Hunting & Fishing

Steelhead

The size of this year’s steelhead run up the Columbia River has fishery biologists puzzled.

About 140,000 steelhead have been counted at Bonneville Dam. Earlier this year pessimistic biologists had predicted that only 80,000 steelhead would be counted at the dam.

Anglers are fishing for steelhead in the Columbia and Snake rivers and their tributaries. Some are even back-trolling the Snake between the Lower Granite and Salmon rivers.

Catches have been good just above Bonneville and in the Deschutes River. However, anglers have had poor luck above McNary Dam.

More than 25,000 steelhead have been counted at McNary and more than 17,000 have been tallied at Ice Harbor on the lower Snake.

Steelhead fishing has been slow at Ringold Springs, but should pick up the next 10 days, said Bruce Walters of the wildlife department’s facility.

Only about 4,000 steelhead have moved over Lower Granite since May 31 and most are thought to be in the lower Clearwater, where the water temperature is several degrees lower than the Snake.

The Snake’s temperature is now in the low 60s, ideal for steelhead movement.

A popular area with steelhead anglers has been the lower 5 miles of the Clearwater. A few steelhead have been hooked and released.

Until today, the Snake was open only to catch-and-release fishing. The Clearwater will be open only to catch-and-release fishing till Oct. 15.

Incidentally, biologists are still wondering how many steelhead will move up the Clearwater. Most of the steelhead that climb the Bonneville ladders after Aug. 25 are considered to be “B” run steelhead, fish that are destined for the Clearwater.

Hunting

Dove and grouse seasons open today (Sept. 1) in Washington and Idaho. Seasons for bighorn sheep, moose and mountain goats opened Wednesday in Idaho. Several hundred permits have been awarded to hunters.

Although nights have been cool, temperatures haven’t been low enough to cause most doves to move out of northern Washington and Idaho’s Panhandle. However, last week’s cold front may have caused thousands of doves to move south.

Generally, scatter-gunners who know where there are big flocks should do well.

Wildlife biologists will be surprised if hunters find good numbers of grouse. Rainstorms and low temperatures during the peak of the grouse hatches apparently killed most newly-hatched birds.

Spiny-rayed species

Anglers have been hooking keepable-size perch at a few lakes in the region.

Among the best producers of perch in the 7- to 10-inch range in the Spokane area are Downs and Sprague lakes and the Spokane River just below the outlet of Coeur d’Alene Lake.

Mike Mielke of the Sprague Lake Resort said perch fishing has been good lately. He advised anglers to move when they start catching the 5- to 6-inchers and keep moving until they find a school of 9- to 10 inchers.

Most perch in Columbia Basin lakes and reservoirs are too small to keep. Anglers do a lot of sorting to keep a few 7- to 8-inchers.

Walleyes are hitting anglers’ Double Whammies and jigs at Roosevelt and Sprague lakes and at the Potholes Reservoir.

Anglers are catching 10- and 11-inch crappies Hayden Lake.

Pike fishing has been “unbelievably good” at Coeur d’Alene Lake, Ross Fister of the Fins and Feathers shop said. The pike are in every bay and anglers have been casting red and white Daredevles and popping baits.

Trout, Washington

Water temperatures are continuing to drop gradually at lakes in the Spokane region and the Columbia Basin. Nights are longer than days and temperatures are now in the 40s.

As a result, trout are beginning to show interest in anglers’ baits and lures at lakes where there are still fairly good fish populations.

Some trollers have been catching five-fish limits of rainbows, a few to 20 inches, at Lake Roosevelt. Fastest fishing is near Keller Ferry, but some anglers have had luck at Seven Bays.

Most trollers are letting out six colors of leaded line and trolling Double Whammies, small Rapalas and flies.

Hopper imitations have been working for fly fishers at Rocky Ford Creek, a fly fishing-only stream north of Moses Lake.

Trout, Idaho

The upper St. Joe, Lochsa and Selway rivers continue to be the best bets for cutthroat. Fly fishers say that they’ve had excellent fishing along the upper Lochsa the last few weeks.

Trout, Montana

Fly fishers are casting hopper imitations during mid-day along streams in the Missoula area and along the Missouri north of Helena.

Cory Swiftney of Streamside Anglers in Missoula said fishing has been tough along Rock Creek and the Clark Fork and Bitterroot rivers during hot, sunny days.

He said fly fishers are casting hopper, caddis and pale morning dun imitations and bead head flies during mid-day hours and caddis and midge imitations in the evenings.

Guide Arnie Gidlow said that fly fishing has been good along the Missouri during cloudy days. Most fly fishers have been using hopper imitations and bead head flies during mid-day hours and caddis imitations in the evenings.

Salmon

Trollers have been hooking some large chinooks at Coeur d’Alene Lake, Fister said. The adult fish are turning dark and are moving toward Wolf Lodge Creek and the Coeur d’Alene River to spawn.

The chinooks are 40 to 60 feet deep. Most anglers are trolling dodgers and flies and a few are still using frozen herring.

Kokanee

Kokanee are still taking fishermen’s lures at several lakes.

Trollers and still fishermen have been averaging three to four each at Loon Lake. The kokanee average 13-1/2 inches.

Kokanee are hitting anglers’ lures again at Lake Roosevelt, but few fishermen have been catching limits of the 13- to 20-inchers.

Trollers are continuing to take 25-fish limits of small kokanee at Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene and Pend Oreille lakes and the Dworshak Reservoir. Most fishermen are taking 20-fish limits of 10-inchers at Koocanusa Lake.

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN - Fishing and Hunting Report