THE TERROR ENDS now.
After years of searching, I’ve finally found a solution to Port Angeles’ greatest plague — raccoons.
The city’s servile citizenry need not succumb to its black-eyed masters anymore. The days of Rocky Raccoon and his dumpster-diving buddies are numbered.
All we’ve got to do is call on some monkeys.
As Indian authorities proved this week at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, there’s no better way to drive out a pack of pests than employing a gang of well-prepared primates.
The New Delhi Municipal Council rented 38 grey langurs to scare off other, smaller simians at the Games.
And the langurs — giant monkeys with grey fur and a black face — are not to be trifled with.
“Any langur will do the business,” a trainer told Time magazine four years ago. “The [other] monkeys are petrified of them.”
So who’s to say this wouldn’t work here on the North Olympic Peninsula against those rotten raccoons?
Sure, this won’t be straight monkey-on-monkey security. But who’s to say langurs can’t move on to other mammals?
We already have dolphins holding down Hood Canal.
A threat such as the raccoons — cute and cuddly, yet armed with claws primed to punish — demands similar action.
How long must we surrender our french fries at the fast food lookout (aka Haynes Viewpoint) before we do something?
How long must we swerve out of the way of their plodding progeny on Front Street before we say enough is enough?
Clearly, those repugnant little rascals — multitudinous and menacing on the mean streets of Port Angeles — have intimidated this town long enough.
Let’s let those langurs loose.
We can pay them peanuts.
Last chance
Anglers looking for one more shot at some saltwater salmon have some choices.
Just as Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) closes down, things are starting to get interesting in a number of fisheries around the Peninsula.
That begins with the bubble fishery in Marine Area 3 (LaPush), which will be the site of the Last Chance Salmon Derby on Saturday and Sunday (for details, see today’s “five things” on Page B4).
As long as Mother Nature cooperates, there should be quite a few returning salmon to target in the waters just outside the Quillayute River.
You’ve just got to pick your spots, according to Randy Lato of All-Ways Fishing (360-374-2052) in LaPush.
“Anything that is ready to go is going to be shooting right in [to the Quillayute],” Lato said.
“You get within two miles [of the river] and they are terminal, but there is no west boundary on this bubble, so you can go out to the Rock Pile.
“The fish out there are still bitey.”
While the non-selective silver fishery in Area 5 came to a close Thursday, a window of opportunity opened today in Area 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca).
That’s where anglers will be able to keep any salmon — wild or hatchery — through the end of October.
“A lot of people have been holding out for that,” Ryan Gedlund of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles said.
“One day [in September] I heard of people getting eight, 10, 12 fish in a day but they had to let them go, because they were all native. So this is going to get a lot more people out fishing.”
If the Sekiu coho fishery – lights out during the past week — is any indication, things should go pretty well for whoever makes it out.
Those targeting the silvers should troll north-south across the Strait, Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said.
“That way you can intersect them,” Menkal said.
“We’ll see what happens. It should go nuts for us.”
The Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) fishery continues out east as well.
Unfortunately, anglers won’t have the same choices to the south.
The Lower Quilcene River and Quilcene/Dabob Bay close to fishing Saturday.
A low coho run has hatchery officials worried about getting the requisite egg take for this season.
If egg-take needs are met, the fisheries will re-open.
River fishing
The fall salmon season is officially upon us.
Some serious rains brought West End rivers up earlier this week, enticing a conga line of coho to enter the freshwater.
With conditions improving during the past two days, anglers should have a shot at hooking a few this weekend.
“There was a push of fish that came through, and the rivers are just in prime shape right now,” Lato said.
“The Sol Duc will be dropping pretty good in the next day, but the Bogachiel and the Hoh should fish really good.”
The Sol Duc Hatchery received 890 summer coho in the last week alone.
With fall fish now entering the rivers, there should be even more where that came from.
“From what I heard through the tribal guys was that there was a lot of coho,” Lato said, “but they were getting a few chinook.”
The Lower Elwha River will join the party today.
The Port Angeles-area tributary opens to coho retention only, with a portion of it closed from the Aldwell Lake Dam downstream to the new Elwha River Road bridge.
The closure was made to allow state biologists to work on a fish counting project and collect broodstock for Endangered Species Act listed chinook in the area.
• One other note: The Dungeness Hatchery received its first 100 coho adults this week.
That’s a good sign for Dungeness River anglers, who are sure to swarm its banks Oct. 16.
Hunting roundup
Expect to hear a few cat calls out in the woods this weekend.
The bulls are getting randy, and that might just be their undoing when muzzleloader elk season begins Saturday in the Dickey, Pysht and Sol Duc Game Management Units (GMUs).
“The rut should be going on,” Menkal said. “Some years it’s early, and some years it’s later, but usually within a week [of Oct. 1].”
Archers had a hard time getting the bulls to bugle in mid-September.
That should change this weekend. Unless, that is, we’re dealing with some lagging libidos in the Roosevelt elk community.
“They are going to be bugling,” Menkal said. “They are going to be giving themselves away. You’ll hear that high-pitched whistling sound.
“Nobody else makes that sound except maybe Bigfoot.”
Deer haven’t added much to the conversation during their early muzzleloader season.
Positive feedback has been minimal at best for that hunt, which comes to a close in the Pysht, Sol Duc, Goodman, Clearwater and Coyle GMUs after Sunday.
Perhaps they are just waiting for the ever-popular modern rifle season Oct. 16-31.
Shroom show
“Mushroom Mania: A Fungal Festivus” need not be solely for mycological masters.
The Olympic Peninsula Mycological Society’s annual Wild Mushroom Show, set for Oct. 17 at the Sequim Elks Lodge from noon to 4 p.m., should provide more than enough pointers for novices looking to score some fabulous fungal photos.
Experts will be on hand to answer questions, with wild mushroom displays, propagation projects and book sales also part of the program.
There will be group field trips Oct. 16 for those looking to collect mushrooms for the show. A moss foray is set for Oct. 15 as well.
Mushroom Mania — the PDN’s annual mushroom photo contest — will run through Nov. 8.
There are three categories for submissions: biggest, prettiest and mushroom most resembling a historical figure. The winner of each category receives $50. Photos should be sent to matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.
For more information on the mushroom show, visit olymushrooms.org.
Also . . .
• Emeritus professor Jim Karr will talk about the Kissimmee River Restoration project in Central Florida at the Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishers’ monthly meeting Monday.
The undertaking has been called the largest ecosystem restoration project in the world and shares some similarities to the Elwha River Dam removal project.
Karr will begin his presentation shortly after the meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Loomis Log Cabin in Port Angeles’ Lincoln Park.
• A number of ocean beaches, including Olympic National Park’s Kalaloch Beach, are set to open to clam digging next week, pending marine toxin testing.
Twin Harbors has scheduled afternoon digs Oct. 7-10, while Long Beach, Copalis, Mocrocks and Kalaloch will open Oct. 8-9. Digging is prohibited before noon.
For more information on razor clams, visit http://tinyurl.com/2avte8x.
• A section of Olympic Discovery Trail between Lower Elwha Road and 18th Street in Port Angeles will be closed through Nov. 26.
The closure will allow workers to construct a bridge over Dry Creek for the trail. Trail users are advised to use a detour route on N Street, Lauridsen Boulevard, Edgewood Drive and Lower Elwha Road.
For more information regarding the project, contact project engineer Michael Szatlocky at mszatlocky@cityofpa.us or 360-417-4808.
• Olympic National Park staff will discuss preliminary alternatives for integrating two segments around Lake Crescent into Olympic Discovery Trail at a meeting Monday.
The meeting will run from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Port Angeles Senior Community Center, 328 E. Seventh St.
For more information about the project, visit http://parkplanning.nps.gov or call the park at 360-565-3004.
• Dungeness River Audubon Center will lead a hike from Dungeness Spit to McDonnell Creek on Tuesday from 7:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Birders will walk along the beach to observe wintering seabirds, gulls and raptors. The walk is free, but there is a $3 entry fee to access Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.
For more information, contact Joe Zook at 360-681-3526 or gadzooks@wavecable.com.
• Puget Sound Anglers-East Jefferson chapter will hold its monthly meeting in the Marina Room of the Point Hudson Marina on Oct. 12 at 6:30 p.m.
The guest speaker has yet to be decided because of a last minute cancellation. The public is invited and refreshments will be served.
• The Olympic Peninsula Paddlers Club will hold its monthly meeting at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. 4th St., in Port Angeles on Oct. 13.
Details about guest speakers were not available.
• Washington Trails Association is accepting submissions for its annual Northwest Exposure photo contest through Oct. 17.
Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place in five categories: Wild Landscapes, Flora and Fauna, Hikers in Action, Families on Trail and Offbeat Outdoors.
For more information on the contest, including how to submit photos, visit http://tinyurl.com/yj29nxg.
• The Coastal Conservation Association-North Olympic Peninsula Chapter will hold its first fundraising banquet, Saturday, Oct. 16, at 4 p.m. in John Wayne Marina.
There will be live and silent auctions of fishing gear, trips, art and more. Tickets are $65 per person or $120 for couples. That includes a one-year membership in the CCA.
For information on ordering tickets, contact banquet chair Bill Batson at 877-875-2381 (ext. 20) or bill@batsonenterprises.com.
• Crabbers have until Oct. 10 to submit their summer catch record cards to Fish and Wildlife.
Those who fail to file catch reports for 2010 will face a $10 fine, which will be imposed when they apply for a 2011 Puget Sound crab endorsement.
Cards can be mailed in or recorded online. Additional information is available at http://tinyurl.com/29f2n2c.
Crabbers who continue to fish in an open area after Sept. 6 should record their catch on their winter catch card.
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; e-mail 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.