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

Wed., Dec. 7, 2016

Alan Liere

Tip of the week

As with any bait, there are times when the steelhead will also ignore spoons and spinners, but these can be very effective and are easily fished from shore. Excellent steelhead hardware includes Rooster Tail Vibric, Acme Stee-Lee, and Blue Fox Vibrax. Greens and blues have proven effective for winter fish.

Braggin’ rights

Fins and Feather’s annual Gene Fink Memorial Chinook Derby on Lake Coeur d’Alene saw 75 entries and a lot of small salmon. Big fish winner was Jeff Laybourne from Kellogg with a fish of just over 12 pounds. Second place was Dan Rife with a 9.56 pounder followed by Rich Nearing with a chinook weighing 9.52 pounds.

Overheard

Idahoans who hunt and fish every year provide consistent revenue to fund the necessary management programs for Fish and Game, but a larger percentage of Idaho’s hunters and anglers don’t buy licenses every year. When the Idaho Legislature convenes next month, Fish and Game will propose raising the price of most resident licenses, tags and permits between $1-6 starting in 2018. However, under the Price Lock proposal, hunters, anglers and trappers can exempt themselves from the fee increase and “lock in” at the current price for all licenses, tags and permits simply by purchasing an annual license in 2017, and each year thereafter.

Heads up

The best kokanee fishing on Lake Chelan right now is near the Yacht Club and the closest launch is at the State Park. Although the park is closed for the winter, the boat launch is open. Turn left past the entrance shack and follow the road down the hill. Don’t forget your Discover Pass.

Fly fishing

The Spokane River is high and most of the fishing is tight to the bank. Double rigs are finding fish in the pockets. Fly fishermen on the North Fork Coeur d’Alene are seeing action on streamers and nymphs in the slow water.

Salmon and steelhead

With some of the usually-good steelhead waters closed, anglers are concentrating effort on the Snake River (fair), the Clearwater (fair to good) and the Grande Ronde.

Trout and kokanee

Randy Osborne, WDFW central district fish biologist, says Hog Canyon anglers are catching rainbow trout in the 12- to 15-inch range. Fourth of July Lake fish are generally larger, but water levels are so low it’s mostly a walk-in bank fishery.

WDFW Northeast District Fish Biologist Bill Baker reports Hatch Lake has lots of 12- to 14-inch rainbow trout. Williams Lake was stocked this fall with 11- to 12-inch rainbow. Ice could become a problem at all the winter lakes later this week – too thick to break and too thin to walk on.

Rainbow trout fishing is still a good possibility on Long Lake. The lake appears to be at full pool and the anglers fishing from shore with Power Bait along the road near Tum Tum are catching good numbers of 12- to 17-inch trout.

Sprague Lake is still yielding some big rainbow for anglers trolling perch-colored flies. The east end has been the most productive and easier to fish as there are a lot of weeds on the west end. This shallow lake is cooling off quickly.

Fish Lake in Chelan County is providing lots of trout action for 12-inch fish, with much larger triploids showing now and then. Fish Lake also has some nice yellow perch. Roses Lake, also in Chelan County, recently received about 16,000 catchable rainbow trout that should provide a consistent winter trout fishery. Both lakes are open year round and have good ice fishing.

Three lakes in Okanogan County opened for catch and keep trout fishing Dec. 1: Rat Lake near Brewster, and Upper and Lower Green lakes near Omak. These fisheries provide good angling throughout the winter months, either as open water as they mostly are now, or iced over later in the season. The usual catch is rainbows in the 10- to 12-inch range.

Rufus Woods Reservoir anglers are dunking Power Bait, nightcrawlers or a combination of these for good luck on the 2- to 3-pound triploids. Fish in the 5- to 7-pound range are not unusual.

In Yakima County, North Elton Pond is now open to fishing. It received a plant of 2,000 jumbo rainbow to spice the action this winter.

Spiny ray

WDFW fish biologist Michael Schmuck says Moses Lake is a great choice right now for crappie and perch and that the outlet of Moses Lake, where the lake flows into Potholes Reservoir, is a good spot for walleye. Anglers fishing from shore and boat at the I-90 Bridge have had some good perch days, but the jumbos are not as prevalent as they will probably be later on.

Still, small Moses Lake perch are generally larger than those at lakes closer to Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. Schmuck also notes anglers are catching black crappie at Mardon Resort on Potholes Reservoir.

Anglers launching at Porcupine Bay on Lake Roosevelt are jigging in 40-50 feet of water from the big bay all the way up to Buoy 5. The majority of walleye are 12 inches or less, but it is sometimes possible to find a dozen or so “eaters” by sorting through the many dozen caught.

Banks Lake walleye of all sizes have been scarce, but the lake is giving up a few really large perch and some burbot.

Other species

Dec. 1 marked the opening of the whitefish season on the part of the Little Spokane River between State Highway 291 upstream to the West Branch. Daily catch limit is 15 fish of any size and whitefish gear rules apply (one single-point hook, maximum size 14). Whitefish fishing under the same rules has been underway on the Kettle River in Ferry/Stevens counties since Nov. 1.

The two-month winter whitefish season opened Dec. 1 on the Yakima, lower Cle Elum and lower Naches. The catch limit there is also 15 per day.

WDFW fish biologist Michael Schmuck says Banks Lake is the place for lake whitefish. “These fish are in the pre-spawn mode and this is a great time of year to target them,” he said.

The burbot bite continues for Lake Roosevelt anglers jigging for walleye. Anglers report most of those caught are full of crawdads, so any crawdad-colored plastic should work.

Shellfish managers have approved two days of razor clam digging at Copalis and Mocrocks beaches beginning on Saturday. No digging is allowed at any beach before noon, but low tides on both days of the opening take place in the afternoon, making it possible for diggers to harvest clams in the daylight.

Hunting

This week’s cold snap was not good news to area waterfowl hunters. Although big numbers of birds have not entered the region, there has been a trickle. Now that the small ponds and some of the lakes are freezing, however, those birds will either find big water or leave the area.

Decent waterfowling is reported on the Columbia and Snake rivers and around Yakima and Moses Lake. Goose hunting has been significantly better than duck hunting.

Pheasant hunters say the cold weather is helping to hold the birds longer in cover. Look for the birds in tall, woody brush, but don’t ignore tall grass or CRP from mid-morning to late afternoon, especially on sunny days.

There must have been 200 turkeys in the wheat stubble close to my home just north of Spokane this week. The Washington season remains open through next Thursday, and the Idaho season ends Dec. 31.

Whitetail deer remain legal targets for archers through Dec. 15 in select Washington units. Mule deer in Deer Area 1021 (antlerless only) remain open through Dec. 31. Whitetails and mule deer are now closed to muzzleloaders.

In Idaho, antlerless only whitetails are open to any weapon hunters in units 60, 60A, 64, 65, 66, 67 and 69 until Dec. 19 and Unit 28 is open for either sex whitetail until Dec. 31. Archery and muzzleloader seasons are ongoing in several Idaho units. Check your regs.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere @ yahoo.com