GROUSING ABOUT ATTENDING school on the opening day of grouse season marks you as a true lover of the outdoors.
That’s the sentiment Forks Spartans’ senior Parker Browning, a sharpshooter on the basketball court and an accomplished outdoorsman in his down time, expressed the night before the season opener/first day of school on social media.
I smiled at the premise, and I’ll go further — it should be a crime for school to start before Labor Day weekend. Most of the North Olympic Peninsula’s schools jumped the gun in my estimation by starting classes this week.
One last weekend of freedom without homework or school activities to worry about (provided you aren’t a fall sports athlete), a final shot to get out and enjoy the last gasps of summer.
It’s a summer that appears to have flamed out and faded away in the dog days of August.
Let’s root for an extended Indian Summer to take hold sometime soon before we must pile on the fleeces and the Gore Tex.
But my gut feeling, ever since I first spied a blackberry ripening before my June 9 birthday, is we are in for a difficult fall and winter. The Farmers Almanac backs me up on this, which is nice.
Hunting season expands
So what can the outdoors-minded get into before the winter wet?
“Hunting season gets going this week with the opening of both rabbit, grouse and dove seasons here on the North Olympic Peninsula, said Quilcene’s Ward Norden, a former fisheries biologist and owner of Snapper Tackle Company.
“Grouse numbers are up this year, so hunting should be better.
“Archery deer hunting season also opens this week and the cooler, wetter weather couldn’t have come at a better time. Even the deer in my yard seem to have appeared out of nowhere after being absent in daylight for over a month.”
I’ve noticed a particular uptick in deer activity during the twilight hours near Lincoln Park in Port Angeles as well.
The nearly-night time might be the right time to bag that deer. Hunting for game animals and forest grouse is only allowed a half-hour before sunset to a half-hour after sunset, except for raccoon and bobcat which have no restrictions.
Sorry, Rocky.
Norden also let me know that the summer coho run has just about ended along the Big Quilcene River, replaced for the most part by another salmon species.
“The summer chum salmon arrived in a wave over the last week,” Norden said.
“Since summer chum are officially a listed Endangered Species, they must not be harmed, so anglers on the river must be very careful.”
Summer chum were almost extinct in the late 1980s with only a few dozen left, but due to the great efforts of the federal hatchery in Quilcene, they were brought back from the abyss.
“Not only are hundreds available for viewing in the Big Quil, but they have been reestablished in several of the streams where they did become extinct.”
Norden says this run of summer chum and the previously mentioned summer coho of Hood Canal have some deep roots in the area.
“Both the summer chum and the summer coho of Hood Canal were the lone survivors of the climatic change that occurred 8,000 years ago lasting 4,500 years,” Norden said.
“All of our other salmon arrived here less than 3,500 years ago.”
Last crabbing weekend
Most areas of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca will close to recreational crab fishing on Monday.
Anyone harvesting crab from a boat must retrieve their gear by one hour after sunset.
Crabbers fishing from shore or from piers have until the end of the day on Sept. 5 to retrieve their gear.
All crabbers licensed to harvest Dungeness crab anywhere in Puget Sound have through Oct. 1 to submit summer catch reports to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Crabbers can submit summer catch record cards to WDFW by mail at CRC Unit, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091. They can also report their catch online at wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab/ from Sept. 6 through Oct. 1.
Crabbers who fail to file their catch reports on time will face a $10 fine when they purchase a 2017 Puget Sound crab endorsement.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
