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July 18, 2008
Fishing
& Hunting Report
TUCANNON LAKES & RIVER
LAKES STOCKING
Stocked in June
Rainbow Lake: 1000 catchables
Spring Lake: 1000 catchables
Blue Lake: 1000 catchables
Watson Lake: 1000 catchables
Curl Lake: 10000 catchables
Catchables average 1/3 of lb, above lakes
stocked with jumbos last week!
Deer Lake: stocked earlier in May
Beaver Lake: stocked earlier in May
Big 4 Lake: stocked in April
Lake fishing remains surprisingly good. I think
its due to a cool June and lots of cool water in the river flowing into the
lakes.
Tucannon River:
The river has been fishing VERY well as of late.
Lots of water this year. Flies have been deadly in the past week ( Adams,
Coachman, Bead heads) with lots of dry fly activity. Spinners have also been
working well, try a Wedding Ring or Dick Night spoon in Chartreuse. Remember
bait is allowed on the river downstream of Marengo otherwise it is a
selective fishery: NO bait, 1 hook, No barb!
Hunting
BOW SEASON:
Archery season is coming. Start [practicing and
scouting now. This is the time of year to make land owner contact. Remember,
these farmers are haying and putting in long days, be considerate!
Special Tag Holders:
For you lucky tag holders NOW is the time to
make a reservation especially if you need a cabin. The cabins are very nice
and will go fast!
NOTICE
Over
600 permits were given out for wind farm area for fall 2008.Not very many
e-mails have been received thanking these companies for the hunting program!
Hunters you need to send e-mails thanking these companies, do it TODAY!
Puget Sound Energy / Hopkins Ridge Kings Grade area. Thank them for
access program.
e-mail
anne.walsh@pse.com
PacifiCorp / Marengo Wind Project
Area
between Turner Rd & Hartsock Grade. Thank them for working on an access
program for 2008.
e-mail mwphunt@pacificorp.com
Dayton Chamber: Let them know you appreciate hunting opportunities at
wind farms & Dayton area, you spend $ in local economy and you hope future
wind farms are open for access!
I am
doing everything I can to keep these areas open and working on getting new
areas open as well.
Wind Farm access
Hopkins
Ridge-Puget Sound Energy (PSE)
Has been open to
public / hunter access since 2006.
Marengo Wind
Farm-Pacific Power
Opening on hold as of this time.
Access to PSE area may be gained by coming to The Last Resort During
regular store hours. You MUST
have: photo ID, Hunting license, and license plate number of vehicles you
will be driving! These permits are available at no cost. More info below.
Puget Sound Energy /
Hopkins Ridge Wind Farm Access Program
What is Hopkins Ridge: A wind farm for generating electricity was
constructed in the Northwest of the Tucannon valley and surrounding farmland
in 2006 and is operated by Puget Sound Energy (PSE).
Why have access controlled: The landowners involved are in a
lease agreement with PSE to have the turbines on their property. These
turbines provide additional income to the farmers and their families as well
as providing energy that is "home grown". The landowners involved in the access program have NO obligation
to keep their land available for access (hunting) but have chosen to allow
hunting through this access program. Many land owners do not allow hunting
these days as I am sure you are aware! We should all thank the land owners, PSE and Fish & Wildlife for coming up with this program.
Why is The Last Resort involved: When word of this project first
came up I heard from a lot of you hunters concerning access to this area.
Many acres of land involved in the project boundary had been feel free to
hunt through land owner generosity. I attended public meetings and tried to
encourage others to do the same. After talking to my neighbors and
landowners I realized that many wanted to allow hunting to continue but they
did not want to deal with the hassle & paperwork of a controlled access program.
Imagine these
scenarios: You have been on a combine for 12 hours and finally got home for
a shower and some food when the phone starts ringing; or you are out in the
field working and 3 strangers come up your driveway when only your wife and
kids are home. Now multiply this by 50 or 100 hunters looking for permission
and you can see why the landowners did not want to deal with this. The Last
Resort caters to hunters and many of you have become our friends. We are
open 7 days a week with extended hours during hunting season. Since we are
already here and "taking care" of hunters it was a natural for us to
volunteer to handle the paperwork, inquires and foot traffic that will be
generated by this access program. I hunt too and in a perfect world we all
would have 500,000 acres to hunt on but fellas that ain't reality. We
should all go out of our way to thank the landowners, PSE and Fish &
Wildlife for this program.
How it works: This program is as simple as we could make it. You
come to The Last Resort during store hours and fill out and sign an
agreement each person getting permit MUST be present with drivers license
or photo ID (excluding minors), license plate # of hunting rig, and wild ID number from your hunting license), watch a
3 minute DVD on safety in the wind farm area, pick up a
map of areas available to hunt and you are
good to go until March 31st the following year.. A new permit will then be available and
valid from April 1 to March 31st on a regular basis (just like your hunting
& fishing license is now). I hope everyone realizes how much work and time went
into this and appreciates what a privilege it is to have this land
available. Maps to areas open for hunting will be provided. YOU are
responsible for following rules and knowing where you are. Signage will be
posted in various areas indicating what areas are available for this
program. It would be a GOOD idea to take a little time to scout and
familiarize yourself with the area.
For more
info or questions call The Last Resort
509-843-1556
e-mail
thelastresort@columbiaenergyllc.com
If
e-mailing make sure to place "signage or PSE" in subject line or e-mail may
be sent to spam and deleted!!!
For area maps and
specific rules, please go to PSE website.
Puget
Sound Energy
509-382-2043
www.psehopkinsridge.com
Marengo Wind Farm / Pacific Power
The process is underway to open up some areas, hopefully for 2008. I dont
have any firm info as of yet and will not post anything until it is a DONE
deal. Remember this is private land and we will just have
to be patient until the details are worked out. DON'T complain to the land
owners!, If you want to complain yell at me I have big shoulders. |