October 5 - 18, 2000

Contact: Virginia Painter, (360) 902-2256 or Madonna Luers, (509) 456-4073

October offers a month of highlights for outdoor enthusiasts– in the field two of Washington's most popular statewide hunting seasons open; on westside waters coho fishing is the best in years, and in the skies, migrating birds are staging a natural spectacle for wildlife watchers.

Saturday (Oct. 7) marks the opening of waterfowl and upland game bird hunting and Oct. 14 is the opening of the modern-firearm deer season.

Duck and goose numbers, both from local production and more northern breeding areas, are almost as high as last year's record. Duck and goose hunting should be excellent in most parts of the state depending, of course, on weather. Goose hunters should check specific rules by management area in the migratory waterfowl regulations pamphlet. The statewide duck bag limit is seven, only one of which may be a pintail, and only two of which may be hen mallards.

Pheasant hunting in western Washington got underway Sept. 30 on all but one of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's (WDFW) pheasant-release sites - the Dungeness Recreation Area's pheasant hunting opens Oct. 7, along with all of eastern Washington. Westside pheasant hunters should check the upland game hunting pamphlet for all details on these controlled hunts.

Wild pheasant numbers in eastern Washington vary by area from fair to the best seen in a long time, according to WDFW biologists. In some areas pheasant broods apparently fared well during the long, warm summer with its multitude of grasshoppers and other insects. The eastside season also will benefit from several releases of a total of 15,000 farm-raised roosters on dozens of sites across the three regions.

Quail hunting should be good statewide, with relatively abundant brood numbers and size in riparian areas, brushy draws, and other traditionally good quail habitat.

Upland game bird hunters are reminded that non-toxic shot restrictions have been extended this year to 11 more wildlife areas; details are available on the department's website or in brochure form at WDFW regional offices.

Most of Washington's black-tailed, mule, and white-tailed deer populations are healthy, thanks largely to mild conditions last winter. Given sufficient pre-season scouting and access arrangements, plus cooperative weather, deer hunting should be very good in most areas.

This Saturday (Oct. 7) also marks the opening of early muzzleloader deer and elk hunting in many game management units across the state.

Hunters still looking for access can scout for WDFW "Feel Free to Hunt," "Register to Hunt," and "Hunting By Permission" signs on hundreds of thousands of privately owned acres in eastern Washington. These lands are in WDFW's Upland Wildlife Restoration program, in which cooperating landowners provide hunter access in exchange for help on habitat enhancement and restoration, along with some hunting and trespass enforcement support.

All hunters should check the WDFW Big Game Hunting Seasons and Rules pamphlet for special restrictions by game management unit, road closures, and other specific rules.

For safety, hunters are reminded to wear the required 400-square-inches of flourescent orange clothing to be better seen in the field; details are available in the hunting regulations pamphlet.

Hunting season prospects can be found in more detail in "Game Trails," a free tabloid publication available at WDFW regional offices, license dealers, and on the department's website.

For non-hunters, October is also a great time for fishing and bird-watching. Salmon seasons are proving highly productive on both the west and east sides of the state. Southeast Washington's Snake River steelhead trout fishing is getting better by the day. Even if you can't make it to field or stream, massive groups of migrating songbirds, waterfowl, and other birds are highly visible this month.

For specifics on these and other October fish and wildlife recreational activities, here's a region-by-region report:

Regional Highlights:

North Puget Sound:

• Hunting: With urbanization and reduced timber harvest shrinking deer forage areas, North Sound deer hunters will be looking to private timberlands to find success, says WDFW Game Program Manager Dave Ware. Recently harvested private timberlands offer the open forage areas that create the best deer hunting prospects, but many private lands allow only walk-in access."Hunters willing to walk will be rewarded," predicts Ware, advice echoed by WDFW Regional Wildlife Program Manager Lora Leschner. "There's lots of wildlife behind the gates on timberlands with clear cuts less than 10 years old," she said, "but hunters will have to be resourceful and rely on mountain bicycles, walking or horses to enter." North Sound waterfowl hunters will find easier going, and the 11,000-acre Skagit Wildlife Area is expected to be the center of the action. Disabled hunters can find accessible facilities there and at the Lake Terrell Wildlife Area near Ferndale. Although bird numbers are high the success of the season will depend on the weather. Weather during past two hunting seasons hasn't been stormy enough to drive the birds inland. As fall weather worsens, waterfowl hunting should improve. Hunters should remember non-toxic shot is required in all segments of the Lake Terrell and Snoqualmie wildlife areas, as well as in the Skagit Wildlife Area.

• Fishing: The North Sound is one of the bright stars in the constellation of hatchery coho fishing opportunities across western Washington. Marine areas 9 and 10 (Admiralty Inlet and waters from Seattle to Bremerton) re-opened Oct. 1 for coho and Puget Sound river systems such as the Snohomish offer some of the best coho opportunities in years, says WDFW's Tony Floor, who recommends Admiralty Inlet, Possession Point, Point No Point and Jefferson Head as particularly good spots. Point No Point fishers also may be rewarded with bright chum. For the best shot at catching a coho, Floor suggests targeting marine "highways" frequented by this year's returning run– such as the west side of San Juan Island from Snug Harbor south to Pile Point– as well as areas with rip currents. Freshwater fishers taking advantage of the recently opened coho fishery in Lake Washington will find the going harder. "It's tough to be successful on terminal fish, and finding them is half the battle– watch the shorelines where coho stage before moving on to their hatchery destination," Floor advises.

• Wildlife watching: Issaquah's Salmon Days, happening this weekend (Oct. 7 and 8) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days, offer visitors to the Issaquah Hatchery an opportunity to watch returning sockeye, coho and chinook. Call the Salmon Days office at (206) 270-2532 or log on to the Salmon Days website for festival information. For a map to the hatchery, check out the website maintained by Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery (FISH) at http://www.issaquahfish.org on the Internet. On higher ground, this also is a fine time for mountain goat viewing, says Regional Wildlife Manager Lora Leschner. She suggests the Barometer Mountain Trail off the Mount Baker Highway (check the U.S. Forest Service website for trail information), the cliffs on Mount Si (off Interstate 90), or Mount Index (State Route 2). The trick to glimpsing a goat is to hike high trails with good views of cliffs and avalanche chutes and to scan those areas with binoculars or spotting scopes, says Leschner. Early morning hours are best. At lower elevations, elk may be on view– try an early morning visit to fields along the river in the North Bend area, off Highway 9 near Acme in Whatcom County, or where Bell Creek crosses the Mount Baker Highway. Meanwhile, boaters are reporting spotting sea lions on log booms and rocks throughout the San Juan Islands.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:

• Hunting: High numbers of ducks, geese and black-tailed deer in the area should make for good hunting when seasons get under way this month, according to Jack Smith, regional WDFW wildlife manager. Good local duck production, together with a strong flight from the north, support an optimistic outlook for the season that begins Oct. 7, Smith said. "The season usually starts off with local ducks then moves to the northern ducks," Smith said. "This year, we're already seeing early flights of wigeons and pintails in the Chehalis Valley. To help protect those birds, lead shot has been banned in five additional pheasant-release areas in the region this year where pheasants and waterfowl cross paths. Those areas include the Chehalis Valley release site near Montesano, Raymond Airport, Hunter Farms and the Dungeness Recreation Area (also known as the "old Voice of America site"). WDFW handed out non-toxic shot to those in need at some of those sites during the youth pheasant hunt last month, and will be on hand at the Dungeness site for the general hunt that begins Oct. 7. For the modern firearms season for black-tail deer that begins Oct. 14, Smith recommends several areas on the east side of the Olympic Mountains, including Capitol Peak, Minot Peak and the Fall River unit (GMUs 663, 660 and 672). But for sheer production, it's hard to beat the Vail Tree Farm in southeast Thurston County. "The Vail Tree Farm produces an astonishing number of deer, year after year," Smith said, adding that hunters should make sure they have the owner's permission any time they hunt on private land.

• Fishing: As salmon move out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca into terminal areas, fishing is picking up in south Puget Sound and on rivers from Pierce County to the coast. South Puget Sound has caught fire in recent days with "the best runs of hatchery coho I've seen since the late 1980s," said WDFW's Tony Floor. He points to the north end of Hartstene Island (near the bridge) and Gull Harbor as best bets in the weeks ahead. Other good spots for coho further north include the Point Defiance area in Tacoma near the mouth of the Puyallup River, Browns Point and Point Dalco. Floor also recommends the pontoons at the east side of the Hood Canal Bridge for bank fishing, a less harried alternative to the mob scene on the Quilcene River at the north end of the Canal where anglers line up along the both banks of a stream thick with coho. (If you go, remember that selective-gear rules are in force and snagging is strictly forbidden. WDFW officers are checking.) Increasing rainfall is driving coho into north coast rivers making for excellent fishing opportunities, especially on the Quillayute river system. Anglers are reminded to check Olympic National Park rules when fishing the Queets River. Only artificial lures and single barbless hooks are allowed there through Oct. 31. After Oct. 31, bait is allowed up to Sams River. The bag limit on the Queets is two hatchery adult chinook or coho; all unmarked, wild chinook and coho must be released. The bag limit for salmon on the Hoh and Quillayute is six fish with no more than two adults per day through Nov. 30. Summer steelhead are still holding in the Calawah and Bogachiel Rivers near the WDFW rearing ponds and should still be available in the Sol Duc as well. For kids under age 15, WDFW recently planted 500 hatchery coho weighing up to five pounds each in DeCoursey Pond in Puyallup. Another 2,000 coho were recently planted at Waughop Lake in Steilacoom, where anglers of all ages are welcome. The whole family also can start planning a trip to the coast now that WDFW has announced the fall razor clam season (see the department's website for the razor clam schedule and details).

• Wildlife watching: October is a wonderful time to observe the wonders of nature – even if you never leave your own front porch. The maple tree, now amber with the advance of fall, is draped with dozens of silvery webs spun by spiders that hatched in summer. Overhead, you're likely as not to hear the honk of geese making a "V-line" south to warmer climes. You may not have a salmon stream in your backyard, but rivers and streams throughout the area offer the timeless spectacle of salmon bucking the current to complete their fall migration. Of course when it comes to spectacles, there's nothing quite like the elk rut now in full swing on the Olympic Peninsula. Huge bulls, some weighing a half a ton, lock horns over prospective mates in this annual courtship dance. The Quinault River valley, upstream from Lake Quinault, is a great place to observe this contest. Several groups of elk are visible along the loop road along the South Shore and North Shore roads. The best viewing is in the early morning and evening hours, but make sure you give the elk plenty of room – they're a little testy this time of year. October is also the time when gray whales make their southward journey along the Washington coast, where they are often visible along Highway 101 from Ruby Beach to Queets. But you don't haave to travel far in October to see animals in the wild– they're all around us.

Southwest Washington:

• Hunting: Two hunting season openers for waterfowl are coming up Saturday in the region. Check the migratory bird hunting pamphlet for rules. A deer season opener is scheduled for Southwest Washington. There's a significant amount of public land in this region, which contributes to both good populations and hunter accessibility, therefore strong harvest rates. Hunters will be watching the skies for welcome rainfall, which heightens chances of success in the woods.

• Fishing: This is transition time for fishing. The chinook fishery has wound down, and coho transitions from early to late stocks. Currently, opportunity for late coho in the Columbia River tributaries is good because of the expected strong returns and this season's increased bag limits. There should be good numbers of late coho in the Elochoman, Cowlitz and Lewis rivers. Some of the best fishing for late coho in the Bonneville area is at the mouth or in the Klickitat River, according to Hymer, who reports that fishers are still seeing some coho at the mouth of the Wind River and in Drano Lake, too. The sturgeon are beginning to migrate upstream, so the sturgeon fishery moves, too, with anglers typically finding success this time of year between Kalama and the Bonneville Dam. WDFW Fish Biologist Joe Hymer says anglers have seen some decent catches off the bank just below the Bonneville Dam in the past week. Several of the fish have been in the 4-foot range. Another fishery that comes on this time of year is hatchery steelhead. A good place to try is just above and just below the John Day Dam. Last week on the White Salmon River, anglers reported catches weighing into the teens.

• Wildlife watching: There's a unique viewing opportunity starting now for the lesser sandhill crane, in and near the Shillapoo Wildlife Area on the outskirts of Vancouver. The cranes are just beginning to show up and should be visible for the next month and a half. The best place to view cranes is from your car on Lower River Road.

Eastern Washington:

• Hunting: The breaks of the Snake River and other major streams in Whitman, Garfield, Columbia, and Walla Walla Walla counties are among the best spots for consistently good pheasant and quail hunting in the region. Central district (Whitman, Spokane, Lincoln counties) wildlife biologist Jerry Hickman recently reported pheasant broods averaging between four and five young, and quail broods averaging nine birds. Hickman also reported that duck numbers look good for locally-produced birds but hot, dry conditions over most of the summer may limit ponds and lakes for hunting. Pheasant hunting will be enhanced with the release of 3,400 farm-raised rooster pheasants over the next seven weeks in three to four releases at Sherman Creek Wildlife Area in Ferry County, Fishtrap Lake in Lincoln-Spokane County, John Henley and Central Ferry Habitat Management Units (HMUs) on the Snake River in Whitman County, Willow Bar and Rice Bar HMUs on the Snake River in Garfield County, Hartsock GMU in Columbia County, Pintler Creek, Chief Timothy HMUs in Asotin County, and Mill Creek, Wallula, Two Rivers, Hollebeke HMUs in Walla Walla County. Mule deer numbers are fair to good, but white-tailed deer may be near a population high in some areas. Northeast district (Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille counties) wildlife biologist Steve Zender reports recent surveys showing ratios of 100 fawns to every 100 does in some areas. Zender also notes, however, that areas where deer were lost to disease problems last year are only fair to average in numbers of deer this fall. Deer, upland game bird, and waterfowl hunters alike have so taken to WDFW's 20,000-acre Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area in Lincoln County that opening day crowding may become a problem; area manager Juli Anderson suggests that hunters spend time getting away from the roads on foot, or delaying hunts until after the openers. Hunters still looking for access can scout for WDFW "Feel Free to Hunt," "Register To Hunt," and "Hunting by Permission" signs on 854,776 acres of private land; about half are in the north end of the region in 180 ownerships and the other half in the south end on 252 ownerships. These lands are in WDFW's Upland Wildlife Restoration program, in which cooperating landowners receive habitat enhancement and restoration work, and some hunting and trespass enforcement emphasis, in exchange for hunter access.

• Fishing: It looks like another excellent steelhead run for the Snake River, says regional fish program manager John Whalen, with recent reports showing over 68,000 hatchery steelhead and 13,000 wild steelhead over Lower Monumental Dam. Hatchery steelhead numbers are a little above last year, Whalen notes, and last year's run was the best in 15 years. Flows in the Snake are nearing lowest fall flows on record and temperatures have been elevated above normal, but recent rainy, cooler weather should improve fishing. Whalen reminds anglers that barbless hooks are required for Snake River steelhead and all wild fish (non-marked) must be released. West Medical Lake in Spokane County has been re-opened and all game fish limits lifted October 4-22 to allow anglers a chance to take any fish remaining before WDFW crews treat the lake with rotenone to rid it of goldfish and pumpkinseed. Other trout waters that remain open should provide good opportunities as water temperatures drop, including Spokane County's Clear Lake, Amber Lake (catch and release and selective gear rules Oct.1 - Nov. 30), and Chapman Lake, Stevens County's Deep Lake, and Pend Oreille County's Marshall Lake. Some of the region's year-round rivers or streams, like Hawk Creek in Lincoln County or the Colville River in Stevens County, make for good fall trout fishing.

• Wildlife watching: Many neo-tropical migrant birds continue to pass through from northern summering grounds. Nuthatches, chickadees, and others are feeding and resting in many urban areas so birders don't have to go far to see some species. It's a good time to get out in a canoe or kayak on the Little Spokane or Colville rivers to see deer, birds and beautiful fall colors. There will probably be a bald eagle or two along most stretches of the Colville. More bald eagles will be moving into the Spokane area soon to winter here along with those that nest here. The Larch (tamarack) will be turning golden and losing their needles soon, especially in the high country. Fish watchers may want to make a trip with cameras to WDFW's Sherman Creek Hatchery where manager Mitch Combs has collected over 2,000 kokanee in the last month and reports another 2,000 kokanee staging in the water in front of the hatchery. Combs notes there are also about 400 14-inch red sockeye salmon in the creek adjacent to the hatchery.

North Central Washington:

• Hunting: If cooler, wetter weather opens the season, waterfowl hunting should be good in the Columbia Basin where some of the state's greatest duck and goose harvest per hunter effort traditionally occurs. The Moses Lake, Warden, and Othello areas are usually best for pheasant hunting, with much public land owned by WDFW or the Bureau of Reclamation. Some 4,000 farm-raised rooster pheasants, will be released in three to four deliveries over the next seven weeks at the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area in Okanogan County, Chelan Butte and Swakane sites in Chelan County, Banks Lake, Steamboat Rock, Gloyd Seeps, Quincy, Winchester Lake, and Buckshot Ranch in Grant County, and Linda Lake in Adams County. A new non-toxic shot requirement for upland game bird hunters is in effect at Driscoll Island, Hegdahl Parcel and Kline Parcel segments of Sinlahekin Wildlife Area and Bridgeport Bar segment of Wells Wildlife Area. Mule deer are in better numbers than recent past seasons, and whitetails seem to be everywhere. The Sinlahekin Wildlife Area in Okanogan County is a popular spot for upland bird, deer, bear, and cougar hunting, but area manager Dale Swedberg warns hunters that some roads and campsites are closed temporarily while dam repair is underway at Conners and Forde lakes and Reflection Pond. Campsites on Conners probably won't be available until sometime in mid-November at the earliest, Swedberg says. The access road into the east side of Forde Lake is blocked by construction activity and may not be available until late October. The camping area between Forde and Reflection is open. Excellent crops of elderberries, chokecherries and serviceberries on the Sinlahekin this year are providing lots of feed for game. Swedberg also notes that with conditions still very dry; no fires are allowed on the area at this time.

• Fishing: The extension area of the chinook salmon fishing season on the upper Columbia River, (between the Hwy. 173 bridge at Brewster and the Hwy. 17 bridge at Bridgeport and to the Hwy. 97 bridge at the confluence of the Okanogan River), remains open through this month. Okanongan County's Fish, Forde, and Blue lakes and Schallow Pond may provide some trout action; anglers are reminded to follow the selective fishing rules on Blue Lake of "artificial lures and single barbless hooks." Rainbow trout fishing remains good at Moses Lake, says WDFW fish biologist Jeff Korth, with the average fish in the two-pound range. Korth also notes that water temperatures throughout the Columbia Basin are falling to around 60-65 degrees in most lakes, and that means trout fishing will be picking up in most waters. Limits and other restrictions have been lifted and/or seasons extended at six lakes in Grant County (Beda, Brookies, Coot, Falcon, Goldeneye, and Heron and Davis Lake in Okanogan County so that anglers can catch remaining fish before WDFW crews treat them with rotenone later in the month to rid them of undesirable fish populations; check details at www.wdfw\.wa\.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm.

• Wildlife watching: The Columbia Basin's thousands of small lakes, potholes, and seeps are excellent bird-watching spots at this time with migrations of literally millions of birds of hundreds of species. WDFW's Winchester Lake, Seeps Lake, Potholes, and Goose Lakes Wildlife Areas are just a few of the many important resting and feeding places for fall migrants, including waterfowl like Canada geese, mallards, redheads, canvasbacks, ringnecks, ruddy ducks, gadwalls, blue and greenwing teal, shovelers, pintails, goldeneyes, and wood ducks. Shorebirds and wading birds also abound, as do Brewer's, red-winged, and yellow-headed blackbirds, killdeer, meadowlarks, and other passerines.

South Central Washington:

• Hunting: The best pheasant hunting is around the irrigated farmland in Benton, Yakima, and Franklin counties and along the Yakima River. A large part of the irrigated farmland in Yakima County is on the Yakama Indian Reservation; contact the Yakama Indian Nation at (509) 865-5121, ext. 666 for information about hunting tribal lands. The season will be enhanced with the release of about 3,950 farm-raised rooster pheasants in up to four releases over the next seven weeks at the Sunnyside Wildlife Area in Yakima County, the Wenas/L.T. Murray and Colockum Wildlife Areas in Kittitas County, the Big Flat Habitat Management Unit and Ringold site in Franklin County, and the Hill Road release site in Klickitat County. Non-toxic shot is newly required of upland game bird hunters at WDFW's Sunnyside Wildlife Area and Two Rivers and Wallula Units of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's McNary Wildlife Refuge. Deer hunters should be aided by recent and forecasted wet weather, which reduces noise in the woods and has reduced fire danger to moderate levels. The Oct. 1-13 change to "any elk" in Game Management Unit 372 (Kiona) in Yakima and Benton counties, has swamped WDFW's Yakima office with calls from interested hunters looking for access; nearly all opportunity in this unit is on private lands, with landowners managing hunter access themselves, so no names or phone numbers are available from WDFW. Obtaining permission is very difficult now due to the large number of hunters from all over the state participating.

• Fishing: The Columbia River's Hanford Reach chinook salmon fishing is slow, with latest creel checks showing 1,122 boat anglers with 175 adults and 36 jacks, and 26 bank anglers with one adult and one jack. In the 32-mile section of the Columbia River that just opened to steelhead fishing on Oct. 1, (from Hwy. 395 Bridge at Pasco to the Old Hanford Townsite wooden powerline towers), 14 fish were recorded on the opener by WDFW creel checkers. Salmon fishing on the Yakima River is fair, with latest checks showing 121 anglers with four adult and one jack chinook and five adult coho. Not much is happening yet on the Naches River and that part of the Yakima from I-82 to Rosa. The upper Yakima remains good for trout. The "Kids' Klassic" fishing event for 5 to 14-year-olds is Saturday morning (Oct. 7) at Columbia Park Family Fishing Pond in the Tri-Cities; up to 1,500 catchable-size rainbow trout, and up to 15 adult steelhead from Ringold Hatchery, will be planted for the event.

• Wildlife watching: The Wahluke Slope and WB-10 Wasteway Wildlife Areas in the Hanford near the Tri-Cities are great spots to watch now for literally millions of birds using the waters and marshes for resting and feeding on their annual migrations along the Pacific Flyway. Waterfowl to be seen include Canada geese, mallards, redheads, canvasbacks, ringnecks, ruddy ducks, gadwalls, blue and greenwing teal, shovelers, pintails, and goldeneyes. Also seen are various shorebirds, Caspian terns, pelicans, ring-billed gulls, and Brewer's, red-winged, and yellow-headed blackbirds.