Out & About

OUTHUNT

Hunters tag deer by the bagful

Deer hunting is pretty good in the Inland Northwest, where sportsmen bagged about 38,000 deer in Washington last year and 48,000 in Idaho.

But we are no match for Wisconsin, where hunters registered 171,584 deer on this year’s opening weekend.

OUTSEE

Eagle watching at CdA

Bald eagles once again are congregating in the Wolf Lodge Bay area of Lake Coeur d’Alene to feast on spawning kokanee.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management surveyors counted 33 eagles in the area before Thanksgiving, a number that increased to 71 for the weekly survey on Monday.

The counts should peak in December, unless cold weather seals the bay in ice and forces eagles to find food elsewhere.

A record 156 eagles were counted in the Wolf Lodge Bay area in December 2004

Eagle Watch Week is set for Dec. 26-Jan. 1, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., off Interstate 90 at Wolf Lodge Bay. Experts will have spotting scopes and info about the wildlife spectacle.

Details: www.id.blm.gov. Click on CdA Field Office, then click on Eagle Watch Week under “In the spotlight.”

OUTBOUND

Travel planning starts for St. Joe

Three open house meetings will kick off the development of the Travel Management Plan for the St. Joe Ranger District as the Idaho Panhandle National Forests works to comply with a 2005 Forest Service rule requiring all forests to designate routes that will be open for public motorized vehicle use.

The meetings will be open 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. with a presentation at 7 p.m. as follows:

Dec. 11 – Avery Community Center.

Dec. 12 – St. Maries High School Multi-Purpose Room.

Dec. 13 – Cataldo Canyon Elementary School.

Info: (208) 245-2531, www.fs.fed.us/ipnf/stjoe/ travelplan.

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 Dec. 9

Today

6:50 a.m., 7:15 p.m.

Monday

7:30 a.m., 7:50 p.m.

Tuesday

8:10 a.m., 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday

8:50 a.m., 9:10 p.m.

Thursday

9:30 a.m., 9:50 p.m.

Friday

10:15 a.m., 10:40 p.m.

* Saturday

11:05 a.m., 11:30 p.m.

*Next Sunday

11:55 a.m., 12:20 a.m.

See the Hunting-Fishing Report every Friday in Sports