HOPEFULLY EVERYONE READING this didn’t overly indulge during the Thanksgiving meal or the late-night sandwich-making portion of the holiday.
It’s a once-a-year opportunity to combine multiple starches together in one heaping portion and not feel terribly guilty about doing so.
There was one person I didn’t include in my Thanksgiving outdoors column: Ward Norden, a fishing tackle wholesaler and former fishery biologist living in Quilcene.
Norden was a little more practical about his thankfulness.
He just picked up a below-sticker price deal on a new pickup truck, saving a little scratch for the holiday season and now with a new ride to make his appointed rounds to area tackle shops and on his own fishing and hunting forays.
He took the new vehicle out for a cruise Tuesday and swung by the Lake Leland boat launch.
“I saw a couple anglers showing off their catch to tourists at the fishing pier,” Norden said.
“Several nice fish around 14 inches, long and fat.”
Late muzzleloader season
The late blacktail deer season for muzzleloaders started this week, and Norden believes this may be the toughest season of all to hunt.
“[It’s] probably the toughest of all to hunt due the habit of blacktails in winter, from southeast Alaska south to Willapa Bay, of only coming out for a few hours a week in just the right weather pattern,” Norden said.
“About 15 years ago, I read a scientific study that northern coastal blacktails will often lay in one spot for 10 days or more without moving until just the right weather pattern arrives, then just move about for a few hours before laying down again for another week or more.”
Norden, who crafts his own shot and participates in an annual old-style shooting contest in Nevada, says he’s always enjoyed this late hunt, but has missed some Thanksgiving dinners due to the arrival of a solid weather window.
Now that is commitment to the hunt.
Norden mentioned that Saturday’s dip toward freezing temperatures may be just one such weather window.
Norden also mentioned an uptick in the presence of ducks on area bays, calling it a “traffic jam.”
“Some of the late northern birds, mostly scaup, have shown up early and some of the early migrants haven’t left yet,” Norden said.
“Lots of pintails are around this year.”
Rivers may fall
Winter steelhead fishing typically kicks off on Thanksgiving, and with many folks taking an extra day or two off after the holiday, don’t be surprised to see anglers hitting the rivers, even if the rivers are still running at high levels.
Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles said it may be best to give things a little time.
“The rivers are all kind of pushing flood stage now,” Aunspach said.
“Another system is going to come through, but that one may not have too much moisture, so my gut feeling is Sunday or Monday could be good days to drift fish.”
Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim had a trip planned with fishing guide and Peninsula Daily News wilderness gossip columnist Pat Neal for last Sunday, but the rainy weather canceled the big day.
He has heard of silvers still coming up the Quillayute River and heading toward the Bogachiel.
Menkal advises to take this time to get gear ready for those brief windows of good fishing.
“This is also the good time of the year where you’re not besieged by fish yet, so this is a good time to get tackle ready,” he said.
“Tying hooks, tying leaders and putting them in there helps to have them not tangled up when you are out on the river.”
And now, with a chance to sit in front of a warm fire, with plenty of leftovers and a football game on the tube, is the perfect time to work on those little details.
Your fingers are apt to be much more pliable in a heated home than on a frigid river bank or drift boat, so plan accordingly.
“It’s like being a fireman, where you’re not waiting for a call but ready for a call,” Menkal said.
He’s also heard of a few steelhead in the Dungeness.
When I called Jerry Wright of Jerry’s Bait and Tackle (360-457-1308) in Port Angeles, he was out on a trip on the Sol Duc fishing for silvers.
“Despite the high water, it’s been pretty good fishing for salmon,” Wright said.
“We are out here right now and going to take a couple home.”
Wright also mentioned some steelhead being found already in the Bogachiel River.
One mighty tuna
A Central Washington University student set a new state record by catching a 39.2-pound bluefin tuna off the coast, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced.
Sam Ellinger of Ellensburg caught the 41-inch fish 28 miles offshore southwest of Grays Harbor in early October while bait fishing with anchovies.
“Catching a fish this size was pretty exhausting,” Ellinger said in a news release from Fish and Wildlife. “We didn’t know what we hooked until we got it on the boat.”
According to Fish and Wildlife, “The new record exceeded the previous record Pacific bluefin tuna weight by 2.71 pounds. That record was held by Patrick Fagan on a fish caught 35 miles offshore from Westport in 2012.”
Razor digs scheduled
Razor clam diggers can count on a week-long opening starting Wednesday, and can plan trips to Washington’s beaches in early 2015.
“Crowds of diggers have been on the light side, but the clams continue to grow and are getting fatter,” state coastal shellfish manager Dan Ayres said.
“If you’re willing to brave the elements, it’s a great opportunity to get some clams.”
Under state law, diggers are required to keep the first 15 clams they dig. Each digger’s clams must be kept in a separate container.
The state has razor clam recipes as well as advice on digging and cleaning clams wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams.
Digging days and evening tides during the upcoming opening are:
■ Wednesday: 4:14 p.m., -0.1 feet — Long Beach and Twin Harbors.
■ Thursday: 5:02 p.m., -0.6 feet — Long Beach and Twin Harbors.
■ Friday, Dec. 5: 5:45 p.m., -0.9 feet — Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks.
■ Saturday, Dec. 6: 6:26 p.m., -1.0 feet — Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks and Copalis.
■ Sunday, Dec. 7: 7:05 p.m., -0.9 feet — Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks.
■ Monday, Dec. 8: 7:44 p.m., -0.6 feet — Long Beach and Twin Harbors.
■ Tuesday, Dec. 9: 8:21 p.m., -0.2 feet — Long Beach and Twin Harbors.
Shellfish managers also announced a new schedule of proposed digs for early 2015, which extends an opening tentatively set for Dec. 31.
The schedule proposes six more days of digging during the first week in January and three more multi-day digs through February.
Send photos, stories
Have a photograph, a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique?
Send it to sports@peninsuladailynews.com or P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
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Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
