ARTIC – A dozen ravens silently scavenging scraps from a pig pen. A door opens, feathers fly and black beaks squawk as the conspiracy takes flight. Mamma sow wakes violently from her sunbathing slumber but can make no sense of the commotion. Unsettled by the fleeting unkindness she rises, shakes off yesterdays dust, and plops her warm pink flank in the mud.
Eleven anglers line the steps below the dam. Hoodies pulled up, hats pulled low, they jig for fish who have reached the end of the line. Cigarettes dangle from their lips and they curse as lines get crossed. Jig. Drag. Reel. Drag. Bad cast. Snag.
Ten tractors make hay on the summer’s hottest day. Green grass. Gear grease. Diesel smoke. Busted twine. Mow it. Rake it. Bake it. Bale it. Get it off in time.
Nine eagles sky over a buzz cut field while refugee field mice flee for the safety of shaggy fence lines. Talons flex, air rips, and a rodent meets the reaper.
Eight deer graze a garden buffet. They cut in line and never pay. Plumped red tomatoes and the sweetest snapped peas. Ten foot fences fail to deter rummaging ruminants who fly like wild carnies from the tallest trapeze.
Beneath free spinning tires powder soft beach sand slips away like time, fast and irretrievable. Suddenly, seven sandy Dirtbags dismount from the bed of a rooster tail 4x4 and push the stuck bus free before a sneaker tide could take it for a salt brine joy ride.
Six transfixed drummers sit basked in mountain moonlight. Their hands move independently with the common rhythm of twinkling stars and flickering fires. Time and vibrations are the measure of the universe.
A quintet of bullfrogs bellow down by the creek. Their lillipad call and response is well rehearsed but remains alive like jazz bands and dancing mosquitoes.
Four children on bikes chase a accelerating ice cream truck a few blocks beyond the friendly confines of their neighborhood. They cross a new street, and then another. They could go anywhere. They could do anything. But they only want a rocket pop, and to get back home before their parents find out.
Three dusty hitchhikers sit with dogs and dirty packs at a remote junction. They look tired, out of luck, and full of tales. We are going the opposite way but lock eyes and nod a weary fellow travelers salute.
All along the way two world’s envelope a single countryside. Sunrise and sunset. Mountain pass and coastal highway. Ocean and land. Tall trees and wind blown scrubs. Tractor traffic jams and rush hour quagmires. Cool friendly faces and hot scowling mugs.
And it all happened on one summer day.
FISHIN’
Salmon runs on the Chehalis and Cowlitz rivers are both currently leaving much to be desired but the bite continues to produce a dependable bounty in East Lewis County on the Riffe and Mayfield reservoirs.
According to Jerry Barr, former rod and reel salesman at Sunbirds in Chehalis and long-time friend of this FishRap, there’s no sense fiddling around on rivers that suffer feast and famine flows, truant schools of fish, and a never-ending juggling of regulations. Instead, the Cowlitz River dam reservoirs are simply the place to be.
“This time of year I concentrate on these two lakes,” said Barr, who noted that the boat launch at Riffe has finally been fixed so that it actually reaches the water. “It’s a beautiful ramp, but it’s a long ways to back down, let me tell you. But you’re rewarded once you get out on the water.”
Barr, who recently retired from his sporting goods station at Sunbirds, has been focusing most of his attention in recent weeks on the west end of Riffe Lake near the dam in Mossyrock. He says the man made cove there is a popular gathering spot for both landlocked silver salmon and bass. As a result anglers have been lining up along the staircase on the Mossyrock side of the dam while trollers ply the placid waters around the point.
“From that point you can just see huge schools of salmon swimming in and out with the bass. That is a hot fishery,” said Barr. “Just bounce worms and you’ll get hammered.”
Barr says the Riffe lake coho have been particularly plentiful and rewarding thus far this summer.
“We’ve been nailing the fish out there. I’m talking 24-25 inch fish that are coming out of there. These are huge fish this year, and no worms. I can’t believe it,” proclaimed Barr.
He says folks on the bank been having luck employing a bobber and worm, bobber and shrimp, and a variety of casting lures. Specifically, he says red and orange cast masters work best on sunny days while chrome and blue spinners seem to work on cloudy days. Out on his boat Barr says, “It’s everything! We’re trolling wee wigglers, big wigglers, squids with the dodgers...They like the hardware too!”
Barr says the Mayfield Lake fishery has been just as active with trout and tiger musky.
“Mayfield is just off the charts right now. The rainbows are huge this year and they’re all red meat. Just as red as the silvers I’m getting this year,” said Barr. He noted that a picky angler could leave with a mess of trout averaging close to 18 inches, and an angler in a hurry could hit the water and be home in time for a second cup of coffee.
“They’re big enough that you don’t get to bounce ‘em up, you’ve got to bring ‘em up with the net,” said Barr. “It’s just a hootenanny!”
Other safe bets for summer trout fishing include Swit Reservoir and Goose Lake along the Cowlitz/Skamania county line. Mineral Lake also has a few fish leftover from stocking efforts earlier this year. Warmwater panfish are also biting on area waters such as South Lewis County Park Pond and Carlisle Lake, while Kress Lake and Lake Sacajawea in Cowlitz County have also been productive lately. Carlisle, also known as Old Mill Pond in Onalaska, has also been producing bass while catfish have been finding hooks in the nooks of Swofford Pond.
On July 14 the WDFW will host a fishing derby for youths with disabilities at the Merwin Fish Hatchery. That fishery will run from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. near the Merwin Dam east of Woodland. More than 100 youngsters are expected to show up with their families this year to the 20th annual Merwin Special Kids Day. Rods, reels, tackle and T-shirts will be provided for participating anglers to use and keep for later fishing trips. To register call 1-800-899-4421 to register.
Those lake and pond options are looking ever more enticing these days as area rivers have suffered a number of closures to salmon fisheries in recent days.
The summer Chinook fishery on the Lower Columbia River below Bonneville Dam closed on July 1 due to a depressed return that’s been running about twenty percent below the anticipated average. Steelhead are still on the move in the lower bends of the river, though, and state law currently allows anglers to keep sockeye and steelhead. From the Megler-Astoria Bridge to Bonneville Dam anglers are allowed a total of six salmon and, or, steelhead a day, while releasing all Chinook. The daily limit for adult fish in the lower river is two adult sockeye salmon or hatchery adult steelhead, or one of each. The rest of the six-fish limit can be filled with hatchery jacks. Last week the best results on the mighty river were had near Longview, with steelhead making up the bulk of that catch.
The sockeye opening and Chinook closure were implemented based on updated data on those salmon runs. Prior to the run fish managers in Washington and Oregon agreed to eliminate the sockeye fishery entirely due to deflated run projections. However, new numbers anticipate a return of 209,000 sockeye this year, which is more than double the 99,000 sockey that were called for in the dire preseason forecast.
“It’s always exciting to see salmon come in above the pre-season forecast,” said WDFW special assistant Bill Tweit, in a press release. “Sockeye can be elusive in the lower river, but anglers generally do well fishing for them from the Tri-Cities to Brewster.”
According to Joe Hymer, a WDFW fish biologist, anglers in the Lower Columbia and its tributaries, would be wise to focus their attention on steelhead.
“This year’s summer steelhead run is expected to be considerably stronger than last year, so we don’t have the same kind of constrictions,” Hymer said in a prospect report. “Anglers can do well fishing from a boat or off a sandbar.”
Columbia River anglers have also been having a good go targeting shad below the Bonneville Dam. More than 5 million shad have been counted below the dam already this year, which is the second largest return on record.
“Shad are fun to catch, and there’s no daily limit,” Hymer noted.
On Monday the WDFW announced an emergency closure that will extend from the mouth of the Cowlitz up to Forest Road 1270, along with the Cispus River and Lake Scanewa until the end of July.
Spring Chinook salmon runs to the Cowlitz River have been depressed in recent years and preseason forecasts again predicted sparse numbers. So far the actual return of spring kings has been even worse than those initial forecasts anticipated.
A press release noted that the fishery was closed in order to “help ensure hatchery broodstock goals are met.” The closure will also allow for adult fish to be trucked upriver above Cowlitz Falls Dam as part of ongoing reintroduction efforts.
The annual fall Chinook run on the Cowlitz River will begin to arrive in August after the spring run ends. Fishery regulations will revert to permanent rules on Aug. 1. All other permanent regulations will remain in effect during July. and anglers can still keep up to three hatchery steelhead per day.
On the Kalama River anglers are currently allowed to keep two adult hatchery Chinook or hatchery coho per day, and up to three hatchery steelhead. Lewis River anglers are prevented from keeping Chinook salmon until Aug. 1 but up to three hatchery steelhead may be harvested per day. The use of floatation devices is also allowed from Johnson Creek to the overhead power lines below Merwin Dam.
North of the Chehalis River there are numerous salmon fisheries that open this month. Several Olympic Peninsula drainages opened up on July 1 including the Quinault, Bogachiel, Calawah, and Dickey rivers, while the Quillayute and Sol Duc rivers in the Quillayute River system were already open for salmon fishing. Anglers can keep two adult fish as part of the six salmon daily limit but must release wild adult chinook and wild adult coho.
Closer to home the Nisqually and Deschutes rivers also opened for salmon fishing on July 1. Anglers fishing these rivers can keep two adult fish as part of a six salmon daily limit, but anglers on the Deschutes River must release all coho. Likewise, anglers on the Nisqually River must release chum, coho, and wild chinook, and the river is closed to salmon fishing on Sundays.
The Chehalis Basin also has several summer steelhead runs that will draw attention from anglers this month. Two of the most popular rivers each summer are the Humptulips and Wynoochee rivers in Grays harbor. In the Lewis County stretch of the Chehalis River bass and trout have been the primary target for fish hungry anglers lately.
If you prefer to catch your salmon while they are still in the salt brine, ocean salmon fishing is slated to remain open all month long in Marine areas 1 (Ilwaco), 2 (Westport), 3 (La Push) and 4 (Neah Bay).
HUNTIN’
During this weeks-long lull in open hunting seasons prospective hunters would be wise to begin their required hunter education training. All hunters born after Jan. 1, 1972 are required to complete a hunter education course prior to purchasing their first hunting license.
Those courses are offered in traditional classroom settings as well as online.In person education courses include applicable exercises and supervised live-firing activities that are taught by WDFW certified instructors. The online courses include the same information but can be completed according to the student’s preferred pace and schedule. Online students are also required to demonstrate their skills during a one-time Field Evaluation Course prior to obtaining a hunting license.
In less than a month the first general hunting season will reopen, marking the beginning of a five month onslaught of hunting opportunities. Black bear hunts will kick off the fall hunting season when they open on Aug. 1 in coastal areas as well as the East Cascades zone. The South Cascades Zone will open two weeks later on Aug. 15.
As always, coyotes are always legal hunting fodder in Washington.
SHRIMPIN’
Several areas of Puget Sound are currently open for recreational shrimp harvesting. Those waters prime for prawn plucking include marine areas 4 (Neah Bay east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line), 5 (western Strait of Juan de Fuca), 6 (Port Angeles Harbor, eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, excluding the Discovery Bay Shrimp District), and 7 West (San Juan Channel, Spieden Channel, Stuart and Waldron islands).
The daily limit for total shrimp harvest in most Puget Sound marine areas is 10 pounds, with a maximum of 80 individual spot shrimp in areas open to spot shrimp harvest. Pot tenders should be aware that some areas are open only for coonstripe and pink shrimp and some depth restrictions are in place. Marine areas 1-3 and 4 (west of Bonilla-Tatoosh line) are open year-round for all species.
On July 6 all recreational shrimp harvests will be closed in Marine Area 6 and Marine Area 7-West. Beginning at 9 p.m. on Friday Marine Area 7-West will close to fishing for all shrimp species. At that same time on Friday Marine Area 6 will close to spot shrimp harvesting, but will remain open for pink and coonstripe shrimp in shallow water 200 feet in depth or less. Those regulation changes were announced after it was discovered that the spot shrimp quota has been reached in both areas.
CRABBIN’
Crabbers also have options for pulling pots in Puget Sound. Currently crab harvests are allowed in marine areas 4 (Neah Bay - East of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line), 5 (Sekiu), 6 (East Juan de Fuca Strait), 8-1 (Deception Pass), 8-2 (Port Susan/Everett), 9 (Port Gamble and Admiralty Inlet), 10 (Seattle/Bremerton), and 12 (Hood Canal).
Marine Area 7 is set to open on July 14 in its southern section around the San Juan Islands and Bellingham, and then on Aug. 16 its northern portion around the Gulf of Georgia is set to open. However, Marine areas 11 (Tacoma/Vashon Island) and 13 (south Sound) will not open this season.
In open areas recreational crabbing in Puget Sound will be open Thursday through Monday each week. Crabbing will be closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays and all gear must be removed from the water on those days.
Marine areas 11 (Tacoma/Vashon Island) and 13 (south Puget Sound) will not open for crab fishing this summer in an effort to allow Dungeness crab populations to rebuild. Conversely, Washington’s ocean waters will remain open to recreational crabbing year-round.
PREVENTIN’
Here at the confluence of hot summer weather and fireworks season agencies from all over the state are sending out urgent reminders for folks to follow fire safety protocol. A county-wide burn ban went into effect in Lewis County on July 1 and beginning June 30 the WDFW acted to restrict fires and other activities on all agency-managed lands in Eastern Washington.
Additionally, several other rules have been temporarily implemented east of the Cascade Mountains. Those firewise rules prohibit:
Fires or campfires, including those in fire rings. Personal camp stoves and lanterns fueled by propane, liquid petroleum, or liquid petroleum gas are allowed.
Smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle.
Welding and operating chainsaws.
Operating a torch with an open flame and all equipment powered by an internal combustion engine.
Operating a motor vehicle away from developed roads. Parking is permitted within designated parking areas only, including developed campgrounds and trailheads, as well as areas without vegetation that are within 10 feet of roadways.
Fireworks are always prohibited on all 33 WDFW wildlife areas along with the more than 700 water access sites they manage in the state. Likewise, fireworks are outlawed on National Forest lands.
“We’re excited to welcome visitors to enjoy their public lands this summer,” said Jim Peña, Pacific Northwest Regional Forester, in a press release. “However, please be safe and responsible with fire. With warm and dry conditions, one small spark can start a wildfire.”
Anyone caught violating the ban on fireworks in National Forests will face a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine and/or up to six months in jail. What’s more, anyone guilty of igniting a wildfire can be held liable for suppression costs.
Visitors to National Forests and other wildlands are encouraged to practice campfire safety techniques since unattended campfires are the leading source of human-caused wildfires on public land. U.S. Forest Service personnel recommend that anyone planning on tending a campfire abide by the following guidelines:
Determine whether campfires are allowed in the area you are visiting since fire restrictions may be in place depending on local conditions.
Keep your campfire small and away from flammable material.
Use a designated campfire ring when available.
Keep water and shovel nearby.
Completely extinguish your campfire by drowning your fire with water and stirring with a shovel.
Make sure your campfire is cold to the touch before leaving it.
PADDLIN’
This summer the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership is offering another round of free public canoe trips on Vancouver Lake and other waterways in an effort to promote a better understanding of the region’s vast aquatic resources.
“Come aboard and help paddle our 29-foot, 12-passenger canoes, led by Estuary Partnership Educators. Enjoy the wildlife and experience the area from a unique on-water perspective,” reads a promotional paragraph on the partnership’s website.
Canoe space is available on a first-come first-serve basis and no paddling experience is required. The partnership provides paddles and life-jackets for all participants and personal flotation devices.
The next round of canoe trips are scheduled for July 17, Aug. 9 and Aug. 15. Pre-registaration can be taken care of online at www.estuarypartnership.org/get-involved/canoe-paddles.
