Weekly hunting and fishing report

Thu., Nov. 6, 2014

By Alan Liere spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

Tip of the week

Hunters 65 and older, youth and the disabled will be allowed to shoot a deer of either sex in deer area 1050 during the late buck season, which opens Saturday. In deer areas 1060, 1070 and 1080, antlerless only are allowed during that time. See Page 105 in the Washington Big Game Pamphlet for area descriptions.

Overheard

A Long Lake angler trolling an Apex for trout had a surprise catch this week of a 24-inch kokanee.

Heads up

• Despite what the rules pamphlet says, last Saturday was not the start of catch-and-release steelhead fishing on the Tucannon River. By an emergency rule change earlier this fall, all steelhead with a missing adipose fin caught in the Tucannon must be retained. Catch-and-release of hatchery steelhead is not allowed. The daily limit is reduced to two hatchery steelhead per day.

• Dave Ware, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife game manager, reminds hunters of WDFW’s fourth annual 2015 Big Game Hunting Pamphlet Cover Photo Contest. With year’s theme “Women: Hunting through the Generations,” the winning photo will be used to illustrate the cover of 475,000 pamphlets next year.

Fly fishing

Rocky Ford fly fishermen are saying there don’t seem to be as many fish in the creek as last year. One angler said he saw three dead trout on bottom by the upper bridge. Most likely these resulted from an improper release after playing the fish too long.

November is one of the better months for cutthroat fishing in Lake Lenore.

Trout and kokanee

Trolling near the bridge at the mouth of the Spokane Arm on Lake Roosevelt, guide Craig Dowdy and clients took limits in three hours last weekend. They were trolling a fly on a downrigger 14 feet down. Almost all the trout were 14-15 inches.

Another group of anglers said it caught limits of Roosevelt trout out of Lincoln, with at least one large carryover boated each day. They were trolling Kekeda Flies in perch and orange/black tipped with about one-third of a nightcrawler, and also long lining 65-series Rip’n Minnows. Good reports also come from Hawk Creek. Shore fishermen throwing bait are doing well almost everywhere.

Southwest Spokane County’s Amber Lake remains open through the end of November for catch-and-release, selective-gear fishing for rainbow and cutthroat trout. WDFW District Fish Biologist Randy Osborne reports that fishing has been good at Amber and the trout are in good condition. Friends who fished there Sunday boated eight fish in the 18-range range and one stretching 23 inches. They said the big-fish bite slowed in midmorning when the smaller ones began biting.

Don’t overlook Blue Lake and Spring Lake on WDFW’s Wooten Wildlife Area as both are open through Dec. 31 and well stocked with catchable-size rainbows.

Good rainbow trout fishing is available at Long Lake (Lake Spokane), and it should improve through the fall. These are the sterile rainbows that are stocked (155,000 annually) through a cooperative effort by WDFW and Avista. They are running a robust 10-12 inches.

Z-Lake on WDFW’s Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area in Lincoln County should still be a fair place to catch a fat rainbow trout if you stay out of the shallows on the north and south ends, reports area manager Juli Anderson.

A few lowland trout lakes in Okanogan County are still open for catch-and-release trout fishing through the month – Green and Lower Green lakes near Omak, and Rat Lake near Brewster. Selective gear rules are in effect for these three lakes.

This is a great time to fish for rainbow trout on Banks Lake – the areas around Coulee Playland Resort, “Million Dollar Mile,” and at Coulee City Park. Some boat anglers have good success trolling crankbaits in the area known as Devils Lake at the north end of Banks, and along the west wall at the south end, but bank anglers plunking bait are also taking the big trout.

Salmon and steelhead

Steelheading was slow on Snake this week but a little better on the Clearwater. On the Columbia River near the Tri-Cities, many hatchery-origin fish have been “recycled” by WDFW Ringold Springs fish hatchery staff.

“We’re seeing more hatchery steelhead returning to the hatchery trap this year than in the last 10 years of trapping records,” hatchery manager Mike Erickson said. “In the last two weeks of October we’ve recycled more than 400 steelhead to the river downstream in the Tri-Cities area. As temperatures cool, these fish should be biting.”

A record return of coho salmon in the upper Yakima River has caused the Yakama Nation and WDFW biologists to provide a fishing extension through Nov. 16.

Super Baits and flashers are still taking 18- to 20-pound Wells Dam chinook. A friend who fished there last weekend said his party landed 24 fish and lost as many in three days of fishing and quality was good enough for smoking. The bite is from daylight until 10 a.m. There is also a decent steelhead bite at times below the dam.

Bobbers, jigs and bait are taking steelhead on the Columbia near Pateros and the mouth of the Methow. With the number of steelhead in the system, November should be good.

Bank anglers have been picking up some hatchery steelhead in the Hanford Reach.

The bulk of the run has passed Bonneville Dam and is moving upriver. Catch rates should pick up as the month progresses.

Spiny ray

Walleye fishing is still hot on Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing is also good. Perch fishing on Potholes has been the best in 30 years.

Weedlines in 6-8 feet of water is where you’ll find Lake Coeur d’Alene pike. The larger fish have become more active.

In the Okanogan, anglers interested in catching perch could try year-round Patterson Lake near Winthrop. Average size is 7 to 8 inches. There is no daily limit or minimum size, and anglers are encouraged to retain all perch caught regardless of size.

Other species

Clam diggers returned to coastal beaches on Tuesday to dig razor clams during an eight-day window of minus tides. Digging is not allowed on any beach before noon, and the best tides will be after dark.

Hunting

The late modern firearm general white-tailed deer hunting season runs Saturday through Nov. 19 in northeast Game Management Units (GMU) 105, 108, 111, 113 and 124 for any buck. GMUs 117 and 121 are also open for the late buck hunt but are under a four-antler-point minimum rule. Deer hunter check stations near Deer Park and Chattaroy will be conducted the last weekend of the hunt, Nov. 15-16.

Late archery white-tailed deer hunting in GMU 101 opens Monday. Check the rules pamphlet for details.

Good numbers of wild pheasants are reportedly in the central and southeast districts of the region, where many private landowners allow hunting through various WDFW access programs. It appears to be a good pheasant production year at WDFW’s Revere Wildlife Area in Whitman County. Pheasants also seem more numerous at WDFW’s Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area in Lincoln County. WDFW Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area Manager Juli Anderson said it also seems to have been a good hatch year for Hungarian partridge.

Columbia Basin hunters are reportedly seeing a fair number of pheasants and quail. Farm-raised rooster pheasants continue to be stocked periodically at several release sites throughout the region (Details available at the Eastern Washington Pheasant Enhancement Program webpage).

Spokane, Lincoln and Walla Walla counties are within Goose Management Area 4, which is open only on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays during the season, plus Veterans Day (Tuesday) and Thanksgiving Day and the day after (Nov. 27-28). The rest of the region is within Goose Management Area 5, which is open daily. So far, goose hunting has been for local birds only.

Local ducks are providing some action for Grant County hunters. Water levels at Frenchmen Regulated Access Area are lower than expected, but Winchester Regulated Access Area water levels are good, with water in front of all blinds.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com