Hunting + fishing

Fly fishing

The Yakima River has fished well this week with river flows stable between 3,000 to 4,000 cfs and good clarity. Dry fly fishing has picked up, and effective patterns will include the colors red, orange, yellow or beige in about a size 8 or 10.

Amber Lake rainbow and cutts ranging in size from 16-19 inches are taking a variety of patterns. Fishing was a little slow this week.

Trout and kokanee

According to Wade Lawson at Wholesale Sports in the Valley Mall, the Spokane River is booting out “some really large rainbow” from Sullivan to past Post Falls. This is single barbless, catch and release water.

Williams rainbow are still going strong. Badger Lake cutts up to 14 inches are coming on the troll or by dunking Power Eggs.

Waitts Lake is a good bet for still fishing or trolling, with rainbow running mostly 8-10 inches. Green Carey Specials are popular. Night fishermen are also taking a good number of rainbow and browns to 17 inches by dunking worms.

Roosevelt rainbow fishing is said to be good for trollers working the water from Spring Canyon to the dam, and a few kokanee are showing as well. For trout, Dave Altier at Coulee Playland on Banks Lake suggested trolling fast with a No. 7 J-7 Rapala or a perch Rippin’ Minnow. He also noted that Rufus Woods has picked up for trout and that a 13-pounder was caught this week.

Pend Oreille anglers are trolling successfully for mackinaw using deep down riggers and Apex lures, and rainbows are biting in mid-to-south lake. IDFG has implanted small microtags into the heads of about 100 rainbow released into the lake. Catch a fish with one, and besides the $15 bounty, you will receive an extra $50-1,000. The chips can’t be seen, so the fish head must be turned in through the normal Angler Incentive Program. Total payout is expected to be nearly $25,000.

Coeur d’Alene Lake 3-year-old kokanee are scarce, 2-year-olds are way down, and 1-year-olds are way up. Chinook anglers plying the lake between Rockford Point and East Point say they have never seen so many of the smaller fish on their graphs, and recent creel counts also indicate a preponderance of yearling fish. A lot of 8- to 9-inch fish will be caught this year, but next year should be phenomenal.

Dworshak Reservoir water is fluctuating. Kokanee are small this year. Some Loon Lake kokes are approaching 14 inches and trollers rather than night-fishermen are doing best. There have been a number of tiger trout to 15 inches caught in Loon recently. Thirty feet has been a consistent depth for all species.

Trollers have taken some big mackinaw recently in Priest Lake between the twin islands and in Mack Alley.

Salmon and steelhead

Salmon fishing has been so hot on the lower Salmon and Little Salmon rivers near Riggins, the Idaho Fish and Game Department is reducing the daily limits starting Saturday and closing the season in stretches on Tuesday evening. “We harvested about 40 percent of the run in four days,” said Joe DuPont, regional fisheries manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game at Lewiston. Anglers will be allowed to keep only hatchery jacks (less than 24 inches) in certain areas through Tuesday. Check regulations as they are varied.

The 25-mile section of the Salmon River from Shorts Creek upstream to the boat ramp Vinegar Creek opens to Chinook salmon fishing Saturday. Fishing hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset.

Salmon fishing on the Clearwater River upstream of the Orofino Bridge closed last Wednesday. On Wednesday, it will also close on the South Fork Clearwater and Lochsa rivers.

The Entiat River is open to salmon fishing. Fishing on the Icicle River for spring chinook is good. There are also some hatchery chinook being caught on Lake Chelan.

Salmon fishing begins June 27 along the north coast out of Neah Bay and La Push. On June 28, the south coast opens to salmon fishing out of Ilwaco and Westport.

Spiny ray

A No. 7 Shad Rap fished off rocky shorelines was productive for Spokane Arm walleye and smallmouth this week, but jigs and bottom bouncers are also taking a lot of fish. The walleye bite has been fast in the arm, though most are less than 20 inches. Bigger fish are being taken near Buoy 5 and in the Northport area.

Banks Lake smallmouth is excellent if you’re looking for numbers. If size matters, it’s tough to find one more than 2 pounds. Walleye action has been described as steady. There has been an evening bite at the inlet and the south end of the Punchbowl.

Downs, Diamond and Eloika lakes are all good bets for perch this week. Downs Lake fish are largest, but the 10-inchers in Diamond make for some easy filleting.

Hauser Lake in Idaho has recently kicked out some bass more than 5 pounds. Hayden and Fernan are also good largemouth destinations. In Washington, Liberty largemouth are on the bite. Indications are the fish are leaving their beds.

Other species

Shad catches are holding up in the gorge, though the counts are still way behind last year’s. Sturgeon fishing is good in the Astoria area. On the Snake River near Starbuck, anglers are taking sturgeon behind Little Goose Dam as well as a few in the dam tailraces.

Catfishing is slow in the Snake River but still good in the Palouse. The Snake is still cold at 60 degrees.