a question for you washington guys

Chris Finch

Chris Finch

Well-known member
i am doing some research for where i want to live in and i think that the willapa bay area would be cool to check out. i would imagine that the duckin would be better than ct. but i am interested in fishing, how is the salt water action? i love largemouth bass fishing (it is what i do everychance i can get in the spring and summer) are there any lakes with a good populations around there. trout and salmon are probaby good around there, too.

i also like crabbing, shellfishing, mushroom picking, pretty much anything that involes the outdoors. the saltwater doesnt have to be too close but it would make having a big duckwater boat later in life justifiable, i could also use it for those big flounders you guys call halibut :)

im just in early stages of planning seeing as i am just about to graduate college. but i am thinking about taking a year off, getting some experience and maybe applying to grad school somewhere out west (for something to do with conservation biology)

any ideas, recomendations, or thoughts would be helpful thanks, Chris
 
Chris, with the list of things you like to do, I think you better check out places a little further north. Bellingham Marysville, Mt Vernon...... And some Bass lakes too.....
 
Chris, the ducks taste funny on the west side of the state! :) I would recommend eastern washington. The lake I live on has some excellent large and smallmouth fishing and good mixed bag opportunities at waterfowl!
 
Here's some advice. Take it or leave it. If you CAN get a job after graduating, TAKE IT. This is not an economy to be passing up jobs. There might not be one later. But there could also be a job in WA.

If you move to Western Washington it may be good to know that some days it rains ducks, some days it doesn't, but it seems to rain actual rain everyday. Some guys can handle it, some can't. However, good rain gear does wonders.

I grew up in Southeast Alaska. It rained over 120" a year up there. Some of these hot and dry Idaho summers, I even miss the rain.
 
Aw shucks, my whole post went missing :p

OK, so what I wrote and never showed up was regarding school and such...

If you are looking to become a professional biologist consider the following:

1. Postpone graduating for the purpose of taking advantage of opportunities at your college. When I was a schoolie we had lots of opportunities to get work experience such as doing honors theses, coop work programs (allowing you to get your foot in the door in different companies), exchange programs etc etc. These kinds of opportunities are VERY tough to find once you graduate, so make sure you have contacts lined up before you get your diploma.

2. If you do decide to go the graduate route to get into the field, be sure to be somewhat practical about it. There are lots of biologists out there, and positions exist as well but there is a lot of competition. Keep in mind that if you decide you want to be an australian dugong specialist work will be HARD to find after. If you chose to work in something that has economic importance in your community, then you will have more opportunities. Ducks and salmon come to mind perhaps because I like fishing and duck hunting, but I am sure that forestry, mining, environmental engineering all will be booming for the biologist as well.

Don't take any of my advise negatively... I am a biologist of sorts, and its a great line of work (it has its downs at times no doubt), and there are very few jobs where you can really just drop everything and go chase ducks! Best of luck!

Jon

PS Washington state is super...

Oh and PPS, the above comment about the rain on the west coast is true. It can rain for months at a time. ) I grew up north of the border on the west coast, and now having lived in calgary and oklahoma, I can't go back, its just to damn dark and rainy out west.
 
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the ideal plan would be to part of the dep, im applying to try to get a seasonal job with the fisheries dept in ct for the summer. then for the winter im going to try to get a lab tech job.

another possibility is to go back to school for radiology, or something medical. but one never knows what is going to happen. i am also going to be applying to regulalr jobs and if i get one then it looks like school will be over for me.

rain has never scared me, id rather have rain than snow. land is a lot cheaper out west then ct. all i know is that ct is NOT going to be where i live forever
 
Here is a brief response: I've lived in western Washington most of my life and have a fair handle on the questions you want answered.

The Willapa Bay area is very unique and has some great potential. But...the salmon runs are very seasonal. If you want to fish the ocean--which is where you have the most opportunity--you will need a big boat to run across the bar. Think 20-foot plus. The bay has some decent fishing, but it is limited by regulation and run timing.

There is some decent to good searun cutthroat fishing to be found, but in most cases, it's catch-and-release as is most trout fishing. The only freshwater fishing you will be able to tap into will be in rivers as lakes are few and far between in that part of Washington. River fishing is mostly restricted to salmon runs in the fall and steelhead runs in the winter.

Bass fishing is almost non-existent in that part of the state. The Columbia has excellent smallmouth fishing and fairly good largemouth in sloughs and tribs, but it's a bit of a hike. Eastern Washington has good trout, bass, panfish and walleye fishing, but that is even farther away.

Duck and goose hunting can vary by area, and I can't really speak for the bay. It should be good. You would have grouse hunting, deer hunting, and elk hunting in the area.

Jobs will be tough--any kind.

It will rain there. Don't expect 365 days a year, but I'm guessing that the Willapa area gets at least 80 inches of rain a year. There will be little snow, but the rain can be depressing. Expect heavy rains from mid-October until early July. It won't rain every day, nor will it rain heavily when it does. It will be cloudy maybe 80 percent of the time, and the wind will blow.
 
id rather bass fish athan salmon/ trout/ saltwater so thanks for the info.
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Chris, I'm, 100% in support of making a serious move like that. Not many people have the balls to do it, so I respect that.


Spend some time on half.com and order to the wingshooting and fishing guides the states that you think sound good - they will give you a ton of info.
 
I would check into the radiology. If you can get into that field, do it! Seattle has a school for it as well. I am connected to the local hospital here and radiologist are always in demand.

If I could go back in time and change careers to a radiologist I might. All the pay of a doctor without the blood and guts. I could work half as much, as I do and get paid more. Think more time to hunt and fish.
 
the are a lot of schools around my area for radiology and it seems like the chacnes for a job are pretty good. anything medical seems like it is a sure bet for a job, well as sure as you can be these days.
 
id rather bass fish athan salmon/ trout/ saltwater so thanks for the info.

All those salmon and steelhead and cutts that mother nature put there, and you want to fish bass? That's like going to Chicago to eat lobster. LOL.
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id rather bass fish athan salmon/ trout/ saltwater so thanks for the info.

All those salmon and steelhead and cutts that mother nature put there, and you want to fish bass? That's like going to Chicago to eat lobster. LOL.
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Kids these days :).

As an aside, I'm doing a bunch of research for a big trip and I was looking at fishing stuff. I saw something about a WY bass lake and looked it up just to see being the curious type I am. Bass limit was 6 fish - only one over 14" and two or three between 10" and 14" - which means 2 or 3 under 10" (I'm going on memory, but the lengths are right). Guess you don't go to WY to catch a bass dinner ;).
 
IF you are going to go into the medical field, and radiology is your bent, seriously look at INTERVENTIONAL radiology. Guys shove wires up vessels to parts of the body that you would never dream of, and then do things there that are soooo cool. Oh, and they get paid pretty damn handsomely for it. I have 5 friends that are in this field...well worth the time to go to school for that.
 
Guys shove wires up vessels to parts of the body that you would never dream of, and then do things there that are soooo cool. Oh, and they get paid pretty damn handsomely for it.

Hey, isn't this a family-friendly site? Mods, I think we need policy to prevent this back door spam solicitation for illicit services!!!!
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