The Eagle Outdoors

Before I get started this week, I'd just like to once again thank the folks who have come up and said how much they enjoy the new column. Not that my 'journalistic ego' needs stroking, but it is nice to know that (1) people are reading the pieces and (2) for some of them, it's apparently dredging up some fond memories from back in the day. A time when things were simpler; not necessarily easier, but simpler. Before Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Al Gore's Internet, and the time, as Merle Haggard sang, "When a man could still work and still would." As is usual in the spring, there's a lot going on outdoors this week, including the following:

Smelt remains closed

Yes, 'tis true. Once again, there is no smelt in the Columbia and, in obvious response, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has posted the tentative harvest days set for March 5 and March 8 as closed. A chance still remains, albeit slim, that the word "open" will appear in the status column on the agency's web page dedicated to smelt (wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/smelt#current) but, at this point, I'm not holding my breath. Tentative harvest days continue on Wednesdays and Saturdays through March 22, and I'll try to keep y'all posted as to any changes.

Bottom fish opener on March 8

Finally, the second Saturday in March has arrived and, with it, the long-awaited bottomfish opener in Marine Areas 1 through 4, or roughly from the North Jetty (Ilwaco) at the mouth of the Columbia north to Neah Bay. For me, this means black rockfish (sea bass) and lingcod fishing from the North Jetty. To many, the opening of the opportunity translates into chartered trips across the bar to rock piles and undersea humps both up and down the coastline. Both black sea bass and lingcod are a firm white fish, excellent either in fish 'n chips or, my personal favorite, fish tacos. Daily bag limits are a generous nine bottomfish, to include a sub-limit of seven rockfish, two lingcod, and one cabezon. Bottom fishing from the North Jetty is an artform due, perhaps not surprisingly, to the huge boulders that make up the jetty property, and an art which I'm still in the process of learning. However, it's worth a few lost pieces of gear, a sacrifice many say are to the "greedy fish gods," to spend the morning on the North Jetty in the company of Mama Otters and their little ones, families of raccoons, small harbor porpoises, and an almost infinite list of bird species.

Of special note, the North Jetty, while, to me, an almost magical place, can be a very dangerous place. Huge rocks, sand, slippery conditions, cold water, unstable footing, trips, falls, bruises, contusions are all possibilities. I don't believe I've ever gone to the jetty and not shed blood. Pets? Probably not. Small children you don't intend to physically hang onto the entire time you're there are probably not a good idea. I'm not saying don't go; I'm simply imploring you to use caution.

If you're not familiar with the North Jetty, access is by way of Cape Disappointment State Park and Fort Canby Road southwest of the town of Ilwaco. A Discover Pass, either one-day ($10) or annual ($30) is required. Once you're there, drive to the last parking lot and look to the south. That's the North Jetty.