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For many people, the Thanksgiving weekend is a time for family, food and football. But for outdoors enthusiasts, it also marks the start of steelhead fishing, late-season hunting opportunities and the chance to see Washington’s wildlife settling in for the winter.
On the west side of the Cascades, ardent anglers are closely watching river conditions to gauge their chances of landing a big, “three-salt” hatchery steelhead before they sit down to a turkey dinner. The focus is much the same on the east side, where “summer-run” steelhead are still moving up the Columbia, Snake, Grand Ronde and other rivers.
“Our plan right now is to get to the Cowlitz (River) really early, catch our fish, shower and get to our relatives’ house in time for Thanksgiving dinner,” said Marla Page, a financial analyst for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). “I don’t have to cook this year.”
The Cowlitz is a good choice, said Bob Leland, WDFW steelhead manager, noting that more hatchery steelhead smolts were released there three years ago than in any other river in the state. Still, he said, high-water conditions in many rivers could swamp holiday steelheaders’ hopes, and the best fishing doesn’t usually get under way until early to mid-December.
“It’s still a little early yet, but anglers will definitely find some fish during the holiday weekend,” Leland said. “Three-salt hatchery steelhead, which have been at sea three years, are usually the first to arrive. These are the big ones, running 12 to 15 pounds. The two-salt fish, which average six to eight pounds, generally arrive later.”
Information about hatchery steelhead smolt plants, river by river, is available on WDFW’s website at http://www.wa.gov/wdfw/fish/harvest/harvest.htm or by calling (360) 902-2700.
Of course, hatchery steelhead aren’t the only fish on the menu in the weeks ahead. Anglers are still catching some bright chum and coho salmon in westside rivers and a number of winter-only rainbow trout lakes will open Dec. 1 in eastern Washington.
And while stormy weather may put a damper on early westside steelheading, it’s been a boon for hunters on both sides of the state. The accumulation of snow throughout much of eastern Washington has made for some excellent upland game bird hunting in areas with good cover. Pheasant, quail and partridge are holding tighter for hunters with flushing or pointing dogs. In addition, the snow cover has made it easier for late-season muzzleloaders and archers to track deer and elk, while cold, wet weather on the west side has brought more big bucks and bulls out into the open. Storms have also drawn huge flocks of waterfowl to prime hunting areas from the Skagit Valley to the Columbia Basin.
“Waterfowl hunting is really in full swing right now, with lots of ducks and geese around,” said Jack Smith, a WDFW regional wildlife manager. “We just want to caution hunters that certain species – including swans and dusky geese – are off-limits to hunting.” It’s every hunters’ responsibility to be able to distinguish between species and know which ones are legal to hunt, he said.
In addition to game birds, a wide variety of other birds are on display right now throughout the state, from swans in the Skagit and Chehalis valleys to Bohemian waxwings migrating through the Yakima area. Under these wintry conditions, birders have made several rare sightings, including two species of geese at Bowerman Basin in Grays Harbor County that have found themselves a long way from home. See the regional reports below for more details.
Northern Puget Sound
Fishing: The blackmouth season has been generally slow throughout the region, with a few decent days reported in the San Juans and central Puget Sound. The most successful anglers have been bouncing bait off the bottom. Fishing ends Nov. 30 throughout most of the region, but the blackmouth season continues through the end of the year in Marine Area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island) with a two-salmon daily limit, only one of which can be a blackmouth. Marine Area 10 opens to blackmouth fishing again on Dec. 16 with a one-fish daily limit. Both areas have a 22-inch minimum length on blackmouth. Most other regions won’t see blackmouth fishing until well after the start of the new year. Salmon anglers in the rivers have been battling high, dirty water throughout much of the region, but fishers have still been able to land a few chum salmon in the Skagit, Snohomish and Green river systems. A few coho are also being picked up, along with the occasional Dolly Varden. Thanksgiving week is the traditional start of winter steelhead fishing in the region, but it doesn’t look like anglers will have much to be thankful for this season. “In general, there are no indications that the trend of poor marine survival conditions have changed for steelhead,” said WDFW fisheries biologist Steve Foley. Winter steelhead returns have been down throughout Puget Sound for a number of years, for both hatchery and wild stocks. Anglers hoping to hook a steelhead should look to the old “reliable” rivers, such as the Green, the Snoqualmie, the Skykomish and the Skagit. Those rivers have the region’s largest hatchery steelhead releases. The statewide rule for steelhead is a two-fish daily limit, 20-inch minimum length. No more than two steelhead can be retained as part of the daily trout limit. There is an annual limit of 30 steelhead, no more than five of which can be wild fish. Most rivers have a requirement to release wild steelhead – be sure to check the WDFW Fishing in Washington sport fishing rules pamphlet for specific information before donning the chest waders. Popular steelhead gear includes cured eggs, spinners and yarn, or hammered metal spoons. Fans of whitefish know that it’s just about time to go after these small anadromous fish. Whitefish can be found in several of the region’s streams, including the Green River in King County and the north fork of the Stillaguamish River in Snohomish County. Anglers interested in going after whitefish can use a small spinning rod and reel combo and fish the tail-outs of pools. Popular baits include single eggs with a little weight, plus maggots and maggot imitations. The daily limit for whitefish is 15, with no minimum size requirement. Nighttime squid jigging remains good on the downtown Seattle piers, as well at Des Moines, Everett and Kayak Point. |
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