The weather has been out of character in recent days removing its overcoat and reminding many of the tantalizing charms of spring and summer. Sunday the temperatures hovered near 60, Monday we went past that mark and Tuesday the mercury settled in around 70-degrees. Shorts and sunglasses made rare offseason appearances and bro-hemian tank tops were adorned to those “Warsh-ingtonians” that live by the motto, “Sun’s out, guns out!”
Taken as a whole, the scene was enough to inspire uncontrollable fits of dance amongst sun revelers and poetic raptures from one notoriously five o’clock shadowed photographer and Visuals Editor at The Chronicle. Freshly escaped from his dank cave in the annals of the office in favor of the budding and bucolic sensory of Fort Borst Park, the one and only Pete Caster offered forth the following bleeding pulp words: “A trio of squirrels hangs out on a large tree. … Young adults look at their cell phones as they walk along. … A seagull floats in the final sliver of sunlight.” Sunlight. Camera. Action. It’s poetry in motion, and freeze frame.
While the sun reaches peak intensity midday it is the first ringing note of sunrise that brings me the most joy. Sunrises are nature’s reward for rising with the roosters. Almost any old body can watch a sunset. It’s like showing up for the final act of the play and expecting to comprehend the meaning. Admiring the Omega of sunset while eschewing its Alpha makes the assumption that the end was the point entirely. As if a symphony was condensed to a final crashing chord, or a dance pared back to a finishing move and a predetermined endpoint on the floor, or a life judged on a person’s parting words and demeanor from their deathbed.
I once knew a man who sat on the sea shore draped in a meditative mood. He waited for the sun to sink into the dark waters between here and there, but as the sky grew dark and the crowded beach dissipated the man turned around to see what might be sneaking up behind him. To his astonishment it was the setting sun, settling into the jagged horizon of America. The oblivious man was, of course, sitting on the east coast, staring into what he thought was the future, but it was really the past. The future slipped away while he was waiting for the end.
In this wayward waltz of time we must be sure to dance while the music is playing and ditch the cellphones at every chance. After all it’s better to dance with the one that brought you than to cut in just before the chord.
FISHIN’
Steelhead and an early arriving envoy of spring Chinook are finally starting to pick up the pace on the lower Columbia River system. The recent bout of warm and dry weather has been an immense help in getting river channels back into shape and it would not be surprising to see a strong push of new salmonids writhing up streams when the next wave of water comes falling from the sky and rushing toward the sea.
Smelt were present in the lower Columbia River last week and the comprehensive Lunkers Guide noted that “a few Springers” were caught around Longview. The method of choice for salmon anglers on the big river seems to be trolling cut plugs stuffed with herring behind a flasher. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that the first spring Chinook breached Bonneville Dam on Feb. 4. It was reportedly a 30-inch long, chrome headed wildling.
Up river in the dam pools the effort and results have varied. No effort for steelhead was observed by the WDFW last week at Bonneville but boat anglers in The Dalles and John Day Pools managed to haul in a fair amount of steelies. However, most of those fish were wild and had to be released.
The Cowlitz River welcomed the main run of smelt up its gauntlet last week before local beasts took their turn scooping them from the water. Seals, sea lions and eagles had the first shot at the tiny fish but on Saturday humans were allotted their shot. A six hour dip over the weekend was a bit slower in results but equal in effort to the best dip from last year but the vast majority of dippers still managed to bucket a ten pound limit. Reports from the river bank revealed that some folks did have to move around a bit to find the fish though, with the best hauls coming from between Lexington and Camelot, just below Castle Rock. Those netters averaged one to five pounds per dip. The WDFW estimates that about 3,000 dippers tried their luck during the one day dip. No other smelt dips are planned for the Cowlitz River at this time and all other waters in Washington are closed to eulachon smelt harvesting.
Getting back to bigger fish, last week on the Cowlitz the WDFW tallied 31 bank anglers with one spring Chinook and two winter steelhead bonked in the box. One wild steelhead was released. Out in the current, four boat anglers showed one bonked winter steely. Steelhead were caught throughout the river while the springer came from the lower reaches.
According to the Lunkers Guide the Lewis River was slow last week for harvesting fish, although wild steelhead have been providing some catch and release opportunities. A creel sample conducted by the WDFW confirmed the skinny run. The WDFW checked 32 bank anglers with just two wild steelhead released and two whitefish released. There were no boats observed.
That WDFW creel report also noted four hatchery steelhead kept and 11 wilds released for 46 bank anglers on the Kalama River while 12 boat anglers kept three hatchery steelies and released two wilds. Twelve bank anglers on the Coweeman River released four wild steelhead for their efforts.
Looking west to the Chehalis system the prospects are really pulsing. In the words of the Lunkers Guide, “Wow is the word,” when it comes to the Chehalis itself. “Great numbers of steelies (are) being caught by the plunkers and (it) will be (only) a matter of time before it will be fishable from a floating device.”
The Humptulips has been inundated with wild fish according to the folks at the Lunkers Guide but the Wynoochee is a different story indeed. According to the Lunkers report the ‘Nooch is, “definitely on fire.” Water levels were a bit high but visibility was good and the most successful anglers were predominantly side drifting cured eggs. The Lunkers report added, “As the waters drop remember to stay off the holes and cast far if you want to put any fish in your boat.”
Out on the Skookumchuck the winter steelhead are currently crowded into the little river. “This little system was stuffed full of winters,” noted the Lunkers Guide. “Focus on the upper stretches from the hatchery to the deadline.” The Newaukum River is also said to be chock full of steelhead, although river access can be a challenge. If you can make it to the river one of the best methods to try is to float eggs or jigs.
Looking back to the Columbia River sturgeon season is in a state of flux. February 8 was the final day for sturgeon retention in the Bonneville Pool, but anglers there kept about one legal size fish for every eight rods last week. In the Dalles Pool boat anglers are still catching legal size fish with nearly half of the harvest quota guideline accounted for. Things have been slower in the John Day Pool where only 26 of the 500 allotted sturgeon have been harvested so far this season.
The WDFW also reported that walleye fishing has been “fair to good in The Dalles and John Day pools,” recently. In The Dalles pool one bank angler kept three walleye while 27 boat anglers kept 39 walleye. Boat anglers at John Day were catching nearly one walleye per rod.
Trout fishing continues to provide excellent angling opportunities for those that may be river shy. On Feb. 1 the WDFW stocked Klineline Pond and Battleground Lake in Clark County with 1,800 and 3,000 “catcahble size” rainbow trout respectively.
Peering off the waters and into the boardroom, the WDFW has scheduled a public meeting in Olympia for March 1 in order to discuss salmon forecasts and the season-setting process. Attendees will be able to speak with fishery managers about preseason forecasts and participate in work sessions focused on conservation ideas and options for salmon fisheries. The meeting will run from 9 am through 3 pm in room 172 of the Natural Resources Building at, 1111 Washington Street S.E., Olympia.
HUNTIN’
Targets may be limited during the dark winter of hunting season but there is still much to be done. Some of the offseason work can be fun, like plotting new adventures and acquiring new gear for next season’s adventures.
Mostly though the offseason work is a real drag because it is of the blasted paper variety. The various permit applications and raffles employed by the WDFW in order to dole out limited hunting opportunities can be a real Rubik’s cube of confusion for new hunters, or even experienced hunters who are simply new to the rules that govern Washington’s hunting grounds. Some hunts are open to the generally licensed public and others are subject to drawings based on random chance lotteries. Then again, some of the lotteries even have a weighted point system which incrementally improves a hunter’s odds of winning with every application that they submit.
First on the radar for anxious hunters with rapidly deteriorating cases of cabin fever is the deadline to apply for the spring black bear hunt. Applications for that hunt are due by Feb. 29 and as is typical for these permit scenarios, hunters are required to purchase a special permit application, a 2016 hunting license and a black bear species option in order to qualify. Simply buying in and applying does not guarantee success though since the permit winners are selected via fickle ping pong balls, or some other secret system.
A total of 345 black bear permits will be issued for grounds in western Washington while 509 permits will be assigned to eastern Washington. Permit winners should be notified by mail no later than March 31.
Adding to the tiresome sit down legwork is the necessity for hunters to arrange access to applicable hunting grounds before actually finding out if they have won the lottery. As the WDFW noted in a press release, “Hunters should be aware that private timberland owners in some hunt areas are limiting access or charging fees for access. If you cannot secure access in advance, do not apply for these hunts.”
The ubiquitous timber company of Rayonier holds many of the keys to prime hunting areas on and around the Olympic Peninsula. Hunters selected for the Copalis black bear hunt in particular will need to acquire a recreational use permit from the timber company by calling (855) 729-9453 during regular business hours or by visiting their website at, www.rayonierhunting.com/. If the Kapowsin Tree Farm is closer to your preferred grounds you will need to contact Hancock Forest Management by calling (800) 782-1493, in order to purchase an access permit.
Any assortment of legal modern firearms, bow and quiver or musket can be utilized by properly licensed and permitted hunters during the spring black bear hunt, however, bait boxes and hound dogs are not allowed. Black bear special permit applications require a correct hunt choice number and can be submitted on the WDFW website or by calling 1-877-945-3492.
Next on the to-do list for SAD-suffering sidelined hunters is the multi-season permit deadline on March 31. A multi-season permit allows hunters to prowl with any legal weapon during the corresponding general seasons. By obtaining a multiple-season permit hunters increase their odds of success since they are able to prowl during a wider spectrum of the overall hunting season. The cost for the various multi-season permits fluctuates depending on the specific species combination desired.
Lastly, the deadline for various special hunt permits lies in wait in the tall grass of May 20. Special hunt permits allow hunters the opportunity to venture out of the general seasons in search of black bear, turkeys, deer, elk, moose, mountain goats and bighorn sheep. The number of permits available for each species varies wildly from more than 18,000 for deer and as few as 22 for mountain goats. These permits are amongst those issued via a weighted lottery that rewards return applicants with more ping pong balls.
As tedious as the government mandated paperwork process can be (see: Always is), the reward for having your figurative ducks in a row if well worth the laborious eyebrow furrowing and painful paper cuts. Once the hustle and bustle of hunting season returns, along with a fresh wave of enthusiasm, it is too late to line up any of these special hunting opportunities and you’ll likely wish that you had more hunting days in your pocket. That’s not to say that hunting success is impossible without one, or all of the available special/multiple season permits, but they certainly buoy the odds.
Hunters who are willing to bite the bullet at the kitchen table will likely find their reward out in the field and they’ll laugh as they try to decide which was harder; Filling out the reams of required paperwork or packing their newfound quarry out of the wild country.
Prospective hunters can file their permit paperwork online at, https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/, by phone at 1-866-246-9453, or through any retail license vendor.
CLAMMIN’
The great late-winter clam dig of 2016 is still spurting along. Four more weeks of digging opportunities are still covered in Long Beach sand and diggers were just recently gifted another short set of (proposed) digging dates at Copalis Beach.
The digs at Copalis are subject to a final round of marine toxin testing. The upcoming dig at Copalis is tentatively scheduled on the following dates, pending favorable marine toxin results:
• Feb. 19, Friday, 4:33 p.m.; 0.0 feet, Copalis
• Feb. 20, Saturday, 5:17 p.m.; -0.1 feet, Copalis
To the south, Long Beach will remain open through March 10 for diggers looking to stock up on the succulent bivalve. Digging is best one to two hours prior to the evening low tide and on days when the tide is one foot or lower. No digging is allowed before noon.
“Diggers should always check the weather before heading to the beach and be mindful of surf conditions while digging,” said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for the WDFW, in a press release.
The next week of digs at Long Beach will adhere to the following schedule:
• Feb. 11, Thursday, 8:34 p.m.; -0.1 feet
• Feb. 12, Friday, 9:17 p.m.; 0.6 feet
• Feb. 13, Saturday, 10:04 p.m.; 1.4 feet
• Feb. 14, Sunday, 10:58 p.m.; 2.2 feet
• Feb. 15, Monday, 12:16 p.m.; 1.1 feet
• Feb. 16, Tuesday, 1:30 p.m.; 1.0 feet
• Feb. 17, Wednesday, 2:40 p.m.; 0.7 feet
SNOWIN’
The past week has been subpar for powder heads but sun bunnies have been abundant on area slopes. Record high temperatures put a hurtin’ on fresh snow early this week and groomers have been hard pressed to keep up. Still, those that like spring-like conditions have been frolicking in the unseasonably warm conditions.
White Pass was experiencing sunny skies Wednesday with an paradoxical temperature inversion that had the mercury climbing to 45 degrees at the summit but just 35 degrees at the base of the runs.
Every other peak in the region was subject to similar conditions midweek. Mt. hood was between 44 and 36-degrees with a dash of wind Wednesday while Crystal Mountain was warm with a drizzle. However, Crystal was the only peak with a chance of snow popping up on the weekend forecast.
Snoqualmie Summit ranged from 30 to 39-degrees on Wednesday with a fair amount of slush puddling up the mountain. Stevens Pass was even warmer, topping out at 45-degrees with light rain on Wednesday. All the way up north Mt. Baker was a poached 50 degrees on Wednesday while Hurricane Ridge was hovering around 37-degrees with no new snow to show.
WILDLIFERS
The Colville Tribes of central Washington have recently reintroduced the long gone antelope to the state’s wildlife lineup. Antelopes, the fastest land mammal in North America, were released back in January. Now at least 52 of the pronghorn ungulates are roaming wild.
One century ago antelope were harangued nearly to extinction in the wild west. Overhunting and extensive habitat loss pushed the animals to the brink before reintroduction efforts began boosting their numbers. If successful Washington will be one of the last states to bring antelopes back.
Previously, the Yakima Nation and an outdoors group introduced about 100 of the animals near Toppenish in 2011 but that effort has so far failed to take hold. If those two efforts can manage to gain a cloven hoof hold, then once again there may be some idyllic home on the range where the deer and the antelope play. As always, seldom will be heard a discouraging word.
In other wild news, 2015 was the deadliest year on record in regard to shark attacks. At least 98 shark attacks were reported worldwide in the last year with a minimum of six deaths. Brave Pacific Northwest beachgoers have little to fear besides the cold though, as Florida (30) accounted for the lion’s share of shark attacks in the U.S.
