Hunting & Fishing

Spiny-rayed species

Walleye fishing is peaking at several Eastern Washington lakes and reservoirs.

Mike Mielke of the Sprague Lake Resort said that anglers caught numerous 22- to 24-inch walleyes at Sprague Lake over the weekend. A 26-incher was also caught.

The key to hooking walleyes, Mielke said, is to troll slowly near the bottom.

A few anglers have been catching good numbers of crappies and bluegills. One fishermen caught 65 one evening. Best fishing is after 7:30 p.m.

Fishermen have been catching walleyes at the Potholes Reservoir and Moses, Soda and Long lakes in the Columbia Basin.

Best fishing at the Potholes Reservoir has been along the Crab Creek channel. Wildlife agent Dan Rahn said that most of the walleyes anglers have been catching are 19 to 22 inches long.

Fishing was slow for the Moses Lake walleye tournament last weekend. Guide John Carruth of Davenport and his partner, Brian Buche of Moses Lake, took first place with 19.78 pounds.

Walleye fishing has been excellent along Lake Roosevelt, with some fishermen catching limits every time they fish.

Some anglers who intend to enter the Governor’s Cup walleye tournament at Lake Roosevelt June 24-25 are prowling the reservoir in search of spots where there are big walleyes. Teams will compete for $30,000 in cash and prizes.

Bass fishing has been excellent at numerous lakes, including Banks and the Potholes Reservoir.

Shad

If you want to catch shad along the lower Columbia, now is the time to fish for the slab-sided fish. More than 800,000 shad have climbed the fish ladders at Bonneville Dam and at least a half million have moved over John Day Dam.

Two hot spots are the Bradford Island area near Bonneville Dam and below John Day Dam.

Trout

If you fish Grimes Lake for big Lahontan cutthroat the next week or so, keep in mind that the basic food for the trout is backswimmers.

Fish biologist Ken Williams said Grimes, in Douglas County, has the biggest concentration of backswimmers of any lake in the state. The Lahontans thrive on the bugs after damselflies, dragonflies and mayflies have hatched.

Fishing continued slow at most Eastern Washington trout lakes during the free fishing weekend, but thousands of anglers did well at some lakes, catching five-fish limits of 9- to 12-inch trout and a few to 18.

This is the time of year when fishing is best early and late in the day. The best time to hook trout at most lakes is from 7 to 10 p.m.

Most damselflies and dragonflies have hatched and some mayflies are still hatching. For the most part, trout are now eating small midge pupae, near-microscopic crustaceans, scuds, leeches and terrestrial insects.

Wildlife agent Rahn said fishing was slow at Lenice and Nunnally lakes, selective fishery waters that hold big rainbows and browns.

Fishing also has been spotty at fly fishing-only and selective fishing lakes in Okanogan County, including Ell, Aeneas and Chopaka.

Kokanee

Kokanee are 15 to 30 feet under the surface at Inland Northwest lakes. Anglers who locate them are doing well at Loon and Roosevelt in Washington; Spirit, Coeur d’Alene and Dworshak in Idaho, and Koocanusa and Mary Ronan in Montana.

Experienced anglers are continuing to catch 10-fish limits of 13- to 14-inch kokanee at Loon Lake. Those who don’t know the lake and how to fish for the landlocked sockeye salmon have been going home with fewer than a half dozen of the fish. Night fishing has been spotty at Loon.

Fishing was slow Sunday and good Monday at Lake Mary Ronan, Gary Thomas of Camp Tuffit said. Both still-fishermen and trollers took 10-fish limits, but still-fishing was the most productive.

Thomas said two-thirds of the kokanee that anglers catch are 13 to 14 inches long. About one-third are 10 to 11 inches. The mayfly hatch is over, but trout are taking midges during evenings.

It takes 3 to 3 1/2 hours to take a 20-fish limit of kokanee at Koocanusa Reservoir. Four out of five of the kokanee are 12 to 14 inches long; one of every five is about 10 inches.

Nearly all anglers troll the lower 10 miles of the reservoir. Some have hooked good-sized Kamloops rainbows while fishing for kokanee.

Kokanee fishing has been excellent at Coeur d’Alene and Spirit lakes and at the Dworshak Reservoir in Idaho. For the first time this year, anglers are catching 25-fish limits at Coeur d’Alene; fish are 8 to 9 inches long.

Trout, Idaho

The Coeur d’Alene River is in almost perfect condition for fishing, but the St. Joe, Selway and Lochsa were still too high earlier this week.

The Coeur d’Alene now is just above summer-time levels; water is clear. The water has been too cold during mornings for good fishing, but temperatures have been rising high enough for bugs to hatch in afternoons and evenings. Hatching have been Pale Morning Dun and Green Drake mayflies, golden stoneflies and caddisflies.

The St. Joe was fairly clear earlier this week and the water was dropping. It’s still a little too high for excellent fishing.

The Lochsa and Selway are running high and a little turbid. Good fishing may be a week away.

Trout, Montana

Big salmonflies, as well as golden and yellow stones and caddisflies, are hatching along Rock Creek and the Clark Fork and Bitterroot rivers. Rock Creek and the Bitterroot are high but fishable, John Herzer of Streamside Anglers said. The Clark Fork is still muddy.

Herzer said the salmonfly hatch along Rock Creek is peaking. Fishing has been good, but wading is tough. The Bitterroot has dropped enough for good fishing along the edges.

The Firehole and the Madison River in Yellowstone Park are clear and providing good fishing, Jackie Matthews of Blue Ribbon Flies reported. Pale Morning Duns and caddisflies are hatching.

Chinook salmon

Trollers should do well during the Lake Coeur d’Alene Anglers Association chinook derby Saturday and Sunday, said Jeff Smith of the Fins & Feathers shop. Entry fee is $10; first prize is $1,000.

Smith said Salmon now are about 40 feet deep and most fishermen have been fishing flutter spoons, especially the Pro-King.