Hunting+Fishing: Steelhead and salmon

Catch-and-keep for steelhead begins on the Clearwater and Snake rivers Saturday. There should be enough fish in the Clearwater for a fair opener, but this fishery usually doesn’t get good until about Sept. 10. Fish biologist Chris Donley of Spokane said there are a pile of steelhead coming.

Guide Ray Bailey said he had good success for chinook salmon near Wells Dam this week, but couldn’t find the fish closer to Pateros. Fishing will not get good again until the fall chinook arrive.

Ilwaco will reopen to chinook, coho and pink salmon on Sunday, the WDFW announced Thursday afternoon. The daily limit will be two salmon, only one of which can be a chinook.

Drano Lake anglers are catching some summer-run steelhead and fall chinook. White Salmon River anglers are catching summer-run steelhead. Some bright fall chinook are reported being caught in the evenings by anglers casting spinners.

Bonneville Pool boat anglers are catching some fall chinook, coho and steelhead off the mouths of the Washington tributaries. On the Hanford Reach, fall chinook fishing remains slow.

At Buoy 10, salmon anglers are finally beginning to catch a few chinook and coho. In the mainstem Columbia, salmon anglers had the best success in the Portland-to-Clatskanie area where anglers averaged 0.40 fall chinook, 0.04 coho, and 0.12 steelhead caught per boat.

Trout and kokanee

With the cooler nights, catch-and-release fly fishing has been good for cutthroats on the Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe rivers. Successful anglers have used grasshopper, beetle and ant imitations. On the Clark Fork, you’ll find fish sipping small Pale Morning Dun and ant offerings in the flat water in the evening. There have also been some good mayfly days.

Fishing for 17- to 24-inch rainbow has been good just below Grand Coulee Dam. You’ll need a tribal license to fish there.

Williams Lake hasn’t slowed down much at all. Anglers drifting Power Bait or marshmallows on 24-inch leaders under a split shot or two are having excellent success in 32 feet of water.

Diamond Lake is about as close to a sure thing as you’ll find for 10-inch rainbow and a few browns. Fish to the left of the pubic access in 30-35 feet of water.

Loon Lake kokes continue their aggressive nighttime bite in 33-35 feet of water. The fishing seems to pick up around 10:30. If targeting trout, the night bite is also good, but the best fishing is a little shallower. Fat Deer Lake trout are also being taken at night on The Narrows side of the lake.

Waitts Lake has a good early-morning bite on 10- to 12-inch rainbow, but there are also some big browns on the prowl. Still-fishermen have done well straight out from Winona Beach Resort.

Rock Lake anglers are not catching as many trout as they did earlier in the summer, but the fish are consistently 16 inches and larger.

Excellent rainbow fishing is reported on Lake Roosevelt south of the Kettle Falls launch.

Fishing on Henrys Lake in Idaho continues to improve with the cooler lake temperatures. A few exceptionally large hybrids have been landed recently, as well as cutthroat up to 22 inches. The brook trout fishing also continues to improve. Fly anglers have done well near the southeast corner when the wind dies down. Bait anglers have been doing fair near the cliff area.

In Montana, Koocanusa and Lake Mary Ronan are giving up big catches of kokanee.

Spiny ray

At Big Wally’s on Banks Lake, Gordon Steinmetz said last week was the best walleye bite he can recall, but the fish are deep – 60 feet. Successful anglers are trolling cranks and spinners.

Crappie fishing on Hayden Lake has been good. Fly fishermen have been using small brown leeches under strike indicators. Crappie and smallmouth have returned to their spring haunts.

Coffeepot Lake should be a good bet for big perch, said District Fish Biologist Chris Donley. A skirted jig in orange and brown – something that resembles a crayfish – should be effective.

Fishing only the neck of the lake, Coffeepot angler Dennis Schwatka and a friend caught more than 30 bass and a couple of large rainbow this week, most on green pumpkin tube jigs.

Downs Lake continues to crank out large perch, but Long Lake perch anglers report fishing was slow this week.

Pike fishermen on the Pend Oreille River are having marginal success, said Joe Maroney at the Colville Confederated Tribe office. Coeur d’Alene pike anglers are finding a few northerns casting spoons and spinnerbaits.

Snake River smallmouth are returning to shallower water and feeding aggressively. Yellow or white curlytail crappie jigs have taken some nice fish.

Hunting

The Idaho seasons for sage grouse, quail and partridge begin Sept. 15, and the early fall general turkey hunts also begin that day. A separate permit is required for hunting sage and sharp-tailed grouse, which are only open in some units.

The early goose season in Washington runs Sept. 8-9 in units 4-5. The limit is three a day, six in possession.

The dove and grouse seasons begin Saturday in Washington and Idaho. There are plenty of doves in pockets throughout Eastern Washington, but if you haven’t scouted, you may be disappointed. There are lots of doves in the Brewster area as well as around Yakima, Royal Slope, Davenport and on the Snake River breaks. Grouse numbers seem to be up somewhat over last year.