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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Weekly hunting and fishing report

Fly Fishing

A fly fishing for steelhead seminar will be presented by Sean Visintainer of Silver Bow Fly Shop from 6-8 p.m. Monday at the shop, 13210 E. Indiana Ave. Cost is $20.

The Clark Fork River as well as the North Fork Clearwater and Kelley Creek have been good for cutthroat, but inquire about fire closures before heading out. The Kootenai River near Troy and Libby, Montana has some good floatable water.

Fishing remains good on the St. Joe River but all roads on the south side have been closed due to fire restrictions and may still be closed. The north side is safe.

September is considered the best time to wade fish the Yakima. Get in the river and look for fast riffles, but fish the shorelines too, as the trout will often hide under the grass banks in shallow water.

Salmon and steelhead

Darver Tackle in Starbuck says anglers are beginning to catch steelhead off “The Wall.” The smallmouth fishing is very good.

The salmon/steelhead fishery at the mouth of the Clearwater is picking up steam as ever-increasing numbers of fish are counted at Lower Granite Dam. Bobbers and shrimp are the most popular for the steelhead, and Chinook anglers are trolling Super Baits and plugs for their fish.

Chinook salmon are bending rods at Hanford this week with a lot of large, bright fish hitting Super Baits as well as large jigs. Drano Lake has also been excellent for anglers trolling Super Baits. Most of the fish have been at about 20 feet. Some big Chinook are being taken upriver from Vernita Bridge. Super Baits and cut plug herring are equally good, and a garlic cover scent seems to increase effectiveness.

Chinook salmon, some of them still bright, are hanging around Bridgeport. There is a large proportion of unclipped fish, but anglers report getting enough opportunities to put a keeper or two in the boat.

The pink salmon run into Puget Sound has been spectacular and the fish are now moving into the rivers of Western Washington, where they are more accessible to the masses. WDFW recently built a web feature to help anglers take advantage of this distinctive opportunity. The website provides insights into fishing pink salmon in both marine and freshwater areas, helpful fishing tips, suggestions on access points from both rivers and coast, and up-to-date information on where and when the pinks are arriving. Go to wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/salmon/pink. Lots of coho salmon are in Washington’s ocean waters. As they head south, there will be excellent opportunities for fishing in Neah Bay, La Push and Westport. The ocean salmon fisheries are scheduled to continue through Sept. 30.

Trout and kokanee

Idaho Fish and Game continues to stock popular Panhandle Lakes with 10- to 12-inch rainbow trout. From Sept. 21-25, they will be putting fish in 10 Panhandle lakes with the most going into Fernan, Lower Twin, Mirror, and Round. Another plant of 1,800 is scheduled for Fernan between Sept. 28 and Oct. 2.

Kokanee fishing on the Coeur d’Alene didn’t generate much angler enthusiasm this year due to the small (7-9 inches) size of the fish. The lake is loaded with them. Nearby Twin Lakes has fewer kokanee, but they run a lot larger.

Kokanee are also small but abundant in Dworshak Reservoir. Some hardy anglers are doubling their fun by fishing for steelhead and Chinook on the Snake and trolling for kokes on Dworshak in the afternoon.

Waitts Lake has been good all summer and it gets even better in September. Most anglers are going back to trolling rather than still-fishing for the browns and rainbow. A fly tipped with a piece of nightcrawler and a small dodger is hard to beat. As the water cools, the fish will be coming up.

Rock Lake is another body of water where fishing picks up in the fall. Anglers who manage to launch a small boat at the shallow access are catching mostly rainbow by trolling the shorelines.

Banks Lake rainbow trout over 20 inches are hitting Apexes and hoochies in about 50 feet of water. There should be a good population of kokanee in Banks now, but no one is catching them.

Spiny ray

With its plethora of structure, Sacheen Lake has been a good spot for small bass and large perch. This little lake has one of the nicest launch areas and ramps around.

Bottom bouncers and slow death hooks with smile blades are taking good numbers of Banks Lake walleye as well as some nice smallmouth.

Other species

Banks Lake whitefish are suspended from 60 to 120 feet and fishing has been excellent at times for anglers dropping jigs into the zone. These are lake whitefish running 2-4 pounds. The flesh is excellent canned and smoked.

Hunting

Updated information on wildfires in Washington, including local travel and access restrictions, is available at inciweb.nwcg.gov/state/49/# . The U.S. Forest Service manages more public hunting lands in Washington than any other agency and provides information on several national forests at www.fs.usda.gov.

Information on where to hunt in Washington is available on WDFW’s website at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/hunting_access/. The site includes information on WDFW’s wildlife areas and hunting access to private lands. WDFW has also compiled information to help hunters have a successful hunting season with a report that includes information on deer, elk, waterfowl, turkey, upland birds and other species, as well as suggestions on techniques and places to hunt. Staff reports for all 17 wildlife districts in the state are available online at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/prospects/.

Early fall turkey hunting runs Sept. 19-Oct. 16 in Eastern Washington and the big birds are again abundant throughout the region.  In most of the region’s GMUs (101, 124-154, and 162-189) one either sex turkey can be taken. The season opens Tuesday in the Idaho Panhandle and Clearwater regions.

An early Canada goose season in Washington GMUs 4 and 5 will run Sept. 12-13.

Black bear opened in eastern Washington on Sept. 1. Most will be harvested in GMUs 101 (Sherman), 117 (49 Degrees North), 121 (Huckleberry), 154 (Blue Creek) and 162 (Dayton), depending on available access. Wild berry production was early and short this year with drought conditions, so bears won’t necessarily be found in traditional areas but possibly closer to waterways.

My dove season ended with a whimper this week as my “hot spot” pond went from hundreds of birds to a handful. Grouse brood sizes are up, however.

Archery hunts for elk open Saturday in both Eastern and Western Washington.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com