Hunting & Fishing

Big game

A few thousand elk hunters will be in the Blue Mountains and Cascades Saturday for the opening of elk seasons. Hunters who know where to find elk herds in northeastern Washington also will try to fill tags.

The Blue Mountains won’t be nearly as crowded with hunters as they were several years ago, when, it seemed, there was a hunter behind every tree on opening day. Elk herds haven’t done well the last few years. Calf survival has been low and stringent regulations haven’t resulted in big increases of the herds.

Nevertheless, there are still thousands of optimistic hunters who believe they will be the ones who tag bulls. Biologists have predicted mediocre to fair hunting. Best hunting probably will be in the Yakima region.

As usual, some big bulls will be taken in northeastern Washington, mostly by hunters who know where the elk have been foraging lately. Hunting in Pend Oreille and Stevens counties can be tough.

This year’s short general deer season in numerous game management units in the Spokane region ended today. However, most of the same units will reopen Nov. 3 for the late buck season.

Elk and deer seasons continue in numerous game management units in the Idaho Panhandle and in the Clearwater region.

Waterfowl

Duck and goose hunters have been seeing large flocks of ducks and geese in the Spokane region and the Columbia Basin. They assume the big migration of birds out of Canada is well under way.

Most of the ducks they’ve been seeing may be birds raised in North Idaho and western Montana, not those raised in British Columbia and Alberta. In past years, the big migration out of the provinces has started about the second week of November, usually after snow has covered their feeding areas and most waters are covered by ice.

The weather has been too balmy in Alberta to force the birds to fly south. Ducks and geese have plenty of food and ponds and lakes are still ice-free.

Nevertheless, hunters say they’ve seen thousands of geese, mostly lessers, on the lower end of Sprague Lake and thousands more in the Basin. Since geese migrate early, those birds may have arrived from Canada.

Serious goose hunters have had good luck throughout Eastern Washington the last couple of weeks. In most cases, they’ve hunted wheat and corn fields.

Some hunters reported seeing thousands of mallards along the Pend Oreille River north of Newport. Anglers fishing for chinook salmon along the Columbia River said they’ve seen huge flocks of mallards between the Tri-Cities and the Hanford Reach.

Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene, said there are thousands of ducks and geese on lakes in Idaho’s Panhandle. He believes most of the birds migrated out of Canada.

Hunting has been only fair on the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge near Bonners Ferry. Terri Butler, acting assistant manager, said hunters averaged only 1.3 ducks last Saturday and 1.1 ducks Sunday. Only a few geese were taken.

Upland birds

Most serious pheasant hunters now believe this year’s crop is not much bigger than last year’s. In fact, many believe there are fewer birds this year. Those who have hunted in the Columbia Basin have had poor luck.

The only areas where hunters have been consistently killing limits are those where the FWD has been releasing hatchery-raised roosters. If you are interested in hunting on the release sites, you can get information on the locations from department offices.

The quail population in Eastern Washington seems large enough for excellent hunting. Those who have hunted heavy cover along streams and draws have bagged limits.

Chinook salmon

Chinooks are spawning along a few places in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, but fishing has been good in some places.

A few Spokane-area anglers who have been back-trolling Wiggle Warts and drifting Silver Fox spinners reported they’ve been catching limits every time they fish. Incidentally, they said a green Wiggle Wart has been deadly.

The salmon that haven’t moved on to their spawning beds are still in fair condition. Those being hooked in the Vernita Bridge area are darker than those being caught above and below the area.

Smith said anglers willing to put in a few hours of trolling can hook juvenile chinooks at Lake Coeur d’Alene. Nearly all that have been caught range from 2 to 6 pounds.

He suggested anglers troll mini-squids behind small flashers in Mica Bay and from Stevens to Arrow points. Most salmon have been caught at about 60 feet.

Steelhead

If you don’t want to compete with the crowds along the Snake River and its tributaries, try the Scootenay Reservoir south of Moses Lake. The FWD has released several hundred steelhead into the reservoir. The fish were taken in traps at Ringold Springs.

The reservoir also holds good populations of spiny rayed species. You can fish from shore or launch a boat and troll for the fish.

About 65,000 steelhead have been counted at Lower Granite Dam. Many are in the Grande Ronde, Clearwater and Salmon rivers.

More than 250,000 have climbed the fish ladders at Bonneville Dam and more than 120,000 have reached McNary Dam.

Steelhead fishing was terrific along the lower Clearwater River during the five-day period after it was opened to catch-and-keep fishing Oct. 15, the Idaho Fish and Game Department reported from Lewiston.

Anglers averaged 12 hours per steelhead, checks showed. Officers checked 435 anglers who kept 71 steelhead and released 68 others for a total of 139 hooked.

The Lewiston office said anglers checked along the Snake upstream from Lewiston averaged 24 hours per fish. Averages for the Salmon River: 20 hours per steelhead from the mouth to Riggins; 16 hours to Vinegar Creek; and 10 hours to the South Fork.

Fastest fishing was along the Little Salmon, where fishermen averaged 4 hours per steelhead.

Trout

If you have been planning to troll for big rainbows at Lake Pend Oreille, now is the time to do it. Smith said this is the best time of year to fish for the trout.

Garfield Bay has been the best producer of the rainbows, most of which range from 13 to 16 or 17 pounds. He recommended trolling Rapalas near the surface.

“It’s tough fishing,” he said. “You’ve got to put in a lot of hours to catch a good fish.”

Hauser is still a good bet for 12- to 16-inch rainbows. The trout have been feeding on hatching midges and fly fishers have had good luck at times with dry flies.

Amber, Bayley, Lenore, Dry Falls and Lenice also are providing fair to good fishing.

If you’re in the Yakima area, you might try your luck at lakes and ponds planted with rainbow and brown trout this month.

Yakima County waters that have received plants include North Elton Pond, Clear Lake, I-82 ponds Nos. 3, 4 and 6, and Myron, Mud, Rotary and Wenas lakes. Kittitas County plants: Fio Rita lakes, Gladmar, Hanson and McCabe ponds and Mattoon Lake.

Spiny rays

A few bass fishermen have had good luck at Sprague Lake, according to Monika Metz, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort. Anglers also have been catching perch and catfish.

Kokanee

Some knowledgeable anglers are continuing to take 25-fish limits of kokanee at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Smith said. However, most take home 10 to 15 every time they troll.

Smith said the kokanee are a legitimate 11 to 12 inches.

Most productive spots are in Beauty, Bennett and Mica bays.

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