Hunting & Fishing

Waterfowl

The region’s duck hunters are frustrated. The Fish and Wildlife Service predicted sensational hunting after assuring hunters the 1996-97 flights out of Canada would be considerably larger than they’ve been the last few years.

So, hunters are asking, where are the birds?

Indications are the migration was a big one, but because of frequent snowstorms throughout the Inland Northwest in November and the early part of this month, ducks didn’t stay long. They couldn’t punch through deep, crusted snow to get food and decided to fly south.

Many remained in the Umatilla area, but thousands may have flown to California.

The Potholes Reservoir, Lind Coulee and scores of small lakes in the Columbia Basin should be swarming with ducks this time of year, but hunters have had mediocre shooting.

Usually, when lakes in the Moses Lake-Othello area are ice-covered, ducks fly to the Columbia River and hunters get excellent shooting above Ringold Springs. Although there are enough mallards along the river for good shooting at times, hunters have had to stay from before dawn to after sunset to bag four to seven birds.

Rod Meseberg, owner of the Mar-Don Resort on the Potholes Reservoir, said hunting was poor in the area last weekend, but he said thousands of ducks may return to the reservoir and other waters in the Moses Lake-Othello area as the result of melting snow this week.

Only 4 to 5 inches of snow covered fields in the area early this week and Meseberg said most of it could be gone by the weekend. If that happens, he said, duck and goose hunting could be good on and near the Potholes Reservoir.

He said fields near Umatilla have provided excellent shooting.

Most small lakes in the Spokane region and North Idaho are either partially ice-covered or entirely blanketed with thin ice sheets. Consequently, ducks and geese are using big lakes to rest on at night.

Although there’s still snow on fields in the Spokane region, duck hunters have had fair shooting at times. Snow is so deep in northeastern Washington most ducks have left the area.

Steelhead

This is bait-fishing time for the area’s steelheaders. Most are fishing shrimp under bobbers or drifting shrimp, steelhead roe and nightcrawlers along the bottoms of deep holes.

Rainstorms have caused the Snake and its tributaries to rise and become murky. However, they’ve been clear enough for steelhead to see bait, Jay Poe of Hells Canyon Sports at Clarkston said. Anglers should check with sporting goods store operators in the Lewiston-Clarkston area before driving to their favorite places.

Poe said steelhead fishing was excellent along the Snake between the mouth of the Grande Ronde River and the Salmon River during the weekend. It was especially good near the Ronde’s mouth.

The Ronde also provided good fishing last weekend, Poe said. Some described it as fantastic.

Fishing along the Clearwater was spotty during the weekend, he said. The river was off-color below the mouth of Potlatch Creek, but fairly clear above the creek’s mouth.

Anglers are still hooking steelhead above and below Little Goose and Lower Monumental dams. A popular area is near the Lyons Ferry hatchery, where most are fishing from shore.

About 85,400 steelhead have been counted at Lower Granite Dam, the Corps of Engineers said. Most of those fish are scattered along the Snake, Clearwater, Salmon and Grande Ronde rivers.

The run above Wells Dam has been smaller than normal this year. Only 4,000 steelhead have been counted. Fishing has been spotty along the Methow and below the Methow’s mouth.

Winter trout lakes

Roads into Fourth of July and Hog Canyon were passable earlier this week. Warming temperatures have melted most of the snow.

Ice still is preventing anglers from launching boats at Fourth of July, but if mild weather continues, it’s possible the ice will be thin enough for fishermen to push their way to open water.

Fourth of July is still yielding limits of rainbows; however, because fish under 14 inches still aren’t showing much interest in lures and bait, most anglers go home with a couple of big fish. The average size of the carryover rainbows is 18 to 20 inches long.

Hog Canyon is full of rainbows from 8 to 24 inches. Most are 11 to 13 inches. A few weigh more than 4 pounds. Catching a limit of five should be easy this weekend.

The primitive road that approaches the upper end of Hog Canyon is closed to vehicles, but some have ignored the signs and driven as far as they can. They risk being cited by wildlife agents.

Upland birds

Rainy weather last weekend and early this week discouraged all but a few bird hunters.

Most know that rain washes scent off cover and that birds hide in dense brush during rainstorms. Because the rain smothers scent, dogs have trouble finding them.

The birds move to feeding areas when rain stops or diminishes. If the weather is fairly good this weekend, hunting could be good.

Most who have spent time in good pheasant habitat the last few weeks know there are plenty of roosters for good shooting in some areas of southeastern Washington and the Moses Lake-Othello area.

Basin regional wildlife biologist Mark Quinn said pheasant hunting has been surprisingly good in the Columbia Basin, particularly south of the Potholes Reservoir.

Hunting also has been good along the breaks of the Snake River in Garfield County.

Pheasant hunters are continuing to bag Hungarian partridges in some areas of Eastern Washington. Pressure on chukars has been extremely light.

Salmon

More than 25 chinook salmon weighing 10 to 16 pounds were caught at Lake Coeur d’Alene during last weekend’s chinook derby, Steve Smith of the Fins & Feathers shop said.

Cameron Hjeltness of Coeur d’Alene caught the biggest chinook, a 16-pound, 4-ounce salmon, and took home $600. Rick Brown was second with a 14-pound, 3-ounce fish and won a downrigger. Ross Besick of Coeur d’Alene won a fish finder for the third-largest salmon, 13 pounds, 15 ounces.

Most of the salmon were caught at 75 to 90 feet deep, Smith said. Majority of the trollers used herring behind flashers, but a few caught salmon on squids and flashers.

About 100 entered the derby.

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