Fishing Report

Trout, Washington

Now that Washington’s winter fishing trout lakes are closed, the region’s trout fishermen will concentrate on several big reservoirs, a few of the lakes that opened to fishing March 1 and waters open the year-round.

Since the general trout fishing season won’t open until April 24, fishermen will have to wait three weeks or fish the waters that are open.

The three reservoirs that likely will attract good numbers of anglers are Roosevelt and Rufus Woods lakes and the Potholes Reservoir.

Roosevelt’s water level was 1,249 feet earlier this week and still dropping. Several ramps are above the water line.

Trollers continue to catch rainbows averaging 16 inches and some big, sterile rainbows at Rufus Woods.

The Mar-Don Resort will release 160,000 net pen-reared rainbows from pens at the resort early next week, bringing to 300,000 the number of net pen trout released into the reservoir the last three years.

A few lakes south of the Potholes Reservoir have been providing fair to good fishing. Among them are the Windmills, Canal, Janet, Katey and Susan.

Yearling rainbows in the Hamptons are 12 or more inches long, indicating a small population. If you intend to fish them this season, do so before other anglers deplete the population.

A few specially managed waters are yielding trout. Most productive is Lenice, along the lower Crab Creek channel; Homestead, near Moses Lake; Rocky Ford Creek, north of Moses Lake; and Lenore, southwest of Coulee City.

Fly fishers have had fair fishing during chironomid hatches at Lenice and Homestead and during Baetis mayfly and chronomid hatches at Rocky Ford.

It’s too early for good fishing at Lenore, now open to catch-and-release fishing. However, there is a possibility the lake’s Lahontan cutthroat population has dropped dramatically as the result of a dieoff.

Coffeepot, Deer Springs and Pacific, all in the same drainage, are yielding some rainbows.

Salmon

Trollers caught some chinook salmon during near-freezing temperatures and periodic rain showers at Lake Coeur d’Alene on Sunday, Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene, reported.

Fifteen to 30-mph winds, however, kept nearly all fishermen off the lake on Saturday.

Smith said some friends hooked five chinooks, all weighing less than 5 pounds, in the south end of the lake. The salmon were near the surface. Most anglers have been trolling flutter spoons or helmeted herring.

Largest chinook reported caught was 9 pounds, 2 ounces, boated by Mike Carlson of Pinehurst. He hooked the salmon near Harlow Point.

Trout, Idaho

North Idaho anglers haven’t shown much interest in trout fishing, Smith said. A few have been fishing Fernan, Hauser and other lakes north of Coeur d’Alene.

Catch-and-release fishing for mackinaw trout has been good at Priest Lake, according to Rich Lindsey, operator of Blue Ribbon Charters. Sometimes, though, an angler must do a lot of trolling to find fish willing to hit lures.

After trolling for some time last week, he said, his clients started hooking macks in the lower end of the lake. They hooked 11 macks up to 12 pounds on Hootchies behind dodgers.

Later in the week, other clients hooked nine averaging 6 to 7 pounds. One weighed 26 pounds.

Most macks were caught in 130 to 170 feet.

Spiny rays

The Potholes Reservoir hasn’t produced sensational fishing for perch, crappies and bluegills for several years. However, there are indications the spiny rayed fish populations are increasing.

Rod Meseberg of the Mar-Don Resort said he’s anticipating “much better fishing” for the species this year than the last few years.

“We saw more perch, crappies and bluegill around our dock last year than we’ve seen in several years,” he said.

Crappies and bluegills stay in the willows around the sand dune islands, at the mouth of Frenchman’s Wasteway and in the Lind Coulee during the day and emerge to feed after sundown. They move back into the willows at first light.

He suggested anglers troll the willow lines with crappie jigs or Beetle Spins from just before dark until well after dark.

“The next day, ram your boat way into the willows and fish the holes you can get through,” he advised. “You may have to do this several times. Once you find the fish, there will be a lot of them.”

Meseberg said largemouth bass and crappies are attracted by the warmer water of Frenchman’s Wasteway in the spring.

Anglers continue to catch walleyes in relatively shallow water at Lake Roosevelt.

Fishermen have been catching big perch, many a foot long, at Sprague Lake, Monica Metz, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, reported. She said the water has been too cold for good fishing for other species. Strong winds kept most fishermen off the lake last weekend.

Ron Hise of Coeur d’Alene and Brad White of Post Falls walked off with $1,800 in cash for placing first in the one-day bass tournament Sunday at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Smith said.

As a team, Hise and White placed first, catching bass weighing a total of 18 pounds, 3 ounces, winning $600. They caught an 8-pound bass, the largest caught during the derby. It was worth $200. And they qualified for the $1,000 Suzuki award money. To do so, they had to have used a Suzuki outboard engine.

The team of Eric and Bryan Smith, both of Spokane, brought in the next-heftiest string of bass, weighing 16 pounds, 10 ounces. And Todd Palmer and his son, Matt, of Hayden, caught 14-pounds, 10-ounces of bass, the third-heaviest string.

Smith said the bass were caught in three areas: Chatcolet-Benewah; Black Lake, one of the lakes adjacent to the lower Coeur d’Alene River; and at the north end of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Most anglers used plastic worms or grubs in shallow water near wood structure. All the bass were released near the spots where they were caught.

Smith said fishermen have been catching crappies at Fernan and Cave lakes.

Northern pike

Pike fishing was slow the last week at North Idaho lakes, Smith said. However, the water level is up and the northerns are getting ready to spawn. Action should pick up fast once the water temperatures rise a few degrees.

The peak of spring pike fishing usually is April 15-20.

Whitefish

If you hope to catch a few big lake whitefish at Soda Lake, your best chance is now.

Water is being released into the canal between the Potholes Reservoir and the lake. As usual, large numbers of whitefish, some weighing more than 3 pounds, are concentrated around the area where the water enters the lake.

They won’t be near the inlet long. In fact, if you don’t fish the area by this weekend, you probably will have to fish the main lake to have a chance at catching a few. And fishing the main lake can be slow.

Don’t try snagging the whitefish. It’s against the law. Wildlife agents know a few anglers can’t resist the temptation to snag the whitefish, so they watch fishermen carefully.

Steelhead

With most steelhead in the streams where they will spawn the next few weeks, steelhead fishing seasons are approaching the end.

The fish are dark and their flesh pale. They’re no longer top table fare.