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Sportsman Northwest

Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource

Volume 8 • ISSUE 8 PUBLISHER James R. Baker

SMOKERCRAFT PHANTOM OFFSHORE

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Dick Openshaw EDITOR Andy Walgamott COPY EDITING Katie Sauro LEAD WRITERS Jeff Holmes, Andy Schneider CONTRIBUTORS Jason Brooks, Doug Huddle, Randy King, Leroy Ledeboer, Carl J. Lewallen, Todd Martin, Terry Otto, Buzz Ramsey, Craig Ritchie, Scott Staats, Mark Veary, Terry Wiest, Dave Workman, Mike Wright

ARIMA 22HT SEA RANGER

SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Becca Ellingsworth, Mamie Griffin, Steve Joseph, Garn Kennedy, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold DESIGNERS Beth Harrison, Sonjia Kells, Sam Rockwell, Liz Weickum GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker

ALUMAWELD STRYKER

OFFICE MANAGER/ACCOUNTING Audra Higgins ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Sauro INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER Lois Sanborn WEBMASTER/INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines CIRCULATION MANAGER Heidi Belew DISTRIBUTION Tony Sorrentino, Gary Bickford ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@nwsportsmanmag.com

SUN CHASER PONTOON

CORRESPONDENCE Email letters, articles/queries, photos, etc., to awalgamott@media-inc.com, or to the address below.

ON THE COVER Among this month’s many salmon opportunities, Columbia summer kings are one of the best bets.

Jarrod Higginbotham picked up this nice one below Bonneville Dam last season. (BUZZ RAMSEY) DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES Like us (please, please, we’re so needy, we’ll be your BFF!) on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and get daily updates at nwsportsmanmag.com.

ARIMA • ALUMAWELD • SMOKERCRAFT SUN CHASER PONTOONS • YAMAHA • SUZUKI • MERCURY

Verle’s LLC Your Complete Hunting, Boating, Fishing and Repair Destination Since 1948.

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

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MEDIA INDEX PUBLISHING GROUP WASHINGTON OFFICE P.O. Box 24365 • Seattle, WA 98124-0365 14240 Interurban Ave. S., Suite 190 Tukwila, WA 98168 OREGON OFFICE 8116 SW Durham Rd • Tigard, OR 97224 (206) 382-9220 • (800) 332-1736 • Fax (206) 382-9437 media@media-inc.com; mediaindexpublishing.com

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 8

FEATURES

70

18

Fraser River Salmon – Map! British Columbia’s Fraser River offers world-class salmon and sturgeon fishing, and for many Northwest sportsmen, it’s even closer than the Columbia. Join us as we crash the border for a “bar fishing” tutorial from our man in Canada!

THE BIG PIC: STILL STRONG Born on the Rogue, based in Seattle, Wooldridge celebrates a century of boat-making this year – meet the men and innovations behind the familyowned company’s longevity.

39

PRIEST RIVER WOES Why isn’t this North Idaho stream as productive for trout as other Gem State rivers?

48

CHOPAKA RAINBOWS In the beautiful highlands of the Okanogan, Chopaka Lake produces tackle-busting ’bows.

57

OREGON CASCADES GETAWAYS – MAP! The Cascades Lakes Highway and South Century Drive link 12 great lakes that make for perfect camp-fishing trips.

63

3 INLAND GETAWAYS Idaho’s Bitterroot streams, Hells Canyon waters and Potholes’ smorgasbord of species beckon in summer.

107 OREGON COAST SALMON June marks the kickoff of what could be a red-hot Chinook and coho season from Newport north to Astoria/Ilwaco.

115 UCLUELET SALMON, BOTTOMFISH Pronounce it “You-cue-let” and you’ll fit in fine at this port on Vancouver Island’s über-fishy and super-cool west coast.

125 SOUTH COAST CHINOOK May 30 is go-time for king fishing on Washington’s South Coast, and the prospects are bright this season!

133 WESTPORT BOTTOMFISH A new style of charter puts anglers on the fast boat to bottomfish town.

(JASON BROOKS)

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Go to nwsportsmanmag.com for details.

NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Periodical Postage Paid at Seattle, WA and at additional mail offices. (USPS 025-251) POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northwest Sportsman, 14240 Interurban Ave South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. 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 may be ordered at Media Index Publishing Group offices at the cost of $5 plus shipping. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2015 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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CONTENTS

COLUMNS

DEPARTMENTS

NORTH SOUND Kings and sockeye kick off the Skagit River’s salmon season

151 CHEF IN THE WILD How to make ham out of your spring bear

93

BUZZ RAMSEY Tips for June hawgs

155 INLAND NORTHWEST The gambolings and gambles of Washington sage grouse 2036

99

WESTSIDER How to rule Puget Sound’s summer Chinook derbies

83

141 STUMPTOWN Portland bassin’ still rosy, but not in all areas 145 CENTRAL OREGON Bend’s bass – a fun, yet complex fishery 103 THE KAYAK GUYS Find salmon just outside the surf

THE EDITOR’S NOTE

16

CORRESPONDENCE

27

DISHONOR ROLL: River reshaper sentenced; Spree deer shooting cases; Jackass of the Month

28

OUTDOOR CALENDAR; Record Northwest Game Fish Caught This Month

31

READER PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD

34

DAIWA, BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

37

DERBY WATCH: Black Bird $5,000; 23rd Spring Fishing Classic; Something Catchy kokanee derby

165 BASIN BEACON Sportsmen vigorously opposing Stemilt Basin land swap

113 RIG OF THE MONTH: Double trouble on the ocean

(JEFF ANDERSON)

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159 ON TARGET The family brand that launched millions of shots for reloaders

14

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2013 Tucannon Road • Dayton, WA 99328

THEEDITOR’SNOTE now is swirling around outside my office window as I write this, and it’s emblematic of what feels like very disjointed times in the Northwest fishing and hunting world.

Our voice on fish and wildlife commissions is threatened, expected salmon fisheries were scrubbed unexpectedly, jellyfish are taking over and as wolves really start to expand across the region, the discussion now turns to “restoring” grizzlies. Meanwhile, ODFW’s and WDFW’s budget issues remain unresolved.

It’s not actually snowing outside my office, of course. It’s early May, 72 degrees out, nothing but blue sky overhead, and the cottonwoods along the nearby Green/Duwamish River are doing their thing. Last year, we had inches-deep drifts in wind eddies.

Inches are all that’s left – if that – of last winter’s snowpack. We might have received the usual amount of precipitation, but it fell as rain. Snoqualmie Pass not only received just a quarter of its usual snow, but barely half as much as the old record low pack. That’s extraordinary. And the latest readings are grimmer still – 1 percent of normal in the Olympics, single-digit readings in Oregon’s Cascades, a third of average in Washington’s North Cascades.

It’s unprecedented, and very worrisome for this summer and fall as Chinook, coho and steelhead fry mature in the streams, and adult salmon return to spawn the next generation.

With warmer, drier conditions in the long-range forecast across most of the region, will we see fishery modifications or closures, à la Montana’s “hoot owl” rules?

Managers are already acting.

In late April, ODFW announced it was trucking Umatilla springers around some of the river’s best bank fishing areas to ensure that enough make it to the spawning gravel.

That in itself is not so unusual, but what was, was that the step was taken as much as six weeks earlier than in past years.

And over the coming months, you can bet that ODFW and their counterparts at WDFW and IDFG will continue to closely watch stream gauges, already flashing U.S Geological Survey gauges red, meaning flows you might see and a webcam a mile up in the Olympics reveal the state of less than 10 times a century. our streams and snowpack as I won’t mention that one phrase of early May. (USGS, NPS, USGS) that rhymes with “mobile swarming” – from what I can tell, this weird weather is related to that massive pool of hot water that’s been parked off our coast for over a year.

But for what it’s worth, we’re getting a sneak peak at what 2070 might look like, if current trends continue, according to University of Washington climatologists.

Kinda scary, but it’s telling us we’ve got a lot of work to do to prepare our region’s habitat for the fish, wildlife and Northwest sportsmen of the future. –Andy Walgamott

S Gorgeous custom home on the recreation perfect Tucannon! 3 bdrms, 2bth, AND vaulted great room/kitchen. Distressed Hickory cabinetry throughout with dramatic black granite in the kitchen and tiled counters in both baths.

Recessed lighting, wood flooring in kitchen and tile in baths and large separate laundry/mudroom. Big bay window has designer coverings. 2 car garage, concrete patio, fire resistant metal siding, and tons of storage. Just 13 miles from Pomeroy on Blind Grade & 19 from Dayton on Hartsock!

Contact Garry Snyder Christy’s Realty A Division of: Dayton Premier Properties LLC

(509) 382-2100 • (509) 386-4286 or visit, www.christysrealty.com

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CORRESPONDENCE WEYCO INCREASES FEE-ACCESS ACREAGE A year after first implementing a recreational access program in Western Oregon, Weyerhaeuser doubled its size, and now permits or leases will be required to hunt or fish on 733,000 acres of its timberlands there this season. The giant multinational also began requiring sportsmen and others to buy permits to access some former Longview Timber properties in Washington and Oregon. The changes didn’t sit well with readers of our Facebook posts. “This is why I quit hunting blacktails,” said Daniel Vigil while it had Kurt Willis and David Labrum looking to the Northern Rockies. Labrum noted, “$250 in Washington state license fees, $200 in Washington state permit fees, $35 Discovery Pass, $150 Weyerhaeuser access fee. It’s only $600 for a Montana deer tag, and almost guaranteed success. It sounds better everyday.” But not everyone was so sure.

Terry Moore wrote, “Loved the hell out of our Weyco permit last year.

Had the woods damn near to ourselves without pickup after pickup full of (roadhunters) with their Busch Beer between their legs driving up and down the roads. Best money I ever spent.”

A WIN FOR KIDS WHO NEED ONE News that at-risk youths in Washington now have a way to fish for free, thanks to a bill put forth by Sen. Kirk Pearson (R-Monroe) allowing organizations that work with troubled kids to get group permits from WDFW, drew praise from two women who’ve been featured in our pages. “This is great!” Ashley Nichole Lewis, the parttime Quinault tribal fishing guide posted, while ODFW fishing instructor Shelly La Rock added, “This is absolutely awesome!”

COLUMBIA SPRINGER (NOT) CATCH-SHARING A day after Columbia salmon managers announced yet another extra day plus a full month of springer fishing on the lower river before the summer Chinook opener, thanks to a run now larger than expected, Washington fisheries overseers put the smackdown on the lower Snake season. It left Dean Bushey feeling dumped on – “Such bull shi…” – and had Josh Artzer needing to pay the curse jar a quarter, though his feelings were certainly an echo of other inland anglers left scratching their heads over the division of spring kings between the upper and lower basins.

MOST LIKED PHOTOGRAPH WE HUNG UP ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE DURING THIS ISSUE’S PRODUCTION CYCLE Remington Wiebe whacked and stacked all comers! This great pic grandfather Hank Wiebe took of her showing off a Lake Roosevelt rainbow was the most-liked image we put up while working on the June issue. She caught the 21-incher while celebrating her sixth birthday. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST) 16 Northwest Sportsman

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TRUCK CAMPERS / TOY HAULERS TRAVEL TRAILERS / 5TH WHEELS TOY HAULERS IN STOCK!

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Glen Wooldridge, Jr., emerges from the gull-wing door of one of the company’s pilothouse models. “It makes it easier to get out to the bow instead of walking around the gunnell,” says the grandson of the man who founded Wooldridge Boats a century ago this year on the Rogue River building wooden boats. (WOOLDRIDGE BOATS)

A Century Of Making Boats As Seattle-based Wooldridge Boats celebrates 100 years, the grandson of its founder looks ahead.

By Craig Ritchie

O

ne hundred years is a very long time, especially in the boat-building business.

To last more than a century in what many consider to be one of the toughest industries out there, you have to be very good at what you do, and stay perfectly tuned to your customers’ needs. That’s been an easy path for Seattle-based Wooldridge Boats, which doesn’t just build great boats, but lives the life of its customers.

It’s been that way since 1915, when Glen Wooldridge built his first boat in Grants Pass, Ore., on the banks of the Rogue River. Wooldridge wasn’t just the builder, he was also the customer – and one with a unique purpose. Wooldridge had a plan to run the Rogue from Grants Pass, 120 miles inland, to Gold Beach, on the Pacific Coast. No one had ever tried making the trip, believing the wild river to be impassable. Wooldridge believed otherwise.

It was the same in 1947 when Wooldridge did the same trip in reverse, running the

“Wooldridge created an entire industry and was eons beyond any other company in the mix, as Glen pioneered river running,” notes Trey Carskadon, a longtime Northwest outdoor writer and sportfishing industry insider. “Many of the rapids Glen ran – not just on the Rogue – are still incredibly challenging with far more sophisticated designs, materials and power.” (WOOLDRIDGE BOATS)

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MIXED BAG

Glen Wooldridge followed up his 1915 run down the Rogue River in a handmade boat with powered journeys upstream in 1947 and again in 1951, when this still was taken during a reenactment trip put on by Mercury. He and Bob Pritchett ran it in a 20-foot wooden boat powered with a 25-horse outboard. In 1948, Wooldridge ran up the larger, more powerful Salmon River of Central Idaho, starting from Riggins. “They told him, ‘You can’t get up that rapid,’ and when he did, they said, ‘You can’t get up the next one.’ He showed up at the city of Salmon and said, ‘Here I am,’” says grandson Glen Wooldridge, Jr. (COURTESY WOOLDRIDGE BOATS) Rogue upstream from Gold Beach to Grants Pass. No one had done that before either, primarily because no one had the expertise to build the right boat.

Such feats made Glen Wooldridge famous as the guy who challenged and conquered the toughest rivers in the West, running his boats through seemingly impassable stretches of the Klamath, Salmon, Snake, Fraser and others, both downstream and up. As a guide on the Rogue, his exploits allowed him to attract an elite clientele that included outdoor writers like Zane Grey and Ted Trueblood, Hollywood icons like Clark Gable and Ginger Rogers, and nation builders like Herbert Hoover, 31st president of the United States. Wooldridge guided thousands of people – “dudes” in his words – on trips down the Rogue.

SINCE GUIDING IS a seasonal occupation, Wooldridge spent his winters building boats, initially for himself, soon after for a growing list of clientele. The first were built from wood, being the most readily available material. Over time, building boats began to bring in far more income than guiding. and through the 1950s, demand for Wooldridge’s boats grew.

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experimenting with fiberglass, but was never pleased with the way these boats came out. In spite of the material’s promise, and its widespread adoption by other boat builders, Wooldridge felt it lacked the necessary toughness and ability to handle rocks that he deemed important in riverrunning boats.

“Carl Locke was a retired welder from the South, and he had experience with aluminum. He said if I got him some material, he would build me a boat. That’s how we came to build the first aluminum boats,” said Glen Wooldridge, Sr. Wooldridge and Locke set about building the company’s first welded aluminum boat in Wooldridge’s plant.

The new boats would be crafted from marine aluminum, making them tough as nails, yet far lighter than their wooden predecessors. They would also incorporate the unique design elements Wooldridge had discovered and honed over a lifetime of boatbuilding and onthe-water experience.

The first aluminum boats they built were drift boats, created from .080 sides and .100 bottoms using 6061 T6 marine aluminum. Sold as “the tuffest drift boats ever built,” they proved immensely popular, being far more durable and

lightweight than competing boats made from wood.

Aluminum oars also made their debut around the same time as the result of a happy accident – when Wooldridge encountered temporary difficulty sourcing suitable quantities of ash and fir, he had some aluminum paddles made, and found he quite liked them.

At the time, Wooldridge’s boat shop installed Mercury engines with outboard jets. (Glen tested the outboard jet, and Wooldridge Boats became the first manufacturer to feature them.) Glen began building engine adapter brackets and controls for stand-up boating. The seemingly endless flow of innovation from Wooldridge’s shop furthered the company’s reputation.

While Wooldridge offered both wood and aluminum boats for a period, it wasn’t long until the decision was made to end production of the wooden boats to focus on aluminum exclusively. Apart from offering lighter weight and superior durability, aluminum boats were more workable. The malleable metal was easily formed into any shape required, including the wide bow designs that Wooldridge developed for running white water. (A boat with a wide bow enjoys greater lift, and takes less power to go over a roller compared to a narrower-bowed boat that has to push through it.) Wooldridge’s innovative approach to hull design was counter to conventional thinking, but so ingenious it was featured in a 1964 edition of Popular Mechanics magazine.

While most boats built up to the 1960s were delivered to buyers locally, word of Wooldridge’s innovative designs and durable construction spread internationally. Orders from as far away as New Zealand began to contribute to the company’s continued growth.

WOOLDRIDGE’S IMMENSE KNOWLEDGE of how things move through water was passed down to his son Bob, who began building boats in 1973, then to grandson Glen, who joined the company in January 1975 and now serves as its president. Bob’s son-in-law, Don Dunning, came aboard in 1985. The

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OLD GAFFERS OF NORTHWEST FISH AND GAME

I

t was never soaked with the sweat of those who toiled up the Chilkoot Trail, but the hunter orange I wear in fall speaks to one of the Northwest’s original outdoors companies.

I first wore the many-pocketed vest as a grunt doing survey work for my uncle around King and Snohomish Counties, nearly a century after C.C. Filson arrived in Seattle and soon saw an opportunity outfitting miners on their way to the Yukon in 1897. These days the company, now based on 4th Street South near the Mariners stadium, produces a wide range of garments for hunters, anglers and others, as well as puts its name on a specially outfitted Jeep.

As Filson clothed gold rushers, White’s Boots arrived in the Inland Northwest in 1902 to serve the growing lumberjack market.

And while the two may be the grandfathers of our region’s sporting outfits, there are plenty of younger siblings going strong too.

One of the oldest sporting goods shops is Bellingham’s Yeager’s, which traces its origins to a garage from which its founder Ira Yeager sold Evinrudes in 1921, while Les Davis began tinkering with fishing gear in a back room of his Tacoma home in 1926.

Davis’s business was eventually purchased by Luhr Jensen & Sons, which opened up shop in 1932 (and was subsequently subsumed in 2006). Two years later, Worden’s Lures, which would become Yakima Bait, got going. Pautzke Bait of Ellensburg traces its start to that same year, 1934, while at the other end of the Yakima

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R i ve r, G r i g g ’s began as a general merchandise store in 1938.

A year afterwards, Gerber Knives got busy in Portland while to the north and in 1940, a little concern known as Dick Nite started bending metal, and hasn’t stopped doing so since. The final year of World War II and the years immediately afterwards saw the building of Morrison’s Rogue River Lodge and Stan’s Merry Mart in Wenatchee and formation of H.H. Buck and Sons (1945, all), and origins of Hewescraft and Silver Horde (1948). Lamiglas first began providing blanks in 1950, while Bi-Mart opened its first store in 1955.

No doubt I missed a few longtime Northwest fishing and hunting outfits, and I’m sorry for that, but whether they’re going on 119 or 60 or even 6, many more seasons of success to all. –Andy Walgamott

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MIXED BAG fourth generation, Grant Wooldridge and Jared Dunning, are now actively building boats and making their own contribution toward the company’s growing heritage.

Since coming to Seattle, the trend of innovations has continued. The design of boats, the outboard jet tunnel, which allows an outboard jet to run shallower and handle better when combined with the correct hull shape, and the introduction of the two-piece windshield, which has better visibility with two large windows instead of three small ones, are all Wooldridge innovations. So too is the large port side door, which makes it much easier to get on and off the beach when there is no dock.

Wooldridge is also known for the fourblade stainless-steel impeller used with outboard jets, which last longer and haul more weight, its Sport Jet reverse bucket, and its gull-wing hatch providing bow access on pilothouse models.

Today, about 20 skilled craftsmen work in the Wooldridge plant, building about

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100 boats each year. Current production includes 11 different models, with both inboard and outboard power, and built for conditions from shallow rivers to deep oceans. Glen Wooldridge, Jr., attributes the product’s unique design to its ability to withstand the ups and downs that come with building boats for a living.

“Things did slow down during the economic downturn of 2008 and 2009, but we build a fairly unique product,” he says.

“Right now, we are tremendously busy.

We could sell more boats if we could build more boats.”

Wooldridge’s dealer network now spans the Northwest, as well as Michigan, Pennsylvania and even Russia.

The company’s factory showroom is a museum-like destination for those who appreciate historic Wooldridge photos and memorabilia. It’s stuffed with trophies, customer photos and new boats that represent the pinnacle of the company’s innovation, use of modern technology and

determination to build the best boats on the water.

After a century of building boats a lot has changed for the Wooldridges and their company, but not everything. Boats are still designed around a specific end use, which is why the company boasts such a diverse range of models. Attention to detail and personalized construction have remained constant. And the people who design and build Wooldridge boats still spend a huge amount of time on the water themselves, in order to gain elusive first-hand knowledge.

That’s the way it was done 100 years ago, and that’s the way it will be done 100 years from now, vows Glen Wooldridge, Jr. “It’s very rewarding to work with our customers and bring their boat to completion.

I see Wooldridge Boats continuing with the next generation, building customers dreams. There are lots of pressures in a small business, but one of the greatest rewards we receive are the relationships and friendships that we build.” NS

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Man Sentenced For Altering River

A

Mason County man was sentenced to spend 30 days in jail and pay more than $8,000 in fines after being found guilty of altering the bed of a

By Andy Walgamott Hood Canal tributary.

In February 2013, William K. Cayo, Sr., filled a channel of the Tahuya River, deepened and straightened another, and removed a bend. According to The Olympian, the National Oceanic and Atmopsheric Administration calculated that the unpermitted work roughly 4 air miles above the river’s mouth likely led to the deaths of 1,348 coho and 65 steelhead, and impacted thousands more young silvers. The Tahuya is also home to summer

JACKASS OF THE MONTH

T

he Cowlitz sometimes opens for dip-netting on winter Saturdays and it hosts fine steelheading year-round. However, it does not have a steelhead dip-netting season.

But that’s just what one man was caught on video trying his hand at earlier this spring.

It occurred in broad daylight on closed waters near the Blue Creek ramp, where fish and wildlife officer Scott Schroeder was working that day. After watching an alert angler’s cell phone video showing a black-clad figure thrashing around in the hatchery outfall and then running off with a steelhead in a net, the warden found the man and two others at a campsite and asked if he couldn’t have a look-see at their fish. Their cooler allegedly turned out to be “nearly full” with 11 steelhead.

According to WDFW, one of the three men allegedly admitted to keeping two without a new license, and our dippy dipper allegedly said he’d kept four, plus the one he was spotted netting.

chum salmon, which once were extinct but have been returned to the river through a broodstock program.

“Safeguarding ESA-listed fish and wildlife populations is one of the agency’s top priorities,” said William Giles of NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement William K. Cayo, Sr., was found guilty of violations of the water pollution in a press release. control and shoreline management acts, and conducting unpermitted “This successful hydraulic activities for using a bulldozer and grader to move the prosecution comes Tahuya River away from his home (top center) in early 2013. (EPA) at a time when the importance of protecting critical habitat for harm the Tahuya – he’s worked to protect salmon as well as steelhead is on the minds its fish, it was reported – but had been of many commercial and recreational forced to act to save his home, according fishermen throughout the Northwest.” to the newspaper. He’d already lost a cabin Cayo told Superior Court Judge to the river. He could have faced a year in Stephen Greer that he never wanted to jail and $16,000 in fines.

More Justice On The Way Following an initial half-dozen shows, Animal Planet has ordered 10 more episodes of Rugged Justice, which follows WDFW fish and wildlife officers around the state.

“Expect this series of episodes to represent an even wider variety of natural resource and outdoor public protection services,” says Deputy Chief Mike Cenci.

He reports filming was going on at press time.

Spree Deer Shootings Hit Eastside Herds

A

reward of $5,000 has been offered for info leading to an arrest and conviction in the shooting of eight deer east of Walla Walla. In mid-April, a person or persons shot the animals off Spring Creek Road, leaving them to rot.

Wildlife officers consider it a spree killing, a reference to a bill signed into law several years ago that allows for prosecutors to charge suspects straight away with unlawful hunting in the first degree for poaching three or more big game animals within 24 hours or “course of events.” Previously, a person had to have another incident in the previous five years

to qualify for first-degree charges.

Got info? Call (877) 933-9847 or email reportpoaching@dfw.wa.gov.

Meanwhile, also in April, the Ellensburg Daily Record reported that Rodney Arnold Lang of Thorp pled not guilty to charges of poaching numerous mule deer. A neighbor jogging past Lang’s property reportedly said it looked like a “holocaust,” according to the paper, which added that court documents say he told an officer he’d killed more than 30 for damaging his fruit trees. The paper added that there were no records of damage complaints from him on file. Lang’s trial begins June 2.

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Reservoir, Alton Baker Canoe Canal and Cutsforth Pond; info: odfwcalendar.com; Opening day of fishing on many Washington streams and beaver ponds; Family and youth fishing events or derbies at Bridgeport Lagoon, Merwin Park, Heart Lake, Bowmans Pond, Tracy Owen Station (Kenmore) and Gene Coulon Park in Washington; info: wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/kids/events.html June 6-7 Free Fishing Weekend in Washington and Oregon; no license required to fish, clam and crab, but usual limits and rules apply; Moses Lake Walleye Classic; info: Ron Sawyer, Paul Lamb (509-765-6718) June 7 Clam and Crab Seminar, Charleston Marina RV, Charleston; info: odfwcalendar.com June 11-13 Scheduled Central Oregon Coast all-depth halibut opener June 12 Clam and Crab Seminar, Gold Beach, OSU Extension; info: odfwcalendar.com June 13 Free Fishing Day in Idaho, no license required to fish, but usual limits and rules apply; Fishing events at Bonaparte Lake, Winthrop NFH, Seacrest Park, Fishtrap Creek (Lynden), Cabela’s-Tulalip and Poulsbo Marina in Washington; info: wdfw.wa.gov/ fishing/kids/events.html; Free ODFW Family Fishing Event at Pony Village Mall, Coos Bay; info: odfwcalendar.com June 13-14 Family Razor Clamming Workshops ($, registration) at Fort Stevens SP; info: odfwcalendar.com June 14 Any-Chinook, marked coho opener from Cape Falcon north to Neah Bay June 15 Final day for spring bear permit season in numerous Washington units June 16 Columbia salmon and steelhead opener from I-5 to Priest Rapids Dam June 19-21 Bonneville Pool sturgeon retention opener June 20 Date Oregon controlled hunt application results available no later than; Adult Basic Archery class ($, registration) in Philomath; info: odfwcalendar.com June 22 Free ODFW Family Fishing Event at 5412 Pond, Umatilla; info: odfw June 25-27 Scheduled Central Oregon Coast all-depth halibut opener June 26-28 Bonneville Pool sturgeon retention opener June 27-28 Washington Governor’s Cup Walleye Championship, Lake Roosevelt; info: lakerooseveltwalleyeclub.com

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This not-so-little piggy had its revenge on Chris Bell and his guide – bulging disc, pulled groin muscles as well as arm numbness that lasted weeks – but the Spokane hunter called hunting it a “great distraction during a spring break trip to Hawaii.” The boar sports 3-inch tusks and dressed out at 185 pounds. Who’s hurtin’ now?! (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

^

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READER PHOTOS

From bowhunting bucks to manhandling Mexican mahi mahi, Spokane’s Shayla Toutloff has covered some ground in this magazine’s pages! This is one of two of the fish in the mid-60 to mid-70-pound range she caught there earlier this spring. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

^

Springer warrior Colby Davis got on the scoreboard with this nice one from the Columbia near the mouths of the Multnomah Channel and Lewis River. He was fishing herring and a flasher. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

^

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They struck out on Washington’s youth turkey hunting opener, but with Kenneth Ritch back on the call the next day, Michael Lundgren (left) bagged his first gobbler, this Klickitat tom. The Vancouver hunter was accompanied by neighbor Chase Tingley. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

Tacoma Clowers of Crooked River Ranch, Ore., shows off the results of a successful spring outing. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

For your shot at winning great fishing and hunting products from Browning and Daiwa, send your full-resolution, original images with all the pertinent details – who’s in the pic and their hometown; when and where were they; what they caught their fish on/weapon they used to bag the game; and any other details you’d like to reveal (the more, the merrier!) – to awalgamott@media-inc.com or Northwest Sportsman, PO Box 24365, Seattle, WA, 98124-0365. By sending us photos, you affirm you have the right to distribute them for use in our print and Internet publications.

JUNE 2015

Northwest Sportsman 31

^

READER PHOTOS

Austin Baalman got his hunting career started on the right foot, tagging this Manastash cow elk with his .50-caliber muzzleloader. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

^ ^

Girl power! Makena Gamby outfished all the boys on the boat on a mid-April trip on the Willamette. Dad Mike reports she hooked, fought and released 10 sturgeon that day. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

They put a whipping on Wapato!

Shawn Marsall and Taylor, Harper and Avery all limited on the opener at the Chelan-area lake. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST) 32 Northwest Sportsman

JUNE 2015

^

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A particularly stormy April day paid off late for Andrej Miske, who found this chrome springer at the end of a rainbow over the Columbia near Portland. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

Suttle Lake serves up another nice brown, this one for Patti Janego! She was fishing a worm at the Oregon Cascades lake. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

JUNE 15

Northwest Sportsman 33

PHOTO CONTEST

WINNERS!

It might have been his warm-up fish to a larger steelhead caught on a trip down Washington’s Hoh River last winter, but this expressive pic wins Eddie Fox a Daiwa hat, T-shirt and scissors for cutting braided line, and puts him in the running for the grand prize of a Daiwa rod-and-reel combo!

Our monthly Browning Photo Contest winner is Don McGinnis, who sent this pic of his Idaho moose, taken last September. It scores the Spokane hunter a Browning hat!

Sportsman Northwest

Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource

For your shot at winning Daiwa and Browning products, send your photos and pertinent (who, what, when, where) details to awalgamott@ media-inc.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.

34 Northwest Sportsman

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Northwest Sportsman 35

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Diamond Of A Derby For the first time, a River Hawk boat is among the prizes when the Black Bird $5,000 Fishing Derby is held June 27 at Oregon’s Diamond Lake.

Put on by the Black Bird Shopping Center in Medford, the event features a top prize of $1,000 for largest fish, with another $4,000 in cash awarded to the top 29 other adult anglers.

The derby began on Lost Creek Reservoir in 1998 before moving to Diamond, which sits not far north of Crater Lake. Billed as Southern Oregon’s largest, it has seen as many as 1,100 entrants and is headquartered out of Diamond Lake Resort.

According to Phillip Cam, president of the company which manufactures River Hawk Boats, the Pro V, motor and

River Hawk is giving away a Pro V through the Black Bird $5,000 Fishing Derby, held the Saturday after Father’s Day at Diamond Lake. (RIVER HAWK) trailer will be given away during a party with Donnie Baker, an area radio show personality and comedian.

For more, see blackbirdshoppingcenter. com/fishing-derby.

22.65-pdr. Tops Spring Classic A 22.65-pound spring Chinook took big fish honors at the 23rd Annual Spring Fishing Classic on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, while a haul of 48.65 pounds worth of kings took first in the team competition.

Toby Mix won $500 for his salmon, while Alex Brauer, Dave Haukeli and Sky Masters won Lamiglas XCC 934 GH rods, Daiwa linecounter reels and Plano Guide Series Tackle boxes for weighing the most salmon of any boats.

A fundraiser for the Northwest

Sportfishing Industry Association, early April’s event attracted almost 250 anglers who weighed in 56 springers.

Second in the team competition went to Cameron Black, Tom Posey and Josh Cooper who brought in 42.05 pounds, while Bill Monroe, Jr. and crew were third with 35.5.

Northwest Sportsman is among the many sponsors of the event; others include Tica, Fred Meyer, Berkley, Lowrance, Gibbs Delta and Stevens Marine, in addition to those mentioned above.

Bellingers Have A Ball At Chelan Kokanee Derby Self-proclaimed “first-timers” Ethan and Frank Bellinger took first and second at mid-April’s 2nd Annual Something Catchy kokanee derby on Lake Chelan.

Ethan headed back to Central Oregon with $750 for his 1.93-pounder, while Frank, who runs a Hillsboro fly shop and specializes in funky kokanee patterns, scored $500. Our April 2014 cover girl and local salmon slayer Mandy Watson took third with a 1.62-pounder. Last year’s winning fish topped 2.3 pounds.

Largest haul from a boat went 21.8 pounds, good for $750 for Lonnie Osterholm, Dan Stoop and Ed Lewis.

A total of 503 kokanee were caught by 102 anglers fishing out of 40 boats.

Fletcher and guide The derby aims to get Northwest Sportsman reader Scott Sam Baird placed second at the 2nd Annual Something more disadvantaged kids Catchy Derby with 21.17 pounds worth of kokanee. outdoors and into fishing.

(DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

Toby Mix won $500 for this 22.65-pound spring Chinook at early April’s 23rd Annual Spring Fishing Classic. (NSIA)

MORE RESULTS Black Lake Fishing Derby, Ilwaco, April 25: Biggest fish: Ages 0-6: Aiden O’Brien, 22.75 inches, 7.75 pounds Ages 7-10: Hailey Hightower, 21.75 inches, 6.15 pounds Ages 11-14: Chayton Schierscher, 22.75 inches, 7.15 pounds

UPCOMING DERBIES Bellingham Salmon Derby, July 10-12 Wenatchee Salmon Derby, July 17-18 Chimacum Salmon Derby, July 18-19 Brewster King Salmon Derby, July 31-Aug. 2 South King County Puget Sound Anglers Salmon Derby, Aug. 1 Deep Canyon Challenge (Oregon Tuna Classic), Ilwaco, Aug. 7-8 Washington Tuna Classic, Westport, Aug. 7-8 Gig Harbor Salmon Derby, Aug. 8 South Sound Salmon Derby, Aug. 15 Oregon Tuna Classic, Garibaldi, Aug. 21-22 Editor’s note: To have your derby listed or results posted here, email awalgamott@media-inc.com.

JUNE 2015

Northwest Sportsman 37

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MIXED BAG Snow cloaks the dam on Priest Lake, masking a problem come summer: warmer, less troutfriendly water spilling into the North Idaho river.

But agencies are studying how to cool hot-season flows to benefit native species by tapping into deeper water in the lake. (MIKE WRIGHT)

Slow Recovery On The Priest Despite idyllic-looking waters, the North Idaho trout stream struggles with past abuses, new challenges.

By Mike Wright

W

hen a devoted trout angler first gazes over the waters of the Priest River, he or she might believe they have stumbled onto a North Idaho nirvana.

The river below Priest Lake has many of the characteristics of well-known blue ribbon streams of Southwest Montana and Southeast Idaho. Tucked back in a wild, mountainous valley where signs warn of the presence of caribou and grizzlies, and carving a sinuous path with enough oxbows to make a spring creek proud, its clear waters reveal a freestone stream with good pocket water (in places) punctuated with long deep pools. And while the basin has been logged over, it hasn’t seen the mining of other Panhandle watersheds, nor is it overly developed.

Sounds like heaven for trout bums, right?

Sadly, when you actually fish the Priest,

there is a very good chance you will leave disappointed. Although there are some nice trout in the river, they tend to be few and far between.

In summer 2011, the Idaho Department of Fish & Game conducted surveys to figure out fish densities in the river and found all of 0.02 cutthroat per 100 square meters. By comparison, the same survey on the Coeur D’Alene River yielded an estimate of 1.93 for the same area. The rainbow density on the Priest painted an even grimmer picture of the fishery: 0.01 per 100 square meters.

So, what’s going on?

SEVERAL FACTORS MAY be contributing to the low trout density in the Priest River, the first of which were the log drives of early last century.

The first of those occurred in 1901 and began 3 miles upstream from the town of Priest River. It was rather modest in scope, but over the next few years the log drives increased in volume and moved

further upstream, to include areas around Priest Lake. By 1920 the annual drives had expanded to the point where 125 million board feet of logs and an additional 50,000 cedar poles were floated down to the mouth. The drivers were no dummies; they took the logs down during spring runoff.

However, that coincided with the cutthroat spawning period. Often, the drives would scour out redds made in shallower sections of the river.

Many of the smaller feeder streams, such as the West Branch and Big, Kalispel and Granite Creeks, were also impacted by logging operations. In many instances, the big old-growth western red cedars, white pines and firs were cut to the very edge of the stream banks, allowing silt to wash into the spawning beds. In addition, each spring, crews were sent out to remove logs, rocks and other obstacles that would interfere with the drive. This unwittingly deprived trout of the cold-water refuges needed during the warm-weather periods of midsummer, and the nutrients and shelter that woody debris provided.

In fairness to the lumber companies,

JUNE 2015

Northwest Sportsman 39

MIXED BAG of North Idaho as surfing has ever been to the economy of Arizona, very little consideration was given to the subject.

The log drives ended on the Priest River in 1949, which in ordinary circumstances would have given the river more than adequate time to recover. However, the trout have been exceedingly slow in returning.

A DAM WAS built at the southern end of

For decades, loggers drove cedar, white pine and ďŹ r down the Priest during high spring runoff, and removed obstacles from the river to ease the passage of the logs. Those ended just after World War II, but the trout population has been slow to recover. (BONNER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY) practices had or would have on fish habitat.

At the time, sportfishing was about as important to the economic well being

virtually no scientific research was conducted in the early part of the 20th century concerning what effects logging

Priest Lake in 1950, and then in 1978 a concrete, gravity-feed structure replaced it.

The purpose of the dam was to reduce lakelevel fluctuations and aid in recreational uses. However, it was soon discovered that the dam effectively led to increasing water temperatures in the river. Outlet Bay, which is right behind the dam, is relatively shallow and is rapidly heated during the summer. In addition, the water entering the river is from the warmer surface layer of the lake. In recent years, a study by the Idaho Department of Environmental

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MIXED BAG Quality determined that not only does the mainstem of the Priest exceed established temperature standards, but also a number of tributaries do as well. Since trout, especially cutthroat, are highly sensitive to water temperatures, this undoubtedly has had a major effect on the low fish density.

But while the trout population has been slow to recover, there has been a rapid increase in smallmouth bass numbers. This may be an indication that the river is slowly becoming a warmwater fishery. And since bass feed heavily on smaller fish, that may also be a factor in low trout numbers.

An additional factor is the amount of insect life present in the system – or rather, the lack thereof.

“The Priest River is the most sterile of any of the rivers we have surveyed in North Idaho,” notes Jim Fredricks, IDFG regional fishery manager for the Panhandle.

In other words, there simply is not enough food to support a healthy trout population.

42 Northwest Sportsman

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Also, in the past, rainbows were introduced into the system, but the program proved less than successful.

Although rainbow and hybrid cutt-bows can still be found in the Priest, the overall trout density has remained very low.

SIGNS OF HOPE do exist. In 2008, catch-andrelease regulations were put in place on cutthroat, although it was not extended to other trout species. That’s proven helpful on other North Idaho rivers.

Also, a small school of bull trout has been making a spawning run into one of the Priest’s tributaries. Based on the most recent survey, Fredricks estimates as many as 200 are making an annual pilgrimage out of Lake Pend Oreille and into the Priest River drainage. In addition the number of bull trout in the upper river, above the lake, is “the highest we have seen in 30 years.”

IDFG and the Kalispel Tribe are studying the possibility of cooling the water below Outlet Dam. This project would not affect

Priest Lake’s level or flow from the dam, but would cool the river by taking water from the lower, colder levels of the lake. In other parts of the country, excellent tailwater fisheries have been created downstream of dams. Whether this is possible on the Priest is unclear, but it is an interesting possibility that the two entities are looking into.

Studies by the tribe’s Todd Anderson also found that an increasing number of cutthroat are journeying into some tributaries of the Priest in order to spawn.

While the vast majority are returning to the Pend Oreille River afterwards, as more cutts come into the tribs, there is a greater chance that more of them will linger in the Priest.

If the water is cooler and there’s sufficient feed and cover, perhaps more might make the river their permanent home. Colder water might have a minimal effect on the insect population, but could help curb the trend toward it becoming a warmwater fishery, lessening competition for feed and providing for less predation on the trout.

JUNE 2015

Northwest Sportsman 43

MIXED BAG THERE IS FISHING to be had on the Priest, as certain sections and pockets of the river provide relatively good trout action. Yes, those are carefully guarded secrets, and if you’re unfamiliar with the river, it may take some time to sleuth out these or your own honey holes, but it can be very rewarding. In addition to cutthroat, rainbows and cutt-bows there are also some brown and brook trout in the system. Some of the browns can reach very respectable sizes, perhaps up to 20 inches or more.

It may be advisable to fish the cooler waters of spring, fall or even the winter. There is a small stonefly hatch that occurs in the spring and some mayfly and caddis hatches that occur throughout the season.

Stonefly nymphs, Pheasant Tails, Prince Nymphs and Woolly Buggers are usually the most effective.

Chartreuse or white Zonkers are also very effective on the bass.

Warmer waters have brought smallmouth bass to town – Jacob Digiulio of Sandpoint, then 8, caught this one at Priest River a couple summers ago while using a rootbeercolored crappie jig. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

There isn’t a great amount of dry fly action, but at times a Parachute Adams, a Griffith’s Gnat, Elk Hair Caddis or a hopper pattern can produce fish.

The Priest is also open to gear fishing, and while there are no boat ramps, significant stretches in its upper end are bordered by state and federal forest land.

If you go, don’t expect big numbers,

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but if you find the right spot, you may catch some nice-sized fish.

And take heart in the fact that the fishing may be better in the future. NS Editor’s note: The author, who lives near the Priest River, wishes to extend thanks to Jim Fredricks, Todd Anderson, Joe Maroney, Bonner County Historical Society and the Priest River Times for help with this article.

JUNE 15

Northwest Sportsman 45

46 Northwest Sportsman

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Northwest Sportsman 47

Gem Of Gems

High in the beautiful, trout-rich highlands of Okanogan County, Chopaka Lake produces tackle-busting rainbows.

By Mike Wright

I

n the mountains around Tonasket, Wash., are numerous shining blue gems inhabited by a wide variety of healthy, hard-fighting trout species. These northern lakes contain rainbows, browns, Lahontan cutthroat, westslope cutthroat and brook trout.

48 Northwest Sportsman

JUNE 2015

Arguably the crown jewel of these waters is Chopaka Lake. Located on a bench of state and federal land above the Sinlahekin Valley, Chopaka boasts some of the most consistent dry fly fishing of any lake in all of Washington. Although it has had its share of ups and downs over the years, it can always be counted upon to produce strong, tackle-

busting trout. Yes, there are places where you can catch bigger ones, but for numbers of fish and a good chance of catching a least a couple over 20 inches, plus outstanding scenery, there probably isn’t a better spot than Chopaka.

ALTHOUGH I’D HEARD the name of the lake – sources differ on whether it’s

FISHING one lane and no guardrail. It was a white-knuckle drive going in, and even more nerve-racking coming back out – I prayed my brakes would hold up.

When I finally reached the lake, there were two camps set up, one toward the north end and one on the south end, with only four people on the lake. I guessed (incorrectly) that Chopaka’s remoteness and pathetic road conditions helped keep human visitation down.

A couple years later I came back on a mild May weekend, and it became evident that it had probably been the heat of August and my midweek timing that had kept angler numbers down, not the other factors. The camping area was filled to capacity, with between 50 or 60 people on the lake. Even though I was able to catch some nice fish on my August visit, the May trip was far more productive, with many of the fish being caught on a dry fly.

A NUMBER OF

A crown jewel of Okanogan County trout fishing, Chopaka Lake boasts some of the most consistent dry fly fishing of any lake in all of Washington. It also offers state and federal campgrounds, as this view of midlake shows. (DIANA LOFFLIN, DNR)

an Indian word for “high mountain” or that of a hunter turned to stone – in fly shops and in general conversations with other fishermen, it was not until about 15 years ago that I first fished Chopaka. One August, after I had returned from a summer in Montana, I decided to take a trip to the lake. Supplied with maps, camping gear and fishing

equipment, I headed out well before daylight on the long journey. It was midmorning before I reached Tonasket, and more than an hour’s drive from there until I made it to the lake. Chopaka’s location a ridge to the west of Palmer Lake is rather remote, and the road left a lot to be desired. One section climbed the side of a mountain at a steep angle, with

years ago some lowlife bucket biologist introduced smallmouth bass into Chopaka. As a result, in 2007 the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife poisoned the lake and restocked it with the traditional diploid rainbows.

For several years, fast-growing sterilized triploid rainbows had been released here, but it was determined that, at least in Chopaka, much of the rapid growth rate was sustained by cannibalizing the annual stocking of fingerling rainbows. So 2007’s rotenone treatment purged the lake of both bass and rainbows.

In early May of the next year, WDFW planted 8- to 10-inch diploid rainbows, which by fall had grown to a very respectable 15 to 16 inches. That was followed with the stocking of 14-inch rainbows, which ballooned to 20 inches by that fall, indicating a very good growth rate, perhaps not as impressive as the triploids, but still excellent for most lakes. Considering the fact that

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Northwest Sportsman

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FISHING Chopaka is a fly-fishing-only body of water with a one-fish limit, it hasn’t taken long to return to the excellent fishery it was before treatment.

CHOPAKA’S RAPID GROWTH rate is a direct result of its prolific insect population. In most years, midge and callibaetis hatches come off in time for opening day, the fourth Saturday of April. The lake’s baetis hatch is legendary, and is considered by many as the best dry fly fishing in the state.

The midge hatch is the first to appear (even before opening day) and provides outstanding fishing opportunities early in the season. It is a much different style of angling than what occurs during the baetis hatch. The primary technique is to use one or two chironomid imitations suspended below a strike indicator just above the weeds, waiting patiently for fish to swim by.

A number of fly fishermen consider this too much like bait fishing for a totally satisfying experience.

However, there is no debate about its effectiveness. It is also possible to do well by

slowly trolling the chironomids just above the top of the weeds, but almost without fail the stationary method produces more fish.

Chironomid hatches occur throughout the season, but you will need to change sizes as the year progresses. A size 12 works well just after the lake opens, with a size 14 the preferred choice in summer. By fall it might be advisable to drop down to a size 16 or even 18. A standard TDC pattern in black, red, brown or tan works well, as does a Snow Cone in black or red. Red wire ribbing on the black Snow Cone and gold ribbing on the red have been a little more productive for me, I’ve found. It also seems to help if there is a slight chop on the water, as the wind adds movement to the fly.

Although Chopaka is best known for dry fly fishing, especially during the callibaetis hatch, in late April and early May it may be better to use baetis nymphs patterns, most notably a Pheasant Tail or a Hare’s Ear. Ordinarily by mid-May, dry fly fishing starts to heat up. At this time an Adams, Parachute Adams, Sparkle Dun and a pattern called a Chopaka May, which imitates a callibaetis dun

The rough road to the lake rises above the lower Sinlahekin Valley near the town of Loomis. (MIKE WRIGHT) 50 Northwest Sportsman

JUNE 2015

with the bottom hackle trimmed to sit lower in the water, all produce.

A Griffith’s Gnat or a Renegade are both very effective for the midge adult. As mayflies mate, spinners litter the surface of the water. During this time, a spinner imitation in grey or brown (the Rusty Spinner, for example) becomes the fly of choice.

By mid-May, damselfly nymphs begin to appear, making Marabou Damsels, Carey Specials, Six Packs, Sheep Creeks and even green Kauffman Mini Leeches wise choices. Floating lines are replaced with intermediate, sink-tip and occasionally fast-sink lines for those working the damsels. Your retrieval rate should be about the same as when fishing baetis nymph imitations, but considerably faster than that used with chironomid patterns. A dropper set-up with a damsel nymph and a callibaetis as the trailer is often used during this period.

As the hatch progresses, adult blue damsel dry fly patterns start to produce. They’re most effectively fished close to weedbeds protruding above the surface. There may be considerable surface action in the deeper water, but the fish are targeting the adult damsels hovering just above the water and will ignore

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FISHING what is floating on the surface.

May is also the time when caddisflies start to make an appearance.

Although neither as prolific a hatch as midges and callibaetis, nor the source of as large of meal as damsels, caddis still provide an important food source for Chopaka’s rainbows. Include a supply of Elk Hair Caddis patterns, size 16 or 18, in your fly box to take advantage of it. The caddis hatch usually tapers off toward the end of July, but October caddis start to show up around the middle of September, and they last until the lake closes for the season, Oct. 31. For best results, skitter your imitation along the surface to catch the attention of the trout. Also bring along some caddis nymphs and emergers.

When terrestrials begin to show up later on in the season, a Joe’s Hopper can be very effective. But a number of anglers who fish Chopaka

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Rainbows into the high teens and even the low 20-inch range are possible at Chopaka. Best fishing is during the spring months and again in September and October, though WDFW rates July and August as fair too. If you go then, you’ll be fishing deeper. (MIKE WRIGHT)

regularly will sink the hopper – and many times are more successful than using it as a dry fly.

In the fall, blue-winged olives will make an appearance. These mayflies are smaller than the callibaetis, sizes

18 to 20, and hatch in much smaller numbers too. Olive Sparkle Duns and the venerable Parachute Adams are both good choices.

Chopaka also has good populations of scuds, which are a freshwater

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FISHING shrimp, and leeches. Canadian Mohair and Marabou Leeches in sizes 4 to 8 or a Kauffman MiniLeech in size 12 and 10 will produce fish throughout the season. Standard scud patterns in olive, sizes 12 to 16, are popular choices. I have also had good luck with a Roll-Over Scud.

This pattern is weighted on top and rolls over when not being stripped.

Leeches and scuds are good choices when fishing is slow.

CHOPAKA’S 148 ACRES lie on a 1½-mile-long north-south axis.

Situated at 2,900 feet in elevation, its north end plunges to depths of over 70 feet, while the south end averages less than 10 feet.

Most fly anglers concentrate their efforts on that end, but the deeper portion can also provide excellent fishing for those willing to switch to nymphs and streamers, coupled with intermediate, sink-tip or fast-

sink lines. This is particularly true as water temps rise in midsummer.

The deeper water provides a thermal refuge for the trout. It certainly hasn’t been a concern in recent years, but the depths also help prevent winterkill, keeping the lake healthy.

The south end is undoubtedly the best dry fly fishing. However, the weeds are at or near the surface, making it imperative to keep the head of any fish you’re playing up and to not let them dive.

As an added degree of difficulty, the trout here tend to be leader-shy, and become more so as the season progresses. Many anglers will use 6X tippet to counter this, which makes break-offs rather frequent. Using fluorocarbon can help, but it is still difficult to use anything stronger than 4X. Since the trout are healthy, hard fighters, fast-action rods of 4-weight or higher are needed to prevent runs into the weeds.

To reach Chopaka from Highway 97, look for and follow the Loomis/ Nighthawk recreation sign. Continue on this road to a stop sign and turn right. Continue on this road through Loomis. Approximately a mile out of town turn left at the sign for Chopaka Lake. About a mile down this road follow the dirt road on the right.

Approximately 5 miles down this road there will be a “Y” intersection; turn right. This road meanders about 2 miles to the Department of Natural Resources campground; just beyond that is a Bureau of Land Management campground.

With its large supply of bugs and consistent hatches, Chopaka produces very well throughout the season. For this reason, there is little wonder why the hard-to-getto lake is so popular. If you have never experienced this exceptional fishery, you really owe it to yourself to make it to this secluded, scenic region of Washington. NS

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FISHING

Get Lost In The Lakes Loop Pinwheeling around Mt. Bachelor – the landmark in the background – fishing opportunities abound along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway and South Century Drive.

Mostly they’re flowing-water ops on the volcano’s east side, but to the north, west and south, dozens upon dozens of lakes sparkle, including Crane Prairie Reservoir, where this young angler poses with a rainbow. (ZACH MANSFIELD)

Central Oregon’s Cascades Byway, Century Drive link 12 great fisheries, provide access to many more.

By Carl J. Lewallen

C

ascade Lakes Scenic Byway, South Century Drive and Forest Road 46 are all the same road or tie together at one point or another to create about 70 miles of recreational access to more than 50 lakes, as well as several rivers and streams.

Then there are the trailheads to the Three Sisters Wilderness and its 242,000 acres, which host 111 more lakes and miles of trails to get away from it all and lose yourself in the scenic Cascade Range. It’s an area that in most years gets 250plus days of sunshine.

One could fill an entire book on

the area’s lakes, streams, rivers and the outdoor adventures to be had on them and still not cover it all.

Indeed, you could spend years here and never run out of new spots to fish, camp, hike and explore – and I’m not even going to get into winter sports such as ice fishing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling! Here are 12 great starters:

CRANE PRAIRIE RESERVOIR is where we will start. Home of the large, famous “Cranebows” – a hatchery trout derived from native redband stock – this impoundment of the upper Deschutes River covers about 3,400 acres and has 22 miles

of shoreline. With a maximum depth of 20 feet, the fish in this lake grow fast, with plenty in the 4- to 10-pound range. To date, the record rainbow is a 19-pounder, but there are a number of other species present, including brook trout, largemouth bass, black crappie, kokanee and mountain whitefish.

In fact, the state record whitefish, a 14½-pounder, came from here.

In my book, the size and variety makes Crane Prairie a great fishery.

Tactics from dunking worms and PowerBait to trolling rigs and topwater lures and flies work at various times, but check and see what should be hot before you go.

Amenities include a lodge, campground, RV sites, grocery store, gas boat rentals and a boat launch.

JUST SOUTH OF where FR 46/Cascade Lakes Highway and South Century

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FISHING Drive intersect, Wickiup Reservoir is home to the best brown trout fishing in Oregon, some say.

Teutonic titans to 20-plus pounds – the record, a 26-pounder, was landed in 1998 on a rainbowcolored Rapala – and averaging 5 to 8 pounds swim its 11,200 acres.

Also finning around in its depths, which dip to 70 feet, are kokanee, landlocked coho salmon, rainbow trout, brook trout, whitefish and the unwanted chub.

Bait, lures and flies, whether trolled, cast or jigged from boat or bank, work well. Check updated fishing reports, or ask your camp host what’s hot and what’s not.

There are six different campgrounds at Wickiup, with boat ramps at each.

to electric trolling motors. There are two campgrounds on Hosmer, and in normal years, access to them can be limited by snow till June.

ELK LAKE, NAMED after, yes, a large population of wapiti that frequent the area, has about 400 acres of surface area, ranges in depth from 12 to 62 feet, and features a great view of Mt. Bachelor.

If you’re looking to do some quiet fishing, Elk may not be the lake for you. Heavily used and one of the most popular in the area, it has a good population of brook trout and kokanee.

The lake has campgrounds and a private resort with a small store and cabins for rent, and hosts wind surfing, motor boating and sailing.

CONTINUING UP THE highway past Wickiup, Davis Lake covers roughly 1,000 acres with a maximum depth of 22 feet. Unlike its brethren in the upper basin, Davis is open only for fly fishing, and while that tactic is most associated with trout, the lake is also known as one of the best bass waters in Oregon. The lake has a 10 mph speed limit.

Davis has three campgrounds, but only those on the east and west sides of the lake have potable water.

HOSMER LAKE AND its approximately 198 acres, 5 miles of shoreline and shallow depths – all of 12 feet – is going through yet another transition.

At one time, the lake was home to what most considered to be trash fish, so in 1957 it was treated with rotenone and restocked with Atlantic salmon. That program, the only such one in Oregon, continued until last year, when, due to poor performance, no Atlantic eggs were collected. Now, managers are stocking Hosmer with Cranebows and cutthroat, which are joined by brook trout. The lake is fly fishing and barbless hooks only, and catch and release for salmon (the Cranebows and cutts will fall under the C&R rules in 2016). Boating is limited 58 Northwest Sportsman

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NORTH AND SOUTH Twin Lakes are

similar in size (the former is 112 acres, the latter 99) and both have good populations of rainbow trout.

North also has illegally stocked bullheads. Only nonmotorized boats are allowed on either.

There is a resort and RV park campground and cabins for rent along South Twin’s shoreline, as well as a USFS campground. With the Deschutes Arm of Wickiup Reservoir within walking distance, it is a great base to fish three different bodies of water without having to drive anywhere.

IN MY OPINION, Sparks Lake has one of the more beautiful settings and backdrops of all the lakes I mention here. Set between South Sister and Mt. Bachelor and sprinkled with coves and islands, a large part of its 780 acres is less than a foot deep, with the deepest part only 7 feet.

Motorized boats are allowed (speed limit 10 mph), but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Sparks is fly fishing only, and has a good stock of brook trout, as well as cutthroat. It may be more difficult to fish later in the year due to lower water levels.

There is a campground along Soda Creek, and for the adventurous, d i s p e r s e d camping is allowed along the lake.

TODD LAKE IS one of the smaller

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FISHING waters, but boasts a great parklike setting. It is 30 acres and 60 feet deep.

This is a nonmotorized lake with fishing for brook trout. You can use bait, lures and flies. There’s a dayuse area and rustic campground on the west shore.

AT 1,145 ACRES, Cultus Lake sits northwest of Crane Prairie. It’s also very deep, 211 feet at its lowest point, and has rainbow trout, Mackinaw, brook trout and mountain whitefish. Bait, flies and lures work well.

Cultus is another popular lake for recreational water sports – boaters and jet skiers love it – so as I said before, if you’re looking for a quiet, leisurely day of fishing, this would not be the lake to go to.

There’s a resort with a small store, restaurant, rental cabins, and RV and camp sites.

OVER CULTUS MOUNTAIN to the south is Little Cultus Lake. Its 170 acres and 60-foot depths are known for rainbow and brook trout, and a much more laidback atmosphere, compared to its big brother.

There’s a campground and boat launch (10 mph speed limit), and bait’s OK at Little Cultus. (Fun fact: Cultus means “worthless” or “useless” in the old Chinook trading jargon.)

FROM BEND, IT’S a mere five minutes to the beginning of the Cascade Lakes Highway and angling and camping paradise. The road runs about 66 miles past the above lakes and more, as well as leads to trailheads to dozens of remote alpine lakes, rivers and streams.

There are literally too many waters to list all in one article, but more great fishing can be found at Waldo, Odell and Crescent Lakes, which also offer water sports, hiking and camping. And as long as you’re up here, don’t forget about the hunting possibilities – stay awhile and scout for elk, mule deer, bear, cougar and coyote.

I hope this story is helpful in your quest to get outdoors, either alone or with the family, and that this playground will bring you back time and time again. See you out there! NS

AND FINALLY, LAVA Lake and its 368 acres hold rainbow and brook trout and a controlled population of tui chub. All methods will coax fish out of the lake’s 34-foot depths.

There are several campgrounds and a lodge where you can get fuel, food, rent boats, take showers and do laundry. Full hook-ups for RVs are also available. Motorized boats are allowed on Lava.

HIKE-IN LAKES FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

A

t Willamette Pass Ski Area there’s an ODOT gravel storage building, and behind it is the parking area for the Pacific Crest Trail. Inauspicious beginnings, perhaps, but from this point there are several beautiful lakes you can hike to and fish for the day or weekend.

The most family-friendly hike is Rosary Lakes, which is a mild 700-foot elevation gain spread out over 3 miles to the first of three waters in the chain, Lower Rosary.

It and Middle and Upper Rosary Lakes all hold trout, feature great views and offer swimming in very clear, clean water that is not too cold.

All three have both rainbows and beautiful brookies, and if you like crawdads – and large ones at that – there are more than enough to make a meal. For the fish, you can’t go wrong with a nightcrawler or mayfly imitation, but I would use a small rainbow-pattern Rooster Tail with a silver blade. You can bank fish the lakes, but the best way is to pack in a small raft and troll.

I’ve found that from June through

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August the best time to fish is from 7 to 9 a.m. When the sun’s rays first touch the lower lake in the morning, fish are most active, cruising and feeding on mayflies and anything else they come across. After 9, the bite slows as the lake starts to warm up. The fish head to the west side where it is deeper and cooler. You can still catch a few throughout the day, but have to go deep to do so. gh The Rosaries are a short enough hike to make a day trip of it, but ut er also a good overnighter. Either way, prepare for those friendlyy d bloodsuckers of the Cascades and spray, spray, spray. –CL

Author Carl Lewallen’s daughter Rylee, main squeeze Jacqueline Girard and friends Brenda Speas and Brandy Johnson enjoy backpacking into Willamette Pass’s Rosary Lakes, home to beautiful brookies, rainbows and large crawdads. (CARL LEWALLEN)

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FISHING

3 Inland Getaways Bitterroot streams, Hells Canyon waters, Potholes smorgasbord beckon in summer.

From the deep backcountry of Idaho’s Bitterroots – where the author caught this westslope cutthroat – to the depths of Hells Canyon to the dunes of Potholes, the Inland Northwest offers great options for families looking for summer getaways.(JEFF HOLMES)

By Jeff Holmes

I

nland Northwest anglers – especially those who fish for trout – sometimes struggle to find good fishing in summer due to high water temperatures and a daily hatch of water-sports enthusiasts.

Still, there are countless prime-time fishing opportunities for a range of species. Harder yet than just finding good angling opportunities is finding a fishing and camping destination that provides a quality family angling getaway. For me, a getaway means an escape from the hordes, a chance to fish freely during peak season for target species, and a range of attractions for family members who aren’t as into fishing but who love the outdoors and

good weather. From the desert north of the mid-Columbia Basin to the subalpine Montana-Idaho border at Hoodoo Pass, the Inland Northwest of Washington and North Idaho presents an eclectic mix of fishing, swimming, hiking, fruit picking, wildlife viewing, waterskiing and other recreating opportunities that don’t cost much to engage in, but that return great fun and quality time. These three vacation possibilities are personal favorites and good all summer.

BITTERROOT MTNS. CUTTHROAT ESCAPE The extremely wild and beautiful Bitterroot Mountains of North Idaho are home to some of America’s great cutthroat streams and some of our country’s most abundant and pleasant

camping, much of which is free. The St. Joe River and nearby Kelly Creek and North Fork Clearwater River are famous catch-and-release fly-fishing waters that are loaded with beautiful westslope cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, improving numbers of bull trout, and lots of mountain whitefish.

Along their lengths are hundreds of dispersed campsites, along with lots of Forest Service campgrounds. While there can be crowds during weekends and holidays, even on the busiest days at these remote and stunningly beautiful rivers, there are trails and side roads into the mountains that present opportunities to be alone in nature and to pick huckleberries.

Black bears, elk, mule deer, whitetails, moose, wolves, cougars and more

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make these drainages their homes, as do almost countless other mountain wildlife species. There are no grizzlies here, but carrying bear spray is always advisable in wild places.

On the rivers themselves, however, the main danger is falling down out of excitement while moving between fish-filled holes. All three rivers are catch-and-release streams requiring single, barbless hooks, but I’ve never found the regulation a hindrance to catching fish, nor to taking total newbies out for successful first flyfishing trips. Most people fly fish here, but single, barbless lures are also allowed – just no bait. The St. Joe is Idaho’s best trout stream, and Kelly and the North Fork Clearwater are right on its heels. After tightened regulations along more of its length in the late 2000s, biologists have been amazed to see more and bigger fisher showing in their annual snorkel fish counts. The St. Joe has soooo many mature cutthroat in it, and they’re the Northwest’s most eager fish species to rise for a fly. Fish from 12 to 14 inches are the average, but some days they all seem to stretch 16 inches or better.

Catching them isn’t rocket science either. Gaudy attractor flies like stimulators, adult stonefly imitations, Royal Wulffs, Yellow Humpies and more will tempt risers most days, or will at least serve as fish-catching strike indicators with small nymph or pupae droppers fished under them.

Try Pheasant Tail nymphs, Copper Johns, Prince Nymphs, caddis pupae and soft hackles as excellent dropper flies. Other times, during hatches of the river’s abundant mayflies and caddis, selecting patterns of the right general profile, size and color can be important. Coming equipped with plenty of size 14 to 18 pale morning dun patterns along with similarly sized X-Caddis and Elk Hair Caddis is the minimum arsenal a flyfisher should have on hand to match hatches at the Joe and on Kelly and the North Fork.

Drag-free drifts of flies are important, unless stripping streamers 64 Northwest Sportsman

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FISHING Coursing out of North Idaho’s Bitterroots, Kelly Creek – seen here near a remote airstrip – North Fork Clearwater River and St. Joe offer an exceptional combination of fishing, camping and nature-being possibilities.

(ARADDON, FLICKR)

like Woolly Buggers, Zonkers, sculpin patterns and more. Streamers nail lots of cutthroat and also occasional bull trout, like the 30-incher I caught there on Fourth of July in 2006. For help getting set up and for choosing appropriate patterns for these streams, message me on Facebook or go to my favorite source, Silver Bow Fly Shop (silverbowflyshop.com) in Spokane Valley.

The St. Joe is located in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, and Kelly

Creek and North Fork Clearwater are in the Nez Perce NF. All three are remote, but especially the latter. Kelly and the North Fork can be approached easily from Superior, Mont., or through Pierce, Idaho. Don’t expect any services to be available here; there’s nothing above the tiny town of Avery on the upper St. Joe. In Avery, definitely check out the Idaho Fly Fishing Company, a great fly shop run by great people who also serve coffee and excellent ice cream. Across

the street, Scheffy’s General Store and Motel offers reliable services as well.

HELLS CANYON: HEAT, COOL WATER, TONS OF FISH From the 9,393-foot peak of He-Devil in Idaho’s Seven Devils Range, 7,993 feet below to the Snake River, Hells Canyon is North America’s deepest river gorge and is known the world over for its rugged topography, bountiful wildlife, world-class rafting, unparalleled jetboating and more.

Some of the Snake River’s biggest rapids lie dormant behind three dams that produce 70 percent of Idaho’s hydropower, but below Hells Canyon Dam the river reawakens and stretches 79 miles through Hells Canyon Recreation Area to Heller Bar, about 67 miles of which is designated as Wild and Scenic River. The Snake here features Class IV and V rapids and plays host to truly world-class fishing for several species: abundant

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Whether rafting slowly through Hells Canyon or blasting through its rapids, the Snake River offers outstanding scenery backed by great fishing for a wide variety of species. (KILGOREADVENTURES.COM)

hatchery and wild summer steelhead, trophy catch-and-release white sturgeon, fall Chinook, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass and channel catfish, among others. During summer, salmon and steelhead are absent from the catch, but hefty wild ’bows and super-abundant bass are in prime form. Cats and sturgeon bite well too.

The river corridor is also a great place to see lots of animals during the heat of summer, including mule deer, bighorns, bears, otters, mink, golden eagles, chukar partridge and many other wildlife species. It’s an even better place to swim – cautiously. I remember one rafting trip on the nearby lower Salmon River when the temperature hit 105 degrees. The canyon has a radiating oven effect that makes swimming necessary and even more wonderful that normal.

Really, just about everything should be attempted with caution in Hells Canyon, not just swimming, which is the most compelling reason for me to recommend a guide if you want to go into the actual heart of the canyon above Pittsburg Landing. The upper canyon’s most highly recommended river outfitter is Killgore Adventures, based out of Whitebird, Idaho, at the confluence of the Salmon River and Whitebird Creek. The Killgores are a high-character family who run jet boat tours on both the Salmon River and the Snake in Hells Canyon, as well as a range of other jet boat services including dropoffs and pickups, fishing trips, and more options.

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Kurt Killgore and folks run the family business and account for a major portion of the tourism that occurs in the canyon. Jet boats allow people of all ages and agility levels to see one of the most amazing places on the continent, and they allow dropoff camping access to the canyon for those who aren’t confident or healthy enough to raft or paddle big, technical water. Of course, floating the river with a rafting company is a great time, but for most families a jet boat tour is an easier, less-expensive, less time-consuming way to visit.

Of all the beautiful places I have visited in the West, nothing touches my love for Hells Canyon and its surrounding landscapes, and the heat of summer is prime time to be on the water here. For a taste of Hells Canyon country, adjoining rivers like the lower Salmon and the Grande Ronde make great getaways too.

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Few Northwest waters are more storied for warmwater species than Potholes Reservoir south of Moses Lake. The Potholes is an impoundment of Crab Creek that has experienced some peaks and valleys in its varied fisheries over the years, yet it has always remained strong for at least a few of those many species. Yellow perch, bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass, smallmouth, walleye, burbot and rainbows all swim in the lake, but over the years, the perch and panfish have struggled due to the intrusion of incredible numbers of carp and their ill effects, along with declining fertility, an unfortunate reality for any reservoir over time.

But over the past few years, a change has occurred at Potholes that has anglers smiling: the perch are back in profusion and at large sizes, and almost everything in the lake eats lots of perch.

The result has been a dramatic increase in the walleye population and in the quality of fish being caught. Similarly, panfish are back on the rise too, and bass fishing remains some of the vey best in the Northwest. The reservoir is home to many largemouth from 4 to 6

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pounds (some larger) and remarkable numbers of quality smallmouth too, some reaching 7 pounds! Potholes is in fine form during the heat of summer and is also an excellent place to swim, paddle and do motorized watersports on a body of water big enough not to harass anglers all day.

While it is not necessary to have a floating craft to fish Potholes, it helps and also helps add variety and room to roam to find fish and to see different famous features of the lake, like Goose Island, the face of O’Sullivan Dam, the mouth of Crab Creek and the Crab Creek Channel, the Dunes, Medicare Beach, Lind Coulee and more. All of these place names are well-known fishing hot spots, and anglers looking for an easy tactic to target a smorgasbord of fish should consider trolling bottom walkers trailed by worm harnesses, like any of Mack’s pre-tied rigs, including their super-effective Slow Death

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Rigs. Any worm harness will catch fish here, but experimenting with styles and colors is a good idea. By slowly trolling harnesses in middepths between 10 and 40 feet in the above-mentioned locations, anglers who move to find fish and put in time early and late can expect to catch walleye, perch, bass and occasional panfish like the almost2-pound bluegill I once caught there in 37 feet of water. Although the trout net-pen program has somewhat decreased their releases, there are also good numbers of very large rainbows in the lake that show up in the catch on a variety of lures and baits.

Finding a place to stay to chase fish and enjoy the summer sun and cool water of the reservoir is easy.

Potholes State Park, Mar Don Resort (mardonresort.com), and nearby accommodations in the Moses Lake area offer lots of options and easy access to the water. NS

Potholes produces quite a mixed bag, including resurgent perch – Margaret Han and grandson Austin show off a nice one they landed last summer – as well as good accommodations at a state park and Mar Don Resort. Moses Lake and Ephrata aren’t far away either. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

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The Columbia’s Fishier Cousin British Columbia’s Fraser River offers world-class salmon and sturgeon fishing, right across the border.

When the pinks are running up the Fraser, everyone catches fish, says the author. This year’s forecast calls for twice as many as Puget Sound’s entire return. (TODD MARTIN) 70 Northwest Sportsman

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FISHING

By Todd Martin

B

ritish Columbia’s Fraser River is the largest salmonCANADA producing river in the EH! world.

Full stop, end of discussion.

Yes, your much revered Columbia is a big salmon producer, and so is Alaska’s Kenai, but the mighty Fraser trumps them all, thanks to annual returns of 20 to 50 million salmon.

Start to finish, its undammed 854-mile length drains the lower half of the province from the Rocky Mountains to the saltwater just a few miles north of the international border. The Fraser also holds the record for the largest freshwater

fish ever caught on rod and reel.

In July 2012, a behemoth white sturgeon was caught and released.

Its estimated weight was over 1,100 pounds and it was 12 feet, 4 inches long.

How’s that for a river monster?

The Fraser was named after Simon Fraser, who was a British fur trader and explorer working for the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1808 he became the first person to travel the entire length of the river.

He wanted to map it to determine if it was connected to the Columbia.

The Fraser roughly parallels its sister river 350 miles to the south, though of course they don’t connect – but at the same time, they’re highly similar.

And one of the quirks of the Fraser that a lot of Northwest Sportsman readers may not realize is that if you want world-class salmon and sturgeon fishing, the Fraser is closer to you than the Columbia! It truly is a world-class, trophy fishery, right at your doorstep.

THE FRASER IS the province’s largest river, and it’s our biggest and most consistent year-round fishery. It has large tide changes in the lower 45 miles from the mouth in Richmond to tidewater at the town of Mission.

These waters are managed by the federal Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The nontidal portion above Mission is

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FISHING

Cutting through the gap between the North Cascades and British Columbia’s Coast Range, the Fraser River sees returns of all five Eastern Pacific salmon stocks – the angler at left holds a nice “spring” caught near Chilliwack – as well as hosts good populations of trout and char. It also boasts white sturgeon in excess of 11 feet – the author (right) battled this 7-footer – and as many as 49,000 from the mouth upriver to Hope, a density of 350 per river mile. (TODD MARTIN, BOTH)

managed by the province, so when you are visiting BC and planning a fishing trip, you need to pay close attention to where you are planning to fish, as two different sets of regulations and fishing licenses apply. The tidal section requires a federal tidal waters license, and for the river above there, a provincial nontidal fishing license.

The most productive portion of the Fraser, the one that most anglers focus on, is what’s called the lower section. This is the first 100 miles of river that extends from the mouth east to the town of Hope, at the base of the Coast Mountain range.

This lower section is what I call old muddy. Here the river is wide, fairly shallow and dirty. Reminiscing of the Fraser brings back so many good memories, as I and many of my friends grew up along its banks. We called ourselves river rats, and we played, fished and explored until we got called in for dinner or it was too dark to see. I regularly skipped high school to go fishing along the banks of the Fraser in New Westminster.

Fishing is much more fun than a boring math or French class!

No matter what time of year it is, you can always head down to the Fraser and catch something. For this reason it’s a great place to teach kids how to fish. There are always 72 Northwest Sportsman

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cutthroat trout, Dolly Varden, sturgeon, peamouth chub, northern pikeminnow, sculpin (locally known as bullheads), carp and catfish available. Throw a nightcrawler out and let it sit on the bottom – you will get bit by something in short order. Complementing these fish are smaller numbers of smallmouth bass and sunfish in warmer backwaters.

But of course, you all want to hear about those massive runs of salmon, steelhead and trout that return to the Fraser every year, so let’s get down to business.

STARTING WITH STEELHEAD, some are almost always in the river. They are most available from late August through April. Unlike the Columbia, not many steelhead are caught in the mainstem, as they primarily use it as a transit corridor to their smaller home waters such as the Stave, Chehalis, Harrison, Vedder and Thompson River systems.

Mature Chinook start returning in May and run through late November. These include the famous white springs – so named for the pale pigment of their meat – of the Harrison River system that grow in excess of 60 pounds. The Fraser’s Chinook run peaks in August and September, while coho begin to enter in August, usually with late-

summer rains that announce the change of seasons. Silver fishing peaks in October, which is my No. 1 time to book a day off work and hit the river. All species are available and running hard.

Sockeye enter the Fraser River in July, peak in late August, and taper off by early October. Last year was a peak year in their four-year cycle and 21 million reds migrated up the Fraser to spawn. This year will likely see the lowest returns of the cycle, but 7 million are forecast.

Chum salmon flood in from September through early December.

More and more, local and visiting anglers are starting to appreciate these rugged beasts as game fish.

They are very plentiful and have a reputation as eager biters and hard fighters. And there’s a special run of chum called “blackheads.” Entering the river in late November, these are gaining distinction as some of the hardest-fighting fish anywhere.

Similar to Puget Sound rivers, odd-numbered years like 2015 bring enormous runs of pinks up the Fraser. The 2013 return was a record smasher at over 20 million, and this year is promising to be another good “running of the pinks,” thanks to a forecast of 14 million fish. On a good incoming tide and with decent water clarity in early September, you can

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FISHING land in excess of 20 in a morning, all from shore, with light spinning tackle. It’s an absolute blast and I am eagerly anticipating this year’s run.

The last salmonids to review are the hearty cutthroat and Dolly Varden, or bull trout. They reside in the Fraser year-round and are always eager biters; you just need to find them. Traditional hot spots are calm side channels and creek mouths.

The Fraser has a mix of permanent residents and transient sea-run fish.

AN ANGLER’S DREAM as is, but we haven’t even discussed the Fraser’s most well-known fishery, the enormous white sturgeon. Last year on a guided fishing trip with Tony Nootebos from the BC Sportfishing Group, I landed my personal best, a 7-footer. My arms were sore for two days after battling that dinosaur of the depths. Indeed, the Fraser provides you the opportunity to set

the hook into a prehistoric freight train. The river’s sturgeon are a great example of thriving, trophy sport fishery.

In response to concerns about the health of the Fraser’s population, a live tagging and data collection study was initiated in 1999, and it continues to this day. Along with absolute zero retention and regulations requiring single barbless hooks, a concerted effort was made to understand the lifecycle and overall health of these prized fish. The plan was simple: Catch a sturgeon, implant a small tag in the back of its head, and record its length and girth, and then release it unharmed. And 16 years into the ongoing study by the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation, the data collected primarily from guides operating in the lower river is simply remarkable.

It has been determined that in the lower Fraser, from Hope to

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Richmond, there are an average of 350 sturgeon per mile of river! The total amount of sturgeon caught and tagged during this ongoing study is over 54,000 fish, and the white sturgeon population in the lower river is estimated at 49,000.

Further study has revealed even more interesting tidbits. These fish, especially the larger ones, are transitory. They will not stay in the lower river for their entire lifespan.

They travel around to other local rivers and lake systems connected to the Fraser. The same fish have been tagged, released and recaught several times in other Metro Vancouver locations such as the Harrison River system, Harrison Lake, the Pitt River and Pitt Lake. It has also been determined that some of these fish become sea-run transients and range as far as the Columbia to the south and Alaska to the north.

The average Fraser sturgeon is

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30 to 50 years old, and roughly 6 feet in length. They grow an inch per year in their first 10 years, then slow down a bit. They don’t spawn for the first time until they reach

approximately 25 years of age. They also don’t spawn every year. Larger sturgeon reproduce every eight to 11 years, so it’s no wonder with these slow growth rates and spawning

Whether you call it plunking or bar fishing, it’s hard to find a more relaxed or productive way to work the Fraser. For Chinook, the best bar fishing is closer to Chilliwack, where the river narrows, while for coho, it’s better in the Fraser’s slower, lower end. (TODD MARTIN, BOTH)

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frequencies that they need to be protected. We haven’t been able to retain a sturgeon in the Fraser for decades – and the fishing is excellent because of this protection.

All the evidence so far proves that they are thriving. Virgin untagged fish are caught every year, and numerous previously tagged ones are recaptured annually.

Recent information has created a best practices standard to follow.

Sturgeon over 5 feet in length are not to be lifted out of the water for hero shots. You can take them to shore, beach them and take your photos, but the head of the sturgeon must not leave the water. It was discovered that the sensitive internal organs of sturgeon were being unintentionally damaged by mishandling by anglers lifting them up for a photo. Most guide boats operating on the river now have large fish cradles attached to the stern; these permit easier handling and tagging of smaller fish.

With the record being 12 feet, and fish over 10 feet caught every year, combined with the scary ability to leap from the water at will, it’s no wonder the white sturgeon of the Fraser River have been nicknamed the freshwater marlin.

Standard fishing procedure in the lower river is to look for depressions or travel channels along the bottom with your boat’s sonar. When you find one, anchor up and toss out a couple rods. Similar to what you could use for ocean halibut, we’re talking stiff, heavy backbone rods, typically 7 to 8 feet long. One hundred-fiftypound-test Power-Pro line is used with a lead weight anywhere from 14 to 18 ounces, depending on the river current, to keep your gear on bottom. Large barbless circle hooks are baited with chum salmon roe, pikeminnow, lamprey eel, pink salmon belly and eulachon (smelt, candlefish), whichever’s in season or locally available.

Again, anywhere in the lower river is good, but you’ll find all the guide boats congregating in the best spots.

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FISHING Something’s biting in the Fraser nearly year-round, and the end of the salmon runs in late November is marked by the return of “blackhead” chums, some of the hardest-fighting fish anywhere, according to the author. (TODD MARTIN)

There is a good stretch through the towns of Maple Ridge and Langley called Derby Reach. Another prime location is just east of the town of Mission, where the nontidal fishing boundary starts. More good spots are in Chilliwack near the mouths of the Vedder and Harrison Rivers. Local guides will move around to find the big lunkers. Each fishing spot is called a “drop,” and it’s common to move a few times before you find a good drop that holds quality fish.

One of the best things about sturgeon on the Fraser is that they are always there, and they always bite. Fishing for them is good every month of the year. The only time the bite slows down is during a January cold snap, and also if the river gets very high, fast and dirty in the spring.

Other than that, it’s always good.

Absolute prime times are the months of October, November and again in 78 Northwest Sportsman

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April. Tony Nootebos from the BC Sportfishing Group says sturgeon have saved many a guided trip.

When the salmon don’t cooperate, you can always switch to sturgeon.

NOW LET’S DISCUSS another beloved Fraser fishery, bar fishing! What’s that, you say? You fish from a bar?

Well, yes, but a sand bar on the shore of the Fraser.

This is a BC term for bank fishing or plunking, as you Yanks call it. For anglers on a budget, or those who don’t have a boat, bar fishing the Fraser for coho and Chinook is wildly popular.

There are dozens of productive, well known and easily accessible bar fishing hot spots up and down the lower river.

It’s a method employed while pursuing coho and Chinook from July until early December. The tidal portion from the mouth to Mission and beyond to Abbotsford is the best place to bar

fish for coho. This is where the river is slower, and from late August to early December coho migrate upriver close to shore, within easy reach of the best bar fishing locations.

Bar fishing for Chinook – springers or fall fish – is done in the faster, narrower portions of the lower river in Chilliwack. This is where Chinook are funneled into tight travel lanes that bring them closer to shore, and thus accessible to bar fishermen. In the lower tidal portions of the river, Chinook simply blast upstream through the main current for two reasons, the first of which is because they can. And the second, Fraser springs generally have a long way to travel to reach their spawning grounds, so they don’t loiter in the lower river like coho.

Rigging and gear is similar for both species. In the tidal portion, a typical bar fishing set-up includes

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FISHING

a spinning or baitcasting reel with a 9-foot medium-action rod. You want decent hook-setting strength, but a sensitive tip to detect lighter bites. Fifteen- to 20-pound mainline is used, and you connect it to a simple spreader bar system. Attach a 3-foot leader of 10-pound line to the spreader bar and use a 1/0 single barbless hook. You only need a 2- to 3-ounce weight to keep your bait, usually chum roe, secured to the bottom. Hurl it out 20 to 50 feet from shore, place your rod in a holder and reel in the slack to help detect bites.

Now you’re bar fishing like a Canadian, eh!

In the narrower, faster portions of the river near Chilliwack where you can effectively target springers, use a similar set-up, but with much beefier rods and weights. You need a heavy-action rod, as you are fighting bigger fish, and you need to use 10- to 16-ounce weights due to the faster current. Typically, mainline runs from 25- to 40-pound test and you are only casting out 25 feet or so. But instead of bait, Spin-N-Glos are the preferred way to go.

Bar fishing is an old school, very social, relaxed way to fish. I’ve been bar fishing the Fraser with family and friends for 30 years. I focus more 80 Northwest Sportsman

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on the coho close to shore in the Langley, Maple Ridge and Mission areas. September and October are absolute prime time for this fishery and fresh chum roe treated with ProCure is the bomb. For all bar fishing, water clarity is key. If you can have 18 inches, the chances of success are much better.

COMING FROM THE States, you might be at a disadvantage on the fishery, but there are several good starting points.

There are two excellent books available on bar fishing the Fraser.

For the lower tidal portion from the mouth to the Abbotsford area, the best is Bar Fishing the Lower Fraser River by Hugh Heighton. For the nontidal portion from Mission to Hope, the book to have is Fishing Fever by Eileen McGuire. Both books reveal the best hot spots and how to access them, along with all the usual info on run timings and gear.

Along with these two guide books, there are two tackle shops that are the best places to seek advice on how to fish the Fraser River. In Richmond, Berry’s Bait & Tackle (berrysbait.com) is the best shop to visit for the tidal portion of the river, and is close to Vancouver and several Whatcom County border crossings.

Up the valley, the place to go for the nontidal portion of the river is Fred’s Custom Tackle (fredscustomtackle. com). They have two locations, one in Abbotsford and one in Chilliwack.

If you decide you want to start with a guided trip for salmon or trophy sturgeon, the absolute best operation on the river is the BC Sportfishing Group (bcsportfishinggroup.com).

Tony Nootebos started his guiding business 20 years ago and he has the best equipment and guides.

So there you have it, a primer on the best salmon-producing river in the world, and it’s just north of many of this magazine’s readers, hiding in plain sight. If you live north of Boeing Field in Seattle, it’s closer than the revered Columbia. All of a 20-minute drive past the Blaine, Lynden and Sumas border crossings gets you to the prime areas to fish the Fraser. And with the low Canadian dollar, a day’s fishing for salmon and sturgeon is more affordable than ever. The next time you are looking to go fishing with your buddies, instead of looking south, look north to BC’s Fraser. You will discover a world-class salmon and sturgeon destination, which offers Canadian river monsters, and fantastic fishing, every day of the year. NS

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Kings, Reds Kick Off Skagit Salmon Season T

he June page of Northwest W a s h i n g t o n ’s

By Doug Huddle rod-and-reel calendar now includes two inriver options for Skagit basin salmon, and both fisheries are likely to be affected, probably positively, by the reduced volumes of runoff from this year’s winter/spring snowpack.

Fishing over a projected hatchery component of 2,787 adult spring Chinook, anglers may again ply the upper Skagit from the Route 530 bridge at Rockport upstream to the Cascade River Road bridge, as well as the first .8 mile of the Cascade River itself, starting June 1.

And fifteen days later, June 16 marks the first of two chances to land bluebacks bound for Baker Lake. The Skagit from Mount Vernon (Highway 536 bridge) up to Gilligan Creek near SedroWoolley opens that day for an expected 46,268-fish-strong run of sockeye. Some 7,800 of these fish are dedicated to several production strategies, including regular hatchery incubation, artificial beaches and natural spawning in Baker Lake itself, and the initial 30-day sportfishery will be governed by a quota of 20 percent (about 3,864 fish) of the non-treaty harvestable share of 19,234 sockeye. The rest of the quota is reserved for Baker Lake, which opens in mid-July.

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COOPERATIVE WATER – MAYBE Unless June brings deluges of unprecedented volume, with this year’s stunning lack of snowpack, Skagit anglers are going to see lower and perhaps clearer flows in both salmon fisheries. In the upper river, with Seattle City Light maintaining base flow, rainfall is going to be the chief influence on discharge spikes and clarity. Of the two

Vern and Sean Steward of a Seattle suburb try their luck plunking for sockeye on the lower Skagit River. This year’s fishery opens June 16. (SCOTT TERRELL, SKAGIT VALLEY HERALD) extremes, low/clear has the greatest dampening effect on catch rates.

Anglers can always make adjustments in location and terminal tackle as volume and muddiness increase, but it’s much harder to compensate for the bottom dropping out of flows.

The potential here in the absence of appreciable rainfall or hot weather is that mainstem Skagit flows will drop and become gin-clear, increasing the kings’ sensitivity to overhead disturbance. That tends to drive them into the few really deep holes or far under any cover, and takes their mind off slamming angler offerings. The ideal conditions would be cool nights and lengthy periods of overcast punctuated by light to moderate rain, enough to wash some soil and keep river temps steady in the low 50s. These kings spawn from late July through August, and their noses tell them, whether wild or hatchery-bred, that they’re in the neighborhood of their natal origins, so they go into a holding

pattern to conserve energy. In the lower Skagit, however, pulses of sockeye move fairly quickly upstream toward the mouth of the Baker, so anglers must put their gear into the lane fish want or are forced to move into.

The influence of this year’s expected drops in flow volume in the lower Skagit can be offset with a certain amount of color, either from basin-wide rainfall or glacial runoff. Sockeye, preferring to conserve energy during migration, will be found along fringes of fast water or cutting corners through the soft water off point bars on the insides of river bends. When clearer flows are coupled with more overhead boat-traffic disturbances, the more the sockeye deviate from this movement behavior.

UPRIVER FOR KINGS …

Boat ramps at Marblemount and Rockport accommodate larger, trailered jet sleds as well as drift boats. A halfway point launch that is most often

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Northwest Sportsman 83

COLUMN inhospitable to larger sleds also is available at Barr Creek near Route 20’s milepost 100.

Except for boaters who pull plugs, most fishers, whether afloat or afoot, drift or plunk eggs in slots or deeper pools. The rule of thumb is to use smaller clusters in lower, clearer water, and bigger hunks in broad holes or muddy conditions. Flows between 4,500 and 6,000 cubic feet second are favored because of their friendly combination of green and 4 to 5 feet of clarity. Don’t be put off by higher volume; rather, add sinker weight and shorten casts. It’s contact with the bottom, where the fish hover, that you must maintain.

Hardware alternatives to soft baits include K-13 Kwikfish in chartreuse and red, perhaps with a thin slice of herring strip laced on, or Brad’s Wigglers, mainly the Nos. BW-116 (yellow/orange) and BW41 (rainbow trout pattern), for “pulling” through deeper pools and tail-outs.

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CONTESTS FOR KIDS In June, three kids fishing contests featuring rainbow trout or bluegills as the combatants are on the calendar for Whatcom and Skagit Counties.

Anacortes’ Kids Fishing Derby is organized by the Fidalgo Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers and the City of Anacortes Parks Department. Heart Lake, south of town, is home to this annual youth contest set for June 6.

Lynden’s Kids Fishing Derby is organized by the Lynden Camel Club. The inner-city reach of Fishtrap Creek in Lynden City Park on Depot Road is the venue on Saturday, June 13.

And the Rudy Horat Memorial Kids’ Bluegill Tournament, organized by the Borderline Bassin Contenders of Whatcom County, is set for Saturday, June 20 on Fazon Lake off Everson-Goshen Road. Preregistration is now required for kids to participate.

However, this year’s annual Howard Bowen Memorial Kids’ Fishing Derby, organized by the American Legion Post 212 in Sumas on a section of Johnson Creek in the city’s park and scheduled for June 6, was scrubbed last month. -DH debarbed for this fishery reach, and single trebles are also allowed.

Bank ops on the upper Skagit are more restricted, but often no less productive than from a boat. Much of the riverfront is privately owned and it can be hard to get an exclusive because landowners are approached so often.

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But there are several public sections over good water that, surprisingly enough, are often unoccupied. Most are along the North Cascades Highway; walk-in accesses include: Washington Eddy, a westside approach on a complex of state, land trust, county, Nature Conservancy and Seattle City Light land parcels, is just above Rockport near milepost 99.

There is also a parcel of Indian trust land, of which you must know the metes and bounds to avoid. The old but shifting eddy channel is a Chinook holding haven, but getting next to them with dry feet can be extremely difficult to impossible.

The Lewis Farm, also known as Barnaby Slough, is a WDFW access on the Skagit’s south bank that you get to from Martin Road just east of Rockport. A lot of the bank length from which to fish has been lost here, but anglers still find kings (and winter steelhead) holding in the slot water at first light.

Further up, the 101 Hole, so-named for the nearby highway milepost, is a stretch of high bank at the upstream end of the SR 20 frontage that’s popular with bald eagle watchers. Bankers fish the slot water just off the riprap protecting the roadway. Two cautions here: The first is that this is private land, though I’ve never heard of any owner objections and it’s been fished for decades; the second is about parking, which is highly limited along the highway. Carelessly beaching

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Northwest Sportsman 85

COLUMN your automobile on the roadside could get you a ticket and/or a tow-away.

Clark’s Skagit River Resort at Bullerville, just south of Marblemount, has a loop trail running east from the highway to the right bank of a long drift that occasionally holds Chinook in the morning. Check first with Clark’s before venturing onto this land, and you now may have to be a paying customer to enjoy their largesse.

Pressentin County Park in the town of Marblemount provides access to the Big and Little Eddys from Highway 20, with parking at the Shell Station.

On the lower Cascade River there are two walk-in accesses, one off the Cascade River Road on federal lands into what used to be an old pool called the Raspberry Hole. The second is through the state’s Marblemount Hatchery down Clark Creek to the river. Be sure to park in an acceptable location and don’t block facility work areas.

Whether you’re a boat or bank

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angler, if you’re from out of the area, there are several close-by options for overnighting: Howard Miller Steelhead Park, a highly popular riverside multi-option county park, is in Rockport just south of the junction of Routes 20 and 530. It has a concrete puncheon ramp just below the 530 bridge over the Skagit. The park’s overnight accommodations include several cabins, sleep-in vehicle, RV (water and power) tent and group camping spaces/sites. Spots can be reserved, and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. See skagitcounty.net.

The aforementioned Clark’s Resort, a long-standing family-run business on Highway 20 about 2 miles west of Marblemount, has modern, themed and rustic cabins as well as RV and tent camping sites, including four along the river. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is served at its restaurant, and staffers are available for shuttling drift boats. See northcascades.com.

A little further afield but within half an hour’s drive of the fishery are Rasar State Park near Birdsview; a rustic honor-system private campground on Cascade River Road at the intersection of Rockport-Cascade Road; and a growing number of bed and breakfasts and several motels along the way.

Camping is no longer allowed at Rockport State Park.

… AND DOWNRIVER FOR REDS As with pinks and chum, timing plays a key role in successful sockeye fishing on the lower Skagit. These salmon move in pulses or schools, with intervals in between big numbers. Water conditions can force changes in the line they swim, but it usually does not deter them.

Whether from a boat or the bank, the proven combo rig of choice among red fishers are either No. 4 winged bobbers or No. 6 Corkies in orange, red and pink and garnished with whole sand shrimp.

As an alternative, instead of the soft

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COLUMN natural bait, anglers can accent the hard bait with a small hoochie skirt or cloak of yarn in matching red/pink shades.

Access for both dry-foot fishers and those afloat is excellent. The cities of Mount Vernon, Burlington and SedroWoolley own considerable stretches of river bank within their limits and manage them mainly as parks. Another lengthy section that’s quite popular with fishers has a county road running along the top of its embankment.

Anglers should be aware that on diked stretches of river where it looks like you can get ever-so-close to the water’s edge, either the diking district itself or the landowner on which the levee is located restrict or deny access.

Would-be fishers are obligated to know the status of riverbank property and to always seek permission before venturing out to fish.

At West Mount Vernon, Edgewater Park, on the west side of the river just below the Memorial Bridge, provides a

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boat launch, but be careful not to keep sockeye until you are upstream of the bridge. WDFW’s Youngs Bar access, also in West Mount Vernon, as well as the city’s Lion’s Park off Freeway Drive are alternative accesses.

In Burlington, there’s ample bank space along the city’s lengthy Skagit River Park complex that starts just above the Burlington Northern Santa Fe bridge at Johnson’s Bar and runs up to the Roger Tjeerdsma Access and its broad concrete ramp at the foot of Gardner Road off East Rio Vista Avenue. Additional street accesses to this park are off Whitmarsh and East Gilkey Roads.

The broad, slow-moving stretch of water above the Gardner Road launch is considered one of the best places for boatborne anglers to anchor up for sockeye.

Along the Sedro-Woolley reach fishers on the north side of the river should look to the vicinity of the venerable Stink Hole on River Road at the foot of Fruitdale Road; it’s the best spot for unrestricted access. Elsewhere, use care

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on the north bank since tribal and private ownership predominates.

The City of Sedro-Woolley’s Riverfront Park on River Road east of Township Street also has a good launch ramp, though it can be in the current sometimes.

Upstream of the Highway 9 bridge, the South Skagit Highway traces the river bank to within a mile of Gilligan Creek.

Anglers can start at the bank under the state bridge itself and hit virtually every pull-out at the top of the bank east of there, except those with private homes, the Tarheel Bar, which is owned by the Wildcat Steelheaders, and within 100 feet of the Skagit PUD water intake.

NEXT ISSUE The return of trout stocking to lakes in the North Cascades National Park. NS Editor’s note: Doug Huddle lives in Bellingham, is retired from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and has written about hunting and fishing in the Northwest for more than 30 years.

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92 Northwest Sportsman

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COLUMN

King Ops Continue On Columbia I

blinked with disbelief as the salmon made a U-turn out of the net and streaked downriver faster than you can say “summer Chinook.”

Never in all my years (which are now quite a few) have I seen a fish that large escape a landing net so deliberately.

That scene was burned into my memory over 10 years ago and is why, when asked, I often tell fellow anglers that summer kings, especially big ones, fight like no other. Those returning to the Columbia do come in many different sizes, but on most years they average 25 to 35 pounds with 40- and 50-pound monsters caught by someone (but not me, as of yet) each and every season.

This year’s forecast calls for 73,000 fish, which is how many that state fish managers expect will cross the bar at the mouth of the Columbia. However, given what looked at press time to be a better spring Chinook return than predicted, some biologists think the actual run may be larger. And while the summer salmon return at the Bonneville fish-counting windows normally peaks around June 28, this year’s could be earlier, given the lower and warmer water conditions.

BUZZ RAMSEY

A DREAM COME true is how many of us view the opportunity to fish for and keep a Columbia summer Chinook.

Although once the most numerous stock the river had to offer – for example, in

the 1880s, the averaged annual run was 4 to 5 million wild salmon – the population dropped so low (around 40,000 annually) that anglers were denied a season for 29 years. These fish rebounded enough to allow sport fishing in 2002 because a U.S. District Court judge was/is managing the river and requiring hydropower operators to release water to move juvenile fish downriver and spill it over the top of the federal dams, which benefits outmigrating smolt and the subsequent adult return.

The summer Chinook fishery near Bonneville is one where lures fished in a stationary position are set to ambush salmon migrating toward the Upper Columbia and Snake River systems. Last year, we caught them anchored not far below the dam on a combination of plugs and spinners. Given that the water temperatures are warmer during June than earlier in the year, you will likely find these fish running deeper in the water column, on average. We’ve had the best success anchoring in depths ranging from 14 to 25 feet.

What we and many anglers use depends on water speed. If the current is medium to slow, salmonsized plugs like Mag Lips and FlatFish/ Kwikfish are what works. We often run these on a 60-inch leader behind a buoyant river diver or weight-dropper line of 24 inches. Keep in mind that a 24-inch weight-dropper line might be

Jarod Higginbotham picked up this nice Columbia River summer Chinook last season while anchor fishing with a T-50 FlatFish.

(BUZZ RAMSEY)

right for a T-50 FlatFish while a dropper of 30 to 36 inches might be better when fishing a deep-diving Mag Lip, especially in faster currents. Some of the better-producing plug colors include fluorescent red, fire starter, feeder, keeper and the old standby, silver/ chartreuse head.

When the water is moving fast, we’ve enjoyed success plunking spinners.

There is just nothing that fishes as well in fast water as a salmon spinner. Summer Chinook go for medium-sized spinners, like a size 5½ Mulkey or size 5 Toman. Try rigging these on a 60-inch leader and 24-inch weight-dropper line, depending on current speed, and hold them near

JUNE 2015

Northwest Sportsman 93

bottom with 6 to 16 ounces of weight.

Some of the popular spinner colors include fluorescent red, chartreuse/ green dot, green, pink or blue rainbow, and metal finishes like copper, brass or genuine gold. Metal blade finishes or combinations of metal and paint work best when the sun is bright, while painted finishes work best when the light is low or when it’s overcast.

Bank anglers plunk a size 4 or larger size 2 Spin-N-Glo when targeting these salmon, and often tip the trailing hook with a prawn. Some of the more popular colors include stop-n-go (red and chartreuse), fluorescent red, clown, and lime green.

Boat anglers fishing farther downstream, say, near Kalama and Longview where the river current is affected by ocean tides, employ anchor and troll methods. As you might imagine, anchoring is best when the tide is outgoing and current is running, while trolling is more productive when the river slows due to flooding tides. And while fish may be found along current edges and near bottom when currents are strong, they may be higher in the water column when it slows.

THE SUMMER SEASON on the mainstem Columbia from the Astoria-Megler Bridge upstream to Bonneville is scheduled to initially be open from June 16 through July 6 for hatchery summer Chinook and sockeye. The daily limit will be two adult salmonids (Chinook and steelhead must be adipose finclipped). All sockeye are considered adults in the daily limit. Oregon and Washington biologists will monitor the fishery and potentially modify the July portion, which could include extending the season or allowing retention of any adult Chinook.

From Bonneville Dam upstream to the Highway 395 bridge in Tri-Cities, season runs June 16-July 31 under the same daily bag limits. NS Editor’s note: The author is a brand manager and member of the management team at Yakima Bait. Find him on Facebook.

94 Northwest Sportsman

JUNE 2015

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JUNE 2015

Brought To You By:

COLUMN

How To Rule Sound’s Summer Chinook Derbies

A Silver Horde Kingfisher with Matzuo Sickle Hook is among the good bets for bringing a potential winning Chinook to weigh-in during this summer’s derbies on Puget Sound. (CAMI BAYER)

T

hey reduced Chinook fishing in parts of Puget Sound this year, but the derbies will go on! This may be the opportunity for those looking to score some cash to capitalize on the shortcomings the state has given us by way of shorter fishing seasons WIESTSIDER and smaller quotas.

To gain the most, you better have a

By Terry Wiest plan and be well prepared. First of all, what derbies will you fish? Five major ones will be held (see sidebar, next page) over the coming months, and many of the derbies also offer incentives, like extra money for Puget Sound Anglers members. PSA is an organization that advocates for sportfisheries.

The timeline of the derbies pretty much tries to mimic the runs of Chinook. Run timing can vary from year to year, but the events have been around for years and much research has been put into ensuring there are adequate fish for participants to catch.

TIDES WILL PLAY an important part, as always, with derby success.

Beyond the customary first-light bite, one hour before and one hour after each tide are the times you must have your line in the water. Of course you’ll want to fish from as early as possible up to the last minute of each event, as you never know when the big one will strike, but what follows is a very brief synopsis of when the “hot” bites should be during each derby.

Bellingham (July 10-12): Get on the water early on the Friday opener! Looking at the tides, that will be your best bet, but you should have a decent bite all day, thanks to a very moderate tide swing. From before daylight to at least 10 a.m. should produce fish consistently. On Saturday, the tide really starts to pick up, but

the hours from 6 to 10 a.m. again should see plenty of action.

Sunday, you have a noon deadline, which is good, as the tide is not favorable afterwards. I’d fish from daylight up until the gun.

Chimacum (Port Townsend, July 18-19): From daylight until 7 a.m. you should have a favorable tide on Saturday, and from dawn until 8 a.m. on Sunday. You definitely want to be on the water early, as the tide drops fast after that. There should also be a good low slack bite between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday.

South King County: (Point Defiance, Aug. 1): Between 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., fishing should be good. Not only will those hours see the traditional first-light bite, but it’s also slack tide. This sets up for what could be a really strong morning bite. Also, between 11 a.m. and the 1 p.m. deadline could see a great afternoon slack bite.

Gig Harbor (Aug. 8): This also sets up for a nice morning slack tide/first light bite combo from 4 a.m. until around 8 a.m. A moderate tide change should keep fish interested until afternoon high slack, which falls between noon and 2 p.m.

South Sound (Olympia, Aug. 15): You’re really going to have to hit the tides hard on this one, but you’ll be rewarded in doing so.

Even though I’d be on the water at 3, to me it looks like the bite may not turn on until 5 or 5:30, and maybe continue until around 8 a.m. There’s a pretty steep drop in the tide afterwards, but a very nice low slack tide is waiting from around 11:30 until 1:30 to pick up that derby fish.

SPOONS WORK WELL generally during the early part of the Chinook run. I like Silver Horde Kingfisher Lites in the traditional fish-catching colors, cookies and cream, Irish flag, white lightning and my new favorite, the kitchen sink.

One of the things that sets these spoons apart from the rest is the hook. I’ve switched all my gear to Matzuo Sickles after

JUNE 2015

Northwest Sportsman 99

COLUMN

Brought To You By:

SUMMER SALMON DERBIES The following Chinook derbies are part of the Northwest Salmon Derby Series, which this year features the giveaway of a 21-foot Hewescraft, powered by a Mercury four-stroke 150 outboard, at September’s Everett Coho Derby.

c Bellingham Salmon Derby, July 10-12

Info: bellinghampsa.com/derby.htm; (360) 303-9890; cgeri@comcast.net Tickets: $50; first place: $5,000

c Chimacum Salmon Derby, July 18-19

Info: (360) 821-1007; sarakolebradan@gmail.com Tickets: $25; first place: $1,000

c South King County PSA Salmon Derby, Aug. 1

Info: pugetsoundanglers.net; (206) 755-8409; frankeshpeter@comcast.net Tickets: $35; first place: $3,500

c Gig Harbor Salmon Derby, Aug. 8

Info: gigharborpsa.org/derby-rules; (253) 255-8168; jeff@zuniga-family.com Tickets: $30; first place: $3,000

c South Sound Salmon Derby, Aug. 15

Info: sschapterpsa.com/Derby_Page.htm; (619) 994-4319; githanet@gmail.com Tickets: $25; first place: $1,000

All of the above fishing derbies feature kids divisions too. For more information, see northwestsalmonderbyseries.com.

100 Northwest Sportsman

JUNE 2015

testing Silver Horde spoons with them. They stick and they hold. Run the spoons 55 inches behind a green flasher and 15 feet behind the downrigger. Usually I’ll start with rods out at 30, 45 and 60 feet, then gradually drop down as the sun comes out. By 9 I’m usually staggered at 60, 90 and 120 feet to cover the column.

Another popular setup during derbies is a flasher-hoochie combo. I like green spatterback Gold Star squids approximately 40 inches behind a green 11-inch flasher.

The flasher should be 15 feet behind the downrigger ball. I like to tie my hooks close together with hoochies, with the two hooks separated by maybe ¼ to ½ inch. Tie them so they are facing opposite directions. A double 5/0 will stick a Chinook good. Make sure and use 50- to 60-pound Maxima Ultragreen or other premium mono for the leader. This is not for strength; it’s what gives the hoochie action from the flasher.

With either metal or plastic bait, scent up, and reapply every time you reel in to keep it fresh. Just a dab will do you, but get that scent on there. I’ll generally use herring or anise, or a bit of both.

For those who like bait, tip the top hook of the combo with a small triangle of herring.

If you can find some green-label herring, give it a go. I’d prefer live bait, of course, but in Puget Sound that’s getting hard to come by. I’ve had really good luck with bigger fish (derby fish) using whole herring 55 inches behind an 11-inch green flasher. If you can’t get it to spin perfectly, don’t use it! You may need to use a helmet with whole herring if you’re not able to perfect the spin.

Cut-plug herring will work as well, but just make sure it’s fresh and tight. It’s also a good idea to inject the herring with scent.

Above all, make sure the spin is perfect.

No spin? It doesn’t go in. Simple as that.

Make sure and only troll with the tide.

You’re wasting time if you’re going against it. Not that fish won’t bite, but the idea is to cover water and do so efficiently. After you’ve covered a good area, reel up and do it again. Circling back and running against the tide should not be in your playbook on derby days. That’s called wasting time.

So buy your tickets (most are available online at the websites listed in the sidebar), read the rules and get on the water. The more prepared you are, the better your odds of winning. Good luck! NS

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102 Northwest Sportsman

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COLUMN

The New Beachmasters Lee Landrum and Richard Wark prepare to launch off an ocean beach to troll for salmon just out beyond the surf. (LEE LANDRUM)

J

uly 4th, Pacific City. Morning offshores polish diminutive summer swells. A bald eagle soars overhead, plotting his raid on the nests of Haystack Rock, while a fleet of dories race for the deep in pursuit of salmon.

Thirty yards from the sand, I mark 10 KAYAK GUYS feet of water on my fishfinder. Time to

By Mark Veary drop. As my Coyote Spoon flutters to the bottom I can see a look of curiosity come over the face of one dory crewman. Mustering my best “I don’t know what the heck I’m doing out here” smile, I nod and wave.

“That’s right, keep on moving,” I mutter through the ridiculous grin.

Crossing a small hump into 7 feet of water my attention is drawn to a flock of gulls angered at the eagle’s approach.

Panicked cries ring off the walls of Cape Kiwanda as squadrons of gulls dive bomb the ominous predator. When I look back, my rod is buried under the load of a 20-pound Chinook.

LIFE’S A PROGRESSION, and so is fishing. This truth has never been more evident than in the application of kayaks to

chasing ocean salmon.

Not that many years ago, the hardy groundbreakers in this challenging fishery looked to the powerboat fleet for tactics and destinations. Shortcutting the long runs from Newport, Tillamook and Astoria, these adventurers would launch from the beach in front of established salmon fisheries and slog their way out to the fleet. While there are still days when gritting your teeth and paddling those 6 to 8 miles offshore is a ticket to success, it’s hardly the only way to catch ocean Chinook and coho.

In fact, some days, it’s not even the best way.

Hours of paddling to and from the traditional salmon grounds give a person plenty of opportunity to reflect, observe and speculate. Questions loom out of the fog, like, Why have I seen so many salmon while surfing?, and, What would happen if I trolled through those nearshore bait balls?

A little research and lot of trial and error soon sussed out the answers.

Contrary to once-common thought, salmon don’t just mill around those offshore areas defined by decades of success.

Rather, they move constantly in search of easy meals to bulk up for their coming spawning runs. Dinner includes sandlances in the surf, black-tailed shrimp swarming around shallow kelp beds,

JUNE 2015

Northwest Sportsman 103

COLUMN and schools of herring. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or wildlife biologist) to realize that this shallow water-forage base is being exploited by the same species chased by anglers well out to sea.

MANY TACTICS AND techniques have yet to be vetted, but to this point in the evolution of ocean salmon kayak fishing, a number of consistent nearshore tactics have been proven.

If you want to catch ocean salmon in water less than 25 feet deep, the early morning hours tend to be the most productive. In these areas, dragging bottom with a plug-cut bait or spoon consistently produces Chinook, along with the occasional coho.

Follow the bait. While you can catch salmon even when bait balls aren’t visible, schooling baitfish give you a

visible indicator of where salmon will likely be stalking.

Headlands tend to concentrate bait.

Oftentimes you’ll find large, dense bait balls feeding in and around rip currents.

These same rips can be used to propel you out through the surf.

Once the morning bite has subsided, troll your way out to the 30- to 100-foot depths for coho. Start with 8 to 12 pulls of line out, but keep your eye on your depthfinder. When you start marking fish, adjust your depth to match the marks and work that area thoroughly. If you haven’t hooked up after 15 or 20 minutes, resume your search and repeat.

The one downside to fishing for salmon so close to shore is that you’re in

plain sight of numerous beachgoers. This has led to an interesting reversal of roles.

In the last two years, nearshore kayak anglers have witnessed an exponential growth in the number of powerboat fishermen working waters we once had to ourselves. Our “I don’t know what the heck I’m doing out here” smiles don’t appear to be working anymore.

REQUISITE SAFETY NOTE: The North Pacific is a cold and dangerous mistress. Dress for immersion, pay close attention to swell forecasts and beware afternoon’s strong northwesterly winds. Furthermore, choose your days wisely and stow or tie down any gear you’d like to keep before attempting surf launches and landings. NS

Last year’s big Columbia fall Chinook run provided some epic ocean fishing for Northwest kayak anglers, one of whom also brought in some bonus Dungies. (LEE LANDRUM, DESIREE HOCHSTEIN, LEE LANDRUM, JEFF ANDERSON)

Jeff Anderson shows off a slab of a Chinook caught out of his kayak last summer in all of 12 to 20 feet of water off the Northwest coast. (BRIAN STEVES) 104 Northwest Sportsman

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FISHING Today’s ocean salmon anglers have a wide array of forecasting tools to check before going to sea, but one good sign that we’ll be able to head out for chrome kings and coho, like the author's son Ayden poses with (inset), is a red sunset, which typically means high pressure and no storms the next day. (ANDY SCHNEIDER)

Forecast?

Good Fishing June marks the kickoff of what may be a red-hot salmon season off the Oregon Coast.

By Andy Schneider

“R

ed sky at night, sailors’ delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take

warning.”

This rhyming lore has been around for at least a couple millennia, serving seafarers in port and on the open ocean when they needed something that passed for a forecast. And while we may discount it in today’s modern world – what with all of our high-tech satellite imagery, anchored weather buoys, Doppler radar and suites of computer forecasting ensembles – there still is some truth to the saying.

I’m no meteorologist, but the nut is that it has to do with areas of high pressure being partly cloudy

or cloud free, and in those clearer conditions, dust and other aerosols in the upper atmosphere scatter longer wavelengths (red light) more efficiently. A sailor watching a red sunset from the dock or their ship can infer that there is high pressure to the west, and since weather moves from west to east, the mariner can assume that high pressure will be moving towards them, providing some decent sailing – or in our case, fishing!

These days, local weathermen don’t seem to mention red skies very often in their forecasting, so it’s still up to anglers to verify that colorful evenings really will correlate with good ocean conditions. But next time you look out over a beautiful

golden-red sunset, just keep in mind that there might be some good ocean conditions out there for you to pursue a not-so-elusive quarry: salmon.

While many outdoor enthusiasts flock to high mountain lakes for camping and trout fishing or shady tributaries looking for summer steelhead as soon as our Northwest weather turns nice, they are missing out on just as enjoyable conditions along small coastal towns, places where anglers and campers are welcomed with festivals, parades and all different sorts of different fests. What better time to bring family and friends down to the coast to enjoy good weather, fun activities and amazing fishing?

The sunsets can be pretty nice too.

JUNE 2015

Northwest Sportsman

107

FISHING In Oregon, ocean Chinook has been open since mid-March, and hatchery coho season begins June 13 from Washington’s Leadbetter Point to Oregon’s Cape Falcon and June 27 from Falcon to the Oregon-California border. With big fall forecasts expected to return to the Columbia and California rivers, salmon anglers should have plenty of time, opportunities and fish to pursue this summer.

LOCATING SALTY SALMON

and when they are actively diving and foraging, it’s worth pulling up your gear and making a run to the feeding frenzy that is happening just below the surface.

Clue number three is temperature.

Unlike our first two clues, it’s impossible to read from looking at the ocean, but fortunately there are satellites that take daily reading of nearshore waters. Terrafin, Rip Charts and NOAA all offer images

Brenda Hawkins shows off an

The Pacific is a mighty ocean coho caught last season.

(ANDY SCHNEIDER) big piece of water, and it can be very daunting to try and find a fish that can be migrating across thousands of square miles. But the ocean gives us some pretty big hints on where to start to look for our prey.

The first clue the Pacific provides are rip lines, changes in current, temperature, color, upwelling, depth or salinity of the ocean. A rip can be identified by a line of unsettled water, boils or eddies often filled with seaweed, grass and perhaps some tsunami debris.

When these different conditions collide, they concentrate plankton and baitfish, and where there's bait, there will be salmon.

Clue number two is birds. Birds feed on small baitfish, of our coastal waters where you can and where there's bait – yep, you locate salmon-friendly water temps. guessed it. Murres and puffins are The fish tend to hang in waters from usually the first on the scene, and 52 to 54 degrees, which can be as they feed on the same anchovies, close as the surf line to as far as 15 herring, candlefish and saury that miles offshore. It pays to know how coho and Chinook do. Feeding birds far you are going to have to run to can be seen from a long way away, 108 Northwest Sportsman

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start to pursue salmon.

Clue number four is daylight and visibility. While the Pacific doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with daylight, most salmon anglers know that the first-light bite is the best of the day. This holds especially true for ocean salmon, as the schools like to run shallow for the first few hours of the day before moving deeper as the sun rises. If there is a lot of water visibility, expect fish to move deeper quicker, and when vis is poor, expect fish to linger longer on the surface.

And finally, this is more of a tip than a clue, but one tool that tends to be underutilized regardless of what port you are fishing out of is the good ol’ GPS waypoint.

While this is a no-brainer for bottomfish and halibut, it tends to be overlooked for ocean salmon.

As vast and ever-changing as the Pacific is, specific locations can offer surprisingly consistent fishing year after year.

Whether it’s a bottom contour that creates a small upwelling or a nearshore reef that traps baitfish in a whirlpool a half mile away, waypoints where you caught fish in years past will usually be productive for many more to come.

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FISHING PORTS OF CALL Every navigable port on the Oregon Coast offers good salmon fishing, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife catch data shows, so it’s really up to you to decide which you want to pursue your quarry out of.

Most anglers pick ports closest to home, while some stay with those that they grew up fishing, and still others choose the one getting the most attention on the Internet. Each port has its own salty flavor that some anglers may love or dislike, but once you start calling one your home port, it’s time to learn the nuances of the bar, fishy reefs, common weather patterns, currents and where the fish can be found year after year.

Yaquina Bay is usually right in the middle of the action. Since early March Chinook have been pulling in close to the Central Coast on their journey to southern rivers like

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the Sacramento and Klamath. And through summer, more and more salmon will start their migration towards the Columbia and other northern tributaries.

Chinook anglers tend to target Stonewall Banks, a 12-mile run almost due west from the tips of the bay’s jetties. This 13-mile-long reef parallels the coast and is one of Oregon’s largest. Seal Rock, to the south of the bay, is another popular destination for king anglers.

Those after coho head northwest.

The waters 2 to 3 miles due west of the famed Yaquina Head lighthouse are usually where silver slayers have the most success.

Depoe Bay is one of the most consistent producers of Chinook and coho all season long, and many times long runs aren’t needed to find schools of feeding salmon.

Most anglers start in waters 30 to 40 fathoms deep directly north of

Government Point.

There is no major structure like reefs out of Depoe Bay to hold salmon, but rips are usually plentiful and easy to find. If you have to travel more than 5 miles to locate signs of salmon, you probably have run too far out of Depoe.

Tillamook and Nehalem Bays both get healthy runs of Chinook and coho, and some of those fish can be found starting to stage in nearshore waters in early summer.

But more than likely, coho you catch here are on their way north to the Columbia. The waters 20 to 30 fathoms deep directly west of Twin Rocks seems to be the most productive year after year.

If coho are scattered or being elusive, head north to the waters off of Manzanita and look for the plentiful rips and schools of baits.

Hammond/Ilwaco is one of the most popular destinations for targeting staging Chinook and coho, and for good reason. Over a million fish will be entering the Columbia River in the months to come, and many may already be feeding just off the mouth. The shallow waters directly in front of the condos on Long Beach have been producing amazing results the last five years, and don’t expect that to change this year. Coho and Chinook are caught in waters mostly shallower than 10 fathoms.

With productivity come crowds.

Charter skippers and kayakers troll here, and the fishing can become quite busy and challenging to navigate.

Good alternatives include around the CR Buoy and south to Seaside.

Ocean salmon is one of Oregon’s most enjoyable fisheries. Look for favorable weather and ocean conditions and make a long weekend trip with the family to one of the numerous campgrounds along the coast. Chances are that if you’re looking west at sunset and there’s a red tinge to the sky, your inner sailor will be grinning in delight. NS

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112 Northwest Sportsman

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SPONSORED BY:

RIG MONTH OF THE

Double Trouble On The Ocean NOTES Ocean salmon can be a very fun, but challenging fishery at times. When conditions finally allow anglers out on the briny blue, it can be tough to locate Chinook and silvers, as well as get them to bite. Good starting points for your search include riplines, near birds and temperature breaks. Move to them and monitor your fishfinder to locate schools of baitfish, then drop your tackle to that depth. The rigs at right offer two options for covering the water and feature different approaches for attracting a bite. Keep alternating your speed and course to trigger a bite.

–Andy Schneider

Bait hood

Whole herring

Two 4/0 Big River Bait hooks

48-inch, 30-pound-test leader

Large duolock swivel Delta Divers

8-inch flasher

Large duolock swivel 30-inch, 40-pound-test monofilament

24- to 30-inch, 30-pound-test leader

No. 1 dodger

Colored, shortened line used for illustration purposes.

Two 4/0 octopus circle hooks

3-inch squid (army truck)

(ANDY SCHNEIDER)

JUNE 2015

Northwest Sportsman 113

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FISHING

It Means Great Fishing Vancouver Island’s Ucluelet – say “You-cue-let” and you’ll fit in – features fast access to salmon, bottomfish.

Situated on the west coast of Vancouver Island 50 miles to the northwest of Neah Bay, Ucluelet represents choice access to fish-rich waters coursed by American and Fraser-bound salmon and hordes of halibut, rockfish and lingcod. (ROY LUCK, FLICKR)

By Jeff Holmes

I

f I’ve made one thing clear during my four years with Northwest Sportsman, it’s that I’m in love with saltwater fishing, Vancouver Island in particular. I crave time on the island’s waters like no others. Its west coast – especially its northern half – is rocky, wild and home to a wider variety of rockfish than we see in Washington and Oregon, including larger lingcod and halibut and opportunities for flatsiders that stretch into September.

CANADA EH!

Fishing the reefs here offers a glimpse of what ours produced decades before my time. The island is also home to excellent salmon fishing that surpasses even our own fantastic fishing in Washington and Oregon.

Canadians fish over their runs, and ours. Before a spring Chinook arrives to the mouth of the Columbia River – especially Willamette fish – Canadians whack on ’em. The same is true of summer and fall Chinook and coho.

Most days of fishing I’ve experienced on the island have blown my best days in the States out of the water, especially the bottomfishing

for rockfish, lings and halibut. My best days of ocean salmon fishing have also occurred on Vancouver Island, but our salmon fishing surely gives BC a run for its money these days.

My wife and I have been fortunate to have fished with some excellent charter operators on the island’s west coast, including Esperanza Inlet’s Rodgers Lodge (rodgersfishinglodge. com), Tofino’s Osprey Charters and B&B (tofinolodge.com), Port Hardy’s Starfish Charters (starfishcharters.com), and Winter Harbour’s Qualicum Rivers Winter Harbour Fishing Lodge and Resort (qualicumrivers.com).

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FISHING LAST JUNE, JUST after arriving home from our annual trip – this one to Tahsis and Esperanza Inlet – I got a call from Canadian friend and fishing guide Kerry Reed of Reel Adventures Fishing (reeladventuresfishing. com). He is based out of Nelson and calls the Upper Columbia River and Kootenay Lake and its tributaries his home range, but he’s also guided Vancouver Island’s west coast for the last 10 years. He’d seen Erika and I post about our trip on social media and noticed a conspicuous lack of halibut in our pictures, but an array of other cool fish. We’d chosen the worst tides during the early season to fish halibut, so we’d done poorly. He mentioned a weekend cancellation he’d received fishing halibut and kings out of Ucluelet late last July and asked if we wanted to spend a couple days test fishing with him before the next group arrived. At the time, money was tight and a second trip seemed unlikely, but I sold the idea to Erika and we started scrounging for a quick return to what would be a new port on the island for us.

Ucluelet sits at the bottom of British Columbia’s Long Beach and at the top end of expansive Barkley Sound, home to protected waters and scores of small islands that make up the Broken Group. Our spring Chinook notoriously move into this and other Vancouver Island west coast sounds in early spring in pursuit of spawning herring, but the summer fishing action happens offshore and in abundance. The banks off of this popular port kick out reliable limits of chicken-sized and much larger halibut all season, and some of the Pacific’s best salmon fishing. Vast schools of migrating salmon follow the “Salmon Highway” past Ucluelet, including most US fish, most Fraser River fish, and stocks from all points south and in between. Like Westport, Ucluelet is not home to a diversity of rocky structure, but its fishing grounds also hold good numbers 116 Northwest Sportsman

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With good halibut fishing lasting through salmon season, Ucluelet and other Vancouver Island ports make for great destinations for anglers looking to pick fights with multiple species, as well as fill a cooler with great-tasting fillets. Erika Holmes caught this flatsider on a summer trip last year that combined trolling for Chinook and coho and anchoring for halibut. (JEFF HOLMES)

of lingcod and rockfish. The port is known as an all-around good place to fish, in part because of its excellent and easy access and partly because the fishing has remained so consistently good through years of commercial and sport pressure.

UCLUELET’S HARBOR HOLDS a large fishing fleet and is much more angler-centric than more upscale Tofino, just 25 miles north along Long Beach. “Ukee,” as some call Ucluelet, is home to plenty of good

accommodations and eateries, as well as camping. If you’re American, good God, don’t utter Ukee. Worse yet, don’t pronounce the first “L” in Ucluelet – unless you want every Canadian to know instantly you’re a tourist. The locals say “You-cue-let.”

Flanking the busy harbor is excellent Ucluelet Campground, where Erika and I booked three nights with firewood for a good price, on Reed’s recommendation.

Walking from the campground to the marina is a no-brainer, and all

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The road to Ucluelet runs through Port Alberni, situated at the head of Barkley Sound. (JEFF HOLMES)

of the town’s best services are inside of a mile. Street food – including amazing and giant fish and chips – is available, along with a range of sitdown restaurants and pubs. As a port town supporting fishermen, I’d rank it close to my favorite, and certainly the coolest fishing town I’ve been to in BC. As elsewhere on the island, rainforest splendor and wildlife are fixtures on any visit, and cool critters and dramatic backdrops are the rule in port and in the island’s wilds. As we drove the final 40 miles into Ucluelet, Erika and I saw three bears, one of which was very large and sauntered off the road while looking back over his shoulder.

After a short sleep at Ucluelet Campground, after beers and dinner and a walkabout around town, Erika and I awoke groggy and headed for the docks and Reed’s Hewescraft Ocean Pro, which he skippers expertly on fresh and saltwater. We’d spent lots of time fishing with Reed on Kootenay Lake and were excited to spend the day with him out of a port I had overlooked in favor of more remote fishing locales to the north. Like many Canadians, Reed’s

sense of humor exceeds that of the average American’s, and he will gladly take as well as dish out teasing.

This is an important characteristic in order to deflect the plowing wake of my generalizations and jokes about Canadians and Canadian anglers during a typical day of fishing with me north of the border. I get really excited and tend to overtalk a little extra when in Canadian waters.

With Reed all but guaranteeing halibut and predicting a torrid salmon bite, I was excited to be aboard and underway for the first of two days fishing offshore on some of the richest grounds on the entire West Coast of North America.

Despite my excitement, and Erika’s, I still presupposed the fishing would not be as good here in this busy, southern port as what I had experienced in more remote ports on the island. With a daily limit of one halibut and a possession limit of two, Erika and I had potential to bring home four, along with eight kings and eight coho.

ON GLASSY OCEAN waters, we ran at over 30 mph once out of the harbor,

NORTH COAST’S TOP PORT Ucluelet is the biggest and closest fishing port on Vancouver Island’s west coast. While the fishing here is amazing and affordable, for just a little more money and a lot more driving, one can reach the island’s best and most remote fishery: Winter Harbour. The harbor is a safe haven from the nearby open ocean on the island’s extreme northwest coastline at the mouth of Quatsino Sound. The remoteness of the Winter Harbour fishery and the subsequent abundance and size of fish is impressive, to say the least, as is the tiny port’s little store, The Outpost,where you can mail a letter or package, eat a meal, fill your gas tanks, buy a bottle of Canadian whiskey and drink it right there. Erika and I did this with our guides from Qualicum

arriving swiftly at the “Long Beach” fishing grounds, 14 miles from Ucluelet. Reed swiftly deployed

Rivers Winter Harbour Fishing Lodge and Resort (qualicumrivers.com) two summers ago after three intense days of fishing, a trip I wrote about in Northwest Sportsman. It was hands down the best fishing of our lives. Our load of fish was so conspicuous that we were hassled

by Canadians at a motel for “poaching,” asked at the border why our truck was tilted backwards and leaking fluid, and forced to rent a trailer once back in the States in order to complete the journey.

If you go, FYI, several hundred pounds of rockfish, halibut, giant lingcod, coho and big Chinook do not fit in a regularcab Toyota Tacoma with two adults, two dogs and a week of gear. When we go this July, we’ll drive a Tundra, leave the dogs home and replace them with six full-size coolers. –JH

Scotty Depthpower Downriggers with 11-inch Pro-Troll flashers, one followed by a hoochie, the other a

spoon. Before resorting to anchoring up for halibut, we’d try to troll them up, a Vancouver Island tradition, it seems. Reed knew halibut were first on our list, but for a chance at some fresh-arriving “springs” (mature Chinook in the Canadian vernacular), he dropped the downrigger balls close to bottom in 150 to 160 feet of water. Big springs were due to flood into Long Beach any day, so we spent a day in pursuit.

Although we didn’t troll up any halibut for the day, we did land 16 adult salmon, not counting shakers, including a couple of 20-pound kings and a 13-pound coho. Our halibut anchoring efforts were somewhat less successful, although we did manage a 30-pounder and a 15 in limited fishing. Too many sanddabs and immature halibut made it all but impossible to fish bait, so we decided to pull anchor and redouble efforts for halibut on day two. Just before we pulled the plug on day one’s

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FISHING halibut fishing, I jigged an 8-ounce homemade butterfly jig under the boat to hook and land a very nice Pacific cod as a supplement to our day’s catch of four kings, four coho and two halibut.

IN LATE JULY (24-26 in 2015), Ucluelet holds Ukee Days, a festival celebrating west coast life, and last year’s coincided with our visit. It looked cool and brought a lot of friendly people into town, but our focus on fishing and Canadian beer drinking and walking all over heck held us back from participating very much, except for the usual BSing with random strangers that seems to happen so much more freely and pleasantly north of the border. We did enjoy some of Ukee Days’ many bands, however, free of charge. As would be expected, Tom Cochrane and Bryan Adams covers were heard. We laughed hard about that

The “Salmon Highway” isn’t the name of any paved road, rather the path Chinook and coho as well as sockeye, pinks and chums, take around the west coast of Vancouver Island and ports like Ucluelet to spawning rivers such as Canada’s Fraser, Puget Sound streams and the mighty Columbia. (JEFF HOLMES)

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FISHING and about a lot of other stuff. With one more day of fishing ahead, we had fun that night in camp, and at a few restaurants and pubs. We didn’t catch their names.

FOR OUR SECOND day of fishing, we made the run to Big Bank, which is 20 miles out and 25 miles to its outer edge. Getting our halibut was on the brain, but so were the hundreds of salmon we’d seen slashing the surface toward the end of our run. We started off the morning fishing downriggers and flashers and began to light up the scoreboard immediately. Almost as fast as we could get our baits down and boat underway, releases would trip and rods would load up with salmon. Erika and I took turns landing Chinook after Chinook in the 8- to 15-pound range, mixed in with some decent-sized coho. Almost all fish were mature, with only a handful of shakers, just no big fish. I love to

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run Scotty downriggers on the ocean, so Reed let me run back and forth between ’riggers while he sat back and drove while making good fun of me. I worked up a sweat as the summer sun rose and we brought at least 30 salmon to the boat, releasing most and keeping half our limits.

We were becoming nervous about getting our halibut, so Reed anchored us in a prime location and we got baits on the bottom working for us.

It didn’t take long for Erika and I to score on 43- and 30-pound halibut, rounding out our possession limits and sending us back on the troll for the second half of our salmon limit.

We ran to a different part of the aptly named Big Bank and commenced trolling, experimenting with all depths from bottom to 30 feet, learning that the entire bank was swarming with small kings and nice-sized coho. We caught fish until our arms ached badly, so much so that we ended it by bonking a small king after releasing

many larger ones earlier that day. We estimate we landed approximately 50 adult salmon between the two of us, along with two halibut.

Ucluelet exceeded our expectations for its fishing action and ambiance, and we took home a handsome price of fish that went to great use. Erika and I love Kerry Reed and find fishing with him to be about as enjoyable as it gets. I can’t recommend fishing with him enough. You will have a superior time if you book with him, whether on the fishing grounds in Ucluelet or on his home waters near Nelson in the West Kootenays. I’ll feature an epic bull trout trip with Reed this October, one on which we fished among grizzly tracks and caught and released lots of bulls averaging 30 inches via his little jet sled. Our trip with him in Ucluelet stands out as one of our favorite in recent memory, as does the autumn image of a 16-pound bull trout puking out a 15-inch kokanee as Reed landed the trout on a fly rod. NS

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FISHING Early June sees two weeks of mark-selective Chinook fishing out of Westport as well as Ilwaco to the south, and then at midmonth, wild kings join the daily bag limit of two salmon, including hatchery coho. Grant Blinn caught this nice king while fishing with the author. (JASON BROOKS)

South Coast Salmon Prospects Bright May 30 marks start of hatchery king season out of Westport, Ilwaco, with coho and any-king opener in mid-June.

By Jason Brooks

P

eering over the bow of the boat, I kept calling out to our captain of the day, Grant Blinn, where I was spotting crab pots. Just past the famed Westport Bar are the commercial crabbing grounds, a gauntlet of pot buoys whose ropes will eat up your prop and end the day’s fishing – or worse, sink your boat. The bar was a bit rough on this day, making it even more difficult to convince myself that all this trouble was worth it. But I knew that it was – the Chinook opener was upon us and ocean-fresh salmon is one of my favorite meals. Just as I was going to tell Grant about a pot on our port side, he threw back the throttle and rode the wave down into the well, knocking me to the ground. Luckily, we missed the pot and several others, and made our way to calmer waters across the bar and out onto the Pacific.

When Grant put the boat on full plane, my eyes switched from scanning the horizon to watching the fish finder’s screen. Soon, it lit up with a cloud of orange and blue that marked a large bait ball about 50 feet deep in 80 feet of water, and we put the brakes on. I moved to the stern and began rigging the rods, while Grant hooked up the downrigger balls. I put on an 11-inch green

Hot Spot flasher, followed by an Ace Hi Fly on a two-hook set-up with a strip of herring on the top hook.

Dropping the offering down to the depth of the bottom of the bait ball, we trolled through and in minutes the first rod went off. Fish on!

That’s fishing at Westport – fast, furious and a bit chaotic.

We landed the first fish, a midteens ocean-bright Chinook sporting that slight purple hue along its silvery face and dark spotted back.

We trolled through the bait a few more times and didn’t touch a fish, then the ball somehow disappeared on us. More than likely the tide had pushed us in opposite directions, but as we continued north along the popular beach off of Ocean Shores, there were good signs on the horizon.

As we approached the Quinault Beach Casino, a towering building often used as a landmark by fishermen, we started marking bait again, and several charter boats were bobbing in the waves. If you have never fished out of Westport, a good

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FISHING rule to follow is to look where the charters are fishing and use that as a guide to where to catch fish. Since the skippers will talk amongst themselves, often on side channels of their VHF radios or by cell phone, they keep tabs on the bite and the fish. If you find a flotilla of charter boats, you can bet salmon are in the area.

of the former put a salmon each in the box. Yes, this year’s coastwide coho quota is about 16 percent lower than 2014, but the king guideline was nudged up by 5,000, and you can bet that Westport’s boat ramp and marina will be buzzing in the predawn hours with those sorts of Chinook numbers.

Indeed, it’s a very popular fishery, and the small fishing town has limited

hotels and camping areas that are often reserved the day after seasons are announced in mid-April. It’s a good idea to call ahead and see if any of the hotels or camping areas have any spaces left, or plan on driving a bit – Aberdeen is about 30 minutes away, but Grayland is just down the road – to get to the launch. In Westport there is one public launch, but it does have multiple lanes and a

MAY 30 MARKS the opener of the first salmon season on Washington’s South Coast, the two-week clipped Chinook fishery, and starting June 12, any king and hatchery coho are retainable. The daily limit is two salmon in both fisheries.

If this year matches 2014, fishing should see a pretty good start for both. Last year’s early season saw catches of nearly a king a rod out of Ilwaco and three-fifths of one per rod out of Westport. But the latter port saw around 1½ salmon a rod for the mid-June opener, while anglers out

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Private boaters line up to launch at the Westport ramp. (JASON BROOKS)

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FISHING large dock space. Make sure to have everything ready to go as you wait in line so that when it is your turn to put the boat in the water you don’t hold up everyone else.

Right next to the boat launch is the U.S. Coast Guard station. Pay close attention to the flags they’re flying, as these provide wind warnings as well as bar closures if weather and tide conditions make it too dangerous to cross. This is one of the deadliest bars on the West Coast, with large tide swings and strong winds making for big waves and rough seas. It is recommended that you don’t even try to cross in a boat less than 20 feet and sporting a deep-V hull to cut through the water. Smaller and open craft do launch and fish out of here, but make sure to pay attention to the weather report, including wind forecast, and know the tide exchange and times. There are several sandbars out in Grays Harbor, and in extreme

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low tides you can damage your boat running over them if strong winds cause deep swells.

Westport’s south jetty is a good spot to catch lingcod and black sea bass, as well as some other smaller fish, The digital equivalent of a stop sign, this bait ball is sure to have salmon underneath. A smart play would be to drop a trolling fly, spoon, and while it creates prowling hoochie or real or imitation cutplug herring behind a flasher or dodger down a large break as you to the level of the bottom of the ball to attract kings and coho. (JASON BROOKS) motor out to the red markers on your left, and on the bar, make sure to stay clear of it the way back to port, you want them on further you get out – tides and wind your right side. Stay between the red can push you into sunken rocks. The and green markers, or just follow the end of the jetty extends way past charter boats out. where it goes under water, so just because you don’t see any of the rocks doesn’t mean you can cut across to ONE SUMMER WE noticed most boats the south, as you will run aground turning south after crossing the bar, and possibly sink your boat. Instead, but we continued north and tried to use the buoy markers and remember fish where we had had previous luck. the saying “red right return,” which Instead, we ran into a lot of jellyfish. means on the way out, you want the With their stinging slime all over our

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FISHING grabbed the spoon. It went roughly 12 pounds, but was unclipped so I released it. Sometimes you can’t get your gear down through the coho to the deeper waters where the Chinook are, which can make for a fun though frustrating day.

This summer, head to Westport for some of the best salmon fishing in Washington. Just be sure to check the weather and tide tables, and have your boat ready to fish the open ocean. If it’s your first time, maybe book a charter (charterwestport.com) to see what it’s like to cross the bar. If you can find hotel or camping spots, make a weekend out of it and take the family, as there are a lot of fun things to do in the Grays Harbor area.

Indeed, this is one of Washington’s best summer getaways, and with Puget Sound’s reduced or closed Chinook fisheries, this summer the state’s South Coast represents one of your best chances to put some oceanfresh salmon on the barbecue. NS

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downrigger cables and fishing line, we knew that where there were that many jellyfish, there would be no baitfish, and no baitfish means no salmon. A quick call to my friend Ralph Thomas, a Westport regular, confirmed everyone was fishing just to the south. Grant put the boat up on plane and we cruised well off the jetties to fish out in front of Grayland.

Ralph was doing well fishing plugcut herring. He is one of those guys who really like to fish centerpin rods and reels, something he picked up a few years ago on his yearly trip to Canada. Most who fish centerpins will run a cutplug with the leader tied directly to a swivel and then to the mainline. If a dodger is used, it is on the downrigger ball. The concept is the same as when running a traditional flasher and squid bait or Ace Hi Fly – troll under, around and through bait balls.

With conventional gear, other

things to use include a dodger with a Brad’s Super Cut Plug stuffed with herring or tuna belly, or a Coho Killer or Coyote Spoon. In case you forgot the difference between a flasher and a dodger, the former rotates in a large circle so baits or lures that can be “whipped around,” such as hoochies or flies, work well behind them. Make sure to use a fairly short leader, about 20 to 30 inches of stout monofilament, like 30-pound test, as this imparts a lot of action to the lure.

A dodger simply dodges back and forth, and spoons or cut-plug herring work well behind them with a little longer leader.

Chinook are what most people are willing to cross the bar to fish for, but coho fishing can be downright crazy. My first ever Westport silver came years ago as I was trying to clip my line into the downrigger release while my dodger and Coyote fluttered in the prop wash. A fish erupted up through the wash and

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FISHING

Bottom Rockets Taking the fast boat to bottomfish town.

Among the many charterfishing operations out of Westport, recent years have seen the rise of express boats. An All Rivers and Saltwater Charters boat speeds to offshore fishing grounds.

(ALLRIVERSGUIDESERVICE.COM)

By Jeff Holmes

I

have major love for all four of Washington’s ocean ports, but for convenience combined with good fishing, it’s tough to beat Westport. Ilwaco, LaPush and Neah Bay are similarly exceptional and unique places to fish and interface with the ocean – including in June – but Westport is just a quick 2.5 hours of highway from Seattle. This historic port on the south jetty of Grays Harbor easily lends itself to long trips or to one-day and quick overnight trips to fill freezers and satisfy saltwater longings. This month is an especially great time to

bottomfish out of Westport for some or the season’s cleanest, firmest lingcod and rockfish, and salmon and nearshore halibut opportunities are also good.

The increasing El Niño trend should send albacore tuna to our coasts very early this year too, and skipper Mark Coleman is guardedly eager at the prospect.

“Oh, man, just the sound of June and Westport get me excited.

There are so many fishing options, and they’re all prime-time too. You have rockfish, lingcod, salmon and even unpressured albacore tuna on certain strong El Niño years ... cough, cough!”

If albacore show in boat-plugging numbers this June, fishing could be insane for the owner of All Rivers and Saltwater Charters (allriversguideservice.com) and the many other tuna guides in the boat basin. But even if it’s early July when the tuna arrive, June will be an excellent time to be on the ocean.

Lightly pressured fishing grounds, abundant reputable charter options, and great access for crabbing, surf fishing, and pier and jetty fishing are other great reasons to trek to Washington’s biggest ocean fishing port this month.

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FISHING fishing for rockfish, lingcod and occasional nearshore halibut will be the most “prime time.” Salmon fishing will likely be very good in June, but it will improve throughout summer, as will tuna fishing.

Bottomfishing can be very good all summer too, but opportunities don’t get better during the summer.

June finds fish in firm flesh with very few parasites. Reefs and rockpatches are still loaded with snappy rockfish and lingcod. You never know what you’ll hook and reel up off the ocean floor on a bottomfishing trip, one of the reasons so many anglers – me included – love it so much.

Lots of awesome Westport charters will take you to the action and show you an amazing day of fishing and service, but my personal choice for speed, versatility, kindness and dry sense of humor is Coleman and his express outfit.

“Our bottomfishing trip is especially cool because of our custombuilt Defiance ‘go-fast’ pilothouse boats and the fact that we handle just six anglers,” says Coleman. “Once aboard we travel very quickly to the best fishing zones and get right to fishing. What you’ll find next is exactly why folks choose this trip to begin with. You’ve got a multitude of different rockfish species, lingcod of potentially great size and halibut that can all be had on the same drift! As a fleet of three charter boats, ensuring where to find the best action is pretty easy, and moving from spot to spot quickly is our MO.” Coleman and his skippers rocket from spot to spot to seek out the best bite possible on the best class of fish, which often results in an extra-large class of black rockfish and very nice lings. Although contrary to tradition, Coleman also takes an ultralight approach with his gear. Because of the versatility

The go-faster approach allows anglers a chance to use lighter gear, providing for a better fight and giving them more time to land large fish. (ALLRIVERSGUIDESERVICE.COM)

of only fishing a half dozen anglers and being able to move fast from spot to spot, his clients can take the extra time to land the occasional nearshore halibut or very large lingcod or salmon on sporty gear.

“We recommend using the lightest tackle you can get away with to feel every bite and have the most fun at the rail,” says Coleman. “That usually means 7-foot Okuma spinning rods with Okuma RTX reels loaded with 50-pound TUF-Line braid. From the 134 Northwest Sportsman

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FISHING

GUIDING ALL THE STREAMS, SALTWATERS

M

ark and Merry Coleman’s All Rivers and Saltwater Charters features one of the Northwest’s most diverse guiding programs. Along with being one of the coast’s leading expresstrip tuna guides and offering a variety of ocean salmon, lingcod, halibut and rockfish trips out of Westport, Mark and his trusted guides operate lingcod and salmon trips out of Defiance Pilothouse boats in the protected waters near Seattle and the San Juans.

“For those who don’t quite get along with fishing on the ocean – or for folks who like to fish close to town – we do offer inshore lingcod fishing trips in the north Puget Sound during May and June,” says Coleman. “These trips leave from Anacortes and offer a smooth dance floor, scenic San Juan Islands atmosphere, and abundant lingcod fishing.”

Coleman says he also keeps a boat fishing and crabbing out of Seattle’s Shilshole Bay to satisfy close-to-home Puget Sound anglers and tourists to the Seattle area.

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A boatload of happy clients show off lings caught in the San Juans while fishing with All Rivers and Saltwater Charters. (ALLRIVERSGUIDESERVICE.COM) In freshwater, Coleman and crew fish Puget Sound and Grays Harbor steelhead and salmon rivers, and Columbia River spring Chinook. Unlike some guiding

outfits that spread themselves thin across fisheries, Coleman and his guides are dialed in on all of their waters and are one of the state’s classiest and most reliable bets. –JH

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FISHING mainline we attach a 5-foot doubledropper loop leader, loop on a couple shrimp flies, a little lead, and down we go. If you let out slowly, you may convince the rockfish to suspend higher and higher off the bottom and eventually under the boat for wide-open action. That’s a goal we often achieve.”

Limits of lingcod (two) and rockfish (10) are typical, and every season clients land nice halibut and salmon while bottomfishing as well.

“We keep an eye on the inshore halibut season too. It’s open seven days a week until the quota is met, and we do catch a handful or so each spring while targeting lings and rockfish.”

THIS YEAR WHEN I join Coleman and crew for bottomfish and tuna charters it will be both to fill my freezer and to study up for using my new Thunder Jet Luxor

Greenwater Guide Service

out of Westport. On Coleman’s recommendation, I went with Raymarine electronics and radar for the boat. My set-up includes three transducers and is undoubtedly smarter than me at this point, though reportedly easy to learn.

As confessed to by most successful charter operators and skilled private anglers alike, owning and utilizing electronics with skill is a game changer for improving one’s angling and safety odds.

“They’re your eyes below the surface of the water, pure and simple,” says Coleman. “We rely exclusively on FLIR’s Raymarine electronics to guide us below the water line each day. Our team found that the new CHIRP sonar with DownVision by Raymarine not only improved our vision below the water, but now shows us bottom composition as well. That’s been a real game changer because when

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locating good bottomfishing zones offshore from Westport, your spot is as much about what the bottom is made of as it is finding a significant rocky feature.”

In early May, my wife and I used our new electronics for the first time during a few hours of evening springer fishing below John Day Dam. We were driving back to Tri-Cities from Newport, Ore., where Coastal Marine Electronic’s (oregoncme.com) TJ Martin had just performed an exhausting 12-hour install while being sand blasted in Yaquina Bay by a mound of dredged sand. Martin is the acknowledged expert installer and overall specialist of marine electronics on the Oregon Coast, one of the rare guys with a spotless reputation for excellence – even on Ifish!

He is especially well-recognized as an expert in all things Raymarine, and he didn’t disappoint, and neither did Raymarine’s DownVision. As we enjoyed good springer fishing below John Day, we marveled how we could see the bottom with unbelievable precision and clarity. We watched fish swim and even hold under our boat before jetting upstream.

Watch out, Westport bottomfish, you’re next.

WESTPORT HAS MANY excellent charter choices. See charterwestport.com for a full list, as well as more on the charter association’s fun cash-prize derbies for halibut, lings, coho and Chinook and albacore tuna.

If you need local accommodations, Vacations By the Sea offers a range of different lodging options (vacationbythesea.com), and the Westport-Grayland Chamber of Commerce is useful as well.

Chateau Westport has good reviews and is one of the best lodging options, while Twin Harbors State Park offers excellent camping. NS

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COLUMN

Portland Bassin’ Rosier In Some Areas T

he warm days of summer are upon us, and that means the best of times for Stumptown’s spinyray fisheries.

The lazy, sunny days STUMPTOWN are perfect for bass

By Terry Otto fishing, and now that largemouth and smallmouth have finished with their spawning, all they have to do the rest of the summer is eat. Lucky us.

Portland’s bassing scene has never been as popular as its other fisheries, but for the guys who like those happy-to-bite black bass, Stumptown has a lot to offer.

The greater Portland and Vancouver areas have enough destinations to keep any bass fanatic happy, but here are some of the better opportunities.

WILLAMETTE SYSTEM SMALLIES AND BUCKETMOUTHS Any discussion of Rose City bassin’ needs to start with the Willamette River. From the mouth at Kelly Point upstream to Salem, smallmouth and largemouth lurk in the river. Local bass hound Ed Chin fishes tournaments here and elsewhere, and when talking about Portland bass, he starts with the falls in Oregon City.

“They are in there,” says Chin. “If you take the time to learn it, you can catch them.”

He targets rock ledges and any spot where the bass can get out of the strong flows below Willamette Falls.

“You have to find those spots where the bass want to position themselves in the current,” he tips.

From the falls to the mouth are numerous backwaters, points and other bass attractors, but Chin says this water isn’t as good as it used to be. He feels competition, and more importantly, sea

tube worms up to 4 inches long. Texaslions may be to blame. rigged baits also work.

“I have seen sea lions catch and eat smallmouth,” he says.

Spawning season is the hardest on HENRY HAGG LAKE: PORTLAND’S the fish.

BIGGEST BASS “They are real territorial during the This lake west of Portland is the best local spawn,” says Chin. bet for big bass, and the state record He thinks the nest-guarding smallies smallmouth was caught here. don’t have an answer for the huge “I think there is another state record in pinnipeds, and as anyone who fishes there,” says Chin. “But those are smart fish. for salmon or sturgeon knows, there are They’ve seen a lot.” few fish in the river that are safe from the Chin thinks that structures placed in voracious predators. the lake by the Oregon Bass and Panfish Tournaments and increased pressure Club (obpc0.tripod.com) have helped from local bass anglers may also be to with the numbers and size. blame for the drop in numbers. Chin says David Swendseid of Duo International it is now hard to find those 20-plus-inch smallmouth the river had become famous for.

“The biggest ones seem to be about 15 to 16 inches,” says Chin.

Bass can also be found in the Multnomah Channel, but Chin says those fish are mostly 12-inchers. The banks with riprap are good bets, as is the Gilbert River area near Coon Island. Scappoose Bay is another good spot, especially when the tide is rising.

From Willamette Falls upriver to Salem is another story. Sea lions have not Bassing is still good colonized this section yet, in many of greater and the bass fishing has not Portland’s waters, suffered as much. though smallmouth and largemouth in the lower “The Willamette above Willamette and Columbia the falls clear down to Rivers appear to have Salem is still very good for suffered from pinniped predation. But the waters smallmouth,” confirms Chin. above Bonneville Dam When he fishes the – where Ed Chin caught Willamette in summer he this one – and Willamette Falls are still great throws a lot of green and options. (ED CHIN) brown Yamamoto Senko

JUNE 2015

Northwest Sportsman 141

COLUMN lure company says there are two kinds of smallmouth in Hagg: “There are those that suspend under the schools of baitfish, and those that hug bottom structure.”

To find the latter, look to abrupt changes in the bottom.

“They like the steeper-edged creek channels,” says Swendseid.

To find the other type, simply locate the schools of bait and match the hatch.

The lake’s primary baitfish are perch.

“I also look for color lines in the water,” Sweinseid says. “There may be dirty water on top, but it is often clear below.”

The smallmouth hold there and ambush prey.

Swendseid throws topwater plugs in the morning and evening. He prefers the Realis Popper 64, a floating bait that hangs vertically at the surface, offering the bass a more visible target to attack.

By midday he switches to a jerkbait, with which he tries to call the bass up from the bottom. He works the bait in 5 to 10 feet of water, keeping the lure moving at all times.

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Hagg sees lots of pressure following Memorial Day Weekend; try the weekdays for quieter waters.

BEST OF THE BASSY REST Chin reports that bass fishing in the Lower Columbia has also been affected by marine mammals, and many sloughs and backwaters that used to produce do not do so anymore, so bassers are advised to fish above Bonneville in the Gorge.

The Tualatin River, a slow-moving stream on the southeast side of Portland, is home to largemouth over 20 inches, and anglers who float it in light craft find bass hanging around the many floating homes on the lower river. A good access point is Curb Memorial Park, which offers a nice-sized bay to fish.

The labyrinth of potholes that is the St. Louis Ponds complex is another great place to find bass from the bank. All the ponds hold some largemouth, but those that get the least amount of angling pressure fish the best.

Dustin Sharpe hooked this nice smallie in the middle Willamette system.

(DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

And finally, big largemouth call shallow Vancouver Lake home. Although it is connected to the Columbia via the Lake River, few pinnipeds move in, and the bass are doing fine. Try the flooded vegetation around the island. NS

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COLUMN

BEND’S BASS

A Fun, Yet Complex Fishery

Dawn begins to glow over a tournament bass boat at Crane Prairie Reservoir a couple seasons ago. Oregon biologists have surveyed largemouth here that would have been state records if caught by anglers. (CHRIS SPENCER)

P

erhaps one of the most overlooked fisheries in Central Oregon is largemouth bass.

However, many CENTRAL OREGEON bass anglers are a

BY Scott Statts bit confused about the state’s management of the species, stating inconsistencies. Three Cascades waters – Davis Lake, and Crane Prairie and Wickiup Reservoirs, all potential trophy lakes – are prime examples.

Most of the lakes with bass now were once trout waters and now the state wants to manage them just for trout and remove all the bass. But many anglers believe that half of these lakes are better warmwater fisheries than they are for trout.

Bass are present at all three lakes due to illegal introductions. At Crane Prairie, the statewide regulation on bass is in effect – a five-fish limit with only three fish over 15 inches allowed. On Davis Lake, there is no limit on bass. For a while there was no limit on largemouth at Wickiup Reservoir, but that has since changed

back to the same as Crane.

So why the discrepancy? According to Terry Shrader, warmwater fish biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, bass entered Crane Prairie many years ago and the state decided to manage for the fish. However, bass weren’t in Wickiup and Davis when the state’s latest plan for the basin was developed. The new policy is to manage against illegal introductions. Unless the plan is modified, the state can’t lift limits at Crane Prairie, and now Wickiup.

But not all bass in Oregon are the result of bucket biologists. Prineville Reservoir, for example, was stocked with both largemouth and smallmouth by ODFW after the construction of Bowman Dam in the 1960s.

“Most biologists give attention to coldwater fisheries and we would like to see them focus more on warmwater,” says Kevin Pangle, a member of the Central Oregon Bass Club. He feels there is room for improvement with the state’s bass management.

He says he can see where the state is coming from since the bass were illegally

introduced, and he agrees that those people shouldn’t be rewarded. Trout anglers have blamed the bass in Crane Prairie for depleting the rainbow fishery.

Pangle argues that the trout fishermen depleted it because there’s no catch and release there. He says that when Power Bait got effective, anglers took hundreds of pounds of trout from the reservoir every year. Many of those trout anglers have now converted over to bass fishing, he adds.

“A fisherman won’t hang up his pole and sell his boat if he can’t catch just one species of fish; he’s going to be diverse and go out and try to catch something else,” Pangle says.

There are a lot of places in the state where you can go and catch a lot of bass, but for trophies, Pangle’s top three picks are Prineville, Wickiup and Crane Prairie.

Davis Lake is also up there, he says, but it’s limited to fly fishing only and many bass anglers don’t use fly rods.

PRINEVILLE RESERVOIR Bass fishing should be picking up quickly now at this impoundment south of the town of the same name. The fishery has

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COLUMN improved tremendously in the last decade or so. Largemouth and smallmouth are about equally distributed throughout the reservoir. When crappie were illegally introduced, the bass began feasting on the abundant new source of food, accounting for about 75 percent of their diet.

As for habitat, the reservoir offers ledges, boulders, gravelly points, shallow flats with stumps and just about everything else that draw bass. Best fishing is from May through October, although anglers have caught some nice largemouth over 6 pounds as early as April.

Target the surface early and late in the day with buzzbaits. The upper end of the reservoir, where there are more flats with stumps, is more productive early in the year. If you can find wood structure, you’ll find the bass. Top lures for the reservoir are black PowerWorms or jigs, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, Rat-L-Traps, Rapalas and poppers. Black and blue or pumpkincolored jigs early in the year are sure bets.

Bass should be available from just about

The author’s father, Frank Staats, shows off a nice largemouth from Prineville Reservoir. (SCOTT STAATS)

every bank on the reservoir. Look for areas such as underwater islands, rocky points and gravelly bars. In late spring and early summer, anglers have the best chance for bass in the backs of coves and shallower depths where the water is warmer. After the fish spawn, the best advice is to work

the points or around any structures. There is a 15-inch maximum length and only one largemouth may be kept per day.

WICKIUP RESERVOIR This is one of the top places for bass fishing in all of Central Oregon. During the spawn when the water is up, it’s possible to catch bass over 5 pounds, with some up to 7 pounds and more.

The best time to hit Wickiup is May, June and into July, before the water starts dropping. Locate bass around the spawning beds when they are easier to catch. When the water drops, it sucks them to the outside main channel. That’s when you target the deeper stump beds.

Bass were illegally introduced around 1980. Crappie and bluegill were illegally introduced around 1996 and pose a threat to the trout population by feeding on and competing with fry.

CRANE PRAIRIE RESERVOIR This reservoir has some of the best habitat for largemouth. The multitude of snags and logs provide cover and insects.

The relatively shallow water (8 feet deep, on average) keeps it fairly warm, even though it’s higher in elevation than most other lakes.

One of my best days of fishing for largemouth bass at Crane occurred when a friend and I each caught eight to ten fish in the 3- to 5-pound range in just a few hours. On my very first cast, I hooked 146 Northwest Sportsman

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COLUMN and landed a 4-pounder that was hiding at the base of one of the hundreds of dead trees.

Most of our bass came on 10-inch black Berkley PowerWorms on 4/0 offset hooks using 12- to 20-pound-test line.

We concentrated on the area with trees in the northwest section of the reservoir, targeting the bigger fish. Larger bass are very territorial and chase off all the smaller bass. Few fish under 2 pounds will be out in the trees with the larger fish.

After spawning, the smaller fish head for other areas.

In the morning, it’s best to use topwater lures and target the grass beds.

Spinnerbaits and crankbaits, such as Rapalas, will also work well. As the sun rises, try the deeper outside shade areas in the trees. The bass will set up on the shady side of the trees and logs in about 3 to 5 feet of water. That’s when it’s best to pitch the plastic worms. Find large rootwads at the base of bigger trees and there’s a good chance a bass will hang out

close by. Toward evening, switch back to topwaters, such as buzzbaits or poppers.

Water levels will most likely be low this year, which only improves the fishing by concentrating the bass in the channels, making them easier to catch.

DAVIS LAKE If you’re looking for a challenge, then try bass on a fly rod at Davis Lake. The best set-ups are flies that are rigged weedless with a conehead weight on the front of the hook. Patterns that resemble poppers, spinnerbaits and topwater frogs also work well.

Fly fishing for bass requires a different technique than your standard trout fishing in that you are not casting in the conventional manner. It’s more flipping and pitching to the edges of weeds and into the smaller pockets of water, and with no more than 15 to 20 feet of line out at once. The crystal-clear water in the lake can make the fish spooky and you have to ease your fly to them; they usually won’t swim out to it.

Try an underhand skimming cast so the fly doesn’t splash and spook the bass.

The best time to fish Davis is May through the first part of October. A day or two before a front comes in is usually prime fishing. The bass hang out around lily pads, tules and other aquatic vegetation. They can also be found in coves near the lava flow at the north end of the lake.

According to ODFW’s Shrader, bass first turned up during sampling for trout in 1995.

“The bass population is expanding at a dramatic rate in Davis Lake,” he says. “It’s a productive lake and the bass are feeding mostly on the tui chubs present. It’s good bass habitat, but ODFW is managing the lake for large Klamath rainbow trout. We are just trying to keep their population low enough so they don’t severely impact the trout fishery.”

As one bass angler summarized: “The bass are here to stay and the state has to make up their mind to either kill them or manage for them. But the most important thing is to get rid of the inconsistencies.” NS

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Yogi’s Hams T

he berry patch I was prowling had more bear scat in just 10 square feet than I had seen in the prior several years combined. It was IN THE WILD

By Randy King unreal in both quantity and structure – “berries in, berries out” is an apt description of the type and consistency. The scrub brush I was in, aptly named “bear berries,” was flush with fruit. I began to feel nervous – my single-shot .410 I was carrying for grouse was not going to be enough for whatever was leaving behind this much scat.

Seeking a better vantage, I crawled to the top of a granite boulder. As I glassed the berry patch, looking for trouble and hoping not to find any, I caught a black blob in the distance.

“Bear!” I called to my buddy Matt.

“Bear, bear, bear!” I exclaimed, repeating myself like an idiot and like Matt hadn’t heard me the first time.

Like most of my encounters with the species, the next thing I saw was an ass in the distance running directly away from me. But as the bear ran, I noticed two things. First was the speed – I expected that. I have heard for years that bears are fast. But second was the lack of grace, which surprised me. The bear reminded me of a fat pug running a 100-meter dash. Give that a moment in your mind’s eye. The fat rolled up and down his sides in a fluid motion, almost seeming to propel him forward in one instance, then stretch his skin in another. It was the epitome of a fat fall bear.

Thrilled to have even seen a bear, I was soon thinking about all that meat “on the paw,” and the fact that I also had a bear tag in my pocket. (It was left over from a spring bear hunt that amounted to nothing more than a camping trip in the rain.) A plan was hatched – back out slow and quiet, then come back in a few days and kill this bear. He would be here,

CHEF

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as the food, the cover and the lack of access nearly guaranteed it.

TWO DAYS LATER, a foursome of folks – Matt, his daughter Brooklyn and my son Noah and I – made our way up to the berry patch. Matt and Brooklyn would approach from the east; Noah and I would come from the west. The plan was to glass the patch, find the bear and see if we could shoot it.

I could tell my son was a little nervous.

He would not admit it, but I think he was a little scared of the This berry-munching bruin the author’s friend’s daughter Brooklyn poses idea of bear. I told him with yielded not only a lot of fat for rendering, but bear bacon, shoulder a story about the first roasts made into barbecue sandwiches and ham. (RANDY KING) time I encountered Then an ear and a paw came into view. We one. I was 15 years old and walking a had found the bear – now what? canyon floor with a buddy during deer Desperation often causes inspiration. season. We rounded a corner and heard I told my son to whistle. He looked at the “woof” sound that bears make when me with his head cocked to the side; they’re threatened. On our left was a “Whistle what?” he said. bear standing on her hind legs and “I am not sure that it matters,” I said. looking at us. To our right was a trio Next thing I knew, the creepy fourof cubs. My heart raced and I nearly note tune from the Hunger Games was needed a change of underpants. We being belted out from next to me. I put were, essentially, a meat sandwich at my scope on the last patch of black I that point. We slowly nocked arrows and had seen. Sure enough, the bear’s head even more slowly backed out. appeared, then his neck. He was only 70 The story did not alleviate his fears. yards out. I took the shot and the bear Eventually Noah and I found a vantage disappeared back into the scrub. point for glassing the berry patch. After I waited a solid five minutes before a few moments of glassing, I could see going into the brush after the bear. As movement in the berry patch that was I trudged forward, Noah kept falling not being caused by wind. I focused in behind. Before I knew it, I was separated on it, waiting for a sign of life. Eventually, from him by 30 yards.

I caught a glimpse of black moving in the “You need to get out of this brush, underbrush. Then I saw a black paw grab bud,” I told him. a branch full of berries and bring it down.

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HOW TO MAKE A BEAR HAM

T

he elephant in the room with bear meat is trichinosis. Bear meat causes 90 percent of the trichinosis cases in the country, simply because it is not cooked enough. Cook your bear past 145 degrees Fahrenheit and you are good. Any lower than that and you run the risk of a food-borne illness. Not a fun one either.

Popular outdoor writer and TV host Steven Rinella contracted it off an Alaskan black bear last year. Trichinosis does not fool around; neither should you or I. Bear ham 4 quarts hot water, divided 1.5 cups salt 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar (or honey) 1.5 ounces Instacure No. 1 ½ cup pickling spice 20 crushed garlic cloves 10 to 15 pounds of bear hindquarter meat, 3- to 4-pound muscles each Trim the hind loins of as much fat and connective tissue as possible before attempting the recipe. The cleaner the meat going in, the better it will be coming out. Also, the recipe can be used on other game animals as well; I do a variation on this recipe for wild turkey breasts and for venison.

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a

“Why?” he asked.

“Because if this bear ain’t dead and it so much as scratches your leg on the way by, I will never live it down with your mother. Just do me a favor and wait until I find him?” “’Kay,” he said, suddenly even more nervous.

EVENTUALLY I FOUND the bear. Berries falling out of its mouth, it had died gorging itself. That’s how I want to go.

He was roughly a 6-footer, a nice size for Idaho. The main issue was just how 152 Northwest Sportsman

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Bear ham, the reason Chef Randy heads afield each spring and fall with a bruin tag. “Brine them for a week, smoke them over apple and then eat grilled cheese and bear ham sandwiches all winter long.

They are flat-out delicious.” (RANDY KING) 4-quart sauce pot. Next, stir in the salt, sugar, brown sugar and Instacure No. 1. All the solid particles should diffuse into the water. Next, add the pickling spice and the garlic cloves.

Add the remaining 2 quarts of water, cold, to the hot water. This will drop the temperature of the brine. Transfer the mix, now called a brine, to a large plastic container or nonreactive pot.

Add the meat to the brine. Let the meat soak for a week in the refrigerator. Make sure that all the meat is submerged.

(I often use a plate and a few cans of beans for weight.)

Next, remove the bear meat from the brine. Pat it dry and let rest on the counter until it comes to room temperature. Then smoke the bear for about four hours or until it reaches 145 degrees. If you are not a smoked ham fan, simply bake the ham at 375 degrees until it reaches 145 degrees.

Reaching this temperature is critical with bear meat since it will kill trichinosis.

When cooked, let the ham rest until cool before cutting into it. This will help retain the moisture. It will last in the fridge up to a week thawed, and for over a year in the freezer. Slice it thin like deli ham or roast whole for a special occasion. RK

much he weighed. I eviscerated the bear, making sure to take a look at his liver (spots can be a sign of infection) and hoping to shed a few pounds of the carcass. It was all Matt and I could do to drag the bear out to a road. Eventually we loaded him up in the quad and made our way back to Matt’s cabin.

When I broke the bear down and started skinning it I noticed just how much fat this bear had on him. On his back rump the fat was over 3 inches thick. He had been building a layer for the winter. Fat in wild game is uncommon, so

I was going to make the best of it.

I rendered the bear fat, like the old timers used to do. I also made bear bacon, I made roasts, I slow cooked the shoulders in barbecue sauce for sandwiches.

But the highlight – the reason I go back into the woods each fall and spring with a bear tag and my longbow – is bear ham. I use the big muscle groups out of the hindquarters and brine them for a week, smoke them over apple and then eat grilled cheese and bear ham sandwiches all winter long. They are flatout delicious. NS

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The Gambolings And Gamble Of Sage Grouse 2036

F

or Washington w i n g s h o o te r s, there are three NORTHWEST brands of grice of

By Andy Walgamott import, and in spring, GUEST COLUMNIST ruffeds, blues and spruces are busy on their drumming logs, booming away in hopes of wooing grouse lasses.

Come fall, we’ll take to conifer and cottonwood-bottom haunts to seek up to three of each kind – a new rule this year – as part of the daily bag of four. Good memories and meals will be made.

As it turns out, though, the Evergreen State is home to a few more members of the grouse family, none of which have been hunted in ages, but are still of interest – or at least to outdoor scribes who get their geek on over wandering wildlife.

I’ve written about the Inland Northwest’s footloose bighorns, elk, wolves, etc., over the years, so I was pretty stoked earlier this spring when the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife detailed the longdistance gambolings of two of the state’s rare sage grouse. One made a 100-plusmile-long loop of the northern Columbia Basin in February and March; the other went on a mission to survey every township between Reardan, Lind and Grand Coulee.

Who knew grouse moved so much?!?

INLAND

AS THEIR NAME implies, these largest members of the grouse family (during breeding season, males can weigh as much as 6 to 7 pounds, twice as much as any wily ol’ ridgetop hooter you might shoot) like sagebrush country, though there’s not as much as there once was. It’s been fragmented by farming.

But there are still patches of habitat where sages are holding on. The two largest tracts are the Army’s Yakima Training Center and the high lonesome that is Douglas County. The latter region hosts the most birds, somewhere around

800 at last check. And these days they’ve got some new neighbors coming over to say howdy. Since 2008, WDFW has been working with federal, state, university, hunter, tribal and other partners and individuals (including new Fish & Wildlife Commissioner and 2010 agency volunteer of the year Kim Thorburn) on a reintroduction project in Lincoln County.

Sages were extirpated there as recently as 1987, but around 200 birds originally from Southern Oregon have been set free in the Swanson Lakes area. Some of those have been outfitted with telemetry, and the recent travels of two males known as 2036 and 2050 provided some “amazing insight into the connectivity between” populations in Lincoln and Douglas Counties. The news came out as an update to WDFW’s “Lincoln County Prairie Grouse Project,” which also monitors sharptailed grouse, and was included in the Wildlife Program’s March 30 weekly report.

A map based on a GPS device strapped to 2036 shows it making like a NASA probe headed for the far corners of the galaxy, and then returning home with the data.

Starting out with a little loop around its home base in central Lincoln County for momentum, the bird slingshots around the southern end of Banks Lake, then flies northwest to the country north of Grimes Lake in Douglas County before Yeager Rock hurtles it back across the top of Banks and Grant County with a stay at Steamboat Rock before returning to Lincoln County near Wilbur as of late March. During its seven-week journey, GPS readings show check-ins at two Douglas County leks.

A lek – the word comes from Sweden, the land of the huge black-and-greenfeathered capercaillie – is where males dance in hopes of attracting females.

Interestingly, 2036 flew almost the exact same route west that an analysis from the Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Group found to be the “least-cost path”

Male sage grouse perform for hens on a lek in Oregon. To restore Washington populations, around 200 from the Beaver State have been released in Lincoln County since 2008. (BLM OREGON) between sage grouse habitats in Lincoln and Douglas Counties, a distance that was measured as 80 kilometers, or 50 miles.

Its journey also marks the first time WDFW could follow one of the prairie grouse’s peregrinations pretty regularly, according to agency grouse guru Mike Schroeder, whom I was able to reach while he was on annual leave doing – what else?

– spruce grouse work in Alberta.

And it’s the second that biologists know for sure has made it into Douglas County. The other got to the Jameson Lake area and stayed; two others died in route.

Another, the GPS-collared male 2050, did some huge crazy loops around Wilbur, Ritzville and Harrington, and had passed through Electric City on its way to the Douglas County leks as of late March.

“Movement is a really important part of these animals’ life history,” notes Schroeder.

Sage grouse remind him of elk in that way. He explains that dispersal helps them repopulate areas where local bands have died out or been scattered by, say, wildfire – of which there have been several large ones in this country and Oregon in recent years – and the genetic exchange helps keeps flocks strong. In their sex lives, sages are the polar opposites of their cousins from up in the Krumholz, white-tailed ptarmigan, which are monogamous, Schroeder says.

But large-scale movements also pose management challenges. In the 1990s, he

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COLUMN says that one sage hen covered 50 miles between its winter and nesting grounds on Badger Mountain and near Grand Coulee; some in Montana make 200-mile trips.

There’s also a bit of a mystery in grouse 2036’s return to Lincoln County. If Douglas County has more hens and habitat, why did he loop on back? Hard to say, but Schroeder hypothesizes it might have come down to size.

“The birds from Oregon are lighter. This guy would have been 1 pound lighter than a Washington male,” he says.

Perhaps it ended up being a wallflower on the dance floors as males 15 percent bigger strutted their stuff.

“Maybe that was a little disconcerting?”

Schroeder wonders.

FEDERAL WILDLIFE OVERSEERS have found that an ESA listing for the West’s sage grouse is warranted but precluded due to higher priorities. While still possibly coming later this year, there’s been a titanic effort regionwide to head it off. It involves

what’s being termed an “unprecedented” and “epic collaboration” between U.S. government agencies and ranchers.

It’s yielded new insights too, perhaps summarized best by a Harney County cattleman who coined the phrase, “What’s good for the bird is good for the herd.”

Literally hundreds of millions of dollars has been spent on habitat projects such as the eradication of invasive juniper on over 400,000 acres, removal or marking of barbed-wire fences in key areas, and more.

It’s paying off. In April, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it wouldn’t list sages straddling the California-Nevada border after work there to reduce threats to the birds and protect their sage-steppe habitat.

Who knows what will happen in Washington, where sage and sharptailed grouse are also listed as threatened species under state ESA protections. Our days of hunting both are fading into history (a copy of the 1905 game laws show the daily limit back then was up to 10), but if this work to bolster populations and strengthen habitat works, who knows ...

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A WDFW map shows the big loop that male sage grouse 2036 made around the northern Columbia Basin’s Lincoln, Grant and Douglas Counties this past winter and spring. (WDFW) In the meanwhile, what Washington’s prairie grouse represent is important to some critters we can chase. A recent study in Wyoming found conservation efforts aimed at sage grouse had a doubling effect for mule deer habitat. “When we’re out there in those better sage grouse areas, those are pretty good for Huns, chukars and pheasant,” Schroeder notes.

In the beautiful grassy Chesaw Wildlife Area, sharptails might occupy one ridge, dusky blues the other while ruffies hang out in the draw between, he adds.

Here’s a fact you might not know: Schroeder says that when you include those three species with spruces, sooty blues, white-tailed ptarmigan and the odd sage here and there, Okanogan County has a whopping seven kinds of grouse.

“No county in the U.S. has more – and four are huntable,” he says.

One of the aims of last year’s partial acquisition of the Grand Coulee Ranch (Northwest Sportsman, November 2014), just across the Columbia is to provide a bridge for the seasonal migration of Douglas County sage grouse north to the Okanogan. At press time, funding for the continued purchase of the spread was up in the air due to state budget battles.

Sage grouse have a long way to go, but their peregrinations and life history are far more fascinating than I ever thought possible when that map of ol’ 2036’s wanderings caught my eye. Indeed, Washington actually has more than just three species of grice of import.

To learn more about sage grouse, the threats to them and the work being done publicly and privately to help them out, check out fws.gov/greatersagegrouse. NS

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Family Brand Has Launched Millions Of Shots For Reloaders

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ountless numbers of serious shooters, myself included, reload their own ammunition, and it’s a very safe ON TARGET

By Dave Workman bet that on many if not most loading benches you will find one or more cans or bottles of Hodgdon powder.

This Kansas-based family-owned and -operated business is now into its third and fourth generations, after it was pioneered by the late Bruce Hodgdon.

Many years ago, when I was just getting into reloading, I had a question about a particular load for the .38 Special, so I called the company and to my amazement, I actually got Bruce on the phone. It was a marvelous conversation during which the old gentleman shared with me a great load for that cartridge, and some remarkable knowledge that one doesn’t get from reading books.

I’ve managed to find Hodgdon in just about every facet of my shooting experience over the years. When I shoot muzzleloaders, I’ll powder up with Goex, which Hodgdon manufactures in the only black powder plant in North America, located in Minden, La., just outside of Shreveport. Chris Hodgdon, grandson of Bruce and son of Bob – a dear friend of mine with whom I served on the National Rifle Association Board of Directors – says Goex dates back to 1802 and it was founded by the Dupont family.

If I’m not shooting black powder in a front-stuffer, one will find me pouring Pyrodex, a black powder substitute, down the bore. Hodgdon also manufactures Triple Seven, another substitute that is popular with in-line shooters. I shoot a couple of caplocks, a Thompson/Center Hawken Custom in .50 caliber and a Lyman Trade Rifle in .54 caliber that I’ve spruced

In the Hodgdon’s museum, a colorful lineup of canisters anchor an impressive array of trophies that you can bet fell to ammunition loaded with the company’s powder. Hodgdon propellants cover all the bases for handgun and rifle cartridge reloading. (CHRIS HODGDON) up a bit, so I stick with Goex or Pyrodex.

Chris says many hunters have discovered they can extend their time afield by hunting in a black powder season after the general season. Today’s muzzleloaders are designed to handle heavier charges with superb bullets and they can reach out easily to 200 yards with the right loads.

Ah, but the real place where Hodgdon’s footprint is huge is in metallic cartridge reloading. Not only does this company market a full line of powders under its own brand name, but it also markets IMR and Winchester propellants. The company’s popular Annual Manual – a magazine-style reloading manual published every year with thousands of loads for nearly every cartridge under the sun, including .300 Blackout and the various popular 6.5mm rounds – is a must-have item on any reloading bench. The publication includes burn rates for 149 different propellants, in order from fastest to slowest. It details

all the Hodgdon, Winchester and IMR powders. I have been using the Annual Manual for several years, along with manuals from Nosler, Hornady, Speer, Sierra, Barnes and Lyman. If I can’t find the answer to a loading problem somewhere in there, the question probably doesn’t really exist.

QUITE A HISTORY “It really is a cool deal to see how much our company has grown,” Chris said in a telephone conversation just after mid-April’s annual NRA convention in Nashville. “My grandfather started in 1947 with a $1,500 loan.”

Bruce Hodgdon used that money to buy surplus powder from the military.

According to a fascinating company history on the Hodgdon website (Hodgdon.com), Bruce got into reloading by making custom loads for friends during World War II, when he served in the Navy.

When he got into the business, he

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Brought To You By: visit gun ranges or gravel pits to gather spent cartridge cases. This once-fired brass, practically new, needs only to be resized, trimmed and tumbled. During the shortage, it was primed, powdered and topped with new bullets.

I’ve managed over the years to amass hundreds of empty cartridge cases in .45 ACP, .38 Special, .30-06, .308 Winchester, .357 Magnum and other calibers, fired and left by people who didn’t reload – and who apparently were too slovenly to clean up their mess.

NOW, ABOUT RELOADING

The late Bruce Hodgdon, founder of Hodgdon Powder, got his start after World War II when he bought 50,000 pounds of surplus military powder.

(HODGDON FAMILY)

bought 50,000 pounds of surplus 4895 powder and went to work. The powder sold for $30 for a 150-pound keg, plus freight, and that put Hodgdon’s name on the map in a post-war America where millions of returning servicemen continued to enjoy shooting and went back to hunting. Bruce put his sons, Bob and J.B., to work and the company grew after the elder Hodgdon went into business as B.E. Hodgdon, Inc. Bruce passed away in 1997, but J.B. and Bob continued the company’s tradition, and also expanded operations. Hodgdon’s acquired IMR powder in 2003 and started marketing Winchester powders under license in 2009.

According to Chris, reloading is spreading around the world, with interest in reloading pretty strong in Western Europe and the Baltic region, and even in Japan. Of course, the North American market is huge.

Reloading has experienced ups and downs over the years, and the latest uptick was ignited by the ammunition shortages over the past couple of years. While a lot of people were scrounging around for good deals that really weren’t, those of us who brew up our own ammunition for hunting, target shooting and predator control weren’t really squawking. We were “scrounging around” picking up brass.

I know several people who habitually 160 Northwest Sportsman

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One of the first things you learn from Hodgdon is that some powders have similar designations, but that doesn’t mean you can substitute one for the other. Hodgdon’s original H4895 is a bit different from IMR 4895, for example, and each propellant has its own loading data.

And there are new powders showing up to meet the requirements of new cartridges, such as the “short, fat magnums.” My most recent acquisition was a couple of pounds of Hodgdon’s new CFE, a pistol powder aimed at the semiauto market, but which I’ve discovered works pretty well in my .45 Colt loads.

For many years, my staple rifle powder was IMR 4895 for calibers ranging from .257 Roberts to .30-06 Springfield, but thanks to Hodgdon, I’ve discovered some options, not the least of which are Winchester 780 and Hybrid 100V, the latter which I use almost exclusively now in the ’06 loads.

One can discover through experimentation whether a propellant burns clean or leaves residue, a particularly important consideration on especially with semiautos, whether ether you shoot an AR-15 or Model el 1911. mend I strongly recommend having more than one loading manual, from the bullet maker and from om the powder company. any.

Pay close attention to Sig Sauer has introduced a new load for the popular .300 Blackout. (SIGSAUER)

KICK-EEZ® maximum loads and approach them with caution, but not with fear or concern. If you’ve got a good modern firearm, you’re not going to have a mishap if you follow the published data.

Over the years, I’ve actually seen data change, in some cases recommending lighter powder charges and in other cases with heavier charges. Thanks go to improvements in pressure testing, something Hodgdon does constantly as it develops new loads for new cartridges with new propellants, and updates data for older popular cartridges.

Chris explained that Hodgdon buys its propellants from vendors marketing powders produced in Canada, Australia and elsewhere.

“We work very closely with our vendors,” he says, “on the research and development side, because we listen to our customers, what they tell us and ask us for. We take that to heart.”

I take that feedback to the loading bench with every new edition of the Annual Manual. It’s paid off the past few years with venison in the freezer and memories of successful hunts. And you can bet they were bonked with bullets pushed down the barrel by charges of Hodgdon powder.

TWO NEW PRODUCTS Turning our attention from reloading to some new products, I mentioned the .300 Blackout earlier, and Sig Sauer (sigsauer.com) recently announced a new ammunition offering in that caliber.

The .300 Blackout Supersonic Elite Performance Match Grade load features a 125-grain Sierra Matchking bullet, and it warps out of the muzzle at a reported, 2,200 feet per

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Northwest Sportsman 161

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COLUMN second with 1,343 foot-pounds of energy.

This is a round that will find plenty of popularity with 3-gun competitors, and work very well for home defense. It has a very flat trajectory, which also makes it a likely choice for dispatching coyotes and other predators, and with that kind of energy and speed, it will also put the hurt on deer-sized game and wild hogs.

Winchester’s (winchesterguns.com)

new SX3 Long Beard Turkey model shotgun is available in 3½-inch 12-gauge magnum with the new Mossy Oak BreakUp Country camo finish. This autoloader has a synthetic pistol-grip stock with textured gripping surfaces, a 24-inch back-bored barrel topped with a Truglo fiber optic front sight and adjustable rear sight, and it comes with a Weaverstyle cantilever rail. It also features a Briley Invector-Plus Long Beard extra-full,

KICK-EEZ® extended choke tube, and the chamber and bore are chrome-plated.

Designed with an Active Valve gas system, the SX3 also sports QuadraVent ports to vent excess gas for clean operation, according to company literature. The stock is fitted with an Inflex Technology recoil pad, and there are three interchangeable combs so this gun can be tailored to an individual shooter.

MSRP is $1,269.99. NS

WINCHESTER R RECAL RECALLS CERTAIN SXP PUMP SHOTGUNS Winchester Repeating Arms has announced a recall on a limited number of SXP shotguns chambered for 3½-inch 12-gauge magnum shells. According to the W Winchester i ch in hes estter ter notice, this shotgun may, “under certain circumstances, unintentionally discharge while closing the action.”

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may m ay cr create crea eate ea te a rrisk iskk off harm, iis har arm, arm m, including m inc nclu lud lu udi ding ding g serious personall injury inj njur juryy or death, dea eath th,,” th Winchester cautioned.

The alert applies to the following models: SXP Waterfowl Hunter, 26- or 28inch barrel; SXP Black Shadow, 26- or 28-

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Sportsmen Vigorously Opposing Stemilt Swap R

oughly a decade ago, organizations as disparate as the Wenatchee Spor tsman’s Association, the Malaga Water

By Leroy Ledeboer District and the Apple Valley Snowmobile Club became deeply concerned about the potential loss of key wildlife habitat, watershed degradation and recreational opportunities in the Stemilt Basin, just above the tiny town of Malaga. Several key sections of public land had already been sold off or leased to developers and orchardists, and DNR was now planning on selling several additional sections – 16, 20, 22 and 28 – blocks that hunters, flyrodders, hikers, bikers and watershed advocates firmly believed should remain as open lands and in the public domain.

That’s when the Stemilt Partnership was formed, 27 widely ranging groups that came together to carefully study the situation, then come up with a viable plan to protect lands they considered

BASIN BEACON

vital deer and elk habitat and migration corridors to the watershed. Fortunately, this partnership, with a great deal of help from state Senator Linda Evans Parlette (R-Wenatchee), was finally able to block the sale or trade of these four units.

“This would have absolutely devastated our watershed, the deer and elk habitat and migration corridors, everything,” states Gordon Goodwin of the sportsman’s association. “Fortunately, after lots of meetings and input from all the different interest groups, we got that stopped, and we were able to get a verbal agreement with DNR to lease all four sections to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, which would eventually purchase them, providing habitat for wildlife and available for everyone to enjoy.”

THE VAST MAJORITY of the Stemilt Partnership felt very good about this new agreement, convinced that now these four vital sections would always remain public. However, time and political changes have a way of altering even the best of agreements, particularly when they’re only verbal. And this time it was

the election of a new state Commissioner of Public Lands, Peter Goldmark, who after taking office decided not to lease all four sections to WDFW. “He went ahead with the lease of two sections to WDFW, but then wanted to lease, sell or trade all or parts of the other two, Sections 16 and 22, to Kyle Mathison, owner of Stemilt Growers, who would then be able to plant more cherry orchards on them, put up deer fences, and disturb the watershed,” Goodwin says. “Well, this resulted in more meetings, with the vast majority of the partnership against this new proposal.”

For most of the members, and the sportsman’s club in particular, a real red flag for accepting this latest Goldmark plan was what they had already seen happen on nearby Section 10, DNR land that had been leased to the Mathisons since the early 2000s. In May 2014, three WSA representatives made a walking tour of this section, and in a letter written by their attorney to Commissioner Goldmark, noted several glaring noncompliance issues.

At one time this general part of the Stemilt Basin was “heavily used by elk and deer for migration, as well as forage and shelter,” but some of it has since been leased by DNR for orchards. Local sportsmen say changes – including brushing out draw bottoms, fencing migration corridors and limbing trees high above the ground – made by the Mathison family were not allowed under the lease.

(WENATCHEE SPORTSMEN’S ASSOCIATION)

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Northwest Sportsman 165

COLUMN For starters, wildlife vegetation improvements that the section’s lease agreement called for were either nonexistent or so poorly implemented that the young plants wouldn’t survive.

Plus, many of the ponderosa pine that had been planted hadn’t been irrigated and were either already dead or dying. Willow cuttings that also had been planted were not native, so the elk herds had quickly destroyed them, and seedlings that had only gone into the ground that spring were being neglected, neither watered nor fertilized, essentially guaranteeing their early demise.

Perhaps even more damaging, WSA reps believed they saw evidence that the lessee’s commitment to protect and preserve much of this area as a corridor for wildlife was being totally ignored. They came across native vegetation that was being destroyed, including the use of fire to wipe out much of the bitterbrush – key, long-lived mule deer forage. And it looked as if the lessee was planning a fence along

Sportsmen worry that this state ground further up the Stemilt Basin could end up looking like orchards below. “Putting orchards on these upper sections would block migration coridors and damage areas where elk use is high – this area is also used in the spring for calving,” says a member of the Wenatchee Sportmen’s Association, which is a member of the Stemilt Partnership. (WENATCHEE SPORTSMEN’S ASSOCIATION) one side of a riparian zone and had already erected fencing at the bottom of a drainage in direct violation of their contract.

The list goes on, but the bottom line is that WSA was convinced Stemilt Growers had pretty much ignored many of the terms of this agreement, and it appeared

that the DNR was doing nothing to make them comply.

“They sure haven’t been good stewards of the land,” Goodwin says of the Mathisons, “and if they haven’t lived up to either the terms or the spirit of that lease agreement, why would we believe they’d

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COLUMN live up to this next one?”

More meetings ensued and more political pressure was brought to bear.

Eventually Goldmark rescinded and again agreed to lease and eventually sell all four sections to WDFW, so once again everyone in the partnership, with the possible exception of Stemilt Growers, seemed satisfied.

BUT BEFORE THIS could take place, Mathison stepped forward with a new proposal, wanting to purchase or trade for 130 acres of Section 16, and he apparently had the ear of the commissioner.

In a March 26 Wenatchee World article, West Mathison explained Stemilt’s grand plan: “We have motivation to be cherry growers and to see the Stemilt Basin preserved. As private companies we could provide funding for things like purchasing land for conservation, funding enforcement, providing reforestation and habitat improvement. It’s a plan of finding mutual benefit for multiple stakeholders.”

Maybe so, but others are very leery.

“Almost no one in the partnership wanted it any other way than the original agreement,” Goodwin states, “and the 130 acres he wanted held a nice flat meadow, which of course made it suitable for Mathison’s next cherry orchard, but it’s also prime wildlife habitat. In fact, when Bud Riker, who had recently retired as water master for the Wenatchee Reclamation District, scheduled a day tour up there with Senator Parlette, roughly 50 elk were grazing in that meadow.

Seeing this big herd might have surprised Parlette, but Riker had been saying all along that he’d see lots of elk using that land during every part of the year.

“And the ground that Mathison wanted to swap for this prime wildlife habitat consisted of rugged, rocky terrain with some wooded ravines and thickets where elk could lie up and rest or hide, but these were almost totally devoid of the grasses and shrubs they need for nutrition.”

Once again there was even greater concern for the sportsman’s association

and their allies. They knew that if this trade went through, it could nullify the whole Sections 16 and 22 contracts between DNR and WDFW, and they’d literally be back at square one on those two units and might never again get the opportunity to save this vital habitat and migration corridors.

“As it is, the Colockum elk migration is already getting squeezed, with more potential development at Mission Ridge, more fences and other obstacles on private ground and DNR leased lands, but at least if left as it is, Section 16 would offer a window of escape,” Goodwin tells me. “We lose that window and they could be totally hemmed in.”

Finally, it’s a well-established axiom that the carrying capacity of any wildlife area is directly determined by the quality and quantity of its food production.

Keep carving that up – whether with housing tracts, fenced-off agricultural crops, impassable barricades or careless degradation of the land – and our big game herds, not to mention songbirds, raptors and game birds, will rapidly diminish. NS

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