All of us want to assist our youth learn about the Great Outdoors. Sometimes several people combine efforts with the results benefiting several youth. Such an effort is explained below. Read on.

Larry Godden purchased a salmon fishing trip at the Youth Outdoors Unlimited Benefit Auction back in March. Larry gifted the trip to the Lt. Col. Doug Kelsch as the he was about to deploy again.

Larry's idea was to provide the Doug the opportunity to spend some quality time with his son, David, before shipping out.

Skipper Bryan Vance donated the trip and Youth Outdoors C.A.O. Don Sell served as deck hand.

The Wednesday Sept. 28 day trip was to White Bluffs. The Doug caught one fish at 15 pounds and David caught the other two, one at 12 and the other at 13 pounds. It was good timing as Doug has deployed, so by the time he returns the fall run will be over.

Thanks for sending the story and photo along, Don. This is a great heartwarming story about the Youth Outdoors Program helping another youth, this one with a military father.

Several pats on the back are deserved: First to Bryan Vance for donating the trip, second to Larry Godden for purchasing the trip, which helps both the program and David, and Don for assisting for the day and sending along the story. Great job all. The icing on the cake for the trip was the fact David out fished his father.

From Fish and Wildlife:

Several year-round waters in the region can provide decent fishing opportunity in November. Banks Lake has a little bit of everything, smallmouth and largemouth bass, crappie, yellow perch, walleye, kokanee, even lake whitefish.

Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir have most of those species, plus net-pen-reared rainbow trout.

As Kim Wearham proved in last week's column, the trout in Banks Lake are hungry. Plus the low water should have the fish confined to a smaller lake area.

Hunting:

Waterfowl

Waterfowl hunting action can really start to heat up in the Columbia Basin in November if temperatures start to cool down and bring migrant ducks and geese from the north. Small Canada geese have arrived at Stratford Lake in Grant County and more are likely on the way.

Biologists in the Columbia Basin also report that hunters are seeing a fair number of pheasants and quail, along with a few chukars. Farm-raised rooster pheasants continue to be stocked periodically at several release sites throughout the region.

Elk

Meanwhile, modern firearm elk hunting season runs through this Sunday, Nov. 6 in some game management units and through Nov. 15 in others. The Mission Game Management Unit, GMU 251, in Chelan County traditionally has the highest elk harvest in the region. Hunters should take note that GMU 251 is under a true-spike regulation to aid bull recruitment in the Colockum herd.

Deer

Late archery deer hunting seasons run Nov. 23 through Dec. 15 for whitetails in some units, and Nov. 21 through 30 for mule deer in other units.

Black bear hunting continues through Nov. 15.

Turkey

The Late Fall General Turkey Season is scheduled for Nov. 20 through Dec. 15 in Game Management Units 105 through 124, which is the Northeast portion of the state. The limit is one turkey of either sex.

Wildlife viewing

November is a great time for a road trip through the Columbia Basin to watch incoming and outgoing migratory waterfowl.

There are reports of bald eagles heading for their traditional wintering areas.

The peak of the white-tailed and mule deer breeding season is in mid-November, offering a chance to see antlered bucks competing for dominance over other bucks or seeking does. Buck deer can be less wary of humans at this time, so viewing may be as easy as from a roadside.

Still, motorists must be extremely cautious when the deer are not. Motor vehicle collisions with deer increase at this time, not just because the deer are less wary but because shortened daylight hours simply have more motorists on the roads in the dark.