Weekly hunting and fishing report

Thu., July 16, 2015

By Alan Liere spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

Tip of the week

When playing big fish, do everything in moderation. Don’t point the rod tip at the fish, but don’t keep it too high either. Retrieve at a moderate speed. When the fish is twisting or shaking, slow down to reduce the leverage it has. Many anglers get so excited with a big fish they speed up the retrieve. Slow down and enjoy the experience. An exception to this technique is playing a trout meant to be released in streams and rivers that are running warm. Under such conditions, it is best to get the fish in and released as quickly as possible.

Braggin’ rights

Two Spokane residents, Rick Sutherland and Tom Morrow, just won the Northwest Walleye Circuit’s “Angler of the Year” award by compiling the most points over this year’s series of five point-eligible tournaments.

Overheard

Several big sturgeon have been found dead in the Columbia Riverdownstream from the Tri-Cities. Theories are flying, including the possibility of disease from sockeyes and the impact of catch and release fishing in unusually warm water. Stay tuned.

• Also, the water temperature at the Willamette Falls counting station is a around 81 degrees and hundreds of salmon and steelhead have succumbed to a bacteria exacerbated by warmer than normal water in the Willamette River, as well as in other Northwest rivers such as the Deschutes, where fish from the Columbia are ducking in looking for (but not finding) cooler water. The sockeye probably died from columnaris, a bacterial infection typically associated with high water temperatures and/or low levels of dissolved oxygen.

Heads up

• Sockeye and summer Chinook salmon from the Columbia River and tributaries from Priest Rapids Dam upstream to Chief Joseph Dam must be released if they have floy tags and/or one or more small round holes punched in the tail. These fish have been anesthetized during various studies and should not be kept or consumed.

• Wildfires burning in Idaho have raised concerns about public safety and access to public lands. To assist hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts this summer, the latest fire activity, area restrictions and links related to fire are now available on Idaho Fish and Game’s website at https://fishandgame.idaho.gov/content/fire.

• Idaho hunter education courses are offered in all parts of the state, but their availability varies. To find out when courses are offered in your area and to register, visit the Idaho Fish and Game website at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/education/?getPage=30.

Fly fishing

The St. Joe is holding up, at least for a couple more weeks. After that, it will probably be pretty skinny. Currently, small dropper flies and grasshopper patterns are finding the cutthroat, says Sean Visintainer at Silver Bow Fly Shop.

The Spokane River is holding its own, especially the lower river. Above Sullivan, the river is very low and the trout are best left alone. Smallmouth fishing, though, has been good all the way to State Line.

The North Fork Clearwater and Kelly Creek drainages are low, but fishing the pockets with golden stones or hoppers in the cool mornings is bringing success.

The Fernie River in British Columbia and the Kootenai River in Montana would be excellent options for the fly fisherman now. Both have cold water and good wade-fishing opportunities.

Trout and kokanee

Lake Roosevelt Spring Canyon kokanee have come easy this week. Most of the fish are around 2 pounds each, but I have yet to hear about a hatchery fish being caught. Troll at about 1.5 mph with a pink Apex or a pink hootchie baited with maggots or white corn.

Coeur d’Alene kokanee are only 8 inches long and pressure is light. Bigger kokes (10-12 inches) are coming from Lake Pend Oreille near Bayview, and Priest Lake kokanee are even larger.

Trout fishing has slowed way down at most of the put-and-take lakes south of Spokane and some are green with algae. To the north, trollers are catching mostly small rainbow at Deer Lake, though a friend recently caught a 23-incher off her dock and the nighttime bite is decent for still-fishermen.

Salmon and steelhead

A friend and I joined two other anglers on the Brewster Pool on Monday, fishing with guide Kyle Jones (208-861-0654). Hundreds of boats hit this fishery each day, and the fishing, though slowing some, is still excellent on some days. The day before we got to Brewster it was very slow, but we had a good early bite and took the last of our 24 fish just before noon. Many of the sockeye showed round wounds, evidently caused by lamprey eels, but the flesh is red, in excellent condition and delicious. Chinook anglers aren’t catching many, and most of those that are caught are wild fish. After limiting on sockeye, some anglers are trailering their boats over to Wells Dam where there seems to be more hatchery Chinook.

Chinook fishing on Coeur d’Alene is not red hot, but most early morning trollers are managing a fish or two at a depth of 75 feet. The fish caught are often 10-20 pounds. Big flashers and squid are regaining popularity.

At Priest Lake, successful mackinaw anglers are trolling dodgers and mini squid tipped with a nightcrawler.

Anglers out of Ilwaco are catching predominantly coho now, but there are enough Chinook around to keep things interesting. Westport salmon fishermen are catching almost as many Chinook as coho, in addition to some pinks. At LaPush, anglers are catching more Chinook than coho or pinks. At Neah Bay, Chinook outnumber coho at over 4 to 1, and good numbers of pinks are showing. Fishing at all four of these ocean destinations has been good.

Mixed reports come from the sockeye anglers on Whatcom County’s Baker Lake. Some report quick limits and others go home skunked. A successful setup has been a size 0 flasher followed by a pink hootchie on a 12-inch leader. The fish are spread out, changing depths during the day, and some are nearly 8 pounds. As they continue to acclimate, the fishing usually gets better.

Wenatchee Lake sockeye will NOT open this Saturday as posted in the Washington State Sports Fishing Rules pamphlet. The fish have hung up along the way because of warm water and are just now beginning to move again. Biologists are hopeful the season will be open by Aug. 1.

Spiny ray

Liberty Lake largemouth and Long Lake smallmouth are keeping anglers happy in the hot weather. Liberty also has a strong population of channel cats and Long Lake is loaded with yellow-bellied bullheads. Both these species bite best after dark.

Newman Lake water temperatures are 80 degrees but the tiger muskies seem to like the hot weather. Some anglers there report multi-fish days.

A bonus to targeting kokanee at night at Loon Lake is the fact that hundreds of bluegill are attracted to the light. When the kokanee bite falls off, I am not above dropping the same maggot-baited Glo Hook in front of the largest bluegill in the school. This is an excellent way to keep kids entertained, as these fish are willing biters and some are large enough to provide a decent fillet.

Banks Lake walleye fishing remains good with anglers catching as many as 30 fish a day. Most are only a foot or so in length, but persistence will usually result in at least a couple over 18 inches. The best setup recently has been spinners in 25-30 feet of water.

Lake Roosevelt walleye fishing is also holding up. The lake is at 1,289 feet above sea level and all ramps are useable.

Pike fishing on Lake Coeur d’Alene as well as the chain lakes has been slow in the hot weather. Big lake water temperatures are in the mid-70s. Smallmouth bass fishing, on the other hand, is excellent according to Jeff Smith at Fins and Feathers in Coeur d’Alene. Smith says he is having excellent luck throwing a ¼ ounce double-tailed grub with a red head into 15-30 feet of water off shelves and points all over.

Other species

A few tuna are beginning to show out of Westport. Salmon anglers are beginning to pick up some up incidentally, and the Westport charters are already booking trips.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com