Out & About
How to get pinched on opening day
OUTHUNT – Following are the top 10 ways hunters goof up and qualify for a costly ticket in Washington, according to Fish and Wildlife Department enforcement officers in Spokane:
• License not on person while hunting.
• Tag not properly notched and attached to carcass.
• Fluorescent orange clothing requirement not met.
• Loaded firearms in vehicle.
• Shooting before or after legal hunting hours.
• Trespassing on private property without permission.
• Driving motor vehicles on restricted roads and trails.
• Species misidentification, such a taking a moose for an elk or a mule deer for a whitetail. The mistake gets especially expensive if you shoot a grizzly thinking it’s a black bear or mistake a wolf for a coyote or a caribou for anything.
• Antler-point minimum violations, such as the three-point minimum on area mule deer, and spike-only rules in the Blue Mountains.
• Party hunting: It’s illegal to fill another person’s tag.
OUTPADDLE – Representatives of a Canadian group are coming to Spokane to enlist interest in next year’s 200th anniversary of David Thompson’s feat to explore the length of the Columbia River.
Thompson was an English-Canadian fur trader, explorer and cartographer, well-known for mapping 1.5 million square miles of North American wilderness – roughly one-fifth of the continent.
The 2011 David Thompson Brigade will be commemorating his exploration of the Columbia in June by paddling voyageur canoes along the historic route from Invermere, British Columbia, to Astoria, Ore.
Denny DeMeyers, Brigade route planner, will give a presentation about this organization and their activities Oct. 25 at the Corbin Community Center, 827 W. Cleveland, in an open meeting with the Spokane Canoe & Kayak Club.
On Oct. 23-24, DeMeyers will be offering potential participants a chance to paddle a 10-person voyageur canoe in Spokane.
Sign-up: Stan Mrzygod, (509) 487-7085, e-mail mrmrsmrz@earthlink.net.
Info: www.voyageur brigade.org/
Steelhead techniques for fly fishers
What: Free steelhead fly-fishing program.
Who: By John Shewey, author and northwest region steelheading expert, sponsored by Spokane Fly Fishers.
When: Wednesday, 7 p.m., preceded at 6 p.m. by basic fly-fishing knot seminar.
Where: St. Francis School, 1104 W. Heroy.
NRA boosts range at Farragut Park
OUTSHOOT – National Rifle Association officials will be in Coeur d’Alene Friday to present the Idaho Department of Fish and Game a $25,000 grant to continue safety improvements at the Farragut State Park shooting range.