Alan Liere’s weekly fish and game report for June 9

Wed., June 8, 2016

By Alan Liere spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

Tip of the week

An inventor and a Minnesota company have teamed up to create a tick removal system for humans and pets – a small, sticky surgical patch designed to remove ticks by smothering them. The patch is applied to the tick and removed 30 minutes later with the dead tick fully intact. It’s called Rid-a-Tick and has a shelf life of at least 10 years. Info: rid-a-tick.com

Braggin’ rights

I recently survived a six-day fishing trip with the Al Rettmann clan to Devils Lake, North Dakota. I like to fish, but the Rettmanns like to FISH. We put in a solid 70 hours per man despite heavy winds, thunder storms and gastric distress caused by too much good food. The walleye and pike fishing was excellent, and on the last day everyone at the fish cleaning station was in awe of a huge mess of black crappie running 12-14 inches.

Overheard

Largemouth bass fishermen are wondering if the two mild winters have anything to do with the size of their favorite fish this spring. It seems an unusually large number of oversized bass have been taken recently from area waters.

Heads up

Washington’s free fishing weekend is Saturday and Sunday. Idaho’s free fishing day is Saturday, and Montana’s free fishing weekend will be June 18-19.

Chinook salmon will reopen for two days – Sunday and Monday – on the Snake River below Little Goose Dam from the Texas Rapids boat launch to the fishing restriction boundary below Little Goose Dam. This zone includes the area locally known as “the Wall.”

Fly fishing

You can now fish the entire Spokane River. Smallmouth bass fishing is reported by Silver Bow Fly Shop to be very good above Barker and into Idaho, but the best trout fishing is below Sullivan. There is no floating under the Sullivan Bridge, however, until the water levels drop. Bridge construction is blocking the entire river.

The St. Joe remains a great option for fly fishermen as there are a lot of bugs out. Dry flies with a dropper are doing well.

Some of the western Montana streams, like the Clark Fork and Blackfoot, are on the drop. Stoneflies and caddis are abundant and the salmon fly hatch is on at Rock Creek. All the tributaries are open.

Trout and kokanee

Night fishing is becoming popular again at Loon, with maggots and Glo Hooks accounting for some limit catches between 10 p.m. and midnight. Reports indicate the fish have already added an inch in length since opening day.

Sprague Lake has been excellent at times for big trout. Quite a few fish approaching the 5-pound mark have been netted by still fishermen dunking orange Power Bait.

Lake Roosevelt kokanee are big and abundant at Spring Canyon and Swawilla Basin. Kokanee anglers are also picking up trout.

West Medical Lake is producing limits for bait fishermen on the north end. Badger Lake trollers dragging Wedding Rings there have had some very good days for rainbow up to 14 inches.

Conconully Lake has recently provided excellent kokanee trolling for fat 11- to 13-inch fish. The upper lake seems to have the larger fish.

Jameson Lake in Douglas County has been a good rainbow trout destination for anglers fishing both from a boat and from shore. The fish are running a hefty 15-17 inches. There are excellent camping spots on the lake.

Salmon and steelhead

Thanks to a good return of hatchery salmon on the Clearwater River, the chinook fishery opens on Friday with a special rule that allows the harvest of chinook with an intact adipose fin. Fishing will be allowed Fridays through Mondays until the season is closed.

Fishing will be open on the mainstem Clearwater River from the Camas Prairie Railroad Bridge upstream to Cherry Lane Bridge. If the fishing season lasts beyond June 17, anglers may retain chinook salmon with an intact adipose fin in the Clearwater River upstream of the Orofino Bridge, the Middle Fork Clearwater, and Lochsa rivers beginning June 18.

The middle section of the Yakima River opens on Thursday to fishing for hatchery spring chinook salmon. This is the stretch of the river from the Interstate 82 bridge at Union Gap to the BNSF railroad bridge, downstream of Roza Dam. The daily limit has been reduced from two to one hatchery fish with a season ending earlier on June 30 due to a weak run.

The pre-season forecast for upper Columbia River sockeye salmon is for only about 102,000 fish returning to the river mouth. Therefore, there will be no sockeye season on the Columbia River from Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco to the Interstate 182 Bridge at Richland or on the Columbia from the Interstate 182 Bridge to Priest Rapids Dam.

The Little Salmon River from the mouth upstream to the U.S. Highway Bridge near Smokey Boulder Road will close to all chinook salmon fishing on Friday at 9 p.m.

Spiny ray

Bluegill are moving into the shallows to spawn and lakes like Liberty, Loon, Silver and Newman can provide fast action. The fish, while not particularly large, are fun to catch and the occasional crappie or bass keep things interesting.

Friends who regularly fish for Rock Lake bass say the action has been steady for 2- to 4-pound largemouth.

You don’t hear much about Diamond, Clear or Sacheen lake trout these days, but the largemouth fishing has been excellent. Silver Lake consistently boots out good numbers of 3-pounders to anglers throwing plastics. On a visit to Loon Lake on Tuesday, I noted numerous good-sized largemouth near docks in just a few feet of water.

Smallmouth bass – some of them over 20 inches – have been caught recently by friends and family at Lake Spokane. Smallmouth fishing on the Snake River is “lights out” now. Fish the water between fast and slow currents with a tube jig filled with Smelly Jelly in crawdad flavor. This offering is also good at any lake, including Dworshak Reservoir and Priest Lake in Idaho. Both destinations have been hot.

The Barker Flats area of Banks Lake has been a popular spot lately for walleye. Trollers dragging spinners and bottom walkers are doing well. Walleye anglers near Kettle Falls and north of there on Lake Roosevelt are catching walleye at a moderate pace and they have been generally larger than those in the Spokane Arm. Bottom walkers and worm harnesses are standard gear, but any number of walleye rigs will produce, providing you stay near the bottom.

The Pend Oreille River remains a good spot for both largemouth and smallmouth bass, most weighing between 2-5 pounds. Fish the shallow sloughs for the largemouth and the sandy/rocky areas for smallmouth. An assortment of plastics work well for both.

Moses Lake anglers launching at Connelly Park are catching walleye without going too far. Worm harnesses on bottom walkers are enticing fish in 10-15 feet of water.

Northern pike fishing on Lake Coeur d’Alene has been fair to good. Most of the biters have been in 5-8 feet of water. There is a bass tournament on the big lake this Sunday, and anglers pre-fishing say they are finding good numbers of 5-pound largemouth.

Other species

Recreational halibut fishing in Marine Area 3 (La Push) and Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay) will re-open for one additional fishing day on Saturday.

The 23rd Annual Pike Minnow Derby will again be held in the Columbia River between Wells and Rock Island dams June 18-19. Sponsored by the East Wenatchee Rotary Club, there will be over $10,000 in cash & prizes. Info: Dan Feil at Bob Feil Boats and Motors in Wenatchee (509) 884-3558. Tickets are $20.00 for adults, kids under 14 can fish for free with an adult ticket holder. Tickets are available at Hooked on Toys in Wenatchee and Bob Feil Boats and Motors and Bi-Mart in East Wenatchee. Derby headquarters will be at the park in Orondo. There will be a free seminar on how to catch pike minnows this year at Bob Feil Boats and Motors in Wenatchee on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com