Fishing Report
Trout, Washington
Numerous lakes in Eastern Washington are continuing to yield limits of 10- to 12-inch trout.
Best in the Spokane region are Badger, Williams, Fishtrap and West Medical. For some reason, anglers haven’t been fishing Badger and Williams as much as Fishtrap and West Medical; the yearling rainbows in Badger and Williams are nearly as large as those in Fishtrap and West Medical.
One of the reasons apparently is anglers believe they have a better chance of catching carryover trout in Fishtrap and West Medical. Only 5 percent of the trout in Fishtrap are 2- and 3-year-olds; maybe 10 percent or more in West Medical are the older fish.
Snowdrifts and downed trees no longer block access to most of the small lakes in Pend Oreille, Stevens and Ferry counties. However, there are a few places where access is limited. Check with the Forest Service on access before trying to drive to your favorite lakes.
Most productive put-and-take lakes in the Columbia Basin are Blue and Park. The two, rehabbed last year, hold rainbows that are 10 to 12 inches long. Despite publicity that fishing is good, pressure on the lakes was light last week and only moderate during the weekend.
The 60,000 10- to 11-inch rainbows in net pens at the Mar-Don Resort on the Potholes Reservoir will be released when the water surface temperature hits 60 degrees, Rod Meseberg of the resort said. That could come in less than a week.
Nearly all the put-and-take lakes in Okanogan County are yielding limits of small rainbows. Among them are Pearrygin, Conconnully lake and reservoir, Alta and Big Twin lakes.
Now is the time to fish Sidley, a shallow lake near the Washington-British Columbia border. The high-altitude lake holds big rainbows.
Specially managed lakes
Chironomids, mayflies and damselflies are hatching at most of the selective-fishery and fly fishing-only lakes in Eastern Washington.
Amber has been the most productive in the region. Managed as a selective-fishery lake, it seems to hold large numbers of 10- to 12-inch yearling rainbows and a fairly good population of carryover rainbows and cutthroat.
Medical Lake, a selective-fishery water, holds good numbers of brown trout averaging 16 inches. Pressure on the browns has been extremely light.
Bayley and McDowell, fly fishing-only lakes on the Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge, are still unusually high, refuge manager Lisa Langelier said. She said fly fishers have been hooking some big trout at Bayley; there have been no reports of the fishing at McDowell.
The puddle that covers the county road leading to refuge headquarters is still 12 inches deep, she said, and recommended that only those who have high-center vehicles drive through it.
Dry Falls, a selective fishery lake southwest of Coulee City, is a good bet for 14- to 20-inch rainbows and browns. Most were keyed in on chironomid pupae last weekend, but fair numbers of Callibaetis mayflies and damselflies were starting to hatch. A few fly fishers hooked 10 to 15 trout last weekend.
Fishing has been slow at Lenice and Merry lakes along the lower Crab Creek channel, but better at Nunnally, the lowest lake in the chain. Chironomids, mayflies and damselflies are hatching.
Most fly fishers had poor fishing last week at Chopaka, a fly fishing-only lake northwest of Loomis. However, with warmer temperatures the last week, the chironomids and damselflies should be hatching this weekend.
Little Ell in Aeneas Valley has been providing fair to good fishing for rainbows averaging 16 inches.
Spiny rays
Sprague Lake now is one of the best spots in Eastern Washington to catch keeper-size walleyes.
Mike Mielke, an owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, said anglers, using Beetle Spins on light tackle and floating worm harnesses, have been hooking good numbers of 18-inch-plus walleyes since the water temperatures moved up. When there have been no winds or just light breezes, some anglers have been letting their boats drift while they have fished baited lures.
“The key to catching the walleyes,” he said, “is to move the lures slowly.”
Mielke said that Saturday evening his wife, Chris, hooked and lost a big walleye, then hooked a 20-incher a little while later.
Some anglers have been catching crappies and bluegills in weeds at the edge of the lake in the evenings.
Several North Idaho lakes are starting to produce good crappie fishing, according to Jeff Smith, owner of Fins & Feathers in Coeur d’Alene. He recommended anglers try Fernan, Rose, Cocolalla and Hauser, all of which have fair to good crappie populations.
Smith said bass fishing is picking up at many North Idaho lakes. Bass fishermen, using jig n’pigs, have been casting tight against shallow banks, where the water is several degrees warmer than in deep areas. He suggested anglers try Harrison Bay at Lake Coeur d’Alene and Chatcolet and Benewah lakes. However, many other Panhandle lakes, including Hauser, Fernan, Cocolalla and Round, have excellent bass populations.
Trollers are catching walleyes in the Crab Creek channel of the Potholes Reservoir and in Lind Coulee, Meseberg said. They’ve been trolling bottom bouncers and using jigs baited with nightcrawlers.
Bass fishing is picking up fast in the shallow water around the sand dune islands in the north end of the Potholes Reservoir, he said.
Squawfish
The squawfish bounty program for sport anglers resumes Monday on portions of the Snake and Columbia Rivers.
Info: (800) 858-9015.
Salmon
Salmon fishing picked up again during the weekend, Smith said. Fishing had been slow last week.
The chinooks are still being hooked from near the surface down to 15 feet, he said. Best fishing has been off points, such as Arrow, Hudson and Driftwood.
Most fishermen are trolling helmeted herring or flutter spoons. The water is still off-color, but not too murky for the chinooks to find the bait and lures.
Trout, Idaho
Numerous North Idaho lakes are yielding recently planted rainbows, Smith said. Best fishing for goodsized trout has been at Hayden.
Trollers using plugs fairly near the surface have been hooking 2- to 6-pound hybrid cutthroat-rainbows.
Fishing for the big rainbows at Lake Pend Oreille has been slow, Smith said. Surface water temperatures are still too low for good fishing.
Northern pike
For some reason, Smith said, pike fishing was slow last week and during the weekend. He said he believes the pike have scattered because of the runoff. This time of year is usually good for pike fishing.
A weekend pike fishing derby on the lakes along the lower Coeur d’Alene River is scheduled to begin today, regardless of the flooding.
Info: (208) 682-2669.
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