There’s more than one way to put a turkey on your table for Thanksgiving. Rather than head to the grocery store, thousands of hunters plan to get their birds during the hunting season for wild turkey that gets underway Nov. 20 in eastern Washington.

Then again, who says turkey has to be the center of attention on Thanksgiving Day? November is prime time to head outside and hunt for game, or cast for fish at lakes around the state.

Popular opportunities include:

Deer and elk: Hunters can go afield for deer and elk this month. Check the big game hunting regulations at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/ for details.

Waterfowl: Hunting seasons for ducks and geese get into full swing in parts of the state, where migratory waterfowl are expected to make another strong showing this year. Hunters should expect great hunting, depending on the weather.

Trout: With tens of thousands of trout recently stocked in lakes, anglers should have plenty of places to enjoy great fishing this fall.

Dungeness crab: Several areas of Puget Sound are open for late-season Dungeness crab fishing. For details, check the crab webpage at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab/.

South Sound/Olympic Peninsula

Fishing

Salmon and steelhead (rivers): Popular chum salmon and other fishing spots include the Hoodsport Hatchery area of Hood Canal, the mouth of Kennedy Creek in Totten Inlet, and Satsop River. The Satsop and Chehalis rivers also offer some good opportunities for coho fishing. In Jefferson County, anglers can find chum salmon on the Dosewallips and Duckabush rivers. Those two rivers opened for salmon fishing on Nov. 1. And in Kitsap County, anglers seeking chum-fishing opportunities should try Chico and Minter creeks.

Several rivers re-open to salmon fishing Nov. 16, including the Bogachiel, Calawah, Quillayute, and Sol Duc while the Hoh River opens Nov. 21. Salmon fishing also continues this month on the Quinault and Humptulips rivers.

Those same rivers are open for hatchery winter steelhead fishing, which traditionally kicks into high gear around Thanksgiving. The first fish to arrive usually head for the Humptulips and Bogachiel rivers, followed by runs to other area rivers.

Salmon (marine areas): November is also good for “blackmouth” or hatchery chinook fishing opportunities in Puget Sound and Hood Canal. Beginning Nov. 1, several marine areas re-open for salmon fishing including areas 8-1 (Deception Pass), 8-2 (Port Susan), 9 (Admiralty Inlet), 10 (Seattle/Bremerton). Anglers fishing these areas are limited to one chinook per day as part of their two-salmon limit. All coho and wild chinook must be released.

Hood Canal (Marine Area 12) remains open for salmon fishing. Anglers can keep two hatchery chinook as part of their four-salmon daily limit but must release wild chinook. Meanwhile, anglers fishing in South Puget Sound (Marine Area 13) can also keep two salmon, but must release wild chinook and wild coho. Anglers fishing there can fish with two poles if they have a two-pole endorsement.

Trout: Thousands of trout are waiting to be caught in area lakes as part of the Fall into Fishing effort by the Washington Department of Fish &Wildlife. Hatchery crews have already stocked Teal Lake (Jefferson County); Isabella and Island lakes (Mason County); Harts Lake (Pierce County); and St. Clair and Lawrence lakes (Thurston County). Tanwax Lake (Mason County) and Black and Long lakes (Thurston County) will be stocked with trout just in time for Black Friday fishing on Nov. 25.

Crab: Sport crabbing is open in all Puget Sound marine areas except areas 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island) and 13 (South Puget Sound). However, crabbers should be aware Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) will close Nov. 15, due to low crab abundance. Crabbing is open seven days a week in each open area.

The daily catch limit in Puget Sound is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition with a minimum carapace width of 6 ¼ inches. In addition, fishers may catch six red rock crab of either sex per day, provided those crab measure at least 5 inches across.

All Dungeness crab caught in the late-season fishery must be recorded on winter catch cards, which are valid through Dec. 31.

Winter catch reports are due to Fish &Wildlife by Feb. 1, 2017. Additional information is available on Fish &Wildlife’s website.

Hunting

Elk: The month begins with the modern firearm season for elk Nov. 5-16, followed by a late season for muzzleloaders and archers starting Nov. 23. Hunters looking to harvest a Roosevelt elk in District 17 (Pacific and Grays Harbor counties) often find the most luck hunting the Willapa Hills elk herd in GMUs 658, 672, 673 and 681. In District 16 (Clallam and west Jefferson counties), the highest level of elk harvests have occurred in GMUs 615, 602 and 607.

Black-tailed deer: Hunters have several late-season opportunities this month, starting with modern firearms Nov. 17-20. Archery season begins Nov. 23 and the muzzleloader season opens the same day. The best opportunities to harvest black-tailed deer in the region include GMUs 663, 648, 672 and 660 in District 17 and 621, 627 and 633 in District 15 (east Jefferson, Kitsap and Mason counties).

Fall black bear: The season continues on the coast and around the Puget Sound area through Nov. 15.

Forest grouse: The statewide hunting season runs through Dec. 31. The harvest of grouse in Clallam County (District 16) rivals all other counties in south Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula. The Olympic National Forest and Skokomish Valley in District 15 also are popular grouse hunting areas.

Goose: Hunting season is open Nov. 5 through Jan. 29 for most of the region. However, anyone hunting for goose in Pacific or Grays Harbor counties (goose management area 2) should know the area is open only on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays only Nov. 26 through Jan. 22.

Duck, snipe and coot: The season runs through Jan. 29. The best hunting locations in Thurston County include near the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge as well as Henderson, Budd and Eld inlets and near Centralia in Lewis County.

In District 17 (Pacific and Grays Harbor counties), the highest concentrations of ducks are near Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor and the Chehalis and Willapa River valleys. Fish &Wildlife Wildlife Areas in this district offer good waterfowl hunting opportunities.

Quail: The season is open in western Washington through Nov. 30. Locations to try in District 15 include Department of Natural Resources land parcels on the Tahuya Peninsula and the industrial timberlands between Shelton, Matlock and McCleary. Numerous walk-in opportunities are on timber company clearcuts around Mason Lake.

Pheasant: The season in western Washington runs through Nov. 30. About 1,500 pheasants will be released over the season (on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays) at the Skookumchuck wildlife unit in District 11 (Thurston and Pierce counties). The Scatter Creek Wildlife unit will release about 4,000 birds, also on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Online resources: Hunters are encouraged to check Fish &Wildlife’s hunting prospects webpage to get an area-by-area summary of what they can expect. Before heading out, hunters also should check the Big Game Hunting Pamphlet and the Waterfowl and Upland Game pamphlet for regulations.