Out & About

OUTLAW

Minimum age sought for hunters

Fourteen would be the minimum age for a hunter in Washington without adult supervision under legislation introduced by Rep. Brian Blake of Aberdeen.

At a recent hearing, others recommended minimum ages of 16 or 18. Currently, Washington is among only a few states with no minimum age.

Last August a woman hiking in Skagit County was killed by a 14-year-old hunter who mistook her for a bear.

The minimum age had been 14 until 1994, when it apparently was inadvertently deleted from state law but never restored.

Inside: Read a commentary on a hunter-sponsored …

OUTLAW

Minimum age sought for hunters

Fourteen would be the minimum age for a hunter in Washington without adult supervision under legislation introduced by Rep. Brian Blake of Aberdeen.

At a recent hearing, others recommended minimum ages of 16 or 18. Currently, Washington is among only a few states with no minimum age.

Last August a woman hiking in Skagit County was killed by a 14-year-old hunter who mistook her for a bear.

The minimum age had been 14 until 1994, when it apparently was inadvertently deleted from state law but never restored.

Inside: Read a commentary on a hunter-sponsored counter measure to this bill, page C11.

OUTBOUND

Snowmobilers get soaked here

McCall is one of Idaho’s most popular snowmobiling hot spots.

On a sweet tour from this Central Idaho recreation town, snowmobilers can ride to Burgdorf, Warren and Secesh, where they can beat the winter chill by soaking in a hot spring, getting a meal or a staying at a bed and breakfast.

Trail report: www.secesh.net.

OUTMEDIA

DeLorme upgrades Atlas & Gazetteer

Maps: DeLorme’s Washington Atlas & Gazetteer (104 pages, $19.95), upgraded in fall of 2008.

The most notable changes:

•Improved road display.

•Reorganized gazetteer section, cutting down the number of categories and creating subsets. For example, Outdoor Adventures now contains sections for Hiking, Biking, Paddling and Skiing

•Beefed up public lands boundaries.

•Minor reduction in scale, from 1:150k to 1:160k.

OUTLOOK

Best fishing times

Lunar tables from the U.S. Naval Observatory. Be fishing at least one hour before and one hour after peak times. Applies to all time zones.

(* indicates best days.)

Through Feb. 8

* Today

5:05 p.m., 5:30 a.m.

* Monday

5:55 p.m., 6:20 a.m.

Tuesday

6:50 p.m., 7:20 a.m.

Wednesday

7:55 p.m., 8:25 a.m.

Thursday

8:55 p.m., 9:25 a.m.

Friday

10 p.m., 10:30 a.m.

Saturday

11 p.m., 11:30 a.m.

Next Sunday

12 p.m. —

See the Hunting-Fishing Report every Friday in Sports