Alan Liere’s fishing-hunting report for Dec. 12

Steelhead and salmon

Much of the mainstream Columbia River remains closed to fishing for salmon and steelhead through Dec. 31. On Jan. 1, 2020, fisheries will reopen as described in the 2020 sports fishing rules pamphlet.

Steelhead anglers in boats are having some success on the Snake and the Grande Ronde rivers. The Snake should remain fishable through the month, but call Boggan’s 256-3372 on the Grande Ronde before making the drive, as ice has been forming and it may not accessible to wade fishermen.

Ice fishing

This is a transition period on area lakes – ice caps on most, but generally not enough to safely walk on. Of the four Washington winter lakes, Fourth of July has fished the best, but open water is at a premium and the launch has thick ice that prevents putting in a boat. Hog Canyon is capped, but the ice is only a couple of inches thick at this writing, and the fat 16-inch rainbow have not been tested. It could be ready soon, however. Williams Lake has a lot of unsafe ice – perhaps an inch. The aerator had not been turned on as of last weekend.

Elsewhere, Eloika Lake is almost entirely covered with thin ice and Waitts Lake ice is starting to form. Jump-Off Joe and Diamond had some ice around the edges Tuesday. Farther north, Gillette, Thomas, Sherry and Hande in the Chain Lakes system have up to 5 inches of good ice, and hard water anglers have been fishing there for about a week. Silver and Newman are also building ice, but not enough to walk on. Silver has thin ice and millions of small perch.

In Idaho, Avondale had less than 2 inches of ice on Monday, and Round had an inch or less.

Open water trout and kokanee

Rainbow trout fishing is open at Long Lake on the Spokane/Stevens county line. Anglers with boats do best, but Long has a number of pullouts where anglers can fish from shore. Long Lake trout are running 15-20 inches.

The mouth of the San Poil on Lake Roosevelt has been good for big rainbow and a few kokanee. The fish have been close to shore, suspended at about 25 feet. Quite a few native fish have been hooked. Two friends and I trolled Apex and Old Goat lures out of Hunters, Washington, on Tuesday, keeping 11 hatchery rainbow and releasing two wild ones. We trolled 18 to 25 feet down. A lot of fish are not accessible with leaded line as they are suspended over masses of shrimp in deep water in the middle of the reservoir.

Lake Roosevelt water level is at about 1,272 feet and will be rising slightly for about a week. Most major launches are still usable. China Bend, Evans, Hawk Creek, Napoleon Bridge, North Cove, Snag Cove and Two Rivers are not.

A number of big rainbow have been caught at Banks Lake past Northrup and into the Devils Lake area.

Rock Lake rainbow and browns have been cooperative for the past two weeks. Fish from shore with Power Bait or spinners, or try trolling or casting plugs along the cliffs.

Spiny ray

The Hunters area has been good for walleye, and more and more burbot are showing. Jigs and nightcrawlers have been effective off the sand flats. Go deep.

Anglers don’t typically catch as many walleye in winter as during the summer months, but the fish they catch are often much larger. Hot spots for winter walleyes in the Tri-Cities area include from the Snake River downstream to Badger Island and from McNary Dam downstream to Boardman. Some of the best spots are within one-half mile of the boat launches.

Other species

In waters such as the Entiat, the Kettle and the Little Spokane, river whitefish have moved into deeper holes for the remainder of the winter. Lake whitefish found in Lake Roosevelt, Banks, Moses Lake, Potholes Reservoir and Scooteney Reservoir move into shallower waters and reservoir inlets to spawn. At Banks Lake you can find them by the inlet and at the south end of the lake. Vertical jigging spoons such as a small Northland Forage Minnow Spoon, a Mack’s Sonic Baitfish, a Swedish Pimple or a Cicada Reef Runner will entice them to bite.

Razor clam diggers returned to ocean beaches for a seven-day opening beginning Tueday. Evening digs still open, along with dates and low tides are:

• Friday, 7:26 p.m., -1.0 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
• Saturday, 8:08 p.m., -1.0 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
• Sunday, 8:53 p.m., -0.8 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
• Monday, 9:41 p.m., -0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks

There are also several proposed razor clam digs for Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks before and after Christmas and throughout winter into February.

Marine Area 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island, and Skagit Bay) and Marine Area 8-2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner) will remain open for crabbing through Jan. 31, 2020.

Hunting

There is no shortage of geese on Eastern Washington and Idaho waters, even though many have a lot of ice. On a drive south on I-90 over the weekend, I saw thousands of geese on the ice and around the water their sheer numbers had kept open.