Hunting & Fishing

Steelhead

More than 30,000 steelhead have moved into the Snake River and are slowly making their way up the river’s system.

Although only 14,000 have climbed the ladders at Lower Granite Dam since May 31, anglers are starting to hook a few, mostly in the confluence area of the Snake and Clearwater rivers.

A few thousand are in the Columbia River above the Tri-Cities and fishing is picking up in the Ringold Springs area and the Hanford Reach.

About 1,400 have climbed the fish ladders at Wells Dam and are in the pool behind the dam and at the mouth of the Methow River. Because the run up the Methow has been small the last few years, anglers are not yet convinced there will be enough this year for good fishing.

Best fishing is off the mouth of the Deschutes River. More than 180,000 steelhead have been counted at Bonneville Dam and, although Indians have taken thousands in their nets, plenty of steelhead are available for good fishing.

Fishing pressure has been extremely heavy, even during weekdays, off the mouth of the Deschutes River. Anglers have been back-trolling and jigging for both steelhead and chinook salmon.

Salmon

The Columbia River’s Hanford Reach is starting to get crowded.

With more than 30,000 fall chinook salmon in the Columbia above the TriCities, anglers are drifting and back-trolling lures from the White Bluffs launch ramp to the Vernita Bridge.

The most-experienced fishermen are hooking salmon. Most drift sizes 5 and 6 Blue Fox spinners and Magnum Warts.

If you decide to fish, launch at the White Bluffs ramp. It’s a wide one and can accommodate good-sized boats. Although many anglers launch at Vernita Bridge, launching a big boat can be difficult.

Fishing for the chinooks should peak in early October.

Many anglers, including some from North Idaho and the Spokane area, have been fishing for chinooks off the mouth of the Deschutes River. More than 130,000 chinooks have been counted at Bonneville Dam and are running the gauntlet of sports and Indian fishermen to reach their spawning areas.

Bear hunting

North Idaho’s bear hunting season will get underway Sunday, when numerous game management units will open to hunting.

Most bears will be in the high huckleberry patches. Like Washington, Idaho has had an excellent huckleberry crop and the bushes in the high country are still loaded with berries.

Bears will be gorging themselves on huckleberries and other berries the next few weeks.

Bear hunting apparently has been good in northeastern Washington since the season opened Sept. 4. Madonna Luers of the Spokane regional office of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department said wildlife agents have checked numerous hunters with bears.

Grouse and doves

Washington’s dove season will end Sunday; Idaho’s will continue through this month.

Although the dove population apparently is down from that of last year, some hunters have had excellent shooting. Most of the doves in Washington’s most northern counties and Idaho’s Boundary, Bonners and Kootenai counties have left for warmer country.

How big is the grouse population? You’ll get a lot of opinions. Some hunters have found good numbers of ruffed and blue grouse, while others have complained they haven’t done well.

Kokanee

Trollers are still catching a few kokanee at Loon Lake, but nearly all night fishermen have given up, Joe Haley of the Granite Point Resort said.

As usual, the trollers have been averaging one or two a day. They’re catching kokanee that will provide most of next year’s fishing, as well as the mature fish that will spawn this fall.

The younger kokanee are 13 to 14 inches long.

Trout, Washington

Below-normal temperatures last week and weekend caused significant drops in lake water temperatures, resulting in good fishing at many lakes.

Amber, a selective fishery lake, has been popular with numerous fly fishers the last couple of weeks. A few, using fast sinking lines and patterns suggesting damselfly nymphs and leeches, have done well. Surface and sub-surface fishing hasn’t been rewarding much of the time.

Fishing has picked up at numerous Eastern Washington lakes, particularly the specially-managed lakes that still hold good numbers of large trout. Just about any selective fishery or fly fishing-only lake is a good bet.

Trout, Idaho

If you’ve been waiting until there are no longer crowds along the top cutthroat streams, now is the time to go fishing. You won’t have much competition from other anglers along the Coeur d’Alene, St. Joe, Lochsa and Selway rivers these days, but fishing may be tough.

While fishing the upper Lochsa with a friend last week, I saw only one other angler. However, apparently because water temperatures plunged more than 12 degrees during rainstorms, fishing was slow.

Incidentally, enough mature chinook salmon are in the lower Coeur d’Alene River to attract anglers. The Enaville area is popular.

Trout, Montana

Gray Drake and Mahogany Dun mayflies are starting to hatch along rivers in the Missoula area.

Nick Price of Streamside Anglers said both the mayflies are hatching along Rock Creek and a few Mahogany Duns, as well as Gray Drakes, are coming out along the lower Clark Fork River. Bluewinged Olive mayflies also are hatching along both streams.

Some fly fishers are casting sizes 12 and 14 Parachute Adams along Rock Creek when the Gray Drakes are hatching. Sizes 14 and 16 comparaduns are effective when the Mahogany Duns are on the water.

Hopper patterns and yellow Stimulators are effective along the Clark Fork and Bitterroot during windy days and hoppers are blown into the water.

Spiny rays

Anglers have been hooking a variety of species at Sprague Lake, Monika Mielke of the Sprague Lake Resort reported.

They caught some walleyes more than 20 inches long, numerous 6- to 10-inch perch, some crappies and bluegills, a few big bass and 4- to 5-pound rainbows.

Wildlife agent Dan Rahn said walleye and bass fishing has been excellent at the Potholes Reservoir. Although most of the walleyes are sub-legal fish, enough 18- to 27-inchers have been caught to make fishing worthwhile.

Pike fishing has been excellent at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Ross Fister of the Fins & Feathers shop said. Most anglers are casting Daredevle spoons and spinner baits over weeds in bays. Bass fishing also is picking up at the lake.

Perch fishing has been good at Fernan Lake, with anglers hooking lots of 9- to 10-inchers.

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