Outdoor Report for June 11th, 2020

Hey there, it’s the old man at Yeager’s with your Outdoor Report and it starts with “Welcome to Phase Two!”. Not very many changes in Phase Two for the hunter and fisher with the exception that small groups are now allowed under certain circumstances. Fishing is already open and with the Spring Turkey Season ended and just a bit of the special bear season left, hunters have nothing to get excited about until the opening of the Fall General Bear Season on August 1st, IF, it really happens.

Next week we should start seeing the results of the drawings for special hunts coming in the mail or in emails. I know the odds are against me, but just like a kid at Christmas, I get excited every year hoping for that once in a lifetime Bighorn Sheep or Moose tag. The hard part for any of us who do get drawn will be to figure out how to do the hunt and stay safe from the COVID-19 problem. Getting drawn for a special hunt close to home is one thing, but a trip across the state is a whole other issue. It kind of makes we wish I had taken points instead of going for the tag, but at my age, anything a year away is a gamble.

If the three bucks and one doe in my yard one morning recently mean anything, there should be plenty of Blacktail deer in the woods this fall.

Bad news for all of us Sockeye addicts. The run for the Skagit is expected to be between 8 and 13 thousand fish which will be the lowest in five years. There is considerable concern that not enough fish will make it to the hatchery and that might very well mean no season in Baker Lake. The sport fishery in Baker Lake is a high priority so closing the river is a good idea, as much as I hate it.

The Bellingham Trap and Skeet club is now open for recreational shooting as is the Custer Trap and Skeet club but both have some restrictions, as you might expect. The High-Power Range at Plantation is also open but the Small-Bore range will not open until sometime in September after the new roof and range equipment are in place.

Our gun and ammo sales indicate that there is a lot of shooting going on somewhere so I’ll remind you again to obey the rules for safe handling and shooting, and to take it all home with you when you’re done. Trigger trash left lying at the ends of logging roads makes us all look like slobs and turns the non-shooting public against us.

Kokanee fishing in Whatcom and Samish continues to be hit and miss. The one thing certain from what I’m hearing is that you have to go deep. I’m hearing 50 feet in Samish and 60 in Whatcom. One informant tells me worms are working as the bait on whatever lure he’s using but small pink hoochies and wedding rings are still the favorites tipped with corn.

That’s all for this week, thanks for visiting.