Alan Liere’s weekly fish and game report

Wed., Nov. 18, 2015

Alan Liere

Tip of the week

Omak Lake on the Colville Indian Reservation outside the town of Omak gets very little pressure and is open year-around. Fishing for Lahontan cutthroats 2-5 pounds is reported to be excellent right now. The limit is three and a tribal permit is required.

Braggin’ rights

My nephew, George Twigg, and his 13-year-old daughter, Madison, hunted my acreage last weekend in some horrendous weather conditions. George got a buck but Madison, a first-time hunter, passed on a couple does. I was extremely impressed with her grit and determination, but mostly with her overall appreciation of the total experience. On Sunday afternoon, I got to shoot sporting clays at Landt Farms with Madison and my 12-year-old grandson, Walker, in a shoot sponsored by an organization called Hunting Works for Washington. Neither of the kids had ever shot clay birds before, but both connected on nearly half their chances.

Overheard

Some 953,706 fall Chinook passed Bonneville last week, the most fall Chinook passing the dam since it was built 77 years ago. The previous record was set in 2013 when 953,222 fish passed the dam. Upriver, the number of fall Chinook spawning at Hanford Reach is also breaking records and passage of fall Chinook into the Snake River is the second best year since the four lower Snake River dams were built in the 1970s.

Heads up

– For the first time, the traditional eastern Washington winter lakes – Fourth of July, Hog Canyon, Hatch and Williams (near Colville) will open on the day after Thanksgiving this year rather than December 1. Fourth of July received 59,450 rainbow trout fry last year and 20,000 young rainbows this year, and Hog Canyon received 10,000 fry last year and 10,000 young rainbows this year. These plants should provide a lot of catchable trout on the opener. Last year Hatch was stocked with 7,000 triploid rainbow trout fry and Williams was stocked with 12,000 rainbow fry, all which should be catchable size on November 27. Residents who are interested in buying a nonresident white-tailed deer tag as a second tag can get details at fishandgame.idaho.gov/content/second-tag https://fishandgame.idaho.gov/content/second-tag.

– With deer hunting in full swing and reports of good hunting, nonresidents or Idaho hunters interested in a second Idaho tag may want to buy it sooner than later. On Tuesday about 1,300 white-tailed deer tags remained in the nonresident quota, and all nonresident general deer tags have already been sold. Residents who are interested in buying a nonresident white-tailed deer tag as a second tag can get details at fishandgame.idaho.gov/content/second-tag.

– Idaho hunters looking for a new hunting spot should check out Idaho Fish and Game's Wildlife Management Areas and Access Yes! properties. With lots of time left in the hunting season, WMAs are typically easily accessible places with everything from game birds to big game hunting opportunities. The best way to learn about Access Yes! properties is to go to Fish and Game’s website at fishandgame.idaho.gov and scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the green Access Yes! logo.

– There is a free steelhead fishing seminar tonight in Pateros, Washington. A great dinner is offered starting at 5 p.m. and the seminar begins at 6 p.m. For more information, call Howard’s on the River at 509-923-2200.

Fly fishing

Silver Bow Fly Shop reports very good cutthroat fishing on the North Fork Coeur d’Alene River. Both streamers and dries were connecting last week.

The Spokane River is also fishing well in both the upper and lower stretches. The streamer action is good, but double nymph rigs have also been effective.

It’s cold, but hearty anglers can still do well on the Clark Fork. It will take nymphs down deep to find the fish holed up in the deeper pools. Try some split shot to get the bugs bouncing off the bottom.

Steelhead and salmon

Steelhead fishing continues to be very good in the Pateros area and on the Methow and Okanogan rivers. Dropping temperatures could make the fish sluggish this weekend, however.

Steelhead fishing remains above average on the Snake River downstream from the Salmon and better than that on the Clearwater from the mouth to the Orofino Bridge and beyond, on the North Fork Clearwater and on the Little Salmon.

The Grande Ronde River is full of steelhead and fishing has been good. The usual Grande Ronde steelhead is around six pounds, but some much larger ones have been taken recently. Corkies and yarn or streamers have been working.

Trout and kokanee

Trout fishing was good but not consistently good on Lake Roosevelt this week. Anglers trolling the top 15 feet of water from Two Rivers to Sterling Point usually got their fish, but limits did not come quickly. A few kokanee were taken right on top.

Most Rufus Woods fishing reports have been coming from the Chief Joseph end near Brandts Landing. Two-pound trout have been fairly cooperative. The fish are in the upper 10 feet.

Before the winds, Sprague Lake was providing fair fishing for big rainbow and smaller steelhead. The lake has good color now and bank anglers are even catching a few from the public access.

Spiny ray

Coeur d’Alene pike are definitely in a feeding mode. A lot of fish between two feet and 30 inches in length are hitting a slow retrieve in the usual spots around weed beds in no more than 10 feet of water. They seem to be eating anything.

Most anglers give up on smallmouth bass once they go deep, but those jigging in 60- 75-feet of water on Lake Roosevelt are making some very nice catches now out of Keller. The Pend Oreille River is also a good smallmouth destination. Fish the deep slack water.

The only thing that has prevented limit catches of walleye on Potholes Reservoir recently is the wind. The early morning hours are usually calmer than the afternoons. On Moses Lake, the same is true for perch fishermen who are finding fish near the I-90 Bridge.

Hunting

Extra goose hunting days are soon available in management area 4, including Spokane, Lincoln and Walla Walla counties. Normally goose hunting is only allowed on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays, but the Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving holiday (Nov. 26-27) are also open.

Late buck closes after today, but later fall turkey season opens Friday and runs through December 15 in Washington GMUs 105-154 and 162-186.

In Idaho, the fall general turkey season runs through December 15 in game management units 1, 2 (except Farragut State Park and Farragut WMA) 3, 4, 4A, 5 and 6 in northern Idaho; and from November 21 through December 31 in units 8, 8A, 10A, 11, 11A, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18 on private lands only.

Several Idaho upland bird seasons run into December and January, and hunters are likely to find good action and no competition. California and bobwhite quail remain open through January 31 in northern and southwestern Idaho; chukar and gray partridge are also open through January 31. Pheasants remain open through December 31 in Area 1 in northern Idaho and Area 3 in southwestern Idaho and through November 30 in Area 2 in eastern Idaho. Forest grouse run through December 31 in most of Idaho and through January 31 in the Panhandle region.

Grouse hunters are finding very little competition whether hunting high for dusky grouse or low for ruffs. This has been one of the best grouse years in a decade and those who stay after them should do well even after the snow flies.

Some pheasant hunters reported moderate success on wild birds this week, but for the majority, pheasant hunting equates to taking a shotgun and a dog for a long walk in the country. Game-farm-raised rooster pheasants continue to be periodically released on several sites throughout the region. For details on all sites, see wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/water/ewapheas.htm.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com.