The Eagle Outdoors

One of my favorite aspects about the outdoors is introducing new people to it; those unaccustomed to the activity at hand. Not necessarily, mind you, nimrods in the whole of the outdoors. Unfamiliar, one might say, with Mother Nature. No, just new to whatever 'this' or 'that' might be.

Over the past quarter century, I've had the opportunity to play a role in any number of such introductions. My wife's first Canada goose, whitetail buck, rooster pheasant, wild turkey, and channel catfish. Still, there were more. Tanner Peska's first whitetail deer, Nathan's first wild duck, Tyler and brother Casey's first silver salmon off the North Jetty, grandson Wyatt's inaugural steelhead. The first mushroom, Pacific tree frog, manila clams, and trip to the Long Beach Peninsula. It's been a 25-year blessing, truly, to be a part of these experiences and with the people for whom the ventures were their first.

Such was the case on the morning of Sunday, March 22. You've heard me speak before of Mike Callian. A young man of 40, Callian calls Albany, Ore., home. Currently, as he's done for some time now, Callian works as brand manager for Dave Smith Decoys out of Lebanon. As such, he wears an entire hall tree of different hats, many of them all on the same day. Callian, as I've mentioned previously, is what I'd call an 'old soul.' Older shotguns, canvas fowling jackets, and a mindset - at least, it's my thought - of a man with 50 years of on-the-water experience, but that's just my take. Also, when he's not hunting ducks and geese, Callian is an avid fly-fisher.

Joining Callian on Sunday was his girlfriend, Amanda Jones. I'll be honest. I don't know much about Ms. Jones, other than what Mike has told me. She is an RN, born and raised on the island of Maui and, today, works as a hospice nurse. Like Callian, Jones is an accomplished outdoorsperson. She's a turkey hunter, fly-fisher, and owner of a Golden-Doodle, which, truth be told, I'm not certain is hyphenated or not.

Experienced in the outdoors though they may be, what Callian and Jones had not done is hunt razor clams; that is, until Sunday, March 22. To recap using the "Reader's Digest Condensed Version" theory of journalism, a mile north of Ocean Park, the five of us were treated to a huge, full-color rainbow arched over the Pacific. There was no wind, blue skies, and temperatures high enough to make one think of digging barefoot. The few folks on the beach were spread thin, and we had 400 yards of sand to ourselves. The slight hump above the surf line was relatively dry. As far as the 'shows,' the indentations in the sand caused by the clams retracting their siphons, they were the size of mole hills. Even I could find them.

Quick studies, Callian and Jones needed only one 'catch' before they were gunning on their own. We often took time to watch a northward 'V' of tundra swans and investigate a small female Dungeness crab we'd found buried, along with shrimp, sand dollars, and the 1,001 wild things that call the Peninsula sands home. However, we had five limits and a tired Abigail dog, so we headed back to the truck to grill Bar-S-Bar sausages over open coals and wonder what the rich people were doing on this gorgeous Sunday morning. We all agreed they were digging razor clams "wealthy beyond compare."

As a side note, Julie's brother, Gordon, and I did a bit of surf perch fishing on the flood tide with no success. Strange, it was, as it's not often we fish the surf without at least a strike or two. Often the red-tails are small, but they're a catch, nonetheless; however, we drew a blank on Sunday. The surf perching, I'm certain, will improve as the calendar changes to April and then moves into early May. On another note, this year, the annual Surf Perch Derby, sponsored by Long Beach's Peninsula Lions Club, will be held on Saturday, May 16. I'll write up the details in a future column. Let's just say it's a heck of a time!

In other news, spring chinook fishing continues to be slow, though I am hearing of some late winter steelhead still being caught. Walleye fishing around the Tri-Cities is really heating up, with a number of #10-plus fish being netted over the past two weeks. Steamer clams are still available and, if you don't mind DIY (Do It Yourself) oysters, there are the Nachotta Tidelands above Ocean Park. Here at home, the fruit trees are all budded out, and the peaches and plums are wearing their springtime whites and pinks. Julie has seedling tomatoes, jalapenos, zucchini, cucumbers, and Lord knows what else popping up in the greenhouse. Wesley Allen, our three-year-old neighbor, has had his strawberries in the raised bed radically thinned and transplanted into neat rows.

There's always something to do now - as the mercury rises and the daylight lengthens - so get outdoors; and, as you do, take a minute to stop, look, and listen as you go about your business. What do you hear? It's Mother Nature; often different and always amazing.