Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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As of today, we're 10 days into the 2025 spring turkey season here in Washington. I don't have much from the field except for a handful of birds taken during the Youth Turkey Season, which was offered statewide to hunters ages 15 and younger from April 1 to 7. During our 18 years in Iowa, Julie and I 'sponsored' (per se) many young turkey hunters. To me, it was the most enjoyable part of the season. These kids asked questions, sometimes a lot of questions, but it reminded me of the basics of Mot...
I'm writing this on Monday, April 14. It's an absolutely gorgeous perfect morning. The sun is coming up. Anna's hummingbirds are at the feeder. Golden-crowned sparrows are up front. Mama English sparrow is working on her nest in a house I built. Now there's a good feeling. Birds bringing off broods in a house you built with your own two hands. That and picking apples (or cherries or peaches) from a tree you planted (what's it been) four years ago? It's the little things, my friends. The small...
Julie and I took grandsons Tristan (14) and Wyatt (10) to the Radar Lakes on Friday just to get away for a bit. The weather was gorgeous. State Route 4 was virtually empty. The 69-cent rack at Johnson's One Stop in Naselle had recently been restocked. Can you say "Old Fashioned Glazed Donuts?" The lakes were devoid of humans, and the trout were incredibly cooperative. Finish this with hot dogs roasted over a fire, not one but two salamander sightings, and nary a single full frontal dunking, all...
On Thursday, April 3, members of Wahkiakum Fire District 4 addressed Wahkiakum High students on the science behind fire. District training officer and 2016 WHS graduate Jack Leavitt, who also serves as a career / professional firefighter for the Toutle Fire Department, Officer William Peek, and District 4 cadet Jordan Smith presented several fire-related demonstrations to a gathering of students before heading outside. The trio then used a "dollhouse," a two-story wooden representation of a...
Apparently, the Cowlitz River wasn’t good enough for this year’s run of Columbia River smelt, otherwise known as eulachon. Instead, the little silver fish bypassed their traditional tributary here in southwest Washington and continued up the main stem into Oregon’s Sandy River. On Tuesday, March 25, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced a surprise one-day smelt season along a specific section of the Sandy River to be held on Thursday, March 27, from noon until 7 p.m. Dippers were under the same rules as they were in Washi...
I often hear people say that the problem with young people today is this, or that, or something else. Following the announcement, I'll be informed of said problem; perhaps, more than one. However, what I don't hear is the solution. Problem, solution? No, sir. Problem, problem. Well, I ain't that guy. Do you want to know what the problem with young people is? No old men. Simple as that. The solution? Old guys. That's right. Get yourself an old guy. Problem solved. How, pray tell, is that a...
It seems there’s always a lot going on in the great outdoors, and this week is no exception. Smelt… again An editor of mine for whom weekly ‘smelt updates’ are a necessary evil wrote me recently saying how happy he’ll be when smelt season is over, and the weekly updates are a thing of the past. This got me thinking that perhaps you folks grow weary of my weekly updates de eulachon, eh? If that’s the case, we have but this one and the season will be done. The Washington Department of Fish and Wil...
Smelt dipping is a go! For the first time since announcing their ‘tentative dates’ process for the 2025 smelt season, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has approved and/or confirmed the dates of Wednesday, March 12, and Saturday, March 15. It’s a go, so haul out those waders, find that Spongebob Squarepants bucket, mend the hole(s) in your smelt net, dust off your propeller beanie, and take your St. John’s Wort because it’s going to be a good old fashioned hootenanny down on the Cowlitz River on Saturday morning. As has be...
Before I get started this week, I'd just like to once again thank the folks who have come up and said how much they enjoy the new column. Not that my 'journalistic ego' needs stroking, but it is nice to know that (1) people are reading the pieces and (2) for some of them, it's apparently dredging up some fond memories from back in the day. A time when things were simpler; not necessarily easier, but simpler. Before Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Al Gore's Internet, and the time, as Merle Haggard...
Welcome to this week’s rendition of The Eagle Outdoors. A lot to cover this week, but first, I want to thank all of you who have commented on the column and how much they enjoy it. The feedback is taken to heart, greatly appreciated and helps on several fronts, the least of which isn’t to make The Eagles Outdoors. I tip my hat to y’all for taking the time to read, reply and, at least to this point, not toilet papering my home in response to something I’ve said. Outdoor News By now, many of you avid anglers will already have heard the news as...
Ah, smelt. Despite the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) best intentions to provide us with smelt dipping opportunities, the first two days were not approved. Fishery managers evaluate weekly commercial test fishery landings, or catch reports, to determine if the smelt run size is large enough to support a recreational harvest. This week’s catch reports did not provide enough information to confirm whether the run is large enough to open a recreational fishery in the Cowlitz Ri...
The big news, if you haven’t already read the news release from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for February 2025, is the implementation by the agency of some brand new regulations surrounding the traditional smelt fishery on the Cowlitz River. Biologists determined that populations of Columbia River smelt, or eulachon as they’re technically known, began to decline in the mid-1990s. In 2001, the Washington-Oregon Eulachon Management Plan was drafted; nine years later in 2010, Col...
I reckon at this point it’s officially Spring. Or least it would appear so based on the lilacs, Italian plums, peaches, apricots, daffodils, and on and on in bloom here at the house. The jetty sparrows – y’all know them simply as song sparrows – have started nesting, the ‘little’ geese (the Cackling geese, Aleutians, and Lesser Canadas) have, with a handful of exceptions, gone home to The Great White North, and I expect to see yellow balls of fluff, i.e. Canada goose goslings, on local farm pond...
There's been a lot of water under the proverbial bridge for 26-year-old Jason Lewis: from Maricopa, Arizona, to Cathlamet, to South Korea, and to the Long Beach Peninsula. A 2016 graduate of Wahkiakum High School, Lewis is currently enrolled in the Washington State Fire Academy, along with 24 of his fellow cadets, including Hannah Mendez and Leanne Campbell, both with the Cathlamet Fire Department. Recently, The Eagle had a chance to slow Lewis down for a few minutes. Get his thoughts on 'life...
Some people go to the ballpark for the nachos. That's me. Some go to the county fair for the Italian sausage sandwiches and elephant ears. Again, me. Y'all starting to see a common denominator here? Some go to the Cowlitz River in southwest Washington during the month of February-at least hopefully, they're going to the Cowlitz in February-for the social aspect and carnival atmosphere that is smelt dipping. And that's precisely why I love, and I mean absolutely love, smelt dipping. It's not for...
On Saturday, Feb. 10, personnel from all four Wahkiakum County fire districts, including Puget Island, District 4, Skamokawa, and Grays River, along with firefighters and emergency medical staff from the Town of Cathlamet, attended a half-day 'live fire' training event at Clatsop Community College (CCC) near Astoria. The training was held at the college's Marine and Environmental Research and Training Station, or MERTS, which offers a variety of educational scenarios, such as maritime science,...
