Hunting & Fishing

Waterfowl

Many of the region’s potholes and small lakes are covered or partially covered with thin sheets of ice, and ducks that have been resting on them have moved to big lakes and reservoirs.

Scores of those waters are on land closed to hunters. Consequently, most of the ducks haven’t been shot at. Unlike ducks that have been decoyed and shot at the last few weeks, they will be susceptible, at least for a week or so, to calls and decoys.

That means hunting should pick up at lakes and reservoirs where ducks have been staying.

Actually, some Spokane-area hunters say they’ve had fair to good shooting at and near numerous lakes in Pend Oreille, Stevens, Spokane and Lincoln counties.

Guided hunters have continued to bag an average of four ducks a day at the Potholes Reservoir, Mike Meseberg of the Mar-Don Resort said.

Meseberg said he and his brother, Dave, who guide hunters on the reservoir, have added a floating blind to their equipment. The blind is actually a camouflaged 6x20-foot mooring dock with two benches for hunters. It can be moved when the wind changes directions.

There are several hundred thousand ducks in North Idaho and Eastern Washington, enough for good hunting. However, some hunters complain most of the ducks have been leaving reserves just before the end of shooting times each day, feeding all night and then returning to reserves before the opening of shooting times the next day.

That scenario could change. Ducks will start feeding during shooting hours when temperatures drop into the teens and lower and when snow falls throughout the region. They’ll stay in Eastern Washington and North Idaho as long as their food isn’t covered and they can find water to rest on when they’re not feeding.

Goose hunting has been good for those willing to follow flocks to fields where they feed and then get permission to hunt those fields.

Unlike ducks, geese will stay at a lake that freezes over, at least as long as they can find water to drink and as long as snow doesn’t cover the food they’ve been eating. There are several lakes in northeastern Washington and North Idaho where geese will stay for a while after ice forms.

Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene, said waterfowl hunters have been doing fairly well at several North Idaho lakes on both ducks and geese.

The big lakes are ice-free, he said. For example, Lake Coeur d’Alene’s temperature still was about 45 degrees last weekend. Bays at the smaller lakes are starting to freeze over.

Big game

Most big-game hunting is over until next year in North Idaho and Eastern Washington. Only a few special seasons for archers and muzzleloaders are open, but they’ll end in a few days.

Archers and muzzleloaders can hunt deer and elk in a few game management units in Eastern Washington until Dec. 15. A few areas in Idaho also are open for big game.

Upland birds

Hundreds continue to hunt pheasants in Eastern Washington despite the fact the birds are so wild they’re extremely difficult to pin down long enough for a shot or two.

Usually, by mid-December, all but the most dedicated pheasant hunters have given up. But not this year. The pheasant population is the biggest in years and hunters want to take full advantage of the opportunities.

Most productive hunting is along the Snake River breaks in Whitman and Garfield counties, in the Walla Walla area and in the Columbia Basin.

Much private land is posted with signs proclaiming “No Hunting” and “Hunting Only by Written Permission.” It’s sometimes difficult, however, for hunters to find the owners of land posted with the latter.

Hundreds of acres of land along the Snake River and in preserves controlled by the Fish and Wildlife Department are open to all hunters.

All but the hardiest have given up hunting chukars even though there are plenty of the birds in Asotin County and along the Columbia River breaks above the Vernita Bridge.

Trout

Fourth of July, one of the top producing winter fishing lakes in Eastern Washington, could be partially covered with thin ice this weekend. Temperatures at night have been low enough to put ice on shallow areas.

However, if the upper end is covered with too much ice to launch small boats, anglers almost certainly can find open water, at least for a week or so, by hiking to the “narrows,” or even to the end of the lake.

Most of the rainbows fishermen have been catching have been 13 to 16 inches long. However, some have caught a few to 20 inches. The limit is five a day, but can’t include more than two longer than 14 inches.

Williams and Hatch in the Colville area may be good choices. It’s possible, though, Hatch will be covered with ice too thin to support a person safely.

Most of the rainbows caught at Hatch opening day were 14 to 18 inches long. That might indicate there are relatively few trout in the small lake. Most apparently migrated out of the lake last spring when water covered the road separating the lake from a pond.

Roosevelt and Rufus Woods lakes and the Potholes Reservoir are good bets for trout ranging from 13 to 25 inches. Most of the pen-reared trout at Roosevelt are 13 to 16 inches; Rufus Woods holds sterile rainbows ranging from 4 to 20 pounds, and the Potholes Reservoir has a good population of rainbows in the 14- to 18-inch class.

Steelhead, salmon

Finding the right spot is the key to catching steelhead during the winter.

The lower Clearwater may be a good area to back-troll or fish baited jigs under bobbers. The water is so cold the most productive fishing is apt to be in holes where the steelhead stay much of the time.

The Idaho Fish and Game Department reported that anglers averaged 10 hours per steelhead along the lower Clearwater and 7 hours along the North Fork.

The Snake in the vicinity of the Grande Ronde River’s mouth, the lower Salmon and some tributaries of the lower Snake are good possibilities.

The Grande Ronde River provided the fastest steelhead fishing in the Columbia River system during the week ending Sunday. Jerry Dedloff of the Fish and Wildlife Department’s Snake River Laboratory said that anglers averaged 4.3 hours per steelhead, a figure that indicated sensational fishing. Dedloff also said that the average for boaters along the Snake between the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake rivers and the mouth of the Ronde was 9.3 hours per fish. Other averages: Ice Harbor Dam, 15.3 hours; Lower Monumental, 13.7 hours; Little Goose, 21.6 hours; Lower Granite, 77 hours. As of Sunday, the Corps of Engineers counted nearly 70,000 steelhead at Lower Granite this year. Of those fish, 9,425 were wild steelhead.

If you would like to catch a small chinook salmon or two, troll deep at Lake Coeur d’Alene. You’ll probably catch a few “shakers,” salmon that are only 18 to 20 inches long. But you have a good chance to catch one or two that weigh 5 to 8 pounds, Smith said.

The salmon are deep, he said. He recommended trolling mini-squids behind flashers or helmeted herring in 100 feet of water in Squaw or Carlin bays or off Stevens Point.

Smith said the Gene Fink Memorial Winter Chinook derby is being held on Coeur d’Alene. The derby opened today and will end Sunday. Entry fee is $20. If at least 100 enter, Smith said, the person who catches the biggest salmon will get about $800. There will be money for the five largest salmon.

If you’re planning a trip to the Coast to fish, consider trying for blackmouth in the Hood Canal or Puget Sound south of Tacoma Narrows.

The Hood Canal produces 500,000 hatchery blackmouth a year.

Spiny rays

If you want to catch a few crappies, fish the east end of Fernan Lake, Smith said. Anglers have been catching good numbers of 8- to 9-inchers there.

He also said fishermen have been catching bass at Killarney Lake, one of the lakes in the lower Coeur d’Alene River drainage.