Hunting & Fishing
Salmon, Buoy 10
If you’ve been considering fishing for salmon in the Ilwaco area, the next 10 days are likely to be the best period to troll or mooch from the Astoria Bridge to Buoy 10.
Big chinooks, many destined for the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, are leaving the ocean just outside Ilwaco and moving up the Columbia.
If you have a boat large enough to operate on water that’s sometimes churned up by strong winds with swells often 5 to 6 feet high, pull it to the Port of Ilwaco, pay a few dollars to leave it at a slip and then register at a motel or park your RV.
If you prefer to fish out of a charter boat, make reservations before you leave. Only a few charter boat firms now operate out of Ilwaco. A couple of popular firms are Pacific Salmon Charters (800) 831-2695, and Sea Breeze Salmon Charters (360) 642-2300.
Anglers fish the mouth of the Columbia in everything from 12-foot cartoppers to ocean-going yachts. The 12- and 14-footers are too small for safe fishing, especially when the wind comes up, which it usually does every afternoon, or there are big swells. Most anglers fish out of 16- to 20-foot boats equipped with 40- to 150-horsepower engines. They have sonars to “read” the bottom and “see” fish.
If you fish out of your own boat, you’ll need a rod that will subdue a 40-pound salmon. The line should test at least 17 pounds and the reel should have enough capacity for 200 yards of line.
Anglers usually troll or mooch herring or anchovies. They use divers to take the bait down to where the fish are swimming and banana-shaped lead to mooch.
Most of the big chinooks are likely to be over Bonneville Dam by early September. Some are already in the Hanford Reach.
Chinook derby
Fishing for chinook salmon at Lake Coeur d’Alene during the annual chinook derby was “incredibly poor,” Jeff Smith of the Fins & Feathers shop said.
Only 27 chinooks more than 24 inches long were registered by the 800 contestants during the nine-day derby that ended Sunday. Anglers caught only two salmon Saturday and one on Sunday.
In past years, Smith said, anglers registered 30 on the first day of the derby. Indications are, he said, the chinook population is extremely small.
Ernie Crossley of Spokane won the $10,000 first prize for his 22-pound, 9-ounce salmon. Scott Houk of Coeur d’Alene came in second with a 21-pound, 12-ounce fish and guide Rick Caddy, also Coeur d’Alene, was third with a 20-pound, 8-ounce salmon. Amount of cash that Houk and Caddy will get will be known after determination of the amount collected through sales of derby tickets.
Steelhead
With more than 150,000 steelhead now over Bonneville Dam and 15,000 over Ice Harbor Dam, anglers are hooking the ocean-going rainbow trout along the Columbia and Snake rivers.
Fishermen have been catching steelhead at the mouth of the Deschutes River and as far up the Columbia as Ringold Springs. Some have caught steelhead in the lower Snake River.
Indications are that this year’s run of steelhead up the Snake will be larger than last year’s, when 97,652 were counted at Ice Harbor Dam and 86,666 were tallied at Lower Granite.
Best fishing along the Snake will be in October, November and December. However, veteran steelheaders will be casting their lures and flies in September.
All steelhead hooked in the Snake River before Sept. 1 must be released. The catch-and-keep season will open Sept. 1.
Hunting
Bear hunters are continuing to have trouble seeing bears in the thick cover in northeastern Washington.
Vegetation is thick and tall this year as the result of spring rains. Berries are ripe in low areas and bears have been taken in berry patches. Hunters say the huckleberry crop isn’t as good as they had expected it to be.
Guide John Carruth of Davenport said bears are feeding on serviceberries and chokecherries in Stevens County. The animals are active usually only early and late in the day.
Few, if any, hunters have been hunting cougars, which also are fair game.
Kokanee
If you can get your baited lure down to where the kokanee are schooling at Lake Coeur d’Alene, you can catch a limit of 25 of the 10-to 11-inch fish, Smith said.
The kokanee are 30 to 50 feet deep. He said the best method is to use light tackle on downriggers.
Anglers are continuing to catch 15- to 22-inch kokanee at Loon Lake, but the population is so small that few fishermen get more than one or two during several hours of trolling from dawn to 8 a.m. The big problem, like it is at all lakes where there are kokanee, is getting the lure down to the kokanee.
The 14- to 15-inch kokanee in Lake Mary Ronan are biting only 45 minutes to an hour a day, Mark Thomas of Camp Tuffit said. The kokanee bite for a short period from noon to 4 p.m.
“If a person is in the right place at the right time, he can catch six to seven,” Thomas said.
Many anglers are fishing for the 6- to 9-inch perch.
Trout, Idaho
The Lochsa and Selway rivers are in almost perfect condition for cutthroat trout fishing. They’ve been higher than normal for much of the season, making wading difficult.
The St. Joe also is in excellent condition. However, it’s getting an unusually heavy pounding by fly fishers from throughout the country. Most concentrate along the catch-and-release area above Prospector Creek.
The Coeur d’Alene is low and clear. Most of the mature cutthroat apparently have moved to high, cool tributaries.
Most fly fishers are using caddisfly imitations, particularly the Elk Hair Caddis, when they fish the cutthroat rivers. However, some are having success with mayfly imitations and bead head nymphs.
Trout, Washington
The small lakes in Pend Oreille, Stevens and Ferry counties offer some of the most consistant trout fishing in Eastern Washington. Among the best have been Browns, Yocums, Marshall, Little Pend Oreilles, Long and Swan.
Trout, Montana
This is hopper time along Montana’s streams. If you plan to fish during mid-day hours, specially when the sun is shining and there’s a wind, a good hopper imitation will take trout.
Otherwise, be prepared with Pale Morning Dun, Trico and caddisfly imitations, as well as bead head nymphs, to fish in late afternoons and evenings.
Mid-day fishing can be slow during these dog days of August.
Guide Drew Miller of the Grizzly Hackle fly shop in Missoula described fly fishing as on and off along Rock Creek and the Clark Fork and Bitterroot rivers. However, if you have the right patterns and are prepared to fish during evenings, you can do well.
Best day-time fishing, he said, is during overcast days.
Trout fishing has been only fair along the Missouri River, guide Arnie Gidlow reported.
“Hatches haven’t been strong and high winds have been a problem,” he said. “Trico spinner falls occur every morning, but the flies have been blown off the water. PMDs and caddisflies have been hatching in the evenings. Hopper fishing hasn’t been very productive.”
Spiny rays
Sprague Lake is one of the most productive lakes in the region for a variety of fish, including walleyes, crappies, perch and rainbow trout.
Mike Mielke of the Sprague Lake Resort said fishing has been good for several species. Walleyes have been hitting bass plugs, as well as other lures. Anglers caught a few crappies last weekend on jigs and Beetle Spins and some fishermen have hooked perch to 12 inches.
Carruth said he and a friend fished for walleyes Sunday at Lake Roosevelt and caught several small fish and two longer than 20 inches. The fishing wasn’t fast, he said.
He and his friend fished jigs with 4-inch-long rib worms in 20 to 30 feet of water.
Hayden Lake has been one of the better bass producers, Smith said. Bass anglers have been hooking good numbers of both largemouth and smallmouth bass.
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