FISHING -- Things are looking up for fly fishers -- be cause the fish are. Here's a report from Sean Visintainer of Silver Bow Fly Shop on emerging dry fly action that picked up in the past week. End of March usually means a big…
FISHING -- Toby Wyatt of Reel Time Fishing based in Clarkston has been back in the lower Columbia River intercepting the first wave of spring chinook salmon. But he also has guides working salmon hundreds of miles upstream at Dworshak Reservoir where kokanee are smacking…
FISHING -- Legislation has been approved that will help fund efforts to conserve wild steelhead populations in Washington through the sale of license plates featuring an image of the state’s iconic fish in the background. Senate Bill 6200, requested by the Washington Department of Fish…
PUBLIC LANDS -- I was exploring old, new and developing trails on the BLM's Fishtrap area on Saturday. The scablands are very wet and waterfowl are in every puddle. I came over one basalt outcropping and found a garden of buttercups. Seemed as though the…
BICYCLING -- During my annual week-long effort to compile the 2016 Northwest Bicycling Events Calendar (just posted at spokesman.com/outdoors), I've noticed several opportunities in the list that cyclists may want to jump on immediately because of deadlines or rider quotas. In many cases, you can...
WATERSPORTS -- For much of the year, the Yaak River in Western Montana is a smallish, trouty tributary of the Kootenai River. But as Spokane kayaker Brian Jamieson points out in this video, it's a true spring whitewater challenge at 4.9 feet. Heading there? You...
PUBLIC LANDS -- As reported earlier this month, people traveling into national forests should be prepared for the possibility of road blockages and washouts, especially in areas affected by 2015 wildfires. Idaho Panhandle National Forest officials in the Bonners Ferry and Sandpoint districts multiple roads...
CONSERVATION -- The years-long controversy over a mega resort planned for a pristine area in the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia has been crystallized in an advocacy documentary, Jumbo Wild. The film produced by Patagonia will be screened at 7 p.m. on April 5 at…
FISHING – Washington anglers have become so efficient at hooking halibut, state fish managers say they'll keep the same catch quota but add more restrictions this year to maintain a season and prevent overharvesting the prized fishery. This year’s quota for recreational halibut fisheries in…
CONSERVATION -- Hat's off to proponents of current North Idaho land and water conservation efforts that are trying to get traction. Check out these recent stories: Stimson Lumber seeks support for N. Idaho conservation plan The dispute over the Clagstone Meadows conservation easement Chesrown’s former...
PUBLIC LANDS – Nominations for citizen committees that advise the Bureau of Land Management on public land issues are being accepted by the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane districts through May 2. Five positions will be vacated this fall on the 15-member Resource Advisory Council...
PUBLIC LANDS -- Mountain biking groups lobbying Congress to amend the Wilderness Act and allow bikes into designated wilderness areas have triggered a reaction from wilderness advocates. This week, 116 conservation organizations, including The Lands Council in Spokane, asked Congress to oppose attempts to weaken...
WINTERSPORTS -- Spring has arrived, and so has the fresh layers of snow skiers and riders expect in the mountains during March. Check out your favorite ski area; you may be pleasantly surprised. S-R staffer Alison Boggs "called in well" today so she could ride...
For the 16th time, Bob Jones, 76, of Kettle Falls has snowmobiled the Iditarod Trail during the famous 1,400-mile Alaska sled dog race. The going has ranged from grueling to a breeze, whiteout to sunshine, bitter-cold to balmy and bottomless snow to no snow on the trail.
MOTORSPORTS -- The Desert 100 dirt bike race will be returning to Odessa Saturday and Sunday, April 2-3. Organizers are welcoming hundreds of riders who will be camping in a Lincoln County rancher’s range land for the weekend of festivities in the scablands. The event…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- They look old, with graying hair, but age isn't a factor. The so-called "ghost" moose wandering around the area are likely infested with ticks. "Moose can experience tick infestations that start in mid-September but the problem is not clearly visible to people...
WATERSPORTS – Folding kayak-maker Folbot says it’s suspending operations at its factory in North Charleston, S. C., as it restructures the business, the Associated Press reports. The Post and Courier in Charleston reported the company said in a statement Saturday that it’s neither producing new...
FISHING – Washington salmon anglers can comment on proposals for mid- and upper Columbia River and lower Snake River fishing seasons at three meetings this week. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife scheduled the public meetings to discuss preseason forecasts and upcoming spring, summer...
WINTERSPORTS – A 19-year-old Montana man who believed his friends were stuck in an avalanche was seriously injured this weekend when he crashed his speeding snowmobile into a metal gate as he rode to their rescue in the dark. Missoula County officials say the would-be...
BIG GAME -- As tough as bighorn sheep are, they're no match for diseases they encounter from domestic sheep. Wild sheep populations have been ravaged in Hells Canyon and elsewhere by disease. Fans of these native critters will watching this new trend carefully. Decision on…
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- A pilot in a rescue helicopter rigged with state of the art equipment to save lives turned the technology briefly toward the ground last month to document the circle of life. Wolves of the Camas Creek Pack west of Glacier National Park...
FISHING -- Although "opening day" was Thursday at Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, the fishing held up well through the entire Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show, according to angling reports. Ruby Ralston was casting at the Fishing World pools on Sunday, the last day…
HUNTING -- It's the season for all wild turkey hunters to hang low. Smarty-pants friends have started sending photos of turkeys strutting in their yards and driveways as if to say hunting these birds is kid's play. It's different in the woods trying to get...
WINTERSPORTS -- Ah, the first weekend of spring. The cross-country skiing trails at Mount Spokane State Park were in very good shape on Sunday, March 20, even though only 20 vehicles were in the snow-free parking lot at Selkirk Lodge. The groomer had set perfect...
FISHING -- Although there's still not enough water to open the BLM launch for larger boats, the level of Coffeepot Lake has risen significantly since the trout fishing season opened on March 1. Anglers on the water in Lincoln County today, March 19, were having…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
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