The Eagle Outdoors

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's spring, obviously, and there's a lot of moving parts out there. The barn swallows are back and are remodeling their 2024 nest on the east side of the shop. Sure, they're messy "decorating" the side of the garage with white, especially as the little ones get bigger, but they're extremely entertaining to watch, and anything that eats that many mosquitoes is okay in my ledger book. Across the road, the barred owls are hooting up a storm daily, their "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?" serenade ringing up and down the valley at all times of the night and day. The mama blacktails have returned, some of them rather pudgy around the middle, betraying the fact that at least some bucks made it through the early November 2024 rut period. Oh, and more Columbia whitetails in the neighborhood, including one little buck that insists on raking my wife's willow trees and taste-testing her plants. It seems the whitetails don't understand that that high fence around the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge is meant to keep them in, eh?

Columbia River Fishing Endorsement, Round II

Those who fish the Big River avidly will remember the former Columbia River Endorsement. This was paperwork required to be purchased from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and possessed while fishing the Columbia during the period from 2010 through 2019. Then, it was a minor money maker for the agency; not a profit maker, but a way, albeit a small one, of financially supporting "underfunded sportfishing programs," particularly those related to monitoring fisheries impacting Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed fish. In 2019, however, the Endorsement's authority wasn't renewed by the Washington state legislature, thereby going away.

The Columbia River Endorsement is back. Washington lawmakers approved the bill on Saturday, April 26. It now goes to Governor Bob Ferguson's desk and, assuming he signs it, will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026. If I were a betting man, I'd say there's an almost 100 percent chance the governor puts pen to paper.

What does this mean for those who fish the Big River? The cost of the old/new endorsement will be $8.75 after dealer and transaction fees, and will be required by all those who fish for chinook, coho, winter-runs, and other salmon/steelhead on the Columbia and the river's Washington side tributaries with those salmon/steelhead stocks from the Rocky Point-Tongue Point line upstream to the base of the Chief Joseph Dam. An amendment to the original language of the bill, courtesy of Senator John Braun (R-Centralia), removed language that had revenue resulting from the sale of the endorsement being specifically earmarked for scientific monitoring, evaluation, data collection, permitting, and reporting and, in its place, inserted "monitoring, hatchery production, pinniped removal, and enforcement." Other stipulations of Senator Braun's verbiage include the requirement of an annual summary, a continuation recommendation, and an expiration date of Jan. 1, 2028.

So, if you're scratching your head and wondering if it's going to cost more to catch that fall king off Cathlamet in September - which you're not - the obvious answer is yes. However, and you've heard me say this before, a fishing license, even with an additional $8.75 tacked on top, remains the best entertainment value available, if you enjoy the outdoors; enough said.

More walleye

Last week, my good friend and avid walleye hunter, Bill Saunders from Kennewick sent me a drool-worthy photograph of a 12-pound-plus walleye that a fishing partner of his, Brent Davis had just caught. This week, Saunders "cruelly" trolled me with yet more images; this time of the man himself holding two separate walleyes. "We're throwing four swimbaits in five to 15 feet of water," he told me when I pressed him for details. "The water temperature is 44 degrees. Some (of the females) are still holding eggs; others have already dropped."

Love 'em or hate 'em, now's the time, if you're so inclined, to head up I-84 to the Tri-Cities, Maryhill, Biggs Junction, The Dalles, Beacon Rock (I've caught plenty of walleye there), or the waters surrounding Reed Island above Washougal and give walleye a go. Not sure? Go catch a couple of "20 inches." Fillet them up nice, roll them in Pacific Pride breading, give them a quick fry to golden brown in peanut oil, and then tell me you hate walleye.

North Jetty report

Julie and I made our inaugural trip for the year to the North Jetty at the mouth of the river on April 16. The target was black sea bass and/or ling cod, neither of which decided to make an appearance; however, we did manage a handful of red-tailed surf perch on the ocean side. Nothing secret or magical with that operation. A two-ounce bank sinker below a two-hook crappie rig, the #6 Aberdeen long shank hooks adorned with two inch pieces of Berkley GULP 'Camo' sandworm. A simple cast and wait process. The fishing wasn't red-hot by any stretch, but it will get better. May's a good month to try your hand at bottom fishing the North Jetty and Dungeness crabs, if you're inclined to throw a snare or two off the rocks. If you haven't done crab snaring, it's a hoot.

Until May 8, be safe out there. Remember, if you're going to pack it in, be sure to pack it out and then some. Take someone fishing; anyone. It's fun. Trust me on that one.