Fish & Feathers: Late summer includes hunting east side for doves, plus local tuna

Published 2:35 pm Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Our group just returned from the east side of the mountains — Toppenish, Granger and Sunnyside — where we encountered a different weather pattern than we had experienced in past dove openers.

The usual opener is marked with temperatures in the 95 to 105 degrees. This season we encountered temps in the 75 to 80 degrees, dropping to 50 to 60 degrees in the evening and mornings. It was in that range for the entire week.

For the first few days, there seemed to be very few doves around and we had to scratch for birds.

Then they seemed to increase in numbers and provided some decent “shoots,” but we had to travel to find different areas than our usual

haunts.

Many of the agricultural areas had been planted in hops for this year. Farmers told us this is because the addition of so many micro-breweries has driven up demand for hops. The farmers were just in the process of harvesting, which eliminated many areas for hunting.

We were using three young dogs — two Labrador retrievers and a short-hair — and all did a surprisingly excellent job as they gained experience with every passing hunt.

We ended up with a very respectable number of doves in the bag. Not surprisingly, a larger percentage than in the past were Eurasian ring-collared doves. Eurasian doves offer much more meat than mourning doves and are certainly a bigger challenge.

It was another good time had by all and we’re looking forward to the next hunt.

There is still time, as long as the weather stays warm. Dove season in eastern Washington runs from Sept. 1 until Oct. 31. The limit is 15 doves per day and 30 in possession.

On Sept. 1, the water was a little rough for average tuna

fishermen.

One tuna boat, the Opportunity, spotted a waterspout

offshore.

On Sept. 2 and 3, tuna fishing was excellent with fish boiling around the “live bait “ boats.

On Sept. 4, the Shake & Bake was again stuffed with huge-grade albacore.

On Sept. 6, albacore were spotty but persistence paid off and many fish were caught.

Yes, there are other charter boats fishing albacore, but the Shake & Bake is the only boat providing regular daily reports. If you wish to get reports, call individual charter offices.

Ron Malast can be reached at 360 665-3573 or raiders7777@centurylink.org.