Weekly hunting and fishing report

Thu., March 26, 2015

By Alan Liere spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

Tip of the week

Everyone seems to fish the same areas for walleye on Banks Lake, but the fish can be found from one end of the lake to the other, and walleye in these less-fished spots are often larger than the ones found in the more heavily utilized areas. A little exploring could very well result in finding a new favorite honey hole.

Braggin’ rights

Clamming was excellent on Long Beach Peninsula this weekend even if the weather didn’t cooperate. Nevertheless my family and I, as well as first-timer Jane Baldwin of Liberty Lake, persevered and took limits both Saturday and Sunday. State shellfish managers plan to end the season with another 24 days of digging on morning low tides at various beaches from April 4 through May 17.

Heads up

• Brock Morrow of the North Idaho Pike Association will discuss fishing for pike in the Inland Northwest in a free seminar at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Mark’s Marine, 14355 N. Government Way. Several large pike have been caught in North Idaho lakes in recent weeks.

• The 2015 Clear Lake Kids Fishing Event, sponsored by the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, will be at the Fairchild AFB Recreation Area on Clear Lake from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 2. The registration form, directions and information about the event can be found on WDFW’s Youth Fishing Calendar ( http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/kids/events.html). Each participant will receive a free rod/reel combo and event t-shirt. Registration is open now and will continue through April 17th. Info: WDFW at (509) 892-1001.

• The Triple Fish Challenge out of Coulee Playland Resort on Banks Lake runs April 25-26. This is a fun, exciting tournament with excellent prizes in several categories for both adults and kids. Basically, anglers are challenged to weigh in a trout, a walleye and a bass on both days of the tournament. It sounds easy, but getting all three two days in a row has proven difficult in the past. Info: grandcouleedam.org. Click on “events calendar” then “area events.”

• Don’t forget to buy your new Washington license this week as the old one expires on Tuesday.

Overheard

Dworshak Reservoir in Idaho is so packed with smallish kokanee that Idaho Department of Fish and Game is considering removing the limit this year. The 9-inch landlocked sockeye are already starting to bite.

Fishing for Lahontan cutthroats at Lake Lenore may be over for the year before it really begins. The water is slimy and dark-colored and there is virtually no water coming in.

Fly fishing

If you’re up for an adventure and an opportunity to catch big crappie and largemouth on a fly, give Spokane County’s Bonnie Lake a look in the next couple weeks. The lake is accessed via the Belsby Road/Hole in the Ground Road crossing of Rock Creek. You’ll launch your small boat off a steep bank into the creek and motor upstream through a narrow passage to the lake. A Carey Special on a sinking line will do the job.

Dry Falls Lake in Sun Lakes State Park will open next Wednesday under selective gear rules with a daily catch limit of one trout. Fly fishermen can expect to do well on both yearlings and carryovers.

St. Joe River cutts are starting to move out of eddies and backwaters into some currents and areas along the banks with structure. Streamers of any color on sink tips have been working too well to try anything different.

Salmon and steelhead

Steelhead fishing on the Clearwater remains hot, said guide Toby Wyatt of Reel Time Fishing. He says 2,000 steelhead have passed over Lower Granite Dam in the last week and a half, so there are fresh fish still headed towards the Clearwater. The season is open until April 30. The Snake River has also been yielding steelhead at a fast clip.

The Red Covey Memorial Chinook Tournament on Lake Coeur d’Alene runs April 11-12 with a $2,000 guarantee for first place. Register at Fins and Feathers in Coeur d’Alene. Currently, the lake’s chinook are in the top 30 feet of water.

Trout and kokanee

Fourth of July Lake is open through the end of March, and anglers throwing spoons and spinners from shore are having excellent luck for trout up to 18 inches at several locations. Hog Canyon trout fishermen are having similar success on smaller fish.

Anglers drifting Nespelem Bar with white tube jigs are finding a fast bite on Rufus Woods Reservoir. Most of the fish are the recently planted 1-2 pounders, but now and then, a double digit fish is taken.

Starting Wednesday, a number of lakes will open in the Columbia Basin, providing anglers good trout fishing. These lakes include Pillar, Snipe, Cattail, Gadwall, Poacher, Shoveler and Lemna. North and South Teal lakes also open Wednesday and should fish very well this year, said Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife fish biologist Chad Jackson. Corral Lake always produces some big trout on the opener. Remember that two of the more popular lakes, Upper and Lower Hampton, will not have fish in them for this year’s opener. Neither will Sago, Hourglass or Widgeon. These lakes were rehabbed and have not yet been planted. If you are trying this area for the first time, stop by the store at Mar Don Resort and pick up a good map of the area.

Roses Lake Chelan County has been good for catchable-size rainbow from boat, shore and dock.

Campbell and Davis lakes in the Winthrop area shift from a catch-and-keep season to a catch-and-release season on Wednesday, as do Rat Lake near Brewster, and Big and Little Green lakes near Omak. Rat has both rainbow and brown trout; the Green lakes are predominately rainbow.

Chelan Lake kokes and macks continue to reward anglers’ efforts. The macks are just off the bottom in the Narrows and the kokanee have been most abundant opposite 25-Mile Creek and near Mitchell Creek 80-120 feet down. The largest have been 15 inches, and every so often, a small chinook is reeled in. The best kokanee fishing is still ahead as more fish move down from the upper reaches of the lake.

Hayden Lake kokanee to 15 inches are still being picked up by anglers trolling pink hootchies and Smile Blades. Most of the fish lately have been in the 30- to 40-foot depths.

Spiny ray

Slow Death setups trolled at 30-50 feet were taking eating-size walleye from Potholes Reservoir this week in the vicinity of the gravel pit. Trollers are taking larger fish from the outlet of Frenchman’s Wasteway, Goose Island, Perch Point and Lind Coulee, as well as in deep water next to the Crab Creek dunes.

Walleye anglers launching at Porcupine Bay on Lake Roosevelt are jigging up some nice fish near Blue Crick and the Graveyard in about 30 feet of water. Some big smallmouth are also showing.

Friends who have tried for crappie on numerous area lakes say the water is still too cold. So far, Eloika, Long, Newman, Bonnie, Liberty, Lower Twin, Hayden, Fernan and Hauser have been tried and temporarily crossed off the go-to list for crappie, but they are yielding a few largemouth.

One of the best spiny ray lakes in the state is Hutchinson, at the lower edge of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Refuge, just south of Soda Lake. It opens Wednesday along with the popular trout lakes in the area. The water there could be warm enough to make the crappie bite.

Other species

Good catches of ocean perch added to razor clam limits last weekend for anglers fishing the surf near Westport and Ilwaco.

Hunting

Idaho’s wild turkey general season runs from April 15 through May 25, and hunters are gearing up for what could be a banner year. The general season youth turkey hunt runs April 8 through April 14.The application period for spring controlled hunts is over, but there may still be opportunity for a spring gobbler, even if you weren’t drawn. Leftover permits go on sale on Wednesday.

The Washington general turkey season runs April 15 through May 31. The youth early turkey hunt is April 4-5.

Contact Alan Liere @spokesmanliere@yahoo.com