November 4, 2011 in Outdoors

Hunting and fishing

By The Spokesman-Review
 
Tags:deerfishingfly-fishinghuntingoutdoorspheasantssteelheadsteelheadingtrout
Tip of the week

Don’t overlook even the smallest bush or clump of trees when pheasant hunting, even when the weather is good. Pheasants will often congregate under the protective cover where they can’t be seen by predatory birds.

Overheard

Several reports of bass anglers catching northern pike at Long Lake (Lake Spokane) have surfaced recently. All catches were in the vicinity of the old Forshees Resort near Tum Tum.

• Steelheading has been particularly slow this year at the Hanford Reach, largely because of an absence of one-salt fish. The overall run is below the 10-year average to begin with, but there is no explanation for the missing 1-year-olds.

Braggin’ rights

All bird hunters will brag shamelessly about their bird dogs, but Mike Vargas of Spokane said he may owe his life to his springer spaniel, Otis. After getting stuck on a ledge and then in a blackberry thicket in Wawawai Canyon, Vargas was almost down when he got hung up again on a bramble-covered ledge near the road. Not wanting to retreat, he dropped into a slough and began to swim across, but his heavy clothing, shotgun and shells pulled him under. Otis, who had already made the shore, swam back and Vargas grabbed his tail. The dog pulled the exhausted hunter to safety.

Fly fishing

With the cooling water, dry fly fishing is just about over on Idaho and Montana rivers.

The Clark Fork continues to be the favorite fall option for guide shops out of Missoula. The Missoulian Angler on Wednesday reported Baetis hatches were still strong on the river below Missoula.

But observations on the rivers from Clark Fork to the Missouri near Craig indicate that many anglers are working streamers, often with a cast and fast-strip retrieve.

Close to home, the St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene are still providing fishing opportunities and you needn’t get up too early.

Sprague Lake fished pretty well Thursday for fly-tying guru John Newbury of Chewelah.

“We started trolling flies at 10 a.m. and pulled off the lake at 2 p.m. and had six fish to show for our efforts,” Newbury said, noting that he and his partner lost three other nice ones at the boat. 

“Four of the fish were 19 inches long, and the other two were 15 and 16 inches long and heavy. Only three other boats on the water. I was surprised the lake still was showing signs of a bloom. Apparently the cold weather is just starting to clear up the lake.” 

The Grande Ronde River is still a good bet for a steelhead. Small patterns are working best.

Amber Lake is kicking out good-sized cutthroat for float-tubers throwing nymphs. A friend reported good nymphing recently on the east end of Sprague Lake.

Clark Fork Trout and Tackle in St. Regis has wrapped up its guiding season. When the outfit reopens in March, the retail portion of the shop will be moved nearby to the Stang’s Food Center, where shop owner Brooks Sanford plans to meet his guided clients.

Steelhead and salmon

Steelhead fishermen say numbers of fish near Bridgeport on the Columbia River are building, but they are still catching more triploids than anything. Some of these are up to 10 pounds.

Steelhead anglers are successfully backtrolling plugs above Heller Bar, but the majority of fish have been wild. Purples and hot reds are working. The bite at the mouth of the Grande Ronde at Heller Bar has slowed some as more fish leave the Snake to start their spawning run up the tributary.

Trout and kokanee

Rufus Woods triploids are active near the net pens if there is some current in the reservoir. Without current, Rufus is difficult to figure out. Anglers dropping small purple jigs have done well recently in deeper water.

Lake Roosevelt rainbow seem to be getting active again on the surface. Try a Rippin’ Minnow behind monofilament. A lot of the fish caught this week have been in the 20-inch range.

Rock Lake is picking up again. Trollers are doing well against the walls, with some large brown trout reported.

Curlew Lake is kicking out some big rainbow for the few anglers trying for them. A trolled fly and flasher just under the surface will get action.

Waitts Lake produced this week for fly-fishers, who could see brown trout trying to spawn.

Sprague Lake is an excellent bet for huge rainbow. Trolling the middle of the lake is effective, but just lobbing Power Bait from shore is sometimes even better.

Spiny ray

The Pend Oreille River still has good, green weed beds and the pike action remains steady. Spoons seem to be working better than anything. On Coeur d’Alene Lake pike are still hitting, as are the largemouth. Plastics in shallow water do well.

Smallmouth bass will still hit aggressively on Lake Roosevelt, but they are in deeper water and prefer either jigs or plastic worms and grubs. Roosevelt walleye are also deep. Anglers jigging and blade baiting down river from Spring Canyon did well this week.

With the low water, Banks Lake fishing is erratic. Anglers say that some days walleye and bass fishing is so simple it’s ridiculous, and the next day you can’t buy a bite. Coulee Playland still has a usable ramp.

Hunting

There’s more than one way to put a turkey on your table for Thanksgiving. As the holiday draws near, remember that a fall wild turkey season runs Nov. 20 through Dec. 15 in northeastern Washington units 105-124.

The late whitetail buck season in Eastern Washington begins Saturday in GMUs 105, 108, 111, 113 and 124. GMU 117 and 121 are also open, but unlike the other units, there is a four-point minimum. Legal bucks are few and far between and some Chewelah-area locals say they didn’t even buy a tag this year.

Note that the elk season overlaps the whitetail season this weekend in some of these northeast units. But not all units open to elk are open to the late deer season. Check the regs carefully.

A notable harvest of at least seven branch-antlered bulls occurred last Saturday in the cottonwoods just a mile off U.S. Highway 395, according to some reports from Chewelah. A group of nearly 70 antlerless elk was congregated in the area, one resident said.

The modern firearm elk season begins Saturday in select western Washington units. There will also be a late-season hunt for archers and muzzleloaders beginning Nov. 23 in select units.

The late buck blacktail deer season in western Washington runs only four days – Nov. 17-20 – but biologists say a third of the total harvest will take place in that short time span.

The black bear season remains open statewide until Nov. 15.

Pheasant hunters are putting in a lot of miles for a few birds this week, but quail and chukar hunters are doing better.

If you need a pheasant fix, you might want to consider visiting one of the Eastern Washington Pheasant Enhancement sites. Visit the Enhancement Program website to find specific locations.

Outdoors editor Rich Landers – richl@spokesman.com - contributed to this column.Contact Alan Liere by email at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

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