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Burbank gives early call for waterfowlers
It's not even summer and some waterfowlers already are tuning up for the fall flight.
Next Saturday, duck and goose callers from around the state will gather at Columbia-Burbank High School to show off their calling prowess.
The Pacific Flyway Regional Calling Contest begins at 10 a.m. in the school's auditorium, 787 Maple St., Burbank, said Jordan Bowell. Contestants must be present by 9 a.m.
"Even if you don't participate, it's a good chance to enjoy the festivities, swap hunting stories and hear some excellent callers from around the Northwest," Bowell said.
The calling contests feature a sanctioned-style, single entrant duck calling contest in which the caller has 90 seconds to perform the hail, comeback, feeding and lonesome hen calls.
The other two contests are a two-person team duck calling event, judged on typical hunting-style calling and the nationally sanctioned state goose calling contest.
While the single-entrant duck calling contest is not sanctioned by the Stuttgart, Ark., Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the World Duck Calling Championship around Thanksgiving, the event is a good warm-up for the Washington state calling contest in July in Mount Vernon.
There is no age restriction for the calling contests, but there are two divisions - a junior/amateur and open for seasoned callers and guides. The fee for the calling contests is $15 per person for a single contest, $25 for two events and $30 to enter all three.
For more information or to register, call Bowell at 509-543-3756, or via the Internet at backwing.tripod.com/contest.html.
In addition to the calling contest, there will be a duck boat show presented by Mallard Marine of Portland.
Owner Dave Boys, who opened the business five years ago, said he will bring several of the newest boats for free-lance duck hunters, including The Duck Boat, a fully camoflauged, shallow-draft hunting boat.
"These boats have proven themselves in the East, and I think they will do quite well here in the Northwest, especially in the Tri-City area where you have so much open water that isn't hunted," Boys said.
If you can't wait until June 23 to see the boats, Boys has a Web site with plenty of on-the-water pictures and boat specifications at Mallardmarine.com. Boys also can be reached at 503-771-7720.
To cap off the all-day event, there will be a swap meet in the school's parking lot.
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While we're on the topic of ducks, the World of Ducks Unlimited TV show returns to The Nashville Network (TNN) beginning July 7.
The popular Saturday morning outdoor show features some of the finest wingshooting destinations in North America.
Long-time Ducks Unlimited volunteers Marc Pierce and Oran Richard continue as the show's hosts. While hunting is the show's big draw, the pair also explores how DU is improving habitats and making a difference for wildlife and people who enjoy the outdoors.
This year, viewers also will meet the newest addition to the DU TV crew - a black Lab named Drake. Viewers will follow Drake's progress as he graduates from basic retriever training to becoming a full-fledged gun dog.
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The Columbia River, from the Highway 395 bridge (blue bridge) in Pasco downstream to the Interstate 5 bridge in Portland, opens up to fishing today for summer-run hatchery steelhead, sockeye and jack chinook salmon.
Steelheading on the Columbia is expected to be good this season, with dam counts double the 10-year average.
Another Columbia River bounty is shad. Recently, the shad return reached 2 million fish at Bonneville Dam - a large number considering the record is 3.7 million for the entire run, which ends in August. Shad anglers have been enjoying catches of four or five fish a rod below Bonneville Dam.
By early July, anglers can expect to see good numbers of the larger relative of the herring moving into the Mid-Columbia below McNary and Ice Harbor dams. There is no limit on shad, but a freshwater license is required.
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