Hunting & Fishing

Bear, cougar hunting

For the first time in years, they’re hunting bears and cougars in Washington in mid-summer. Seasons for both opened today. In past years, the bear season has opened in early September and the cougar season much later.

Indications are that bear hunting will be good. The black bear population has been increasing, according to the large number of bear-damage complaints, and huckleberries are plentiful, especially at low elevations.

Although the cougar population also has been increasing, a hunter’s chances of tagging an animal are poor. Cougars are extremely secretive and difficult to find. Hunters no longer can use hounds to tree them.

Bear baiting and hunting with hounds were banned after the passage of an initiative promoted by anti-hunting groups. The Fish and Wildlife Commission, knowing that bear and cougar populations likely would increase dramatically as a result of the ban, decided to open the seasons earlier than usual in an attempt to keep populations from exploding.

Although bear hunters no longer can use bait, they still can do well by hunting in areas where bears are feeding on berries. In fact, the majority of hunters didn’t use bait before the ban.

The huckleberry crop is good this year. However, indications are that berries in high elevations were hit by frost last spring.

Resident bear hunters must have an $18 tag. A cougar tag costs $24. The bear season will end Nov. 6; the cougar season will continue through March 15.

Trout, Idaho

Most of North Idaho’s blue-ribbon cutthroat streams finally are low enough for anglers to wade them fairly easily, but they’re not too low for fishing from pontoon boats, rafts and canoes.

They’re still higher than normal for this time of year, but barring unprecedented rainstorms, they’ll be in almost ideal condition for the rest of this season. It’s taken them a long time to drop this year.

When they opened to fishing, anglers figured they’d be clear and low by early July. Instead, they’re just dropping to summertime levels and the month is over.

The St. Joe was flowing at about 1,600 cubic feet per second a few days ago, or only half the flow of early this month. Flows of the Selway and Lochsa were only half of what they were 10 days ago; however, they’re still too high for easy wading.

Caddisflies and mayflies are hatching along all the rivers. Fly fishers depend on the Elk Hair Caddis and other caddis imitations most of the time to get the cutthroat to rise. Size 14 Royal Wulffs are a good choice when mayflies hatch, even though the pattern doesn’t simulate any particular mayfly. Another effective pattern is a No. 14 or 16 Parachute Adams.

Lowland lakes in Idaho’s Panhandle are still yielding some trout, but fishing has been slow during hot, cloudless days.

However, trolling for mackinaw trout at Priest Lake has been fair to good. Nearly all the macks anglers hook are small, running 2 to 7 pounds. Priest has been the most consistent trout producer in North Idaho.

Trout, Montana

Now is the time to fish the trout streams in the Missoula area and the Missouri River below Holter Dam. The rivers remain higher than normal, but like Idaho’s streams, they’re low enough for good fishing.

However, the Clark Fork in the St. Regis area was still too high earlier this week for good fishing, according to Hagan Wonn, guide for Grizzly Hackle at Missoula. He suggested fly fishers put off fishing that part of the river for a few more days. The upper river is a better choice.

Wonn said fishing has been extremely slow along the Clark Fork and other rivers during hot, sunny days. Caddisflies and Pale Morning Dun mayflies have been coming off just before dark during hot days.

Wonn said the Bitterroot has been providing good fishing, especially in the evenings on sunny days. Some grasshoppers have been active and fly fishers are using Nos. 10 and 12 Yellow Stimulators, as well as specific hopper patterns, to take trout. PMDs and caddisflies hatch in the evenings.

Rock Creek also has been a good stream to fish, he said. He suggested anglers fish No. 14 Parachute Adams in the shallows, especially in the evenings, to bring up the fish.

“What we need are some cloudy days,” he said. “Then we’ll see a lot of surface action on all the streams.”

The Missouri below Holter Dam was flowing at about 7,400 cfs earlier this week, still too high for easy dry fly fishing. However, the water has cleared and fishing has been good.

Guide Arnie Gidlow said that PMDs and caddisflies have been hatching in good numbers and a few Trico mayflies are emerging. Some fly fishers have had good luck on hopper patterns, he said.

Spiny rays

Smallmouth bass fishing has been good along the Snake River, Jay Poe, owner of Hells Canyon Sports, reported.

He said anglers have been hooking smallmouths from Hells Canyon to Lower Granite Dam. Although the Snake is still higher than normal for this time of year, he said fishermen, using jigs with plastics, have been hooking bass in eddies, bays and other slow-moving water.

A blue-green algae bloom is being blamed for killing thousands of fish, mostly small catfish, in the eastern end of Sprague Lake. Such blooms occur periodically at many lakes during summer months.

The algae killed the fish by depriving them of oxygen. Fisheries biologists said only a small portion of the lake’s fish population was affected. The bloom and fish die-off pose no health threat to fishermen.

Monika Metz, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, said fishing has slowed at the lake, but anglers fishing early and late continue to catch walleyes, bass, crappies, perch and rainbows.

Bass fishermen have been doing well at several North Idaho lakes, including Hayden, Coeur d’Alene and Hauser. Best fishing, as usual this time of year, is early and late in the day.

Kokanee

Those who know kokanee best continually tell neophyte anglers the most important key to catching the landlocked sockeye salmon is to fish lures and baits at the levels where the kokanee are swimming.

For the most part, that advice falls on inattentive ears. Few anglers take the time to learn where the fish are when they start trolling. Those who have sonars, however, try to locate the fish and then troll their lures at the depth where the fish are. By determining the depths where the kokanee are swimming, trollers at both Loon and Coeur d’Alene lakes have been doing better than other anglers. Fishermen at Loon have been catching kokanee ranging from 13 to more than 20 inches. However, the kokanee population at the popular lake is much smaller than usual this year and a good morning’s catch is two or three fish.

Trollers no longer are catching limits of the 9- to 10-inchers at Lake Coeur d’Alene. The average catch is 10 fish.

Kokanee fishing also has been slow at Lake Mary Ronan and Koocanusa Reservoir in Montana.

Gary Thomas of Camp Tuffit at Mary Ronan said still-fishermen have been averaging a half-dozen. The kokanee average 14 inches. Fishing at Koocanusa has been a little faster, but few fishermen have been taking 20-fish limits.

Trout, Washington

Anglers have been catching limits of rainbows, cutthroat and brook trout at several lakes in Pend Oreille, Stevens and Ferry counties. Marshall, the Skookums, Browns and Yocum are good bets.

Clarence Grimes, operator of the resort at Marshall Lake, said still-fishermen, trollers and fly fishers have been catching limits at Marshall. Still-fishermen have been taking limits of 9- to 11-inch cutthroat and 10- to 12-inch rainbows by fishing in 45 to 50 feet of water during mid-day hours. Trollers let out at least four colors of leaded line and bait flies with meal worms. Fly fishers have their best luck in the evenings.

Grimes said both North and South Skookum have been yielding rainbows to 19 inches and brook trout to 12. Average size of the fish in the Skookums is 11 inches.

Yocum still has a good population of 10- to 12-inch cutthroat.

Fishing has been slow during the hot weather at Fishtrap, Williams, Amber, Badger and West Medical. Anglers who fish early and late have the best chance to take home limits.

Salmon

Numerous Eastern Washington anglers are expected to troll for chinook and coho salmon the next few weeks in the Buoy 10 area at the mouth of the Columbia River. The season opened today, but the best fishing is expected to be later in the month.

The salmon are just starting to move up the Columbia in good numbers. That’s why many anglers will wait for a couple of weeks before spending a few days in the area.

Unless the Idaho Fish and Game Commission makes a change, anglers will have only two more days to fish for chinook salmon along the Clearwater’s main stem, Middle Fork and North Fork, as well as along the Lochsa River. The season is scheduled to end Sunday. The South Fork’s season will end Saturday.

Pike

Pike fishing has been good at Lake Coeur d’Alene. Fishermen have been using big lures over weed beds in most of the bays.

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