Out & About

OUTFISH

Top this catch

Losing ice-fishing poles down an ice hole is one of the hazards of winter angling. But it really hurts when the outfit is a brand-spanking-new Christmas gift from your son.

Montana angler Ed Sandefer’s sad tale, as told to Mark Henckel of the Billings Gazette, had a happy ending two weeks later when Sandefer returned to Cooney Reservoir with a partner and dropped lines through the ice.

“We were standing around and we heard ‘ding, ding’ so we grabbed a pole,” Sandefer said. “Then the other goes ‘ding, ding.’ When we pulled on first pole, we could tell the fish on one pole hand tangled with the other line.”

A 1.5-pound trout came up on the first line. “We untangled the line and felt another tug. We reeled it up and there’s a 10-inch walleye. Then we notice a line that’s still down the hole and, all of a sudden, there’s a yank, yank,” he said.

“We pulled that line up with a 3-pound ling on the end of it, all wound up. We get the ling in and see there’s a line from the ling going down the hole. We pull it in and what’s on the end of it? It’s my new fishing pole,” Sandefer said.

Three fish, three species and a new fishing pole back — all in one retrieve.

Can anyone top that?

OUTDO

Cavorting with cubs

Picture this: Your kid holding a bear.

Yellowstone Bear World will be bringing a half dozen bear cubs to the Sportsman’s Warehouse in Coeur d’Alene on March 28-30, where they will be available for photo opportunities from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $15.

OUTCLASS

Be a leader on trail projects

What: Trail maintenance crew leader course.

Who: Sponsored by Washington Trails Association.

Where: North Bend Ranger Station, followed by Spokane work project near the Dishman Hills.

When: Leader course April 12-13. Trail project not yet scheduled.

Info: Locally, call Ken Mondal (509) 536-6432.

On the Net: www.WTA.org.

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 March 30

Today: 2:10 a.m., 2:30 p.m.

Monday: 2:55 a.m., 3:15 p.m.

Tuesday: 3:40 a.m., 4 p.m.

*Wednesday: 4:25 a.m., 4:50 p.m.

*Thursday: 5:15 a.m., 5:40 p.m.

* Friday: 6:05 a.m., 6:30 p.m.

Saturday: 7 a.m., 7:25 p.m.

Next Sunday: 7:50 a.m., 8:15 p.m.

See the Hunting-Fishing Report

every Friday in Sports