TRUDGE LIGHTLY, MY dear Peninsulites.
As is usually the case during the first few weeks of hunting season on the North Olympic Peninsula, stealth equals success.
“If it doesn’t rain [soon], it’s going to be tough, tough, tough on those boys,” Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks said.
“You ain’t going to creep through the woods very much. It sounds like you’re trying to sneak through a cornflake factory or something.”
Gooding should know.
He and his dogs were out on abandoned logging roads in search of grouse during opening day Thursday morning.
Thanks to last spring’s unspring-like weather, that particular hunt isn’t likely to be all that good this fall.
Upland game like grouse tend to be highly susceptible to pneumonia when forced to deal with cold, damp weather conditions for extended periods.
I’m pretty sure that describes last April through May to a T.
“The fact that this spring was one of the wettest, if not the wettest, on record, that was not a helpful thing for our chick survival,” said Mick Cope, regional wildlife program manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Added Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods (360-683-1950) in Sequim, “We could be in for a tough one this year; tougher than normal.”
While it’s unlikely the weather had the same sort of effect on deer and elk populations, there’s little doubt that our recent spat of dry weather will make things difficult for bow hunters the next few days.
Deer opener
Archery season began for deer throughout the Peninsula on Thursday.
As I noted in Thursday’s outdoors column, hunter success has been on the rise in recent years for deer hunters on the east side of the Peninsula.
More bucks have been taken out of the Olympic and Coyle Game Management Units (GMUs) during the past two years than at any other time since the turn of the millennium.
Sharp increases in hunter success suggest that isn’t just because more hunters are coming to the area, either.
“There have been some improved habitat conditions for deer with some different logging activities going on in those two units,” Cope said.
Such increased activities have “both opened up some areas to better deer habitat, but also [provided] more access and visibility for those hunters,” he added.
Mike Deese of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles said he saw plenty of bucks while out scouting the West End.
His focus, however, is more on the archery elk opener set for Tuesday.
“Archery hunting could be interesting for elk, because those bulls might not have their harems together,” Deese said.
“The bulls might answer calls. You might be able to call one in.”
Salmon story
We’re coming down to the last gasps of Humpapalooza 2011.
What appeared to be a never ending run of pink salmon is starting to thin out in the ocean and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
That’s not to say there aren’t any around.
The more confusing problem, however, is the lack of hatchery coho coming through.
“For the most part, the fishery has dropped off,” Chris Mohr of Van Riper’s Resort (360-963-2334) in Sekiu said.“I assumed that would happen with the pinks. This is usually the time they start going way.
“What I am shocked by is there aren’t more hatchery coho around.”
Preseason predictions had told of a significant coho run coming through Puget Sound this fall.
With anglers still running into some out in the ocean by Umatilla, according to Joey Lawrence of Big Salmon Resort (360-645-2374) in Neah Bay, there’s a chance they are just a little late to the Strait.
“My guess is they are either really late or they missed the forecast,” Mohr said. “And I don’t know which is which.”
Menkal said anglers have had success out near Sequim in recent weeks.
There’s also been several positive reports from beach fishers out at Point Wilson and Marrowstone Island in Jefferson County.
“They are starting to roll in,” Menkal said of the pinks and coho around Admiralty Inlet. “That rain we had last week is really starting to push fish down the Strait.”
One other saltwater note: Area 3 (LaPush) and 4 (Neah Bay) will reopen to chinook fishing on Labor Day and stay open through Sept. 18.
“The chinook are still thick out there,” Lawrence said. “There must be a huge run, because that last day [the fishery was open] they were still there.”
River runs
As low as rivers are running these days, it ought to be pretty tough to hook a salmon.
That being said, there’s loads of summer coho moving into the Sol Duc, as well as a few fish in the Hoh.
“The Hoh is holding up and its got some fish in it, but the rest of them, pretty skinny,” Gooding said.
Of course, the Big Quilcene River is where the real action is at.
The real question is whether you want any part of it.
“It’s combat fishing at its best, or worst, depending upon how you look at it,” Menkal said. “Those fish run the gauntlet.”
The Quilcene National Fish Hatchery reported 5,100 adult coho reaching its traps so far this season.
Here’s guessing that run has some steam left in it.
Also . . .
■ As was mentioned in Thursday’s outdoors column, summer crabbing season comes to a close at sunset on Labor Day.
Catch record card data is due by Oct. 1. Those who fail to report on time will be subject to a $10 fine when they purchase their 2012 crab endorsement.
Reports can be submitted online at http://bit.ly/WkXeA from Sept. 5 through Oct. 1.
■ George Douglas will discuss steelhead fishing at the Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishers’ monthly meeting at Campfire USA Headquarters, 619 E. Fourth St., in Port Angeles on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Douglas is the publisher of Kype Magazine, an online and printed fishing publication about salmon, trout and steelhead.
■ Brian’s Sporting Goods will host another free fishing class focused on river salmon and steelhead this Tuesday night and Sept. 13.
The class will run from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. both nights inside the Sequim shop at 542 W. Washington St.
■ A special program on beach fishing for salmon will highlight the Puget Sound Anglers-East Jefferson Chapter monthly meeting in Port Townsend on Sept. 13.
The presentation will start shortly after the meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Marina Room at Point Hudson Marina, 375 Hudson St.
■ Outdoor photographers can now submit their best shots to Washington Trails Association’s annual Northwest Exposure Photo Contest.
Participants have until Oct. 10 to submit photos into one of five categories: wild landscapes, flora and fauna, hikers in action, families on trail and offbeat outdoors.
For more information about the contest, visit http://tinyurl.com/yj29nxg.
■ The Quilcene Antler Show is looking for youth hunters and elk buglers to participate in this year’s event at the Quilcene School gymnasium, Sept. 17-18.
Show organizers are asking for young hunters to bring in their mounts Sept. 16 between 3-6 p.m. or Sept. 17 between 8-11 a.m.
There will also be a new elk calling event at the show. Kids and callers can register by calling Mari Phillips at 360-765-0688.
Send photos, stories
Want your event listed in the outdoors column?
Have a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique, why not share it with our readers?
Send it to me, Matt Schubert, Sports Department, Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362; phone, 360-417-3526; fax, 360-417-3521; email matt.schubert
@peninsuladailynews.com.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column appears on Thursdays and Fridays.