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| June 16-30, 1999 |
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The warm, sunny days of early summer are a great time to watch any number of the hundreds of species of butterflies found throughout Washington.
Oregon Silverspot feeding on aster - Rock Creek This is also a good time of year to keep your fishing pole nearby. Trout, bass and walleye fishing is still going strong in some areas of the state, with anglers reporting good results.
Just look for flowers in open spaces and sunshine and you'll probably see adult butterflies. Look in parks, cemeteries, vacant lots, yards and gardens. In the country look in meadows, fallow fields, pastures, railroad beds, ski slopes, and other clearings that provide low ground cover. Shorelines, dunes, beaches, deserts, prairies, bogs, marshes, swamps, open plateaus, canyon bottoms, ridges and alpine slopes are also likely spots.
The best nectar plants for butterflies are asters, fleabanes, daisies, thistles, dogbanes, buckwheats, penstemons, wild cherries, mints, milkweed, lilacs and butterfly bush. Purples, whites and yellows seem to be the most attractive colors to butterflies. Moisture also attracts butterflies, so check out wet sand, gravel and mud. Some species gather at wet spots on hot days and provide some of the best butterfly watching and photographing.
In Western Washington, the best butterfly watching is usually from May to September. In eastern Washington the season begins in April and ends in October. July and August are the times to scout out the alpine meadows in search of butterflies. Although some species are active on warm evenings, most butterfly activity is between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
When trying to observe butterflies, avoid quick movements. Be as quiet as possible. Binoculars can also be helpful. A field guide to species always makes the watching more interesting.
Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park and the Sunrise and Paradise areas in Mount Ranier National Park provide easy access for high-mountain butterflies. Hart's Pass Road to the boundary of the Pasayten Wilderness Area in northcentral Washington's Okanogan County is more of a trek but is also good butterfly habitat. The riparian areas in the canyons near Leavenworth and Yakima are some favorites of butterfly watchers. Tumwater Canyon, upstream on the Wenatchee River, and Icicle Canyon, upstream from the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery, are not only good butterfly spots but also great places to see spawning salmon.
A good guide for butterfly watching is "Watch Washington Butterflies' by Robert Pyle. You can also see and learn about butterflies and wildflowers at Scatter Creek Wildlife Area in Thurston County, just 18 miles south of Olympia. Join volunteers from the Nature Conservancy on Saturdays, June 19 and July 10 for two-hour "Prairie Walks." There will also be walks at the Glacial Heritage Preserve on June 26 and Mima Mounds on July 3. Call Thurston County Parks and Recreation at (360) 786-5595 for directions and reservations.
Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary Festival: You're also likely to see butterflies at Rainier Audubon's Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary Festival and Garden Tour in King County this Saturday, June 19, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This self-guided event is a chance to visit four private yards enrolled in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary program and learn how you can attract wildlife of all kinds to your own property. The yards available to visit are: the Congdons, 29009 46th Place South in Auburn; the Dickinsons, 4426 S. 318th Street, in Auburn; the Mays, 33102 13th Ave. S.W. in Federal Way; and the Runnings, 25306 S.E. 184th Street in Maple Valley.
Fishing
Eastern Washington: Rainbow and cutthroat trout fishing is still going strong, with nine to 16-inch fish in the catches, at Badger Lake in southwest Spokane County. Long Lake, the reservoir off the Spokane River in northwest Spokane County, will receive a plant of 10,000 rainbow trout, courtesy of the local hydropower company Avista, by the weekend of the 26-27th.
North-central Washington: Potholes Reservoir in Grant County, south of Moses Lake, still has relatively high water levels so boat fishers are still reaching areas like the west arm of the sand dunes that are producing lots of walleye and largemouth bass. Spinners and night crawlers fished with a bottom bouncer have been the best walleye technique. Spinnerbaits are working for largemouth. The face of O'Sullivan Dam has been productive for smallmouth bass with top water baits, plastic grubs, and spinnerbaits. Potholes has also been yielding limits of rainbow trout.
Southwest Washington: Riffe Lake in Lewis County is producing rainbow trout limits for boat anglers, who have plenty of water now for boat launching at Kosmos, Taidnapam and Mossyrock. Brown bullheads also continue to be caught. Lake Scanewa in Lewis County recently received 1,650 large and 2,500 smaller catchable rainbow trout. Canyon Creek in Clark County was recently planted with 3,500 rainbows and Kress Lake in Cowlitz County was planted with 2,600 rainbows. The Lewis River Reservoirs -- Merwin and Swift -- are producing some kokanee. Boat anglers on Swift Reservoir averaged four fish per person.
The emergency regulations, that have been in effect since April 1, limiting salmon harvest on the Lewis River are rescinded effective Friday June 18. Beginning Friday, anglers may take 6 salmon, 2 of which may be adults (A bag limit), from the mouth of the Lewis River upstream to the powerlines below Merwin Dam. This allows boat anglers to fish for spring chinook in the popular Cedar Creek hole downstream from the Lewis River Salmon Hatchery. The mainstem Columbia River from I-5 Bridge upstream to Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco, plus Drano Lake, also opened to fishing for hatchery steelhead June 16. The south side of the Cowlitz River, from Mill Creek upstream to 400 feet below the Barrier Dam, opened to trout and hatchery steelhead June 16.
The Wind River will remain open to spring chinook through the end of June from the mouth to 400 feet below Shipherd Falls and from the High Bridge upstream to the lower boundary markers below the hatchery. The daily limit is two chinook, minimum size 12 inches. Night closures and non-buoyant lure restrictions will remain in effect in the areas open to salmon fishing. For more information call Rich Pettit at (360) 906-6744.
Boat anglers in the estuary of the Lower Columbia River below Bonneville Dam are having the best luck on sturgeon. At the Deep River ramp, anglers have been averaging one legal sturgeon kept for every three to five anglers. John Day Pool anglers report improved success.
Shad: One of the most under-fished but abundant anadromous fish in Washington is the shad. They're strong fighters, averaging about 30 inches long and weighing three to five pounds.
The prime freshwater run of shad in Washington is the lower Columbia River, especially the Bonneville Dam area. Another area worth checking out is the mouth of the Washougal River. Shad can also be caught from boats and off the docks in the Camas/Washougal area. In some cases all that is needed is a hook and some colored yarn and bank anglers can be as successful as boat anglers. While there is no legal limit on shad, a freshwater fishing license is required. For more information on everything from catching, preparing and cooking shad and shad roe see the "What's So Great About Shad" pamphlet available from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's website or call Mike Judge at (360) 902-2407 for a copy.
Sport crab pot fishing: The sport Dungeness crab pot fishing season opened June 13 in San Juan County in a portion of Catch Management Area 7. The San Juans normally are closed to crab pot fishing from April to July 15 to protect molting crabs but test fishing show shells have hardened sufficiently to allow the season to open earlier. Other areas also are open to pot fishing. These areas and information on non-commercial crabbing zones and sport regulation changes can be obtained by calling the Shellfish Rule Change Hotline at (360) 796-3215. Anglers should review the Fishing in Washington regulation pamphlet for rules on licensing, legal gear and catch size limits before fishing for crabs. For more information call Norm Lemberg at (360) 466-4345 ext. 240.
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