Fishing Report
Trout, Spokane area
Algae blooms, periodic rain and snow and continued heavy fishing pressure have resulted in a slowdown of fishing at Fourth of July and Hog Canyon lakes.
The rainbows had lockjaw at times last weekend and early this week. Although many experienced anglers still caught five-fish limits during the cold, stormy period, many others went home with only one or two fish.
Water temperature dropped to 36 degrees at times at both lakes last weekend. Plus, algae blooms, developing the last couple of weeks, became more dense, making it difficult for trout to see lures.
There are still plenty of rainbows in the lakes for good fishing.
Meanwhile, some who have been fishing the lakes, have been trying for the 3- to 9-pound rainbows in Coffeepot Lake and the 11- to 14-inchers in Pacific Lake. Fishing was slow at both last weekend.
Trout, Basin
If the weather is mild this weekend, trout in several Columbia Basin waters may provide fair to good fishing. Among the best bets are Lenore and the Lenice-Nunnally lakes, all selective gear waters; Upper Hampton and Upper Caliche; and Rocky Ford Creek.
Nearly all the Lahontan cutthroat being hooked at Lenore are the 2-year-olds, which are more than 17 inches long. Fishing has been slow, but spin and fly fishers who know how to hook them have been hooking at least one or two during a few hours of fishing.
Midges should hatch as the water temperature at Lenore rises. When it does, fly fishers will do well on chironomid pupa patterns. Actively feeding fish also will be more inclined to take spin fishers’ lures.
Lenice has been the best producer in the Lenice-Nunnally chain.
Biologist Jeff Korth believes anglers can do fairly well at Upper Hampton, one of the lakes on the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge.
Korth also said he hopes anglers will fish some of the lakes in the Pillar-Widgeon chain. He thinks there may be enough trout in the lakes for fair and even good fishing.
If you decide to fish the Pillar-Widgeon lakes, you’ll learn that tules surround some of the lakes, making it difficult to get a line in the water.
Quincy and Dusty are the best bets in the Quincy Wildlife Management Area. But don’t expect fast fishing.
Incidentally, one angler caught 96 rainbows at Burke Lake the day before the season opened. Wildlife agent Jim Brown cited Valentin Babak of Quincy for fishing during closed season and possessing 91 fish over the five-trout limit.
Scores, possibly hundreds, of rainbows apparently escaped from the private hatchery at the head of Rock Creek last year. They’re now 11 to 13 inches long and providing good fishing for fly fishers. In addition, there are some huge old rainbows in the fly fishing-only spring creek.
Fly fishers have been using Blue Winged Olive mayfly and midge imitations to hook the rainbows. The Bridgeport State Park will be opened to camping March 19, enabling anglers who want to stay at Rufus Woods Lake and fish for the 3- to 10-pound rainbows for a few days, ranger Scott R. Parsons reported. The big launch ramp has been open.
The park, near the lower end of the lake, has 30 developed sites and four for tents. Daily fees are $10 for sites without electricity and $15 with full hook-ups. There are no other public campgrounds at the lake.
Anglers have been catching the big rainbows at many spots along the 35-mile lake. On Wednesday, for example, one fisherman, who trolled 3 miles up from the campground, hooked four trout that weighed more than 6 pounds each.
Spiny rays
Anglers will be hoping the perch in Sprague Lake will be active again this weekend.
Those who filled a 5-gallon bucket with 9- to 13-inch perch last week went back to the lake last Saturday and nearly got skunked. They fished hard for several hours in several spots, but finally decided the unsettled weather had caused the perch to stop taking bait.
Fishers are starting to catch some crappies and perch at North Idaho lakes, according to Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop.
He said anglers are catching 8-inch perch and 10-inch crappies at Rose Lake, 7- to 9-inch crappies at Fernan and 8- to 10-inch crappies at Cave Lake. Some caught perch through the ice on Upper Twin Lake and trout at Mirror Lake. The ice is getting rotten.
Kokanee
Kokanee fishing was excellent between Keller and Swawilla Basin at Lake Roosevelt last weekend. Experienced anglers caught five-fish limits of 10- to 14-inch fish. A few to 18 inches were boated.
Guide John Carruth said nearly all the kokanee are being caught near the surface. He said he and a friend hooked several by trolling baited lures behind dodgers.
Because the kokanee are near the surface, he said, they used only monofilament line ahead of the dodgers and lures. Some anglers have used one or two colors of leaded line ahead of mono line.
Carruth said he and the friend let out 150 to 200 feet of monofilament line. They baited their lures with corn and maggots.
Starting May 1, anglers will have to release all kokanee that don’t have clipped adipose fins.
Steelhead
Most of the steelhead that climbed the fish ladders at Ice Harbor Dam are moving up the Snake River’s tributaries to spawn. It’s the tributaries that are providing the best steelhead fishing.
The main Clearwater and its South Fork were murky last week and weekend, but anglers averaged 21 hours per fish along the mainstem and 17 hours along the South Fork, the Idaho Fish and Game Department reported.
Best fishing along the Salmon was between the mouth of Vinegar Creek and the Salmon’s South Fork, where anglers averaged 7 hours per steelhead. The average for the Little Salmon was 29 hours.
Steelhead fishing was sensational along tributaries to the lower Snake River last weekend. Jerry Dedloff of the Snake River Laboratory reported anglers averaged 1.9 hours per steelhead along the Tucannon, 5.7 hours on the Touchet, 4.6 along the Grande Ronde’s Washington section and 8.1 along the Oregon section.
Pike
Pike fishing was spotty last weekend at Lake Coeur d’Alene. Smith said he believes stormy weather and a drop in the water level kept the pike in fairly deep water.
Smith said he believes pike fishing will be good the next three weeks in Harrison, Cougar, Blue Creek and Squaw bays as the pike move to shallow water to spawn.
Trout, Idaho
Smith said he and a friend hooked mackinaw near the island in the north end of Lake Pend Oreille last weekend. They also hooked and released two Dolly Varden trout, which are on the endangered species list. Smith said he trolled a dodger and herring at 80 to 110 feet.
Trout, Montana
Midges and a few black stoneflies are hatching along the Clark Fork River in the St. Regis area, but fishing has been spotty, Brooks Sanford, owner of the Clark Fork Trout & Tackle shop, reported.
“What we need is some warm, settled weather,” he said. “The water temperature has been about 42 degrees; it should be 2 to 3 degrees higher before the trout will become more active.”
Sanford said the most productive area is below the 14-mile bridge.
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