Hunting & Fishing

Turkeys, Idaho

Hundreds of wild turkey hunters will move into turkey country this weekend for the opening Monday of the general season.

Most of them will try to be near roosting trees at least an hour before dawn Monday. They know that the first hour or so after turkeys have left their roosting trees is one of the best times to take gobblers.

Unlike Washington, Idaho has both general and controlled hunt seasons. Most of the controlled hunts will open in late April.

Several North Idaho game management units will be open during the general season April 10 through May 7. They include the portion of GMU 1 within Boundary County and numerous units in the Lewiston region.

Indications are hunters will have a good season in North Idaho. The birds were able to find food during the mild winter and losses apparently were relatively small as the result of sub-freezing temperatures.

The largest population of wild turkeys in North Idaho is adjacent to the Snake, Clearwater and Salmon rivers. The majority of North Idaho hunters will concentrate along the drainages of those streams.

Washington’s gobbler season will open Saturday, April 15. Most hunters will be concentrated in Stevens and Lincoln counties in the northeast corner and Asotin, Garfield, Columbia and Walla Walla counties in southeast Washington.

Lenore Lake

Anglers who have hooked big Lahontan cutthroat at Lenore Lake the last couple of weeks are delighted with the fishing and anticipate an excellent season.

Some fly fishers say they’ve hooked and released more than 30 Lahontans a day on chironomid pupa patterns, mostly near the lake’s lower end. All cutthroat must be released until June 1.

The Lahontans were picky when only tiny midges hatched during the first three weeks of March. The water temperature was in the low 40s and the trout were somewhat sluggish. However, when the larger midges began hatching, the fish went on a feeding spree.

Most fly fishers have been fishing chironomid patterns 8 to 10 feet below indicators. Productive flies have been No. 12 and 14 black Swannundaze, TDC and Chan pupa patterns.

It’s necessary to fish the pupa patterns dead slow. In fact, trout often take flies that aren’t moved. If there’s a riffle on the lake, the rise and fall of the indicator is enough to elicit a take.

Spin fishermen have been using a variety of spinning lures and wobbling spoons. Mepps-type spinners are productive.

Soda and Long lakes

Good-sized whitefish are still at the upper ends of Soda and Long lakes in the Columbia Basin and some fishermen have been doing well. The fish, however, probably are starting to leave the inlets.

It’s possible that enough whitefish will be concentrated near the inlets this weekend for good fishing.

Some anglers have been hooking walleyes and small perch at the lakes.

Potholes Reservoir

The lower two or three miles of the Frenchman Hills Wasteway, which empties into the southwest corner of the reservoir, is still a good bet for spawning smallmouth bass and rainbows.

Fly and spin fishermen have been walking up the stream from the state park and casting their lures and flies into eddies.

Walleye fishing is picking up and a few bragging-size fish have been caught between Goose Island and the O’Sullivan Dam and in the Crab Creek channel.

Rocky Ford Creek Scores of fly fishers flog the slowmoving water in the upper mile of Rocky Ford Creek during weekends to try to hook trophy-sized rainbows. The spring creek is open only to fly fishing.

Midges and baetis mayflies have been hatching. Most anglers use tiny midge pupa patterns under indicators and scud patterns.

The short section where baetis mayflies hatch isn’t as productive this year as it was two or three years ago. The operator of the two hatcheries along the stream is permitting only a small amount of water to go through the channel where the mayflies hatch and relatively few trout are in the channel.

Lake Roosevelt

The reservoir is still low, but the Bureau of Reclamation has been raising the level a little each day. It’s now only about 20 feet under full pool.

Some fishermen have been hooking big kokanee and rainbows during early-morning hours in the lower end of the lake the last few weeks. Most have been trolling lures near the surface.

Big walleyes are in the Spokane and Kettle rivers to spawn. However, some anglers have been hooking keepers in shallow water on jigs tipped with nightcrawlers.

Chinook Salmon

The first salmon derby of 1995 will be Saturday and Sunday at Lake Coeur d’Alene. Jeff Smith of the Fins & Feathers shop said the person who catches the largest chinook will take home $1,000 in cash. The runner-up will receive merchandise.

Fins & Feathers is sponsoring the derby. Entry fee is $10.

Most of the chinooks are still in deep water.

Trout, Missoula area

Fly fishers are hooking big trout on small stonefly patterns along the Bitterroot and Clark Fork rivers. Two early stoneflies are hatching.

The rainbows and browns are taking patterns that suggest the Skwalla stonefly and the Little Brown Stone.

The Skwallas have bodies that range in color from a dirty yellow to slate gray, with an olive caste. They float low in the water; consequently, fly fishers favor bullet-head patterns and Stimulators with oliveyellow or olive-gray bodies. They tie the flies on No. 10 hooks.