The shore grows by the day as overhang banks crumble. Tumble over tall tree. Big kerplunk in the current. Disintegrating ladders and chutes. Diminishing redds and roots. Leave to just return and spawn. To live is to decay.
Rocks and sands. Bunch grass. A beer can. A wine bottle. A bunch of broken glass.
A heron stands still. Shadow cast twig legs and branch beak. Eyes knotted as knees bend and lunge. No. Stop. A mirror reflecting a mirror is nothing. Ripples recede, so still and wait again as only water rushes.
Gray driftwood and clover green riffle reeds rustle. A rocky fire ring blows ash. A broken sandal lies left behind. Charred garbage scatters from yet another fire. An alder snag sways with a frayed rope swing.
A moss mat floats on by and drifts side to side. A single blade of grass stands like a flag pole declaration at the center. It says “This is here. It is something.” Opal blue and obsidian black striped dragonflies hover alongside the new island. Swoop and dive. Say hi, lay eggs. Signal change, say bye. Float away.
River mussels and beach bods. Strong current and weak breeze. Steep bank and shallow river. Big mouth bass and cutthroat trout. Salty scofflaws dodge fish cops on pirate kayaks and redhead ducks pinwheel away across the shattered surface.
A rash of noxious knotweed ties the tenuous bank together where a raging eddy wishes to wash away the sands of time. But dragonfly island catches on the corner, lodges in the invasive stalks and lurches to a standstill.
A tired sun crashes into the treeline and the deadwood heron lunges through the river’s glare. Silver scales sparkle as the patient bird absconds with fresh catch in clenched clutches. Steelhead tears refract the rainbow and ripple as they splash.
FISHIN’
What was expected to be a dire summer for steelhead on the Cowlitz River has turned out to be just a run of the mill tease.
Last week’s return of 300 summer-run steelhead to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator seems to indicate that the largest pulse of the run has already arrived. In addition to those steelhead, employees at the fish facility recovered 132 spring Chinook adults, three jacks, 13 mini-jacks, and five cutthroat trout. That rush of steelies represents more than many anglers expected in total after a more than a half million hatchery smolt went missing two years ago.
Tacoma Power began their steelhead recycling program on June 15 for early returners and so far they have trucked 391 steelhead back down river to the I-5 Bridge boat launch. According to one pink fingered Cowlitz River drifter on the river this week, those recycled fish don’t seem to have much of an appetite or desire to loiter in the waters that they’ve already traversed.
“They seem to hang out across the river for an hour or so, surfacing and splashing around, and then they disappear until they show up at the barrier dam again. Where they go in between, or what they’re doing. That’s the mystery,” said the shy fisherman. “Some of them have been showing up near the mouth of the Toutle with the radio tags. Maybe they get turned around in the truck?”
In any case, most of the steelhead seem to be jetting upstream in spite of near record low flows on the Cowlitz that usually have the fish hold up for awhile. On Tuesday Karen Glaser at the Barrier Dam Campground said the flow was recorded as 2,380 cubic feet per second. The water has been sitting just over 55 degrees with about 14 feet of visibility.
“It’s low, low, but what do you do,” said Glaser. “Usually it’s like the end of August before it gets like this. That’s when we got the low water last year but they say there’s no water up above to give us so I guess that’s where we’re at now.”
Where the shy drifter described fishing results as “inconsistent,” Glaser says the bite has been consistently leaving anglers wanting more. “They are getting some nice fish but you do have to put your time in. And that’s steelhead of course. They closed the salmon season.”
Glaser says the summer steelies that are in the river have been biting on blue fox spinners, sand shrimp, eggs, corky and yarn, “just kind of the same old stuff. They just keep trying until they get one.”
In addition to the early low flows, the persistent heat of the day seems to be turning the steelhead sleepy so anglers have mostly been trying their luck early in the morning and then later in the evening as of late.
“They tell me when the sun gets on the water they just go to the bottom and lay there,” said Glaser.
Creel sampling by the WDFW last week on the Cowlitz River showed two downriver rods had no catch at all. Upriver of the I-5 Bridge, 32 bank rods kept 10 steelhead, while 107 rods on 37 boats kept 67 steelhead and released two more.
In the upper reaches of the Cowlitz above the barrier dam, crews continued their truck and release efforts last week. Eight spring Chinook adults, one jack and one cutthroat trout were released in the Cispus River near Randle, while nine adult springers, one jack and one cuttie were released at the Franklin Bridge in Packwood. Two cutties were also released into the Tilton River at Gust Backstrom Park in Morton. Additionally, Mayfield Lake was planted with 2,960 rainbow trout, and on July 13, the lake received a deposit of 3,380 catchable size rainbows.
Elsewhere, anglers on the Lower Columbia River continue to have luck targeting steelhead between Cathlamet and Kalama, at around the mouth of the Cowlitz.
“There’s guides getting 10-20 fish a day when they are in the right spots on the Washington side of the Columbia, because a lot of those fish are coming back to the Cowlitz and the Kalama,” said the Cowlitz River drifter. “When I hear they’re getting fish in the lower river, especially once they’ve passed the Elochoman, I start to get excited that another run might be headed up the Cowlitz.”
Last week nine anglers on the Elochoman reported no catch.
On the far end of that steelhead plunking zone the Lewis River has been producing some steelhead near the mouth and on the mainstem. The WDFW sampled eight bank anglers there last week with one released steelhead while one boat with two rods kept one steelhead and released another. On July 16 Merwin Lake was planted with 1,270 big old rainbows that tipped the scale at more than five pounds each, along with 2,228 rainbows weighing around more than a pound each.
Bass anglers on the Chehalis River continue to have good luck for lunkers but the hotter temperatures have pushed the bite to the margins of the day. Anglers have been having the best luck in shaded nooks near the mouths of tributaries using both real and rubber worms. Steelhead anglers have had hit and miss results on the Wynoochee River which was running at 176 cubic feet per second at Black Creek on Wednesday and 209 cubic feet per second at Grisdale.
Out in salted waters several anglers recently set state records. John Sly of Tacoma set a state record for redbanded rockfish with his catch off of Westport on June 21. Sly was jigging when he hooked the fish. There was no previous record for the species. That same day, Richard Hale of Tukwila set the record for arrowtooth flounder with a 5.93 pound catch off of Neah Bay. That catch topped the previous record, set by Art Tachell just over a month ago, by more than two pounds.
Salmon season at Buoy 10 is set to begin on Aug. 1.
HUNTIN’
The next time you read this column, it will technically be hunting season.
Black bear hunting will become legal in coastal areas and the East Cascades zone on Aug. 1, and then in the South Cascades two weeks later. From there hunters will have to endure a one month lull before the beat drops on deer archery, cougar, forest grouse, crow, wild turkey, bobcat, fox, raccoon, rabbit, hare, and mourning dove seasons.
Until then, of course, coyotes remain fair game for hunters all across Washington.
In the meantime, hunters shooting for a chance to stalk deer in some of the best deer areas in North Central Washington have until 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 13 to submit their application.
In total, eighteen applications will be selected via random drawing for an opportunity to hunt deer in the Charles and Mary Elder unit. That 6,000 acre unit is located within the Scotch Creek Wildlife Area in northeastern Okanogan County near Oroville. The 18 access and harvest permits for the special hunt will be divided up evenly between bowhunters, muzzleloader toters, and hunters using modern weapons. Each chosen hunter will be allowed to take one deer, in accordance with license regulations.
The hunts will take place within GMU 204 during the general season, which is set for Sept. 1-28 for bowmen, Sept. 29 through Oct. 7 for musketmen, and Oct. 13-23 for riflemen.
Results are expected to be posted on the WDFW website by the last week of August. Applications for the “limited-entry” drawing can be submitted contacting the WDFW by phone at either 509-754-4624 or 360-902-2515, or online at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/permits/scotchcreek/.
Nearly all aspiring hunters looking to beat the brush this fall and winter will need to complete hunters education requirements before becoming eligible to purchase a hunting license. That requirement applies to all hunters born after Jan. 1, 1972.
SHOOTIN’
Increasing wildfire risk has prompted another state supervised shooting range to close for the season. This week, the WDFW announced the closure of the Methow Wildlife Area until further notice due to extreme dry conditions in Okanogan County.
The Methow Valley has been particularly susceptible to wildfires in recent years and officials treat it as a high risk area. As such, the shooting range will remain closed until conditions improve and the threat of wildfire recedes. Legal hunting activities will not be impacted in season.
Earlier this summer the WDFW implemented additional restrictions on all of their wildlife areas and water-access sites, including the Methow Wildlife Area. Those restrictions apply to campfires, smoking, and the use of combustible engine tools like chainsaws. Additionally, there are permanent prohibitions on fireworks and incendiary devices such as tracer rounds and exploding targets.
A 4,000 acre portion of the Wenas Wildlife Area was previously closed to target shooting due to a wildfire that sparked on June 2.
PICKIN’
Huckleberry picking season is nearly upon us and the U.S. Forest Service will be offering commercial picking permits for sale and individual permits for free.
Permits will be offered beginning Aug. 6 at ranger stations around the Gifford Pinchot National Forest as well as the Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument headquarters. Permits are required for anyone harvesting more than three gallons of berries or selling any quantity at all.
Commercial permits cost $40 for two weeks of $75 for an entire season. With a permit pickers are allowed to camp for up to 14 days in the GPNF so long as they abide forest rules. Rakes or mechanical picking devices are not permitted.
A free-use permit is also required for personal harvesters. Those permits allow individuals to gather up to one gallon of berries per day, and up to three gallons per year. Individual permits can be obtained online at https://apps.fs.usda.gov/gp.
A few areas in the GPNF are closed to berry harvest including lands within the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, all legislated wilderness areas, and the “Handshake Agreement” area of Sawtooth Berry Fields on the Mount Adams Ranger District. Additionally, a temporary closure of the Pole Patch huckleberry area within the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District will be in effect during August.
FUNDIN’
The WDFW has posted a video of the webinar held on Monday covering options for long-term funding for the department.
The session will include updates on funding issues and opportunities for the state to invest in fish and wildlife management, along with the conservation of lands and habitat. During that open webinar, Nate Pamplin, WDFW policy director, made an effort to shed light on the reasons for the projected $30 million funding gap the department expects to face during the next two-year budget cycle.
The video can be seen online at https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/budget/development/, where the WDFW has also posted a public survey for additional feedback. For additional information contact Pamplin by phone at 360-584-7033 or by email at Nathan.Pamplin@dfw.wa.gov.
