Warm fall weather is for the birds
Friday, November 19, 2004 8:00 AM PST
By Chuck Downer
Printable version
E-mail this articleHow quickly time flies! It seems like just yesterday that I was anticipating a spring bass fishing trip to Owyhee Reservoir, in eastern Oregon. And now, Thanksgiving is a little less than a week away.
Monday afternoon I was sitting in my recliner, looking out across the deck, watching the rain come down. So far, this fall has been relatively mild. So mild in fact, that I haven't had to scrape frost off my truck windshield yet.
On a couple of recent trips to Silver Lake, I've fished in my shirt-sleeves until late afternoon, and that's rare for November. A few diehard fishermen, myself included, are still poking around, looking for some late-season action.
Tuesday afternoon, when I was taking my boat out, a duck hunter launched his pod at the boat ramp, and motored off uplake on what appeared to be a reconnaissance mission. I heard the putt-putt of the little two-horsepower Mercury outboard returning as I was pulling out of the parking lot.
A pod-boat is a testimony to efficiency. There was room enough for a gas tank for the motor, one hunter, and one chocolate Lab. By the time you throw in a few decoys, and a shotgun, and maybe your lunch and a thermos full of coffee (just the basics), that doesn't leave much leg-room.
Mostly I'm seeing resident ducks at the lake right now, especially mallard drakes and hens. For the past month or so I've been seeing rafts of smaller-size black and white ducks out in the main lake. I'm not an expert at identifying ducks on the fly, but a duck hunting friend tells me that he's seeing a lot of buffleheads early in the season.
The Washington duck season got under way on Oct. 16, and will run through Jan. 30. You can pick up a copy of the Migratory Waterfowl and Upland Game Seasons pamphlet at a license dealer near you.
There seems to be a substantial number of Canada geese on the lake as well, but it's likely that these are resident geese that are moving around the lake from place to place. It's breathtaking to see a flock of geese appear ghost-like out of the fog, so low that you could almost touch them with your rod tip.
As I mentioned in an earlier column, there will be no goose check station in the Longview-Kelso area this year. If you shoot a goose, you'll have to take it to Cathlamet or to Woodland to have it checked.
If you're a goose hunter, pick up a copy of the waterfowl pamphlet, and study it carefully. In Goose Management Area 2A, of which the local area is a part, goose hunting is allowed on specific days only, beginning on Nov. 27. A different schedule applies for the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.
In Goose Management Area 2A, the daily bag limit is four geese, not more than one dusky, and not more than three Ross', snow, or blue geese. As usual, written authorization is required to hunt geese in Area 2A, and if you shoot a dusky, your season is over.
Goose hunting is already under way in Goose Management Area 2B, which includes Pacific and Grays Harbor counties. Be sure to check the waterfowl pamphlet for dates and bag limits. Like Area 2A, written authorization is required, and if you drop a dusky, that's the end of your season.
Fishing report
The fishing report this week isn't all that different than last.
According to fishermen coming into the store, the Naselle River has been good recently, for both late-run chinook salmon and silvers. Anglers fishing the Lewis River are reporting bright chinook salmon as well as "B"-run silvers.
A friend, out for an afternoon drive on the Cowlitz River last week, told me that a plunker had two nice, bright silvers just below the Olequa boat ramp.
Early winter steelhead have been caught on the Cowlitz, and the Kalama has a few steelhead as well.
The water temperature at Silver Lake is running 49-50 degrees right now. I saw three or four other boats on the lake Tuesday when I was out, but not many fish were being caught. Most of the boats were gone by early afternoon.
Crabbing excellent
Last week's three-day clam dig once again produced limits of clams for most diggers, but they had to work harder for them. Many told me that it was necessary to pound the sand with their shovel to get the clams to show.
Another three-day season is scheduled for Dec. 10-12, provided marine toxins remain at a safe level.
Crabbing has been excellent recently at the mouth of the Columbia River.
Limits are the rule, below Hammond on the Oregon side, and near Ilwaco. Some of the crabs are running eight inches or better.
Regulations for Washington can be found in the fishing pamphlet, beginning on page 130.
Chuck Downer works in the fishing department at Bob's Merchandise in Longview. He can be reached there at 425-3870.
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