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Welcome to this week’s rendition of The Eagle Outdoors. A lot to cover this week, but first, I want to thank all of you who have commented on the column and how much they enjoy it. The feedback is taken to heart, greatly appreciated and helps on several fronts, the least of which isn’t to make The Eagles Outdoors. I tip my hat to y’all for taking the time to read, reply and, at least to this point, not toilet papering my home in response to something I’ve said. Outdoor News By now, many of you avid anglers will already have heard the news as...
Ah, smelt. Despite the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) best intentions to provide us with smelt dipping opportunities, the first two days were not approved. Fishery managers evaluate weekly commercial test fishery landings, or catch reports, to determine if the smelt run size is large enough to support a recreational harvest. This week’s catch reports did not provide enough information to confirm whether the run is large enough to open a recreational fishery in the Cowlitz Ri...
The big news, if you haven’t already read the news release from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for February 2025, is the implementation by the agency of some brand new regulations surrounding the traditional smelt fishery on the Cowlitz River. Biologists determined that populations of Columbia River smelt, or eulachon as they’re technically known, began to decline in the mid-1990s. In 2001, the Washington-Oregon Eulachon Management Plan was drafted; nine years later in 2010, Col...
I reckon at this point it’s officially Spring. Or least it would appear so based on the lilacs, Italian plums, peaches, apricots, daffodils, and on and on in bloom here at the house. The jetty sparrows – y’all know them simply as song sparrows – have started nesting, the ‘little’ geese (the Cackling geese, Aleutians, and Lesser Canadas) have, with a handful of exceptions, gone home to The Great White North, and I expect to see yellow balls of fluff, i.e. Canada goose goslings, on local farm pond...
There's been a lot of water under the proverbial bridge for 26-year-old Jason Lewis: from Maricopa, Arizona, to Cathlamet, to South Korea, and to the Long Beach Peninsula. A 2016 graduate of Wahkiakum High School, Lewis is currently enrolled in the Washington State Fire Academy, along with 24 of his fellow cadets, including Hannah Mendez and Leanne Campbell, both with the Cathlamet Fire Department. Recently, The Eagle had a chance to slow Lewis down for a few minutes. Get his thoughts on 'life...
Some people go to the ballpark for the nachos. That's me. Some go to the county fair for the Italian sausage sandwiches and elephant ears. Again, me. Y'all starting to see a common denominator here? Some go to the Cowlitz River in southwest Washington during the month of February-at least hopefully, they're going to the Cowlitz in February-for the social aspect and carnival atmosphere that is smelt dipping. And that's precisely why I love, and I mean absolutely love, smelt dipping. It's not for...
On Saturday, Feb. 10, personnel from all four Wahkiakum County fire districts, including Puget Island, District 4, Skamokawa, and Grays River, along with firefighters and emergency medical staff from the Town of Cathlamet, attended a half-day 'live fire' training event at Clatsop Community College (CCC) near Astoria. The training was held at the college's Marine and Environmental Research and Training Station, or MERTS, which offers a variety of educational scenarios, such as maritime science,...