September 7 - 20, 2005

Contact: Doug Williams, (360) 902-2256

The final few weeks of summer can offer some of the best salmon-fishing opportunities of the year, particularly along the Washington coast, where anglers have recently taken a number of 40-plus pound chinook. Bright 10- to 14-pound coho also continue to cross the docks in the final days of the ocean salmon fishery.

Coastal salmon fishing is scheduled to end Sept. 18 in waters from Westport north to Neah Bay, and Sept. 30 at Ilwaco. Chinook retention at Ilwaco ends Friday (Sept. 9), and continued high catch rates could prompt early season closures elsewhere along the coast.

Looking for an exotic ocean-fishing experience? Philip Wolff of Belfair was fishing for tuna about 40 miles off Westport on Sept. 2 when a striped marlin hit Wolff’s lure. After a 45-minute fight, Wolff managed to boat what is officially the third striped marlin ever caught in Washington waters.

“It’s an odd, odd year,” said Wayne Palsson, a research scientist who keeps track of unusual fish catches for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

Anglers who a part of the massive flotilla of sport fishing boats now flooding the lower Columbia River are being rewarded with about one chinook for every three rods. Coho catches in the lower river should be improving as more fish move in from the ocean.

On Puget Sound, the trickle of coho salmon is beginning to build into a steady stream, while pink salmon numbers have peaked. Big numbers of salmon – and salmon anglers – can be found in a handful of Hood Canal and Puget Sound rivers. Hatchery chinook are the main attraction on some streams, including the Skokomish, Nisqually and Puyallup rivers, while pink and coho salmon are drawing anglers to the Duwamish-Green, Snohomish and Skagit systems.

Eastern Washington is beginning to cool off, and that should make a number of fishing opportunities heat up, including Snake River steelhead fishing, salmon fishing on the Columbia River’s Hanford Reach and trout fishing in Okanogan County lakes.

Hunting opportunities abound throughout the state in September. The month-long archery deer season is under way, while archery hunting for elk begins tomorrow (Sept. 8) and runs through Sept. 21. High buck hunts get under way Sept. 15. Details are available in the Big Game Hunting Seasons and Rules pamphlet, at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/hunter/huntregs2005.pdf on the Internet.

Bird hunters can choose from a number of seasons, including forest grouse and dove, while band-tailed pigeon hunting begin Sept. 15. The statewide youth hunting season for goose, duck and coot runs Sept. 17-18, and is open to hunters under 16 years of age. Early Canada goose hunting is also available in select areas this month. Check the regional reports for all of the details.

While summer doesn’t officially give way to autumn until Sept. 22, fall bird migrations are well under way across the state. Turkey vultures are kettling south in their lazy corkscrew pattern. Shorebirds are assembling in large flocks along the tideflats to feed and gain strength for the long flight to winter ranges in southern latitudes.

Fall salmon migrations have begun on many streams, and the annual Wenatchee River Salmon Festival (Sept. 17-18) honors the fish as they move upriver to spawn and die. The festival is headquartered at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery and features educational displays, hatchery tours, entertainment and more. Check out http://www.salmonfest.org/home.htm on the Internet for more information.

The regional reports, below, have more details on fishing, hunting and wildlife-viewing opportunities throughout the state:

North Puget Sound

Fishing: The transition from pink salmon to coho salmon is well under way in the saltwater sport fishery. While 2- to 4-pound pinks are still hitting anglers’ gear, increasing numbers of ocean-going coho are nudging the humpies out of the spotlight in many areas, including marine waters inside Whidbey Island (marine areas 8-1 and 8-2), Admiralty Inlet (Marine Area 9) and central Puget Sound (Marine Area 10). “The bulk of the coho we’re seeing at the boat ramps are averaging around six pounds apiece, but we have seen a few individual fish up to 13 pounds,” said Patrick “Slim” Simpson, the head of WDFW’s sport fish sampling program for Puget Sound. Simpson said anglers have been reporting good coho action off Meadow Point, near Edmonds and off Mukilteo. WDFW Fisheries Biologist Steve Foley recently boated a few coho in central Puget Sound using fresh cut-plug herring. “There’s a lot of bait in the water,” Foley said, adding that one coho had five whole herring in its gut. “The guys who like to troll hardware – whether it’s spoons or a hootchie – will catch fish out there, too,” Foley said. “Troll fast and cover a lot of water.” Look for coho catches to improve through September and into October. Anglers who want to target pink salmon in the saltwater should focus their attention in terminal areas, such as waters off Everett and Mukilteo, where the thickest concentrations of pink salmon are likely to be found. Inner Elliott Bay could also have some schools of pink salmon as the fish stage before entering the Duwamish waterway. Try trolling small pink lures behind a flasher in the top 50 feet of the water column. Keep an eye out for fish on the surface and cast lures directly to them. Salmon anglers in the San Juan Islands (Marine Area 7) continue to scratch up a few chinook, a handful of pinks and a smattering of coho. All areas have a two-fish daily limit, plus two additional pink salmon. Anglers fishing in the San Juans can retain one chinook per day (22-inch minimum). Chinook fishing remains slow in the Tulalip Bay terminal “bubble.” The terminal area fishery is open Friday through noon Monday each week until Sept. 27 with a daily limit of two salmon. Chinook must be at least 22 inches in length to retain. Check the “Fishing in Washington” sport fishing rules pamphlet for additional regulation information before hitting the water. Most of the region’s crab fisheries closed after Labor Day. Marine Area 7 East (Anacortes - Bellingham) and Marine Area 7 North (Lummi Island - Blaine) remain open to crabbing on a Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule. The final harvest numbers for the summer months won’t be known until late September. In areas where allocation remains for the recreational fishery, additional openings will be announced in October. Anglers are definitely still in the pink on a handful of the region’s rivers, most notably the Snohomish River where an estimated 975,000 “humpies” are expected to return to spawn this year. Chad Jackson, WDFW district fish biologist for the Snohomish and Stillaguamish rivers, said “tens of thousands” of pinks are in the lower Snohomish, and anglers there are having great luck landing them with pink jigs and other small pink lures. The Snohomish has a four-fish daily limit, of which two may be coho or chum salmon, and all chinook must be released. Anglers on the Snohomish are catching a few early-returning coho salmon. “I don’t think we’ll really see any big numbers of coho in the river until the end of the month,” Jackson said. The Duwamish-Green River has been another hot spot for pink fishing since opening Sept. 1. The river is open from the First Avenue South Bridge upstream to the Tukwila International Boulevard/Pacific Highway South Bridge with a six-fish daily limit, only three of which may be adult fish, and all chinook must be released. The next upstream section of the Duwamish – from the Tukwila International Boulevard/Pacific Highway South Bridge upstream to the Interstate 5 Bridge – opens to fishing Sept. 16 under the same regulations as the lower stretch of river. Anglers targeting pink salmon on the Skagit River are beginning to have some luck plunking winged bobbers tipped with sand shrimp. Brett Barkdull, WDFW’s district fish biologist for the Skagit, said extremely low flows and poor visibility continue to hamper angler success. The coho, meanwhile haven’t begun entering the Skagit. “It seems like just about every run is a little late this year,” Barkdull said. The Skagit is open to salmon fishing from the mouth upstream to the mouth of Gilligan Creek with a two-fish daily limit, 12-inch minimum length and all chinook must be released. A long stretch of the Skagit – from the mouth of Gilligan Creek upstream to the mouth of the Cascade River – opens to salmon fishing Sept. 16 under the same daily bag limit and size restrictions. Chinook fishing on the Samish River remains slow. The northern portion of Lake Washington opens Sept. 16 to coho fishing. Anglers will be able to take two coho per day (minimum size 12 inches) from waters north of the Highway 520 Bridge and east of the Montlake Bridge. Fishing for warm water species remains good on lakes Washington, Sammamish and other big lakes in the region. Expect cooler temperatures to inject a little life back into trout fisheries on other lakes.

Hunting: September kicks off with a full slate of bird- and big-game-hunting opportunities, including statewide seasons for forest grouse, band-tailed pigeon and dove all getting under way. Forest grouse can be hunted Sept. 1-Dec. 31, while the dove season runs from Sept. 1-15 and band-tailed pigeon hunting runs from Sept. 15-23. The early Canada goose hunt runs from Sept. 11-15 in Island, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and King counties. Check the WDFW Migratory Waterfowl and Upland Game Seasons pamphlet for details. A few big-game seasons also get under way this month, including the Westside archery deer hunt (Sept. 1-30), and the Westside archery elk hunt (Sept. 8-21). The high buck season runs Sept. 15-25 this year in the Alpine Lakes, Glacier Peak and Henry Jackson wilderness areas (west of the Pacific Crest Trail). There is a three-point minimum during the high buck hunt. Check the WDFW Big Game Hunting Seasons and Rules pamphlet for the details.

Wildlife viewing: Birders have been flocking to Marymoor Park in Redmond to see a juvenile buff-breasted sandpiper, a rare visitor to inland Washington. Current estimates put the total buff-breasted sandpiper population at about 15,000 birds. Habitat loss in the bird’s wintering grounds in Argentina and Bolivia are also threatening its existence. Juvenile buff-breasted sandpipers are sometimes spotted on the tideflats of Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay. A birder who reported the sighting to the Tweeters Birding Network (http://www.scn.org/earth/tweeters/) got a good long look at the sandpiper described it as having “shortish yellow legs, shortish sharp pointed black bill, buffish head with a ‘large’ black eye, nicely scalloped upperparts with whitish and buffy edges, and buffy upper breast and nice clean underparts. One of the prettiest birds we have had in a while.” Other recent Marymoor Park bird sightings, include three green heron, a Wilson’s warbler, a red-winged blackbird and a hairy woodpecker. Another Tweeters correspondent was scouring Seattle’s Discovery Park for a whimbrel when the whimbrel found him. “I searched up and down the shoreline and around the lighthouse,” the correspondent wrote. “I waded out into the muddy beach. Near the large bluff I sat down on a log to dry my feet and a notebook that fell into a tidepool. After a bit I noticed the whimbrel close at hand, poking around the logs and driftwood.” The bird nonchalantly went about its business, while the birder admired the whimbrel’s intricate plumage and downward curving beak. Whimbrel are a big sandpiper, standing nearly 18 inches tall and with relatively short legs. Their overall size and pointed wings also distinguish a whimbrel from many other shorebirds. The same birder also tallied a number of black-throated gray warblers, orange-crowned warblers and warbling vireos in the park’s uplands. One creature that doesn’t get confused with many other animals is the killer whale, which can be seen throughout the San Juan Islands at this time of year as they feed on returning adult salmon. To catch a glimpse of killer whales from the land, check out Lime Kiln State Park on the western shore of San Juan Island.

South Sound/Olympic Peninsula

Fishing: Anglers fishing off the Washington coast continue to reel in large numbers of chinook salmon as the ocean salmon fishery enters the home stretch. Although coho catches have not met expectations, anglers had caught 87 percent of the chinook guideline for the Washington coast by Sept. 4. In Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco), where the catch had already exceeded the chinook guideline for that area, WDFW issued an emergency rule requiring anglers to release any chinook they catch as of Sept. 9. “Our goal is to try to extend the ocean salmon fishery as long as we can,” said Pat Pattillo, intergovernmental salmon policy coordinator. “The chinook fishery out of Ilwaco has been one of the best we’ve seen in years.” Barring any further actions, the salmon fishery out of Ilwaco is scheduled to run through Sept. 30. Salmon fisheries out of Westport, LaPush and Neah Bay are currently scheduled to close Sept. 18, although Pattillo recommends that anglers check the WDFW Fishing Hotline (360-902-2500) or the department’s website (http://wdfw.wa.gov/) for any updates. For the week ending Sept. 4, anglers fishing out of Westport averaged one chinook apiece and 1.4 salmon overall. One angler fishing for albacore 40 miles off the coast also caught a striped marlin, the third such catch ever recorded off of Washington. After being bled, the marlin weighed 134 pounds. The area off LaPush had the second-highest catch rates for the week, giving up 1.3 salmon per angler, the majority of them coho. Some were having luck chasing albacore 25 miles off the coast. Anglers fishing out of Ilwaco averaged .85 fish per rod, nearly three-fourths of them coho. Neah Bay gave up just a half a fish per rod, also more coho than chinook. Scott Barbour, WDFW fish biologist, said Willapa Bay anglers have been catching one fish for every three rods, the majority of them chinook. A coho-only fishery will open in Grays Harbor on Sept. 16. As in ocean waters, coho have been slow to enter the fishery in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where they are usually thick at this time of year. Creel checks taken over Labor Day weekend showed 1,180 anglers with 287 coho and 246 pink salmon. “It’s fair to say the coho haven’t shown up yet in the Strait,” said Steve Thesfield, a WDFW biologist. “It’s continuing the trend we’ve seen all year where fish are not being caught in the numbers we expected them to be, whether its spring chinook in the Columbia or coho in the Strait.” Anglers are, however, finding coho in northern Hood Canal. Creel checks at the Salsbury County Park ramp in North Kitsap showed 77 anglers with 55 silvers. Another 20 checked at the Quilcene Bay ramp had caught 22 coho. South Sound may be as good a place as any right now for saltwater fishing, said Larry Phillips, a WDFW biologist. Chinook are being caught outside the Puyallup and Nisqually rivers and Chambers Creek, and in Boston Harbor. Phillips said about 21,000 chinook are available to anglers in the Nisqually this year. They average 15 to 25 pounds and should peak the second and third weeks of September. “This is an opportunity to see what a good run of salmon looks like,” Phillips said. Fishing is excellent in the Puyallup for chinook, coho and pink salmon, said Hal Michael, another WDFW fish biologist.

Hunting: Archers will take to the field for elk Sept. 8-21, while the archery season for deer continues in designated game-management units (GMUs) through the end of the month. Field reports on the deer season that began Sept. 1 are just starting to come in, but hunters should enjoy some good hunting this year, said Jack Smith, WDFW regional wildlife manager. “We know we have a lot of deer in the coastal areas,” said Smith, who recommends the Skookumchuck, Wynoochee, Satsop and Fall River units, as well as the Capitol Peak GMU. He noted that hunters have also been taking some good-sized black bear out of the Matheny and Clearwater units since that season began Aug. 1. Like the archery deer season, the statewide season for forest grouse got under way Sept. 1, as did the goose season in Management Area 2B (Pacific and Grays Harbor counties) which runs through Sept. 15. Smith noted that hunters must pass a goose-identification test and have written authorization from WDFW to participate in that hunt, the state’s first goose hunt of the year. “The goal is to protect dusky geese, which are off-limits to hunting,” Smith said. “The season is designed to give hunters in that area a shot at the lighter-bellied geese before the duskies arrive.” WDFW does not require similar authorization to hunt for geese in Goose Management Area 3, which will be open Sept. 10-15. As for grouse, Smith recommends that hunters work the riverbanks where birds often take cover in heavy brush. "It really helps to have a bird dog with you for the hunt," he said.

Wildlife viewing: As salmon fishing moves toward the home stretch on the coast, thousands of chinook salmon have been moving into spawning areas for their last hurrah. In Olympia, hundreds of salmon are already visible schooling up below the fish ladder at Capitol Lake, often pursued by harbor seals looking for an easy meal. About 10,500 chinook expected to return to the Deschutes River upstream of Capitol Lake this year. Meanwhile, brown pelicans, cormorants and gulls have been putting on a show on Westport’s west side. Often seen from an observation tower and nearby café, the birds dive into a small cove in search of fish, said Kelly McAllister, a WDFW wildlife biologist, who recently observed the spectacle. McAllister said the pelicans, which plunge headfirst from 30 or more feet in the air, are best at catching the fish. But before the large-billed birds could throw their heads back to swallow them, they were quickly mobbed by gulls. So it goes, according to Seattle Audubon's Online Guide to the Birds of Washington State, which states: “Gulls are aggressive, chasing other seabirds, especially brown pelicans, and stealing food from them.” McAllister said he spotted several Heerman’s gulls, easily identifiable by their bright-red bills, joining in the fray. Despite their competitive relationship, pelicans and gulls stick together most of the year, migrating north from Mexico in May, arriving in the Northwest in mid-summer and staying through fall when they return to Mexico to breed. Woodland Skipper butterflies are also on display right now, fluttering over lawns with a good growth of dandelions. The inch-wide insects have hairy, stocky bodies like moths, but their tawny orange color and swirly, loopy flight make them look like falling leaves. Don’t mistake them for Painted Ladies, which have a similar coloring but are two to three times bigger than Woodland Skippers. Painted Ladies are also known as the “thistle butterfly,” because thistles are their favorite source of nectar, and as the “Cosmopolitan,” because it is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world. Other butterflies widely visible in late summer include the Cabbage White, Wood Nymph, West Coast Lady and Pine White.

Southwest Washington:

Fishing: For anglers thinking about fishing at Buoy 10 on the Columbia River, the numbers tell the story. During the week ending Sept. 4, catch samplers checked 218 chinook salmon at Buoy 10, compared to 1,278 the week before. Catch rates for those weeks dropped from one chinook for every three rods to one chinook for every 6.25 rods. Meanwhile, catch rates for coho escalated quickly during each of those weeks. “The focus at Buoy 10 is definitely moving away from chinook toward hatchery coho,” said Joe Hymer, WDFW fish biologist. “Anglers are still picking up some nice chinook, but those fish are really a bonus once the coho move in.” Through August, anglers landed 7,800 chinook and 3,900 hatchery coho at the Buoy 10 fishery, which extends upstream to the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line. While the fall chinook fishery got a slow start, Hymer said the coho are arriving right on schedule. “If recent catch rates on the coast are any indication, we should have a good fishery for hatchery coho at Buoy 10 this year,” said Hymer, noting that all wild, unmarked coho must be released. “And the coho that arrive early tend to be big – often weighing in the teens. I know of one 16-pounder – dressed weight – caught there last week .” Although angler participation in the Buoy 10 fishery dropped by two-thirds since the end of August, that’s not the case farther upriver. From Rocky Point to Bonneville Dam, an aerial survey crew counted nearly 1,900 boatloads of anglers fishing for salmon – a big increase from the previous week and from the 1,500 boats counted last year during the same period. Most of those anglers were still fishing for chinook, with boat anglers averaging one adult chinook for every three rods and bank anglers averaging one fish for every 7.5 rods, according to WDFW catch reports. Boat catches were spread evenly from Vancouver downstream, while bank anglers had the highest success rates near Kalama and Longview. “Does the ‘party boat’ rule apply in the lower Columbia?” a caller asked in a recent question to WDFW. Only downriver from the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line, responds Evan Jacoby, WDFW rules and legal services advisor. Under the “party boat” rule, anglers who have caught their daily limit can allow those in their boat without limits to fish their gear wherever saltwater fishing licenses are valid, he said. On the lower Columbia, that applies as far upstream as the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line. According to fish counts by the Army Corps. of Engineers, a total of 135,800 adult fall chinook had passed Bonneville Dam through Sept. 5. That beats the 10-year average of 134,000, but well below the number projected for this year, said Hymer, noting that the Technical Advisory Committee will meet Sept. 9 to discuss the fall chinook run status. Above Bonneville, anglers are still catching some hatchery summer steelhead at Drano Lake and in the Wind River, but most are focusing on catching fall chinook, Hymer said. He reminds anglers that all wild, unmarked coho must now be released on the Wind and White Salmon rivers. During the first week of September, Tacoma Power employees recycled 189 chinook and 263 summer steelhead, releasing them on the Cowlitz River, the Cispus River and at the Massey Bar and Olequa boat launch. Twenty fall chinook adults were also released into Mayfield Lake at the Ike Kinswa State Park boat launch. In addition, WDFW planted 2,500 half-pound rainbow trout into Mineral Lake. “The fishing should be very good there through the end of the month,” said Manual Farinas, WDFW regional fish manager. He noted that the department is reserving another 500 half-pounders for the Kalama Derby on Sept. 10. Did someone say “catfish”? Lyndon Lewis from Vancouver caught a 13.7-pound channel catfish in Round Lake using a “wart” type lure in late August. The same lake in Clark County produced a 33.8 pound monster earlier last month.

Hunting: Archers will take to the field for elk Sept. 8-21, joining those already hunting for deer in designated game-management units throughout the region. Like the archery deer season, the statewide season for forest grouse got under way Sept. 1, along with those for California quail and bobwhite. Next comes the early Canada goose seasons, which vary in length according to the three goose-management areas in the region. The early season for Goose Management Area 3 (which includes Lewis and Skamania counties) runs Sept. 10-15, while the early season for Goose Management Area 5 (which includes Klickitat County) runs Sept. 10-11. The season in Goose Management Area 2A (Cowlitz, Wahkiakum and part of Clark County) runs Sept. 10-15, and a special goose-hunting season for young people under 16 years of age follows Sept. 17-18 in all areas except goose management areas 2A and 2B. Hunters are advised to check the the Migratory Waterfowl rules pamphlet (http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/water/water.htm) for additional regulations and information about additional seasons beginning in October.

Wildlife viewing: Since spring, Vaux swifts have been showing up in field reports by regional birders with some regularity. “One Vaux swift in flight near North Bonneville, four over grazed pasture in the Trout Lake Valley,” one reported last April to the Tweeters bird-watching website (http://www.scn.org/earth/tweeters/digests/). “Six swifts at the Julia Butler Wildlife Refuge,” wrote another. If past years are any indication, those numbers will increase exponentially this month, when the small, chunky gray-black birds begin to gather in huge flocks for their annual migration to Central America and Venezuela. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Vaux (pronounced “voh’s”) swifts can be seen at dusk, swirling like a tornado before disappearing into a hollow tree snag – or a chimney – to roost for the night. (Their tiny feet allow them to cling to rough vertical surfaces like masonry chimneys.) While their human “hosts” may find this disconcerting, the birds rarely stay longer than two to three weeks. WDFW has made provision for the birds’ annual visit at an abandoned two-story factory building on the Klickitat Wildlife Area, just outside of the town of Klickitat. Built in the 1930s as a bottling plant for the local mineral water, the old factory now serves as a gathering place for hundreds of Vaux swifts every September. Martin Ellenburg, who manages the wildlife area for WDFW, said the buildings’ windows and doors have been sealed up for safety reasons, but the chimney was left open to accommodate the annual visitation. “The old bottling plant is right off the access road to the wildlife area, so you can’t miss it,” Ellenburg said. “The swifts should start arriving any time now, and are most visible just before sundown.” While less common than Vaux swifts, black swifts and white-throated swifts are also found in Washington. All are noted for their speed and agility in the air, as well as their voracious appetite for insects. With bodies measuring slightly less than five inches, each swift can eat thousands of insects – including mosquitoes – every day. Despite their roosting habits, the three species found in Washington are distinct from chimney swifts, which rarely venture west of the Rocky Mountains. A national count of Vaux swifts and chimney swifts will be conducted this month by the North American Chimney Swift Nest Site Research Project, which is seeking is seeking reports for those species sighted Sept. 9, 10 and 11. For more information see http://chimneyswifts.org on the Internet for call project managers at (512) 266-3861.

Eastern Washington:

Fishing: Snake River steelheading is just getting started and fishing is a little slow in most areas of the drainage, according to WDFW fish biologist Joe Bumgarner, who coordinates creel checks. The best fishing rates checked since the harvest season opened Sept. 1 have been in the Tucannon River, a tributary of the Snake, where anglers averaged about four hours of fishing for every steelhead caught. The Tucannon is running low and clear, while other tributaries and mainstem stretches have low flows, limited visibility and algae growth. Fishing has been significantly slower on the Walla Walla River, while the best steelhead catch rate measured on the mainstem Snake River was about six and a half hours per fish in waters from the Little Goose to Lower Granite dams. Glen Mendel, WDFW fish biologist, asks anglers to help spread the word that “recreational” rock dams on small rivers and streams throughout the Snake River watershed are illegal and can severely harm future fish populations. Mendel and his spawning survey crews recently found several new rock and log dams on waterways in the southeast district, most on public property associated with camping or stream access areas. “These dams block fish passage for spawning chinook salmon and bull trout and other fish movements, and they are even more harmful during this drought year when stream flows are lower than normal,” Mendel said. Dams are currently blocking fish passage in the Kooskooskie area of Mill Creek, the Tucannon River between Cummings Creek and the Tucannon Fish Hatchery, the north fork of the Touchet River between Spangler Creek and Bluewood, Corral Creek below Ski Bluewood, and Lewis Creek. Such dams are illegal because they pose threats to fish and downstream water rights, Mendel said, and those responsible for creating them are liable for prosecution. Incidents of dam building on streams can be reported to local WDFW enforcement officers through the Washington State Patrol, or the regional office in Spokane, at (509) 892-1001.

Hunting: Archers who have been pursuing whitetail deer in the northeast game management units (105-121) since the early season opened Sept. 1 might be seeing fewer bucks. WDFW wildlife biologist Dana Base of Colville reports that recent surveys show a ratio of only about 26 bucks per 100 does. “The deer are well-distributed, and our preliminary fawn ratio is showing good recruitment so far.” Base reminded archers that antlerless whitetails are fair game in those units during the early archery season, which runs through the month. “The mule deer buck ratio is looking a little better with 30 bucks per 100 does,” Base noted, “but that’s from a pretty modest sample of just 186 mule deer.” Archers are restricted to a three-antler-point minimum on mule deer in those units. Black bear hunting opened Sept. 6 in some of the most productive units of the state – the northeast’s 101-117 and the Blue Mountains’ 145-154 and 162-186. Successful bear hunters are reminded to submit a tooth from their bear; check the 2005 hunting pamphlet for all details. Early archery elk hunting opens Sept. 8 for any elk in the northeast units and for spike bulls only in the Blue Mountains units to the south. Blue Mountains elk hunters are reminded that the northern half of the Tucannon game management unit (166) burned during the School wildfire and is off limits. Pat Fowler, a WDFW district wildlife biologist based in Walla Walla, notes that the best elk areas of that unit are in the south end. Two days of early Canada goose hunting are available throughout the region Sept. 10-11. The special statewide youth bird hunting season is Sept. 17-18, when both waterfowl and upland game birds are available only for hunters under 16 years of age. With upland game bird numbers looking good throughout the region this year, it should be a productive opportunity for young hunters accompanied by adults. General season (no hound use) cougar hunting opens Oct. 16 in Pend Oreille, Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan, and Chelan counties; check the 2005 hunting pamphlet for details, at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/hunter/hunter.htm on the Internet.

Wildlife viewing: Now is the time to hike into elk country – the Blue Mountains to the south or the Selkirk Mountains to the north – to hear roaring bulls. Bull elk should be into pre-rut activities, which include their unique bugling, creating wallows and gathering harems of cows. The peak of the rut is about the third week of September, but a lot of bulging and displaying occurs before then. This is also breeding time for moose, and bulls can be expected to be a little more aggressive than usual. Give them a wide berth when out in moose country, which has become much of this region as moose populations expand. Coyotes are dispersing from family groups that serenaded many summer nights. Remember to keep small pets and their food secure to avoid attracting problems with overly bold and hungry juvenile “song dogs.”

North Central Washington:

Fishing: Bob Jateff, WDFW’s district fish biologist in Omak, reminds anglers of the early closure to all fishing of the Chewuch River from the mouth to Eight Mile Creek, and the Twisp River from the mouth to War Creek. These sections of the Chewuch and Twisp were open for catch-and-release fishing and scheduled to close Sept. 30, but they were closed Sept. 6 to protect fish. Extremely low water, coupled with high summer temperatures, concentrated fish into areas where they are susceptible to repeated catch and release fishing, Jateff said. Creel surveys indicate that anglers were primarily catching small trout in size classes that may overlap with juvenile sea-run fish. Unintentional fishing effort on juvenile steelhead is undesirable because of the endangered status of upper Columbia River steelhead. The lack of larger trout preferred by anglers and the predominance of smaller fish in recent catches warrants closure of the fishery, Jateff said. The closure will reduce conservation concerns given the current drought conditions and will help ensure a stable fishery in the future. Jateff noted that the Methow River remains open through the end of the month for catch-and-release fishing with selective gear only from the Weeman Bridge to Gold Creek “ Trout fishing has been good on the Methow for rainbows up to 12 inches and cutthroat to 15 inches,” he said. Summer chinook fishing on the upper Columbia River continues until Oct. 15. An additional area is open on the Okanogan and Similkameen Rivers until Sept. 30 with a non-buoyant lure restriction and night closure in effect for the area above the Highway 97 bridge just upstream from the mouth on the Okanogan River. Snagging fish is prohibited. “Davis, Cougar and Campbell Lakes in the Methow Valley all had good openers for the standard gear fishery which began Sept. 1 and runs until March 31,” Jateff said. “Davis was the hottest with limits of 11- to 12-inch rainbows being taken within one to two hours of fishing. Both Cougar and Campbell were slower, but the rainbows in each of those lakes were larger with some 16- to 18-inch fish caught.” Jateff said that as the weather cools down, fishing in Big Twin Lake should improve as the fish become more accessible with cooler surface water temperatures. Other lakes in the Okanogan, including the Conconullys, should respond well as the fish are actively feeding prior to winter.

Hunting: Beau Patterson, WDFW district wildlife biologist, reports that mourning dove hunting has been pretty spotty in the Wenatchee area. “I haven't heard any forest grouse hunter reports,” he said, “but I ’m expecting it to be pretty good this fall on the Wenatchee National Forest.” Patterson said that black bear hunting prospects are good and a few animals have already been harvested, despite several weeks of warm weather. “Last year's bear harvest indicated light hunting pressure in the northeast Cascades,” he noted. Patterson reminds hunters that general season (no hound use) cougar hunting opens Oct. 16 in Chelan, Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties; check the 2005 hunting pamphlet for all details. “Archers have the opportunity to take antlerless mule deer, in addition to three-point or better bucks, now during the early archery season in game management units 251 and 245,” Patterson said. “With last year's extremely mild winter and high fawn survival, prospects are excellent for finding deer.” WDFW Enforcement Officer Cal Treser reported average archery hunting pressure on opening day, and hunters were taking deer everywhere in the Methow Valley. Early archery elk hunting is available Sept. 8-21 in a few Chelan County game management units for any elk. September 15 marks the opening of the 10-day “high buck” season for modern firearm and muzzleloader hunters in several wilderness areas of the region; check the 2005 hunting season pamphlet for all details. The special statewide youth bird hunting season is Sept. 17-18, when both waterfowl and upland game birds are available only for hunters under 16 years of age.

Wildlife viewing: The 15th annual Wenatchee River Salmon Festival in Leavenworth is Sept. 17-18 with school activities Sept. 15-16. Based at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, the festival features salmon and other wildlife watching at the hatchery and in the stream, and a lot more. There are nature-related art and craft booths, "recycled" salmon sculpture, an animal costume parade, the amazing salmon maze, a Native American encampment, outdoor recreation exhibits and hands-on educational activities, even a reptile and raptor show. Call (509) 548-6662 for more information, or see http://www.salmonfest.org/home.htm. WDFW District Wildlife Biologist Beau Patterson suggests birders watch for raptors this time of year. “The fall raptor migration in this region typically peaks in late September,” he said. “Near Wenatchee, Burch Mountain is a good place for raptor watching, in particular Eagle Rock. North of Manson, Chelan Ridge is another good location.” Patterson noted there are raptor monitoring studies ongoing in both locations. “September is also a good time to check out shorelines for migrating arctic nesting shorebirds that are already headed south for the winter,” he said.

Southcentral Washington:

Fishing: The Yakima River opened for salmon fishing Sept. 1 from the Columbia River to Sunnyside (Parker) Dam. Creel checks are yet to come, and the fishery remains open through Oct. 22. Paul Hoffarth, WDFW fisheries biologist, reminds anglers that a Yakama Nation fishing permit is required for fishing in all areas upstream of the Highway 223 bridge at Granger. Check the 2005-06 fishing pamphlet’s "Special Rules" section for the Yakima River for additional details and restrictions. Hoffarth said a strong fall chinook return is anticipated this year in the Hanford Reach area of the Columbia River, which has been open since the middle of last month and remains available for salmon fishing through Oct. 22.

Hunting: Early archery elk hunting opens Sept. 8 in several game management units throughout the region. Archers should check the 2005 hunting pamphlet for which offer antlerless elk and which are restricted to spike bulls only. September 15 marks the opening of the ten-day “high buck” season for modern firearm and muzzleloader hunters in several wilderness areas of the region; check the 2005 hunting season pamphlet for all details. The special statewide youth bird-hunting season is Sept. 17-18, when both waterfowl and upland game birds are available only for hunters under 16 years of age.

Wildlife viewing: Local birding experts Andy and Ellen Stepniewski recently reported a variety and abundance of birds during a trek from Conrad Meadows on the South Fork of the Tieton River up Bear Creek Mountain. Subalpine habitats are full of mountain chickadees, juncos, kinglets, and warblers. On the shoulders of Tieton Peak, they spied a herd of about 15 mountain goats. WDFW wildlife biologists suggest outdoor enthusiasts listen and look for bull elk bugling around Raven's Roost in the Little Naches River drainage in the far northwestern corner of Yakima County (follow Hwy. 410 northwest of Naches). For the best viewing opportunities, arrive just before daylight or plan to camp in one of the many forest service campgrounds in the area, and walk the Cougar Valley trail. Elk are normally visible on the open hillsides until about 7 a.m., when they move down into timber for the day.

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