January 21 - February 3, 2004

Contact: Margaret Ainscough, (360) 902-2408

The quiet of winter offers outdoor enthusiasts an opportunity to try a new pasttime in the field or on the water-squid jigging, smelt dipping or taking an outing to watch birds, elk or even bighorn sheep are all options for this time of year.

Those who want to stick to fishing have their choice of a number of steelhead opportunities on the west side of the state, especially on the Olympic Peninsula where wild fish are beginning to show in some rivers.

Close-up viewing of elk is available at the winter feeding station on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's (WDFW) Oak Creek Wildlife Area just northwest of Yakima off Highway 12.

Deer, elk, bear and turkey hunters, with their seasons behind them, are reminded mandatory reports on 2003 hunting activity are due Jan. 31, even for hunters who were unsuccessful or who didn't hunt after buying their tags. Reports may be submitted by phone at (877) 945-3492, or electronically at http://www.fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/.

Here is a roundup of current recreational opportunities around the state:

North Puget Sound:

• Fishing: Steelhead fishing has been slow, despite improving streamflow conditions. Plunkers took a few hatchery fish on the lower Skagit between Mount Vernon and Sedro Woolley as recently as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but the best fishing for hatchery steelies might be on the upper river. The Green River has produced a few hatchery "brats" as well. Remember that several streams have been closed to all gamefish fishing, including steelhead fishing, because hatchery broodstock requirements have not been met yet. The rivers affected by the closure include the Cascade River from its mouth upstream to the Rockport Cascade Road bridge; the Skykomish River from 1,500 feet upstream and 1,000 feet downstream of the Reiter Ponds outlet; the upper Wallace River, from the railroad trestle that's downstream of the Highway 2 bridge upstream to the mouth of Olney Creek; the mainstem Snoqualmie River from the Plum Access boat launch ramp to Snoqualmie Falls; and Tokul Creek, from its mouth to the posted cable boundary marker, which is about 700 feet upstream of the mouth. There are other fish to catch if the steelheading is slow. Anglers can still find a few whitefish in some streams. There's a 15-fish daily limit and no minimum size for whitefish, which can be caught on eggs, maggots, small wet fly patterns or small lures. Fans of Dolly Varden have been catching some of these beautiful fish on the Skagit between Lyman and Rockport. Anglers can keep two Dollies (minimum size 20 inches) as part of their trout daily limit. Be sure to check the 2003/04 "Fishing in Washington" regulation pamphlet for details on Dolly Varden fishing and retention. Blackmouth fishing has been improving in Marine Area 10 (Seattle-Bremerton), which is the only portion of the region currently open to fishing. Anglers have been finding fish along the Kitsap County side of Puget Sound, from Kingston south toward the northern end of Bainbridge Island. Come Feb. 1, just about all of the region re-opens to fishing for blackmouth. The only exceptions to the Feb. 1 opener are marine areas 8-2 (Port Susan-Port Gardner) and 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island), where blackmouth fishing resumes Feb. 14. All areas have a one-fish daily limit and a 22-inch minimum length when open. Squid jigging remains productive on Puget Sound piers, including locations on the downtown Seattle waterfront, and piers at Des Moines, Edmonds and Kayak Point. Squid fishing is open year 'round with a daily limit of five quarts or 10 pounds. Legal gear is a forage fish jig, a maximum of four squid lures, and a forage fish dip net or a hand dip net. Each harvester must have a separate container for their catch.

• Hunting: The general duck and goose-hunting seasons in the region wrap up Jan. 25. Strong numbers of brant geese in Skagit County cleared the way for a five-day hunt this month - Jan. 17, 18, 21, 24 and 25. Brant hunters need written authorization to go after these small, maritime geese. Hunters who purchased elk, deer, black bear or turkey tags in 2003 are required to submit their hunting data by Jan. 31. All hunters are required to report - whether they hunted or not. Hunters may report by either telephoning toll-free at 1(877) 945-3492 or on the Internet at http://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov

• Wildlife viewing: A tremendous variety of birds can still be found feeding and resting throughout the region, and viewing opportunities should improve in late January once waterfowl hunting seasons have ended. Birders in the lower Skagit Valley can expect to see thousands of noisy snow geese bunched together in fallow agricultural fields, while small groups of swans (both trumpeter and tundra) are spread out in the same general area. Maritime birders can expect to see large groups of waterfowl, including mallard and wigeon, Canada geese and brant geese. Birders stalking the saltchuck might also see a peregrine falcon or merlin chasing after shorebirds for a meal. Farther inland, one of the biggest concentrations of bald eagles in the continental United States is still on display along the Skagit River. While eagles can be seen roosting in the big cottonwoods along the lower Skagit, the stretch of river from Marblemount to Rockport has had the greatest number of eagles recently. It's almost time for the annual Skagit Bald Eagle Festival, Feb. 7-8 in Rockport. The weekend event is centered at the Bald Eagle Interpretive Center in Rockport, just off State Route 20. Featuring guided walks, lectures, entertainment, food concessions and more, the festival provides both novice and seasoned wildlife-watchers with one of the best opportunities to see eagles and learn more about our nation's symbol. More information is available by calling (360) 853-7283 Monday through Thursday, or (360) 853-7077 Friday through Sunday. Information can also be found online at http://www.skagiteagle.org/ on the Internet. One birder reporting to the Tweeters birdwatching website saw an "albinistic" red-tailed hawk just east of milepost 24 on I-90 in King County. Backyard feeders are still teeming with birdlife, including jays, juncos, chickadees, nuthatches, sparrows and finches.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:

• Fishing: The annual transition from hatchery steelhead to wild fish has begun throughout the region, with the latter making up an increasing share of the catch. This change has been especially apparent on the Sol Duc River, where 47 anglers caught 18 wild steelhead - but just one hatchery fish - during the third weekend in January. Elsewhere on the north coast, creel checks that weekend found that 112 anglers fishing the Bogachiel-Quillayute system caught 16 wild steelhead and 25 hatchery fish (releasing 10 of them), while 21 anglers fishing the Calawah River caught three wild and six hatchery steelhead. "River conditions on all of those systems are near ideal, and fishing should pick up as wild steelhead arrive in the days ahead," said Bill Freymond, WDFW fish biologist. Less certain are prospects for the Hoh River, where the water is still dirty from mudslides caused by recent storms, Freymond said. Thirty-two anglers caught just one steelhead there during the weekend of Jan. 17. "Some cold, clear weather could help clear things up on the Hoh, but right now it's extremely dirty," Freymond said. Wild steelhead are also beginning to move into rivers farther south, although high stream flows have continued to make many of those rivers unfishable, said Scott Barbour, the WDFW fish biologist for that area. Cases in point include the Chehalis, Wynoochee, Satsop and Humptulips rivers, all of which are still running high from winter storms. "First the snow melted, then it started to rain," Barbour said. "We're seeing some nice wild fish moving into these rivers, but flows are going to have to come down for them to be fishable." For rivers where retention of wild steelhead is allowed, the general rule is two steelhead per day - only one of which can be a wild fish - and five wild steelhead per season. Freymond noted, however, that regulations vary river by river, and that some streams - including the Elwha, Dungeness, Clallam and Lyre on the north coast - are closed to retention of wild steelhead year 'round. He strongly advises anglers to check the WDFW Fishing in Washington rulebook before heading out. For those intent on fishing the Chehalis River, Barbour suggests rigging up for sturgeon, which have been following smelt upstream from Grays Harbor. "It's not like the Columbia River fishery, but I've seen some real monsters come out of the Chehalis River," Barbour said. Meanwhile, saltwater anglers have reported fair fishing for blackmouth off the shore of the Kitsap Peninsula since Marine Area 10 opened Dec. 16, while catch rates for blackmouth have remained low farther south in Marine Area 13. According to WDFW estimates, nearly 24,000 people showed up on coastal beaches to dig razor clams Sunday, Jan. 18, the first day of a three-day opening this month. Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager, said no future openings will be announced until department biologists complete an assessment of how many clams are still available for harvest. But one thing is for sure: Mockrocks Beach, like Copalis Beach, will be closed for the remainder of the season, Ayres said. "Diggers took 138,000 razor clams from Mockrocks in just two days," Ayres said. "That brings that beach right up to its harvest allocation for the year." In other shellfish news, the sport clam season at West Dewatto Beach, originally planned for Jan. 1 to May 31, has been closed for the entire year because the population of legal-sized littleneck clams is down significantly from levels surveyed last summer. The sport oyster season at West Dewatto remains open year 'round, but oyster seasons at four other beaches have been reduced to coincide with clam seasons, thereby facilitating closer enforcement. They include:
  • Potlatch Department of Natural Resources tidelands, originally year-round, has been changed to April 1 through June 15.
  • Hope Island State Park, originally open year-round, has been changed to April 1 through May 31.
  • Sequim Bay State Park, originally open year-round, has been changed to May 1 through June 15.
  • South Indian Island County Park and adjacent tidelands, originally open year-round, has been changed to April 1 through June 30.

• Hunting: Waterfowl hunters have been reporting "20-minute limits" as the clock runs down on the 2003-04 season. With seasons set to end Jan. 25 for geese in Management Area 3 and ducks throughout the state, bird hunting in the interior valleys has "really caught fire" since the last freeze, said Greg Shirato, WDFW wildlife biologist. "The birds are really hunter- and decoy-shy now at the end of the season, but hunters who take care with their camouflage are doing well." Meanwhile, WDFW is reminding hunters they must file hunting activity reports by Jan. 31 for each 2003 elk, deer, black bear or turkey tag they purchased. All hunters who purchased a tag - whether they hunted or not - are required to submit their report. Hunters may report by either telephoning toll-free at 1(877) 945-3492 or on the Internet at http://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov.

• Wildlife viewing: The weather may not be very inviting, but that doesn't seem to stop avid birdwatchers from burning up the highway in pursuit of their avocation. One contributor to the Tweeters website reported seeing 64 different species on a driving trip from Seattle to Ocean Park on a recent weekend. Highlights of that trip included six bald eagles, a red-tailed hawk and a merlin at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge; 90 marbled godwits, three greater yellowlegs and four black-bellied plovers outside Raymond; a kingfisher and five trumpeter swans near South Bend, and a downy woodpecker, a varied thrush and a congregation of Anna's hummingbirds around a feeder at Ocean Park. Another contributor made the trip from Elma to Midway Beach to see the gyrfalcon that has been attracting the attention of birdwatchers throughout the region. The birder from Elma didn't spot the gyrfalcon that day, but did see a peregrine falcon go after a large flock of dunlin, a bald eagle perching on a driftwood snag and red-wing blackbirds singing from atop a stand of cattails. A third birder didn't venture far from her home in Bremerton, but nonetheless observed dozens of common goldeneye, horned grebes and a pair of surf scoters landing, wings upright, on Dyes Inlet near Tracyton. One thing that birders haven't seen lately is the pair of rare (for these parts) pink-footed geese at Bowerman Basin that produced 454 confirmed sightings over the past month. The pair, which some speculated was blown off-course during a flight from Greenland, was last seen on the beach near Hoquiam on Jan. 12. Now, birders have turned their attention to a black-backed gull in Renton. Road trip, anyone?

Southwest Washington:

• Fishing: Now that severe cold weather has broken, steelhead are starting to move again, particularly in the Kalama and Cowlitz rivers, says Joe Hymer, regional fish biologist. Between Jan. 16-20, a total of 178 first-time arrivals and 153 recaps (already handled one time) hatchery winter steelhead returned to Kalama Falls Hatchery. All the fish were recycled downstream for additional angling opportunity. On the Cowlitz River, 40 winter-run steelhead were released into the Tilton River at Gust Backstrom Park in Morton during the week of Jan. 13-19. A total of 113 winter-run steelhead, one winter-run steelhead jack and two summer-run steelhead were recycled downstream to the Olequa boat launch. Jan. 31 is the last day to fish for hatchery steelhead and hatchery sea-run cutthroat trout in Blue Creek, a Cowlitz River tributary. Other good prospects for catching a winter-run hatchery steelhead include the Grays, Elochoman, Lewis (east and north forks), Washougal and White Salmon rivers and Salmon Creek. Smelt could appear in the tributaries at any time, although reports have been sketchy to date. Dippers can get recorded updates on where the smelt show up by calling 360-696-6211 and pressing *1010. Dipping is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a 20-pound daily limit (about two-thirds of a five-gallon bucket). No fishing license is required. Fishers are reminded to respect landowners' property including parking areas. Sturgeon anglers, meanwhile, continue to be hampered by cold water temperatures, which slow the big fishes' bite. On Jan. 20, the water at Bonneville Dam was a cool 36 degrees. From Portland to Longview only four legal-size fish were found among 101 boats (mostly incomplete trips) in a mid-January check by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Columbia Gorge anglers fared even worse, with no legal sturgeon counted among 34 boats. Things were slightly rosier at Bonneville Pool, where a check showed four legal-size fish handled among 17 boats. For the warmest water and slightly better chances of success on the lower Columbia, Hymer advises anglers to head to the plume of the Willamette from the Vancouver to Woodland area. "Basically, we're just going to have to wait until the water warms up a bit," Hymer said. Sturgeon anglers from the Wauna powerlines upstream to Bonneville Dam are reminded retention is allowed seven days per week through January. Beginning Feb. 1, sturgeon in that section of the lower Columbia may be retained only on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through July 31. While they're waiting for the sturgeon bite to pick up, anglers can pass the time on one of the lakes that have been recently stocked with rainbow trout. Waters stocked the week of Jan. 12 include Klineline Pond in Hazel Dell (2,500 catchable size fish); Sacajawea Lake in Longview (180 broodstock trout averaging six pounds apiece, and another 38 trout averaging 10 pounds each); Horseshoe Lake in Woodland (1,500 catchable-size trout); and Battle Ground Lake (3,200 catchable size, 120 broodstock fish averaging 5.6 pounds and 120 trout averaging 10 pounds apiece). For updated weekly fish plant information check the WDFW website.

• Hunting: The most important task facing hunters this month is remembering to file their mandatory hunting activity report for each 2003 deer, elk, bear and turkey tag they purchased. See the recent WDFW news release for details. Goose hunting is about to close for the season (on Jan. 24 in Area 2A and Jan. 25 in Area 3). The season wraps up with Canada goose action generally down from last year. Both numbers of hunters and numbers of geese checked were lower than last year for the same number of hunting days. Overall, hunter numbers are 66 percent below last year, and the geese harvest is 54 percent less than in 2002, according to Regional Wildlife Manager Fred Dobler. Weather, hunt-season timing, and flyway population dynamics all influence harvest figures.

• Wildlife viewing: Steelhead are reported jumping at Lucia Falls on the East Fork of the Lewis River. Access is available through a county park located five miles northeast of Battle Ground on Lucia Falls Road. A Tweeters website correspondent reports sighting 11 white-throated sparrows Jan. 19 on an outing from Woodland to Cougar. At Lyon's Park several more white-throated sparrows were seen, along with 14 California quail. On back roads in the area, a clay-colored sparrow was seen in a weedy ditch. Other birds spotted included two Cooper's hawks, a Thayer's gull, great egrets and approximately 500 sandhill cranes. At Merwin Dam, 51 Barrow's goldeneyestree swallows and three barn swallows were spotted the same day at Ridgefield River "S" Unit. At the Vancouver Lake Lowland, a greater white-fronted goose, one Eurasian wigeon and five canvasback were seen at Post Office Lake.

Eastern Washington:

• Fishing: Fishing has been good recently on Lake Roosevelt for kokanee and rainbow trout, but that's about the extent of the good fishing news in this region. Poor weather has kept steelheaders off the Snake River system in the south end of the region, and fluctuating temperatures have made ice unsafe on most lakes in the north end. WDFW fish biologist Mark Schuck of Dayton reports that most fishing in the southeast Washington tributaries is "pretty bleak." Rivers like the Touchet and Tucannon are ice cold, and the Lower Touchet and Walla Walla are hampered by ice-dams, Schuck said. "The main Snake is so cold there is little or no fish movement going on," he added. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has closed and drained the fish ladders at the Snake dams for annual inspections and repair work. "This often concerns anglers," Schuck said, "but, with the cold weather, this is the best time for that work to occur. The fish ladders are usually functional again by the first of March when things start to warm up and fish begin thinking about heading toward their spawning grounds." WDFW fish biologist Joe Bumgarner's latest creel checks of steelheaders "brave enough to get out" showed an average of just over seven hours of fishing per steelhead caught on the Walla Walla River, just over nine hours per fish caught on the Tucannon River, and about 21 hours of effort per catch on the Snake mainstem from Ice Harbor to Lower Monumental Dam. Up north, WDFW fish biologist Curt Vail reports "ice on the lakes is not looking good." Vail says some desperate anglers are out, but he wouldn't be joining them anytime soon. "There hasn't been more than three inches of solid ice," Vail said, "and the frozen slush on top of that does not make five inches of good ice." WDFW enforcement officer Lenny Hahn reports similar conditions in the central district of the region. Ice appears thin and risky, he says, although some fishers are still out testing their luck. "The usual trail that ice fishermen have been taking from Eloika Lake's shoreline is all open water now," he said. Rock Lake in Whitman County is completely open for boat launching, he noted, although fishers will want to have four-wheel drive to negotiate the mud at the access. Hahn checked one fly angler at Rock Lake who used a Kataraft to get into the lake and was catching several good-sized brown trout.

• Hunting: Last call for waterfowl hunters, as duck and goose seasons end Jan. 25. Recent rain and snow may have moved birds around enough to provide some productive final days in the blinds. The Tri-Cities area, at the confluence of the Columbia, Snake and Yakima rivers, is probably the best bet. All other hunting seasons are closed, but deer, elk, black bear, and turkey tag hunting holders have a date to remember: Jan. 31 is the deadline for submitting the required hunting reports, whether or not they were successful or even whether they hunted or not.

• Wildlife viewing: WDFW wildlife biologist Todd Baarstad reports that Lincoln County has some good wildlife viewing opportunities this time of year. Several bighorn sheep, including mature rams, can be seen around the town of Lincoln near the shores of Lake Roosevelt. Bands of mule deer can be seen feeding at mid-day along the edges of agricultural areas. Coyotes are easy to spot throughout the county's snow-covered wide-open spaces, and they are pairing up now to breed. Rough-legged hawks and other birds of prey are cruising the countryside to make meals of rodents or smaller birds. Hungarian partridge, horned larks, and sometimes an occasional snow bunting or longspur are often spotted on roadsides gathering grit.

North Central Washington:

• Fishing: Is it the fishing that's slow or the fishermen? Raw weather is keeping most anglers inside these days - and from a safety standpoint, that might be the best thing. The Potholes Reservoir's Mardon Resort operator Mike Meseberg relays this in his last weekly report: "We have an ice cap on all of Potholes for the first time since the mid-1990s," he said in his report. "Most of this ice is questionable. Some brave ice fishermen have been catching walleye and perch at Long Lake, Soda Lake and in the Lind Coulee arm of Potholes Reservoir. The ice is safe in some areas, but conditions as temperatures rise. Be very careful walking on the ice. One friend of mine said the best technique to test the ice is to walk 25 feet behind a 350-pound ice fisherman. If he makes it, you'll have no problem. I'm very nervous about people walking on the ice in our entire area. Some of these old Minnesota ice fishermen say 'Ya, dat ice is yust fine.'"

• Hunting: The last mid-winter waterfowl survey of the upper Columbia Basin found lots of ice, very little open water and greatly reduced duck numbers, reports WDFW wildlife biologist Ron Friesz. Mallard numbers were estimated at 20,000, with the largest concentrations on Columbia National Wildlife Refuge (8,500), North Franklin County Hunt Clubs (4,000) and Wanapum Pool (3,500). The Columbia River also had good numbers of divers and widgeon. The interior waters of the basin - including Potholes Reservoir and Moses Lake - were mostly frozen. Most of the Frenchman Hills and Winchester Wasteways were also frozen, but areas of open water were holding some mallards and gadwall. Duck and goose hunting seasons end Jan. 25. All other hunting seasons are closed, but deer, elk, black bear, and turkey tag hunting holders have a date to remember: Jan. 31 is the deadline for submitting the required hunting reports, whether you were successful or not and even whether you hunted or not.

• Wildlife viewing: Birdwatchers may want to take a break from scanning the skies of the Columbia Basin by attending the third annual Coulee Corridor Scenic Byway celebration Jan. 31 at the Ephrata Recreation Center. (The Coulee Corridor Scenic Byway co-sponsored the birding trail map of the area with the Audubon Society.) Starting at 4:30 p.m. (when it's almost too dim to see birds), the event includes displays from the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, Ice Age Floods Institute, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Central Basin Audubon Society and other Coulee Corridor partners. A free baked-potato dinner, featuring locally grown foods, will be served just before featured storytelling, with a "Coulee Corridor Cultural Diversity from Thespian to Tribal Folklore Stories" theme. The program includes Elders of the Colville Confederated Tribes and the Masquers Theatre Group of Soap Lake. A hand made quilt featuring beautiful birds representative of the Coulee Corridor will be raffled. This event is free but requires an RSVP to Tim Alling in Grand Coulee at 509-633-3655 or Rita Tuller at Ephrata Chamber of Commerce 509-754-4656.

South Central Washington:

• Fishing: "Fishing is a little slow here in the southcentral region now," says WDFW fish biologist Jim Cummins of Yakima. "The main opportunity now is for whitefish on the Yakima and Naches rivers, but anglers should be careful about shoreline shelf ice." Cummins reports that most lakes in the region are mostly frozen, but the ice is thin and melting. "I would not recommend ice fishing at this time," he said.

• Wildlife viewing: Winter feeding of elk and bighorn sheep continues with winter conditions and plenty of opportunities to view them at WDFW's Oak Creek Wildlife Area, southwest of Yakima, and at nearby Cleman Mountain. Elk are fed daily at 1:30 p.m. near the Oak Creek headquarters off Highway 12, and sheep are fed at Cleman Mountain about mid-morning each day. Volunteers provide truck rides through the feeding herd of elk for donations; call 509-453-7503 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. for more information. Great horned owls are in courtship now and readying for mating and nesting, reports WDFW biologist Ken Bevis. "In the evening, listen for the hooting exchanges of owl pairs," Bevis said. Owls don't build nests, he notes, but use old red-tail hawk platforms, crow's nests, cavities in rocky cliff faces and other locations big enough for them to nest. "They are among the earliest nesting birds, their young fledging just when other species are putting young out," Bevis says. Another owl species has been getting lots of attention from Yakima-area birders these days - northern pygmy owls have been seen in unusual abundance at lower elevations throughout the county, many preying on smaller birds at backyard winter feeding stations. The phenomenon isn't just local, according to birders who have heard from British Columbia colleagues about more pygmy owls wintering lower this year, perhaps due to a prey shortage with a vole population crash recently documented.