BABY STEPS, THE philosophy espoused in the 1991 comedic masterpiece “What About Bob,” has become my mantra as I acclimate myself to my new role as outdoors columnist.
In the movie Bill Murray is Bob Wiley, a psychiatric patient who follows (stalks) his new psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss) on a family vacation.
Marvin has written Baby Steps, a book that chronicles his methodology in treating mental disorders.
Wiley, full of many phobias, wills himself to face these fears by chanting things like, “Baby steps to the elevator,” when leaving his apartment or, “Baby steps get on the bus,” when traveling to an appointment.
Wiley ultimately befriends Marvin’s family while sending Marvin to his own stint in a mental institution.
I’ve taken the growth aspects of Baby Steps to heart, attempting to expand my base of outdoors knowledge by visiting the Wapiti Bowmen’s 3-D Fun Shoot with fellow PDN reporter Joe Smillie last Saturday morning.
Wapiti Bowmen member Scott Gordon was good enough to lead us around to about half of the targets set up on the club’s hilly property near Monroe Road in Port Angeles.
This included the Tyrannosaurus rex with bunny in tow, but thankfully for all who witnessed, the king carnivore was dispatched with a well-placed arrow.
Earlier this week I learned some of the finer points of steelhead fishing by attending the Steelhead 101 course offered by Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim.
Steelhead fishing is out of my depth, skills-wise, right now, but I can surely appreciate the respect anglers hold for this fishery, “the World Series of fishing,” as dubbed in class by Menkal.
I’ll be back for part two next Tuesday as I continue to ramp up.
Provide your input
Make your feelings known on upcoming 2014 salmon seasons tonight at a state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s North of Falcon meeting hosted by the North Olympic Peninsula chapter of Puget Sound Anglers.
The meeting is set for Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Fish and Wildlife personnel will discuss salmon season dates, catch limits and some new proposals to expand salmon fishing opportunities this year.
Bald eagle info reward
A fisherman tipped Fish and Wildlife to the presence of two dead bald eagles, an adult and a juvenile, shot and killed illegally on the Calawah River near Forks.
Not cool, boys and girls.
The agency will pay a reward of up to $2,000 for confidential information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator or perpetrators.
Anyone with information about the case can call Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Eric Anderson at 360-640-0493, the department toll free at 877-933-9847 (877-WDFW TIP), or text a tip to WDFW at 847411 (TIP411).
Clam season starting
Sport clamming will open April 1, a month earlier than last year, at Sequim Bay State Park.
All clam populations at the park’s beach are on the upswing, thus the earlier opener.
Shellfish seasons delayed
Sport clam and oyster fishing enthusiasts will have to wait until July 1 to harvest at South Indian Island County Park in Jefferson County and at Potlatch State Park and nearby Department of Natural Resources tidelands at the bottom of the Hood Canal in Mason County.
All species of clams and oysters are affected by the push-back at all three locations.
For South Indian Island, state surveys have indicated that the population of clams at the park have decreased and the delay “also provides a more continuous recreational opportunity at public beaches in the Admiralty Inlet area,” including the adjacent Port Townsend Ship Canal (Portage Beach) and Oak Bay County Park, and the close-by Fort Flagler State Park.
Down at Potlatch, its a matter of rectifying 2013’s clam overharvest.
Both beaches were hit hard last season and, according to Fish and Wildlife, this must be “paid back to the resource,” requiring a delayed and shorter season.
Ozette committee
A meeting of the Lake Ozette Steering Committee is planned for the Sekiu Community Center, 42 Rice St., from 10:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Thursday, March 27.
The committee will discuss Lake Ozette sockeye salmon recovery updates, project implementation, predation, run size and turbidity studies, public outreach and landowner liability legislation (House Bill 1194).
For more information, contact Sarah Saviskas at 206-583-0655 or ssaviskas@triangleassociates.com.
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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.