EDITOR'S BLOG
Springer Bite ImprovingBy Andy Walgamott
(Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:24:07 +0000)
I received a message from Jason Bauer's iPhone sent at precisely 9:12 a.m. today. He had the boat back on the trailer and was pulling away from the Marine Park launch in Vancouver to go get some breakfast. ...
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Poachers SuckBy Andy Walgamott
(Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:37:36 +0000)
On the heels of yesterday's take-down of an allegedly massive oyster-poaching ring on Hood Canal, WDFW Enforcement also sent out its quarterly report. As always, the document is part comical and part maddening. ...
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‘Massive’ Oyster Poaching CaseBy Andy Walgamott
(Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:06:57 +0000)
The owner of a Hood Canal seafood company and an employee were arrested this morning in connection to a case that involves the theft of "hundreds of thousands of shellfish from tidelands off state parks and private lands." ...
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Bios Worry About Shed Antler HuntersBy Andy Walgamott
(Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:08:28 +0000)
Read through today's Weekender Report and one thing is clear: Washington wildlife biologists are not keen about hunters. But not your everyday hunters, rather the ones who track down shed deer and elk antlers on winter range. ...
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800 Columbia Springers Caught So FarBy Andy Walgamott
(Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:04:03 +0000)
A report this morning says that since Feb. 1, at least 800 spring Chinook have been landed on the Columbia, but despite this year's monster upriver forecast, most of those have been bound for lower-river tribs. ...
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Spring Kings? Nah, It’s Steelie Time In The NW!By Andy Walgamott
(Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:52:18 +0000)
Tell you what: With the missus and kids fleeing the country in two weeks I had planned on using every available minute springer fishing. Now, I'm not so sure. ...
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Springer ReportBy Andy Walgamott
(Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:54:48 +0000)
We're not quite out of the single-digit days, but the editor is breathing a little easier this morning: Spring Chinook are trickling over the dam in increasing numbers -- nine yesterday! Meanwhile downriver and on the Multnomah Channel, Northwest Sportsman writer Andy Schneider spent the weekend fishing. ...
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3 Charged In Deer PoachingBy Andy Walgamott
(Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:01:31 +0000)
The deer were gathered on their wintering grounds not far from Wenatchee when two local men and one from the Westside allegedly started shooting, killing three does and a yearling. ...
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Steve Foley, Longtime WDFW Bio, PassesBy Andy Walgamott
(Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:46:50 +0000)
Steve Foley, an "irreplaceable" Seattle-area salmon and steelhead biologist, passed away last Sunday afternoon, the victim of an apparent heart attack while working out at a gym. ...
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Come On, Springers …By Andy Walgamott
(Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:51:11 +0000)
High effort, low catch -- and what is being reeled in is mostly downriver Chinook. This year's forecasted record springer return to upper Columbia tribs is indeed starting out slowly, like every season since 2005. ...
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‘A Really, Really Big Decision’By Andy Walgamott
(Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:28:25 +0000)
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service put greater sage grouse on the list of "candidate" species for ESA protection, stopping short of a threatened status. ...
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More On WDFW’s Budget BattlesBy Andy Walgamott
(Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:45:40 +0000)
I wrote my state Senator a letter last week voicing my opposition to a WDFW-DNR merger, and surprise, surprise, she wrote back! ...
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Group To Protest Sea Lion RemovalBy Andy Walgamott
(Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:31:41 +0000)
Activists are gathering at Bonneville Dam today to protest ODFW and WDFW's removal of problem California sea lions that gather there, the first of which was killed by lethal injection yesterday. ...
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WDFW Reveals Salmon Forecasts, Season IdeasBy Andy Walgamott
(Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:48:38 +0000)
Chinook in the ocean and Columbia, Puget Sound coho, more selective -- and possibly restrictive -- king fisheries, no repeat of last summer's first-since-1993 Skagit king fishery and forget about Lake Washington sockeye. ...
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Sportsmen Help Head Off WDFW-DNR MergerBy Andy Walgamott
(Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:55:50 +0000)
A Friday-night budget amendment keeps WDFW as a separate agency, but retains over $6.5 million more in cuts. ...
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More Salmon Forecasts OutBy Andy Walgamott
(Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:25:59 +0000)
A Federal fishery management group's salmon forecast finds just a hair more Puget Sound Chinook this year in the ocean and a solid jag more Sound coho, but mixed news for Willapa Bay silvers and kings. ...
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Senate Budget Kills WDFWBy Andy Walgamott
(Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:26:04 +0000)
WDFW would be merged with DNR under a state Senate committee's supplemental budget released this week. ...
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He’s ‘INN’ Tune With NW Game And FishBy Andy Walgamott
(Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:51:38 +0000)
Ever walk away from your duck blind to go pee and have flocks finally drop in? Or put your rifle away and watch as a buck suddenly appears at deer camp? ...
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Late Feb. Steel Ops Shrink In ‘11-12By Andy Walgamott
(Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:04:01 +0000)
If you're a Nooksack, Skykomish or Snoqualmie River steelheader sitting at home this mid-February weekend instead of trying to tangle with a wild winter-run or two -- or maybe card a late hatchery fish -- get used to that empty feeling. ...
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Bank Only Spring King Fishing Above I-205By Andy Walgamott
(Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:38:01 +0000)
UPDATED 2-19: Washington and Oregon salmon managers set springer rules providing a "full range of fishing opportunities," except that the I-205 to Bonneville stretch will be bank-only fishing this year. ...
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