An Annual Bite Of Spring Fishermen Catch Spring Fever, Even If It’s Not What It Used To Be

Eastern Washington has a lake for every angler’s taste.

Liberty Lake was fast food for Valley anglers who didn’t want to stray far from home Saturday for the opening of the fishing season.

Jim Hough satisfied his craving for lunkers with a 20-pound mackinaw at Loon Lake. The fish, on display at Granite Beach Resort, was the largest trout reported on opening day.

Edy Nowaski of Spokane added spice to the dock at Bunker’s Resort on Williams Lake. With long beautifully painted fingernails, tastefully applied makeup and dangling earrings glittering in the sunshine, the grandma beamed at two trout on a stringer.

“The grandkids caught the fish,” she said. “Grandma’s just baiting the hooks.” Nowaski said she’s gone fishing on opening day with her kids or her grandchildren for 30 years.

Opening day has changed considerably in that time. Most lakes have been infiltrated by numerous non-trout species and are open to fishing year-round.

Only a few lakes are still managed specifically for trout, where a five-fish limit is still the barometer of a good fishing day.

“The first fish of the season was caught off the dock at 12:01 a.m.,” said Jerry Klink at Williams Lake Resort. “It’s been busy ever since.”

Clear Lake didn’t produce the fast action of other waters in the region, but the quality of fish was good, with many brown trout running up to 18 inches.

Anglers looking for Eastern brook trout headed to Fish Lake near Cheney or Davis Lake in Pend Oreille County. Marshall Lake was the hotspot for cutthroats.

Ken Nuehs of Spokane didn’t have time to appreciate all the elbow room he had at Badger Lake Saturday morning. He had his hands full with three fishing sons.

Within a few minutes of the first cast, 7-year-old Korey already had his first rainbow. “My job is just to make sure these guys keep their lures in the water,” Ken Nuehs said, running from kid to kid, tending rods, baiting hooks, making the occasional cast.

The quiet at Badger was eerie. Once a hotspot, fishing has been poor at the lake in recent years. But the Fish and Wildlife Department treated the waters to get rid of non-game fish and restocked it last year with trout.

Fishing for small rainbows at Badger was good Saturday for those who showed. Unfortunately, the trout revival was a year too late for Badger Lake Resort.

“We’re sorry to see them go out of business,” said Harry Meverden down the road at Bunker’s.

“Our campground is full this year, and the only explanation is fish,” he said, noting that Williams Lake also was rehabilitated two years ago. “If you have fish, people will come, if you don’t they won’t. It’s that simple.”

Up the lake at Williams Lake Resort, Klink agrees.

“It’s tough and labor-intensive,” he said, noting that his resort had 14 employees working for opening day.

“With the cost of insurance and all, one thing’s for sure: you can’t go two years without good fishing anymore.”

High water and cool temperatures have kept water temperatures lower than normal, making fish slightly more sluggish than on a typical opening day.

Ray Duff, Fish and Wildlife Department regional fisheries manager, said the water conditions accounted for pleasing results in at least one lake.

“West Medical Lake was mobbed and everyone was catching fish,” he said. “The brown diatom bloom that usually hits for opening day hadn’t started.”

Warmer temperatures will bring on the bloom sometime soon, making the water murky and fishing difficult, he said. “Then it takes about a week before the fishing picks up again.”

The number of fish in coolers didn’t tell the story of good fishing at Amber Lake. With special regulations, the lake attracts mostly fly fishers, most of whom release fish.

Anglers were hooking 20 or 30 rainbows in a few hours at Amber.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Best fishing Eastern Washington lakes that produced the best fishing Saturday. Chart shows average size of fish (in inches) and average number of fish per angler: Lake Length Ratio Badger 10-11 4.8 Williams 10-14 4.7 Fishtrap 10-11 4.7 West Medical 10-12 4.0 Marshall 9 4.2 Davis 9-11 3.6 Starvation 9-12 3.3