Fishing Report

Salmon

The Columbia River from Pasco to Priest Rapids Dam opened to fishing for chinook salmon Sunday, but there weren’t enough fish in that section of the river for even poor fishing.

Only 545 adult chinooks had been counted at McNary Dam when the season opened.

In fact, the run seems to be late this year, possibly because of high water temperatures. Only 7,360 fall chinooks had been counted at Bonneville Dam on Sunday.

Best fishing above Pasco usually is during the last of September and early October.

Anglers, including some from the Spokane area, will fish for chinooks near the mouth of the Deschutes River the next few weeks. The salmon are still in excellent condition when they climb the Bonneville ladders.

Salmon fishing was surprisingly good at Lake Coeur d’Alene during the derby that ended Sunday, Steve Smith of the Fins & Feathers shop said.

“Nearly all the mature fish that were caught were hooked in Powderhorn Bay and at the mouth of the Coeur d’Alene River,” he said. “Most fish in the bay were 55 to 60 feet deep.”

He said many of the 450 anglers who entered the derby hooked salmon.

“The fishing should be fairly good for a week or so as the salmon make their way toward the river to spawn,” he said.

“Immature salmon that average 15 to 22 inches long are plentiful. We expect fishermen to do well in Squaw and Beauty bays and in the Hudson Point area.”

Steelhead

Anglers are catching steelhead along Oregon’s Deschutes River, but not enough of the seagoing rainbows have migrated up the Columbia River for even fair fishing in the Ringold Springs area or along the lower Snake River.

About 80,000 steelhead have been counted at Bonneville Dam, but only 11,000 had been tallied at McNary a few days ago. Many of the estimated 6,000 counted at Lower Granite Dam are fish that have spawned and died.

High water temperatures may be keeping the steelhead from moving fast up the Columbia and Snake rivers. However, with shorter days and the end of 95-degree days, water temperatures will gradually drop and the steelhead will move faster up the system.

Incidentally, more than 23,000 of the 80,000 steelhead counted at Bonneville were “wild” steelhead. Anglers can start keeping hatchery steelhead hooked in the Snake on Sept. 1. All wild steelhead must be released.

Kokanee

Mature kokanee are taking on their spawning colors in some of the region’s lakes and the males are developing hooked jaws. However, the fish are still in good shape.

Fishing has slowed at Loon, one of Eastern Washington’s most productive lakes this year. Trollers and still-fishermen are still catching 10- to 20-inchers, but limits are no longer common for those who know little about the most-effective techniques.

Veteran trollers are taking limits, but they are fishing from dawn to 8 a.m. With the return to cooler weather, it’s possible that mid-day fishing will become productive again.

Anglers who have been trolling and night fishing at Deer Lake have been trying to keep the word from spreading that there are enough 16-inch-plus kokanee in the lake for fair to good fishing.

Many who have been trolling at Lake Coeur d’Alene think the kokanee population is smaller than it has been the last few years. However, Smith said the fish remain in deep water and few anglers have been using downriggers to get down to them.

“We think the fishing will pick up once the kokanee work their way toward the surface, where fishermen can get to them with leaded lines,” he said.

The kokanee in Lake Coeur d’Alene average 12 inches.

Trollers are still taking limits of 10- to 14-inch kokanee at the Koocanusa Reservoir.

Trout, Washington

Trolling for deep-bodied, 12- to 16-inch rainbows has been surprisingly good at Lake Roosevelt.

It was even excellent last week, when temperatures were in the high 90s. And fishermen believe it will get even better as the water cools.

Several Spokane fishermen camped at the lake for several days and caught limits every day. They trolled in the Seven Bays area and in the lake’s Spokane arm.

Warden and South Warden lakes south of the Lind Coulee might be worth fishing as the waters cool.

The lakes normally are closed to fishing July 31, but the season has been extended through Sept. 30. Both are scheduled to be treated with rotenone to rid them of big perch and sunfish populations.

Warden was stocked with 20,000 rainbow fry last spring. The fish that survived are 14 inches. Biologists believe there are quite a few rainbows left. In addition, there are some trophy-sized browns in the two lakes. There is no daily limit on fish caught in the lakes during the extended season.

Anglers are continuing to catch 16-inch plus rainbows at Sprague Lake, Monika Metz, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, said. The most productive fishing has been near the resort.

Drops in daytime temperatures have started trout feeding actively in many Eastern Washington lakes.

Anglers reported seeing trout rise during mid-day hours at such lakes as Pacific, Coffeepot, Amber and Dry Falls, something that didn’t happen when temperatures were in the 90s.

Incidentally, there are fairly good numbers of 11- to 12-inch rainbows in Coffeepot, which was opened to anglers for the first time this year. If you want to catch a few trout at Coffeepot, fish the lake soon. It closes Aug. 31.

As water temperatures fall, fly fishers and spin fishermen will return to the selective gear and fly fishing-only lakes. Amber will be one of the most productive in the Spokane region. It’s full of good-sized rainbows.

Trout, Montana

Fly fishers are hoping this week’s lower-than-normal temperatures will result in good hatches of Baetis mayflies and caddisflies and the start of good fall fly fishing.

It’s been tough to catch trout along the Clark Fork, Blackfoot and Bitterroot rivers and Rock Creek during 90-degree-plus days. In most cases, there were few bugs hatching.

Jim Toth, owner of Grizzly Hackle International at Missoula, said most fly fishers have been using hopper imitations with dropper flies along the rivers.

“We’ve been using hopper imitations with Pheasant Tail nymphs or Trico spinners as droppers along slow water, such as that of the Clark Fork,” he said. “And we’ve been using Bead Head Prince Nymphs and Bead Head San Juan Worms behind hopper patterns along the faster water of the Blackfoot and Rock Creek.”

Toth said fly fishing picked up along the upper Bitterroot after cold water was released from the Painted Rocks Reservoir.

Trout, Idaho

Dropping water temperatures could result in increased cutthroat activity along the Coeur d’Alene, St. Joe, Lochsa and Selway rivers and Kelly Creek.

However, the rivers will be crowded until after Labor Day, when schools reopen and families won’t be camping along the rivers. Also, many who have been fishing will turn to hunting, further reducing competition.

The upper St. Joe is still one of the most productive cutthroat streams.

Smith said anglers continue to catch two-fish limits of small mackinaw trout at Priest Lake.

Spiny rays

Bass fishing seems to be picking up at the region’s lakes.

Guide John Carruth of Davenport said he and friends have done fairly well at Lake Roosevelt and Coffeepot Lake. And Smith said bass fishermen have been catching some big bass in North Idaho lakes.

As the water temperatures cool, they predicted, bass will be going on feeding sprees.

Smith said some big bass have been caught in recent days. One of the largest was an 8-pound, 12-ounce largemouth caught at Lake Coeur d’Alene by Susan Clark of Coeur d’Alene.

Incidentally, walleye fishing is expected to pick up at Roosevelt and Sprague lakes and the Potholes Reservoir as water temperatures drop.

Bears & cougars

The return to more normal weather this week probably will encourage more hunters to go after bears in Eastern Washington. Few hunters were in the woods when temperatures were in the 90s. Many hunters, however, will wait until frost starts leaves falling in areas where there are bears. Visibility has been poor in many areas because of thick vegetation.