Hunting & Fishing

Fri., Jan. 11, 2008

Alan Liere Correspondent

Tip of the week

» An excellent ice-fishing lure is a small shrimp fly-tied to a piece of monofilament that hangs 3 inches below a hookless Needlefish. Bait the fly with two maggots and jig it without a sinker.

Braggin' rights

» Brian Stauffacher, Gary Walker and Jeff Herrington, all of Spokane, trolled Mack Alley at Priest Lake with dodger/hootchies and Flatfish this week. Braving snow and the icy ramp at Indian Creek (bring chains) the trio caught seven fish including identical 11-pounders.

Overheard

» The survival rate for radio-collared female elk and mule deer in an ongoing Idaho Fish and Game research project remained essentially the same in 2006 and 2007. The overall survival rate of radio-collared adult female elk in the research areas was 88 percent, and of adult female mule deer, 86 percent. Both numbers are normal and sustainable.

Heads up

“The application period for Idaho spring turkey controlled hunts starts Tuesday and runs through Feb. 15. That's also the time to apply for spring black bear controlled hunts. Spring turkey and spring black bear seasons start April 15, with some controlled hunts later. Hunters may apply for controlled hunts at any Idaho hunting and fishing license vendor or with a credit card at Fish and Game offices by calling 1-800-824-3729.

“While the limit is still six fish in the aggregate, the size limit on all Idaho bass has been lifted from the Salmon River drainage and north, and downstream of the Hells Canyon Dam in the Snake River. Elsewhere in the state, only fish 12 inches or longer may be taken.

Ice fishing, Idaho

Ice quality on Upper Twin Lake is good – more than 8 inches. The average perch is 7-8 inches, but anglers are also catching a lot of small sunfish and bass and an occasional nice crappie.

The north end of Hayden Lake near the Sportsmen’s Access has been decent for pike, but be wary. A barge has been coming through the area periodically and the ice is not all the same thickness. It is reported that Round Lake has good ice.

Rose Lake, just east of Fourth of July Pass in Idaho, was slushy last week and unsafe. Fernan Lake ice is probably not safe at this time either.

Ice fishing, Washington

Eloika Lake ice anglers have been doing well a few hundred yards north of Jerry’s Landing on the east side in 12 feet of water. The majority of the catch is 7-10-inch perch, but almost every spiny ray species is available in addition to an occasional trout. Bass between 12 and 17 inches must be released. Crappie must be at least 9 inches long.

Hog Canyon and Fourth of July continue to give up nice catches of trout, but it is hit and miss. It is important to keep the bait moving. Hog Canyon has some very small trout, but there are larger ones, too.

On Roses Lake, near Chelan, rainbow are taking Power Bait or worms through the ice. Rat Lake near Brewster, Davis Lake near Winthrop, Big and Little Green lakes near Omak, and Sidley Lake near Oroville are all providing good trout fishing. Patterson Lake west of Winthrop opened Jan. 1 to give anglers a crack at its abundant perch population.

Jeff Korth, WDFW fish biologist from Moses Lake, said that although most lakes in the Columbia Basin are iced over – including Moses Lake’s 6,800 acres – he doesn’t recommend ice-fishing. Thawing, refreezing and snow cover have created unsafe ice conditions.

Open-water fishing

Evan Johnson of Spokane fished Rufus Woods for the first time this week. He said a black Roostertail, whether cast toward shore or into deeper water, brought strikes. His group experimented with plugs, jigs and flies, and said it was more difficult to find something the triploids didn’t want than something they did. All their fish came between the Seaton Grove launch and the first net pens.

The lower basin of Lake Chelan has been consistent for two lakers 2-5 pounds. Most are 190-240 feet down. Try K-Lures and U-20 flatfish.

Lake Roosevelt rainbows as large as 6 pounds are hitting Muddler flies and small Rapalas near the surface. The Whitestone and Swawilla areas have been productive. Tenacious boat anglers are taking limits.

Rock Lake anglers are still taking browns and rainbows, many over 5 pounds. Trollers are doing better than bank anglers.

Potholes Reservoir and Banks Lake are open and boat accessible. Walleye fishing is good off and on at Potholes and trout fishing is fairly good at Banks.

Steelhead and salmon

Steelheading on the Snake has been fair, with boats averaging a fish per person per day. The water has been fluctuating as much as 3 feet over a four-hour period, making fishing tough.

Water flowing out of the Grande Ronde is a chilly 32 degrees and the steelhead are lethargic.

Clearwater River anglers are averaging a steelhead every 14 hours from the mouth to Orofino. On the North Fork Clearwater, the average is a fish every 17 hours. Friends who fished from shore near Lenore this week hooked seven fish on jig and bobber setups. They landed three that averaged 15 pounds each.

Steelhead effort on the upper Columbia River above Wells Dam has slowed in recent weeks. Even a slight warming trend would be good for fishing the tributaries above Wells – the Okanogan, Similkameen and Methow rivers.

Ringold steelheading has been slow but steady. Anglers caught one for every 11 hours of angling in December.

The Kalama River is high with good color but steelhead action is sporadic. The best luck has been at the Beginners Hole at Hatchery Creek and at the deadline up in the canyon. An occasional winter king is being hooked. Only adipose fin-clipped salmon and steelhead may be retained.

Kress Lake near Kalama received 50 surplus hatchery steelhead on Wednesday. These are the first steelhead of the year to be planted into Kress Lake. It will continue to receive about 50 to 100 hatchery steelhead every week for the next month or so.

Other species

Sturgeon fishing was slow and effort extremely light in the lower Columbia River this past week because of poor weather conditions. On the Bonneville and Dalles Pools, a few legals have been taken.

Effective through March 31, sport smelt dipping is open from the mouth of the Columbia to Bonneville Dam seven days per week/24 hours per day. The limit is 25 pounds per person per day. On the Cowlitz River, sport smelt dipping is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays only. The daily limit is 10 pounds per person. There have been no significant smelt catches anywhere. The Cowlitz is the only tributary open to dipping.

Hunting

WDFW is accepting applications for spring black bear hunting permits through March 13. To be eligible for a permit, hunters must purchase a special permit application and a 2008 hunting license that includes bear as a species option. A drawing will be held in mid-March for 295 permits in western Washington and 235 permits on the East Side.