Alan Liere’s weekly fish and game report for Sept. 29

Wed., Sept. 28, 2016

By Alan Liere spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

Tip of the week

Waitts Lake remains an excellent choice for trout anglers. Trollers dragging orange worm-tipped flies and dodgers at about 25 feet are making good catches of mostly rainbow in the middle of the south end. Most of these are 12-16 inches in length.

Braggin’ rights

Dale Moffat and Mike Kester have spent a lot of time dunking shrimp under a bobber at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake rivers, accounting for a fair number of steelhead and chinook. Many were wild and had to be released, but last week their persistence was rewarded when in a 10-minute period, they each caught identical hatchery steelhead of about 33 inches. The fish checker said the fat steelies were the largest checked this year. On the same day, the duo also accounted for a radio-tagged jack.

Overheard

Rising marine toxin levels have prompted the WDFW to delay upcoming razor clam digs at Long Beach and to review openings at other ocean beaches. WDFW previously announced a tentative schedule of digs for Oct. 14 through Dec. 31 at the four ocean beaches. However, digs at Long Beach are on hold until tests indicate toxin levels have dropped and the clams are safe to eat. The department continues to monitor toxin levels to determine whether razor clam digging can proceed at Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks beaches. Updates in the upcoming weeks can be found at the WDFW website.

Heads up

Be sure to get your orientation correct when fishing the confluence of the Clearwater. Idaho allows two rods per angler while Washington allows just one. Tickets have been issued.

Fly fishing

The Spokane River has been good for rainbow. Anglers running dry/dropper rigs are finding consistent action all day long. The North Fork Coeur d’Alene has also been good. Afternoons are best.

The Clark Fork River is fishing very well. The larger fish are in strong water at the bottoms of big rapids away from the banks.

Salmon and steelhead

The number of steelhead over Lower Granite Dam doubled between this week and last. Fishing at the confluence and up into the Clearwater should reflect this surge.

Further up, Bill Vail at Boggan’s Oasis reports that steelhead are finally entering the Grande Ronde. He says a good rain would help a lot.

The return of A-run steelhead to the Salmon River is very low so far, but B-run counts to the Clearwater are the highest since 2010. Guide Bart Jarrett of NW Fishing has been bouncing roe during the catch and release season and says the steelhead he is catching are so fat they look like Rufus Woods Triploids. The catch-and-keep season on the Clearwater begins on Oct. 15, and Jarrett recommends booking guided trips now. Call: (208) 790-2277.

Chinook fishing was slow last week at Drano Lake, White Bluffs and Vernita Bridge, but those fish caught have been good-sized. At Ringold, on the other hand, fishing for chinook was so good on one day the fish checker couldn’t keep up. Hanford Reach has been off and on depending on the water. When there is a lot of it, the river gets dirty and fishing is poor.

The Columbia River sport fishery for fall chinook remains open until Friday on the mainstem Columbia River from Buoy 10 upstream to Warrior Rock. The Buoy 10 chinook allotment was 48,000 fish but only about 20,000 were caught, though indications were a lot of fish were available.

Trout and kokanee

Several area lakes close after Friday. Fishing for trout should be good until then at Williams, Badger, Fish and Fishtrap and fair at West Medical. In the same general area, Clear Lake stays open through October.

Rainbow fishing in the Sterling Point area has been excellent on Lake Roosevelt for 15- to 16-inch fish. Flies and Rapalas have done the damage trolled at less than 15 feet under the surface.

Rock Lake rainbow are plentiful and most are closing in on 16 inches. Very few German browns have been taken recently.

Omak Lake in Okanogan County is loaded with cutthroat in the 18-20 inch range, but they get much larger. The lure of preference seems to change daily, so bring a big tackle box.

Most of the rainbow being caught at Dry Falls Lake in Grant County are about a foot long, but a typical limit will usually have a fish 18 inches or better. The bite has been good.

Kokanee fishing is pretty much over at most area lakes. Loon Lake fish are quite red, as are those in Priest. Dworshak Lake kokes have gone upriver to spawn. Coeur d’Alene Lake kokanee are still in good shape, though small. The best fishing right now is probably Lake Pend Oreille, where it is pretty easy to catch enough 10- to 14-inch fish to fill up the smoker.

Curlew Lake rainbow fishing remains good, the grouse hunting in the area isn’t bad, either, and don’t forget the big tiger muskies. Curlew could be a nice multi-species destination.

The water temperature at Kootenay Lake in British Columbia is dropping, and when it hits 55 degrees, the big Gerrard rainbow begin feeding in earnest. A few were taken last week.

Spiny ray

Many anglers choose this time of year to target largemouth bass because the fish are feeding voraciously as they get ready for winter. Lakes like Silver, Newman, Eloika, Long, Hayden and Hauser are the usual destinations, but many bass anglers are finding excellent fishing at area “trout lakes” like Jump-Off Joe, Diamond, Waitts, Loon, Deer, Clear and Lake Pend Oreille. Sprague Lake is probably one of the best largemouth producers in the state right now and for smallmouth, it would be difficult to beat the Pend Oreille River.

Northport remains a good destination for walleye, but they are relatively small. Jigs have been very effective, but expect to lose some if you are fishing correctly. Walleye anglers are also catching small walleye up the Spokane Arm on Lake Roosevelt.

Drop-shotting is effective.

Long Lake in the fall has always been an excellent place to catch a mess of 9- to 10-inch perch on the edges of weed beds. Some large crappie have shown recently, suspended in 20 feet of water.

White spinner baits worked best for some decent-sized northern pike for a friend and his son recently on Lake Coeur d’Alene. The fish were in 4-5 feet of water. With water temperature currently 60 degrees, it won’t be long before the fishing really takes off.

Priest Lake anglers continue to find good smallmouth fishing, and reports indicate there are a lot of 8- to 9-inch perch hanging around docks and shallow weed beds.

Hunting

Washington quail, grey partridge and chukar seasons open on Saturday. All three species will be found the length of the Snake River canyon. Idaho’s season opened Sept. 16. The birds will remain relatively low until the autumn rains commence.

Washington’s general season pheasant opener is still a couple of weeks away, but reports from those participating in the short over-65/disabled season last week were encouraging and seem to indicate a slight increase in bird numbers over last year.

The Idaho sharp-tailed grouse season in select eastern Idaho counties opens on Saturday and runs through Oct. 31, with a daily bag limit of two birds and a possession limit of six.

The pheasant season in Idaho’s Area 1 begins Oct. 8. It is the first to open in that state, followed by Area 2 and 3 on Oct. 15. The youth hunt runs Saturday through Friday.

General fall turkey seasons are running now in most parts of the Idaho Panhandle and Clearwater regions. Check your game regs as there are different closing dates. In Washington, the early fall general season runs until Oct. 31 in GMUs 101-142 and Oct. 14 in GMUs 145-154 and 162-186. Reports have been favorable.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com