It became an interest that I couldn’t get enough of. Instead of being handed a presetup rod, I could tie my own together and be able to choose the correct lures/bait and know where to cast, etc.

After trying about a dozen times I landed my first winter steelhead with Dad last year on the Sandy. The feeling was absolutely addicting. When he couldn’t make it out with me I started going by myself, and then I landed my first solo steelhead. That feeling of accomplishment is indescribable.

I haven’t looked back. The friends I’m making because of this hobby are lifechanging, and I learn more every single time I go out. This year I have caught a springer, sturgeon, winter steelhead, and at Buoy 10, my very first limit of coho! At the time of this writing, I’m still anticipating landing a monster fall Chinook. A girl can dream. – Morgan Nicks

In August you’ll find Jenn Stahl and her husband Jim running guided trips for Buoy 10 salmon. (NWFISHINGGUIDES.NET)

“She loves catching fish even more than I do and will stick it out in any weather!” That’s the word on Ashley Peterson, here with a steelie caught out of a small Southwest Washington trib.

(JUSTIN PEASE)

‘Longing To Be Out There Now’

I Among the RWONF alumni appearing this issue, Toni Pollock-Bozarth, aka Wannafishalure, here with a Marine Area 4 ling, her first. (CAMI BAYER) Kristen Taylor fishes the Hanford Reach as much as possible each fall, where she and a friend nailed this handsome haul.

She also did well on Lake Wenatchee sockeye this past summer. (KRISTIN TAYLOR)

34 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

f someone had told me when I got married, some 23 years ago, that I would co-own a successful fishing guide service in 20 years, I would have told them they were nuts! Fish were slimy and icky and just plain gross! At that point in my life, I had never really fished and didn’t understand the true joy that comes with being out on the water.

I will always remember my first time out on the Snohomish River fishing for coho back in 1996, the feel of that first bite, the fight that ensued. Thinking of it now puts a smile on my face and a longing to be out there now – yes, even in the rain!

Once I caught that unmistakable fishing bug, my husband knew he was home free. I didn’t fight (well, too much) when Jim wanted to get a bigger boat.

I don’t argue when he wants to go out fishing, either with the buddies or just me.

And I count myself as one of the lucky ones to know so many outstanding anglers (aka, my husband-approved fishing boyfriends) who can take me out when Jim is busy fishing clients. I’m always on the lookout for the next adventure, whether it’s back

down on the Columbia for that sturgeon fight or maybe some Buoy 10 salmon, maybe out in the Sound for some lings or on the good ’ol Snohomish fighting my all-time favorites – humpies! I have found that I actually will go through fishing withdrawals if I don’t go on a regular basis.

I’ve even been known to go hit a trout pond to get a fix.

After receiving the blessings of the outdoors for so long, we decided it was time to start giving back. My husband and I put together our “customer appreciation” Snoopy Rod Humpy Derby and invited all of our long-time clients and good supporters to join us for a day of fun and celebration. It’s since grown to include well over 50 participants, along with their families. All of the proceeds go to a local charity called Code 10. This program helps the underprivileged kids of Everett attend day camp in the summer, and helps instill in them a love of the outdoors. I couldn’t see a better way to celebrate and give thanks to what we’ve already been given than to pass it along to the next generation. –Jennifer Stahl

Shelly La Rock’s girls, Riley (left) and Sophie, 12 and 5, have gotten so good they’re outďŹ shing her “nearly all the time, which makes me one damn proud mama.â€? Shelly is an ODFW ďŹ shing instructor whom we featured last year.

(SHELLY LA ROCK)

Her sister made our Real Girls of Northwest Fishing in 2012, and Claire Withrow, 4, shows she’s got the right stuff too!

Here, the Spokane-area angler proudly displays her ďŹ rst Loon Lake kokanee.

(JAMES WITHROW)

Her mom (elsewhere this issue) calls Rysi Koos “my partner in crimeâ€? who’s “becoming quite the successful ďŹ sh-catcher on her own,â€? including nearly limiting from a kayak at Olalla Lake and landing coastal steelies. (BARB KOOS)

Prowling Anacortes-area ďŹ sheries is Keanna Hinds, who loves catching rainbows and kings equally.

(KYLA HINDS)

Fish, you do not want to mess around with Ella Downey. Just 9, she tackles coho by herself, and her dad, Robert, says that after catching a ling on the y earlier this year, she ate its still-beating heart. “She is a bad ass,â€? he says.

(ROBERT DOWNEY)

Ashley Masters, 14, is “an all-around outdoors girl� who’s also a straight-A student, perfect for learning the wily ways of winter-run steelhead in her local rivers.

(SKYLAR MASTERS)

36 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

Z A <* < I

have been taking my daughter Ashley fishing with me for as long as she could walk.

Trout, sturgeon, kokanee, steelhead â&#x20AC;&#x201C; she didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care what we were fishing for as long as she was fishing! She has always enjoyed spending time on the water during the weekend or on evening fishing trips after school. If she is not fishing with me for steelhead, she is fishing Silver Lake with her grandpa.

When Ashley was younger, we had to bait and cast for her, but at age 10 or so, she began doing everything on her own. Mostly she uses small FlatFish or our favorite bait, Looney Coonies, behind the boat for summer-run steelhead on the mainstem Columbia, but last year her grandparents bought her a pair of waders and she began float fishing the rivers in the Kelso-Kalama area with me.

She is a great fishing buddy! She lost her first couple steelhead on a jig and bobber, but she was determined to land one. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s now caught many steelhead from the boat, but her first from the bank was pretty special! She outfished the boys that day and she will never forget it! â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Skylar Masters

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She may not have been born to go offshore, but Weddy Stephens has sure taken to fishing in the briny blue! (DEL STEPHENS) The Northwest albacore fishing world is dominated by men, but tuna-world and offshore insider Del Stephens expects Megan Waltosz to one day be giving seminars on the species.

(DEL STEPHENS)

Heading For Blue Water

M

egan Waltosz grew up in Central Oregon and fished Lake Billy Chinook with her parents before she went through the transition to the offshore world. It was a part-time job to help pay for her college education that lead her to meet Del and Weddy Stephens, opening the door to bigger fish to fry.

She now splits her time as a pediatric intensivecare-unit nurse by profession and is a member of the tournament-fishing Team Bad To The Bone in her spare time. Megan is as comfortable 50 miles offshore working the iron for albacore as she is giving a big Buoy 10 Chinook a wooden shampoo. She has competed in the Offshore World Championships in Costa Rica and now has her focus clearly on her next target of landing a big bluefin tuna this coming spring off Hatteras, N.C. In addition to landing big fish and saving lives everyday, Megan has been the girl Friday and invaluable right-hand person for Del Stephens in the lead-up to the annual Oregon Tuna Classic.

And we wouldn’t be surprised to someday see her giving tuna seminars at them! –NWS

The Iron Worker

T

hey say that behind every good man is a good woman, and this is so true for Weddy Stephens. Her life before meeting husband Del involved raising horses, ballroom dancing and working for Wells Fargo, but when you marry into the offshore arena, your life takes a dramatic turn. You make room amongst the “dressage,” “waltzes” and “APMs” in your vocabulary to learn key phrases such as “hooked up,” “long rigger/short rigger,” and “pump and reel.” The excitement of hooves pounding across pasture melds with the sound of line peeling off the reel at a blistering pace, and the clicker’s song becomes music to your ears.

Weddy had only been in a boat a couple times, and never offshore fishing, but that all changed with one stop at Starbucks, where she picked up Del, and, as they say, the rest is history. Oh, she still ballroom dances, but she’s added to her repertoire such routines as doing the dance up and down the rail while chasing a hooked albacore.

And in the last 10 years she’s mastered the techniques of bringing in 180-pound bluefin tuna in just 20 minutes, landing world-record-tying dorado in Costa Rica, catching roosterfish off Mexico, battling big seas in the Bahamas for wahoo, and holding her own at Buoy 10.

When Weddy’s not in the gym working out to keep up with their next adventure, you might find her in the kitchen whipping up one of her fabulous recipes, or chilling outside in the flowerbeds where she might be working with her heirloom tomatoes or adding something to her 4,000-plus bulbs in the ground.

But as handy as she is with whisks and garden trowels, Weddy may be at her best with a different kind of metal. Said a gent who fished with her well west of Ilwaco last month, “That woman is amazing with an iron jig!” –NWS

For more Real Women of Northwest Fishing, see page 170 38 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

OUTDOOR

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East 12604 Sprague Spokane Valley, WA 99216 42 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

(TACKLE TOM’S)

Date Species Pds. (-Oz.) Water Angler ~1960-64 Largemouth bass 10-15 Anderson L. (ID) Mrs. M.W. Taylor* 9-13-87 Chinook (lake) 42 Coeur d’Alene L. (ID) Jane Clifford 8-23-94 Channel catfish 58.5 Brownlee Res.(ID) Jessy Newberry, Kim McCormick 7-10-96 Pumpkinseed .48 L. Oswego (OR) Linda Mar 9-19-99 Kelp greenling 4.42 San Juan Islands (WA) Danita Rixen 7-2-07 Pumpkinseed 1.09 L. Terrell (WA) Barbie Hathaway 7-29-09 Rainbow 20-02 Snake R. (ID) Michelle Larsen-Williams 9-8-13 Yellow bullhead 2.06 Potholes Res. (WA) Monica Beckley 3-1-14 Yellow perch 2-11.68 L. Cascade (ID) Tia Marie Wiese** 7-1-14 Prickly sculpin .45 Columbia R. (WA) Shaylynn Sullivan * IDFG lists no specific date for this catch, but archival newspaper references narrow down its initial recording to between March 1, 1960 and May 4, 1964; ** Image pictured

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BRIAN STEVES is this issue’s Wright & McGill/ Eagle Claw Photo Contest winner, thanks to this action shot of friend Nate Olken fighting a coho off Long Beach, Wash., last summer. It wins him a package worth $50 of fishing tackle!

Home of Kokanee University

Our monthly Browning Photo Contest winner is TROY JINDRA who sent a pic of his son Jaeger’s Blue Mountains fall turkeys. It scores him a Browning hat and sticker!

Sportsman Northwest

Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource

For your shot at winning Wright & McGill/Eagle Claw and Browning products, send your photos to andy@ nwsportsmanmag.com or Northwest Sportsman, PO Box 24365, Seattle, WA 98124-0365. By sending us photos, you affirm you have the right to distribute them for our print or Internet publications.

44 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

A Lucky 13 Wins $2,000 $14,000 Up For Grabs At Juans Derby

F

or a full month blackmouth in the San Juans have been chowing down on sandlance, herring and other forage without worrying whatsoever about hooks.

That will change in December as not only does the The 2013 edition of the Resurrection Derby featured Northwest Washington blisteringly cold conditions – “freezing spray and icy decks,” reported an organizer – but entrants like archipelago open legendary Washington State University quarterback for marked-selective Jack Thompson (left) and Seattle radio show host Tom Chinook fishing, but the Nelson brought in 95 blackmouth during the first day of the two-day event. (KEVIN KLEIN) island town of Friday Harbor hosts one of the region’s heftiest derbies.

The Resurrection Derby, set for Dec. 5-6, features a top prize of $10,000 for fattest king, and the second and third biggest fish net $2,500 and $1,500 as well.

“There is nothing more exciting than hitting winter blackmouth season on opening weekend and spending time with some great friends, many of whom you only see during derby season,” said event chairman Chris Long. “Of course, a shot at the $10,000 first prize isn’t too bad either!”

The derby requires a particularly hardy strain of Northwest sportsman: Limited to just 100 boats and with an entry of $400 per team, anglers sometimes face brutal conditions in the myriad passes of the islands. Last December’s was hit by a “a true old-fashioned nor’easter,” strong, cold winds piped out of interior British Columbia via the Fraser River canyon, but it was won by Dale Nelsen’s boat with a 16.92-pounder.

The name Resurrection hearkens back to local derbies of old while raising money for local salmon enhancement projects and future fisheries. It’s also the first stop in 2015’s Northwest Salmon Derby Series.

For more, see Resurrectionderby.com or call (360) 202-2664.

Other upcoming and ongoing derbies include: • Tillamook Education Foundation Salmon Derby, through Dec. 31; info: tillamooksalmonderby.com • Tengu Salmon Derby, on Elliott Bay (Seattle), Sundays through Dec. 31; info: Seacrest Boathouse, (206) 938-0975 Editor’s note: To have your derby listed or results posted here, email awalgamott@media-inc.com.

A

husky young Chinook won last month’s blackmouth contest out of Everett, yielding a $2,000 check for angler Joe Stephanson.

His 14.04-pounder was the largest weighed during the Nov. 1-2 Bayside Marine 23rd Annual Fishing Derby, topping the second-place This year’s winner of the annual fish by nearly a full pound. Bayside Marine Fishing Derby, Joe Stephanson, poses with his father, That immature king was Ray. (BAYSIDE MARINE) landed by Dan Crawley and weighed 13.07 pounds.

A total of 81 salmon were brought in, over 20 more than last year’s edition, which was won by Kayleen Olson with a 10.36-pounder. Open waters include much of the Central Sound, and the winning fish came from somewhere in Area 9. Our Westsider columnist, Tim Bush, entered the contest and found good fishing off Possession Bar. The kings were partial to Frankie B’s King Slayer Spoons, he reported.

This year’s derby also raised 6,390 pounds of food for a local food bank. For more, see baysidemarine.com.

MORE RECENT RESULTS Westport Boat Basin Derby, September-October, Westport 1st: Rick Ruggles, 14.3-pound coho; two-night motel stay, $100 restaurant certificate, 2015 chartered fishing trip

Westport Charterboat Association Annual Fishing Derbies, mid-March-end of season, Westport Albacore grand prize: Tyler Palmer, 36 pounds, 5 ounces; $1,000 Lingcod grand prize: Jeremy Hagness, 42 pounds; $1,500

8th Annual Wasco Salmon/Steelhead Tournament, Sept. 27, middle Columbia River 1st: Natalie Schaefer, 16-pound, 15-ounce Chinook Men’s: Berk Greenwood, 12-pound, 15-ounce Chinook Youth: Alexis Phillips, 5-pound, 8-ounce coho Steelhead: Cody Farabee, 13 pounds, 8 ounces

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 47

MIXED BAG

Tahuya Snaggers Busted

By Andy Walgamott

A

rmed with salmon rods and carrying gallon-sized ziplock baggies, the three men hiked through the forest towards the Hood Canal river. A quarter mile from where they’d parked and well onto private property, they walked by a hidden trail cam, which recorded their passage. Some time afterwards, fish and wildlife officer Jeff Summit checked the device, took a gander at the part of the stream open for retention and didn’t see the trio, and decided to wait for them to come back.

Besides littering and trespassing, which led a landowner to shut down access to his mile of waterfront property, WDFW has also been focusing law enforcement on the Tahuya River, northeast of Shelton, because it is home to federally listed summer chum salmon. Once extinct, the run is slowly recovering, thanks to a unique hatchery program using eggs from fish collected on the nearby Union River.

The dog salmon were probably long

gone by late October, replaced by bright wild coho that milled about in the low, clear water – easy targets for snaggers.

Half an hour after Summit checked the trail cam, the trio came back through the woods. Asked what they had been up to, they said they’d been catching and releasing fish, according to WDFW. But the officer wasn’t quite convinced it had been a C&R outing, so he asked one to open his backpack for an inspection.

“The subject became very nervous and attempted to conceal the contents multiple times, unzipping the same compartment repeatedly,” wardens reported online.

When the angler was finally able to figure out how to operate his pack, Summit allegedly discovered three gallon-sized ziplock bags full of salmon eggs. Marching the men back to the Tahuya, he had them retrieve 16 of 20 coho carcasses they’d allegedly tossed in the woods and water.

“In my 20 years as a game warden, I don’t recall anyone taking eggs and discarding the carcasses like that,” said Summit’s sergeant, Ted Jackson.

As if somehow it could explain away the sickening wastage, the three claimed they were “avid” steelheaders who were just going to use the eggs for bait. But

JACKASSES OF THE MONTH

T

heir aim allegedly was to put a hole or two in Coos Bay area deer one night earlier this fall, but a trio of suspected spotlighters put a magnum-sized one in their 1999 Crown Vic instead.

According to local reports, the retired police cruiser slid off a narrow wooden bridge over Palouse Creek, somehow was impaled by a metal support, and ended up suspended vertically … not unlike a deer carcass hanging for skinning and butchering.

The driver, Anthony Kimber, 18 years old, suffered leg injuries while 20-year-old Joseph Neyman in the back seat had a hurt thumb. A 17-year-old passenger was unhurt, reported the Coos Bay World, which added: “Neighbors who either heard or witnessed the crash told deputies they had heard the car racing up the road prior to the crash.

Witnesses said the occupants had made statements about illegally spotlighting deer after climbing out of the car. The car still had a spotlight mounted on the driver’s side front pillar and there were two .30-06 hunting rifles inside.”

Mother Nature apparently took her own justice.

WDFW says three men stripped all these skeins of eggs from more than a dozen bright coho snagged in a closed section of the Tahuya River, on the southwest side of the Kitsap Peninsula. (WDFW) Summit says he “seriously doubts” that was the case, a hint perhaps they were destined for caviar.

Sadly, there was no food bank in the area to take the salmon, so they had to be disposed of. Meanwhile, the trio’s rods were seized, and they padded their reputation as game scofflaws, getting written up for second-degree trespassing, failure to submit to a field inspection, possessing salmon eggs without the carcass of the fish, first-degree overlimits, retention in a closed area, snagging and wastage.

Both officers hope the Mason County Prosecutors Office files charges. So do we.

Kudos!

T

he Washington chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation donated three handheld metal detectors to state fish and wildlife officers earlier this fall.

“These are small, light, portable and more powerful than the old models,” Officer JoLynn Beauchene noted, according to reporter Rich Landers at the Spokane Spokesman-Review.

“Now we have more to go around (among the officers).”

The devices, presented by MDF’s Mike Jones and Dan McKinley, can help determine if a bullet or fragments of one are in a carcass, and possibly connect it back to a suspect’s weapon.

The foundation is also providing two new robo decoys to help prevent road hunting and poaching in the Okanogan and Spokane districts, Landers reported.

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 49

52 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

FISHING

Two For Yule Winter steelies join coho this month on the Humptulips.

Barry Dubnow doubled up last season on the Humptulips River below Stevens Creek, landing a coho and a steelhead fishing a cured-shrimptipped jig under a float. (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

By Jason Brooks

HOQUIAM—The headlights lit up the parking lot, showing no other rigs at the takeout except for our guide’s.

Mark Coleman was waiting for us to arrive for what we thought would be an early winter steelhead float down the Humptulips.

After getting into his vehicle we started for the Hanson Road put-in, just above the hatchery on the Grays Harbor County river. The truck’s thermometer read a chilly 19 degrees, but what Coleman had to say about the day’s fishing warmed me up.

While the steelhead were just starting to show up, clients of his guide service, All Rivers and Saltwater Charters (allriversguideservice.com), had been doing exceptionally well for late coho.

We floated down to the hatchery and past to a slot rife with holding silvers. Primarily twitching jigs and

floating eggs, we caught fish from first light until around 9 in the morning.

Once the bite died a bit we threw spinners, trying to get the aggressive fish to strike. No takers were left and we were getting a bit cold. Pulling anchor we set off down the river about half a mile, where we found another deep hole stuffed with bright late coho. By 10 a.m. we had landed several fish and were limited out on silvers. Switching to float rods, we fished steelhead jigs the rest of the way to the takeout, but couldn’t find any biters. While driving home the conversation was all about how many coho were in the river and the fact that we hadn’t seen another boat the entire trip. I took notes in my fishing log upon my return home: “Dec. 9, 2009: Humptulips River, Hanson Road to Reyenvann Bar (most fish just below hatchery), 900 cfs, clear and cold, 19 degrees, twitching jigs, 11 Coho landed.”

Just over a year later we decided to fish the Humptulips in December again. This time it was two days before Christmas and the weather called for rain. I dug through my fishing journal, noting what we used and the conditions. At the put-in, the rain came down in a steady downpour.

The river was no longer low and clear, but greenish brown and rising.

With the gauge at 2,200 cubic feet per second, we launched in the predawn gloom and floated down towards the hatchery. Anchoring in a small cove across from the hatchery to keep out of the current, we began twitching jigs. In the first hour we hooked four fish, landing two of them.

It wasn’t long before Coleman and a boat full of clients came downriver, and they were fighting a fish. We moved over and he pulled in next to us as they put the fish into the net. I noticed all of his clients were throwing

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman

53

FISHING spinners. We told him we were about to move on anyway and gave him the spot. We fished on but never caught another that day.

At the takeout we noticed that Coleman was cleaning a boat limit of silvers. While talking with him, I mentioned how we had hooked four on jigs and he was a bit surprised, adding how the water conditions weren’t that good for twitching but were great for spinners, which is how they got all of their fish.

EVERY DECEMBER SINCE then we make sure to float the Humptulips for late coho and have learned a lot of other lessons. Unlike the September and October fisheries, when the rivers seem to be stuffed with salmon, late fish are on the fast track to get to the hatchery.

We make sure to spend almost all of our fishing time as close to the hatchery as possible. After a mile or two downriver, we switch over to steelhead fishing.

But while still in the “hatchery

54 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

River levels on the Hump determine the best approach – spinners and plugs in higher, off-colored waters, and jigs when it’s lower. (JASON BROOKS)

zone,” as we call it, I try to not stick to just one technique. Instead, I let the water and fish tell me what I should use. Like that day in the torrential downpour, if the water is fast and offcolor, I will mostly throw spinners or Wiggle Wart plugs. For spinners I like Blue Fox in sizes 4, 5 and 6; my favorite color is the chartreuse with a silver blade. My second favorite spinner is the black body speckled with silver flakes and a silver blade tipped in chartreuse.

For plugs I will throw the black with

silver flakes or a silver one with an orange back and fish them much like how a bass fisherman does, casting out and retrieving them from my anchored boat. (Other colors also work.)

And if the water is low and clear, I twitch jigs, almost always a blackand-purple 3/8-ounce Mack’s Lure Rock Dancer, but I will also use the black-and-cerise and the purple-andcerise jigs.

One technique I use no matter the color of the water is floating eggs,

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FISHING especially in holding areas, such as deep holes or along structures like sunken logs. The only time I won’t fish cured eggs is when it’s absolutely pouring rain and the water is on the rise and fast. This is mostly because I know the fish will be holding in current breaks and seams where my baits that I like to use for salmon will get ripped apart before the fish even have a chance to bite them.

This brings up another important

It’s not just the Humptulips that gets a late run of coho. In fact, several rivers in Southwest Washington host slacker silvers, including several tributaries of the Chehalis.

The Satsop will put out coho well into January, when you could put a limit of hatchery steelhead in the boat along with a few salmon.

For bank anglers, the Skookumchuck has a silver fishery that goes into February, though most of them are pretty dark by Groundhog Day. This river gets a healthy push of steelhead right at the New Year’s, making it one of my favorite fisheries. Just make sure you stay away from the lower private lands and head up to the public access area near Johnson Creek Road. Most of the popular holes get filled up pretty quick, but getting out and hiking a bit and finding solitude is pretty easy to do. This stream is a great place to float fish with eggs or jigs, drift fish Corkies and yarn, or throw small spinners.

And though chums are not as preferred for the table as coho, the Nisqually gets a winter run that comes in very bright and cut a deep red. This run starts in late November and peaks right before Christmas. –JB

point: Some techniques, like throwing spinners, can catch both coho and steelhead, but for others, you need to remember to make some adjustments.

By that I mean, remember that salmon like to hang out in deep holes, so twitching a 3/8-ounce jig is preferred, but when I float jigs for steelhead I rarely go bigger than ¼ ounce. My favorite cure for fishing eggs for salmon is one that makes a gooey soft mess when it hits the water, but for steelhead fishing I tend to dry my eggs out and toughen them up a bit. I can’t

The author with a pair of lowwater coho.

(JASON BROOKS)

56 Northwest Sportsman

MORE SLACKER SILVERS

DECEMBER 2014

expect to fish my salmon cure in fast water for steelhead and I can’t expect a coho to bite my hard-cured eggs that I fish for metalheads.

It’s December, and though we might have steelhead on the brain, make sure you don’t overlook a great chance to put a fresh coho fillet on the table for the holidays. Be prepared to fish in varying conditions and take the right gear for either fishery. You never know what the day might bring when you jump into the truck and head for the river. NS

58 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

COLUMN

Winter, When Steelhead And Anglers Meet S

teelheading this time of year is a challenging sport. Dealing with the rain, hail, snow, and cold rivers that fluctuate from muddy BUZZ RAMSEY to clear, depending on the ever-changing weather conditions, is what makes it difficult for some and exciting for others.

The rewards can be great – big, hardfighting fish and scenery that at times can be breathtaking.

To be successful takes persistence, well-honed angling skills and an understanding of the fish you are after. To help figure these critters out, remember that in most situations steelhead prefer to lie in water less than 10 feet deep. Depths averaging 5 to 8 feet and moving the speed of a brisk walk are what you should look for, especially if the river bottom is contoured, strewn with boulders and/or running next to a cut bank. (The exception here is if you are fishing the Upper Columbia or Snake, where overwintering fish can hold in deep water.) If the water is higher than normal, fish will be found anywhere the current slows. This usually means near shore, in big, wide drifts, or along current edges.

Steelhead love to rest in the tailout of a hole, but will move farther into the drift if pressured or when the water is low and clear. They move most during the morning and evening, on a full moon – providing there is no cloud cover – and when the river is high, green and dropping from a recent rainstorm.

All these are general rules; the fish are where you find them, and since they can be aggressive biters, it pays to try a few casts in every good-looking spot.

Where you fish, high or low, on

The author with a winter steelhead caught out of the Nestucca River this past season. (BUZZ RAMSEY) a river should depend on water conditions. The basic rule is, if the water is high, fish high. If the water is low (and has been that way for awhile), fish low.

The exception to this is when you are after hatchery fish. These creatures have a very strong urge to return to where they were released as smolts. If

liberated from the hatchery, try your luck downstream from the hatchery deadline. (If that water’s open, you might also try above it too.) If they were trucked to a release site or acclimation pond, try your luck near that location. If you don’t know where these locations are, call the district fish biologist and find out.

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 59

COLUMN FISHING IS BEST when rivers drop and waters clear after a rain. Steelhead are drawn upstream by the smell of fresh water. As levels drop, moving fish begin to hold in the holes, mostly near tailouts.

After a storm and water fluctuation, good fishing can last from a few days to a week or more, depending on run size.

Angling effort normally increases during these periods. As water levels drop and clear, fish are thinned by sport harvest; the rest disperse. This is a time when anglers wait (some pray) for the next rainstorm and subsequent rise in water level, to bring more upstream.

Tides play a major role in fish movement, especially on coastal streams. When river water levels are up and green/brown, steelhead move through tidewater and the lower river quickly, and usually don’t begin holding until they are at least several miles upstream. When water levels are low and clear as gin, you will likely find most fish congregating in the lower river.

If the water remains low for several weeks, fish will stack up at the head of tidewater. This is when you should try your luck where the river and tidewater meet. Tidewater holes will have fish present when the tide is out. Each high tide will move these same fish upstream into the first few holes above tidewater.

AS FOR TECHNIQUES, water conditions can dictate which will be the most effective. Under extreme low water try drift-fishing a Corky Drifter in combination with a small egg cluster or sand shrimp, run a steelhead jig below a float, or cast-and-retrieve a weighted spinner. Under medium to low-water conditions all the popular techniques – side-drifting, drifting an egg cluster or sand shrimp under a float, drift fishing, diver and bait, back-trolling plugs, and even back-bouncing – will work. Under high, turbid conditions, I’ve always enjoyed the best success drift fishing with a larger (or two) drift bobbers

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60 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

rigged with an 18-inch leader and pencil weight or large slinky-style sinker.

If you have never experienced this sport and are interested in giving it a try, consider booking a trip with a steelhead guide. Active guides offer either jet or drift boat trips, depending on the river.

All furnish everything you will need, including rods, reels, line, terminal tackle, bait and helpful advice. Some will even provide rain gear and fire up a propane heater to warm your fingers.

You will need fishing license (including steelhead punch card), warm clothes, and winter fishing spirit. And make sure and take along your phone or camera so you can show off the 10-pound steelhead you might catch.

Local tackle shops can recommend the best guides, or check out the ads in this magazine. NS Editor’s note: The author is a brand manager at Yakima Bait, and is on the management team. Find Buzz on Facebook.

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FISHING

Small Streams, Steel Dreams Try these five Washington-side Lower Columbia tribs to kick-start your winter season.

By Terry Otto The Columbia supports massive runs of steelhead, and while most head for the Inland Northwest, some peel off into the Grays River, where Colin Medved found this one, and other small tributaries between the mouth and Cascade Crest. (WRIGHT &

ROSBURG, Wash.—As the setting sun threw long shadows over the stream, the steelhead ventured out into the open. They had been hiding all day under overhanging trees and cut banks. But now, from the shadows, they came out to play.

The action was fast and furious right until the sun actually set, and steelhead after steelhead slammed our yarn balls. It was high-jumping, line-burning action on fish after fish. We each kept one or two of the brightest we caught.

Shallow-water steelhead are fickle, but when they turn on, the action can be lights-out on small streams like Washington’s Grays River, which we were fishing that afternoon. If an angler has any stealth skill at all, he can catch a lot of them real quick.

DECEMBER’S THE MONTH that early winter steelhead runs peak in many of the smaller tributaries of the lower Columbia River along Washington’s Highways 4 and 14. From the Grays in the west to newly opened Rock Creek in the east, this is a good time to be walking the bank or splashing the boat for metalheads. All we really need for a good season is cooperative weather, something we didn’t have much of last year.

In most small rivers, the steelhead bite is dependent on high flows, and these waters are no different. The best fishing happens in the first two or three days following creek-lifting rains.

McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

And in the future, some of these streams will see stronger hatchery plantings, as the state Department of Fish & Wildlife moves to create wild steelhead “gene banks” on other rivers.

THE GRAYS RIVER is one of the best walkin steelhead streams in Southwest Washington. And while that is no secret, its distance from any major city makes it a river less fished than some.

New this year, the upper Grays and its West Fork are open right now.

In the past, the upper reaches did not open until Dec. 16.

“It had been closed to protect spawning chum,” says fisheries biologist Joe Hymer, “but we found out that it wouldn’t be a problem.”

Check the synopsis for details.

The run will peak later this month, and steelhead will congregate below the hatchery in good numbers

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 63

FISHING The streams in this article are mainly on the small side, but you can snake a boat down one or two. Jason Resser did just that, catching this winter-run on a Mag Lip 3.5 last winter. (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

following the rains. Look for a strong morning and evening bite in this small stream. Anglers with conventional gear take most of their fish by drifting Corkies or yarn balls, but this is excellent fly-fishing water, and egg patterns work well.

The Grays is 50 miles west of Longview along Highway 4.

The smolt release for return this year – 37,500 – was 7,500 fewer than the batch sent out for last winter’s fishery.

64 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

ELOCHOMAN RIVER STEELHEAD also pile in below the hatchery near Cathlamet following strong rains. There is access to the upper stream from pullouts along Elochoman Valley Road and off Foster Road.

This is another good stream for fly guys; steelhead also take drifted baits and spinners.

This year’s return is from a stocking of about 80,000 smolts, down a tenth from those set free for winter 2013-14.

SALMON CREEK IS a small urban fishery fueled by a yearly plant of 20,000 hatchery steelhead smolts, a number that could double under a current proposal. Those smolts used to be earmarked for the East Fork Lewis, which has been designated a hatchery-free, wild steelhead gene bank. Anglers will see the extra fish start to return by 2016.

The stream meanders through homes and parks in Vancouver, and it gives up a harvest of a couple hundred steelhead in most years, although last winter was tough.

“It only produced about 50 fish last year,” says Hymer, but he quickly points to last winter’s extreme high and low flows as having hampered the fishing in the little creek.

Another proposal calls for an extension of the fishery. Two more miles of water would be added, with fishing open up to 182nd Street east of Brush Prairie. A plan also includes building a new smolt acclimation site somewhere along the reach. Access could be an issue since much of the stream passes through private lands, but if everything goes as planned, this could be a much more substantial fishery in future years.

If weather permits, the run should be closer to average this year. The fish are reared in net pens in Klineline Pond and released there. The fish, and the fishermen, will collect near the pond, with the peak of the run showing by the end of this month. The Salmon Creek Greenway provides access to several miles of water below there.

WITH TWO DIFFERENT hatchery runs, the Kalama provides strong steelheading from now through March. The early run will peak in December, and the late run will build until it tops out in late March. There’s good access via pullouts and boat launches along Kalama River Road.

This year’s return comes from a planting of nearly 125,000 smolts, about 15,000 more than for the year before.

The Kalama also has one of the most substantial wild runs of any of these streams, and a few trophy-class metalheads are caught here each year. The run timing is the same as the late hatchery run, and for that reason, most anglers stay away from diver-and-bait in the late season.

While effective, aggressive wild steelhead will often inhale the baits deeply, causing mortality.

The float from Pritchard’s to Modrow Bridge is popular. Bank anglers score at the Beginner’s Hole and up in the canyon below the deadline.

ROCK CREEK, A small stream on the west side of Stevenson, is another new recipient of smolts. The plan is to stock it with 20,000 each spring, and the first such release was in 2013, making this winter the first it will see returning adults in over a decade and a half. Rock saw steelhead plants up until 1996, when they were discontinued, but with the removal of Condit Dam and gene banking of the White Salmon, WDFW decided to put smolts here again.

While the fishing pamphlet says Rock is closed, the rule was superseded by an emergency rule.

The fishery will take place below the impassable falls at river mile one.

The creek crosses city and county parcels, including the fairgrounds, but also private holdings, according to Skamania County’s online mapping service. It should provide an exciting sight-fishing experience. NS

RIVER PLANNING Two rivers in this story (Grays and Elochoman) are included in the next round of WDFW discussions on steelhead hatchery production, gene banking and more. They’re part of the “Coast Stratum,” and the agency is looking for anglers to join a work group to help out. Elsewhere, the process has led to gene banking of the East Lewis and more steelies for Salmon Creek.

Nominations are due Dec. 31. See wdfw.wa.gov/news/nov0614b/. –NWS 66 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

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68 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

FISHING

Time To Clean Some Chrome Clocks Still some Christmas-month steelies to be had on Northwest Oregon rivers.

By Andy Schneider

A

lbert Einstein is said to have described insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Wouldn’t be applicable to steelhead anglers, would it? I mean, the whole challenge of fishing for the sea-going rainbows is overcoming mounting odds of weather, river conditions, run timing, proper tackle and techniques – all to get a bite from a glorified trout. To expect success, that would seem like insanity to most.

But casting our line and doing the same thing over and over is the easy part. And we do expect different results with every cast. If we didn’t, then we would truly be insane, right?

Ol’ Einstein might have been the most gifted physicist this world has ever seen, but he – or whomever actually came up with that quote – must not have been a steelheader.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife plants fewer and fewer early, out-of-basin hatchery fish these days, and, as a result, it has become slightly more difficult to target steelhead in December, but this month is when we do start to see our first big push into Beaver State rivers. While broodstock programs mirror the traditional return of winter-runs and we see most of our hatchery steelhead returning from January through April, you can still bring home some Christmas chrome!

This month there should be more than enough steelhead around to keep persistent – we wouldn’t dare use that other word! – anglers happy.

Tom VanderPlaat holds a steelie caught out of the Wilson River last December.

(ANDY SCHNEIDER)

NORTH FORK NEHALEM Your trip out to Highway 53 should start by dialing the Nehalem hatchery’s fishing report (503-3685670). The recording is updated daily and will tell you current river height and give an honest report.

The North Fork usually sees its first winter steelhead in late November, but the bulk of the run returns mid-December, depending on river conditions. Fish it when the hatchery reports a river height of 36 to 40 inches, and after any significant drop following a freshet.

Since the North Fork will drop fast, be prepared to hit the water immediately after any high-water event this month. Other coastal rivers may still be high and off-color and

may not drop into shape for a couple of days, but the North Fork could already be right for steelheading.

Drift fishing is usually the most productive technique. As the river clears and continues to drop, switch to a bobber and jig or bobber and eggs.

Since most of the public access is close to the hatchery, expect fresh fish to move in throughout the day.

Umbrella Falls is only a short hike away and may be one of the best public fishing holes on the North Coast. The handicap fishing platform, directly below the hatchery, provides access for nonhikers to prized water and great opportunities to catch fish.

NECANICUM RIVER This river usually makes the news

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 69

FISHING when it floods and flows across Highway 101, cutting off Seaside from a southern retreat. But just as fast as it floods, the Necanicum drops, and usually much faster than anglers give it credit for. This river can go from unfishable to beautiful steelheadgreen within an eight-hour work day.

Even better, Highway 26 crosses the river multiple times, providing good access. Klootchy Park also offers good water for anglers willing to hike and bushwhack. And where the Necanicum turns north and follows Highway 101 for a short stretch there’s access to some very snaggy but productive water.

There is no gauge on the Necanicum, but river conditions follow the North Fork closely.

WILSON RIVER The Wilson doesn’t see the bulk of its steelhead return until January through March, and while the earlyreturning Alsea-stock hatchery fish may be disappearing soon, this season they will still keep you busy.

Unlike other, smaller coastal rivers, where December steelhead pour in after a freshet, the Wilson’s early fish trickle in, though at a steady pace. The peak is usually around Dec. 20, and good numbers of fish will be spread from tidewater to Kansas Creek, but then things quickly taper off.

For those spread-out early fish you’ll want to cover lots of water by side-drifting. When river conditions are on the drop, plug holes where fish stack up.

And be prepared for nontarget species. The Wilson gets a good return of kings this month. Often these fish are chrome-bright and test steelhead gear and tackle to its breaking point.

It’s the gloomiest time of year, but chrome winter-runs can brighten up the solstice for anglers who hit Northwest Oregon rivers. (ANDY SCHNEIDER) 70 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

See the Rig of the Month (p. 73) for a good crossover set-up.

CLACKAMAS RIVER Sometimes a trip to the coast is out of the question because of treacherous conditions on the passes or time constraints. Though the Clackamas doesn’t see its first big push of winter steelhead till early January, there are often early fish around for willing anglers. Work from Barton downriver for your best shot at landing a December winter-run.

As with the Wilson, side-drift and cover lots of water to find the fish that are spread out. But you can also slowly back-troll plugs, especially in colder water.

Don’t be surprised to find plenty of downriver summer steelhead aggressively pursuing your bait or plugs. While these fish aren’t fit for the table, they are very aggressive and make for some memorable bites.

December can be an insane month.

Too much Christmas shopping, end-of-the-year work projects, and practically no daylight make it seem like there is no spare time to spend on a river. But setting a day aside to find some solace – and maybe earn some bragging rights – is just what you may need to regain your sanity. No matter how many casts it takes. NS

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Northwest Sportsman 71

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NOTES Stealthily you slowly back-troll your favorite plug down a very promising-looking stretch of December steelhead water. Your rod tip is bouncing away merrily until something catastrophic happens – it doesn’t just 5-foot, 20-pound dip or shudder with the bite of your first winter-run of the season. No, your mono leader rod folds completely over, line screams from your reel, and then “SNAP!” Not only did you lose half your mainline, but your favorite plug is gone! Ack! Who would have thought steelhead fishing in Medium December could be this disastrous? Best be prepared for those duolock nontarget species when they attack. Not only are coastal snap rivers swimming with big and mean Chinook, but Mag Lip 3.5 late chums and coho enter freshwater well into December. To play it safe, a 20-pound mono leader and 50-pound braided mainline won’t affect the action of your steelhead plug and will still ensure that you can land that mighty winter Chinook. Also Snap ring Size 7 rig your plug with 1/0 siwash barrel hooks to ensure you master the swivels monsters of the deep, not the other way around.

–Andy Schneider 1/0 siwash hooks (Colored, shortened line used for illustration purposes)

DECEMBER 2014

Albright knot

50-pound braided mainline

(ANDY SCHNEIDER)

Northwest Sportsman 73

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Getting The Drop on ’Em T

his month’s jig is a double threat for putting brats on the bank. The jig itself features the “trailing egg,” which is a loose articulated bead waggling behind the tail, giving your jig the added appeal of a free egg. While the jig itself is dynamite, the dropper feature really sets it apart. Tied with a double-eyed hook, the dropper allows you to fish a setup below the jig without contorting the jig or risking a line failure, which tends to happen if you tie a

JIG OF THE MONTH

dropper to the jig hook. For this rig, I prefer a 1- to 3-foot dropper line of 8- or 10-pound fluorocarbon, with a size 4 hook and glass bead pegged an inch from the hook. To keep the rig fishing longer, stick with heavier dropper beads (glass or hard plastic), since lighter droppers tend to tangle more often while airborne (a wide sweeping cast can help too). And remember: The dropper setup can be deadly with any jig – this is just one example!

Supplies Dropper jigheads (Over the Edge Tackle make great ones); 8mm plastic beads and clear monofilament; Flashabou; neck hackle; marabou; glue.

tag ends of mono down along the shank of the hook and tie in tight, then trim the ends when you’re done.

3) Tail Action After the flashabou is in, add a light pinch of marabou to give the tail some action. Once in, tie down your hackle feather by the tip.

1) The Egg Comes First

2) Flash To Go With

Take an 8mm plastic bead and run a length of monofilament through the eye.

Tie the ends together, then cinch it down with a light clinch knot. Lay both of the

Next, add a solid pinch of flashabou over the shank so that the ends meet your loose egg. This will serve to make your egg a focal point of the jig.

CONTEST If you tie one of the jigs that Chris Gregersen features on this page this year and catch a steelhead or salmon with it, email awalgamott@media-inc.com a photograph with the jig in the fish’s mouth and you could win a full set of Chris’s jigs featured here in 2014!

4) Wrap And Finish Slowly wrap the hackle forward to fill in the body. A long feather should fill in the body with just enough room to tie it off. Once you’ve reached the jighead, tie off with some heavy wraps, half hitch, and glue. Tie your dropper on and you’re ready! NS DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 75

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COLUMN With smolt releases suspended this spring due to a lawsuit settlement, next winter’s steelhead fishery on the author’s favorite river, the Green, and most other Pugetropolis streams that use Chambers Creek stock will be minimal – perhaps even closed to preserve broodstock – making this season the time to get out there. (TERRY WIEST)

Last Full Winter Season T

his month we’ll take up our rods again and drift on out to the Mt. Baker Highway, the North Cascades, the Mountain Loop and WESTSIDER Twin Peaks country

By Terry Wiest for what will be the last full – in the modern sense, anyway – season of winter steelheading. Get your fill, boys, at Kendall and on the Cascade, at Fortson, Tokul and Flaming Geyser, because after this winter, who knows when the next retention fishery on

those waters will be – the Skagit won’t see smolt releases for at least 12 years!

As for you guys who haunt Reiter and Cable on the Sky, make room in the coming years for the rest of us.

I REMEMBER WINTERS when you could drive to work in the early morning and wet a line for an hour or so and have a good chance at landing a steelie. It didn’t matter where. As long as you were close to a stream in general Pugetropolis, it would have fish.

Actually, plenty of fish.

It was a given that the Green would

be in the top 5 steelhead rivers across the state.

The Cedar – yes, the Cedar, the little stream feeding Lake Washington – was sure to produce a fish, sometimes two, on a consistent basis.

All the “S” rivers? Smokin’ hot! From Pearl Harbor Day to Dec. 14 of any given year, the Snoqualmie was the hottest river in the state.

And from the mouth of the Skagit all the way up to the hatchery on the Cascade River, all 70-plus miles – fish!

Those days are long gone. No longer are streams scatter-planted, and with

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 77

COLUMN 2007’s ESA listing, releases have been halved. And then this spring, outside of the Skykomish (and a small freelance liberation or two) no smolts were sent out for return next season, due to the Wild Fish Conservancy’s lawsuit settlement with the state Department of Fish & Wildlife. The agency feels its hatchery program is sound and its updated hatchery genetic management plans will pass muster with federal overseers, but I can’t help but worry that things are going to get worse still.

It’s plausible that to preserve as many of next winter’s few returning three-salts as possible, WDFW will close most rivers to ensure it collects enough for broodstock duties to restart hatchery programs when federal permits are in hand.

I’m not going to get into the politics of this mess, but I sure hope people wake up!

In the meanwhile, while we still have fish, here’s a brief synopsis on a few of the rivers you might want to hit this year – and for some of you, perhaps a

WINTER-RUN RELEASES River

2013 release for winter 2014-15 return

2014 release for winter 2015-16 return*

118,806

0

Cascade

235,000

0

North Fork Stilly

86,725

0

Skykomish

147,308

154,811

Wallace

20,000

19,750

Snoqualmie

153,000

25,000**

Green

97,355

**

North Fork Nooksack

* Due to a lawsuit settlement between the Wild Fish Conservancy and WDFW, only 180,000 Chambers winter smolts were allowed to be released into the Skykomish system this past spring. ** However, an illicit release occurred from Tokul Creek Hatchery on the Snoqualmie, and supposedly, a small number went into the Green at some point as well.

scouting report for next winter.

THE CASCADE This small stream that flows into the big Skagit River can be

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spectacular. From right at the mouth up to the hatchery, which isn’t very far, will be smoking when fish arrive, but it

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 79

COLUMN normally doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t last long. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d hit this one when you have a hunch, because after you hear itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hot, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably too late. Jigs work great but whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been even better on this small water is a bead. Grab your Steelhead Beads or Hevi-Beads and have a blast.

THE SKYKOMISH This river is a hatchery steelhead fishermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dream, and features a layout that couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been designed any better for float anglers. The Reiter Ponds stretch makes this dream a reality, and during the months of December and January, many a fish will be pulled from around the boulders here and downstream at Cable Hole. A doublebeaded marabou jig in pink and white (MJ2) knocks â&#x20AC;&#x2122;em dead on this river under normal conditions. If itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s low and clear, throw that nightmare pattern on.

THE SNOQUALMIE This river from Tokul Creek downstream for a quarter mile is some of the finest hatchery steelhead fishing around â&#x20AC;Ś or at least back in the

day it was. Because Tokul is very small, the fish stage in the mainstem longer than usual, until theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re ready to go up.

December should be tremendous, with January not too far behind. But again, this is known to be an early fishery, with the peak around the second or third week of this month.

For drift boaters, the short run from Plum Landing, just below Tokul, to Fall City should be very productive. While jigs are the key for us bankies, from the boat they will also work, but there are some mighty fine plug holes that should be very tempting. Can you say Dr. Death?

THE GREEN From just below Soos Creek Hatchery all the way up to Palmer Ponds will hold fish, but the only float available in this section is from Whitney Bridge down to just above Soos Creek.

Do not float past the Soos Creek parking lot as there is an unpassable log jam just downstream (see last issueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chum salmon map for more).

For those without a boat the lower Green provides plunkers with opportunity, and there should be a few fish in the Kent/Auburn area. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d concentrate from the Car Body Hole up to Flaming Geyser, trying to hit below or above the drift boat run â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it will more than likely be a busy year. Jigs have always been my go-to, and the Green is no exception.

In fact, the Green used to be my home river, until I started traveling to Forks.

Speaking of the OlyPen town, even if WDFW gets its hatchery genetic management plans for Puget Sound winter steelhead rivers in order, the National Marine Fisheries Service buys off on them, and releases occur on schedule again next spring, Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Everett, Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma anglers may become even more familiar sights on West End rivers in the coming seasons.

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Northwest Sportsman 81

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COLUMN

North Sound Steelies Slide In

I

Creek Hatchery) and lower Cascade River Marine Drive (Lummi Nation Boundary) n one sense, fish (Marblemount Hatchery). But sometimes, upstream to the forks does have a good management the fish overshoot their natal facility or combination of publicly accessible high defies the stray into other upper basin tributaries. bank and bar sites from which to plunk bait universal physics

By Doug Huddle law that says for This occasionally occurs during high or cast hardware. water events. The goal here is to limit In these reaches, steelhead holding every action there the number of adult hatchery fish from water is much less discernible in winter is an equal and opposite reaction … escaping to the wild. flows, so the river must be read and instantaneously, that is. relearned earlier each fall. During a muddy Yes, Puget Sound hatchery steelhead freshet it can be frustrating when, after a programs were dealt a blow in April with the WITH THE NOOKSACK’S reputation for half hour’s fishing, you find you’ve been out-of-court settlement of the federal lawsuit “coloring up” between November plunking in 3 feet of water. brought by the Wild Fish Conservancy. The and January, Western Washington’s Starting on the very downstream end, Duvall-based organization asserted that the northernmost river often is challenging the Nooksack mainstem is continuously Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife to fish when hatchery adult steelhead are accessible via left-bank dike trails and its commissioners were from the Marine Drive Bridge up violating the U.S. Endangered to Ferndale on either WDFW or Species Act by breeding and Angler focus this time of year tends to be on winter-run Whatcom County Parks (Hovander releasing into Puget Sound steelhead, but light-tackle enthusiasts, especially younger Park) land. rivers hatchery winter-run fishers, with a yen for some delicate white meat will find a On the right bank in Ferndale steelhead without a federal smaller but equally obliging quarry in whitefish. and up to the next major break permit. Such authorization is During nor’easter cold snaps, when it’s ultra low and clear point, the Guide Meridian highway mandatory because steelhead bridge, there are plunking spots stocks in the basin have been and chum are wrapping up their spawning, the North Fork under the Main Street, Burlington declared threatened under ESA. Nooksack at Mosquito Lake Road will yield up good numbers of Northern-Santa Fe and Interstate State officials conceded these fish. Bait’s legal in this section, so that whitefish favorite, a 5 bridges in Ferndale, as well as the key legal issue and further single hook/egg offering, works best. If you don’t want to rebait a stretch of high bank south of agreed to cancel and suspend after each cast, try a No. 12 or 14 rocket red wing bobbers or Main Street along Front Avenue hatchery steelhead smolt tiny Corkies in the same color. downstream to the municipal and releases in all but one Puget Remember that these fish have relatively small mouths so PUD water treatment/intake plants.

Sound river basin system until the combination of hook and lure size must be kept tiny.

Also, toward the upper end of appropriate NOAA-Fisheries The Skagit between Shovel Spur Rapids and Goodell Creek this reach there’s a set of bank walkapprovals are obtained for each (above Marblemount) has a plentiful supply of whitefish below in points, the lowest downstream program. Applications to get concentrations of spawning dogs, but you’re required to release one at the end of Harksell Road, two those permits are in the federal them under the permanent regulation for these waters. –DH on River Road downstream of State agency’s hands as we speak.

Route 539 and the fourth on the Having said that, the fallout south side of the river on WDFW land at the from these radical departures from river in. While the fish are released at Kendall Guide Meridian (SR 530) bridge. fisheries management doesn’t happen the Creek at river mile 46 on the North Fork, the The main frustration for would-be boatnext day, week, month or even year. There river’s South and Middle Forks, on the south borne steelheaders on the reach, especially are hatchery steelhead in the pipeline, in and southwest side of Mt. Baker, respond those in sleds, is the lack of trailered-craft this case, inbound from ocean rearing areas. differently to rain events, making them and launch points. Unless you have a friend with There will be fishing this December and the mainstem Nooksack more problematic riverfront property including a gravel bar, January on a full slate of one- and two-salt for some styles of fishing. there’s otherwise only one public hardened adipose-fin-clipped winter-runs returning A plunker’s scent-laden offering often boat launch on the entire lower Nooksack, to all rivers with state and tribal hatcheries. will offset the “thickness” of water if the that being the east bank ramp at Ferndale But next season, only a slim contingent of bait and winged bobber or Cheater combo off Nielsen Road. two-salts will return, and in winter of 2016is wafting in the right hole down low in It is hoped that a boat ramp will be 17, the hatchery cupboard could be fully the basin. But for drifters, side-drifters or added next year or in 2016 at the DeGroot bare if federal permits aren’t forthcoming. boondoggers, a certain amount of clarity is Access. Hopefully, we’ll have steelies to fish The first of these hatchery-bound winter a must, so the best strategy usually is to fish for too. steelhead arrivals come up into lower main the higher reaches of open steelhead water Lynden to Deming area: Above Lynden, channels as early as mid-November. With in the basin. specifically the Hannegan Road Bridge, smolt release cutbacks these days, smaller The Nooksack’s character and access there’s more drop in the channel and returns of these fin-clipped sea-run rainbows also play a part in dictating fishing styles. some braiding (multiple channels). Riffles are bound for state fish-production facilities Below Lynden: When it’s not up-in-theshorten, pools deepen and lengthen, and on the North Fork Nooksack (Kendall bushes high, the mainstem Nooksack from

NORTH SOUND

THE OVERLOOKED OPTION

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 83

that’s where the steelhead drift water begins. But with bank access scarce in the Hannegan-to-SR 542 reach, jet sleds or drift boats provide the best method to get anglers on some great fishing water.

Lengthwise, these reaches are easily fishable in a day’s or even afternoon’s voyage, but do be aware of the in and out limitations for all watercraft.

The Nooksack’s character changes (less braiding) above the Mount Baker Highway (SR 542) crossing at Nugents Corner, and though somewhat confined by hardened levees encroaching from the north side, there are still more than a dozen good long drifts with head pools starting with the Dahl and Sande reaches, stretching up to three big bedrock-forced fish-holding pools, the first of which is just below the mouth of Lindberry Creek south of Deming and the other two further upstream are the Maggie’s Rock and Cooper’s Rock holes. Lindberry is a walk- (with permission) or boat-in-only hole, and has some of the best holding water in the entire section. Maggie’s and Cooper’s are short walk-ins without a lot of fuss, and can be stops on a drift boat voyage from the Forks or Mosquito Lake Road.

84 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

LAST-CHANCE UPLAND, BIG GAME HUNTS A set of seven designated pheasant release sites scattered west of the Cascades stay open 15 days into the Christmas month. On that list is a Northwest Washington complex of four release locations on north-central Whidbey Island around Coupeville and Oak Harbor. Those include: * Ebey Prairie, on farmed acreage south of Highway 20 at Coupeville. Access is off Highway 20 and the Ebey Landing Road. * Arnold Farm, a set of farmed fields on private lands on the Penn Cove slopes northwest of Juan de Fuca. Go west from Highway 20 on Arnold Road to the farm entry. * Seaplane Base, two formerly farmed parcels with some shrub/tree and fence-row cover on U.S. Navy property on either side of large housing complex east of Oak Harbor’s downtown. Go south on NE Regatta from Highway 20 then turn left and go eastbound on East Crescent Harbor Road to the off-road parking lots. * OLF Coupeville, an occasionally mowed hay field under the final approach to the Navy’s carrier landing “touch and go” runway southeast of the county seat. The entry is off State Route 20 north of the SR 525 junction.

These are not going to be the highly lucrative gunning options of the regular season, but are a mop-up endeavor for residual or escapee birds. The last release of the season will be the day after Thanksgiving.

There’s direct access to the Ebey and Arnold Road sites, but pheasant hunters of the two Navy properties must first check in with the NAS Whidbey Environmental Office at (360) 257-1009 before hunting.

Archery hunters have several options for December, including GMU 437 in the Finney block south of the Skagit River and GMU 407 where farmland and timber lot dwelling black-tailed abound. Stalk the lower slopes of Iron Mountain on the 17 Road mainline or walk in on Green Crow or Grandy Lake timberlands off the South Skagit Highway.

Sierra Pacific’s young stands of trees on its walk-in lands north of lower Finney Creek also will be good for deer retired from the high country.

Muzzleloaders have options to midmonth in the Island units, with thick second-growth on Cypress, Guemes and Orcas Islands offering the best chances.

Practitioners of the bow and blackpowder out after elk are confined here to GMU 407, with the South Fork Nooksack valley likely to offer the most of a scant number of targets.

Much of the valley bottom, including the farmed land, is in private lands, so access is problematic. The Van Zandt Dike is heavily hunted, but is in state hands with just a Discover Pass required. –DH

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 85

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DECEMBER 2014

The Forks: Because of its origins on the north side of Mt. Baker, the Nooksack’s North Fork is the most often friendliest water for drift anglers and is likely to be clearest for November-January fishers. A fair number of overland access routes (at Kinney Creek and Racehorse Creek, both on the east side off the North Fork Road, as well as Deming Homestead County Park, Truck Road, Old 542 Rest Area, Milepost 19 and Kendall Hatchery) spread out the anglers.

It’s no longer possible to launch drift boats at the hatchery grounds or at Racehorse Creek, but Mosquito Lake Road now is a formal public launch, courtesy of Whatcom County Parks and Recreation.

The best drift boat stretch is the North Fork from Mosquito Lake Road down to the confluence of the North and South forks. Truly brave anglers also will boat the Middle Fork (fast, narrow waters down from the single-lane Mosquito Lake Road county bridge) and the gentler South Fork (Acme area down to the forks).

For the North, Middle and South Fork drifts, the downstream take-out is a south-bank bar between the railroad and highway bridges off State Route 9, with a dirt-track approach between the two rights-of-way and the requirement to do some wrestling with watercraft to get them up to the trailer.

THE SKAGIT IS also prone to visibility issues below its tributaries, the Sauk and Baker, as well as during higher fall and winter flows.

Plunkers, plug pullers and boondoggers do ply the lower river from December to January, but as with the Nooksack, given the muddy water and the tendency of hatchery fish to shoot up through these reaches, the best waters for hooking up with these fish are higher up in the system, above Rockport.

Four venues on the lower river stand out as historical plunker haunts. They are: The Spudhouse Hole and Launch: Off Penn Road south of McLean Road, this location has high-bank plunker spots along a deep trough of slot water that is relatively, but not completely, free of snags. This site has a good winter boat ramp as well.

Edgewater Park and Young’s Bar: These are two right-bank, publicly accessible locales at West Mount Vernon. The latter is south of the Memorial Bridge, the former at the bend just above the bridge. The city park has a boat ramp. High water often restricts the bank-sitting to short sections of both Young’s and Edgewater.

Roger Tjeerdsma Launch and Riverside Park: Mostly inside the Burlington city limits now, this stretch offers good highand sloped-bank access along the outside of a broad bend and straight section of river. There is a private boat dock in this reach that’s off limits.

South Skagit Highway: From SedroWoolley to Concrete, this route accesses great plunking and spin-casting water for bank anglers both east and west of the PUD intake, again at Loretta and Cumberland Creeks, west of O’Toole Creek on Seattle City Light property opposite Lucas Slough and at Pressentin Creek.

Boat launches on both sides of the river are found at the old Lyman Ferry site on Cockerham Island and at Pressentin.

From the Dalles Bridge (Concrete) up to the SR 530 Bridge, the fabled Mare’s Tail (just above the Baker), the Dutchman Drift, and the Mixmaster Holes are several classic steelhead holding reaches. Plug-pulling begins to be an option here because pools are better defined.

The old Fabers Ferry landings on either side of the river at river mile 62 are about halfway between Concrete and Rockport and good jetsled entries for this section.

Above the Sauk River, two launches, at Marblemount (Cascade Road bridge) and Rockport (at Howard Miller Steelhead Park), serve boat-borne anglers well.

While east-bank accesses are limited to the old Barnaby Slough access, walk-in options off State Route 20 at Washington Eddy, Barr Creek, Milepost 101, Clark’s Cabins and Pressentin County Park next to the Shell station in Marblemount, afford reasonable opportunities.

Anglers, sans boats, have the lower .7 of a mile of the Cascade where Marblemount Hatchery is located. Walk-in routes include the Wild and Scenic Boat Access on the east approach of the Cascade Road Bridge and the old Raspberry Hole across from the mouth of Clark Creek (the fish entry into the hatchery). Anglers also may fish from hatchery grounds at the Rockport-Cascade Road bridge, as well as the Big Eddy access further west on that county road.

NEXT ISSUE Winter steelheading and hatchery program update, nor’easter duck hunts and cutthroat trout fishing. NS Editor’s note: The author lives in Bellingham, is retired from the state Department of Fish & Wildlife and has written about hunting and fishing in the Northwest for 30-plus years.

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BRP unveils completely new Evinrude E-TEC G2 Outboard Engines and announces partnership with KingFisher Boats!

BRP has signed an agreement to provide Renaissance Marine Groups’ KingFisher Boats with Evinrude outboard engines. The welded heavygauge aluminum boats, manufactured in a stateof-the art facility in Vernon, British Columbia, are known for their custom-built quality.

“This partnership is exciting for BRP. Showcasing our Evinrude E-TEC technology and innovations alongside a leader in heavy-gauge aluminum boats allows us to continue expanding our presence in the industry, and reinforces our commitment to providing a superior consumer experience across multiple segments and markets,” said Alain Villemure, vice president and general manager of BRP’s Marine Propulsion Systems division. “We’re confident this agreement with KingFisher Boats and The Renaissance Group is a strategic one and we look forward to the mutual opportunities it represents.”

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KingFisher and Renaissance have a broad West Coast distribution network of dealers across the Northwest. New to their line-up this year is the KingFisher multi-species boat line offering the next generation of allwelded aluminum fishing boats using their industry-leading Pre-flex hull. Their tougher, more durable performance fishing line is an ideal partner for Evinrude E-TEC engines.

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Northwest Sportsman 87

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DECEMBER 2014

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COLUMN

A Good Day’s Float O

n the fifth or sixth cast the fish hit. There’s no mistaking the strike of a steelhead. I set the hook and the CENTRAL OREGEON

BY Scott Statts excitement began.

I don’t always listen to every bit of advice from every guide or outfitter (and have lost some nice fish because of it), but this time I did. Ten minutes earlier, our small group had pulled the two drift boats ashore on an island and our guide Steve Fleming told me and the other two anglers to do some fishing while he and his other guide prepared lunch. He also told us to yell if we hooked a fish so he could come running with the net.

After making sure the fish was securely attached to my line and watching it jump a few times, I yelled out something like, “Fish on, bring the net!” I was about 200 yards downriver, around a bend with a rather strong breeze blowing downriver as well. After a minute or two, I noticed no one coming to my rescue so I yelled again and added a few high-pitched whistles. Still nothing.

Oh, well, better concentrate on the fish for a while, I thought. It made a run upriver, then across the river, screaming line from the reel. Then it decided to make a run right at me, so I reeled for all I was worth, trying to keep tension on the line. Both of us seemed to be tiring as the fish got to within 10 feet of shore in less than a foot of water.

Perhaps a lull in the wind or a louder whistle finally got the others’ attention and they came a-running – or at least fast a-walking, being in chest waders and negotiating a minefield full of goodsized cobbles that lay between us. When Fleming stood beside me with the net, I could finally relax. The fish however, had one more burst of energy left and after a quick “thrash and splash” he headed back

Clackacraft Boats Randy Belles used an interesting technique to catch this wild steelhead out of the John Day River, tossing a jig under a bobber off of a fly rod and center-pin reel. (SCOTT STAATS) to the middle of the river, minus my lure.

Not exactly how I pictured “catch and release,” but it was fun while it lasted.

I managed to hook and lose a second steelhead while casting from the boat the next day. However, I did land a nice smallmouth.

FISHING ON THE John Day River ranks at the very top of my favorite outdoor activities. While most of the fishing I’ve done entails bass and warmer weather, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity at some winter steelhead. Five of us spent two days on the river covering about 20 miles from Cottonwood Bridge down to McDonald’s Crossing (also known as the Oregon Trail Crossing).

Fleming, owner of Mah-Hah Outfitters (971-533-5733) in Fossil, targets steelhead in the river until the beginning of March. By then he says the Service Creek area will see about the last of the run. At that time, he’ll fish a little bit for steelhead in the morning,

then switch to bass as it warms up.

Our trip began with sunshine and mild temperatures followed by a day of 38- to 40-degree rain. On trips like this down the canyon, equipment such as propane heaters, warm clothes and good raingear are a must.

Bruce Belles, owner and manager of Clackacraft Drift Boats, landed three nice steelhead while fly fishing. He says the John Day fish seemed to be stronger and fought harder than the Deschutes River fish, of which he catches many.

“This was my fourth time fishing the John Day River with Steve and my first time out for steelhead,” Belles recalls. “It was a beautiful float from Cottonwood Bridge downriver, and the fishing was fantastic.”

Belles caught all three steelhead using the same technique – bobber and jig (⅛-ounce black-and-purple Fisher jig with salmon-colored beads on the jig head) off a 13½-foot flexible fly rod with dragless center-pin reel. Although

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COLUMN steelhead average about 7 miles per day, taking them about three weeks to reach Service Creek. According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, just about all the fish will be in their spawning grounds by April 15.

Steelhead will move a little faster in warmer water and then slow down in colder water. Fleming says that anglers can watch water temperature and flow gages to try to determine where fish might be. An increase in flow of about 100 to 150 cfs can get the fish moving.

similar in appearance to a spey rod, this rod uses 6-pound monofilament, making it easier to work the fish without breaking the line. The bobber-and-jig method works about the same way with either fly or spincasting setups. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What I try to target is seam water where two currents come together where the fish are going to move out of the faster current into the slower water for some relief,â&#x20AC;? Belles explains. The first two fish he caught and released were wild, the largest measuring about 28 inches. The third was a hatchery fish that measured about 24 inches.

During this time of year, river conditions can change quickly. When we started our trip, the river flow was 550 cubic feet per second. Just after we got off, it rose to 1,270 cfs. High flows, dirty water, cold water and ice-ups can slow the progress of the steelhead and the angler.

Fleming says there have been radiotracking studies conducted that show

BESIDES A BOBBER-AND-JIG set-up, Fleming also uses steelhead spoons from Rainbow Plastics that resemble Stee-Lees. He prefers the red-and-white ½-ounce copper spoons in teardrop shape. Smelly Jelly scent in anchovy or shrimp flavor is added for additional enticement. Other successful lures include No. 3 Blue Foxes, Kwikfish and Hot Shots.

When fishing from shore, Fleming

suggests casting slightly upstream and steadily walking downstream until you cover the hole. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You want your lure to hit the bottom once in a while,â&#x20AC;? he says.

The fish will be staged just over a foot off the bottom, he adds. When fishing a hole from the boat, drop anchor and make four or five casts, then float down about 20 feet and drop anchor again.

Fleming says heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seen about a 50:50 ratio of wild to hatchery fish in the lower section of river. In the upper section, there will be more native fish.

Occasionally, there will be a few B-run steelhead caught. These are the larger fish (up to 20 pounds) that head for Idaho but make a wrong turn and swim up the lower part of the John Day. The Clarno area is good for bank fishing. As the fish move upriver there will be great bank fishing opportunities in the Service Creek to North Fork section. NS

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94 Northwest Sportsman

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The ‘Most Overlooked Month’

COLUMN A winter’s float down the Grande Ronde yielded this nice steelhead for Brian Stein of Yakima a couple seasons ago.

(WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

The Long Haul, celebrating people-powered hunting and fishing opportunities and quality of life in the Northwest outdoors.

D

ecember is the most overlooked month on Washington’s Grande Ronde.

When temperatures drop, THE LONG HAUL roads ice up, and

By Jeff Holmes holidays distract the crowds, it’s time to get serious about the river’s feisty wintering summer steelhead.

December is when I obsessively check the U.S. Geological Survey gauge at Troy, Ore., and the forecast for Asotin and Anatone, so I can plan winter camping and floating adventures on my favorite river. When it isn’t blown out (look for flows less than 3,000 for the best fishing), frozen, or rising sharply, the Grande Ronde is a December fishing and wildlife-viewing paradise. And if you can fish midweek and on game days and holidays, sometimes you can have the

river and its most epic holes and runs all to yourself. When there are 90 drift boats on the Wynoochee or Bogachiel, there are likely fewer than nine on all of the Washington Ronde.

Big numbers of the river’s anglers don’t show up until late winter when all of the remaining Ronde fish wintering in the Snake make their run toward the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Cottonwood Creek fish trap.

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COLUMN These steelhead will have spent another three months in freshwater, depleting their fat reserves and enlarging their sexual organs. Their quality as table fare – even smoked – declines precipitously as flows and water temperatures rise in

February. Meanwhile, December Grande Ronde fish are still so fatty that they drip and sizzle and flame up the barbecue. Farupriver summer steelhead are different from summer steel closer to the salt.

They enter freshwater with more fat than

The 8-mile drift from Boggan’s to Shumaker contains good numbers of fishing holes, amazing scenery and wildlife, and hardly any competition, but great care is needed going down the unpaved Shumaker Grade to the take-out. (JEFF HOLMES) 96 Northwest Sportsman

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They’re technically summer steelhead, but some in the Ronde, like this one caught by Spokane angler Jeff Main, stay bright deep into season. “December Grande Ronde fish are still so fatty that they drip and sizzle and flame up the barbecue,” maintains the author. (WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

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and they usually do – the river is loaded with steelhead bound for both Oregon and Washington hatchery facilities in December, as well as good numbers of wild fish that deserve extra care and fast releases. Whether we’re talking wild fish or the numerous hatchery brats in the Ronde, these ain’t no bronze, weinery coastal summer steelhead kelts, like many Westside anglers think about when they hear of summer steelhead being caught in December. These are lard-fat upriver stocks with more fight and flavor than their close-to-the-salt cousins.

December fish are suitable for the smoker or barbecue, and in a blind taste test I’d wager they’d beat chrome-fresh coastal winter hatchery steelhead hands down.

Wherever you might be coming from, the river is a long haul to a remote place offering solitude and isolation from the cell-phone world. Hole hop along Grande

Ronde River Road, book a guide, or float the river yourself anywhere from the Oregon state line to what Boggan’s Oasis (reliable shuttles) calls, “The Rocks.” Here are a few thoughts about the trip and about how to catch fish:

MAKING A SAFE TRIP Most days in winter, any front-wheel drive vehicle can easily negotiate the 110 curves on 11-mile-long Rattlesnake Grade, which you must descend to reach Boggan’s via Highway 129 out of tiny Anatone. The loss of 3,000 vertical feet should never be ignored, and checking the weather and road conditions is critical in December. There’s a state Department of Transportation outpost in Anatone that takes great care of the road, and I rarely bat an eyelash about towing a drift boat unless there’s a lot of compact snow and ice and a northeast-wind-

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COLUMN driven arctic blast keeping temperatures unseasonably cold and below the effective range of de-icer.

However, I’m much more cautious these days after an incident several years ago on Shumaker Grade, which is much more dangerous and rough than paved Rattlesnake Grade. No one should attempt the grade, which is the only access to the middle part of the river in Washington, without four-wheel drive and chains on board. Often the road is bare and dry dirt and clay, but snow and heavy precip make the road treacherous.

You lose 3,000 vertical feet over 6 miles on a one-lane road. I almost lost my boat on the grade and now carry chains year-round. Don’t go to Shumaker if the weather is bad or forecast to be bad, and call Boggan’s (509-256-3372) for reports on the road. There’s 12 miles of river and tons of fish along Grande Ronde River Road above Boggan’s, and no reason to risk life and limb on the most notorious death-trap road in Eastern Washington.

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Always gas up and gear up before any descent into the river. Boggan’s has a restaurant and some small incidentals, but there’s not much else to be had. Plan in advance and bring plenty of coldweather gear. I always plan for a horrible snowstorm and am usually pleasantly unsurprised to enjoy mild weather.

Checking the weather in Asotin gives some insight into a similar elevation to the Grande Ronde, and the Anatone weather report demonstrates conditions at the top of Rattlesnake Grade.

GETTING BIT IN DECEMBER A typical December sees the water temperature dip to or below 40 degrees by the start of the month, which usually indicates the end of the reaction bite. Fish become less likely to hit plugs and spoons, but both techniques continue to work into December. I’ve enjoyed excellent days on lures in 38-degree water temperatures.

I’ve done well on Mag Lip 3.5s, Hot Shot 35s, and Kwikfish K11X and K9X.

And I plan to fish RVRFSHR spoons (store.rvrfshr.com) this fall after great reports from locals on a spoon bite that lasts into winter until river temps dip dangerously close to freezing. When that happens, dead drifting bait, flies or jigs into fish’s faces becomes necessary.

All month, even if the weather and temperatures remain mild, dead drifting the river’s deep, walking-speed runs and holes pays off.

A heavy contingent of flossers moves into the Ronde when the wintering fish from the Snake swim upstream of Boggan’s to Cougar Creek, but most folks in December are out looking for an honest bite. Floats and jigs are extremely popular, both baited and unbaited, and great options include Yakima Bait’s Maxi-Jig (yakimabait.com), the full line of Vancouver’s Bobber Down Jigs (rainbowsendtackle.com/2k/), and most standard steelhead jigs in ¼ to 1/32 ounce. Black, red, purple, cerise, pearl, and orange are popular colors. Grande Ronde

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COLUMN An oasis in more ways than one – Boggan’s is the center of the angling community on Washington’s Grande Ronde.

Located just off the river along Highway 129, food and shelter – and maybe a spare four gallons of gas – can be had by weary anglers. (JEFF HOLMES)

hatchery fish prefer smaller-profile jigs, and rubber worms do not excel here as they do closer to the salt. Nightcrawlers are a different story, however, and baits in general can be deadly in December. Coon shrimp, cured prawn chunks and roe are the baits of choice.

Most anglers drift bait, but some fish it under floats. Some boaters do very well side-drifting the river with both bait and puff balls and yarnies. Similar to lures,

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fewer fish will bite swung flies in winter as the water cools, so the game changes to dead drifting flies.

USING DRIFT BOATS Rafts, pontoons, and drift boats are popular on the Ronde, but in the icebox canyon of winter, drift boats shine for their warmth and dryness. The main reason I bought a drifter a decade ago was to access holes on the Grande Ronde that

were inaccessible to bank anglers. Since that time I’ve camped scores of nights along the river with that boat, often camping out of it to maximize float time and leave-no-trace winter-camping fun.

Drifters offer flexibility to access water unavailable to bankies along the 12-mile roaded portion above Boggan’s and along the 2.5-mile roaded stretch at Shumaker.

They also offer access to the 8 miles of roadless river below Boggan’s, a mostly private float through one of the West’s great steelhead cathedrals. Bighorns, elk, mule and whitetail deer, otters, eagles, waterfowl, coyotes and more abound along the river in December, especially when snows at higher elevations concentrate animals.

Floating below Shumaker requires the running of Class IV rapid The Narrows, which I did with Toby Wyatt of Reel-Time Fishing (reeltimefishing. com) two Junes ago in his 20-foot Willie drifter. That rapid should be avoided by most everyone reading this article, including me. Focus on floating above

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COLUMN the Shumaker access points.

As a side note for anyone with a drifter or in the market for one, I can’t recommend Pro-Loks oar locks enough.

They make rowing far more efficient and reduce hand and wrist strain by holding the oar blade in a fixed position while still allowing flexibility to scull the oars.

If you want to fish the Ronde by pontoon or raft in winter, be careful and wear appropriate gear, and you’ll be fine. Just don’t underestimate the cold of a 38-degree or colder river in winter temperatures, even in a drift boat. The rowing is pretty mellow, but you have to be able to row to navigate the river safely.

Someone could easily flip a drifter here, and it has happened.

A friend of mine, let’s call him Derrick K., once insisted on kayaking alongside our two-night float trip from Cougar Creek to Shumaker in winter. He made it a couple hundred yards before the terror of cold set in. We pulled over, and he proved that you can shove a whitewater kayak

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inside a Ford Tempo and pay someone to shuttle it. He jumped in my boat, making it four adults, firewood, and camping gear in a 16-foot Clackacraft.

All floaters are required to register a free BLM permit, which are available at Boggan’s and at Cougar Creek.

PLACES TO STAY, EAT But in case you want a little bit more over your head than the roof of a tent, there are options, some closer than others.

Quality Inn and Suites Conference Center has a great location in Clarkston, by Costco, Wal-mart, and Albertsons, with a good restaurant on-site, and the inns accept hunting and fishing dogs. It’s 38 miles from the river.

Across the Snake in Lewiston, Bojacks is an old-school steakhouse and the birthplace of LC Valley bite-sized steak craze. This place is like a time warp to supper clubs of yore. Antonio’s Pizza and Pasta features great prices and ingredients and dangerously cheap house wine.

Speaking of swill, at the Taco Time in Clarkston you can get beer and wine with your meal, and it also has a good salsa bar and eclectic hot sauces.

Boggan’s Oasis has rustic but clean accommodations along the river. This is the only show in town on the Ronde, and I recommend them highly for convenience and for rib-sticking buffet dinners where you can hear yourself getting fatter while eating them. Their breakfasts and lunches to order are very solid, and so are their desserts.

Long before I was an outdoor writer and while I was a rough-around-theedges kid, owner Bill Vail gave my sorry butt four gallons of gas because he felt sorry for me. The Vails are great people, and they provide the only dependable services on this remote stream.

As for fishing tackle, there’s Black Sheep, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Camp Cabin and Home in Lewiston, and Water’s Edge Bait And Tackle and Bi-Mart in Clarkston. NS

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106 Northwest Sportsman

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FISHING

Rock Can Roll

Big browns in spawning colors and chrome, toothy rainbows await at northern Palouse lake.

By Jeff Holmes

EWAN, Wash.—Eastern

Washington offers a wealth of great stillwater trout fishing opportunities. What we lack in legitimate blue-ribbon river fisheries, we make up for in fertile, fast-growing trout, mostly rainbows.

Lenore, Sprague, Roosevelt, Rufus Woods and many more lakes drive the Eastern Washington trout fishery.

But scarcely mentioned beyond the region’s far-eastern edge is perhaps the state’s greatest trout pond: 7-milelong, 365-foot-deep Rock Lake.

I’ve written about it before and I will again: Rock is my favorite fishing lake. Here’s yet another reminder and an invitation to come to a lake that can definitely take the pressure. On the busiest day I’ve seen, I don’t believe there were 40 boats on it. Obviously the lake has its popular spots, but there are fish up and down its length, including ultra-predatory browns best measured in pounds instead of inches.

December is one of the best months to fish this geologically magnificent body of water. Both browns and rainbows feed voraciously in water that’s slow to cool due to the lake’s great depth and volume. Unlike Lake Roosevelt, whose rainbows are primarily plankton (daphnia)-eaters, Rock’s fish eat a combo of plankton, small invertebrates, sculpin, sucker, carp, crawdads, and other trout. They will take small flies or baits, as well as giant swimbaits or stikbaits. Big browns in their fall spawning colors and chrome, toothy rainbows – they’re waiting for you at Rock Lake.

SET NEAR THE northern border of largely lake-less Whitman County, Rock is almost completely free of development

Big kipe-jawed browns are a good possibility for anglers who can work the big waters of Rock Lake, tucked into a channel carved through the northern Palouse. Bill Stanley caught this one there last winter while trolling an Apex off a planer board.

(WRIGHT & McGILL/EAGLE CLAW PHOTO CONTEST)

and is rich with wildlife: waterfowl, loons, nesting eagles, peregrine falcons, turkey, grouse, otters, mule deer, elk, coyotes, and occasional wandering large predators. A day here feels remarkably wilder than at other large Eastern Washington lakes.

The south end offers the only trailer access and is home to a Washington Department of Fish &

Wildlife site with a notoriously rough launch. You’ll want a four-wheel drive. I’ve seen multiple two-wheeldrive trucks stuck, including my own years ago. The access offers pit toilets, a rough basalt area to launch boats of up to 20 feet or so, and a decent amount of shore fishing access where the lake necks down into Rock Creek.

You can land lots of nice trout from

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FISHING shore here, and slip- or fixedfloats are required gear. I’ve also landed fish off the launch with stripped flies, Rapalas, spinners and plunked bait.

The lake is befittingly rocky and very snaggy. Luckily, its fish suspend or orient to shoreline features along steep drop-offs, so there’s no need to plunk bait or work lures and flies on the bottom.

There is very little shallowwater habitat at Rock, but you’ll often find fish at the drop-offs near those shallowwater zones.

WHILE A FACTORY for 15to 17-inch fat rainbows, with some reaching A-run steelhead size, Rock is While Rock Lake is primarily a boat fishery, there are areas locally famous for brown where anglers can fish from shore. That’s how Kelli Conway, then a student at nearby Eastern Washington University, trout. Browns have thrived landed her first ever fish, this rainbow. (PAUL LUMSDEN) in the lake for years, even before a major conservation program improved water quality State. How big? The state record of 22 and rainbow fishing. Like rainbows, pounds is perpetually in jeopardy of browns grow large here, far larger falling, and late fall and early winter is than anywhere in the Evergreen primetime to hook into some very old

and relatively numerous big browns. People have caught fish verifiable to 19 pounds, and I’ve pictured one caught by a Spokane angler several years ago that topped 13.

If you regularly use large fish-imitating lures, you will eventually see browns topping 2 feet long.

Browns grow slowly, but the lake’s giant size and large prey base helps protect them, as does their wariness. Good numbers of them escape harvest or devouring by other browns and achieve steelhead size, but most of the lake’s mature fish stretch between 16 and 23 inches, with very good numbers of 18-to-20inchers. Avoid schools of snakey and silvery 14-inchor-smaller immature browns, especially if you’re using trebles or lures with large hooks. Leave those little guys alone and target the big boys. There are trout in Rock that eat 14-inchers.

The lake has held honker German browns for decades, but the fishing has gotten even better as the rainbow fishery has improved. That uptick in rainbows is a testament to the effects of a federal conservation program in transforming the entire biology of Rock Lake. More than two decades ago, huge acreage surrounding the lake went into the Conservation Reserve Program. That much out-ofrotation, grassy acreage dramatically reduced the amount of agricultural effluent washing and seeping into the lake. The net effect was cleaner, clearer water capable of supporting prolific aquatic invertebrates, especially troutgrowing daphnia. Daphnia are what drive many open-water fisheries, including the state’s best rainbow lake, Roosevelt. Rock went from being brown all year long, with limited invertebrates, to very clear and home to an almost inexhaustible food source for rainbows and brown trout. The CRP Program has been great not only for the landscape above Rock, but for the lake and its fish as well.

WDFW biologists stock the lake with large numbers of both trout

species. Former district fish biologist and current Inland Fish Program manager Chris Donley once told me they can’t stock as many trout in the lake as the prey base will allow. The result of that “under” stocking is superabundant prey for the lake’s hungry fish. Rainbows can reach 24 inches here and have coho-red meat. Browns exhibit bright orange meat and are best harvested when between 16 and 22 inches. Those that top 22 inches are better left to grow to trophy size. I catch and release browns here except for the occasional 18- or 20-incher that I’ll add to a smoker load for variety. I also keep fish that are bleeding from the gills or that got their tongues pierced, as they’re doomed to die. Browns are far more capable of achieving trophy size so I choose to release most of them.

They’re thrilling to catch with their pronounced features, brilliant colors and savage teeth.

AS FOR TACTICS, here is a quick rundown of what to use during December, as well as tips on where to get into fish: Flies: For a number of years I’ve fly-fished Rock religiously, both

trolling and casting and stripping flies.

Rainbows are susceptible to a broad array of standard lake patterns like Muddlers, leeches, Woolly Buggers and damsels, but they’ll also take big rabbit-fur offerings like Zonkers, my favorite bull trout and Rocky Mountain river streamers, and large Bunny Leeches. I would recommend these for anyone trying to catch big browns, whether cast or stripped or both. The trout here want a serious meal, so don’t be shy about what you’re showing them. They seem to like browns and drab olives best, and

CAUTION NEEDED Rock Lake can be dangerous in inclement weather and for inexperienced or unknowledgeable anglers who run their boats fast anywhere but the middle of the large lake. Underwater pinnacles and rock formations exist, and big winds can kick up quickly. If you fall into the water, there are very few places to get out. Vertical cliffs line at least half the lake. –JH

FISHING a red head and a white belly have both been excellent customizations to popular flies. Trolling close to the shoreline drop-offs and rocketing casts at the shore with a two-pole permit has yielded me many bonus fish, including some very large browns.

They love the manic strip and the swing effect created by a slow troll.

Trolling lures: You’ll see folks flatlining plugs, fishing leaded line, trolling fly rods, and using the most popular trout trolling techniques. While downriggers are necessary at times during the summer, trout run the top 20 feet in December, usually the top 10. Focus your attention on shallow and get offerings away from the boat.

Planer boards are not necessary but are deadly effective. Rainbows are not boat shy at all, but I’m convinced the bigger browns are. Trolling the lake’s shorelines, points and shelves is probably the best way to put numbers in the boat, especially for Rock Lake

newbies, but it’s definitely not the best way to target the lake’s biggest fish.

Casting lures: Browns and rainbows will take all kinds of lures, and Rapala Shad Raps, Hot Shots, and other shallow-to-medium-depth diving plugs have been favorites for a long time. Spoons, spinners, swimbaits, bass crankbaits, steelhead plugs, jointed minnows – you name it, Rock’s fish will eat it. Expert local lure fishermen have shown me the way to slay big browns: change lures often to let the fish show you what they want on any particular day. Make tons of casts in close proximity to underwater ambush cover, which exists almost everywhere around the lake. Browns suspend on drop-offs and next to giant rock formations, waiting to rush out and ambush prey. Think of browns as largemouth bass when you target them. Even in December they’re looking for a fishy meal, and even 8and 10-inch swimbaits are effective.

Few can fish such a gaudy lure with confidence, but once you get a follow or a hit from a giant fish looking to eat a sizable trout, it can be tough to fish anything but the big stuff. I prefer to fish midlake and at the far north end, but often the biggest fish of the day comes from the launch or the south end of the lake.

Bait: As I mentioned, plunking bait here is great when there are slip floats to use. Browns and rainbows alike love bait, and some of the biggest browns I’ve seen at Rock were caught on shrimp or nightcrawlers under a bobber. If bait fishing is your thing, Rock’s fish will cooperate if you present them with decent bait where they cruise. Set bobbers from 4 to 12 feet and play around until you get bit. Then you’re dialed in. Whether anchoring in shallow water, tying to the bank, fishing below the high-water line or at the launch, there are many good baitfishing opportunities at Rock. NS

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Winter Trout Ops Abound Y

es, December, January and even February weather can be a real challenge east of the Cascades. But if you’re willing to bundle up or, better yet, have a boat with a heated enclosure, fishing for everything from big rainbows and kokes

By Leroy Ledeboer to walleye, perch and even catfish and burbot is often as good as it gets. Plus, you can make your own choices, opting for big waters that never freeze up – Roosevelt and Rufus Woods, for starters – to little winter lakes in the Okanogan that almost always provide good spinyray fishing for that ice-auger gang.

BASIN BEACON

LET’S START WITH Roosevelt, which without a doubt is the Northwest’s premiere winter trout and kokanee fishery, thanks to lots of good planning by a variety of agencies, several fine hatcheries and a host of wonderful volunteers who tend its 63 net pens. The giant reservoir produces phenomenal amounts of zooplankton, the primary food source for all those kokes and ’bows.

“Seven hundred and fifty thousand triploid rainbows a year out of the net pens is our goal, and thanks in large part to our volunteers, we’ve been hitting that goal,” states Tim Peone, a fisheries biologist with the Spokane Tribe’s hatchery. “Without them, neither we nor WDFW would have the manpower to run

Boaters target the middle of Lake Roosevelt while bankees, like Tim Wiebe, hit its lower end at places like Spring Canyon. The Westside angler caught this stringer from shore with Power Bait last winter, and termed it “easy beach fishing.”

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DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 113

COLUMN this program. And yes, these trout grow amazingly fast once released. Right now the 2014 age class is 14 inches and up, the 2013 carryovers much larger, topping 18 inches or more. It’s been a blue-ribbon fishery for several decades now, with lots of limits of quality fish. Typically, fishing right now is optimal, with the rainbow right on the surface, but from what we’re seeing, it should be good throughout the winter. Last year, December, January, February – they were all phenomenal.”

The biggest detriment to this fishery has been its cyclical nature due to winter and spring levels. Hit a year when the Canadian snowpack is huge and it can trigger a massive drawdown of Roosevelt to prevent downstream flooding – and wash thousands upon thousands of trout into Rufus Woods. But now at least a partial solution has been found.

“Mitch Combs, who runs our Sherman Creek Hatchery, has been trying hard to overcome the effects of this drawdown,” notes the Washington Department of Fish

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& Wildlife’s Inland Fish Program manager Chris Donley. “Now, when he sees one coming, he pulls about 300,000 trout out of the net pens and holds them in that hatchery for an extra two to four weeks until the lake starts rising again and the trout won’t wash down.

“Once the water warms to a certain temperature, say, in mid-May, we have to release them out of the net pens or we’ll lose them to diseases. The hatchery uses well water, so doesn’t have that problem.

We had a big drawdown last spring and were really concerned, but it doesn’t seem to have been a major problem. Lots of trout are still in Roosevelt,” Donley says.

Peone agrees, and as an avid angler himself, says the trout numbers are just fine.

“I don’t even target rainbow,” he laughs. “Just going after kokanee I catch plenty because trout will hit all the same baits – corn- or maggot-tipped flies or Wedding Rings, plugs like your Apex lures, orange Rapalas, both straight and jointed, just about anything you have

that works on other waters.”

Although in recent years Roosevelt’s kokanee have taken a back seat to the rainbows, primarily due to the latter’s sheer numbers, they’re still the preferred fish of some anglers because of their superior flavor.

“There’s nothing wrong with the trout either, but I like to call kokes ‘river candy,’ because of their deep red flesh,” Peone says. “But walleye and bass predation of our fry plants takes a huge toll, and when we raise them in a hatchery or net pens, we get too much jacking – kokes going into early spawning mode – so we’re getting poor survival.

“So this year we’re trying to mimic our trout, using sterile triploid kokanee.

Then we can raise them to juveniles in the hatchery and should see far better survival, fish that will live longer and be 100 percent harvestable. And they won’t mingle with our wild kokanee spawners, messing up that gene pool. Personally, I release wild stock, non-clipped, but all

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COLUMN of our hatchery trout and kokanee are meant to be legally harvested.”

BELOW GRAND COULEE you have Rufus Woods, another excellent year-round water that won’t ice up. No, most days you won’t get the bang-bang trout action that you might on Roosevelt, but it’s definitely home to plenty of fish. These are those super fat ’bows turned loose from commercial net pens – roughly 48,000 this year alone, according to the Colville Tribes – and then continue to pack on girth, some wild stock that spawn in several feeder creeks, and no doubt thousands of spillovers. Even in good retention years Roosevelt entrains a fair number of fish, and this is their first downriver stop.

Plus, year in and year out, Rufus is a go-to spot for hardcore walleye anglers, particularly when lots of water is pouring through those Grand Coulee turbines.

Get a good spill, work the seams between the fast water and quieter bays, and it can be dynamite. But even if the walleye bite

WILD CARD It’s super fishy because of a lawsuit settlement that shunted Puget Sound winter-run smolts over here this past spring, but Sprague Lake can also be super fraught with danger in winter.

“I’ve just been waiting for that lake to cool down enough to reactivate things,” WDFW’s Chris Donley told me in late October. “Trolling should be really good in November and is just so-so, the ’bows can keep you busy.

For the most part these aren’t footballs, those super fat triploids out of the pens, just nice 14- to 17-inchers that fight like cold-water trout are supposed to.

Nearby Banks Lake has also been better than average for decent rainbows, some kokanee and plenty of walleye.

“This is a very fine winter trout lake that is often overlooked, probably because of Roosevelt’s reputation,” notes

December. Beside our annual half million trout fingerlings, this year we had 360,000 6- to 8-inch steelhead that we put in there, so the fish are definitely there.

“If it does ice up solid enough, Sprague is also a good ice-fishing spot, particularly up around the westend boat launch, but you do have to be careful. Even if most of it’s safe, that lake does have some springs where the ice is always pretty thin.” –LL WDFW’s Aulin Smith, who lives in Electric City. “Every year we have about 55,000 rainbows stocked out of the net pens, and by December they’ve added several inches and are usually concentrated, say, in that nice cove just off the Million Dollar Mile boat launch, up north near Coulee Playland, and off the Coulee City Park jetty. K-Flies, crankbaits – all the stuff that works on Roosevelt will work on Banks. If we get safe ice, around that jetty is a good

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COLUMN bet for both trout and perch.”

MOVE DOWN TO the Moses Lake area, and once again you have several good options. After a pretty good spring and early summer, Moses’ walleye fishing has been just so-so, but I can’t remember a single year when perch fishing has been this good for numbers, size and dispersal.

In the heat of August we often went to our small crankbaits for walleye and hooked more good-sized perch than bugeyes.

Troll ’crawlers on Slow Death Hooks or tandem rigs and the perch absolutely destroyed your bait.

Then as fall came on, the perch seemed to be all over the lake, everywhere from north of Connelly Park to east of the Hallmark Inn, near the south-end outlet, on both sides of Gaileys Island. Find a school, anchor up, dip a chunk of ’crawler or cut bait, then decide how many you are willing to filet.

Potholes Reservoir has been an even better September-October go-to spot, with

“Ice fishing on Moses Lake doesn’t happen every year,” says guide Austin Moser, “but it sure is awesome when it does!” Whether through the hard stuff or on open water, the author advises “find a school, anchor up, dip a chunk of ’crawler or cut bait, then decide how many you are willing to filet.” (AUSTIN’S NORTHWEST ADVENTURES) a truly fine mix of walleye, nice rainbow, big perch, bluegill and smallmouth bass. The Crab Creek channel, the face of the dunes, Medicare Beach, Lind Coulee, around Goose Island, name it and it was kicking out fish.

Fast forward to this month and a freezeup just might give us a few weeks of ice fishing on parts of both – Moses around

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the I-90 bridge, the Potholes along the Lind Coulee arm. Last winter, roughly 200 anglers gathered each day at the latter, harvesting everything from walleye and perch to burbot and some giant catfish – at least several over 20 pounds.

Conversely, milder weather will mean another winter of excellent boat fishing on both waters. A year ago we saw some of the best Potholes trout bites ever.

Trolling small plugs everywhere from just off the east-end boat launch to the face of the dam and off Medicare Beach put lots of nice ’bows in our coolers while plunkers at the beach seemed to be doing just fine soaking dough bait.

Unless it stays unseasonably warm in December and January those two little seep lakes, Corral and Blythe just south of the Potholes, will freeze solid enough. WDFW stocks these two heavily, and this year the folks at Mar Don Resort (mardonresort.com) added 18-inch triploids to both. Bait with ’crawlers and you also might nail some hefty bass. NS

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FISHING

Winter Windows

They’re fleeting, but December weather can allow for quick bottomfish trips off the Oregon Coast.

By Andy Schneider

I

t happens slowly. You can’t quite put an exact date and time on it, but somewhere in October or November you stopped checking the ocean forecast every four hours, hoping for that window of opportunity to get out on the Pacific.

Now it’s the middle of duck hunting season, and when you log in to check the weather, you’re looking for high winds and sloppy conditions.

But every now and then, you scroll over and click on the Pacific Ocean, just to see what’s going on out there.

And, oh, look at that – some bad news for waterfowling, but good news for someone needing their saltwater fix: light and variable winds, and a 3-foot Northwest swell at 10 seconds. Not a bad-looking forecast!

Two more clicks takes you to tripcheck.com, where you see no snow zone, no weather warning, only a dry

coastal pass. Time to gather a crew!

Surprisingly, bottomfishing in December isn’t all that tough. There are usually more opportunities than we have days off from work to do it, and when ocean conditions cooperate this month, fishing offshore can be fantastic. Not only are depth restrictions lifted in winter, but there is very little competition on the reefs. And because water temperatures on the coast

average in the low 50s this time of year, fishing remains productive.

GOING DEEP Targeting bottomfish in deep water can be more challenging than fishing nearshore reefs. Finding an offshore reef is the first challenge. Anglers stash away locations on captains’ chart plotters under strange code names, little black books hidden below decks, and far, far away from any public forum, social media or text message.

Yes, finding a deep-water reef is going to have to come from hard work and a little research.

While many chart plotters on today’s market have good bottom contour mapping, they still lack notations of reefs that hold monstrous lingcod and super-sized black bass.

Sometimes the most productive way to find these mysterious reef locations is to buy a paper map, mark promising-

Weather windows are fleeting this time of year, but under the right conditions anglers can head out for lingcod and black rockfish. (ANDY SCHNEIDER)

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 121

FISHING While depth restrictions are lifted in winter, opening offshore reefs, there’s also plenty of structure much closer to ports. Three Arch Rocks is only a handful of miles out of Garibaldi and offer “countless” reefs in 160 feet of water to their west. (ANDY SCHNEIDER)

looking locations and explore each one. This takes time, but the rewards – hauling 40- to 50-pound lings from the bottom – will be all the sweeter.

Gearing up for deep water requires slightly heavier gear, since you will be using more weight to reach the depths. Halibut gear works perfect, and you can use similar tackle and bait. Heavy diamond jigs from 8 to 16 ounces work well for lingcod.

Large 11-inch curl-tail jigs on a 10- to 20-ounce jig head work on all deepwater species too. Homemade pipe jigs are another popular option, but they can be tricky to build since you will need to fill sections of 1/2-inch copper pipe with molten lead. Most pipe jigs start with a 4- to 8-inch section of pipe filled with lead, with pilot holes drilled at each end. Screw in two eyes, one for attaching your hooks and the other for tying on your line. Three-aught treble hooks or 9/0 siwash hooks work best on homemade pipe jigs.

STAYING SHALLOW But if you’re looking for something perhaps a little closer to port, there 122 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

are also shallow-water reefs outside of every harbor on the Oregon Coast where you can pursue bottomfish.

Most show up well on your chart plotter map, and you can easily find them on your fish finder, as well.

Approach from down current, paying attention to your finder. Look for suspended fish around the reefs and save a waypoint when you’ve marked a large school of fish. Once set-up upcurrent from the reef, drop your gear to the depth you marked the suspended fish. Though you are bottomfishing, you don’t always need to fish the bottom.

Here are some locations to work: Astoria: The sunken south jetty is no secret and holds a large population of lingcod and black rockfish. Pay attention to the tides when you fish here, as you will be in the middle of the Columbia River bar.

You could go south towards Gearhart if you prefer; the bottom structure there is easier and safer to fish than the sunken jetty.

Tillamook: Three Arch Rocks offers many reefs just 6 miles due south of the Tillamook jetties. Due west of the

arches there are also countless small reefs that run north-south to 160 feet of water.

Depoe Bay: Government Point, just offshore of the harbor’s viewpoint, is a popular starting point for bottomfish anglers, but because it’s such a short run, it gets fished pretty heavily.

For higher quality fish with less pressure, go north towards the reefs around the mouth of the Siletz.

Newport: From the Yaquina Head Lighthouse to Seal Rock there are so many reefs that it would be difficult to fish them all in a day. Pay attention to your fishfinder to see where the schools of fish are congregating.

Usually the farther from port, the more plentiful the fish.

December bottomfishing doesn’t take anything special, except a slight sense of adventure and a good weather eye. When most anglers have winterized their boats and started thinking about next year’s adventures, you are the one out there using your boat and keeping your friends and family in tasty bottomfish bliss all year long, like a true Northwest angler. NS

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 123

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FISHING

Take A Trip To Trestle

Columbia bay, other estuaries shine during year’s darkest days.

Gone are the days when you could crab in short sleeves, but December offers peak season for those who bundle up and hit coastal estuaries for Dungeness in prime condition. (ANDY SCHNEIDER)

By Andy Schneider

WARRENTON, Ore.—December is a month of transition in the Northwest, from fall Chinook to winter steelhead, alpine-lake fishing to alpine skiing, and trips to the beach to trips to the shopping mall. It can be a tough time

to get the family outside for activities, but just as skis and snowboards start outnumbering fishing rods hanging over tailgates, crabbing in coastal estuaries is peaking.

Even though December is the fourth month in a row of good crabbing (if a month ends in “er,” time

to hit the harbor), it’s really the peak of the season. Dungeness have gone through their molt and are full of firm, tasty meat. It’s the same reason that the commercial season doesn’t start until December, when the crabs are full, hard-shelled and heavy, making for the highest-quality table fare. So

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 125

FISHING don’t winterize your boat just yet, and hold off for January’s better powderskiing conditions. Instead, take one last trip to the coast for some of the best crabbing of the year.

NOT ALL ESTUARIES rate the same when it comes to crabbing. Since December brings lots of coastal rain, salinity levels in bays drop with the influx of freshwater, pushing crabs out into the ocean. That said, the Northwest’s big river, the Columbia, is one of the most productive places, no matter how much rain is falling in the Cascade and coastal ranges. With its headwaters well inside Canada and lots of dams stabilizing the flow, local weather has very little effect at the mouth, making for consistent crabbing all winter long.

That said, there are some factors to watch for. The biggest challenge here is, well, the weather. While heavy rains won’t affect the crabbing, strong winds can make for dangerous conditions.

126 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

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Northwest Sportsman 127

FISHING

Dungeness dig into the author’s bait earlier this fall. (ANDY SCHNEIDER)

Pay attention to the forecast and avoid going out when strong southern and western fronts push into the Northwest. East winds don’t have as much effect on conditions, but monitor them anyway to make sure

128 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

that nothing too severe will be moving in while you’re out on the water. Also, if you’re coming from the PortlandVancouver metroplex during winter weather, take Highway 30 instead of Highways 6 or 26 – they can be a

challenge while trailering a boat.

The second thing to watch for are large tide swings. The softer the tide, the better the crabbing is going to be. When there is a large tide and lots of water pushing in, crabs will dig in and wait for calmer conditions to chase down their food. No matter where you are crabbing, always do it on the incoming tide. Crabbing on the outgoing tide can be very dangerous, as ebbing tides can create perilous conditions very quickly. These conditions have claimed too many lives over the years. It’s not very productive either – and can get expensive quickly if traps are swept away by the strong currents.

The last thing to watch for when crabbing the Columbia is the start of the commercial season. This is usually a news story covered on all the local stations and papers. Often, Northwest crabbers negotiate with wholesalers to establish a good price

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fishery, it may seem daunting to decide where to crab in such a large estuary, but over the years, there has been a clear producer: Trestle Bay. Located just downstream of Hammond on the Oregon side, directly south of Buoys 22 and 20, Trestle is as big as some entire North Coast bays, giving crabbers lots of room to spread out and find their own productive waters. Even bank crabbers can easily access the bay and cast any number of fishing-rod crab traps.

If crabbing gets too crowded or turns unproductive behind Buoy 22, search out less-traveled waters.

Desdemona Sands is a vast, shallow area that can be very productive with a little prospecting. Also, you’ll find crab close to shore just upriver of the Hammond boat harbor and all the way to the Sawdust Pile. Pay attention to your fish finder: where the rock shore break turns to a sandy bottom is a good location to drop your crab traps.

Some of the best crab bait is tuna, but if you didn’t make any trips this year or didn’t store up albacore trimmings, you are not totally out of luck. Just about the time that the tasty Thanksgiving dinner becomes a fond memory but it’s too soon to be thinking about the Christmas goose, turkey prices plummet. You can pick up a tray of legs for less than a greasy cheeseburger. Turkey legs work well and are cost-effective, and you won’t have to worry about harbor seals or sea lions. Sardines, razor clam trimmings, salmon carcasses and chicken are all good choices too, and good to have on hand when crabbing gets competitive. NS

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Northwest Sportsman 131

132 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

COLUMN

Who Knew There Were 82 Species To Catch Here?!

H

our 37 of his quest for white crappie finds Tyler Hicks casting micro jigs to snags in the backwaters of Silver KAYAK GUYS Lake’s sheltered

By Mark Veary canals. The warmth of an Indian summer as it pours over the Cowlitz County lake is his only consolation for the frustration of spending this October morning sorting through perch and bluegill in the search for species No. 77 of 2014.

No, Hicks isn’t crazy. He’s simply a man on a mission. Driven by a love for nature, a passion for fishing and an insatiable curiosity, the Ridgefield, Wash., resident dedicated this year to a project he calls the “Cascadia Big Fishing Year.”

In essence, it’s the fishing/shellfishing equivalent of a bird watcher’s “big year,” the quest to document as many unique winged ones as possible during a 12-month period.

Except in this case, Hicks gets to eat most of them.

Species cataloguing is familiar ground for Hicks, who as a teen dropped out of his rural Kansas high school to travel the country birding. With his avian life-list firmly established, he returned to school in pursuit of an advanced degree in conservation biology. This, of course, led to more travel and species counts, and eventually landed him in the Northwest.

HOUR 39 OF the maddening pursuit of a white crappie comes and goes with no reward. Frustrated but not beaten, Hicks is pedaling his kayak in search of better water when he notices a commotion.

An otter hauls out on a nearby bank and begins chomping away on a familiar-

White crappie proved difficult for Tyler Hicks to catch during his “Cascadia Big Fishing Year” quest, but after 40 hours of trying, an otter helped him land Species No. 77. (TYLER HICKS) looking fish.

While Hicks isn’t one to follow trodden paths, he knows the value of a welllaid plan. He understood the logistical nightmare of accessing the many and varied waters that shelter his target species. So in October 2013, he upgraded his old sit-inside recreational kayak to a purpose-built Hobie Revolution fishing kayak, a platform that would allow him access to fisheries both large and small.

His goal seemed daunting, but achievable: catch 50 types of fish and edible aquatic invertebrates in Washington and Oregon. But like many of us, Hicks underestimated the vast array of what’s available in the great Northwest.

On Jan. 1, he got on the board with his first, a kokanee from Lake Merwin. By Feb. 1, the count was up to 13, a variety that ranged from highly sought after oysters and Dungeness crab to the often overlooked market squid, gooseneck barnacles and plate limpets. True, some

were not exactly species he needed a kayak for, but those would come.

From that point, progress was slower but steady, spiking here and there as the ocean became fishable or warmwater species shook off their spring chill. By July, with the end in sight, it became obvious to Hicks that he’d been far too conservative.

After all, he hadn’t even gone out for three of the species on his Top 10 list – albacore, halibut and walleye.

Having set the time aside to pursue his big year, Hicks knew he couldn’t quit at 50. Besides, with all the people he’d met through this adventure, and all those who’d helped him reach the goal still cheering him on, what choice did he have but to “push it and see how far I could go”? So, in mid-July, he raised the bar to 80.

“THAT’S GOTTA BE a crappie,” he thought to himself as he approached the otter and its quarry. Bolstered by the sighting, Hicks moved in closer and deployed a bobber and trout magnet.

“The bobber slipped under immediately,” Hicks reports, and with that, after 40 hours on the hunt, species number 77 is in the bag.

As of this writing, his Cascadia Big Fishing Year stands at nearly 100 days of fishing, 82 species caught – 44 off

No. 31, channel catfish. (TYLER HICKS)

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 133

COLUMN No. 82, geoduck.

(TYLER HICKS)

kayak – and a lifetime of memories and friendships made. But with a month left in the year, how far will he take it? Only time will tell.

“I’m actually feeling a little bit tired and missing my salmon and steelhead,” Hicks admits. “I can’t wait to get back to the species I enjoy.”

As you might imagine with this lifelong lifelister, he’s already drafting a plan.

“I’m thinking of a new pursuit for next year – ‘The King and I,’ trying to connect with Chinook in as many different ways as possible,” he says.

And there’s more.

“I really like education,” adds Hicks.

“I really like helping others catch fish.

I want to become an ambassador to the community. So I’m going to work on developing a website on the Lower Columbia for kayak anglers.”

Meanwhile, he’s also spreading the gospel about all that can be done off those little plastic boats. NS

No. 10, sea-run cutt. (TYLER HICKS)

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HUNTING

A Short Hop For Topknots A quick getaway for Pugetropolis hunters, Kittitas Valley squares hold quail, room to roam.

By Rob Lyon

ELLENSBURG—What do you do when you live in Seattle and quail season rolls around? Plan a trip, load up the rig and head out on a hunting binge. But for most of us who have obligations, the weeklong safari is a once-a-year thing at best. In between are the getaways, the weekend hunts, the quick overnighters, or the blink hunts, as my buddy pulled off recently, the one-day loop.

The closest east-west arterial to Seattle is Interstate 90. Long drives obviate the quick getaway, and while most hunters target the plentiful game management areas between Ellensburg and Yakima, there are birds to be had closer to home in the northern Kittitas Valley. A couple of hours driving from Pugetropolis and you’ll be hiking through sagebrush.

The huntable portions of the valley surround the town and settled areas around Ellensburg, and much of that land lies along the apron of scrub desert along the northern fringe. An arid, shrub-steppe ecology here separates the lushly irrigated crop acreage from the steep, timbered

A trio of valley quail, also known as topknots for the male’s bobbing crest, grace a Kittitas County aspen. (ROB LYON)

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 137

HUNTING slopes of the Wenatchee Mountains.

The lay is a gently sloping, welldrained land of sagebrush and scattered Russian thornberry, laced with shallow draws and dry creek beds, making for excellent quail habitat. The terrain is easy to hike, and with the exception of some of the denser thornberry copses, provides open shooting lanes and downed birds are easy to find, even if you don’t bring your dog.

There are no dedicated public hunting areas in the northern portion of the valley that I know of, so the trick, among the patchwork ownership grid of sections, is to find the public ones. More than anything else, the crux of a successful hunt in the Kittitas Valley is knowing where to go.

ABOUT A MONTH ago, after Steve’s The author’s hunting partner holds a pair of winter quail. (ROB LYON)

138 Northwest Sportsman

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one-day hump hunt a few weeks earlier, we drove back here for some

HUNTING more. He’d found several coveys of birds in our old haunts, and with populations rebuilding after a hard winter freeze in 2008, we were eager to hunt. We left Everett at four and were in Cle Elum eating dinner at Mama Vallone’s Italian Steakhouse by seven, and that was with several stops along the way.

We booked a couple of small cabins at The Flying Horseshoe Ranch (flyinghorseshoeranch.com), near the Highway 970 junction with U.S. 97, south of Blewett Pass. An

authentic, working ranch, it reflects the western theme of the Kittitas.

Not long after a hot breakfast there the next morning, we were slipping under a barbed-wire fence and fanning out to hunt.

The view from the foothills along the northern valley rim is stellar.

Looking south, you see out over the valley and the turbines of the Kittitas Wind Farm toward the distant peaks of Mount Adams, Mount Rainier and Old Snowy.

To the north, a rifle shot distant,

Out where turbines turn wind to light and heat, the author works a Kittitas County covert in hopes of busting quail. (ROB LYON)

140 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

the land rises steeply into ponderosa pine and conifers below distant Mission Peak.

I was hunting up the right flank of a shallow draw when I heard Steve shout from across the creek bed.

“Check it out!”

He was pointing up ahead, and I looked up to see the largest bull elk I’ve ever seen trundling off through the sagebrush.

“It looked like a chunk of the desert just got up and walked off.”

Sure enough, the muted-earth

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HUNTING tones of the big animal resembled the dry stream bed and wintry flora where it lay up.

I also saw half a dozen muleys that day, and in winter we’ve seen colonies of snowy owls in the groves.

RESOURCES In addition to a state public lands map (dnr.wa.gov), the author recommends Smith ChromaPop sunglasses (smithoptics.com) for the extreme glare – especially in snow – the Kittitas Valley can experience when not fogged in, Clif Bars for energy, and good, waterproof boots like those Bogs makes for ranchers/hunters, especially for the marshy quail coverts lower on the slope by water.

SPEAKING OF WINTER, if you’ve never hunted quail in the snow that often blankets this land in December and January, you’ve missed out. We like to come over and hunt the valley on snowshoes. It’s a different world then, when the wind howls across the open slope and rattles the naked branches. We truck along in our snowshoes, watching for tracks and staying alert for tight flushes.

That’s “tight flushes,” as in rattling the snow-covered sagebrush and birds busting out every which direction! We find them feeding in the lee of the thornberry and in the dry arroyos, while scattered copses and sagebrush igloos provide their roost.

Land in the valley is divided into 1-mile squares. Get a copy of the Department of Natural Resources’ public lands map for the area (Wenatchee quadrangle) and you’ll see a mix of brown, pink and white

square plots. Find a pink one with a road vectoring into or beside it.

Drive over and check it out.

Most of this sage-steppe is grazing land, even if it’s public. We watched three cowboys rounding up stray doggies on the square we were hunting. You’ll see barbed-wire fences surrounding all the land here; be easy with the wire when passing through. Plots are largely unsigned.

Bring a GPS to confirm your location if you’re not good with maps. You will see neither an indication the land is open, nor No Trespassing signs. But the onus is on you to know where you are and what access is legal, what is not.

That said, you will find many hours of exploring and hunting available to you in the Kittitas, and on very short order! We’ve found birds everywhere we’ve gone, and you should too.

Season runs through Jan. 19. NS

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144 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

COLUMN North Idaho chukar hunters are cagey about where to go for the redlegged partridge, but the Redbird Access and Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area offer good opportunities. (RALPH BARTHOLDT)

The Redlegs Of Redbird Country

W

hen you drive the Ta m m a ny Road south from Lewiston and turn at the intersection that breaks into the INLAND NORTHWEST swales below the

By Ralph Bartholdt Waha hills and hugs the scarp-grass ridges, you can feel the wind. It bucks across the flat farmland, punches against your car hood and gives you second thoughts.

Don’t heed them.

Eight miles south of the intersection, Waha Road wants to gain elevation as it zigzags into the wooded ridges covered in pine and fir, but this is where a chukar hunter gets dogged and sticks to his or her guns.

The guns themselves, the one he or she carries in the backseat, are usually light and fast and shoot a tight load of No.

6. They ride in the backseat just ahead of the dogs, which are light and fast too.

Eric Barker, a Lewiston outdoor writer, runs a set of German wirehairs and carries a 12-gauge Wingmaster when he decides right here, on this road, to either veer right toward the Snake River breaks or cross the forest and drop on the other side into the breaks of the Salmon River.

At this intersection, as the wind’s percussion becomes shielded by the forested mountains, a hunter can turn west onto Redbird Road to reach an expanse of bird country, its accessibility largely determined by snow cover. This December, with a smattering of white – much of it burned off or blown into rails and dips, covering road spurs in places like hard-packed amoeba – hunters can access amiable chukar haunts at the Red Bird public access, off Redbird Road. Or they can nose down toward the Captain John’s access.

This entire area, covering the high country above the Snake River to the west and Salmon River on the south, is 115,000 acres of public land that welcomes not only chukar hunters, but allows access to bird watchers, bicyclers, dirt bikers and big game chasers.

The place, called the Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area, is home to elk, turkey, mule deer and bighorn sheep. At its edges, the trees are left behind and the land angles downslope like a gutting tool.

This is where the Eurasian partridge call, bust into the gaping sky below you, and skirt uphill when you’ve gone.

GEORGE PAULEY OF the Idaho Department of Fish & Game, an avid bird hunter when he isn’t collaring big animals as part of research projects, laments that chukar helicopter trend surveys are no longer conducted by his department, due mostly to budgets. At about $1,000 an hour, costs

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 145

COLUMN No matter where you chase chukar, it’s going to be steep. Dan Hoke of Cheney and his German shorthair hunt above the Snake. (RICH LANDERS)

added up.

Helicopter accidents have also claimed the lives of several biologists in recent years.

The surveys, though, for decades were invaluable in figuring out chukar population trends.

The department now uses spring and summer brood surveys to estimate populations of a variety of upland birds. It more or less guesses at chukar numbers, but productivity and populations have been trending upward in recent years, Pauley says, and hunters as well as department biologists say that the flocks, especially around Craig Mountain, are pretty stable.

“There are a lot of Huns and chukars out there that don’t get a lot of pressure,” Pauley says.

Barker, who talks about a particularly difficult shot at a chukar the last time he 146 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

skirted the breaks – he busted the bird – is of the same mind.

“The numbers seem to be OK this year, not great but not terrible either,” he notes.

HUNTERS WHO PASS on the first cutoff and continue up to higher elevations will have another decision to make where Zaza Road breaks southwest. The road continues south onto a finger of the management unit where hunters can jump off toward the Snake on the west side, or continue south to the Salmon, and a creek called Wapshilla.

“There’s lots of good hunting,” Pauley says. “I’ve seen huns on top and chukars farther down.”

Snow is always a factor in December, Barker says. Stick to the main road system and plan on hiking.

“Snow can make it tough to reach

some of my favorite spots on the Craig Mountain Wildlife Area,” Barker says.

“Public land off the Salmon River is a good place to look later in the year.”

Burned areas from a fire called Big Cougar that charred over 60,000 acres on parts of the Salmon and Snake breaks last summer has held some birds, Barker says.

The fire was stopped in August and areas greened up later in the fall.

“I have been finding some birds in the unburned islands,” he says. “I keep expecting to find some in areas that have greened up from fall rains, but haven’t yet.”

After a day of legging the side hills, dragging through snow dips and busting windswept birds, there’s a respite for hunters ambling back to Lewiston. It’s a place to snake in and hole up. Called the Waha Bar and Grill, the burgers there will bust your chops. NS

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Time To Put Up Or Shut Up On Timber Access Fees PART II OF II

H

unters and other outdoor recreationists are waiting to see if a tree farm outside Portland recently acquired by STUMPTOWN

By Terry Otto Weyerhaeuser will join the list of private timberlands now closed to free public access. Despite their popularity with Northwest sportsmen over the decades, the giant corporation has begun charging for access to its lands, and limiting the number of people it sells permits to.

As it has turned its tree farms into pay-to-play ventures, hunters and municipalities have tried to fight back, but so far with little success.

Weyerhaeuser, the single largest landowner in Oregon, has long been complaining that the public is vandalizing these properties and stealing forest products. In addition, target shooters and illegal ATV use have damaged many properties too.

The company is aware that it is a small percentage of the public that is doing this, but the costs of clean-up and enforcement have grown.

And now, thousands of acres in numerous tree farms across both Washington and Oregon that were formerly open to the public have been closed. The Clackamas Tree Farm was recently acquired by Weyerhaeuser when it bought Longview Fiber, and though open this hunting season, locals worry that it will become the company’s next pay-for-access property if this year’s expansion of 2013’s pilot program on the Evergreen State’s Vail and Pe Ell Tree Farms is any indication.

PUSHING BACK Washington’s Grays Harbor County made news when it attempted to withdraw the tax breaks Weyerhaeuser enjoys there,

only to find that the state has sole power to do so. Washington’s legislature also considered steps and incentives, but in the end, did not act.

While these are private lands, and the owners have the right to do what they want, members of the public question why the company still enjoys tax breaks even as it closes off its forests.

The Clackamas Tree Farm is in State Senator Chuck Thomsen’s district, and when asked about the closures, he said he would check into it, but he made the point that hunters themselves need to let their elected officials know that this is important to them.

“Otherwise, nothing will come of it,” he says. “Hunters need to contact their senators and representatives, and the governor too, and complain.”

He also stresses that they need to contact their own elected officials.

“I get deluged with emails, and the ones I put top priority on are those from my own constituents,” Thomsen says.

He says that if members of the statehouse don’t receive those complaints, they won’t know it’s an issue that is important.

State Rep. Mark Johnson’s district boundaries also include the Clackamas Tree Farm, and like Thomsen, he had heard only a little about the controversy.

“I have to sympathize with them to a certain point,” says Johnson of the timber companies. “I can’t totally fault them when their property is jeopardized.”

Still, Johnson does wonder whether their tax cuts should be rescinded.

“I can sympathize with outdoorsmen, with declining access on public lands and forests, and this is one more loss of opportunity.”

Like Thomsen, Johnson says that hunters and others do need to contact their representatives and push for a remedy. It won’t become a priority otherwise.

A CLOSURE TOO FAR? In the meantime, local hunters like Walt Trandum of Sandy are rethinking some things.

“I’m seriously considering not buying a license next year,” says Trandum.

“Drawing hunts gets more difficult all the time, and putting in for them is so expensive.”

Still, he doesn’t like the thought of giving it up. “I’ve been hunting my whole life, and I really enjoy it,” he says.

Trandum and other local hunters are also aware that Weyerhaeuser spreads around a lot of money at election time, and in light of this, they doubt anything will happen in the legislature. Thomsen remarks that while they do receive donations from Weyerhaeuser, it doesn’t influence them, and “they give to everybody,” he says.

“The politicians always say that it (election donations) doesn’t influence them,” says Trandum, “but the public believes that it does.”

TIME TO BE HEARD Unless rank and file hunters raise a ruckus, then doubtless, nothing will change, and that could mean tough decisions in the future.

Those like Trandum may eventually give up the tradition. He explains that while some hunters can devote the time and money to scout and place trail cams to increase their odds on public lands, he does not have that much free time.

“If I can’t, in the general season, just zip up and hunt those close places, I’m not going to hunt,” he says.

In the end, all of this is happening because a few people can’t follow the rules. “A few bad elements are ruining it for everyone,” says Johnson.

He also says that if hunters are serious, they need to act now.

“Once these actions happen, it can be tough to revisit them.” NS

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 149

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Breaking A Leg I had spent the better part of an hour bellycrawling towards four pronghorns.

At first I’d thought that the alkaline soil IN THE WILD near Gooding, Idaho,

By Randy King seemed devoid of life, but I assure you, that ground is covered in thorns and little else.

As I write this I am still picking them out of my palms.

I’d caught sight of the antelope from the road after stopping to glass a promising section of ground. They hadn’t actually been in the “good area,” but behind me, bedded in the sagebrush boundary of a canal.

To get close enough for a comfortable shot, I’d need to crawl on my belly for roughly 400 yards, through thorns.

CHEF

Game time.

When I approached the spot I’d designated a reasonable shooting distance I brought myself up from my belly, slowly to my knees and then to a sitting position.

I scoured the brush where the antelope had been laying. Had they been bumped? If so, to where? Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement at a half mile off – the four of ’em, cresting a ridgeline and never looking back.

This was the fifth time that day I had been busted by speed-goats. I was getting sick of not being able to get within 400 yards. Earlier I had learned that I could not shoot at that range – I’d watched a cloud of dust puff at the feet of a doe. I had shot at her with my .270, a good flat-shooting rifle, and the bullet fell a full 3 feet. She was too far, I knew it, but I’d shot out of frustration anyway.

Not my best moment.

I pivoted on my butt and looked back in the direction of my truck, thinking to take a water and snack break. That is when I saw something that just pissed me off. A herd of antelope were walking down the same road I had driven in on. I counted 42 at one point, marching single file past my Ford, and my chocolate Lab, Reed, in the back.

(This was a November hunt, so don’t worry, it was not too hot for the dog. Plus he is lazy; he almost likes the truck more than hunting – unless it’s for ducks.)

I heard Reed bark at the antelope as they passed; they were indifferent.

Even though they knew I too was present, surprisingly, they kept moving slowly. I would shuffle and one or two antelope would stop and look at me. I was busted, sitting in the open. All I could do was count them as they passed and laugh at the Continued on page 156

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 151

COLUMN

BUTCHERING A HINDQUARTER Butchering one’s own meat has gone from the economical option on the farm to hip and trendy. Butchers are the new celebrity chefs. Hell, I have taught classes on meat fabrication to men in skinny jeans and well-groomed beards. Apparently, DIY butchering is a thing now.

(RANDY KING, ALL)

And indeed, as hunters and anglers, we owe it to ourselves to butcher what we kill. We need to own this skill in the true sense of an “I was doing it before it was cool” mentality. Sure, butchering takes time. Sure, it is kind of a pain in the ass. But taking that next step and placing meat that you hunted, butchered and cooked on the plate is immensely satisfying. And, if done right, much

1

Next, I find the large seam running down the outside of the leg.

This is the top round and it is draped over the sirloin tip. Take two fingers and increase the size of the seam; use the tip of a knife to separate the top round off the hind leg. See pictures 1 and 2.

3

When the top round (eye of round is still attached, FYI) is removed, take your knife and cut along the top of the shank joint, just above the major amounts of sinew. Circumnavigate the joint with the knife; the lower section will be the shank cut. See picture 3.

Next follow the sirloin tip down to the bone and begin to slice along the bone. Don’t go too fast; lots of meat is often left on the bone unnecessarily.

See picture 4.

Carefully work the bone clean of the meat on both the sirloin tip side and the bottom round side. If you do this, the bone should come free of the meat. See

4

5 2

better tasting.

Cue this article. On most wild game, big game in particular, the hindquarters are the major meat source. Knowing how to break down a hindquarter of game is an essential butchering skill.

The first step in butchering an animal is to make sure it is clean. I wash the legs in my kitchen sink under cold water. I pick off stray hair, little chunks of soil and leaves. Then I pat the leg dry with a clean kitchen towel. Next I place the hindquarter ball-joint down on the cutting board. It should look something like the image at the beginning of this article.

152 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

picture 5.

Remove the bone and shank, and set aside.

Next, begin to follow all the major muscles and seams. They will guide you on how to cut apart the remainder of the leg. See

pictures 6 and 7, on the next page.

Cutting apart the venison leg this way will give you seven distinct cuts of meat, as seen in picture 8, also on the next page Here’s what to do with those cuts, from left to right, top row: Sirloin tip: Braise – cook long and slow with lots of moisture.

Continued on page 154

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 153

COLUMN

8

Continued from page 152 (RANDY KING, ALL)

6

7

154 Northwest Sportsman

Heal: Grill, sautee and roast.

Sirloin: Grill, sautee.

Scrap: Grind into burger.

From left to right, bottom row: Top round: Thin steaks for the grill, roast and braise.

Bottom round with eye attached: Remove eye and use for roasting; grill the bottom round.

DECEMBER 2014

Shank: Braise, stock.

Remember when cutting sections of the leg into steaks that these muscles are well used by animals that can outrun, outjump and outclimb the best Olympic athlete. These are not grain-fed cows! As such, cutting across the grain is vital for tender meat.

After the meat is cut, determining what to do with it is vital. Does your family enjoy large roasts? If so think about keeping certain muscles whole and using them as such. My family is not a big â&#x20AC;&#x153;roastâ&#x20AC;? family. So we often make cube steaks out of less tender meat cuts on the hind quarters.

For more tales and cooking tips, see chefrandyking.com.

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 155

COLUMN Continued from page 151 irony of it all.

When they all had crested over the next small ridge I ran to my truck. All I could hope for was to crest in time for a shot on the herd. Yeah, no, that did not happen. As soon as I appeared over the ridge the antelope disappeared into the distance, never slowing down.

That made six times.

THEN MY IPHONE came to the rescue.

It was about 3 p.m. and having logged about 8 miles on my legs looking for speed-goats, I was spent. As I drove out I caught sight of a large herd feeding below some rimrock at about a mile off.

I stopped and glassed them. There was absolutely no way to approach them from the front without being seen.

If I tried, all I would get was busted a seventh time.

Not being familiar with the ground I pulled up my Map App. The little blue dot dropped on my location and I could

see the rimrock the antelope were holding on. I zoomed out and could see a four-wheeler trail that circled above and behind them.

I dropped a pin on the location of the antelope and set off in search of the twotrack. I found it and drove it to its end. I was still a solid mile from their location, but I was willing to walk that. I slowly made my approach, wind blowing uphill into my face.

The little blue dot on my phone was getting closer and closer as I walked to my goal. I never, not even once, thought that the antelope would still be within range – precedent that day was against me. But then I saw one, another, and then the whole herd appeared below the rimrock. Most were only about 150 yards out.

Having a doe-only tag I pulled up on a nice-looking female and set my sights.

Then I noticed the two smaller antelope following directly behind her. I could not kill this doe; she still had fawns that needed her enough to follow her around.

As my buddy so eloquently put it to me after the hunt: “You wanted to have steak and sleep too; I get that.” Quickly I had another doe, this one at only about 100 yards, in my scope. One shot and she fell.

Things got odd after I scrambled down the rock face to get to my kill. The antelope that I could not get closer than 400 yards to earlier that day frustratingly hung around at about 75. I could have picked one – any one – from the herd.

All I could do, though, was shake my head and eviscerate the animal.

When I looked closer at my doe it became apparent that she had recently got into a fight with a barbed-wire fence.

Her hide was scraped and large sections of her neck were hairless; luckily, no active infections were detectable.

After gutting, I hauled her onto my shoulders and struggled the mile back to the truck. The sun was setting and I had my first antelope tag punched. It was the end to a perfect day of hunting.

When I got home I knew more work was to come; I had to butcher this animal. NS

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158 Northwest Sportsman

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COLUMN

And What Can Santa Bring Your Shooter?

H

olidays are just over the horizon as this is written, and like any good Pacific Northwest outdoors fanatic, I’ll ON TARGET be looking under the

By Dave Workman Christmas tree for some goodies that I can use.

We’ve gone over this familiar ground before, but it never hurts to provide a refresher course to those who are doing last-minute shopping for their favorite hunter or shooter.

KEEP IT SIMPLE, for starters. Buy that person a box or two of ammunition for their hunting rifle or shotgun, or their handgun. Make sure it’s the right stuff too.

Don’t buy a box of 20-gauge shotshells for someone who hunts with a 12 gauge!

For the handloader, do a little investigating. Snoop out what’s on that person’s loading bench and beat feet to the store with a shopping list. If it’s bullets, you’ll find that handloaders will be properly delighted to find a new box of Nosler, Hornady, Speer or Sierra bullets in a nice package. Be sure to match the caliber, bullet type and bullet weight (they’ll be on the side or top of the box, usually on one end or the other).

Got a camper in the family? Get that person a four-pack of propane cans for his/her gas stove or lantern. And as a stocking stuffer, round up a half-dozen lantern mantles, and one of those little BIC lighters for the stove and the lanterns.

(I happen to like wood kitchen matches, the strike-anywhere type, but my hunting partners don’t fiddle much with matches.

Where have all the old-timers gone, huh?)

Likewise, if someone cracked the glass dome on a lantern this fall, get a replacement, or give that person a brand new lantern.

(ANDY WALGAMOTT)

My hunting buddy bought himself a new sleeping pad this fall, and that’s something worth checking out. I don’t know a soul who would turn up his or her nose at a new comfy self-inflating air mattress or foam pad to keep the cold away from your body while snoozing in a sleeping bag. And if somebody needs a new sleeping bag, now’s the time to take care of that too!

Something else that might seem like a foolish gift, but one that outdoorsmen and -women will find valuable, is a couple of boxes of gallon-sized ziplock bags.

These can be used for meat or fish fillet storage in the field. For the past couple of years, we’ve been boning out our hanging bucks for the trek home from the Snake Breaks, and those bags come in handy.

AS FOR BIGGER presents, if you want to really impress somebody, get them a new scope and/or rifle – or a shotgun. There are a couple of ways to do this, and the best way is to get a gift certificate and let the individual choose the gun he or she wants (within reason, of course!).

Passage of Initiative 594 in Washington will cause some unnecessary headaches for people (without preventing a single

crime, of course), if one decides to buy a firearm and put that under the tree. It’s legal to gift someone a firearm.

Know somebody with a .22-caliber semi-auto pistol? Everybody I know has such a gun, so buy that person a spare magazine. I know a guy who bought a .22-caliber Ruger pistol a few years ago at (gasp!) a gun show, and the first thing this guy did was round up a spare magazine.

Incidentally, as scarce as .22 Long Rifle is these days, if you can get a couple of boxes under the tree, that’s worth all the crummy neckties and dress socks you could do without.

A good scope or binoculars will brighten someone’s Christmas Day. For some ideas, check out advertisers who appear in these pages and go online to study their product selections. I prefer a 3-9X variable scope, and I match my binoculars to that in the 8X range. That way you can scan the countryside and when it’s time to put the crosshairs on something, you will see much the same image if your scope’s power is properly set.

A new hunting coat is always welcome.

There are some great lightweight parkas available that keep people warm and dry.

Boots? We discussed this last month. If

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 159

COLUMN you buy someone a new pair of hunting boots for Christmas, put a can of Sno-Seal or Huberd’s in the box as well.

USE YOUR NOGGIN while shopping for useful outdoors presents. Something I’ve found remarkably useful over the past couple of years are two-way radios, and you can find these at Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shop, Outdoor Emporium and Sportco, among other outlets in the Northwest.

Active outdoorsmen and women will get plenty of use out of such gifts, and they can be genuine lifesavers in an emergency.

Another good idea – and one that hardly anyone ever thinks about until they’re needed rather badly – are nylon cord or rope, and tent stakes. Huh? Think about your last experience in crummy hunting weather. It sure would have been nice to be able to rig up a dry canopy under a large tarp that was firmly anchored, right?

A tarp large enough to allow you to cook without being rained on, and eat without being drenched, right? Been there, done

that. Heck, get someone a great big tarp, the cord and tent stakes.

Of course, one of the most useful gifts of all is a year’s subscription to Northwest Sportsman and its sister publication, Western Shooting Journal.

Speaking of shooting and guns, our rights are under attack. Billionaire antigunners aren’t stopping with the passage of an onerous citizen initiative in November.

They’re like a pack of hungry wolves that have tasted blood.

Buy somebody a membership in the National Rifle Association, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, where I’m employed, and/or the Second Amendment Foundation. In Washington, buy someone a membership in the Washington Arms Collectors, and in Oregon, the Oregon Firearms Federation.

The fight has definitely commenced, and you can’t fight this battle alone. Too many people have been complacent, perhaps thinking nobody would ever trump your rights in the Evergreen State.

While new rifles and shotguns are always greate gifts, sportsmen are also appreciative of boxes of ammo, wicks for their lanterns, and fuel for their camp stoves. (DAVE WORKMAN) Too many people didn’t vote.

Make a New Year’s resolution to never let this happen again, and to fight back with everything you’ve got. And know that you are not alone.

But in the meanwhile, enjoy the holidays, and Merry Christmas! NS

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The company recommends using one Dri-Z-Air unit for every 10-foot-by-10-foot space. A 35foot motorhome will use three or four units during winter lay-up. When used as directed, the units are effective enough to reduce harmful humidity without drying the air to an uncomfortable level. Refill crystals are available in large quantities to get you through the season. Each refill lasts approximately 30 to 60 days, depending upon the amount of moisture in the air. The company recommends monitoring each unit every 45 days during storage.

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continued from page 38

“Girls in the Northwest get it done!” says Charlie Hissom about his dangerous daughter, Jamie Carr, here with an “early birthday present” she jigged up from 300 feet down this past summer. The Mackinaw went 46 inches and weighed an estimated 30 pounds. Jamie also fishes for salmon.

(CHARLIE HISSOM)

Have fishing rod, will travel – that might be Sara Dodd, who’s “caught fish in two oceans and two seas,” and enjoys teaching others the sport. But she particularly likes fishing Oregon rivers, and friend Marty Theurer says, “It is not uncommon for Sara to outfish the boys, or catch fish on a day when nobody else is. This goes far beyond luck.” (SARA DODD)

170 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

Since getting into fishing 12 years ago, Roxane McInelly has chased everything from perch to sailfish, but her favorite waters are the Upper Columbia near Kettle Falls, Wash. In addition to fishing for the big rainbows below the international border in summer, she gets out in winter for walleye – this one pushed up towards the 9-pound mark. (JUSTIN FOX)

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Sativa Miller prepares to cast into one of her home rivers, the Humptulips, which she says she’s been fishing for 30 years. “When I was younger I was always the only girl on the river, but over the last five years or so I have noticed a lot more ladies on the water. All of the men I fish with treat me like ‘one of the guys,’ but it’s nice to see other ladies out on the river once in a while.” (SATIVA MILLER) Jessica Hughes had a big smile after catching this very nice rainbow at the Tacoma area’s American Lake earlier this fall! (SCOTT HENSLEY)

172 Northwest Sportsman

DECEMBER 2014

“Don’t ever get between Pam Adams and a fishing pole when the reel starts its beautiful song and the downrigger has released!” warns husband Chuck Adams.

She enjoyed stellar fishing on Hanford Reach brights this year. (CHUCK ADAMS)

DECEMBER 2014

Northwest Sportsman 173

174 Northwest Sportsman

OREGON DALLAS L & L Equipment 1145 SW Oakdale Ave (503) 623-5116 www.landlequipment.net

WASHINGTON ANACORTES Sebo’s Hardware 1102 Commercial Ave (360) 293-4575 www.sebos.com

GIG HARBOR United Rentals 3302 Hunt St (253) 858-1234

MONROE Town & Country Tractor 449 Railroad Ave (360) 794-5426 www.mrtractor.com

MEDFORD Crater Chain Saw Co 1321 N Riverside Ave (541) 772-7538 www.craterchainsaw.com

COLVILLE Sun Rental Center 380 South Main (509) 684-1522 www.sunrentalsaws.com

HOQUIAM Harbor Saw & Supply Inc. 3102 Simpson Ave (360) 532-4600 www.harborsawandsupply.com

RENTON Bryant’s Tractor and Mower, Inc. 501 SW 12th St (425) 228-6454 www.bryantstractor.com

PORTLAND St Johns Ace Hardware 7825 N Lombard St (503) 206-8633 www.acehardware.com

DUVALL Duvall Auto Parts 15415 Main St NE (425) 788-1578 www.duvallautoparts.com

KIRKLAND Goodsell Power Equipment 11414 120th Ave NE (425) 820-6168 www.goodsellequipment.com

IDAHO COEUR D’ALENE Ragan Equipment West 320 Hanley (208) 772-3374 www.raganequipment.com

ENUMCLAW Cutters Supply, Inc. 235 Roosevelt Ave (360) 825-1648 www.cutterssupply.stihldealer.net

LONGVIEW Cowlitz River Rigging, Inc 1540 Industrial Way (360) 425-6720 www.loggingsupply.us

DECEMBER 2014

ST. MARIES St. Maries Saw & Cycle 204 W College Ave (208) 245-4544 www.sawandcycle.com