Outdoors Notebook | Gray whales make their return to area

The gray whale watch is on along the Washington coast and inside Puget Sound.

Now is the time to get up close and personal with these huge creatures, which are traveling from their breeding areas off Baja California to their arctic northern Pacific feeding grounds in the Chukchi and Bering seas.

The whales make the longest journey of any mammal by traveling around 14,000 miles round-trip.

Gray whales average 40 to 45 feet in length and weigh up to 50 tons, twice the size of a killer whale. There now are about 23,000 gray whales, but in the mid-1800s they were close to extinction.

The best way to spot a gray whale is to look for their spouts, which can reach up to 15 feet high.

Gray whales tend to migrate close to the coast and can be easily seen from shore as well as from tour boats.

"We had a gray whale trip out in [Grays Harbor on Tuesday] and saw them milling around, and we've been seeing them on every bottom-fishing trip into the ocean," said Larry Giese, owner of Deep Sea Charters in Westport.

Good vantage points from the shoreline on the coast are the Westport observation tower; Willapa Bay; Capa Alava and Cape Flattery; the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center; Grays Harbor; and Fort Canby State Park off Ilwaco.

The Westport-Grayland Chamber of Commerce lists charter services that offer whale-watching trips this month and next. Cost is about $30 for adults and $20 for children, and the trips usually last about 2 ½ hours. For information, visit www.westportgrayland-chamber.org or www.westportwa.com or call 800-345-6223.

In Puget Sound, gray whales can be seen off Whidbey and Camano islands at Possession Point, Saratoga Passage, Point No Point, Fort Casey and Strawberry Point.

There is a small resident group of gray whales that usually mills around Puget Sound through early June, feeding on ghost shrimp.

The Welcome the Whales Day Parade and Festival is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 19 in Langley on Whidbey Island. The event will feature presentations and slide shows on gray whales, fun educational activities, music and gray whale watch tours. Details: http://orcanetwork.org/news/events.html or www.orcanetwork.org.

Notes

• The Bellevue/Issaquah Chapter of Trout Unlimited meeting is 7 p.m. April 9 at the Issaquah Brew House, 35 Sunset Way in Issaquah. A topic of discussion will be the group's kokanee fry-trap season in progress on Lewis Creek. Guest speaker is biologist Paul Conrecode.

• The Tacoma Dome Boat Show is 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. Cost is $9 for adults, $7 for seniors 62 and older, and free for children 12 and under. Details: www.otshows.com.

• The Renton Chapter of the Puget Sound Anglers meeting is 7 p.m. April 9 at the Kennydale Memorial Hall, 2424 N.E. 27th St. in Renton. Shawn "Cookie" Pennell of the Oak Bay Marine Group will discuss fishing in British Columbia. Details at 206-218-9759 or www.rentonpsa.com.

• A benefit fundraiser for Olympic Peninsula Fishing Guide Gordy Gracey will be at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Forks Elks Club, 941 Merchant Road, in Forks. Gracey was on a hiking trip last summer when he fell off a 30-foot cliff and suffered serious injuries, leading to costly medical bills. There will be a live silent auction with lots of fishing and hunting items, fishing trips and other gifts. Details: 360-374-6330.

• The National Wild Turkey Federation Lake Washington Chapter auction and dinner is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at the Mercerwood Shore Club, 4150 E. Mercer Way on Mercer Island. Cost is $60. Details: 206-914-7916.

• The Pacific Rivers Council will host the Watershed Restoration and Forest Roads Symposium from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center. The symposium will address road-related watershed restoration. Registration and continental breakfast begins at 8:15 a.m. Cost is $65, and includes lunch. Register online at www.pacrivers.org/watershed_roads_symposium.cfm. Other details: www.wawatersheds.blogspot.com.

• The Sportsman's Warehouse in Federal Way is offering a class titled "The Fundamentals of Fly-Casting" from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday. The class includes an introduction to equipment, theory of casting and leaders and knots; instruction on rod assembly and care, stance and hook removal; and casting techniques. Cost is $50. Details: 253-835-4100.

• The Washington Fly-Fishing Club is offering beginning and advanced fly-casting classes. The six-week beginning class starts Thursday. Advanced class starts April 9 at 6:30 p.m. Both classes are at the Green Lake Casting Pier. Cost is $40 for the beginner class and $50 for the advanced. Details: 206-542-4623 or www.wffc.com.

• The Northwest Fly Anglers' eight-week beginning fly-casting class begins Tuesday at Green Lake Casting Pier. It's limited to 35 participants. Cost is $35. Details: 425-486-5011 or e-mail slowsnap@att.net. If you're interested in joining the club, call 206-935-8979 or e-mail craig.erwin@comcast.net.

Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com