Sockeye opener slow on Lake Wenatchee

The last-minute notice for Wednesday's opening of a sockeye fishery on Lake Wenatchee kept competition among anglers to a minimum, with probably fewer than 50 boats showing up for one of the most anticipated freshwater fisheries in the state.

Although it was announced Tuesday afternoon, after enough of the delectable, highly prized salmon had been counted over Tumwater Dam on the Wenatchee River to justify a fishery, only a handful of media sites around the state immediately picked up the story.

"I'm guessing that not a lot of people got the word in time," said Michelle Tiegel, assistant manager at Lake Wenatchee State Park, which has the lake's most heavily-used boat launch. (A second campground, Glacier View, has a very limited launch.) "This morning it wasn't really bad at all. We had probably 30 boats come in from 4 to 6 a.m. I think this weekend's going to be a different ball game."

By 7, Tiegel said, many of those boaters were already beginning to leave, having already reeled in their limits of two sockeye per angler. Takhlakh gets kudos, opens to earn them

The Takhlakh Lake Campground on the west side of Mount Adams was recently selected by the campground management service ReserveAmerica as one of only two Washington sites (the other being Pomeroy's Central Ferry Park) as one of the country's Top 100 Family Campgrounds.

At the time of the announcement, though, people couldn't camp there. There was too much snow to get through from the north end of Road 23, and the south end has been blocked by a washout that won't be repaired until this fall.

Last weekend, though, enough snow melted to open the camp on a first-come, first-served campground. Online reservations will be available for camping dates beginning this Saturday.

Bird Alert: activity ebbs in 'dog days'

Yakima has entered into the "dog days" of summer birding. Many species are still singing or onto the second broods, but many other long-distance migrants are now done nesting or feeding young and generally acting secretive. In the past two weeks, the year-to-date fledge total for bluebirds on the Vredenburgh Bluebird Trail (N. Wenas/Umtanum roads) has climbed to 450 birds. Despite the cool spring and slow start, 2008 will certainly rank as one of the more successful years.

Shorebird migration, although slow, has begun. Wenas Lake, while still at high water, did have a few shorebirds including the ever present killdeer, a spotted sandpiper and a lone long-billed dowitcher. This spot should improve through the month of September. Vesper sparrows, eastern kingbird and house finches were also noted in the area, and at nearby Hardy Canyon a small covey nine of chuker were observed.

For the past few years, some Yakima Audubon members have been on a quest for white-tailed ptarmigan, a bird that most probably doesn't exist in Yakima County any more. This year they searched in vain to find the elusive bird in the Mount Aix area east of Bumping Lake, but did manage to accrue a impressive list of
47 birds. They found western wood-pewee, white-breasted nuthatch, Cassin's finch, and red crossbill among the lower-elevation ponderosa pines; Williamson's sapsucker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and hermit thrush in the higher, wetter mixed-conifer zone; and warbling vireo, MacGillivray's warbler and Lincoln's sparrow near a willow-dominated seep. Gray-crowned rosy finch was their only alpine bird species, and they noted an adult peregrine falcon that soared and swooped over the summit of Mount Aix.

Please call your bird sightings into the Yakima Valley Audubon phone line at 248-1963.

-- Kerry L Turley

AROUND AND ABOUT

HUNTING INPUT: An "open house" event put on by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), to allow hunters and others to offer input on the development of hunting seasons and related regulations for 2009-11, will run from 4 to 7 p.m. today at the White Salmon Valley Community Library. A similar meeting will be held next Thursday at Toledo High School. Those two meetings will focus primarily on local issues, including low deer populations in GMUs 388 and 578 in Klickitat County.

ELK VOLUNTEERS: The WDFW is seeking volunteers for a cooperative arrangement with Weyerhauser that would give special-permit hunters access to some 262,000 acres of the St. Helens Tree Farm. The volunteers would help assure a safe and orderly hunt by such things as orienting hunters and maintaining safety buffers between hunters and timber operations. Volunteers can register at the WDFW's site (wdfw.wa.gov/volunteer/sthelens_access.htm).

MASTER HUNTERS, PART I: The WDFW is accepting letters of interest through Sept. 30 for membership on its 15-member Master Hunter Advisory Group. Five volunteer positions are open for certified master hunters willing to serve three-year terms on the group, which meets at least four times a year. Interested individuals should go online to wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/masterhunter/ and thoroughly review the site, especially anything involving bylaws, policies and procedures. For more information, call Master Hunter policy lead Mike Kuttel at
360-902-8413.

MASTER HUNTERS, PART II: The WDFW and the Master Hunter Advisory Group will hold two 1 to 4 p.m. meetings for certified master hunters Aug. 16 at the Kenmore Shooting Range in Bothell and Aug. 23 at the Chelan County PUD building in Wenatchee to discuss the program and upcoming hunts in central and northeastern Washington.

HATCHERY OPS MEETINGS: Modifications to salmon and steelhead hatchery operations on the lower Columbia River will be discussed at four public meetings this month in southwest Washington, including Aug. 13 at the Cowlitz PUD in Longview and Aug. 21 at the Washougal Community Center.

ON THE CALENDAR

SATURDAY: The Yakima Hiking Club plans a hike to Skyscraper Pass, a 7-mile hike with about 800 feet of elevation gain in Mount Rainier National Park. Participants will meet at the Fred Meyer parking lot (40th Avenue side) for carpooling at 7 a.m. There will probably be snow crossings, so bring appropriate footwear (plus lunch and everything else you'd typically bring on a long hiking day.)

SATURDAY-SUNDAY: The Cascadians' weekly hikes will be to Navaho Peak in Chelan County on Saturday, a 13-miler with 4,100 feet of elevation gain, and an advanced hike to St. Elmo's Pass on Sunday. For meeting time and place for either hike, call Maurine Peck at 453-4244.

TUESDAY: The Cascadians' Tuesday hikers will be heading to Norse Peak, a 9-mile round trip with 2,000 feet of elevation gain. The group meets at 7:30 a.m. at the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart parking lot and carpools from there, usually breaking into faster and slower groups.

WEDNESDAY: The Mount Adams Cycling Club has its weekly 25-mile loop ride to Naches at 6 p.m., beginning at the Fred Meyer parking lot off 40th Avenue. For info, e-mail anotherjones@earthlink.net.

THURSDAY (AUG. 14): The Pokies are going to Sheep Lake and, for those who want a longer hike, on to Sourdough Gap. For meeting time and place, call Jean Crawford at 966-8608.

AUG. 14: The second annual Wasco Salmon/Steelhead Tournament will begin at Deschutes State Park, 15 miles east of The Dalles on the Oregon side, with fishing taking place in the Columbia. For info, call Bill or Carol MacKenzie at 541-442-5079 or e-mail wlmack@yahoo.com.