Alan Liere’s weekly fish and game report for June 30

Fly fishing

The Spokane River fished very well this week for two friends from out of state. They said dry flies did pretty well for them, but bobber rigs at about 4 1/2 feet may have been better.

St. Joe cutts in the upper river have a tendency to sleep in, so you don’t have to be on the river too early. Silver Bow Fly Shop says the lower stretches are still floatable, but that may not last long. There are a good variety of bugs.

With rising temperatures, you can expect to share the North Fork Coeur d’Alene with what Silver Bow calls “invasive species.” The fact many of these are wearing bikinis, however, should make this less irritating, and the fishing is said to be good, too.

The North Fork Clearwater and Kelly Creek as well as the Clark Fork are in good shape and fishing well with a variety of bugs. The Kootenai River is in great shape too, with the best fishing in the evening.

Trout and kokanee

Loon Lake kokanee are hitting trolled Wedding Ring-type spinners baited with maggots or white corn, but the best fishing is before 10 a.m. Night fishing is really picking up, usually getting good after 10 p.m. Drop a Glo Hook and maggot in about 30 feet of water.

Sprague Lake is getting an algae bloom, but the big trout are still possible from shore or boat using bait. A lot of trout are around 17 inches, but fish over 5 pounds are not unusual.

Other lakes south of Spokane are also getting warm quickly. Some of the best reports have come from Clear Lake, where bait fishermen from boat and shore are catching ‘bows and browns.

The Medicare Beach area of Moses Lake is producing some rainbow over 4 pounds. The fishing generally isn’t as fast as it was two years ago, but on some days, you wouldn’t know it.

Lake Roosevelt kokanee are definitely deeper and harder to catch now, but anglers are finding them at a variety of depths in the usual spots – Swawilla, Spring Canyon and Keller. Small (12-inch) rainbow are plentiful.

Hayden Lake kokanee are about 12 inches. At Lake Pend Oreille, they are around 13 inches and at Priest Lake, many are close to 16 inches. The bite at all three has been fair to excellent with Pend Oreille the best. Friends who fished Dworshak Reservoir last weekend said they caught all the 10-inch kokanee they wanted to clean.

Up north of Spokane, Yokum Lake in Pend Oreille County has seen some excellent fishing for cutthroat trout of 12-16 inches. Most of these are holding in the 25-foot range. Diamond and Marshall Lakes have also been good and trollers at Bead are catching kokanee.

Anglers trolling plugs and flies in about 40 feet of water are taking limits of 12- to 15-inch rainbow from Wapato Lake.

Trout anglers are having consistent action on Long Lake in the vicinity of Tum Tum. Not all the action is on rainbow, however, as smallmouth, perch and crappie can also be in the mix.

Salmon and steelhead

The summer run salmon season opens on Friday on the upper Columbia and the fish are coming at a pace way over the 10-year average for this time of year. Catches should be good below Wanapum Dam and Chelan Falls on the opener.

Sockeye opened on the Columbia River on June 28 and are scheduled to remain open through Aug. 15 from the Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco to Priest Rapids Dam. The limit from the 395 Bridge to the Interstate 182 Bridge is three salmon, one of which may be a hatchery chinook. From the Interstate 182 Bridge to Priest Rapids, the limit is six, two of which may be an adult chinook. The total sockeye return is now projected to reach 400,000.

Anglers can reel in salmon off the Washington coast beginning on Friday, when the ocean sport fishery gets underway in all four marine areas. This year’s sport fishing opportunities are mostly focused on chinook salmon, which are forecast to return at a rate slightly above the 10-year average. Anglers can fish for chinook in all four marine areas. “We expect a pretty good chinook fishery in the ocean this summer,” said Wendy Beeghley, an ocean salmon manager with the WDFW. “However, we’ve put restrictions in place in an effort to protect coho, which are forecast to return in low numbers.” Only Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco) will be open for coho retention.

Toby Wyatt at Reel Time Fishing (info: (208) 790-2128) says his boats fishing the I5 area of Portland have been averaging 10-15 hook ups per day, mostly summer chinook with some steelhead mixed in. When targeting chinook, troll herring with lead droppers on the bottom. A Wyatt boat anchoring in the Cathlamet area is catching a good mix of chinook and steelhead.

Chinook fishing on the South Fork of the Salmon River will last through Monday, but that will be it for the year.

Spiny ray

Northern pike are becoming a little easier to find in Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Chain Lakes with the emergence of more weed beds. They are hitting a variety of offerings in about six feet of water.

Walleye fishing on the Snake River has been very good recently in the vicinity of Texas Rapids. Some fish over 10 pounds have been netted. On Lake Roosevelt, the ‘eyes have not been quite so easy to find, but where you find one, you’ll likely find several. The Banks Lake walleye bite has been inconsistent with most anglers agreeing fishing has been slow. Fish of 15-16 inches have been most cooperative.

Other species

Palouse River channel cats have been biting near Lyons Ferry and many are over 6 pounds. The fish are in very shallow water – shallower than would seem likely during the recent hot weather. Cut bait is a good choice.

The Northern Pikeminnow Sports Reward Program is in full swing and anglers reporting to the check station at Boyer Park have been averaging 13 fish per angler. At a minimum payout of $5 a fish, that’s enough to buy a lot of sun block.

Contact Alan Liere via email at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com