Weekly hunting and fishing report

Thu., Jan. 8, 2015

By Alan Liere spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

Tip of the week

When it’s on, Rock Lake can almost rival Lake Roosevelt for producing rainbow, and the possibility of a really large brown is enticing. But Rock can be treacherous, especially in the winter when strong winds come up unexpectedly. The hidden rock pinnacles are dangerous, but very few anglers know where all of them are. Some of the more well- known underwater pinnacles are on the right side, just out from a lone pine tree right after the slide area, but there are others. Stay in the middle when navigating Rock, don’t cut corners, and wear a life jacket.

Braggin’ rights

The Higgens launch on Lake Coeur d’Alene is bare now, thanks to a couple industrious anglers with shovels. Chinook fishing on the big lake has been good, especially on the north end.

Heads up

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has canceled a scheduled January brant goose hunting season after counts of the birds in Skagit County indicated numbers were below the level needed for the hunt to proceed. The hunt was scheduled to open Jan. 10, but two recent aerial surveys of Padilla, Samish, and Fidalgo bays each resulted in counts of only about 3,600 brant and 6,000 were necessary for the hunt to proceed.

Fly fishing

The Coeur d’Alene River had some ice last week but there is open water and the warmer weather will kick-start the bite. Throw double nymph rigs or sink-tips and streamers in the slow, deep pools.

The Yakima River blew out following the recent rains, but it is projected to have flows under 2,000 cubic feet per second by the weekend. Rebound fishing on the Yakima can be excellent.

Silver Bow Fly Shop in Spokane Valley is offering a Steelhead Fly Tying 101 class January 12 at 6:00 p.m. January 13-14, also at 6:00 is a “Beyond the Basics” class that will show how to tie six different effective trout patterns. Cost for each class is $50. Info: 924-9998.

Salmon and steelhead

Temperatures on the Snake River have dropped to around 36 degrees, but the steelhead are there, and at times the bite is good. The Clearwater River has dropped a lot and is a good winter option. Some huge B-runs have been taken this winter. A lot of fish have been caught side-drifting eggs.

The Cowlitz River in southwest Washington is currently a good bet for steelhead, and several other area rivers are also producing fish, said Joe Hymer, a fish biologist for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Lewis, Kalama, Grays, Washougal, Elochoman rivers – and Salmon Creek in Clark County – can also make a steelheader’s day in January, he said.

Open water fishing

Chelan Lake kokanee have been providing some action for trollers dragging leaded line at 50-70 feet. The fish are in big schools, so if you locate one, stay with it. The majority of fish have been 11-12 inches, but kokes to 16 inches are possible.

Hot fishing is reported on Rufus Woods Reservoir on the drop-offs. White tube jigs have worked well. Most of the fish are around 2-3 pounds, but fish into the teens have been taken.

Lake Roosevelt hasn’t dropped off at all this week. Excellent reports come from all over the reservoir. A friend limited in short order from shore at Lincoln on Tuesday.

Ice fishing

Northern Idaho lakes are not experiencing the same degree of melting as those in eastern Washington. Three to four inches of solid ice remain on most small lakes and temperatures have stayed in the 20s. Fernan, the north end of Hayden, Avondale and some of the Chain lakes still have decent ice and are fishing fairly well, as are the northern lakes like Round and Granite and the south end of Cocolalla.

In Washington, Williams Lake in Stevens County has some fat rainbow trout that are 16 to 17 inches as well as many trout stocked this year that are averaging 13 inches. Fishing has been fair, but the ice is marginal now. The same is true of Hatch Lake which has an abundance of 12- to 16-inch rainbow. Friends who fished there last weekend said there was 4 inches of ice, and it was slushy in spots. They caught one 17-inch rainbow, one 13-incher, and some 9- to 10-inch plants.

Ice depth at Eloika Lake out from Jerry’s Landing was a solid 4 inches this week, but the lake is a sloppy mess. Fishing for perch and bass has been decent.

Hog Canyon Lake had over 4 inches of good, clear ice last Sunday. Anglers fishing over 10 feet of water on both the east and west sides were catching fish on PowerBait, though the fishing was far from fast and the rainbows not particularly large.

Fourth of July Lake was iced over on Sunday with about 2 ½ inches of clear ice and a few brave (foolhardy?) anglers had ventured out. It is doubtful the lake will fish safely now unless the open water at the narrows again appears for bank anglers. On Sprague Lake, ice depth at the public launch was 3 inches last week and some open water was showing near the island. There was no one fishing.

Silver Lake anglers were on the ice out from the launch on Saturday. The entire lake was iced over, but it wasn’t thick enough in most places to safely fish.

Moses Lake has been the big story lately with ice fishermen catching 25-fish limits of 10- to 14-inch perch. Two friends who fished there last weekend caught limits both days about a hundred yards out from Blue Heron Park near the I-90 Bridge. Anglers were still on the ice Monday morning, but temperatures have been in the high 30s, and unless they drop dramatically, Moses Lake may not be an option by this weekend.

Other species

Retention fishing for white sturgeon is now open seven days a week in the Bonneville Pool and its tributaries. Anglers can retain one white sturgeon measuring 38 inches to 54 inches long (fork length) per day. State fishery managers anticipate re-opening Bonneville Pool for a summer retention season during June 2015.

The mountain whitefish is a smaller native species found in some of the region’s waterways, including the Spokane and Little Spokane rivers. A whitefish season runs through March 31 on the stretch of the Little Spokane River from Highway 291 upstream to West Branch. There’s no minimum size and the daily limit is 15. Whitefish gear rules apply – one single-point hook, maximum hook size 3/16-inch point to shank (hook size 14).

Winter whitefish seasons are currently open on the Yakima, Naches, Tieton, Cle Elum and Bumping rivers. Whitefish gear rules are in effect on the Yakima River from the Highway 223 Bridge at Granger to Keechelus Dam through Feb. 28. Whitefish seasons for the other rivers run December 1 to March 31. Anglers should target deep pools below riffles. Most whitefish are caught with a small fly, tipped with a maggot.

This is a good time to fish for burbot at Bead and Sullivan lakes in Pend Oreille County. Lacking safe ice cover, anglers can fish instead from the shoreline by casting jigs or plunking bait. Anglers are now targeting burbot at the south end of Sullivan Lake. On Lake Roosevelt, the mouth of the Colville River and the mouth of the Spokane River are good spots to fish.

Hunting

The application period for Idaho spring black bear controlled hunts opens January 15 and continues through February 15. The season begins April 15. Hunters may apply for controlled hunts at any hunting and fishing license vendor, Fish and Game office, or with a credit card by calling 1-800-55HUNT5; or online at fishandgame.idaho.gov/licenses/.

Decent upland game bird hunting opportunities are also still available on WDFW properties in eastern Washington, including pheasants on Revere Wildlife Area in Whitman County and Hungarian partridge on Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area in Lincoln County. Other public lands, like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers habitat management units along the Snake River, can be productive, too.

Ducks are still using Potholes Reservoir, but the sand dune area is frozen tight, as are the public launches.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com