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Sportsman Northwest

Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource

Volume 8 • ISSUE 11 PUBLISHER James R. Baker ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Dick Openshaw

ANGLER 17 CENTER CONSOLE ARIMA

EDITOR Andy Walgamott LEAD WRITERS Jeff Holmes, Andy Schneider THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS David Affeldt, Jason Haley, Jerry Han, Carl Lewallen, Joel Linke, Todd Martin, Buzz Ramsey, Brian Robertson, Scott Staats, Todd Switzer, Don Talbot, You – our readers

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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Becca Ellingsworth, Mamie Griffin, Steve Joseph, Garn Kennedy, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold DESIGNERS Lisa Ball, Sonjia Kells, Sam Rockwell, Liz Weickum GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker 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 CORRESPONDENCE Email letters, articles/queries, photos, etc., to awalgamott@media-inc.com, or to the address below.

ON THE COVER Joel Linke and his Washington black bear. (JOEL LINKE)

22 HT SEA LEGEND LEG EG

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS Last issue’s Dishonor Roll incorrectly stated that a youth fishing derby had to be cancelled in Northwest Washington. The derby occurred, albeit with a handful fewer trout.

DEPARTMENT OF ISSUE MOTTOS The fish get a bit of a break, but not the bears!

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.

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MOST MODELS & SIZES IN STOCK 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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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

AUGUST 2015

Northwest Sportsman 9

CONTENTS

VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 11

20

FEATURES 48

You have probably heard of the High Buck Hunt, but author Joel Linke and a buddy have a different quarry in mind when they head for wilderness meadows: bruins. Learn their formula for alpine ursine success.

1 ANNUAL PHOTO ISSUE! ST

Grip-n-grin pics are great, but there’s so much more to our fishing and hunting trips – enter our first annual photo issue, your best pics from the Northwest’s waters and woods. Kristi Daniels kicks our two-part series off with an idyllic scene from the Wynoochee River, where she was waiting for a steelhead to bite.

BIKE-IN BRUIN HUNTING

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BEAR WITH ME The trail cams told David Affeldt there were plenty of bears roaming near his son’s Northeast Washington cabin, but he could never how guessed how close his would be.

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OREGON WILDERNESS BIG GAME Fed up with the new timberland pay-toplay programs? Willamette Valley hunter Carl Lewallen is too – he laces up his boots and details five of Oregon’s best public-land wildernesses for bucks, bulls and bears.

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A BEAR AND BULL MARKET Tree stands may seem like a Midwest or East Coast deal, but Northwest hunters like Medford’s Jason Haley are adapting them to our woods, and finding that the same set-ups can yield bruins and elk.

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OCEAN PRIME FOR TUNA DERBIES Food banks, wounded veterans and more score with this month’s derbies, and skipper Mark Coleman previews the Washington Tuna Classic out of Westport.

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SORRY, CHARLIE, BUT BARBIE NOW OWNS YOU Using tiny rods to catch fish is nothing new, but imagine trying to reel in hard-fighting albacore on a Barbie rod! Mike Quimby has the secrets to muscling Charlie to the rail.

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3 HOT-WEATHER FISHERIES If Mother Nature’s gonna put us in hot water, well, we’ll figure out how to fish that too – Jeff Holmes has three ethical choices for this low-flow, high-temperature year.

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CHOKED HERRING RIG Tired of your cutplug blowing out in warm water? Guide Brian Robertson adapts a North Sound staple to Buoy 10 salmon.

(KRISTI DANIELS)

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 63 CENTRAL OREGON The Ochocos are suddenly thick with bears – or at least sightings – local hunter Scott Staats reports.

115 CHEF IN THE WILD Tri-Cities-based walleye whacker and guest chef Jerry Han details the Lake Erie way to fillet ’eyes.

134 BASIN BEACON Don Talbot’s guide tips for catching Lake Wenatchee sockeye.

DEPARTMENTS 147 THE KAYAK GUYS With schools of Puget Sound pinks in for summer, Todd Switzer has the lowdown on how to get your kayak attack on the Northwest’s most plentiful salmon species.

153 NORTH SOUND Grab your passport –we’re crabbing the waters on both sides of the international border with our favourite Canadian, Todd Martin.

121 BUZZ RAMSEY With warmer water than usual this season, it just might be all spinners, all the time at Buoy 10, and Buzz has the tricks.

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THE EDITOR’S NOTE

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CORRESPONDENCE

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BIG PIC: NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN’S 1ST ANNUAL PHOTO ISSUE

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REAL WOMEN OF NW FISHING Trishana Israel will float her own boat, thank you very much

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DAIWA, BROWNING PHOTO CONTESTS WINNERS

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DISHONOR ROLL Wilderness plane lander fined; Bivalve banditry on the bay busted; Kudos; Jackass of the Month

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DERBY WATCH 16th Annual Buoy 10 Challenge; Oregon Tuna Classic; Snoopy Rod Invitational; Upcoming derbies

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OUTDOOR CALENDAR; Record Northwest Game Fish Caught This Month

119 RIG OF THE MONTH From the vault: Buoy 10 spinner (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

We Have What You Need For Your Next Hunting, Fishing Or Camping Adventure!

ARCHERY: Mathews, Bowtech, Parker Bows GUNS: Sig, Kimber, Ruger, Remmington, Smith & Wesson, Weatherby, Glock FISHING: Lamiglas, Daiwa, Okuma, Shimano, Berkley, Yakima Bait

1825 N. 1st St. - Hwy 395 • Hermiston, OR 97838 • 541-289-6817 12 Northwest Sportsman

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THEEDITOR’SNOTE

A

s Northwest river flows hit their daily peak temperatures one afternoon in late June, longtime Oregonian outdoor writer Bill Monroe came out with an article about low streams, hot water and some of our favorite fish.

“Why don’t we just lay off fishing for [salmon, steelhead and sturgeon] in the warm water?” he wrote.

Monroe’s suggestion came out in the wake of news that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife had counted at least 208 dead fish – mostly late-arriving springers – in the lower Willamette system, and restricted fishing around the mouths of cooling tribs on the mainstem Umpqua. Even if the heat made for good fun in the otherwise icefield-fed Ohanapecosh River at Mt. Rainier, where me and my family camped in early summer, water temperatures above 70 are harmful for salmon and steelhead, so similar thoughts were on my mind as I put this issue together.

So too were the extraordinary, historic weather conditions we’ve experienced over the past year and which have put us in this situation. “Records available from before don’t come close to preparing us for what we are encountering this year,” WDFW’s drought coordinator Teresa Scott told The Associated Press.

There was no winter snowpack to speak of, and we’ve seen months upon months upon months of above-normal temperatures. As my beloved Skykomish slunk along at a rockbottom 425 cubic feet per second on July 8 – just 9.8 percent of normal over 86 years of record and 600 cfs below the old record low – the Willamette at the falls registered 81 degrees.

With a strong chance of El Niño this winter it all bodes poorly for future fisheries, but in the here and now, I still gotta put out a magazine. So to a degree – no pun intended – I graded our story selection this issue towards fisheries where our quarry have the best chance at surviving hook-ups should they need to be released.

And while I know Northwest sportsmen are mindful folks who recognize when fair chase turns into shooting fish in a barrel, I also know how crazy we can get once salmon arrive, so I’m including some handling tips from ODFW and WDFW. The agencies advise: • Before you go, watch dfw.state.or.us and wdfw.wa.gov for emergency rule changes; • Fish early when rivers and lakes are coolest; • Bring a thermometer to monitor water temps, and when they’re above 70 degrees, stop fishing; • Use barbless hooks and heavier gear to minimize the length of the fight and handling time; • Leave fish you’re not retaining in the water during unhooking, and as always, make sure it’s fully revived before letting it go.

With hunting seasons kicking off this month, wildlife biologists also cautioned archers, riflemen and muzzleloaders about setting up blinds and camps too close to water holes.

But despite the conditions, there still are plenty of ops across the Northwest. Bill Monroe had some great ideas: “Try walleye or bass for a change … head for high country trout … take an ocean charter … fish from the jetty.”You’ll find some of those as well as more fisheries and hunts to consider in following pages. –Andy Walgamott

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18 Nor 18 Northwest NNo oorrthw tthhw hwest eessstt Sp SSportsman port oorrrttsma ssm sma maan

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CORRESPONDENCE WILD STEELHEAD GENE BANKING PROPOSAL After WDFW put out word it was taking comments through Aug. 13 on designating at least three Pugetropolis rivers as wild steelhead gene banks, where hatchery steelies can no longer be released, Kenny Boman noted, “Should be easy: a lot of the rivers don’t have plants, or haven’t for a long time.” As recently as 2002, 32 streams were, but less than a handful are now due to WDFW’s changing release strategies to aid natives and last year’s lawsuit by the Wild Fish Conservancy.

WORKING ON A WEYERHAEUSER WORKAROUND? Responding to a blog story on Big Timber’s continued shift to fee-permit-only access to formerly open hunting grounds, Bart Miller and others launched the Facebook group PNW Stands United Against Weyerhaeuser, explaining, “We are working with talking with County, State and Federal agencies and government to resolve these issues.”

LAWMAKER SHENANIGANS As budget negotiations dragged on in late June, Washington legislators inexplicably tried to fin-clip $447,000 that WDFW needed to deal with increasing costs to mark hatchery salmon. Ultimately, funding was restored, but not before guide Cal Stocking gave them a lesson on the simple economics of the state’s fisheries: “When will they realize, no fish, no revenue from sportsmen? The loss of that revenue will really turn the budget upside down. I’ll volunteer to clip them. Sign me up.”

MOST LIKED PIC WE HUNG UP ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE DURING THIS ISSUE’S PRODUCTION CYCLE We’re calling it a four-way tie for likes – a spate of huge fish hooked in June ruled our social media operations as we put together your August edition.

The list included a pair of near-record Washington bass – Jordan Doucet’s 11-plus-pound Westside largie and an unnamed Camas angler’s 8.53-pound smallie from the Bonneville Pool; Ryan Armatrout, who wrestled an 11-foot Hanford Reach sturgeon to submission before letting it go; and Boise’s Lily Hornish, who set the hook on what turned out to be a 333-pound Ketchikan halibut. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST, ALL, EXCEPT SMALLMOUTH: JOE HYMER)

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1st Annual

Northwest Sportsman Photo Feature!

Part I of II - more next issue!

W

e run a lot of photos that are known in this business as “grip-n-grins,” and why not? There’s no better way to convey the idea that the story you’re about to read will lead to similar success for yourself, and we like to celebrate that. But they only show part of what it means to be a Northwest sportsman. So, that’s what our first annual photo feature aims to do. On Facebook we asked for all those moments when you’re not gripping your latest trophy – the sunrise over the boat’s wake on the way to the tuna grounds, weather-lashed anglers, action shots, Deer Camp – and you came through with some beauts. We hope this special feature brings a grin to your face. – Andy Walgamott 20 Northwest Sportsman

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MIXED BAG

Beautiful Light

Few Northwesterners get to experience the beauty of the day like we anglers and hunters do. With our fish and game most active at either end of light, we’re afield during dawn’s and dusk’s golden hours, and they make for some glorious photo opportunities – and the rest of the day isn’t so bad either.

Clockwise from top left: Sunrise over Hammond’s harbor by Casey Bennett; Oregon goose hunting by Dominic Aiello; Steelheading on a cold day by Eric Winter; Idaho hunting camp by Jason Brooks; Fishing boats heading out of Sekiu by Cami Bayer

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On the Water

Chances are that a screen saver somewhere on your flock of mobile devices and work and home computers features a photo taken on your favorite lake or river. As we toil the day away and run errands after work, the image reminds us of our happy place, our escape.

Clockwise from top: Calm Central Cascades lake by Brad Hole; Omak Lake siesta by Brad Hole; Canoeing into a little off-the-radar lake to hunt ducks by Chase Gunnell; Serenity now by Marc Vigue; All in a day’s oat on the Oregon Coast by Matt Keefer; Foggy morning at Oregon City by Dan Fischer

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MIXED BAG

Silliness

With our tough-guy facial hair and sometimes even a little face paint, we may look like pretty grim characters to mess with to those outside our circle. But truth be told, we’re some of the funnest and funniest folks to be around in the Northwest – although that spot where all the fish are jumping and ducks are landing might be taken, if you get our drift.

Clockwise from top: Josh Corke and Stuart Allen on a cold Columbia Basin day by Stuart Allen; Meditative Oregon kokanee angler by Jeremy Jahn; Total domination by Nick Nichols; Pintail huntress by Scott Lyons; Serious and not so serious by Ashley Masters; Too distracted to pay any attention to the rods by Bill Monroe Jr. 24 Northwest Sportsman

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Action!

If you’re fighting a fish or tracking for a shot at a deer, there’s not a lot of time to try and snap an action shot. But sometimes we’re lucky enough to have a partner along, and sometimes they time their photograph just right and capture a moment that leaves the viewer to decide for themselves whether the battle was won or the quarry got away.

Clockwise from top: Harbor seal grabbing a Chinook by Hugh Allen; Bob Rees netting a Buoy 10 Chinook by Andy Walgamott; Leaping native Trask River steelhead by Justin Kyser; Carlton Complex fire above Pateros by Gabe Temple; Jumping Coos Bay king salmon by Jorge Rubio; Steelhead exploding out of a Westside river by Ashley Masters 26 Northwest Sportsman

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OREGON

www.coastalfarm.com

WASHINGTON

ALBANY 1355 GoldямБsh Farm Rd SE (541) 928-2511

ROSEBURG 740 NE Garden Valley Blvd (541) 957-0741

KLAMATH FALLS Big R 6225 South 6th St (541) 882-5548

WHITE CITY Big R 7303 Crater Lake Hwy (541) 830-3713

REDMOND Big R 3141 US 97 (541) 548-4095

WOODBURN 1550 Mt Hood Ave (503) 981-6322

YAKIMA 2112 S 1st St (509) 457-2447

MIXED BAG BAG MIXED If you see a 10-foot boat with a sweet wrap out fishing for kings, pinks or coho on Puget Sound, odds are it’s Trishana Israel in her refurbished Livingston. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

She Floats Her Own Boat Trishana Israel meets the challenges of being a lady angler in the Northwest head on.

By Andy Walgamott

S

ell her a boat that won’t float and she’ll sand it down, patch it up and get it wrapped with a crazycool design. Then she’ll fire up her Livingston and head out to fish Puget Sound alongside the boys and all their high-dollar toys.

Meet Trishana Israel, a verifiable Real Woman of Northwest Fishing.

“Being a female on the water has its challenges. They still tease me and ask if I’m going to break a fingernail, and yell stuff from other boats. I have fought

really hard for the past seven years to prove my real abilities on the water.

I’m finally being recognized as the real deal, just like every other fisherman,” says Israel, who lives in Edmonds and calls Marine Areas 7, 8-2, 9 and 10 her home waters.

“Men who used to hit on me now take me serious on the water, and ask how deep I’m fishing and what I’m using after they watch me net my own fish,” she says.

Israel is also the devoted mother of a young man born autistic and with clubfoot, and who has undergone

Her pics with fish – here, Drano springers – while dudded up in Grundens have drawn the eye of the Swedish company. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

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Trishana pulls shrimp pots during an fishing and shellfishing outing in the San Juan Islands earlier this year. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

numerous surgeries for the latter condition. She says that one day he will prove the doctors wrong and be able to live independently. In the meanwhile, she describes fishing as what she does for herself.

“I love fishing so much that I bought a little 10-foot Livingston on Craigslist.

They lied and it ended up having a million holes in it, and I was devastated.

I spent the next three months sanding, fiberglassing it alone and painting it. It was a huge task. I missed the summer coho season, but I worked around the clock until I had it done. When Wicked Wraps heard about my story, they stepped up and greatly discounted an amazing wrap job,” she says.

Having beaten the odds in many ways, Israel says her goals are to reel in the winning fish at one of the local derbies, as well as be healthy enough in old age to net her son’s lunkers. NS 32 Northwest Sportsman

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PHOTO CONTEST

WINNERS!

The power of positive thinking led to a Coos Bay whopper for Southern Oregon’s Karen Bigby, and as this issue’s Daiwa Photo Contest winner, it scores her a Daiwa hat, T-shirt and scissors for cutting braided line. It also puts Karen in the running for the grand prize of a Daiwa rod-and-reel combo!

Rich Baalman’s picture of son Austin and the then-9-year-old’s first elk, shot last season in Central Washington, is our monthly Browning Photo Contest winner! He scores 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. nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2015

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Pilot Fined For Landing In Blue Mtns. Wilderness A Walla Walla man was fined $200 for illegally landing his plane on a ridge in the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness.

Brent D. Dawson could have faced a maximum fine of $5,000 and six months in jail, but reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors this past spring.

It wasn’t clear from court documents why Dawson, who is in his late 30s, landed on Southeast Washington’s Smooth Ridge on what was the day before the rifle deer

opener of the 2013 and 2014 seasons – last year with his airplane’s tail numbers removed.

But several hunters who’d put in the sweat to hunt the remote area weren’t pleased by it. They provided photos and descriptions of the plane, and one later received a monetary reward for assistance with the case.

Outside of specially permitted airfields such as a half dozen or so in Idaho’s Frank

Case Update

D

espite around-the-clock medical care, a pronghorn fawn highlighted here last issue after it had been shot through both legs, died. The young antelope and its mother were shot near the Danskin Power Plant outside Mountain Home in late spring. The doe died, but the fawn and its twin were taken to a vet in Nampa for care.

Anyone with info is asked to call Idaho’s poaching hotline (800-632-5999).

The surviving fawn will hopefully be reintroduced to the local herd, IDFG said.

JACKASS OF THE MONTH

W

e’ve given out a lot of lumps here at JOTM, and this month it’s our turn.

Last issue’s column on trout caught out of a Northwest Washington high school’s hatchery was based on a pair of earlier news stories, as well as a conversation with a supervising state fish and wildlife officer. While at the time of our writing the taking of the fish certainly seemed like it could have been nefarious, as it turns out, it doesn’t appear to have been the crime of the century (see Kudos), or one rising to the occasion of JOTM. Who’s the jackass of the month now?

I

By Andy Walgamott Church-River of No Return, the 1964 Wilderness Act bars operating motorized or mechanized equipment within the bounds of backcountry set-asides.

“Federal wilderness lands are a treasure – especially here in the Northwest,” said Michael J. Ormsby, the U.S. District Attorney in Spokane. “This guilty plea shows our office’s commitment to preserving that treasure for future generations to enjoy.”

KUDOS

t didn’t take long for Officer Ryan Valentine to get some leads about the two guys who walked out of a Whatcom County school’s backwoods hatchery with a stringer of nice trout.

They called him themselves.

A trail camera photograph showing the two Bellingham-area residents as well as a story about the theft appeared in the local paper and on a regional TV station, and by that same evening the two had fessed up, according to Valentine.

The case drew widespread interest because the fish were being raised by students at Mt. Baker High School in Deming for a local fishing derby in early May. A teacher there estimated maybe 50 to 100 of the trout were missing.

But Valentine doesn’t believe the duo were out to ruin anybody’s fun.

“They didn’t realize the fish were going to a kids fishing derby,” he says.

(In fact, the derby went off without a hitch, though with a few less trout.)

Valentine says the two told him that they’d been camping nearby in early May and had been informed by

someone else of the rearing ponds.

As they walked in and out of the facility, a hidden camera snapped pics of them.

“They only took seven or eight of the fish,” Valentine says.

He adds that they also ate the trout during their campout.

Outside of special events, it’s common sense that hatchery ponds are off limits to fishing.

Nets strung over raceways to prevent birds from getting in and gobbling the trout are hardly an invitation to angle either.

While there were no signs posted around the high school’s facility, Valentine wondered if hanging some could be something for the two to do as part of their punishment.

That would be up to the county court system, he noted as he mulled potential charges to recommend to prosecutors.

Even if their reasoning for taking the fish wasn’t all that great, that the pair came forth so fast impressed the officer, who says he thanked them for that.

Valentine says they were eager to right their wrong.

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MIXED BAG

Bivalve Banditry On The Bay Busted Up T he sharp eye of a North Sound fish and wildlife officer potentially saved some folks from serious health issues.

After Officer Kit Rosenberger spotted a man near a beach by the Anacortes refineries loading a bucket into a vehicle, he went to investigate. The man fled, but Rosenberger found that a total of 524 oysters had been collected.

Not only is the daily limit 18, but oyster shells must be left on the beach – not that the guy and possible other accomplices appear to have much cared about the law.

But he might have been interested in knowing that the area was also closed to shellfishing due to high toxin levels.

The 841 pounds worth of “monster oysters” were returned to the bay, WDFW reported on Facebook. NS

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Giant oysters sit in the back of a Washington game warden’s truck before being returned to a North Sound bay. (WDFW)

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16th Annual B10 Challenge Set for Aug. 21st

By Andy Walgamott

I

t’s water well under the bridge now, but let a little lesson from last year’s Buoy 10 Challenge provide fair warning for making it back to the scale with that money fish: “Only 20-some teams out of the field of over 60 got back to weigh-in on time,” reported our former sales manager, Brian Lull. “With an ebbing tide and westerly wind stacking the seas below the AstoriaMegler Bridge, our raingear got a work out.”

Set for Aug. 21, the annual fundraiser put on by the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association features a $1,000 prize for largest Chinook and $500 for biggest coho.

Last year it took 29.35- and 10.95-pounders to claim the money. There are also team prizes for largest average catch. Tickets are $100 per entry; for more, see nsiafishing.org.

Gary Douvia, former vice chairman of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, accepts an award for “admirable and selfless efforts to expand sportfishing in the state of Washington” from the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association’s Liz Hamilton at last year’s Buoy 10 Challenge awards ceremony. (BRIAN LULL)

Ilwaco, Garibaldi Host Oregon Tuna Classic

A

flare arcing over the fleet gathered off the south jetty of the Columbia River at 6 a.m. sharp the morning of Aug. 8 will set as many as 60 to 70 fishing boats on a westerly course towards the albacore grounds, as the Deep Canyon Challenge kicks off out of Ilwaco.

The Southwest Washington port hosts the first event in this year’s Oregon Tuna Classic, which wraps up two weeks later and 70 miles to the south in Garibaldi.

Festivities begin Aug. 7 with Big Fish Friday, a sort-of prefishing day that could yield lucky teams $100 at that night’s dinner.

But the really big money and payoff comes the next day.

While the anglers aboard the boat that brings in the five largest tuna by weight score the top prize of $6,000, the true winners are local food banks, which benefit from thousands of pounds of fresh tuna donated by derby participants.

The boat with the second heaviest five fish wins $3,000, third takes $1,000. There are also sidepots for heaviest single albacore and largest pelagic species. Among the items up for grabs during a live auction and raffle include a Bahamas bonefishing trip for two, a Henry Golden Boy .22 rifle and SigSauer MK 25 Navy SEAL edition .45, among others.

Deadline to be back across the finish line with your haul is 5 p.m. For more on the two events, see oregontunaclassic.org.

UPCOMING DERBIES

July 31-Aug. 2 Brewster Salmon Derby on the Upper Columbia; info: brewstersalmonderby.com July 31-Aug. 2 2015 Summer Steelhead Challenge on the Lower Columbia; info: ccawashington.org/SteelheadChallenge Aug. 1 14th Annual South King Co. Chapter-Puget Sound Anglers Salmon Derby on Areas 10, 11 and 13; info: pugetsoundanglers.net Aug. 7-8 Oregon Tuna Classic’s Deep Canyon Challenge out of Ilwaco; info: oregontunaclassic.org Aug. 7-8 Washington Tuna Classic out of Westport; info: washingtontunaclassic.com Aug. 8 20th Annual Gig Harbor Chapter-Puget Sound Anglers Salmon Derby in Areas 11 and 13; info: gigharborpsa.org Aug. 15 South Sound Derby in Area 13; info: (619) 994-4319 Aug. 21 16th Annual Buoy 10 Challenge at the mouth of the Columbia; info: nsiafishing.org/event/buoy-10-challenge Aug. 21-22 Oregon Tuna Classic out of Garibaldi; info: oregontunaclassic.org Aug. 28-29 12th Annual Salmon Enhancement Derby on Nootka Sound and Esperanza Inlet, Vancouver Island, British Columbia; info: info@westviewmarina.com Sept. 5 Willapa Bay Salmon Derby out of Tokeland; info: dfdbones@aol.com Sept. 6 Columbia River Fall Salmon Derby on the Lower Columbia; info: swwa.org Sept. 12 2nd Annual CCA Oregon Salmon Roundup on entire Columbia system; info: ccaoregon.org Sept. 12 Edmonds Coho Derby on Central Puget Sound; info: fisharc.com/derbies/ 61-2014_Edmonds_Coho_Derby_Limited Sept. 19-20 Everett Coho Derby on Central, North Sound saltwaters, rivers; info: everettcohoderby.com nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2015

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An Invitation To Have Some Fun

S

ept. 5 marks the fifth biannual NW Fishing Guides Invitational Snoopy Rod Humpy Derby on the Snohomish River.

The unconventional derby began in 2007 as a fun “customer appreciation” event, according to organizers Jim and Jennifer Stahl (nwfishingguides.net), and it’s evolved into something beyond what they ever imagined possible.

The event combines a day of fishing for pink salmon with nothing but a Snoopy Rod, followed by a barbecue potluck dinner afterwards.

Invited participants pay a nominal fee, which is donated to a little-known program run by the City of Everett called Code 10, which ensures underprivileged kids are able to attend day camp during the summer and receive a hot meal.

With sponsor support from Snohomish

Jim Stahl, cofounder and co-organizer of the Snoopy Rod Humpy Derby on the Snohomish River, fishes for pink salmon below the Highway 9 bridge during the 2013 fundraiser for a City of Everett program.

(NWFISHINGGUIDES.NET)

Carpet Cleaning, Cabela’s, Lowrance, Shimano, Yakima Bait and Dick Nite Spoons, the Stahls are able to donate all of the money raised to the Code 10 program and still award every participant a prize.

With a whopping 1.6 million Snohomish River pinks forecast, invitees' little rods should get quite the workout, and plenty of money should be raised for a great cause. NS

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Northwest Sportsman

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OUTDOOR

CALENDAR Sponsored by

AUGUST Opening of salmon fishing at Buoy 10; Steelhead retention opener in lower ½ mile of Idaho’s Clearwater River; Opening day of elk hunting for numerous Oregon youth permit holders; Bear season begins across Oregon as well as in numerous Washington units; CAST for Kids event on Potholes Reservoir; info: Jaurette Jackson (jjackson@usbr.gov) 8-9 Free Family Fishing event, Charleston Seafood Festival; info: odfwcalendar.com; Family Crabbing Workshop, Newport; info: odfwcalendar.com 13-15 International Federation of Fly Fishers’ 50th Annual International Fly Fishing Fair at Riverhouse Hotel & Convention Center in Bend; info: fedflyfishers.org 15 Public Archery Instruction, EE Wilson Wildlife Area; info: odfwcalendar.com; Oregon bighorn sheep and mountain goat tagholders workshop and orientation at Fort Dalles Readiness Center, The Dalles; info: oregonfnaws.org; Black bear hunting opens in Washington’s Northeastern B, Okanogan and South Cascades Units; Clam and Crab Seminar, Bandon; info: odfwcalendar.com 15-16 Cabela’s Fall Great Outdoor Days at select Northwest locations; see cabelas.com for more details 29-30 Cabela’s Fall Great Outdoor Days at select Northwest locations; see cabelas.com for more details 29 Opening day of bowhunting season for deer and elk in Oregon 1

SEPTEMBER Washington statewide cougar, deer (bow), Northeast A, Blue Mountains, Long Island bear, mourning dove and grouse openers; Grouse opener in Oregon; Parts of Catherine and Big Sheep Creeks as well as Grande Ronde, Imnaha, John Day, Snake, Umatilla, Wallowa and Wenaha Rivers in Oregon open to fishing for fin-clipped steelhead 12 Washington statewide elk (bow) opener; CAST for Kids event on Lake Washington at Coulon Park; info: Jessica Kelly (jessica@castforkids.org) 13 CAST for Kids event on Henry Hagg Lake; info: Shelly Bolopue (pinkybasslass@ msn.com) 15 Public Archery Instruction, EE Wilson Wildlife Area; info: odfwcalendar.com 15-25 High Buck Hunt in several Washington Cascades and Olympics wilderness areas, Lake Chelan NRA; Usual bandtail pigeon hunt opener in Oregon, Washington 19-20 Washington youth pheasant, quail, partridge hunting weekend 1

RECORD NW GAME FISH CAUGHT THIS MONTH Date

Species

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AUGUST 2015 | nwsportsmanmag.com

(WDFW)

Pds. (-Oz.) Water

Angler

16.27 3-7 5-14.4 40-2 23.0 25.26 11.56

Albert DaSilva Bob Judkins Dale Hofmann Kim Fleming Wesley S. Hunter Fred Dockendorf Jeff Bergman

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AUGUST 2015

Northwest Sportsman 47

High on the slopes of a wilderness mountain, a hunter glasses for bruins. Black bear season opens Aug. 1 in the ring around Olympic National Park, western slopes of the North Cascades and eastern slopes of the Central Cascades, while hunting begins Aug. 15 in the Okanogan and west side of the South Cascades. (JOEL LINKE) 48 Northwest Sportsman

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HUNTING

Black Bear Biathlon A HIGH-COUNTRY ADVENTURE ON TWO WHEELS AND TWO LEGS.

By Joel Linke

J

ust as we tracked to the edge of the alpine trees, my hunting buddy, Ben, smirked and calmly stated words that have stuck with me ever since: “Hey Joel,” he said, “how would you like a bear?”

I rushed over as quickly as I could, slipping several times on the steep, moist foliage. The bear was less than 30 yards from where I had hit him.

I had just connected on a large, high-country boar with an over-thecounter tag on a do-it-yourself hunt, and I was absolutely thrilled!

IT WAS SEPTEMBER’S LAST weekend, and Ben and I had just traversed 17 miles on bicycle and on foot into one of the vast wilderness areas of Washington. We were above tree line where this bear had been feeding on crimson, berry-filled bushes that were contrasted by a lush green hillside.

There were several reasons why this spot was a great location to hunt bears, but the two most significant reasons were food and solitude.

A spot with a significant food source and plenty of privacy from humans makes for potentially great bear habitat.

Hunters know to search for a food source to help find animals, which is mostly true for bears too. However, for bears not all food sources are equal. Finding a bear at one of its food sources in the dense forest can be difficult because of more than just limited visibility through the thick trees. The food can be scarce and is usually a “once-and-done” source, where a bear only visits a single time and doesn’t return. For nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2015

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HUNTING crop. I have found that hunting right next to the national park can be productive, most likely due to the bruin populations being undisturbed.

But bears don’t understand the park’s boundaries that keep them safe and often wander into the adjacent national forest and wilderness areas unknowingly. Bring a good map to stay out of the park itself and be there to intercept them.

The duo use mountain bikes outfitted with gear racks to push deep into the woods before stashing them and continuing on foot. (JOEL LINKE)

example, bears will tear open rotting trees looking for grubs and other small bugs; they will slash open a bee hive for the rewarding honey inside; and they will rip the bark off young coniferous trees and scrape the sweet cambium layer off with their teeth. These food sources are scattered through the forest and will most likely not be frequented more than once, so spotting a bear at one is usually coincidental.

In contrast, finding a bear at forage areas in meadows above the forest is much easier. Visibility increases from as little as 30 feet, if even that, to 300 yards or more. In addition, the food sources that are present, both grasses and berries, are plentiful from mid-July through early October.

The easy-picking grasses and sweet berries cause bears to habitually visit these meadows in the summer. And in early fall, as the weather cools, the bears will practically live up here as they try to put on fat for the winter by eating for up to 20 hours a day.

There is no easy way to confirm a meadow is filled with berry bushes and green grasses without actually seeing the plants with your own eyes. However, online maps with satellite imaging can point you in the right direction. Look for 50 Northwest Sportsman

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treeless areas between about 4,000 and 6,500 feet in elevation in the Olympic and Cascade Ranges. Berry bushes need lots of precipitation to produce their fruit, so the wetter the weather, the better. With high rainfalls being typical each year in the Olympic Mountains, the berry bushes in the Buckhorn and Mount Skokomish Wildernesses receive plenty of moisture to ensure a good

BEGINNING IN LATE SPRING, when hunting seasons are at a lull, choose a handful of spots to check in the summer. By the end of June or in July, depending on the year, the snow melts enough for scouting out potential hunting spots. That occurred way early this year, but get your boots and possibly even your two wheels on the ground and check out prospective spots. Keep in mind that the easier it is for you to get into your spot, the more company you will have – human company, that is.

Also, remember that at this point in the year, you are looking for berry

Where lowland bears might hit a food source once and not return, mountain bears will focus on the usually reliable blueberry crop.

Generally unpressured, they will be more visible than those haunting reprod and other thick foothills habitat. The author says he’s been able to sneak within 50 yards of bears occupied on feeding on berries. (JOEL LINKE)

HUNTING bushes and grasses that bears will seek later in the summer and into the fall. Do not be discouraged if the bears are absent in late spring and early summer. They will come when the grasses become plentiful or as the berries ripen.

A benefit of hunting bears in their dining room is that they are focused on eating. Bears have great senses, so a preoccupied bear is much easier to stalk. The bear that I took on my hunt was so distracted with gorging on berries that our entire stalk was done in plain sight of him. On a similar hunt, with the wind in my face, I’ve snuck within 50 yards of a feeding bear without any cover except kneehigh grass. Another reason I was able to pursue these bears undetected was they had stopped looking for danger while feeding because they assumed they were alone. This leads into the second most significant condition for

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Bears aren’t the only residents of Washington’s highlands. The two species of blue grouse and white-tailed ptarmigans live up here as well, and so too do blacktail and mule deer, the seasons for which opens in midSeptember in select Cascades and Olympic wildernesses. (JOEL LINKE)

HUNTING Joel carefully approaches his downed black bear, just inside the tree line. (JOEL LINKE)

Planning For Worstcase Scenarios Personal safety is the most important element of hunting the high country. Training well, making good decisions during the hunt and never separating from your hunting partner will all help you return home safely. However, accidents are a part of life, so I added another item to my safety arsenal: a SPOT GPS messenger device. The one I use can send three different prerecorded messages to phone numbers and/or emails of family and friends, and they include the GPS coordinates the message was sent from. (Note: I only add people who I know I can trust with my hunting spot!) The fourth message option sends out an SOS signal and is used only for emergencies, such as when a broken leg or worse occurs. Newer GPS messenger devices from both SPOT and their competitor, DeLorme, can now link to your smartphone to send custom messages while in the backcountry. These devices offer distinct advantages over personal locator beacons (PLBs), which can only send an SOS signal, and satellite phones, which have much higher upfront and service plan costs. –JL

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HUNTING

Planning For The Weather

The payoff for all that work comes in the form of unloosening the boots and grilling fresh bear meat over a campfire. (JOEL LINKE)

My bear’s meadow had been completely fogged in when we arrived. However, we had reviewed the National Weather Service’s forecast before we had left and we watched the fog slowly dissipate almost exactly when the forecast predicted.

I’ve found the Weather Service’s forecasts to be very reliable, with the distinct advantage that the website (wrh.noaa.gov) does not require a city or zip code for input. Just find your hunting spot on the map and click in the general vicinity.

You can fine tune your selection in the smaller map that will display with the detailed forecast. The forecast will even take into account the elevation, so double check that the displayed elevation is realistic with where you are hunting.

But while forecasts are a great tool for hunting the high country, weather can be unpredictable, no matter what meteorologists and their computer models predict. Despite what a forecast has called for, there have been times I’ve had to head home without ever getting to see the meadow I wanted to hunt because of an unexpected fog or surprise storm. Always be prepared for bad weather. –JL

great bear habitat.

Bears love solitude. The bears in the high country are a different beast than the ones raiding lowland campsites and garbage cans. These ones have a rational fear of humans.

All of the mountain bears I have come across have wanted nothing more than to head back to the safety of the trees after sensing my presence.

In general, mountain bears find solitude where humans have a hard time accessing. There are definitely bears in areas closer than my bear that was 17 miles from the parking lot, but it, along with eight others, had come to the same meadow because their high pasture sees very few humans, and it was loaded with high-calorie food.

FOR OUR HUNT, WE rode on bikes for 6 miles before it became too steep and then we pushed them for 6 more miles. After stashing the bikes and donning our packs, we hiked the final 5 miles to the bear’s meadow.

Over the bike, push and hike, we gained over a mile in elevation while 56 Northwest Sportsman

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packing our overnight and hunting gear. Some people may consider that too much physical exertion for a bear hunt, but that is exactly why the bears are there. I enjoy putting in the planning, training and execution to hunt a great spot, especially if there is a meadow full of bears to select from.

The planning and training for this hunt was fairly significant, which add to the reasons why very few humans travel there. It was slightly different from training for a typical backcountry hunt because of the portion of the trek done on two wheels. But it was similar to training for a backcountry hunt, because we hauled heavy packs on our backs during the summer up and down our local trails to prepare for it. I typically do at least two 45-minute hikes during the week and a longer, two- to three-hour hike over the weekend. I start with the pack at about 45 pounds in early summer and build up to about 65 pounds before the planned hunt.

For the biking portion, we used two mountain bikes to quickly and

efficiently cover ground. We had planned on pushing the bikes up the steep half-dozen miles so we could coast that distance on the way out when we were hopefully loaded down with the weight of a bear.

Gear racks added on the back of the bikes can hold your packs since it’s grueling to bike with a heavy pack on your back. When hunting with a bike, training on it with sand bags or other heavy objects on its gear racks is critical to obtain the balance and leg muscles required for the hunt. I like to train on the bike once or twice a week over terrain varying from flat to fairly steep.

It is very important to make sure your gear, including the bike if used, is in good, working condition and can handle the task of carrying you, your gear and a bear before you take off. Cruising down a steep hill on a bike with up to 100 pounds of gear and bear on the back is not the time to find out that you should have tightened the brake cable.

Cardiovascular workouts are another significant part of training

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Northwest Sportsman 57

HUNTING for high-country hunts because the altitude challenges your lungs’ abilities with every strenuous step.

A good cardio workout will get you breathing hard for an extended period of time, which increases your lungs’ capacity and trains your lungs and muscles to be more efficient with the oxygen they are provided.

I run for about 45 minutes once or twice a week to prepare for hunting the high country.

BALANCING HUNTING TRAINING AND the

Back at camp, the author poses with his wilderness bruin. A tremendous amount of work went into him being able to pull the successful hunt off. (JOEL LINKE)

Tips For Skinning Bears When hunting long distances from the parking lot, it is just as important to limit the weight of your gear on the way in as it is to limit your load on the way out. On the way in, save some weight and leave the saw at home. A bear’s head can be separated from the body with just your knife by inserting it at the base of the top vertebrae, then twisting the head free, and each wrist can easily be broken and separated from the limb after the tendons have been cut. On the way out, save some weight by deboning the meat.

Bear bones are very dense and can weigh a substantial amount on a large bear. A sharp, quality knife is all that is needed to skin and bone a bear in the field.

Indeed, my father once told me, “A quality knife is almost as important as a quality wife.” I witnessed the truth in that quote while skinning my first bear with my hunting partner who was using a dull 58 Northwest Sportsman

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knife with cheap steel. He sliced his thumb open and deep with his dull blade. Our joyful spirits turned to anxious thoughts while we tried to stop the bleeding. A dull blade requires more pressure to cut, and when the blade slips, it will still be sharp enough to slice anything in its path.

I own many knives at this point, but my go-to has a VG-10 stainless-steel blade.

I have completely skinned and boned three bears in the high country without the knife needing sharpening. However, I still always bring a small sharpener, just in case. There are several other quality steel blades such as S30V and CTS-XHP. Knives of this quality still have to balance the properties of steel such as hardness with brittleness and edge retention with sharpening ability. Select the qualities most important to you and research to find a quality steel that matches your desires and budget. –JL

needs of family can be tricky. To help reduce the amount of time spent training in the mornings or evenings away from my family, I try to do all of my shorter workouts during my lunch breaks at work during the week. This has led me to become creative – simulating a steep hiking trail with the office stairwell, and running errands on my bike with two sand bags strapped to the gear rack. By being resourceful, most of your training can be done without sacrificing time with family.

I consider all of this training absolutely essential because running out of energy or enduring muscle cramps 17 miles from your vehicle can turn into a dangerous scenario quickly. In addition, it does no good to simply be able to make it into the high country but be too exhausted to stalk a bear and carry it out. The best hunting plan and location means nothing if you are not physically prepared to get in and get out with an animal on your back.

With the right preparation, a challenging high-country hunt can be done safely and be extremely rewarding. If you can find lowpressured areas with a substantial food source, your odds of tagging a bear increase substantially. There are no shortcuts with wilderness bears. In the end, how badly you want one will determine how hard you are willing to plan, train and work for it. NS

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Northwest Sportsman 59

HUNTING

Spotting Your Prey Bears are easy to spot in high-country meadows, as their dark silhouettes contrast against the green, yellow and red hillside. They stand out so well that I’ve spotted bears up to 3 miles away with 10-power binoculars. Sometimes deadfalls, rocks or shadows will catch your attention because of the dark solid color.

Stay focused on the suspected object for a short while and watch for movement.

Bears are on a mission when they are in these meadows, and that is to eat. They rarely stay still for long before they move onto the next branch, bush or section of grass. If you can catch that movement, you can confirm your suspicions. –JL Frost coats a front paw of Joel’s bear. The coming of cold weather forces Ursus americanus to gorge in preparation for hibernation. Not so well known is that to help process all those calories, bears also need to drink several gallons of water a day, so hunters would be wise to target water sources near berryfields. (JOEL LINKE)

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Brought To You By:

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Longtime Prineville resident Scott Staats has spent plenty of time in the Ochoco Mountains, but he’s never seen as many bears as he has while camping this year. This mother had three cubs. While Central Oregon isn’t really a hotbed of bear hunting, some are taken annually in the area’s three main wildlife units. (SCOTT STAATS)

A

®

COLUMN

Bear Reports Rise In The Ochocos

fter seeing six black bears on my last four visits to the Ochocos, I got to wondering if this CENTRAL OREGEON was just an example

BY Scott Statts of being in the right place at the right time, or if there was a bruin behind every tree in the forest.

Although wildlife biologists are still crunching the numbers from last fall’s survey to determine a population estimate for the three hunting units in Central Oregon (Ochoco, Grizzly and Maury), they say that bear populations remain stable or are increasing in most areas throughout Oregon. The current statewide population is estimated to be between 25,000 and 30,000 animals, although it’s difficult to make such a broad guess.

According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Ochoco National Forest, there have been reports of people seeing more bears in the Ochocos the past few years.

Lots of us have seen bear scat in the woods (which answers that age-old rhetorical question …), but few have actually seen them. They are sort of like ghosts of the forest, similar to cougars. I’m sure more bears have seen people than the other way around.

Greg Jackle, district wildlife biologist with ODFW in Prineville, has only been in this office for a little over two years and hasn’t seen a bear in the Ochocos yet.

Before this year’s camping trips I hadn’t

either; now I’ve seen half a dozen.

Jackle offers a few reasons for an increased number of bears in the forest.

“My best guess would be an increase in recruitment (more cubs surviving to adulthood), potentially due to our last couple mild winters, increased summer forage, etc.,” he explains. “And the second main factor would be a reduction in harvest.”

THE REASON IT’S DIFFICULT to get an accurate population estimate on bears is because of their secretive nature, relatively low density compared to animals such as deer and elk, and their ability to use natural cover. The method used by Jackle and other biologists in the state since 2005 is tetracycline marking, which usually occurs about the first week of June.

Each bait consists of nine tetracycline capsules wrapped in a pound of bacon, then put in a permeable cloth bag so the scent can carry. To make the bait even more tempting for a bear, it’s covered with bacon grease and liquid smoke, or something similar.

“The bait is placed in a tall tree about 10 to 12 feet up so you don’t get a coyote, fox or other nontargeted mammal taking it,” Jackle explains. “You also want to pick a tree that has some bark characteristics that can show claw marks to tell that a bear took the bait and not a smaller mammal, or birds.”

Baits are placed at least 5 miles apart and left out for two to three weeks, mostly

on Forest Service land, though some are on BLM and private ground. Once eaten, the tetracycline marks a ring in the teeth similar to a tree ring. Bear teeth submitted by hunters and from bears taken on damage complaints are examined to age the animal and determine if it was“marked” by tetracycline. Under a microscope and ultraviolet light, the markings on the teeth from the tetracycline can be seen.

Biologists remove the two premolars, those small teeth behind the canines.

The ratio of marked to unmarked bears can be used to develop an improved population estimate. In order for the study to be successful and provide accurate estimates of bear populations, it is essential hunters provide teeth from harvested bears. Before 2008, it used to be voluntary submission of bear teeth, but since then, check-in of all bears taken has been mandatory. Under the old way, annual tooth-return compliance ranged from 22 percent to 57 percent. Following mandatory check-in, annual compliance rates have averaged about 98 percent.

The state has yet to tally the most recent data to determine if bear populations are up, down or stable compared with past years. The study used to be done every year, but since 2006 it has gone to every other year. ODFW ran stringers of baits in Central Oregon’s three hunting units and got nine hits from bears out of 33 baits, or a 27 percent hit rate for 2014.

Bear season runs Aug. 1 to the end of

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Northwest Sportsman 63

COLUMN November. According to Jackle, there’s not a high harvest in Central Oregon. Last year in the Maury Unit, 15 hunters spent 102 days hunting and got none. In the Ochoco Unit, 191 hunters spent 1,622 days hunting and took five bears (four females and one male) for a 3 percent success rate. For the Grizzly Unit, 104 hunters spent 909 days hunting and took seven bears (three females and four males) for a 7 percent success rate.

AS WITH COUGARS, BEAR hunting was significantly affected by the passage of Measure 18 in 1994, which bans the use of dogs and bait to hunt black bears and cougars. Statewide, there were about 1,200 bears taken by hunters in 1994, and about half of that number the next year.

By 2010 there were about 1,200 bears killed by hunters. However, there were about three times as many hunters that reportedly killed that number of bears.

While ODFW stands by its bruin population estimate, some people and groups question this. Oregon Wild argues

that black bear numbers are decreasing, not increasing, and that while the population is not under threat of going extinct, it is being maintained at a level much below maximum carrying capacity.

Black bears first came under the management of the ODFW in 1961, when they were reclassified from a predator to a game animal. This allowed the state to set limits on bear hunting through designated seasons, areas and tag sales.

Hunting is the tool ODFW uses to manage the species and is the primary cause of black bear mortality in Oregon.

The agency’s last black bear plan was adopted by the Fish and Wildlife Commission in 1993. Since that time, the overall population has been stable to increasing. In comparison, there was estimated to be 9,000 in the early 1930s and 18,000 in 1980.

A new draft management plan outlines four main objectives: maintaining a healthy bear population in balance with other wildlife; reducing the number of human-bear conflicts that result in

RV

A black bear investigates a bait station hung by state wildlife biologists as part of an effort to help better determine bruin densities. The bait contains tetracycline, which leaves a trace on the animal’s teeth and can be detected when the premolars are removed. (ODFW)

lethal removal or relocation of bears; developing and refining population modeling techniques; and using applied research to improve the understanding of black bear management and ecology.

There has never been a fatal bear attack in Oregon and only four humanbear interactions that resulted in injury have been documented by ODFW. NS

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Northwest Sportsman 65

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66 Northwest Sportsman

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HUNTING

Bear

Me

By David Affeldt Editor’s note: The following hunt occurred in the Colville National Forest of Northeast Washington in 2013; the author’s son, Jeremy, is a relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants.

T

he hunters had a friendship Trophy that was forged and strengthened Tale over many years. They trusted each other in the woods and liked to spend time sharing stories around a campfire. They had been on many hunting adventures together and on their own. They had hunted big whitetail deer in Washington.

They had traveled to Texas to bow hunt even bigger deer. They went to South Dakota and Minnesota to hunt pheasant.

They were more than friends.

They were father and son: David and Jeremy. The younger one was a better shot with the gun and bow.

He was steadier on his feet and had a better aim – probably from years of standing on a pitching mound.

He had better eye sight. The older one was a better cook. He could afford to take greater risks because his children were grown and had left home. Even when their relationship was strained, they could rely on their hunting adventures to rekindle and restore the bond between them.

But finding the opportunity to go on a hunting adventure was getting more difficult. Jeremy had a career to manage and a family to nurture.

He was gone from home often and needed to spend time with his

Tracks in the moist bottoms of a year-round creek and trail cam photos revealed that a number of bears were roaming near Jeremy Affeldt’s Northeast Washington hunting shack. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

boys and his wife. Someday soon, though, he hoped his boys would be old enough to join “PawPaw” and Dad on a hunting adventure. In the meanwhile, the two friends enjoyed talking about past adventures and they dreamed and planned new ones in Alaska and Africa. Their friendship continued to grow.

ONE LATE SEPTEMBER DAY, David was walking alone along a trail that ran next to a creek that flowed through some property that Jeremy owned

in the mountains. The trail was well marked, and many animals used the water to drink and the cedar trees on either side of it to hide. It was early morning and the day was pleasant.

The sun dappled the ground below the trees and the water sparkled as it moved over small rapids. David spotted some new tracks in the mud along the edge of the trail as it crossed over the creek and he grew excited.

David took pictures of the tracks and sent them to Jeremy, who was

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HUNTING living a long way from home. That evening Jeremy called; he was excited too. He thought it would be best to put up some game cameras along the creek and put a deer stand high in a tree. Jeremy said he would be home this year and the two of them would go on another adventure together.

At last the day arrived for them to meet at the hunting shack high above the creek. It was early October and the leaves had started to show their fall colors. The red, the yellows, the browns were mixed with the forest green from the cedar trees.

As the autumn days got shorter and the sun dropped behind the mountains sooner, the shadows along the creek and in the woods were fading into the black darkness earlier in the evening.

David had set the cameras along the creek and installed a deer stand 30 feet up the side of a huge cedar.

The tree trunk split into two stems and continued up over 100 feet into the sky. By the time David arrived Jeremy had pulled the pictures off the cameras so they could look at them and plan a strategy. The cameras had snapped photos of a chocolatecolored bear, a big black bear, and a huge brown bear. The bears were prowling the creek in the early morning as the sun started to break over the mountains. By midmorning they were gone. Sometimes they returned during the black of night and stayed around until midnight.

The hunters planned to leave early the next morning before sunrise, maybe before the bears came down from the mountain and started to walk along the creek.

NEITHER HUNTER SLEPT WELL that night.

Anticipation was high and their dreams of bears in the woods were vivid. They rose silently at 5 a.m. and ate a cold breakfast of banana bread and juice, then dressed in dark camouflage and sprayed their clothing with a special odor to mask 68 Northwest Sportsman

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David Affeldt calls the harvesting of this black bear “20 minutes of life that I will never forget.”

He tagged the bruin two seasons ago while hunting out of a tree stand. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

their scent and to make them smell like the earth and the trees. Carrying flashlights, they started down the long winding road to the intersection where the creek trail started, careful to avoid loose rocks and gravel that would give away their position.

Halfway down the road they spotted a narrow path that dropped down to the creek. They decided to

use it to approach the creek from the top rather than from the bottom.

They walked silently through the woods using only one flashlight to follow the trail. It was a very dark night and even darker in the woods under the boughs of the cedars. As they approached the creek, they could hear it rushing down the hill through the woods, its sound

HUNTING masking the noise of their footsteps on the broken twigs and leaves.

At last, they arrived at the creek and found the narrow game trail that wandered along the edge.

After walking along the creek for 10 minutes they heard a loud splash in the water nearby. It sounded like a huge boulder falling into a lake or a person jumping into a pool. The hunters stopped and waited for more sound, but there was nothing, so they continued along the creek.

They found their spot along the creek and sat among the bushes, trees, logs and shadows. After perhaps an hour or so, Jeremy thought he saw something move, but it was difficult to see in the early morning light with its constantly changing shadows. Both hunters dismissed it as a figment of their imaginations. Later, one of their trail cameras would reveal a big brown bear had walked by only 100 feet away.

As body heat slowly left them, David and Jeremy decided to return to the hunting shack for breakfast, and then they hunted higher up the mountain later that day.

The next day they followed the same routine, except this time they decided to take the road all the way to the bottom and follow the creek trail back into the woods. They sat on a small stool and a bucket to conserve body heat, but after three hours were hungry and returned to the shack for a warm breakfast.

Only later would they learn that a chocolate-phase bear had been parked 30 feet away in the bushes, eating berries and grubs from a rotting log.

The weekend over, it was time to go home, but each promised the other they would return the following one to try again.

WITH RAIN AND NIGHTLY frosts now in the forecast, David and Jeremy headed back to the shack, but this time they would only have one day 70 Northwest Sportsman

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together. Once again Jeremy arrived early with his oldest son and checked the cameras for activity along the creek. It showed three bears prowling along the game path located near the creek in the early morning hours, and Jeremy also found lots of bear scat under the cedar where the tree stand was located. He told David he did not think the bears liked the human scent, so they dropped scat to mark the territory.

The hunters decided to split up this time when they got down to the creek trail. It was agreed that David would sit high in the tree stand and watch the trail from above. Jeremy would follow the creek deeper into the woods and hide along the edge and wait for movement. They would be located 50 yards apart. Both had radios so they could tell the other if any of the bears wandered into the area. That was the plan. Before they went to bed, the grandson prayed PawPaw would find a bear.

Once again, they set out the next morning in the dark. The sky was shrouded in clouds and only a few stars twinkled. It was cold and the air contained a hint of rain.

It was much darker than the last time they had entered the woods.

As they approached the creek trail they switched off their lights and the darkness collapsed into black.

After they had walked perhaps 10 minutes on the trail Jeremy heard an unusual noise from somewhere ahead. David did not hear it, as his warm hood muffled the sounds.

The son tugged at the father’s hood just a little to expose his ears. Now David could hear the noise as well.

The commotion was getting louder.

Sticks were breaking, branches were snapping.

Not knowing what was causing the sound, the hunters decided to bury themselves in the woods and wait. They hid underneath some low-hanging cedar boughs and waited for 30 minutes as the sound continued and then it began to get quiet. The forest became very still.

Jeremy whispered to ask if they should continue to move ahead; David motioned to do so, as the tree stand was only a few yards further.

At the cedar, David looked up and said that he did not think there was enough room for the two of them to sit in the tree stand. Jeremy agreed, and also decided that with all the suspicious noise in the woods he would head back to the hunting cabin and his sleeping son and wait for David to contact him by radio. Otherwise, Jeremy would return at 9 a.m. with an ATV and pick up his dad.

DAVID CLIMBED THE TREE using pegs screwed into the side of the cedar.

He seated himself in the tree stand and stared out into the darkness. He could only see the end of his brown hunting boots. He sat and began to think about things other than hunting. He had work to do at home.

He had assignments at work that needed to be completed. Tomorrow he would go to church. He thought of many things.

And then an odd thing happened.

It started to rain cedar needles.

David was wearing an orange Fedora hunting hat and the brim was catching the needles as they fell.

At first, he thought it was drops of rain, as precipitation was in the forecast, but it was strange because he did not feel any rain on his face.

As the needles continued to fall, he looked around for a squirrel or bird that may have caused it. But then the needles stopped falling.

Soon after David noticed that the tree was swaying slightly. He thought his vision was playing tricks on him in the dark. Moments after the cedar stopped swaying, it started again, moving just a little and then stopping. David looked around to see if the wind had started, but no other trees, branches or leaves were moving. He wondered if perhaps a bear below was using the tree to scratch his claws and marking his territory, but peering over the edge

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HUNTING Look closely in the branches above the Allfeldts’ tree stand – at least five bears had been above David. (BROWNING PHOTO CONTEST)

of his seat, he didn’t see a bear.

But then, David heard a low, guttural, menacing growl, one like you would think a lion might make.

He thought the bear must be below him, so he peered over his seat again see if it was lurking in the bushes.

Nothing, but then moments later he heard a much louder growl with some real strength to it.

David looked up and peering down at him was a 6-foot, 220-pound bear trying to get out of the tree. They stared at each other for a few minutes while David tried to figure out how to get himself out of the tree without taking his eyes off the bear. David lifted his tree stand so he could stand up fully and face the tree. He placed the boots so the heels extended over the edge. He positioned his rifle so he could protect himself if the bear moved down the tree any further. He uttered no expletives, only a prayer.

The bear moved.

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The gun fired upward into the bear.

The bear fell through the branches, nearly knocking David out of the tree stand, and crashed to the ground.

All was silent. With adrenaline pumping, David radioed Jeremy, and minutes later he heard the ATV as it came roaring down the road and through the woods on the creek trail. Not knowing the present location of the bear, Jeremy arrived with his handgun drawn. Still in the stand and trying to find the bear, David asked Jeremy if he could see where it had landed. The base of the tree and not moving, Jeremy replied. David breathed a prayer of relief and thanksgiving, but as he came down, Jeremy gasped and told him to look up. There were four more bears lying in the branches. It was time to exit the tree and leave the bears alone.

The adventure was over; the adventure will never be over. NS

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Room to Roam OREGON’S 2.5 MILLION ACRES OF WILDERNESS OFFER BIG GAME HUNTERS AN ALTERNATIVE TO INCREASINGLY RESTRICTED PRIVATE TIMBERLANDS There’s still good public land to hunt in Oregon, and wilderness areas offer room to roam with less pressure from fellow sportsmen out after deer, elk and bear. A hunter prepares his pack at the edge of an Eastern Oregon wilderness area. (ERIC WALD) 74 Northwest Sportsman

AUGUST 2015 | nwsportsmanmag.com

HUNTING

By Carl Lewallen

O

regon’s big game hunting season is fast approaching, so what have you done to get ready to go afield?

With some of the new rule changes and more and more private landowners closing off their property to public access or limiting and charging people to hunt ground that in the past had been open to all at no fee, I’ve been spending my time doing more research than usual.

I know how some of you feel about those new policies, such as Weyerhaeuser’s, which doubled the amount of acreage in its Oregon permit program for this year. I had always been able to hunt on private timberlands without checking in, buying access or getting permission.

Times have changed, so in the last few years I have adapted with them to ensure I have somewhere to hunt come fall. I hope the info in this article helps you be a little more at ease in knowing there is and always will be places to go afield in Oregon come hunting season.

Fact is, our state is in the top five for acreage of public hunting land, by some measures. Of Oregon’s 62 million acres, around 56 percent of the state is publicly owned. That ground comes in the form of Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and state forests and wildlife areas. And of that, just under 2.5 million acres are federally designated wildernesses.

Not only is there plenty of room to roam, but there’s also 3,900 square miles you don’t have to worry about some roadhunter busting that buck or bull just ahead of you.

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HUNTING

Yes, there is the issue of drawing a tag, especially in Eastern Oregon, but believe it or not, there are so many public-land possibilities that it would take a book and years to list them all.

We don’t exactly have that kind of space or time available for this issue of the magazine, so instead I will list a few of what I consider to be the better wilderness areas with their total acreage, the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s hunting unit name and other info.

, Monument Mountain, Table Rocks left) Oregon’s Steens ; BOB WICK, BLM; USFS; BLM) top m fro se wi ock (cl K, BLM Views into n Wildernesses. (BOB WIC Rock and Soda Mountai 76 Northwest Sportsman

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IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, let’s start with the west side of the Cascades.

Blacktail deer and Roosevelt elk along with black bear roam lands along its lakes, rivers and streams from the high peaks down to valley farmlands, but here I will focus on five backcountry areas.

Situated south of Highway 58, the Diamond Peak Wilderness consists of 54,185 acres in the Willamette and Deschutes National Forests and

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Northwest Sportsman

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HUNTING similarly is split between the Indigo and Fort Rock Wildlife Management Units. The eponymous peak sits at 8,744 feet above sea level, and the surrounding forests are dotted with small lakes.

Fourteen miles of the Pacific Crest Trail cut through the wilderness and there are many other jumpoffs and footpaths to access it. You should have a good opportunity at blacktail and elk, along with a few muleys.

Also within the Indigo Unit is the 19,000-acre Boulder Creek Wilderness. Located in the Umpqua National Forest in Douglas County, it features 30 miles of trail system.

Though blowdowns from wildfires in 1996 and 2008 could make getting around parts of the wilderness more difficult, hunters often find that new browse created by blazes attracts big game best in the decade or so postfire.

From the North Umpqua, let’s jump to the more moist Coast Range between Toledo and Mapleton where you will find bruins, blacktails and Roosevelts.

The 5,784-acre Drift Creek Wilderness is tucked into the Suislaw National Forest of southern Lincoln County east of Waldport. Two other

small wilderness areas are also close at hand: Cummins Creek, which consists of 9,174 acres, and Rock Creek, 7,486 acres. All located in the Alsea WMU, elevations range from all of 150 feet above sea level to 1,500 feet. While game animals are known to prefer more actively managed forests, these wildernesses represent more diverse ecosystems than single-species reprod.

Now let’s take a look over the hill – well, two hills actually – to the east side of the Cascades. While a bit more limited because most units here are draw tags for rifle and a few for archery, there are some good opportunities.

Monument Rock Wilderness consists of 19,650 acres in the Malheur and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests southwest of Baker City. Located in the Beulah Unit, there are only 15 miles of maintained trails here, but the higher country – Table Rock rises to 7,800 feet – and ridgelines are more open. You will find mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk and black bear.

The Black Canyon Wilderness’s 13,400 acres are within the Ochoco National Forest and Ochoco Unit in

Grant and Wheeler Counties. Cut through by Black Canyon Creek, the area features lots of steep and dark canyons, so be prepared to earn what you get because your thighs will get a workout ascending and descending from the tablelands that ring the edges, where the road accesses are.

While these wildernesses are on the small side, if you’d prefer more room, here are the largest in Oregon: Eagle Caps (350,461 acres); Three Sisters (286,708 acres); Kalmiopsis (179,755 acres); Steens Mountain (170,025 acres); and North Fork John Day (121,352 acres).

PUBLIC LAND HUNTING IS tough, with too much pressure and not enough animals, right? I beg to differ on some of these points. The proof is in the trail cam photos, preseason scouting and all the time spent in the woods before opening day.

Yes, no question that hunting on ground every Tom, Dick and Kari can access is tough, but not impossible.

If you’re willing to put in the effort, you may be surprised at what you find. I have personally done just that.

While it doesn’t mean I fill my tag every year, I do get to see some great

Hiring an outfitter is a great way to get you and your gear deeper into the backcountry than is otherwise reachable by foot. (CARL LEWALLEN)

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IF YOU’RE A HUNTER OR ANGLER, MONTANA’S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY OF NORTHEASTERN MONTANA IS HEAVEN ON EARTH. Known for trophy elk, mule deer, whitetails and pronghorn with a massive amount of SXEOLF ODQG IRU KXQWLQJ 7KH ZDOOH\H ¿ VK ing is world class and the opportunities for ODNH WURXW QRUWKHUQ SLNH VDXJHU DQG VPDOO mouth bass are endless.

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Densities of big game animals are not as high in the backcountry as working forests at lower elevations, but you won’t need a high-dollar permit to access them either. The author took this bull in the Indigo Unit. (CARL LEWALLEN)

animals, and I know from first-hand experience and photos that there are plenty of game animals and definitely some record-book deer, elk and bear out there on public land.

Even with extra pressure from hunters forced off private lands, you can still carve out your own special place. You may have to work harder or go further for what you seek when hunting season rolls around, but there are some great tools out there for finding and accessing public ground.

I personally like starting with Google Earth, and then I narrow it down with my handheld GPS and onXmaps Hunt. I’ve found some great places that I drive by on a daily basis and never knew they were public.

I also fall back on paper maps. They show old roads that don’t exist, per se, any more and other small details you just can’t get anywhere else.

Indeed, it’s all about exploring.

In addition to the wildernesses I highlighted above, there are many more large and small ones in Oregon, as well as 2 million nonwilderness roadless acres, plus plenty of ground available off of national forest and BLM roads. All one has to do is take the time do the research, see what’s around you or where you might want to go, and start making some hunting memories.

Good luck and have a great time out in the Deer Woods this season. NS 80 Northwest Sportsman

AUGUST 2015 | nwsportsmanmag.com

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HUNTING

Tap Into Bull and Bear Markets HANGING A TREE STAND CAN WORK FOR BAGGING AN ELK AND A BRUIN IN THE EARLY SEASON.

By Jason Haley

I The author Jason Haley, a bowhunter, took this boar at 13 yards. Combination archery hunts help ensure action and are available all over the Northwest. (JASON HALEY)

’d already been in the tree a couple hours, and my perch above the creek crossing was getting uncomfortable. It was late afternoon and warm. I let myself move a little to relieve the knee pain.

Anyway, I didn’t expect elk; if they came, it wouldn’t be for hours.

I reached into my fanny pack for water and thought, “Why not enjoy

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HUNTING

As these trail cam images, taken about a week apart, show, elk and bear use the same waterholes frequently. (MICHAEL CRAWFORD)

It’s well known that elk love wallows, but they’re also bear magnets, says the author. (JASON HALEY)

this?” As I tilted the cold drink back and it hit my lips, I noticed a big black thing on the hillside across the creek.

Then the big black thing moved!

The 3-year-old boar was the only tag we filled that year and we were thrilled to have him, as he provided some action in an otherwise slow elk camp. In years past, we’d taken elk and let numerous bears walk.

NORTHWEST SPORTSMEN ARE FORTUNATE to have numerous regions that offer the very real possibility of taking an archery elk and/or bear without even moving camp.

In some places, like Southwest Oregon where I live, the bear densities are so high you might not even have to move your stand.

The Rogue and Keno Units are prime examples.

Northeast and Central Oregon have similar places that can be hunted with over-the-counter tags.

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HUNTING opportunities, as does the Lewis River Unit in the southwest.

Idaho has combo hunt potential as well, with areas like Unit 4 in the Panhandle giving up 111 archery elk and 123 “any-weapon” bears (66 in the fall) in 2013. Unit 10A in the Clearwater region is another with high elk and bear densities, although hounds and bait are still legal in Idaho, giving bear hunters other options.

Montana’s archery elk and bear seasons overlap as well, with both starting on Sept. 5 this year. While bruins can be found throughout the state’s northwestern game units, elk harvest is concentrated in those around Thompson Falls, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Be aware that Montana requires bowmen to wear orange when the general season begins Sept. 15, and that all bear hunters must pass a bear identification exam to avoid mistaken identity cases with grizzlies.

Idaho and Washington encourage hunters to take their states’ quizzes.

Small diameter trees without limbs make hanging stands easy and provide free range of motion and open shooting lanes. Concealment is less important in closed canopy forests. (JASON HALEY)

86 Northwest Sportsman

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IF BEAR AND ELK are on your archery wish list this year, consider using a tree stand to make it happen.

Summer elk and bears hit water daily, leaving trails that make them easier to pattern. A well-placed stand is a great way to intercept them. The elevation helps carry scent away and provides additional shooting lanes above the undergrowth. It’s also easier to be still from a comfortable sitting position, plus you can get away with subtle movement that might get you busted by animals searching for danger at ground level.

Bears like mud. Find an elk wallow, anywhere in the Northwest, and you’re likely to find bears. I’ve observed many bears and elk visit wallows just minutes apart, and once watched a group of elk get busted out of their beds by a group of bears. Talk about noise!

Combo hunt potential also exists in some of the river bottoms, riparian

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HUNTING

10 Things To Do Before Climbing A Tree Tree stand accidents occur every year, so be sure to follow these simple rules: 1. Use a four-point harness system going up and down, and stay tethered once you’re in.

2. Select a live tree. A dead one might be in the right spot, but it could blow over. Avoid hornet nests.

3. Place climbing stakes or ladders high enough to step down or sideways on to your platform. Never step up into your stand.

4. Climb in and out using natural light. Losing a few minutes at daylight or dark will not kill you – but a fall in the dark might.

5. Avoid heavy wind. It’s too dangerous and animals rarely move during these conditions, anyway.

6. Lose the logging boots. There’s no need for heavy boots with lug soles. They’re clumsy and noisy. Stay nimble.

7. Inspect moving parts and hardware prior to the season and each hunt.

8. Don’t exceed factory weight specifications.

9. Select a reasonable height. Surviving falls is more likely, as are shooting angles.

10. Never sit sleepy, even when tethered. Take a nap at camp and come back fresh. You’ll enjoy your hunt much more, and your family will thank you for it. –JH

The author says that his tree stands have been great investments, with some of them in his use for two decades. This image shows an API fixed-position stand and four-point harness system, as well as different brands of climbing stakes, including Gorilla, Ameristep, home-made climbing stakes, and an older brand that has been recalled. (JASON HALEY)

zones and farm-forest interfaces, particularly when berries start to ripen in late summer/early fall.

PRIMARILY I HUNT ELK, but I also enjoy the option of taking a shooter bear. If you’re targeting bears specifically, the Aug. 1 early opener in Oregon and many of Washington’s units offer a golden opportunity to hunt during summer without much competition.

If you’re out for meat, look for singles outside of the family unit.

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If you’re trophy hunting, look for large, blocky heads with plenty of space between the ears or smallish looking ears. Long legs are usually young boars, while the shorter legs of a belly-dragger might belong to a giant. If you’re an elk hunter, you can be scouting for wapiti at the same time.

Stand placement is critical.

Make sure you’re shaded, morning and evening. Don’t sit directly on destinations; animals are instinctively leery at water’s edge, but they often

let their guards down en route. Make sure you’re high enough to avoid eye-level encounters in hilly terrain.

Preseason scouting helps, of course, and you’ll have fun viewing elk and bears on the same trail cameras while field judging animals from home.

Don’t have too much fun, though; tromping in and out of honey holes can be counterproductive, and there is still no substitute for oldfashioned woodsmanship. Tracks don’t lie, so unless you’re trophy

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HUNTING hunting, you might consider taking it easy on the cams. Don’t walk in during prime times, hunting or scouting. Get there early.

THERE’S A VARIETY OF makes and models of tree stands on the market; Gorilla, Summit, Ameristep, Tree Lounge and Big Dog are just a few of the manufacturers. I use several fixed-position stands, all produced

by API Outdoors. They’re from the Baby Grand line of models, but are probably 15 to 20 years old at this point. They’re rated to 300 pounds and still going strong, but the newer models are lighter and improved.

Ladder-style, self-climbers and tripod stands are also available, each with unique time and place applications.

Ladders and tripods are great for semipermanent locations – small properties, private land, etc., and are favored by archers back east.

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Self-climbing stands allow you to pack in and out daily, and are comfortable, but require limbless trees and can be cumbersome and noisy. Both eliminate the need for screw-in climbing stakes.

Fixed-position stands are ideal for backcountry archers, as they can be folded up and carried like a backpack or used as a pack frame.

Climbing stakes must be packed in also. Gorilla makes a sturdy metal, screw-in stake with texturing for secure footing.

Ameristep makes a similar step, albeit somewhat shorter and lighter. Both are powder-coated black/green, respectively.

I own two packs of small, discontinued folding stakes that are great to pack and easy to screw in, but I can’t remember, let alone research, who made them. One set has been safety recalled, and they’re all mixed up in different satchels and fanny packs, so I don’t

know which is which.

We’ve also got some homemade, welded/spray-painted jobs that are sloped downward and don’t have texturing. They’re slick when wet! If they find my body in the woods someday, you’ll know why.

Platform sizes vary, as do fastening technology, weight ratings, hardware and materials.

Accessories are limitless, ranging from seat covers, pads, pack straps and tacky footing strips, to bow hangers and pee cups.

Always use a harness for hanging stands, climbing and hunting. Observe all applicable rules and regulations and be courteous to others.

I like to run and gun and hear elk bugle as much as the next guy, but what I really like is what works.

Stands work, and the best part is you can hunt bears and bulls during the same season, and sometimes from the same exact location. NS

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FISHING If the early arrival of sport-caught albacore back to Northwest ports is any indication – this one was one of 16 landed during a June 21 trip – there should be plenty available during this month’s friendly tuna derbies, which help get veterans out fishing and stock the shelves of local food banks. (ALLRIVERSGUIDESERVICE.COM)

Ocean Primed for Albie Derbies Food banks, wounded veterans score with Washington Tuna Classic.

By Jeff Holmes

A

s predicted by many, the tuna arrived early this year, and in great numbers. Thousands of charter and private-boat anglers have already fished or soon will for the undisputed speedster of our waters.

Reaching near-highway speeds, albacore are sizzling after baitfish up and down the Oregon, Washington and British Columbia Coasts right now, and this is yet another reminder to go get them. Seriously, if you can afford a trip, book it now before you forget about it.

One of many great Washington tuna skippers you might book with is Mark Coleman of All Rivers and Saltwater Charters (allriversguideservice.com). Coleman

is notoriously busy and says as much as he can in as few words as possible, but I was able to get a few minutes with him in late June after he and a crew came back to Westport with the first sport-caught load of albacore in 2015. The winner of last year’s Washington Tuna Classic and one of the top tuna guides in the Northwest, Coleman talks about WTC 2015 (washingtontunaclassic.com), and his overwhelming love of tuna.

Jeff Holmes Can you please tell me a little about this summer’s Washington Tuna Classic, and what it means to win?

Mark Coleman The WTC is great because it’s a charitable tournament and helps so many people, including Wounded Warriors and local food

banks. Each year, thousands of pounds of albacore are donated by the participating teams, and Wounded Warriors are invited to fish as guests on many of them.

Taking first place at the WTC is a big deal not so much just for the cash and prizes, but because it affords you an invite to the IGFA Offshore World Championship in Costa Rica the following year. While cash and prizes are great, please take it from me that participating in the world championship is the greatest prize of all. Team All Rivers and Saltwater Charters won first place at the 2014 WTC, and finished 13th in the world at the 2015 OWC.

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FISHING tournaments?

MC Prepping for any tournament is crucial. In general, input in equals input out. So the more planning, training and prefishing you can do is key. Networking is also a critical part of the game, and we try to make as many connections as we can so we have the most intel during the tournament.

JH You operate for other species all over Western Washington, but you base your tuna fishing solely out of Westport. Why is that?

MC I consider Westport to be the albacore capitol of the U.S. West Coast. Reason being, the offshore waters provide a geographically unique environment with nine major deep-water canyons, and three major freshwater influences: Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay and the Columbia River. These features make for strong upwellings and rich waters teeming with bait. If you’re leaving from Westport, you’ll have many of these features between 35 and 55 miles from port. For our fleet of 30-foot Defiance Guadalupes, that’s an hour-and-a-half run on average.

Westport also offers live anchovies, which are candy to just about every fish available to catch in the area, especially tuna. A quick stop at the bait receiver for a scoop or two before you leave the harbor is all it takes. Good lodging, dining, tackle, ice, and moorage can all be found in Westport, which is close to Seattle and Portland.

JH From your perspective from the water, how is El Niño affecting the tuna fishery so far?

MC This year is proving to be an El Niño cycle, which will alter the timing of the warm water “push” that each season brings us our pelagic species, like albacore, yellowtail, bluefin tuna and some others. The rule of thumb is the water and fish will be here early, and north. That rule couldn’t have been more true on June 21st, 96 Northwest Sportsman

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when we made our first scouting run from We s t p o r t .

It was successful, to say the least, and we again were the first anglers of the year to locate Skipper Herb Gutler (second from left) and crew celebrate winning last year’s and return Washington Tuna Classic. (ALLRIVERSGUIDESERVICE.COM) to port with a nice load of albacore, two weeks haven’t, please make plans to do so. earlier than 2014, and three weeks There you are, on a dead drift over earlier than in 2012.

3,000 feet of deep blue water, feeding line out with a live baitfish wiggling nervously at the other end. Then you JH Why have you seemingly gone feel the acceleration of a Corvette all-in on three really spendy tuna beneath the fingerprint of your boats? What is it that gives you the thumb, you count to three, slowly confidence to do that? engage the drag, the rod tip bends to MC The albacore tuna fishery really the water, and the dance is on! rounds out our service because I love our albacore, but when we it’s the most highly sustainable can’t fish them anymore, we seek fishery we have at this current time. them out. Each winter our team will These fish, however, are overseen travel to warmer climates in search by several countries in the North of other tunas, like yellowfin and Pacific and aren’t subject to the same bluefin, which tend to be larger in judiciary nonsense like our salmon, size than albacore, some of them steelhead and sturgeon. There are reaching 200 pounds or more. no hatcheries, dams or agendas Even after a busy season of running involved. They are owned solely by offshore daily for albacore I’m always the high seas, and as long as proper ready to relocate and chase tuna oversight is taken, we will continue wherever I can. to have a world-class tuna fishery for decades to come.

This year’s Washington Tuna Classic takes place Aug. 7-8, but registration JH I know you’ve always also had a for the popular event has already been passion for salmon and steelhead, closed. It’s too late to compete, but but you’re obviously a tuna guy. not too late to come out to Westport Why do you love tuna fishing so to watch the competition and chase much, and how does that translate to tuna on one of many boats available your choice of vacations? for charters during the tournament.

MC Tuna are an amazing design from The WTC serves Northwest Harvest tip to tail, and I love to hunt them, Food Bank and three veterans groups fish them, and make meals out of and is sponsored by Raymarine, them. Fishing for them is a blast, as Siemens, Emerald Cove catering, well. The most common technique Defiance Boats and many other is live-bait fishing, and if you’ve ever gracious contributors to this fun, done it, I need to say nothing more. charitable event. NS I know you have, Jeff, but if readers

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FISHING Yes, this spread of cute pink Barbie rod-and-reel combos in the rod arch probably elicited a few smirks from fellow tuna fishermen in the harbor, but Mike Quimby and friends were serious about catching albies with the undersized gear. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

Sorry, Charlie, Barbie NOW OWNS YOU How to catch albacore on a 3-foot pink rod (you know, just in case).

By Andy Walgamott

F

ishing with waaaaaaaay undersized rods isn’t new in the Northwest. Consider the Snoopy Rod Classic out on the Bogachiel River for early winter steelhead each December, and Jim and Jenn Stahls’ Snoopy Rod Invitational for Snohomish River pink salmon next month.

But using those pencil-thin, maybe-3-feet-long, Zebco-style setups for hard-fighting, no-quit-in-’em albacore?! Yup. “Real men fish with pink poles,” says Mike Quimby, a certifiably possessed tuna angler who can smell the ocean air from his home near Olympia an hour inland.

He describes how the idea came up while he and some friends were

having a few brews and talking about how albacore could humble most anglers using insufficient gear.

“Then it was thrown out there.

I said, ‘We should try using Barbie Rods one day,’” Quimby recalls.

It was met with chuckles, noways and visions of the pink combos blowing up as a tuna took the bait and headed for Japan.

But the seed, as they say, had been

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FISHING planted, and it soon germinated when Quimby’s friend Laurence showed up at his door with four rods and a vow: “He said, ‘Let’s do this. Let’s go kill some tuna on the Barbie rods.”

Quimby says he yanked the mono off the small reels and replaced it with 10-pound PowerPro because its super-thin diameter “would give us just enough line to keep us from getting spooled, and at 10-pound test, would still be pushing the limits of the gear.” At the terminal end were two No. 2 Gamakatsu Live Bait Hooks on 20-pound Maxima leader.

The Pacific lived up to its name on the day Quimby and crew made their attempt to land tuna on Barbie Rods.

“We had an incredibly flat ocean, and had successfully found a large school of fish puddling on the surface. We were able to park on top of them and feed them into a frenzy with live anchovies. We literally had fish boiling all around the boat eating our chum within seconds of them hitting the water … Getting hooked

Mike Quimby (right) and friend Laurence were both successful at landing a single albacore apiece on Barbie Rods. “Neither of us tried for another, knowing the pain we would be inflicting ourselves with if we had to battle another one,” Quimby reported. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

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up proved pretty easy. It only took about 10 seconds!”

However, as you might imagine, landing one was a wee bit tougher.

“These little reels are definitely not designed to have line stripped off them at mach 3,” Quimby noted. “But that’s exactly what happens when you set the hook on an albacore.

They take off like freight trains. Too much drag and you will break off the 10-pound mainline. Too little drag and you will watch in horror as all the line melts off the reel and snaps off when it reaches its end.”

They realized it would come down to knowing how and when to use what little leverage the setups provided.

“Reel down as the fish circles and swims towards the boat, and hold as he circles away,” he tips.

Fortunately, with all the albacore around their boat, they had plenty of opportunities to get it right and bring two to the gaff, though at the cost of burning wrists, forearms and biceps

The trick, it turns out, to fighting a tuna on a tiny rod is to know when to reel up and when to let ’em run. Spooling up with braid also provides extra wraps on the small reel. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

from the successful 20-minute battles Quimby and Laurence fought.

“Neither of us tried for another, knowing the pain we would be inflicting ourselves with if we had to battle another one,” he says. “Instead, we basked in our success knowing it can be done and knowing that the allmighty albacore tuna can be landed by a couple of regular guys fishing with a couple of pink poles with pink reels that were once destined for a trout pond.” NS

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nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2015

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FISHING

Flamin’ FISHERIES

Three super-sure bets for Northwest destination fishing vacations this dry August.

Even in a year of low, warm flows, there are still places to get some casts in, including Hells Canyon and the lower Salmon River, among North America’s deepest gulches. (KILLGORE ADVENTURES)

By Jeff Holmes

O

n a late June walleye prospecting trip to the Snake River’s confluence with the Columbia, I was shocked to see the river running at 71.5 degrees.

This is typically an end-of-summer temperature, and this part of the Snake usually isn’t even low enough to hold slow-current-favoring walleye until later in summer.

Flows across the region are low, the mountains of Idaho are mostly snowfree, and there ain’t much more water coming downstream except for federally mandated flows from the 400-foot-deep bottom of Dworshak Reservoir to cool the system and speed downstream migration of smolts. The situation on the Snake is mirrored elsewhere across the region – minus coldwater Dworshak

releases – where snowpacks are long since gone and rivers are running at frighteningly high temperatures and low flows.

Anyone who loves fish must wince to think about water temperatures in August, especially since triple-digit air temps continue to dominate as we moved toward our early July press deadline. The water in the slackwater Snake and the Columbia will soon be warm enough to kill salmonids and to change fish patterns for many species. On July 3, Canadian fisheries managers barely north of the border already reported fish kills on the Kettle and another river due to hot water. By late June, the Columbia at Bonneville Dam hit 71 degrees for the first time since 1950, and eight degrees warmer than the 10-year average!

The Northwest could see

summer fishery closures and/or restrictions like the ones enacted on July 2 by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. That Big Sky agency has already banned fishing past 2 p.m. on several Missoula-area streams, and more rivers and closures are coming. It will be interesting to see how or if Idaho, Oregon, Washington and tribal fisheries managers react if temperatures continue to rocket toward record highs beyond the tolerance level for salmon and steelhead.

Fisheries across the region were already reacting to the heat early in the summer and that trend should continue. The torrid Hanford Reach sockeye bite of the last couple years has slowed in 2015; low flows have fish spread out and warm water has them tighter-lipped than normal. Fish are still being caught, but not nearly

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FISHING

In addition to smallmouth, channel catfish and rainbows, the wild waters in the tri-state area offer a chance to tussle with the West Coast’s most inland fishable sturgeon stocks. (JACK HIGH, GONORTHWEST.COM)

as many as were caught last year or as were landed on the July 1 opener at Brewster with not even a tenth of the run up that far in the system.

The Columbia is warm throughout the entire river, but not nearly so tepid as the Snake. Its fish – including Endangered Species Actlisted stocks – face long, slackwater reservoirs teeming with avian and aquatic predators, four extra dams to cross, warm water temps, and more.

The summer of 2015 – followed by predicted years of poor ocean feeding conditions to come – could spell big trouble for lots of Northwest stocks, and maybe especially the Snake’s.

Cold wilderness water from Idaho is what has continued to keep the system very viable and productive through tough years. Hopefully that source of cold water returns to form in 2016, because the Inland Northwest mountains are baking in heat and free of snow in 2015. Snake River sockeye are the most expensive and beleaguered sockeye on the planet, costing the feds a whopping $9,500 per returning adult since 1993.

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before even reaching Lewiston, and then the several hundred more miles to Redfish Lake. Along with record steelhead, coho and Chinook returns over the last 10 years, the Snake’s sockeye have been returning in modestly improved numbers, reaching a new high mark of 2,786 at Lower Granite Dam in 2014. As we fished, I told my friends the sad news fisheries manager sources have told me, especially lately. We’ve had it good for quite a while on the salmon and steelhead front, given the level of threats to fish: namely habitat issues, predation, ocean conditions and management decisions driven by economics and politics. With this year’s forecasted 480,000 sockeye, 100,000 summer Chinook and predicted near-record numbers of fall Chinook and coho runs, it’s tough to imagine how such abundance might fade, but poor spring Chinook jack returns – 13,312 versus the 10-year average of 23,905 – are our first peek at poor ocean conditions. This year’s returning adult salmon and steelhead were the beneficiaries of excellent ocean conditions prior to the El Niño-driven shift in the Gulf of Alaska, where most of our fish feed and mature.

Later that night on the Snake as

we slid via kicker in the dark past Sacajawea State Park and into the Columbia, I was washing down the back deck of my Thunderjet when a friend shouted, “Look at the fishfinder!” The screen of my Raymarine was jammed with a mass of hundreds, perhaps thousands of sockeye holding in the cooler water of the Columbia upstream of the Snake’s confluence. Fish filled the screen in 8 to 10 feet of water for 150 yards before we dropped the main and motored home to Pasco. The second five-digit wave of sockeye had swam over McNary Dam the previous day, bound for waiting anglers with sockeye rigs in the Hanford Reach. After pushing through the warmth of the Snake’s influence on the Columbia and bathwater plume of the Snake, these fish had held up in water that was comparatively cool but still several degrees warmer than normal.

The next day, some 20,000 sockeye would swim through the Hanford Reach, bypassing most anglers’ offerings for a very disappointing catch rate. A few days later on the July 1 opener at Wanapum, what should have been a bloodbath was just OK. Upstream at Brewster, however, with something like only 37,000 sockeye over Wells Dam and in the Brewster Pool, the bite was hot. Okanogan Valley Guide Service’s Jerrod Gibbons laid out big limits of chrome sockeye and some chrome hatchery kings to boot.

Ah, Brewster.

This brings me, finally, to my point: This is gonna be a weird summer, and selecting fisheries least likely to be affected by drought and heatwaves is the smart move. Savor the flavor of the excellent fishing to come. Brewster is one such fishery that should fish very well all summer, but I wrote about that last issue. So here are three other sure-fire bets for angling vacations in the month of August. Each offers a completely different experience in terms of

species, terrain and tactics, and two celebrate Snake River fisheries not affected by ocean conditions in the least. From the salt of the Pacific Ocean back up the Columbia and Snake Rivers to Hells Canyon and Whitebird, Idaho, on the Salmon River, these vacation opportunities will provide great chances to boat fish in the summer splendor, free (mostly) from the unpredictable effects of drought and heat like we’ve never seen in the Northwest.

HELLS CANYON AND THE LOWER SALMON RIVER As I’ve written before and probably will again, Hells Canyon is one of my favorite places. Not only because I grew up in the Inland Northwest, but because it is truly remarkably big country, chock-full of fish and wildlife and geologic and botanical wonders Hells Canyon feels special to me, and I guarantee it will fish this August. While the smallmouth, channel catfish and trout fishing are excellent, natural grandeur reigns as the headline for me, even when I’m catching and releasing big numbers of nice bass and wild rainbows or bonking whiskerfish for tacos. I can’t recommend it enough, in person or in print.

Whether you’re a young, single sportsman, a couple, a family, or a senior citizen with decreased mobility, there are ample, affordable opportunities to see one of the most rugged landscapes on Earth and North America’s deepest gorge. The Grand Canyon is nearly 2,000 feet shallower than Hells Canyon, with far less fish and wildlife and way more people. Words fail anyone trying to describe the depth and immensity of the canyon, and the best way to see it in summer is definitely by boat, either jet or raft. Swimming is almost a required activity through the Labor Day weekend and often beyond. It gets hot down there, which drives people in the water and attracts 106 Northwest Sportsman

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cougars, bears, deer, bighorn sheep, chukar partridge, wild turkeys and more to the water’s edge. My wife Erika and I once saw wolves across the river at Hells Canyon’s Dug Bar and listened to their howls that night as we climbed into sleeping bags. It’s a wild place and a river playground during August.

Along with the Snake River in Hells Canyon, Idaho’s Salmon River canyon is a clean, clear force to behold. Some of the nation’s best year-round whitewater opportunities are available here, and low August flows don’t spell an end to floating, though they do make the floats more technical, the drops bigger, and the fun in cool water just as easy to enjoy. Riggins is the epicenter of rafting activity on the Salmon, and the no-permit-required stretches above and below this town along U.S. Highway 95 are home to lots of whitewater guides and do-ityourself boaters. The floats offer big class III-plus rapids and lots of IIIs and II-plusses. I’ve always defied death by floating with redneck hippies in nonself-bailing boats, but I’d recommend buying seats on guided floats instead. They’re easy to find in Riggins, and the rapids are no joke.

Staying there is always fun, and I’ve had some great times on the water, sleeping on sandbars, and drinking beer and eating pizza in the small river town. Riggins is also home to several well-reviewed motels and lodges, and offers groceries, a few restaurants and a couple cool bars. Those bars are frequented by some amazing mountain men and hill people on occasion, and epic conversations can be had.

As with the Snake in Hells Canyon, fishing often takes a backseat to observing natural grandeur. Wildlife is everywhere, perhaps especially mule deer bucks. They’re numerous and lazy in August and hang out by the water, along with chukar, which hide in the shade of big rocks by the water’s edge. Upstream of Riggins, 27 miles of river are accessible before

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FISHING reaching Vinegar Creek, the end of the road and the takeout for one of North America’s most famous permit floats, the Main Salmon. Multiple camping opportunities exist along this stretch, including sandy river bars and beaches, as well as popular Spring Bar Campground. The big, pooldrop river drains millions of acres of Central Idaho wilderness before reaching Riggins. For almost 40 river miles downstream of town, the river follows Highway 95 to Whitebird Creek, near the town of Whitebird.

Just below Whitebird is Hammer Creek, the famed put-in for the lower Salmon River float. This 72.5-mile run to Heller Bar in Hells Canyon goes through a class IV rapid (Snowhole) and many class III and III-plus rapids, and is home to lots of sandy camping opportunities. Only experienced multiday floaters should raft this big, remote river, which joins the Snake 20 miles upstream from Heller Bar.

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Many outfitted trips exist on this stretch during August.

The bass, catfish and rainbow fishing are all excellent throughout most of the float, especially the 52.5 miles of the Salmon above the Snake. Every-cast smallmouth angling happens at times, interrupted by surprise rainbows, most of which measure in the teens and sometimes over 20 inches. Camping by a slow pool allows There’s a rich human history in Hells Canyon to see, as evidenced by the Sterling Cabin, the bunkhouse of a historic ranch south of Dug Bar, the access to some of the traditional crossing point of the Nez Perce. (MASON LAINE HOOGLAND) least polluted channel even more accessible during August cats you’re gonna find; Salmon River than the Salmon, which is too low catfish sip wilderness water. for jet boats and better suited for Both the Salmon and Hells experienced rowers with big rafts Canyon are incredibly rugged, but and big pontoons, and experienced Hells takes the prize for inspiring whitewater kayakers.

Killgore rocky incredulity. It is nonetheless

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FISHING

Soaking in the rivers is one way to deal with the heat, but hanging out with fellow river runners in the evenings is an enjoyable way to pass the time. (JACK HIGH, GONORTHWEST.COM)

Adventures (killgoreadventures. com), located at the confluence of the Salmon and Whitebird Creek, is the biggest and best jet boat operator in upper Hells Canyon, the coolest part. Just a beautiful 40-minute drive from Kurt and Heather

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Killgore’s base is Pittsburg Landing, a beautiful place in and of itself. For them, however, it is just the launch they use to access the entirety of the Snake in Hells Canyon, which they run expertly in very large jet boats that comfortably seat passengers of

nearly all mobility levels. High on my list of recommended must-dos in a Northwest outdoor lifetime is visiting Hells Canyon, and Killgore Adventures offers the easiest and cheapest way to see the best parts.

They also do river shuttles and dropoffs and pick-ups in the canyon, and have a nice little motel right on their property back on the Salmon in Whitebird. Just a few miles away from the Killgores is Hammer Creek and the put-in for the Lower Salmon.

To say that the Killgores live in a special place would be a major understatement. Via spotting scope or the naked eye, whitetail, mule deer and elk can be observed nearly every day throughout the year, often in huge numbers. Just as they live on the Salmon and operate mostly on the Snake, you might also double up and take a tour with the Killgores one or more days and raft with an outfitter out of Riggins on the Killgores’ recommendation. Kurt and

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Northwest Sportsman 111

An angler fights a salmon near the mouth of the Columbia River last year. With its mix of cooler ocean waters and high forecasted numbers of Chinook and coho, Buoy 10 will be a good choice this month. (FACEBOOK.COM/BILLMONROEOUTDOORS)

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Hells Canyon can also be accessed through Lewiston and Clarkston, either by boat or an hour’s drive to Heller Bar, the so-called Gateway to Hells Canyon. From downstream, a jet boat ride is required, and there are several outfitters available, including Beamer’s Hells Canyon Tours and Excursions. Visit Lewis Clark Valley (visitlcvalley.com) offers excellent tourism resources, as does the local chamber of commerce (lcvalleychamber.org). If you stay in the LC Valley, Clarkston’s Quality Inn and Suites is by far my favorite, and I’ve stayed almost everywhere there is in the valley – almost. Check reviews, and rely on them for sure.

The management at Quality Inn love sportsmen, allow dogs to stay, and offer the best-located lodging in the valley, right by Costco, Wal-Mart, Bi-Mart, restaurants, bars and more.

The inn has a popular restaurant and bar as well.

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Guides all over the Pacific Northwest are tying herring leaders, making Chinook spinners, booking clients and readying boats for the ultimate salmon and steelhead fishery in our waters, Buoy 10. Thousands of anglers and hundreds of guides will Continued on p. 160

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COLUMN

The Ohio Way To Fillet Walleye

(JERRY HAN, ALL)

CHEF IN THE WILD

By Jerry Han Guest columnist

Editor’s note: The author grew up in Richland and works at Clearwater Dental in Kennewick.

I

learned how to fillet walleye when I went to Ohio State University for dental school. I would run up to Lake Erie on weekends and pay $35 to go on a half-day charter boat. (I would eat Top Ramen and get paid doing my classmates’ lab work to save up money to go.)

I got to know the charter guys pretty good and they showed me this technique.

Back there the water was at one time very polluted – remember the Cuyahoga River, which actually caught on fire? – so this method removes almost all of the dark, fatty meat where toxins accumulate, and removes the pin bones. This leaves you with nice clean walleye fillets that are totally boneless. I’ve tried this with perch, crappie and bass – sorry, bass guys, but they’re good eating too – without success.

I don’t know why it seems to only work with walleye.

This method is very well known in the Midwest, but it doesn’t seem that people in Washington know about this, or at least the people that I’ve talked to have not heard of it. With this technique, electric knives are the best way for getting really nice fillets.

The following directions describe key steps in the process while the photos show the overall sequence of steps from start to finish: [1] Make a cut at the tail above and below the lateral line about 3 inches into the fillet. This will allow you to grab the sections.

[2] Grab the section of the fish that would be its back (as opposed to belly section). Hold onto the lower sections.

[3] Pull the “back” section away. This part feels like you’re unzipping a large YKK zipper, and if you do it fast, it kind of sounds like one.

[1]

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Northwest Sportsman 115

COLUMN [4] The “back” section is removed and has no bones in it. Failed attempts may have some pin bones near the “head” end of the section that can be easily removed with a knife.

[5, 6, 7] Now grab the remaining two sections and “unzip” these.

This is a little technique-sensitive, but with a little practice you can get all the pin bones and dark, fatty meat in one step.

[8] Next is the rib cage. Make a cut right behind the rib cage to remove a boneless tail section.

[9] There is still a good amount of meat on the rib cage that we’ll be dealing with next.

[10] A fillet glove is recommended here! Push down on the rib cage to flatten the bones and make a cut to fillet the meat off the rib cage.

[11] There seems to be a really bony section in the forward part of the rib cage that isn’t worth the effort. The meat is really thin in the forward section and I just remove up to the portion that is shown.

[12] This shows all the parts of one fillet. Now repeat for the other side.

[13] This is what one walleye looks like after all the steps. These photos make it look time consuming, but in actuality this should only take less than one or two minutes once proficient. Note that on larger walleye, it’s worth the effort to remove the cheek meat.

[14] Kids love fish! They hate bones! NS

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12] [5] [13] [6]

[7]

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ROTM Vault: Barbless Spinner Rig For Buoy 10 NOTES Spinners have proven themselves season after season in the Columbia River estuary and are now considered a Buoy 10 essential. Just make sure you bring lots of differentshaped spinner blades, colors and sizes. Also, don’t just crimp your barbs that come stock on your favorite B10 spinners – cut the treble off and crimp on a Big River Bait hook that comes in an open eye. Having a strong single 4/0 hook will ensure deep penetration into any salmon’s jaw. Run your spinner 5 feet behind a Delta Diver and Flasher and you will have a winning combination at the buoy. –NWS

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Northwest Sportsman 119

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COLUMN

Trolling Spinners At Buoy 10 I

was very outnumbered, what with my single red-andwhite spinner competing against four herring as we trolled near the Astoria-Megler Bridge. I knew my friends, all confirmed bait addicts, wondered if I was losing it a little when I’d traded my herring in for a spinner as we began our downstream troll half an hour earlier. But that thought quickly vanished when my rod buckled with what turned out to be a 36-pound Chinook, followed by a

BUZZ RAMSEY

second spinner-loving salmon 30 minutes later that I handed off before the other rods (all rigged with herring) could be cleared.

It’s no secret that bait is more popular than hardware at Buoy 10. However, most guides and anglers recognize that there are times when spinners will work just as well, perhaps better. What can be difficult is selecting what spinner size and color the fish want at any given time, which is why I keep in contact with friends to discover what’s working for them and switch offerings based on conditions.

For example, when the sun is bright, I will often use a finish like red racer that has some amount of flashy brass visible. I only use fully painted

blades early in the day, when it’s overcast or if the fish are telling me that’s the spinner color they want with headshaking approval.

There have been more than a few years when spinners were working so well, in fact, that I didn’t even consider using bait.

However, there are some years or times of the season when I fish bait on at least two rods, if for no other reason than to calm the nerves of my bait-addicted fishing companions. During these times, I’ll run spinners on my front rods and bait on the rods trailing out the back of the boat – all fished in combination with a flasher. The reason: Some salmon are so aggressive that they’re going to bite the first thing that comes along, and it’s the front rods that get there first. It’s also true that the fish taken on the back rods are following fish, and I want the smell of a herring

Will it be a spinner or a herring bite at the buoy? Buzz is betting on the former because of warmer flows expected from the Columbia this year. Among his most productive spinners from 2014 are (left to right, above) size 5½ Mulkey in Mexican flag and red-and-white; nickel pink tip Flash Glo; size 6½ Mulkey in pearl red dot, Mexican flag and red-and-white; and size 6½ Toman Cascade in red racer. But when salmon flood into the river’s mouth with cooler ocean currents, bait will be a good bet. (BUZZ RAMSEY) nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2015

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ALUMAWELD STRYKER

The fleet works the waters above the AstoriaMegler Bridge at dawn during last year’s Buoy 10 fall fishery. (BUZZ RAMSEY) or anchovy to help draw them in.

WHILE THE ABOVE STRATEGY is what I use to capture salmon at the Columbia River’s mouth, I’m always curious to discover what works for others. So I reached out to a few accomplished guides for my own education and to share with you their ideas on spinners, and discover how they might alter their fishing methods due to the warmer water we’re likely to encounter at Buoy 10 this season. After all, I’ve heard more than a few comments that it’s likely to be more of a spinner year here due to the increased water temperatures.

“Given the warmer water conditions this season, spinners are likely to account for more salmon than usual,” says guide Pat Abel (503-307-6033). “My strategy is to fish mostly bait while trolling the cool water carried in with the flood tide, but switch to spinners once the tide ebbs and the salmon are hit with a wall of warm water. Salmon just seem to bite spinners better than bait when reaching areas where the water is warmer. All of my big fish seem to come on spinners.”

Although Abel has been known to experiment with a variety of spinner sizes and colors, his top producer for the last several years has been the size 5½ Mulkey Squid Spinner in the red-and-white and red racer finishes. He will be guiding at Buoy 10 from Aug. 3 to Sept. 7.

Guide Tyler Courtney (503-780-4067) doesn’t plan on changing his trolling

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Northwest Sportsman 123

COLUMN Regardless of whether you’re fishing a spinner or bait, Buzz recommends running them behind a flasher. There are numerous models from a variety of area companies on the market these days, but guide Bill Monroe Jr. (far right) is such a fan of UV Fish Flashes in one particular color combo for fall salmon at Buoy 10 that Yakima Bait has renamed this pattern the BMK for – you guessed it – Bill Monroe Killer. (BUZZ RAMSEY)

strategy at Buoy 10 because of the warmer-than-normal waters.

“What I believe is that this will be a phenomenal year at Buoy 10 due to the

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large salmon return and because the fish will stage at the mouth longer than normal due to the warm water. After all, they’re going to be reluctant to migrate

upriver given the warm water, so they should stage at the Columbia mouth longer than usual,” says Courtney.

He normally fishes six clients and starts

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Northwest Sportsman 125

COLUMN his day with a different set-up on his front, middle and back rods.

“What works for me is to run cutplug herring with a small spinner blade attached to a plastic clevis on the line just ahead of the bait on my front rods. I only run these out 20 feet on the linecounters. I run whole herring or anchovy rigged with a bait helmet on my middle rod set near bottom, and squid spinners on my back rods,” says Courtney.

“Unless the fish tell me otherwise, it’s only late in the season that I sometimes switch to all spinners, with my most productive in recent years being the 5½ squid spinners designed by Terry Mulkey,” he adds.

The guide went on to share that he always trolls faster than the other boats, and has such confidence in that, that if for some reason he’s not connecting on fish, he just goes faster yet.

Unlike many guides, Courtney’s not into the long leader thing, as he keeps the

distance from his flasher to bait or spinner at 3 to 4 feet. His favorite spinner colors include red-and-white, red racer, Mexican flag, and pearl/red dot. When it comes to flasher colors his favorite is the Big Al’s UV flasher in chartreuse and chartreuse/ green half-and-half finish.

This year, Courtney will be guiding at Buoy 10 from Aug. 6 through Labor Day. For the past 14 years, Brian Campbell (503-869-2989) has been helping clients find salmon success at Buoy 10. He fishes a combination of bait and spinners when chasing salmon here, switching his offerings based on what the fish are biting best. He notices that spinners outproduce bait during the outgoing tide when salmon are confronted with the warm water flowing from the Columbia (which there should be a lot of this year).

And he feels that bait normally has the edge when he’s plodding the cool ocean water as it floods into the estuary.

When I asked Campbell if bigger fish

seemed to go for spinners, he perked up and told of a 56-pound Chinook that fell for a Toman Thumper spinner a few years back.

“I fish my spinners on the bottom and bait 4 to 5 feet higher in the water column, and keep my leader lengths behind my flasher 50 inches long for bait and 60 for spinners. That’s what works for me,” he says.

Campbell’s favorite flasher colors include high tower, chartreuse-and-green half and half, chartreuse, and silver. He plans to guide clients at Buoy 10 for a month beginning Aug. 7.

The salmon return to the Columbia River mouth over the next six weeks is expected to total 750,000 coho and another 900,000 fall Chinook. I hope to see you there. NS Editor’s note: The author is a brand manager and member of the management team at Yakima Bait. Find him on Facebook.

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FISHING

Get All Choked Up How to rig whole herring for Buoy 10 (and elsewhere) elsewhere).

To combat blown-out cutplugs in the Columbia River mouth’s warm waters, use a whole herring, rigged thusly, and given a slight bend before securing the leader with two half-hitches nested into a notch cut in the bait’s snout. (ROD RAGE GUIDE SERVICE)

By Brian Robertson

H

ave you choked your herring lately? If you haven’t, you should. Once you try it, you’ll do it over and over again.

Nothing puts a frowny face on a salmon angler like reeling up their cutplug and seeing it all blown out.

Whether because of poor brine, bad bait or excessive current, the results are all the same: a herring that lasts about 2.5 seconds in heavy flows.

I had this exact issue at Buoy 10 last year. The 10 dozen herring I had

brought for the week had thawed on our trek to Ilwaco and were already losing scales. We tried fishing them, but they just wouldn’t hold together. We thought about using herring hoods, but trying to find those on short notice during peak season was a bust.

Fresh bait is easy to come by in the B10 area and was really my only option. While typically not as large as the blue- and green-label herring, and though the quality can be hit or miss, depending on the harvest, there are a half-dozen places to pick it up in the morning before heading out.

Now, I had never run whole

herring with much success, and I figured it was how I was rigging the bait.

I never could get them to spin quite right. So I hit the Internet. That’s when I found a video on “Rigging a Choked Herring”

by Derek Floyd of Anglers Choice Fishing Charters on The Outdoor Line radio show’s YouTube channel. I’ve been choking my herring ever since.

I don’t have numbers to say it works better than plug-cut herring, but we filled a 5-cubic-foot chest freezer with nothing but fillets from a single week – proof enough for me.

The rig produces a thumping spin that mimics a crippled herring perfectly. You can run your herring fresh without brine, and in extremely

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Northwest Sportsman

131

FISHING fast currents without blowouts.

TO GET STARTED, TIE a herring leader just like any other solid-tie two-hook set-up, except space your hooks only 2.5 to 3 inches apart. I like to use double 4/0 octopus hooks paired with 30-pound leader.

Notch the bridge of the nose of your herring. This will be used to half-hitch the herring’s mouth shut.

I notch the nose before threading the hooks so that I don’t have a knife anywhere near my leader.

Insert the trailer hook through the eye membrane from under the gill of your herring. Follow the trailer hook with the top hook.

Thread the top hook through the midline on the same side of the herring, lining up with the dorsal fin.

Let the trailer dangle behind.

Lay the herring flat in your hand and use your thumb to put the desired curve in the herring, then

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hitch the nose of the herring, pulling the line tight to the top hook. This will hold the herring in the desired curve. Finish with another half hitch.

If you want some flair, put a spinner blade in front of the herring.

I run my choked herring 42 inches behind an 8-inch Fish Flash paired with a 10- to 16-ounce lead cannonball on an 18-inch dropper, all under a Lamiglas Kenai Kwik 1064.

Lots of flashers and colors work very well at Astoria, but a choked herring in combination with a flasher is hard to beat; my top attractor last year was “Knock Out” (ice pink and pearl).

The next time you are out with your buddies and you’re worried about your bait blowing out, go ahead and choke your herring instead. They will be impressed. NS Editor’s note: The author operates Rod Rage Guide Service on the Columbia and Cowlitz. Reach him at (509) 307-3040.

One of the author’s clients shows off a Buoy 10 Chinook caught last year on a choked herring set-up. (ROD RAGE GUIDE SERVICE)

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Northwest Sportsman 133

The Lowdown On The Lake Wenatchee Sockeye Slowdown

Lake Wenatchee anglers will be bonking plenty of sockeye this season. This year’s forecast for the Chelan County water calls for another strong run, 106,700, and what’s more, this stock comes in as four- and five-year-old fish, meaning they’re larger than the Columbia River’s other red salmon.

(DONSFISHINGGUIDESERVICE.COM)

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COLUMN

A

ugust is the month for s o c k e y e BEACON fishing at Lake

By Don Talbot Wenatchee. I have been actively participating in this fishery for over 20 years and can say that the techniques have improved dramatically over the past decade.

When I started fishing the Chelan County lake for its red salmon, the secret was to put the leader back 30 feet behind the downrigger ball and use a size “0” dodger with two Gamakatsu 2/0 octopus red hooks tied about an inch apart on 12-pound Maxima line. (Well, secret might be an overstatement as the set-up was very similar to the Lake Washington sockeye rig.) The overall leader length was 18 inches and the boat speed was about 1.2 to 1.5 mph. The bite was over by 9 a.m. and you were lucky to pull any fish afterwards. The typical rod used by anglers was an Ugly Stick that could take a 16-ounce railroad spike as a weight.

One afternoon about 10 years ago I was fishing the west end of the lake with my brother Jim when another boat came our way to check out the fishery. They had never fished Lake Wenatchee for sockeye and asked me how deep we were. I told them that I was marking fish between 60 and 80 feet, but couldn’t get them to bite.

They said thank you and proceeded to catch their limit in less than an hour.

I knew that they were professional fishermen from the other side of the mountains and needed to get some

BASIN

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COLUMN

Among the tricks for Lake Wenatchee sockeye that author and ďŹ shing guide Don Talbot has learned is to give his 8-inch dodger a slight, ž-inch bend to enhance the action it gives his barbless triple-hook set-up. His leader is as short as he can tie it and only as long as the dodger itself. (DONSFISHINGGUIDESERVICE.COM)

A Lower Columbia product got an Upper Columbia application when Don stuck Brad’s Wobblers off the back of his downrigger ball. Using three of those fall Chinook lures in conjunction with clipping his terminal tackle so it runs just 4 feet behind the cable allows him to combine maximum attraction and action with minimum speeds for great results. (DONSFISHINGGUIDESERVICE.COM)

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Northwest Sportsman 137

COLUMN information from them. I ran up to their boat after they’d pulled their last fish in and offered to take them out to dinner at the 59er Diner at the US 2-Highway 207 intersection in nearby Coles Corner. They accepted my invitation and I proceeded to grill them on what we’d been doing wrong.

They laughed at us and said that everyone was using too long of a leader and their troll speed was too high. I asked how long their leader was, and they laughed again and said no longer than the length of their dodger, a size “0,” which measures 8 inches long. When I said “no way,” they took me to their boat and pulled out rods with dodgers still attached. The leader was 8 inches overall. I then asked how fast they’d been going, to which they told me 1.0 to 1.3 mph.

The next morning we caught 24 fish using their techniques and thought that we had mastered the sport.

But it took nine more years of playing around to figure out a way to catch almost

Holt Walker shows off a Lake Wenatchee sockeye from last year.

Many anglers fish the upper end of the lake, where sockeye stage before making their final run to the spawning grounds. The small Glacier View Campground launch is closest to this area, but the main ramp is at the east end of the lake, at the state park.

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Northwest Sportsman 139

twice as many fish in less time.

IF YOU UNDERSTAND THE concept of “maximum action at the slowest trolling speed” after you read this article, then you will know the secret to never having another bad day out on sockeye waters.

What follows is the ultimate formula to having more fun fishing for the red-coated and red-meated salmon with ultralight rods and reels at Lake Wenatchee.

Heck, it might even work over on Lake Washington, if they open it back up again.

Let’s start with rods and reels. I use kokanee rods for sockeye fishing and they work fantastic for this fishery. I have four 8-foot TICA Kokanee rods connected to four TICA Kokanee reels that I use at Lake Chelan to catch landlocked sockeye. I fill each reel with 30-pound SpiderWire and top it off with 20-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader. You will not believe this, but I only use 4 feet of leader material; I will explain why later. I attach a nice 100-pound swivel to the end of the leader, and the rod is ready for action.

The dodger is the exact same one as was used 20 years ago, except that I bend it into a banana shape (as shown in the picture on the previous page) to get a ¾-inch overall arc. I use three 2/0 barbless Gamakatsu red hooks tied about ¾ inch apart, and my actual leader length is as short as I physically can tie the loop on the end, as shown on the preceeding page. I use 20-pound Seaguar Fluorocarbon to tie all my hook leaders.

Why bend the dodger into a banana shape? The idea is to get maximum hook action at the slowest trolling speed. My trolling speed now is a solid .8 mph on my GPS. Why fish only 4 feet behind the downrigger ball on a clip that is attached to the downrigger line right above the ball? Brad’s makes a ton of wobblers for attracting salmon to bite. I thought I would try using these wobblers as downrigger ball teasers to attract more sockeye. I attached three of these wobblers on last year’s opener and we landed 28 sockeye in about half a day of fishing. We wanted to see how close we could fish to the teasers and figured 140 Northwest Sportsman

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Ellensburg, Washington that 4 feet was a really good distance to try. The teasers made a huge difference in attracting schools of sockeye to the strike area.

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THESE ARE THE BIGGEST changes sockeye fishing has experienced in the past 20 years. It is time that you get out and try all these tricks to see how effective you can become out on the water at Lake Wenatchee. I can confidently catch fish any hour of the day here. The morning hours are still prime time, but I had several 20-fish days after 9 a.m. last season using the new techniques.

The greatest thrill in fishing for me is discovering a new technique and sharing it with the rest of the fishing community that is willing to listen. This is the time to apply the “maximum action at the slowest troll speed” with the maximum teaser attraction. Enjoy your massive catches out on the water. NS

Editor’s note: Formerly a sharpie at Hooked On Toys’ fishing counter, the author is now guiding as Don Talbot’s Fishing (donsfishingguideservice.com; 509-679 8641) and says special half-day guide rates will be in effect for the Lake Wenatchee sockeye fishery.

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Schools Are In For Summer!

W hen talk turns to s a l m o n fishing you’ll often hear phrases like “battling a king,” “fighting a coho” and KAYAK GUYS “playing with the

By Todd Switzer pinks.” Well, if it’s an odd-numbered year, it’s time for pinks and it’s time to play.

If you’ve never caught a salmon from a kayak before, then targeting pinks is a great place to start. And if you’ve been catching salmon from a kayak for years, then you’re likely looking forward to another pink season.

I’ll come right out and say it: Catching pinks is one of my guilty pleasures. It’s almost so easy that I feel guilty, but I can’t stop myself from making the effort when the run comes through because it’s just so much fun. Once there are pinks in the area, I put aside other fishing opportunities and break out the pink gear. Maybe I go home without a coho or king on those days, but I never go home without a smile on my face.

Pinks aren’t the type of salmon that will rip the rod out of your hand on the first run, nor will they put on a show with their acrobatics when facing a net. But they will give you a standup fight with short, powerful runs and almost violent direction changes all the way to the side of the kayak. These are also schooling fish, so when you find a school they’ll aggressively hit almost anything that gets in front of them. It almost seems like it’s a game they play amongst themselves to see which fish can be the first to grab the hook and run away. To put it simply, pinks are a blast to catch.

TECHNIQUES FOR PINKS RANGE from downrigger or diver trolling to casting spoons or spinners, and even jigs will work.

Unusual methods such as dragging a fly on the surface behind your kayak can be highly effective in the right circumstances.

From pink salmon to pink lures to sun-pinked anglers, Pugetropolis goes nuts every other summer as the odd-year species returns in huge numbers to streams from Bellingham to Steilacoom. (BRAD HOLE) Your typical salmon trolling rod will work just fine, but bring along a light spinning set-up and it gets even more fun.

While you’re at it, toss a fly rod in the kayak.

I’m not purposely trying to be vague to protect my secret method of catching pinks; believe me when I tell you that just about any method can work. For me, variety is what makes catching them so much fun. Once I’ve mastered one method of catching pinks, I switch tactics and gear and it’s like learning to catch a new species all over again.

The key to pinks is getting your presentation in front of them and giving them something they can fit inside their mouth. These fish primarily feed on small squid and krill, so they’re not typically going to chase down a large rolling herring. But if that spinning herring just happens to pass through the middle of a school, all bets are off. However, the best odds are finding a school and dragging a small- to medium-sized spoon through it.

Don’t limit your gear to spoons, as many pinks are taken on the standard dodgerand-hoochie combo.

Did I mention the best color? Why, pink, of course! Just stroll into your local fishing tackle store in late July of an oddnumbered year and you’ll see the aisles loaded with pink tackle.

Why do pinks love pink? Perhaps it’s a highly visible color in our Northwest waters or perhaps it reminds them of their usual food sources back in the North Pacific. At any rate, pink is here to stay as the color of choice for catching these fish. But don’t be surprised if these fish pick up your green spoon – there are no hard rules to fishing pinks. Don’t want to stock a whole new set of tackle for a single species? Just grab some pink diamond tape and cover a selection of your spoons and spinner and you’ll be set.

NOW, WHERE DO YOU find these fish? With a run of over 6 million forecast back to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound, and many more headed for the Fraser, they’re not hard to find. When they show up in late July they’ll congregate at the headlands, making occasional forays into shallow water early in the morning before nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2015

Northwest Sportsman 147

COLUMN While still wearing their saltwater sheen, pinks can sometimes be confused with immature Chinook, but where the latter salmon’s gums are black and mouth is all dark, the former’s mouth is white. (TODD SWITZER)

going deeper during the day and losing interest in playful activities such as playing “grab the hook.”

Morning is the time to be on the water for almost any form of salmon fishing in the Puget Sound, but with pinks comes another added benefit. Glass-calm water well before the noises of civilization build for the day makes for the perfect fishing conditions. Tracking down a school from a kayak takes a couple of senses working

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in unison. First, scan the water for rolling fish. Pinks will rise to the surface with a brief roll or leave a fin or tip of the tail out of the water for several seconds before descending. The wakes left behind from these surfacing salmon will be almost imperceptibly small unless you are closer than a hundred yards away, so rather than scan the far horizon, limit your gaze to the water within a football field’s length and keep a sharp eye out.

Second, stay quiet and listen for light splashing, which might even come from behind you, so stay alert. These fish don’t make their presence known by making a big splash like chum salmon, but they do occasionally slosh a bit of water around when they surface. When the Sound is quiet early in the morning it is a lot easier to hear a school rising to the surface.

When you hear or see the signs of a rising school it’s time to spring into action before the fish descend and move off in another direction. If possible, try

not to spook the fish by running straight through the middle of the school; instead, try to work around its edges as much as possible and allow the fish to stay on the surface without feeling threatened.

If you are trolling a spoon, make a wide sweeping turn well outside the edge of the school so your presentation skims the perimeter. If you’re ready with a casting spoon or jig, adjust your course so your kayak will glide toward one side of the school and let the momentum of your remaining forward speed bring you within casting distance of the fish. Don’t rush towards splashing with the paddle or fins; the fish will sense danger and disperse. A smooth and stealthy approach by kayak to surfacing fish can make all the difference.

ONE TECHNIQUE I LIKE to use is to troll a spoon on a small diver or a couple of ounces of lead and keep it just a few dozen yards behind my kayak. When I

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Northwest Sportsman 149

COLUMN spot a school I make a determination whether trolling the spoon around the edge is my best option, or if casting will produce better results. If the latter, I quietly retrieve my trolling line, fix the glide of my kayak to pass within casting distance of the edge of the school and glide in for my cast. When I’m within range I make a long arcing cast toward the edge of the school, allow my spoon or jig to sink with just enough tension on the line to feel a pick-up, count to five so that my presentation sinks a few yards below the surface, then retrieve.

One jig that became my go-to for pinks a couple years ago is a ¼-ounce marabou – in pink, of course. On a light spinning outfit this is an easy jig to cast, and it seldom gets fouled in the rigging of my kayak or on the rod eyelets. I usually reel the jig right to the tip of the rod; the round head fits perfectly into the tip eyelet and the hook is held clear of tangling into that last couple inches of the rod. When I’m ready to cast, I pull a foot or two of line from the reel and the jig falls

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away from the tip at the perfect length for a stealthy cast.

The key to working a marabou-style jig is to give it the action it needs to attract a fish with a quick little twitch of the rod.

The twitch should be a quick jerky motion, but the rod tip shouldn’t move more than about 18 inches. It’s almost like you’re trying to set the hook on a very small fish with every twitch. Expect the strike as the jig falls. If the line comes taut at an unusually fast speed, don’t wait to feel the fish – just haul back and set the hook.

THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY for pinks in the salt is always too brief. I would love to have them around in their bright chrome state and ready to play with me late into fall on Puget Sound, but they are a fish on a mission, and unfortunately almost as soon as they arrive, they are moving upriver and away from the salt.

Yet while one window closes, another opens. Fishing pinks in freshwater can be even more fun than pursuing them in the salt. In the rivers there is typically

As pinks enter their natal streams, the humps on the males become fully formed, giving them a little extra leverage in the currents. (TODD SWITZER)

less water for them to hide in and they’re easier to spot rolling on the surface.

Although the quality of the meat takes a serious downward turn, they’re still a blast to catch and by now the famous humps of the males are fully formed. If you find the right hole in the river, it can be packed with pinks, and they are not so fast to move on like they do in the salt.

You can pass many late summer and fall days catching pinks until your arms go numb, and the leaves on the trees around you change into bright orange and red.

As I write this, I’m reminded of how much fun playing with pinks can be. I can hardly wait! NS

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Northwest Sportsman 151

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Crabbing The 49th Parallel

P

lying our local waters for Dungeness crab is a fun and

By Todd Martin Guest columnist entertaining family activity. Crabs are fairly easy to catch, they are plentiful, and the best thing about them is that they are darn tasty. Crabbing is also a great low cost activity for seafood lovers who don’t want to completely smash the disposable income piggy bank.

Bringing home a full pot of crabs will earn you buckets of brownie points from friends and family, and the productive waters where Washington meets British Columbia are some of the best crabbing grounds anywhere.

In the past couple of years, high market demand in Asia has driven the price of fresh-caught, local Dungeness to almost $20 a pound. The price has been artificially capped as fish mongers feared the crabs wouldn’t sell if the price climbed any higher. It is often more expensive than lobster, even with the air transport costs included. Many seafood aficionados agree with me that our biggest crustacean tastes better. This year, the going rate is still near the ridiculously high $20-perpound range, all the more incentive to get out and catch your own. It’ll make you the hero of every seafood lover on your block.

NORTH SOUND

EVEN WITH CURRENT DEMAND, Dungeness crabs are seen as a very sustainable resource. This is partly due to the strong management of the resource on the American side by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and on the Canadian side by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Regulations are similar, but different, depending on which side of the border you do your crabbing.

In Washington, the waters you are targeting are called subareas 7-South and 7-North. Season opened in 7-South on July 16 and Aug. 13 in 7-North, and crabbing usually runs until the end of September. The catch is then analyzed

Parker Sutherland, a proud Canadian, displays his Dungeness crab caught just south of the border in American waters while out with his uncle, author Todd Martin. (TODD MARTIN)

by the good folks at WDFW. If all is good, which it usually is, crabbing is reopened after a two-week break for most of the fall and early winter. Your limit is five

male crabs per angler, and they need to measure 6¼ inches across the top of the shell to be legal keepers.

In Southwest BC, you are targeting

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Northwest Sportsman 153

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Northwest Sportsman 155

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Basic crab pots, floats and rope does not need to be complicated or expensive.

Todd does recommend bait pellets or cakes, but whether you use those natural products, turkey legs or clams, he also suggests adding Pro-Cure Crab and Shrimp (below) attractant oil. (TODD MARTIN, BOTH)

Management Areas 28 and w29, and the season is a little different as Dungeness are open year-round. However, you are only allowed to retain four male crabs per day, and the minimum size has to be 165 millimeters, or 6½ inches, across.

The maximum number of crab pots per angler is the same on both sides of the border: two.

Regardless of location, be sure you have the proper licenses, read the regulations and watch for inseason closures. These can and do get posted with regularity, and the onus is on you to ensure you remain informed of current rules.

WITH THE LEGALESE OUT of the way, let’s talk about the best baits to use to make you the local seafood ringer. Good old fresh fish, whatever you can get your

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hands on, works best. The trusty salmon head is a well-known favorite. If you are cleaning salmon, just keep everything you would normally throw out. Even if you have to freeze it before crabbing season, it’s still great bait.

But while fresh is best, when there are lots of crabs around, it doesn’t matter. I even use trout and kokanee heads as bait, as I fish for them more often than salmon.

Don’t laugh too hard, but one of my all-time-best producers is a frozen turkey leg. Near my favorite crabbing waters of Birch Bay in Whatcom County, local grocery stores sell freezer-burned turkey legs to rabid crabbers for the change we can scrounge up under the couch. Throw them still frozen in your bait traps and let them work their magic. They will last most of the weekend, and Northwest crabs love them! Even the lowly brown bullhead makes great bait, if they are common in the area you are crabbing.

Another good bait option is fresh clams. If clams are open in your area, dig up a bucket and give them a try. Even mussels work well.

One of the better crab bait options are the new dry pellets and bait cakes. These are made by various companies, but the best known in Canada is called Ace of Baits (aceofbaits.com). Put a couple handfuls of these scented pellets into your bait holder and go catch your limit. They do soften up and break down over time, so be sure to add fresh pellets to your traps as needed.

The advantage of the pellet baits is that they are clean and easy to use. No more smelly hands from handling salmon entrails. The only disadvantage is that you have to purchase your pellets from fishing or marine outlets as opposed to using fish heads you may have in your freezer.

As with other forms of Northwest angling, scent adders can help with crabbing. Pro-Cure (pro-cure.com) makes crab and prawn attractant oil that’s 100-percent natural, as it’s made from real salmon eggs, fish oils, amino acids and a touch of anise scent. Give it a good shake and then apply a healthy dose to your baits.

Whatever your chosen secret bait setup is, don’t mix different baits in your

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COLUMN traps. Keep it as natural as possible. You’ll catch more crabs.

NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT the three most important things in crabbing: location, location and location. Dungeness love shallow, sandy bays with lots of eel grass for cover. Most recreational crabbing hot spots are no deeper than 50 feet, which is convenient, as you don’t need to strongarm your gear up from great depths.

In northern Puget Sound, there are almost too many hot spots to mention, but some of the best locations are around Camano Island, Blakely Island, Lummi Bay, Skagit Bay, Chuckanut Bay, Birch Bay and Point Roberts. Birch Bay is my preferred waters, as I spend a lot of quality time there in the summer.

On the Canadian side, the productive locations to drop your traps are the local beaches near White Rock, Tswassen, then up to English Bay near downtown Vancouver, and then both Barnet Marine

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Park and Belcarra Park in Port Moody.

Ambleside Beach in North Vancouver is also productive. If crabbing in Tswassen, be aware of the permanent closure near the BC ferry terminals. In English Bay, drop your traps off Spanish Banks, close to where the ocean freighters set anchor.

When in BC, visit either Berry’s Bait & Tackle (berrysbait.com) or Pacific Angler (pacificangler.ca) for help with specific details, or just go for a cruise and watch where the locals drop their pots.

There are a few other tricks of the trade that will help you land more keepersize crabs. Make sure to attach your bait chambers to the bottom of your traps.

This will encourage male crabs to enter the trap, as they can’t access your bait from the outside for a free meal. Also, don’t forget to add the proper amount of weight to your traps, lines and floats to ensure they stay where you set them. If you don’t, you’ll be claiming someone stole your crab traps when in fact tidal action has picked them

up and moved them for you. You need several ounces of lead secured inside your trap, another few ounces approximately halfway up your line, and another weight a foot below the float. This ensures your float does not lie flat, but stands vertical in the water so it can be easily seen. You need the weight halfway down the line so it does not drift near the surface and foul someone’s propeller. Take a few extra seconds and be sure to set up your gear properly.

Now you have the knowledge of where and how to properly pursue our favourite (that would be “favorite” for you educated in Washington’s school system) orangecoloured crustaceans in the waters on both sides of the international border. There are countless more honey holes within 25 miles of either side of the 49th parallel. No matter where your travels take you this summer, get the appropriate licence, load your traps with stinky bait and drop your gear. It will make you the hero at the next barbeque. NS

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FISHING Flamin’ Fisheries, continued from p. 112

descend on the towns of Astoria, Warrenton and Ilwaco this August and early September in search of their share of the upriver bright Chinook and hatchery coho. One of the many excellent guides I know who fish Buoy 10, Bill Monroe Jr. of Bill Monroe Outdoors (facebook. com/billmonroeoutdoors) is a straight slayer. His boat outperformed anyone in the guide crowd last year that I heard about by boating 17 fish over 30 pounds and daily limits of larger-than-the-crowd Chinook.

Yakima Bait Company noticed too, and named a Fish Flash flasher after Monroe when they saw the results from the red-and-pearl UV Fish Flash he had customized. The “BMK” stands for Bill Monroe Killer.

“I’m very much looking forward to the August and September Astoria/B10 fall Chinook seasons coming up very shortly, but a couple

Bill Monroe Jr. shows off one of nearly a dozen and a half Chinook that came over the side of his sled last year and which approached or topped the 30-pound mark. He and other guides believe spinners will be the way to go at Buoy 10 this year. (FACEBOOK.COM/BILLMONROEOUTDOORS)

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FISHING things that have me worried are high water temps and the potential ineffectiveness of bait as a result,” says Monroe. “It’s gonna be warm, like really warm – never-seen-before type of temps – and that potentially is going to lead to bait not working that well at all. Spinners are going to be key to the fishery down there this year. Anywhere from smaller size 5 blades to the big daddies of them all, size 13 Toman Thumpers, will be kickin’ butt and takin’ names.”

Record heat and low flows will certainly affect Buoy 10, but perhaps in a good way for anglers. Unlike upstream fisheries, Buoy 10 and much of the Lower Columbia are influenced by cool ocean water. Even in an El Niño year, the ocean will be much cooler than the Columbia.

Monroe thinks this will lead to a bloodbath at Buoy 10, provided the fish show up on time: “I think the water on the Columbia

from basically below the Cowlitz, or maybe lower even, is going to develop a thermal block where tidal influences will not be noticable, and fish are instantly not going to want to be in warm river water and are gonna turn right back around and stay in the cooler waters the ocean brings in.

I think it will probably be like that for much of the season. Basically, I think this all translates to lights-out fishing at Buoy 10 this year. Did I mention I was excited?”

Buoy 10 fishery is subject to nextday closures at an instant when fisheries managers can’t play the quota-versus-guideline game during years of abundance that allows liberal retention seasons, no closures and sometimes extensions. Large runs of both coho and Chinook are predicted, so closures seem less likely. Monroe has seen more than a few season adjustments made over the years and offers his insight: “Seeing how it’s slated currently

Readings from NOAA’s Columbia River Estuary Operational Forecast System show a pulse of cooler ocean water flooding past Buoy 10 early last month. The modeling for near-surface waters is just a few hours behind real-time and is offered online in a continuously updated 24-hour animated sequence. (NOAA)

to fish through Labor Day without a closure on Chinook with adipose fins or not, I’m fairly confident we’ll be set up to that date without a closure,” he says. “I guess the worst-case scenario would be if the fish don’t show up like normal and instead show late. That seems unlikely to me, and the actual predictions on fall

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FISHING Chinook and coho for this season are underestimated on purpose. They will most likely go higher.”

Monroe and fellow guides in the know are already formulating their initial game plan before they get a chance to hit the water and let conditions dictate their next moves.

“My basic approach to Buoy 10 this year is going to be finding cooler water and fishing the heck out of it. I’ve learned through my many years fishing here with people like Buzz Ramsey, my father, and Bob Toman back in the day, to stick to the basics and fish them based off of the conditions. Bounce the bottom in middepth and shallower-type waters and drag your gear when needed, and if it’s deep, follow your fishfinder and set your gear at the depth where the fish are. And to stress it again: Don’t be afraid to try hardware in the type of conditions we have this year. It could make your day!”

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Along with the Buoy 10 fishery, ocean salmon seasons this summer are expected to be amazing throughout August in all of Washington’s coastal Marine Areas. Ilwaco, Westport, La Push and Neah Bay are great fisheries that may never fish better again than they will this summer. The fishing may or may not be hotter at Buoy 10, but more liberal Chinook limits in these ports will turn a fair number of anglers’ heads. You can’t go wrong this August with a trip to the ocean.

SNAKE-COLUMBIA WALLEYE AND BASS Summer is one of the best times to fish walleye, smallmouth bass and channel catfish in my favorite walleye water – the Lyons Ferry stretch of the Snake – and other walleye-producing impoundments of the Snake and Columbia. That is, provided you heed some simple

advice: fish where the fish are, which is deep along breaks and on midriver humps and bars in depths of 18 feet and greater. Plenty of small smallmouth and walleye persist in shallow-water areas in August, but mature specimens are generally deeper. Depending on the time of the month, fish are gobbling a wide variety of minnows and small fish, especially shad and sculpin, as well as crayfish. One of the really cool parts about the August warmwater fisheries of the impounded midColumbia and lower Snake is that if you can fish one effectively, you can learn to fish them all. Standard river and reservoir walleye tactics apply.

The Lyons Ferry stretch of the Snake exists from the Lyons Ferry Fish Hatchery upstream past the Palouse River, the Tucannon River, and all the way up to Little Goose Dam. From Little Goose to about a mile above the Texas Rapids boat launch, the river’s main channel

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FISHING pushes along the north shoreline.

Walleye and smallmouth orient to the current seam in this stretch, holding in the gentle moving water on the current’s edge and waiting to rush out into the main current to grab prey. Look for them in 18 to 24 feet of water on the downhill slope into the river channel, deeper during bright, midday conditions.

The humps in front of the Tucannon River mouth also hold fish, as does the mouth of the Palouse River and the shoreline below the Lyons Ferry Fish Hatchery. Trolling down- or upstream with deepdiving crankbaits like Reef Runners and Hot Lips is popular, and so is trolling bottom bouncers followed by spinners or Mack’s Smile blades and worm harnesses. Fluorescent colors (oranges, chartreuses, yellows and reds), silver, green, motor oil and purple are good starting points.

Walleye and smallmouth live in

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Summer is the best time for most anglers to get into the rich warmwater fisheries on Southeast Washington’s Snake and Columbia Rivers. Tracy Kim caught this 29-inch walleye on the Snake last summer while pulling a plug. (DAIWA PHOTO CONTEST)

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FISHING and Richland, the Tri-Cities is a great jumping-off point for all of the major walleye fisheries on the Snake, and the mid-Columbia at Umatilla, Irrigon, Crow Butte and Boardman.

Eight miles of prime walleye water exists in the tailrace of Ice Harbor down to the confluence with the Columbia. Walleye are present throughout, especially on breaks into the main river channel and off of deepwater structure like humps and reefs in the channel. For visitors new to this water or any of the big-river walleye fisheries around Tri-Cities, get a map or have electronic mapping software on board for safety and a good overview of the underwater world.

Two excellent places to focus attention in August are the train trestle near the confluence, and near the dam itself in soft-water seams and eddies closest to the fastest water. You won’t find many walleye in water faster than 2 mph, but they will dart out into faster

water to eat prey and return. This is a good thing to remember in Snake and Columbia tailraces. Lower in the river by the train trestle below the Highway 12 bridge near Hood Park, walleye will hold on breaklines on both sides of the river, and trolling extra-deep-diving cranks upstream at a fast pace is proven, as is blade bait and jig fishing and, of course, worm harness trolling.

Just downstream on the confluence is the famed Burbank stretch of the Columbia where so many 18-plus-pound walleye have been caught each winter and early spring for many years. It just doesn’t fish in summertime like it does in winter, but the Columbia from below McNary Dam all the way to Boardman and Crow Butte is some of the world’s best summertime walleye water. Along with lots of big females that are better released than kept, John Day Pool is full of eaters, and 10-fish limits have

been common so far this summer, especially the closer one fishes to Boardman and Crow Butte. The dam down to Irrigon usually fishes a little better as summer moves along and current flows abate, but it was already fishing in June this year.

As on the Snake, a range of standard deep-running cranks, harnesses, and jigs and blades all work excellently. Most folks troll here, however, and for newcomers to the fishery without lots of waypoints to hit, covering water is smart.

If you fish this stretch, I highly recommend staying in Tri-Cities, and the Kennewick La Quinta is positioned most closely to the fishing grounds and at good prices. Their hassle-free dog policy always earned my business – until I moved just a few miles away. There is lots of great lodging all over Tri-Cities, and the Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau (visittri-cities.com) offers comprehensive travel advice. NS

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