Alan Liere’s weekly fish and game report for Oct. 8

Fly fishing

It’s getting cold up there, but the high lakes of the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness in the upper Twisp River basin, as well as Gold Creek basin lakes just outside the wilderness area, are providing good fly fishing now.

Year-round open Rocky Ford Creek in Grant County is a good bet this month for catch-and-release fly-fishing-only opportunities.

Silver Bow Fly Shop says there are plenty of steelhead in the Grande Ronde. Leeches on light tips have been productive, and nymphing the slots has done well too.

Salmon and steelhead

Steelhead counts over Lower Granite Dam have been in the thousands for about three weeks now. Although fish managers expect fewer steelhead than originally projected, enough are returning to provide decent fishing. The Clearwater River upstream of the U.S. Highway 12 Memorial Bridge, the Middle Fork, North Fork and South Fork Clearwater rivers are catch-and-release only until Oct. 15, when the harvest season in those sections opens.

The bulk of this year’s big fall Chinook run to the Columbia River is pushing into the Hanford Reach and beyond. Anglers fishing the Hanford Reach are catching record numbers of fall Chinook and are expected to do even better as more fish move into the area.

Chinook hotspots above Bonneville Dam also include the mouths of the White Salmon River, Drano Lake and the Klickitat River. This fishery will keep going for weeks to come.

Chinook anglers launching from Vernita, White Bluffs and Ringold have all been reporting excellent fishing. Most of those fish have been weighing in at 15-plus pounds with some tipping the scales at more than 30 pounds, noted Paul Hoffarth, a fish biologist for the WDFW.

In addition to Chinook, anglers can also harvest Ringold Springs Hatchery steelhead on the Columbia River from the Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco upstream to the old Hanford townsite wooden powerline towers. “It’s a fairly dependable fishery,” Hoffarth said. “Anglers usually pull 1,000 to 2,000 Ringold steelhead out of those waters every year.”

WDFW creel checker Lynda Andrew reported that the fall chinook run is providing good fishing both above and below Wanapum Dam on the Columbia River. Shore anglers above Wanapum Dam (section 539) on the Kittitas County shoreline are doing well using bobbers and eggs. Below Wanapum Dam (section 537), boat anglers are doing well using Maglips and Wiggle Warts. Below Wells Dam (section 543), anglers are also doing well but most of the catch is of wild fish that must be released. With the high numbers of fish still coming up the system, Andrew said fishing will likely get better in October.

Salmon anglers can also do well on the Yakima River, where fishing for fall chinook and coho is just beginning to improve. Best bets include the waters from the Grant Avenue Bridge downstream to the I-82 Bridge in Prosser and just downstream of Horn Rapids Dam. There should be a dramatic improvement in the weeks ahead.

Trout and kokanee

Rainbow trollers are catching mostly the smaller (14-inch) spring plants from Lake Roosevelt at the mouth of the Spokane, but much larger fish (more than 20 inches) are found near Lincoln and Hawk Creek. Kekeda flies at around 15 feet have been the ticket.

The kokanee population on Pend Oreille Lake is currently strong and providing great fall fishing opportunities. Kokanee anglers can anticipate high catch rates for 12-inch kokanee through October. Lake Coeur d’Alene kokes are smaller but they are also willing biters.

Friends who have fished Amber Lake four weeks in a row say the fishing remains excellent. They consistently catch trout more than 19 inches with some as large as 4 pounds. Amber is now catch-and-release.

Douglas County’s Jameson Lake, which has been closed since July 4, re-opened last Thursday for another month of angling. Fishing there should be good for spring holdover rainbow trout up to 12 inches, as well as the 10,000 catchable-size trout planted last month.

Spiny ray

The best fishing on Banks Lake has been at Barker Flats in 25-30 feet of water trolling a Slow Death hook and nightcrawler with a Smile Blade or spinner. You’re almost certain to catch a bunch of 14-inchers, with larger fish scarce but not impossible. The same depth and Slow Death technique is also putting Potholes Reservoir walleyes in the boat.

This is great time to catch walleye below McNary Dam. Fishing is excellent between Umatilla and Boardman.

Other species

Marine toxin levels, which cut last spring’s razor clam digs short, remain elevated. Any updates about the razor clam season will be posted on WDFW’s razor clam web page.

Hunting

Idaho’s general deer any-weapon season begins Saturday in much of the state. Deer numbers are up. During dry years like this one, deer tend to congregate around water and at higher elevations. If whitetail trends continue this year, hunters could top the all-time whitetail harvest of 29,800 set in 1996.

Washington deer and waterfowl seasons open Oct. 17. Waterfowl are expected to make another strong showing this year, said Mick Cope, game manager for the WDFW. The duck season will be open Oct. 17-21, then close and re-open Oct. 24.

Cope said big-game hunts also look promising this fall. Area-by-area hunting prospects around the state are available on WDFW’s website at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/prospects/. The southeast district (Asotin, Garfield, Columbia and Walla Walla counties) is best known for its mule deer hunting success. The GMUs with highest success rates (145, 149, 178, 181) also have the highest amount of private land and access can be limited. Those with the most public land (GMUs 166, 169, 175) have the lowest success, in part because of high hunter numbers. Mule deer have a three-antler-point minimum harvest restriction during all general seasons throughout the region.

Quail and partridge hunting began Saturday in Washington. This year’s warm and dry spring weather conditions boosted production of these birds. Initial hunter reports indicate this season will be better than average in Spokane, Whitman and Lincoln counties, particularly for gray partridge. Chukars don’t appear to have done as well except in the Chelan area.

Grant County usually produces the second-highest harvest of quail in the state and quail hunting is good again this year. Traditional quail hunting areas on WDFW lands in the Columbia Basin district include the Desert Unit of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area Complex between Potholes Reservoir and the town of George, Lower Crab Creek between Corfu and the Columbia River, Gloyd Seeps Wildlife Area between Stratford and Moses Lake, the Quincy unit near the town of Quincy, and Dry Falls unit at the south end of Banks Lake.

The Chelan district is also providing good quail hunting, especially in Douglas County, and the Okanogan district also appears to be good.

Turkey hunting continues throughout eastern Washington through Oct. 16. Success has been high.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com