Fishing Report

Columbia Basin lakes

More than 40 lakes and streams in the Columbia Basin will be opened Wednesday for the 1995 season, but fishing could be mediocre at many of the waters.

The lakes include Warden and South Warden east of the O’Sullivan Dam, the Pillar-Wigeon and other lakes in the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge and lakes in the Quincy Wildlife Area, as well as Lenore Lake.

Several of the lakes will attract scores of fishermen, especially a few in the Quincy area and Warden and South Warden.

Several lakes in the refuge were treated with rotenone last fall and haven’t been planted with trout. They include the Hamptons, Marie, Wigeon, Sago, Dollar, Dabbler and Hen.

Fishing has been poor in the Pillar-Wigeon lakes in past years and may not be good this year. Biologists have speculated that cormorants take most of the trout fry released every spring.

Lenore will be open to catch and release fishing until June 1. Scores of anglers, many of them fly fishers from throughout the Northwest, will fish the lake during the first few days after the opening of the catchand-release season.

The average size of the Lahontans in the lake now is about 20 inches, Gordon Steinmetz of Coulee City, a tackle retailer and guide, said.

“The average size has been increasing since the lake was closed to fishing during the winter months and open only to catch and release fishing from March 1 to June 1 each year,” Steinmetz said. “I think there are good numbers of 2 to 5- or 6-pound cutthroat in the lake.

“Fishing was excellent just before the lake was closed last November. It should be excellent this year.”

Steinmetz said the most productive lure at Lenore has been a 3/8-ounce frog-pattern greenish spoon with yellowish spots.

Several lakes in the Quincy area are expected to provide good fishing the first two or three weeks of the season. They include Quincy, Burke and Dusty. Upper Caliche also is expected to provide good fishing.

Winter lakes, Washington

Hog Canyon Lake, about 35 miles southwest of Spokane, may attract more trout fishermen than any of the Columbia Basin lakes that will be opened to fishing next week. It seems to be loaded with 9- to 20-inch rainbows.

Fishing was excellent at times last weekend, with many anglers releasing the 9- to 10-inchers so they could keep rainbows in the 12- to 14-inch range, as well as one or two bigger carryovers.

Periodic storms and the runoff have created numerous potholes near Hog Canyon, including one that covers more than 100 acres.

The runoff also has improved the water level at Fourth of July. However, the lake is still several feet below normal and the water is too far away from the ramp to launch a boat.

A few anglers have been carrying rafts and float tubes to the water. Others have been fishing from shore. The fishing has been so spotty that many fishermen have turned to Hog Canyon to catch fish.

Sprague Lake

Bluegills are concentrated in compact schools in a few spots around the 7-mile-long lake. The schools are so concentrated that anglers must fish every foot of a shoreline to find them.

If you want to catch bluegills, expect to spend a lot of time finding a school. A couple of Spokane anglers told me that they fished for 3 hours before the located a school. They hooked enough 7- to 8-inchers for a meal or so.

Perch fishing has been spotty since muddy water from the inlet stream made the lake’s water murky.

Lake Roosevelt

Scores of anglers have been trolling for big rainbows and kokanee in the Spring Canyon area the last couple of weeks. Fishing has been good one day, slow the next.

For example, trollers did well last Saturday, but had poor luck Sunday and Monday.

Steinmetz said the most productive lure is a Muddler Minnow fly tied on a No. 2 or 4 hook and tipped with a tiny piece of worm or a maggot. He said anglers who find the level where the fish are swimming have the best luck.

Steelhead

The Tucannon and Touchet rivers were high and roily earlier this week. If they are clear this weekend, fishing could be outstanding. Biologist Art Viola said that anglers averaged 2.7 hours per fish along the Touchet and 4 hours along the Tucannon before the streams became muddy.

The Tucannon and Touchet, as well as the Grande Ronde, are full of steelhead on their way to their spawning grounds.

Most anglers have been fishing from the bank near Little Goose Dam. They averaged 7 hours per steelhead last weekend.

The Grande Ronde was high and muddy earlier this week.

Idaho fishing

Ice on most North Idaho lakes is melting fast and is no longer thick and hard enough for safe ice fishing. Most anglers now are spending their time at Coeur d’Alene, Priest and Hayden lakes.

Ross Fister of the Fins and Feathers Shop at Coeur d’Alene said trolling for mackinaw trout at Priest Lake has been “fantastic.”

Most fishermen have been trolling T-80 Flatfish or glow Hootchies behind dodgers around Kalispell Island and in Cavanaugh Bay. Largest macks have been hooked around the island.

Fister said trollers have been hooking small chinook salmon at Lake Coeur d’Alene. Most productive areas have been Carlin Bay and Hudson Point.

Ice in the north end of Hayden no longer is safe, he said, so pike fishermen have been anchoring boats next to the ice and fishing with smelt below bobbers. Lakes adjacent to the lower Coeur d’Alene River are muddy and unfishable.