Hunting & Fishing

Upland birds

Washington’s long quail and partridge seasons end Sunday, but the birds won’t see many hunters.

Pressure has been so light that wildlife agents have had to do a lot of driving to check a few hunters. Even though there are plenty of quail and chukars for good shooting, pressure likely will be low, particularly if the weather is bad.

Some bird hunters gave up on ducks and geese and turned to partridges. A couple of Spokane men killed limits of chukars in Asotin County last weekend, but didn’t see other hunters.

The brushy draws along the Palouse, Snake, Grande Ronde and Tucannon rivers are good spots to look for quail. The steep slopes of Asotin and south Whitman counties and the breaks of the Columbia in Grant County hold chukars.

Waterfowl

Most duck and goose hunters apparently have given up on the birds the final two weeks of the season. However, there are plenty of birds in parts of Eastern Washington for good hunting.

The problem is locating them.

Earlier this week, several hundred geese were in the Sprague Lake area, feeding north and west of the lake.

Those hunting in the Ringold Springs area of the Columbia and along the lower Snake River have been frustrated.

Wildlife agent Dan Rahn of Moses Lake said there were hundreds of geese in the Matawa area last weekend. He checked several hunters who had bagged limits of four birds each.

He said some hunters set out decoys along the Columbia below Priest Rapids Dam and within the irrigation circles near the river.

He suggested hunters consider hunting circles off Road 27 and Road 29.5. The latter circle, covered with corn stubble, is near the Columbia River.

A few did well on geese along the Columbia above Rocky Reach Dam.

Ducks seem to move around a lot. Because much of the still water in the Columbia Basin is ice-covered, the ducks are resting on the few lakes that have some open water and along the Columbia below the Tri-Cities.

Fishing, Washington

If you can stand the low temperatures, there are lots of places to catch fish.

Most fish for perch, crappies and rainbows through the ice during the winter, but some are catching trout and whitefish along Columbia Basin streams.

If you can get into Hog Canyon Lake, you have a good chance to catch five rainbows. However, the big meltdown last week created wash-outs along the access road and sent lots of dirty water through the lake.

Getting to the lake may be a big problem. The road is so bad that not even four-wheel-drive vehicles were the answer early this week.

Runoff from the snow melt made the usually small inlet stream a raging torrent. The waterfall at the head of the lake was spectacular. The heavy volume of water going through the lake melted some of the ice.

The stream below Hog Canyon was so big during the height of the runoff that Fishtrap Lake Resort was in danger of being flooded. Cool weather this week stopped the melting of snow and the runoff began to subside.

Getting from the main highway to Fourth of July may be difficult. There still was snow on the road early this week.

Sprague Lake’s inlet stream was in flood stage early this week and was sending lots of water through the lake, weakening the ice. Anglers who fish the lake this weekend should be extremely careful. The ice may not be safe.

Most of the perch in Sprague are small. Occasionally, an angler finds a spot where there are schools of 10- to 12-inchers.

A better place to fish may be the open water at the head of the lake. Anglers, fishing from shore, have caught a few crappies and good-sized rainbows.

Wildlife agent Rahn said the small stream that flows out of the hatchery at Moses lake is a good place to take a youngster fishing. The Wildlife Department released large numbers of 8- to 10-inch rainbows and 8-inch brook trout into the stream.

The east end of the Lind Coulee also is a good place to catch trout, Rahn said. The water runs fast enough to keep open until temperatures drop near zero. Rahn recommended anglers fish the coulee stream just above and below Highway 17.

Whitefish are biting along the Columbia between Priest Rapids Dam and the Vernita Bridge. Anglers, fishing flies tipped with maggots, have been taking 15-fish limits of 12-inch whitefish, primarily 2 miles below the dam, he said.

Fishing, Idaho

Ice is thick and strong enough now on many North Idaho lakes for safe ice fishing, Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop, said.

Fishing through 4 inches of ice at Hauser last weekend, anglers hooked good numbers of 10- to 12-inch perch, Smith said. Most popular areas are off the public launch ramp and off the point near the Rainbow Resort. Best fishing was in water that’s 20 feet deep.

Fernan produced excellent fishing for 8- to 9-inch perch last weekend. Fastest fishing was at Upper Twin, where anglers caught all the 7- to 9-inch perch they wanted to fillet and some small crappies.

Avondale Lake at Hayden is still a good place to catch 8- to 10-inch perch. Access is limited.

Smith said pike fishermen will be on the lakes adjacent to the lower Coeur d’Alene River this weekend if the ice is in good condition. The snow melt last week caused the river to flood the lakes.

Salmon

Salmon fishing was slow last weekend at Lake Coeur d’Alene, but Sue Whitesitt of Coeur d’Alene, is happy with her catch. She caught an 18-pound, 8-ounce chinook while trolling a helmeted herring off Driftwood Point.

Smith said several other good-sized chinooks were caught last weekend, but anglers considered the fishing slow. Most of the chinooks are 50 feet deep.

Steelhead

The Snake River and its tributaries were high and muddy at midweek. Because some of the debris could damage boats, steelhead fishermen didn’t launch last weekend and early this week. When the water drops and clears, anglers will be back trolling lures above and below the mouth of the Grande Ronde and fishing shrimp below bobbers at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers and along the slow-moving sections of the Clearwater.

Fishermen also will be using shrimps and bobbers at various places along the lower Snake, including above and below Little Goose and Lower Monumental.

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