Fishing Report
Lake Roosevelt
Some of the best fishing in Eastern Washington is now at the lower end of Lake Roosevelt. Trollers have been catching good-sized kokanee and rainbows in the Swalla Basin below Keller Ferry and in the Seven Bays area.
The fishing has been so good at times anglers have taken limits of 14- to 18-inch kokanee and 13-inch-plus rainbows.
Although the best fishing has been below Keller, some anglers have been doing well near Seven Bays. Two men caught six rainbows in the area Sunday that ranged from 18 to 20 inches long. They said they hooked several big kokanee, but the hooks tore out of their mouths.
The kokanee and rainbows apparently are finding plankton fairly near the surface and anglers, trolling at 12 to 15 feet, have been hooking them.
Fishing for the kokanee and rainbows is popular this time of year and the most popular trolling spots below Keller and in the Seven Bays area often are dotted with anglers’ boats. At time, anglers’ lines become tangled.
Best fishing is from dawn to 8 a.m. In fact, fishing can be extremely slow the rest of the day.
Fishing for walleyes was good last weekend, guide John Carruth of Davenport said. He said he fished the Columbia River above the mouth of the Spokane River and found walleyes 22 to 30 feet deep.
He said he and others with him caught two walleyes longer than 20 inches, as well as numerous smaller fish.
Trout, Washington
Ice is 3 to 8 inches thick and is honeycombed at the most popular lakes in the Spokane region. Temperatures in the 20s at night and early each day firm up the ice, but warming temperatures at mid-day have softened it again.
Some anglers have been fishing through the ice at Hog Canyon and Fourth of July lakes, but many apparently have decided the ice isn’t solid enough for safety.
A majority of anglers seem to have elected to wait until the two lakes are at least partially ice-free before trying their luck. A good thaw could open up a lot of water.
Mild temperatures recently have improved access to the lakes. Most of the snow has melted and the access roads are in fairly good condition.
Some Columbia Basin lakes provided fair to good fishing for pan-sized trout when the ice was in good condition. The ice probably won’t be thick and hard enough for safe ice fishing the next few days. Rocky Ford Creek, a fly fishing-only spring creek north of Moses Lake, has been attracting fly fishers from throughout the state. Water temperature is a constant 55 degrees where it leaves the upper hatchery and rises slightly as it flows along.
Fly fishers have been hooking 10- to 22-inch rainbows on various fly patterns, including imitations of the Baetis mayflies and midges and scuds. The trout see lots of patterns and are extremely wary.
Spiny rays, Washington
The ice on Sprague Lake was somewhat rotten this week, but a few anglers tried without much success to find perch, bluegill and crappie schools. Three Spokane fishermen said they fished the shallow bay in the east end and water around the big island in the west end, but never caught a fish. Some anglers have been fishing Cow Lake, but they haven’t had much luck.
Ice at Eloika and Waitts lakes is in a little better condition than the ice at Sprague. The lakes could provide fair fishing for small perch. Waitts holds good numbers of brown trout.
Fishing, Idaho
Ice on lakes that have inlet streams is not thick and hard enough for safe ice fishing, Ross Fister of the Fins & Feathers Shop at Coeur d’Alene said.
The inlet streams have poured so much water into the lakes that high water levels have raised the ice cakes and made them unsafe. It’s hard to get out on the lakes from shore.
Some lakes that don’t have inlet streams still have ice that is solid enough for safe ice fishing, he said. Among them are Shepherd and Mirror.
Fister said some North Idaho anglers are fishing in Eastern Washington, particularly at Lake Roosevelt, until fishing improves in the Panhandle.
A few anglers have been trolling for chinook salmon at Lake Coeur d’Alene, but they haven’t had much luck, Fister said. The lake is high, muddy and clogged with ice and debris.
Steelhead
The most popular steelhead rivers, like nearly all Northwest streams, were high, muddy and wild last weekend. Only a few optimistic anglers tried their luck.
It’s possible some of the streams will be low and clear enough this weekend for the steelhead to see anglers’ lures.
When water volume slows down and the water is fairly clear, steelhead fishing could be excellent again along the Grande Ronde, Touchet, Tucannon and Walla Walla in Washington and along the Clearwater and Salmon in Idaho.
Recent flooding has closed some roads to these rivers, however. The Snake River Road heading upstream from Asotin is open to Beamers Landing. Local traffic can still get through to the mouth of the Grande Ronde and upstream 3 miles to the Grande Ronde bridge. Getting to Troy or Enterprise Ore., however, will require finding backroads routes because of washouts on Highway 129.
Whitefish
Idaho’s St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene rivers almost certainly will be too high and off color this weekend for any kind of fishing. Usually, anglers catch whitefish along the two rivers each February.
When the streams drop and clear, whitefish anglers will resume casting their maggot-baited flies in the deep holes.
Ice fishermen usually pull good-sized lake whitefish through the ice at Soda Lake each February. However, the ice probably won’t be thick and hard enough to support people safely this weekend. The Columbia River between Priest Rapids Dam and the Vernita Bridge is the best spot to go now to catch whitefish. Boat and shore fishermen drift baited flies along the bottom.
Wildlife agent Dan Rahn said anglers catch 11- to 15-inch whitefish above the Vernita Bridge. Boat anglers are more successful than shore fishermen.
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