Fishing Report

Salmon fishing

Anglers soon will be taking limits of coho salmon in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The water from Sekiu to Port Angeles will open Sept. 1 and will remain open until Sept. 30 or until 50,000 cohos are caught.

The limit will be two cohos a day. Any salmon species except chinook may be kept. Chinook must be released.

Fish and Wildlife Department officials said the season allows anglers to include north Puget Sound salmon fishing in their Labor Day weekend plans.

Several other marine areas are open. Anglers can get detailed information on salmon fishing by calling the department’s regional office, (509) 456-4082.

Steelhead

Anglers are hooking a few steelhead in the Ringold Springs area of the Columbia River, but fishing still is spotty. More than 28,000 steelhead have been counted at McNary Dam, several miles below Ringold, and some of those steelhead are moving up the Columbia.

Best steelhead fishing is just above Bonneville Dam and in the lower Deschutes River. The Corps of Engineers has counted more than 115,000 steelhead at Bonneville, a figure that indicates this could be a good steelhead season for inland anglers.

The count at Ice Harbor, the lowest dam on the Snake, is more than 12,000. Most of the steelhead are between Ice Harbor and Lower Granite dams. Only 4,000 have been counted at Lower Granite since May 31.

Water temperatures are still too high along the Columbia and Snake rivers for good steelhead fishing.

Trout, Washington

Don’t violate standard fishing regulations if you fish Spokane County’s Williams Lake this weekend. Some anglers, hearing that catch, size and possession limits have been suspended for the lake, have been exceeding the five-fish limit.

Stevens County’s Williams Lake, 12 miles north of Colville, will be rehabilitated this fall. The Fish and Game Commission has waived limits for that lake.

The Williams Lake north of Colville is one of several lakes where catch limits have been waived until they’re rehabilitated this fall. Another is Blue in the Sinlahekin. It’s one of three Blue lakes in the Okanogan region. Wildlife Department officials are telling anglers to make sure they are fishing the right Blue Lake before ignoring standard fishing limits.

Trout, Idaho

North Idaho’s cutthroat streams are still producing excellent fishing, but most of the large fish apparently have moved up the small tributaries, where the water is cooler than the main stems.

Those who have fished the Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe rivers lately report catching large numbers of small cutthroat, but few in the 14- to 18-inch class.

Trout, Montana

Fishing can be tough at most blue ribbon trout streams in the Missoula area and along the Missouri River during hot, sunny days.

If you fish during overcast days, you should do well, especially if you have plenty of hopper, PMD and caddis patterns.

Mark Hodek of Grizzly Hackle at Missoula said most fly fishers are using PMD, caddis and hopper patterns along the lower Clark Fork and Rock Creek near Missoula.

He said both streams have been producing good fishing during cool, cloudy days. Fishing has been slow along the Bitterroot.

Chris Goodman, a co-owner of the Missouri River Trout Shop at Craig, said most of the big crowds that hit the Missouri in July are gone and fishing pressure has been relatively light the last week.

He said Tricos hatch during mornings, PMDs in the afternoons and caddis in the evenings.

Kokanee

Trollers have been averaging one to two 18- to 20-inch kokanee a day at Loon Lake, Joe Haley of the Granite Point Resort said. Most are letting out five colors of leaded line ahead of dodgers or flashers.

Night fishing has been so slow most anglers have given up trying.

Pend Oreille and Coeur d’Alene lakes are still yielding some limits to trollers. Smith said the 10-inch kokanee in Coeur d’Alene are so deep some anglers are letting out six colors of leaded line. The kokanee in Pend Oreille aren’t as deep.

Both Lake Mary Ronan and Kookanusa Reservoir in Montana are continuing to produce good kokanee fishing. Mary Ronan’s kokanee are 15 to 16 inches long; those in Koocanusa are 10 to 12.

Spiny rays

Anglers have been catching fairly good numbers of large perch at Sprague Lake, Monika Metz of the Sprague Lake Resort said.

Most anglers have been fishing in deep water near the first island west of the resort, she said. They’ve been keeping 10- to 12-inch fish. Some have said they’ve hooked and lost larger perch, but Metz said she hasn’t seen any longer than 12 inches.

Fishing pressure has been light at the lake, she said, even during the cooler weather.

A few anglers have found schools of crappies and bluegills. They said the fish hadn’t spawned as of last week.

Smith said northern pike are hitting Daredevle spoons and spinner baits over deep weeds at Lake Coeur d’Alene. He suggested anglers go to areas where there are weeds in deep water.

He said fishermen soon will be using 6- to 11-inch plugs to entice the northerns to strike.

For fairly large crappies, he said, anglers should try Shepherd and Perkins lakes in Idaho’s Panhandle.

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