Hunting & Fishing

Bear hunting

Hundreds of hunters will join the region’s most dedicated bear hunters in the woods of Eastern Washington this weekend and most will learn that the bears already are skittish of people who carry rifles.

It happens every year. Because Eastern Washington’s bear season opens at mid-week, hunting pressure is relatively light. Those who take advantage of the mid-week opening have the best chance of bagging a bear.

There are plenty of bruins in the woods for good hunting. Biologist believe bear numbers are fairly high in northeastern Washington and in the Blue Mountains.

This has been an excellent season for huckleberries, and bears have been stuffing themselves for more than a month. Most huckleberries in the low country are gone, either picked by humans or eaten by bears.

In the high country, though, there are still plenty of huckleberries, and that’s where the most productive hunting is likely to be the next week. Idaho’s bear season opens Sept. 15.

Dove and grouse hunting

Most of the doves that spent the last couple of months in northern Washington have departed. Best hunting this weekend will be along lower Snake and Columbia rivers.

Wildlife agent Dan Rahn said dove hunters did exceptionally well last weekend in the Othello, Matawa and Warden areas. He said hunters he checked had an average of six birds each.

Idaho gunners had good shooting in parts of Benewah and Nez Perce counties last weekend.

Grouse are scarce in most of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. Rainstorms and cool weather killed young birds in June.

Archery seasons

Archers will continue hunting deer and elk in certain game management units of Washington and Idaho this weekend. Deer populations are high enough in northeastern and southeastern Washington for excellent hunting. Enough elk are available in Eastern Washington for fair to good hunting and good hunting in North Idaho.

Spiny-rayed species

Smallmouth bass fishing has been excellent along Lake Roosevelt. Guide John Carruth said anglers have been catching 10- to 16-inchers off sandy points near deep water and along steep rock ledges.

He said he often fishes jigs with 4-inch Saturn worms.

Walleye fishing has been tough at Lake Roosevelt lately, Carruth said.

However, fishing was excellent along the Columbia near Umatilla, Ore., during a walleye tournament over the Labor Day weekend. Carruth said 70 teams did well, catching walleyes that averaged about 4-1/2 pounds.

Largest walleye, caught by Ray Bailey of Davenport, weighed 12 pounds 6 ounces. Next-largest: a 10-pound 15-ouncer, by Coulee City guide Gordon Steinmetz.

The next walleye tournament is this weekend at Potholes Reservoir. Wildlife agent Rahn said anglers have done well at the reservoir.

The best fishing for good-sized perch apparently is in the Spokane River just below Coeur d’Alene Lake. Jeff Smith of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene said anglers are catching lots of 10-inchers and some 11-inch fish.

Most fishermen launch their boats at Coeur d’Alene, run a couple of miles to the river and another two miles down the river and fish around docks and weeds.

Bass fishing has been fairly good at Sprague Lake.

Salmon and Steelhead

Only a few thousand chinook salmon are in the Columbia above the Tri-Cities, but anglers are starting to hook 8- to 30-pounders in the Hanford Reach section, Rahn said. The fishermen also are catching a few steelhead.

The upriver bright chinook run this year isn’t expected to be as large as in recent years. Only about 50,000 had been counted at Bonneville early this week.

Most of the mature chinooks in Coeur d’Alene Lake now are turning dark, but anglers have had fair luck the last week, Smith said. The most productive area is in Wolf Lodge Bay.

More than 150,000 steelhead have climbed the fish ladders at Bonneville Dam and about 25,000 are in the lower Snake. Fishing could be fair this weekend near the mouth of the Snake, above and below Little Goose dam and in the lower Clearwater.

Not enough steelhead are in the Snake above Asotin for good fishing yet.

Trout, Montana

Fly fishers are using hopper imitations and Woolly Buggers during mid-day hours and caddisfly imitations in the evenings along Rock Creek and the Clark Fork and Bitterroot rivers near Missoula.

A few spruce moths are continuing to show along Rock Creek and fly fishers, using Elk Hair Caddis flies, have been taking 9- to 14-inch rainbows.

Hopper imitations have been effective on the Missouri below Holter Dam during mid-day hours.

Trout, Washington

Water temperatures continue to drop at the region’s lakes. As a result, trout are starting to forage actively for food at numerous lakes.

This is the time of year when fly fishers return to Chopaka Lake, a fly fishing-only lake northwest of Loomis. They’re using hopper and chironomid patterns. Rainbows in Chopaka are 14 to 18 inches long.

Fishing has picked up at Dry Falls and Lenore lakes, selective fishery lakes southwest of Coulee City.

Trollers have been hooking some rainbows to 3-1/2 pounds in the Keller Ferry area of Lake Roosevelt. But kokanee have had lockjaw.

Kokanee

Trollers and still fishermen are continuing to catch 13- to 14-inch kokanee at Loon Lake, Joe Haley of Granite Point Resort said. Best trolling is during early morning hours. Some kokanee are turning dark and hook-nosed.

It’s easy for experienced trollers to catch 25 7- to 9-inch kokanee at Coeur d’Alene and Pend Oreille lakes. Kokanee in the two lakes spawn later than those in Loon and are still in excellent condition.

Koocanusa Lake continues to grind out 20-fish limits of kokanee that average about 10 inches.

Northern pike

Fishermen are catching lots of 8- to 15-pound pike in the deep weed beds around Coeur d’Alene, Smith said. He recommended anglers use Blue Fox spinner baits and big Rapala plugs. The Blue Fox bait that has an orange blade and pink and orange skirt is effective.

Coastal salmon:

There’s still a chance to catch salmon from coastal charterboats. Ocean coho salmon fishing reopens Sunday at Ilwaco. The season remains open at Westport probably for weeks, until quotas are met.

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