Springtime has a notoriously difficult time making up its mind. Like a spurned lover on the rebound it can’t figure out whether to stay stuck in the cold past or begin looking forward to better days. Songbirds serve as an audiophile’s barometer and signal the true end of each aggressive succession of rain storms.
It’s a sign that does not go unnoticed by stir crazy parents with toddlers suffering from cabin fever.
Mammas and pappas pace and babes spend the day window watching while rain clouds roll by. Whenever raindrops refract rainbows and songbirds rejoice in chorus they all rush outside to drink up the sun. Eventually though, the domestics are forced to concede defeat. They make a retreat, and shake like soggy dogs as they strip away layers of mud caked clothes when the cold-hearted, fickle winds wash out earnest attempts at adventures.
As the days grow longer though, so do the sun breaks. And in due course the grass grows tall and the dandelions begin to roar. Likewise, skeleton bushes regain their form and resurgent trees regrow their supple buds. Soon a dizzying array of busy bees join the songbirds on the wing. They spend their days fastidiously making the rounds to gather protein packed pollen and sweet-sweet nectar as they surreptitiously pollinate the buds of fruits and filberts, wildflowers and common weeds. Sometimes they zip about. Other times they bumble. Sometimes there are early birds. Other times there are night owls. In between, the calming coo of mourning doves wafts down from the tree tops.
Then, on the seventh sunny day of each eternally late blooming spring a militia of masked men wearing tattered uniforms of flannel and denim descended upon the dwindling green spaces a world attempting to remain untamed. In the concrete jungle of cities and the rolling green belts of the countryside the militiamen move in unspoken synchronization with power pump backpacks full of poison. Sometimes the backpack isn’t enough, so they use trucks, ATVs, and tractors in order to tote ever more of the sinister sauces around.
The radical extremists wage their unending war on nature. They terrorize patches of green clover, swatches of blue camas, bursts of yellow mane dandy lions, and any other flora they deem undesirable in a holy grail crusade to turn every verdant patch of luscious ground cover into a pointless putting green.
Doomed broadleaves begin to brown. Precious flower pods wither and fall away after unsuspecting bees drink from their tainted well of nectar and the insidious residues that coat their imperiled petals. Naive picnickers spread out on the contaminated patchwork and feast upon wild foraged forest ham sandwiches with hands soaked in synthetic pest-and-herbicides.
When the eighth sunny spring day finally rolled around all was still. A curious sour metallic scent permeated the stagnant air at dawn. The skies remained silent and still. Not even the mourning doves could muster a song on that sad spring day and mammas refused to let their babies come out to play.
In the hanging fog of war, guerrilla militants claimed a brave victory over the intolerable whims of their common enemy, Nature. A press release claimed the grass had never been greener.
FISHIN’
On May 1, the Chehalis River opened up for a spring Chinook salmon fishery and the weather has cooperated to bring the water back into shape just in time for anglers who are eager to try their luck.
The run is not a record breaker but passed muster with fishery officials in order to allow up to two months of recreational fishing opportunity. A press release from the WFDW read in part, “The forecasted abundance of spring chinook returning to the Chehalis River basin is sufficient to support this fishery.”
Spring kings will be open to sport harvest until dusk on June 30 unless otherwise noted by the WDFW. That Chinook salmon fishery will extend from the mouth of the river at the Highway 101 Bridge up to the Highway 6 Bridge in Adna. The minimum size for spring Chinook is 12 inches and the daily limit is one salmon. Steelhead and other gamefish fisheries will remain unchanged.
Over at the sporting goods desk in Chehalis last week, fish whisperer Jerry Barr said that the spring Chinook are prone to loiter in the lower Chehalis River in Grays Harbor for a time before making their run up toward Lewis County.
“They’ll be up here pretty soon if they are in there. The thing is, are they coming in?” said Barr. “Any of the spots that you would normally catch kings in the Chehalis they are going to be there.”
On a related note, Barr recently announced his resignation from the ubiquitous sporting goods store. On behalf of all dedicated FishRap readers, I extend my sincere gratitude to Barr for all of the on point insight and oversized fish tales he has told to curious anglers over the years.
Meanwhile, according to Andy Coleman of Andy’s Angling Adventures, the best spring king fishing on the Chehalis River near the Twin Cities is actually in South Thurston County.
“Most guys fish around the Independence country out of a boat if the water is good,” said Coleman. “Bank anglers fish the mouth of the Newaukum area and do the best throwing spinners and bait.”
However, Coleman, who grew up in Mossyrock, is remaining loyal to his native Cowlitz River until the late spike in steelhead fishing crashes.
“Steelhead fishing has been decent the last few weeks on the Cowlitz (for) the guys fishing around the Blue Creek area throwing bait and back trolling coon shrimp,” noted Coleman. He said he hit the water on Sunday and hooked five steelies and landed three, including a sizeable and ahead of schedule summer steelhead
“Hopefully that is a good sign that we are going to see some decent numbers this year,” he added.
Coleman said that the spring Chinook run has continued to be slow to develop on the Cowlitz River, if the results on his boat are any indication. He noted that his boat has been averaging just one or two hookups with springers per day, when he typically hooks five to eight kings per day this time of year.
“The lower river has had some rumors of decent numbers the last week hoping to see those fish in the next day or two in the upper river,” said Coleman.
The daily limit on most Lower Columbia River tributaries is two hatchery adult chinook, although the limit is just one king on the Cowlitz.
On the mainstem Lower Columbia River all salmon fishing is currently off limits but the upriver return of springers has improved dramatically recently. Regardless, the daily return of 996 spring Chinook as of April 25 was still the lowest rate since at least 1980. For comparison, the ten year average is 29,538 springers and the five year average is 28,875 springers. WDFW stats also show that total upriver passage of the spring Chinook run is typically at least 13 percent by this time of year.
Sturgeon fishing will soon tempt area anglers as the lower Columbia River is set to open for river monster harvest intermittently in May and June. Currently there are eight sport sturgeon fishing days alloted in May and two days in June with a limit of one legal-sized sturgeon per day, and a total of two sturgeon per year. All keeper sturgeon must measure between 44 and 50 inches from their snout to the fork in their tail. Those Lower Columbia River sport sturgeon fisheries are slated for the Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays of May 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 30, plus June 2 and 4. That fishery will be open from the Wauna powerlines to the mouth of the river at Buoy 10, including Youngs Bay and all adjacent Washington tributaries. Legal sturgeon fishing will end at 2 p.m. each day, but catch-and-release sturgeon angling will still be allowed on non-retention days.
Lowland lake season opened up last Saturday and most of the 16.5 million trout stocked by the WDFW are still lurking in murky ponds. Locally Fort Borst Park Pond, Carlisle Lake, and Mineral Lake are all teeming with fresh planted fish, as are many year-round lakes off the beaten path. The state’s six month long fishing derby also began last Saturday. That derby rewards anglers with prizes for catching specially tagged trout. Local waters with tagged trout include Fort Borst Park Pond, Mayfield Lake, South Lewis County Park Pond, and Swofford Pond in Lewis County, as well as Kress Lake and Horseshoe Lake in Cowlitz County.
South Lewis County Park Ponds is set to close from May 10 through 2 p.m. on May 12. That closure will precede the annual youth fishing derby so that crews can stock hatchery trout for kiddos to catch.For information email penny_lancaster@msn.com .
Warmwater fishing has been hot in the Columbia River dam pools but anglers have also been having success on area lakes. In Cowlitz County, Silver Lake has been putting plenty of yellow perch on plates, even though the crappie bite has been, well, not good. Lacamas Lake is also reportedly doing well for largemouth bass and some panfish have been biting at Kress Lake. The bass bite has also been improving at Swofford Pond, although trout are still the best bet there. Additionally, the first tiger musky has already been reported at Mayfield Lake, and prospects for those monstrosities will continue to improve in the East Lewis County reservoir and in Merwin Reservoir as the temperatures trend up.
ROTTIN’
Late last week the WDFW announced that the first case of elk hoof rot has been discovered in Eastern Washington. That debilitating and fatal disease has spread to 11 counties in Western Washington over the last decade.
A press release noted that lab results from a deformed hoof combined with direct in field observations of limping elk have combined to confirm the presence of the disease in Trout Lake valley of Klickitat County.
"This is a huge concern for us and a lot of other people," said Eric Gardner, head of the WDFW fish and wildlife program, in a press release. "This is a terrible disease and there's no vaccine to prevent it and no proven options for treating free-ranging elk in the field."
The WDFW has decided to euthanize any elk showing signs of the disease near the small town of Trout Lake, which is roughly 57 miles southeast of Randle, in order to prevent the malady from continuing to spread east.
"This is the first time the department has tried to stop the advance of the disease by removing affected elk," said Kyle Garrison, WDFW hoof disease coordinator, in the release. "There's no guarantee of success, but we believe a rapid response might contain this outbreak given the isolation of Trout Lake and the low prevalence of elk showing symptoms of the disease."
Garrison said the WDFW may remove up to 20 elk with symptoms sometime in May.
The first indication of the disease east of the Cascades was discovered on April 4 when a resident in Trout Lake sent in a deformed hoof from an elk that had been killed in a vehicle collision.
"We need to act quickly if we hope to get ahead of this situation," Garrison added. "Elk in lowland areas begin to disperse into summer grazing areas by the end of May."
The WDFW plans to confer with landowners in the area in order to discuss their action plan and gain access to private property. The department plans to contract with USDA Wildlife Services to euthanize symptomatic elk, and Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine has agreed to test tissue samples.
"The college is cooperating with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and other agencies in accordance with direction from the Washington Legislature to research elk hoof disease," said WSU Dean Bryan Slinker, in a release.
A public meeting is scheduled on Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at the WDFW regional office located at 5525 S. 11th St. in Ridgefield.
HUNTIN’
While spring turkey hunts continue on both sides of the state, many hunters are already looking forward to prize hunts in the fall. That’s because May 23 is the final day to submit special permit applications for deer, elk, mountain goat, moose, bighorn sheep and turkeys.
Permits are doled out by random drawing based on a cumulative points system. In order to apply hunters who plan to target deer or elk must first purchase a hunting license for those species.
Applications can be purchased from vendors or from the WDFW website. Applications can then be submitted online or by calling 1-877-945-3492.
Most special hunt permit applications cost $7.10 for residents, $110.50 for non-residents, and $3.80 for hunters under 16 years of age. However, residents purchasing applications for mountain goats, any bighorn sheep ram, any moose, and "quality" categories for deer and elk will have to pay $13.70.
Of course if you’re still stalking turkeys the general spring hunt has a combined limit of three birds for the season, of which only two may be taken from Eastern Washington, with the exception of Chelan, Kittitas, and Yakima counties where only one tom may be killed per person. A one turkey limit is also applicable in Western Washington, although two turkeys may be taken in Klickitat County. Only male turkeys, or those with visible beards, are legal for hunting.
What’s more, cougar hunts finally came to an end with the close of April. However, coyote season is a never ending story.
BIRDIN’
May 5 is Global Big Day where everyday citizens are encouraged to count bird species. The event is sponsored by eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and other groups. Bird-noters of all levels are encouraged to spend at least ten minutes, or the full 24 hours counting bird species that can be heard anywhere they happen to be. The goals is to increase data in a scientific database.
Additionally, on May 12 birdwatchers will again be called upon to celebrate the fine feathered friends. That date will mark the 25th annual International Migratory Bird Day, when birdwatchers and twitchers alike celebrate the nearly 350 species that travel from their wintering grounds in the southern United States to summer nesting grounds in the hinterlands.
This year’s theme is “The Year of the Bird”. Additional information can be found online at www.timeanddate.com/holidays/un/migratory-bird-day.
