Hunting & Fishing

Doves/grouse

Temperatures dropped below freezing in a few lowland areas a few nights ago, but probably not low enough to start doves moving out of the region.

Gunners who have scouted fields where they have permission to hunt and know that there are still large numbers of doves should have a good opener when Washington and Idaho open their dove and grouse seasons on Sept. 1.

Biologists and wildlife agents, as well as some hunters, have reported seeing large numbers of doves in Eastern Washington and parts of North Idaho. Doves apparently had a good nesting season.

In Washington, the most productive areas will be northern Lincoln County, Spokane and Whitman counties, the Snake River breaks, agricultural areas of Columbia, Garfield and Walla Walla counties, parts of the Columbia Basin and the Yakima Valley.

In North Idaho, the best hunting will be in Nez Perce, Benewah and Latah counties. As usual, Idahoans will get good shooting along the Clearwater and Snake rivers.

Inasmuch as wildlife agencies don’t conduct population surveys of grouse, hunters will have to wait for the openings to learn whether this will be a good year to hunt ruffed and blue grouse.

Some hunters who have picked huckleberries or have hiked the woods doubt that the grouse populations are any bigger than they were last year.

Almost certainly, grouse will be near water during the first few days of the season, even if rain has fallen. Hunters who have good dogs will prowl the creek bottoms and spring areas. Road hunters, especially those who drive roads that are not near water, are unlikely to do well.

Bear seasons

First of the major bear seasons will open Wednesday in some Idaho game management units. The units are listed in the state’s big game seasons pamphlet.

This has been an excellent year for huckleberries in both Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Some pickers have boasted that they’ve filled gallon buckets without having to move more than a few feet.

Most of the huckleberries in the low country have been picked or eaten by bears. Huckleberries in the high country are now ripe, and that’s where many bears will be found during the early part of the season.

Because huckleberries, as well as other berries, have been plentiful this year, few bears are likely to raid garbage dumps this fall. The bears can fill their bellies on berries.

GMUs in northeast and southeast Washington won’t be opened to bear hunting until Sept. 5. Some units were opened Aug. 1.

Some game management units in Washington and Idaho will be opened to archers Sept. 1.

Kokanee

The time for catching kokanee that are in good condition is nearing an end at Loon Lake. However, kokanee in Lake Coeur d’Alene and some other lakes and reservoirs in the region mature a little later and should remain in good condition for several more weeks.

The most productive spot to catch 10- to 13-inch kokanee is still Loon Lake. Both night anglers and daytime trollers have continued taking 10-fish limits, sometimes in less than an hour.

Kokanee fishing has picked up at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Justin Kimberling of the Fins & Feathers shop reported.

The kokanee were still 40 to 45 feet deep last weekend, but trollers who put in several hours of fishing have been catching 10 to 15 each, he said. Most of the kokanee are 13 to 15 inches long, making them among the largest in the Inland Northwest.

Kimberling said the best fishing has been in or near Windy and Powder Horn bays. Fishing hasn’t been nearly as good in the north end.

Salmon/steelhead

The Hanford Reach of the Columbia River was opened Wednesday to fishing for “upriver bright” chinook salmon, but there still aren’t enough salmon in the stretch for good fishing.

The Corps of Engineers has counted fewer than 20,000 adult fall chinooks at Bonneville Dam and less than 3,000 at McNary Dam.

However, the fall chinooks are starting to move up the Columbia in large numbers. By early September, there should be enough in the Hanford Reach for fair fishing. The most productive time will be in October.

Meanwhile, anglers are continuing to troll for summer-run chinooks between Priest Rapids and Wells dams.

This could be a good time to fish for chinooks at Drano Lake, a wide spot along the Columbia, and off the mouth of the Deschutes River. There are plenty of salmon and steelhead in the two spots for good fishing.

However, if you decide to fish Drano or the Columbia at the Deschutes mouth, expect a lot of company. In fact, when the fishing is good, anglers’ boats are so close to one another that lines sometimes get tangled.

More than 160,000 steelhead have been counted at Bonneville Dam. The count at McNary is now over 30,000. Not enough have moved up the Snake for good fishing.

Water temperatures have dropped the last 10 days and now are less than 70 degrees along both the Columbia and Snake rivers. If they continue to drop, there will be a lot of steelhead in the Snake in a couple of weeks.

Steelhead fishing has been better than salmon fishing along the lower Columbia. It’s been good at Drano, off the mouth of the Deschutes and along the Deschutes.

Chinook salmon in Lake Coeur d’Alene are starting to head for the mouth of the Coeur d’Alene River as their spawning time approaches, Kimberling said. Fishing was slow last weekend, but the best was in the south end of the lake.

The chinooks are starting to turn dark, he said.

Spiny rays

Moses Lake and the Potholes Reservoir may be good destinations for anglers who would like to catch perch, bluegills, crappies and bass.

Some of the biggest perch in Eastern Washington waters are in Moses Lake. Anglers who find schools of large perch have been catching as many as they want to fillet. The lake apparently has a big perch population and a good number measure 10 to 13 inches long.

The best perch fishing is expected to be in September and October.

The perch, bluegills and crappies in the Potholes Reservoir are still too small for most anglers, but they are plentiful. By winter, the perch could be large enough to interest ice fishermen.

Smallmouth bass in Coeur dAlene and Hayden lakes have been providing excellent fishing the last week or so. Kimberling recommended that bass anglers cast top-water lures during the early morning hours and then resort to other lures.

He suggested using Carolina rigging with four-inch bait and fishing rocky shorelines.

Pike fishing is picking up at Lake Coeur d’Alene and should improve dramatically the next few weeks, Kimberling said. He recommended using Rapala plugs and spinner baits.

Trout, Washington

Dropping water temperatures at many Eastern Washington’s lakes and reservoirs have resulted in an improvement of trout fishing.

Trollers and shore fishermen have been catching good-sized rainbows at Moses Lake and the Potholes Reservoir for several weeks, but with the drop in temperatures, the fishing is better than ever.

Trout in other waters in the Spokane region, Okanogan County and the Columbia Basin are becoming more active as the result of the drop in water temperatures.

Trout fishing has been so good at Sprague Lake that anglers have been ignoring the walleyes, bass and other spiny rays and fishing for the rainbows, Mike Mielke, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, said.

He had this advice for anglers: “Just use some worms, eggs or power bait, sit back and wait. You’ll catch fish.”

Spin and fly fishers are now hooking 12- to 20-inch rainbows in some of the selective gear and fly fishing-only lakes.

Big insect hatches are over, but midges continue to hatch. Some fly fishers have been fishing chironomid pupae patterns; others have been casting big leech and nymph patterns.

Look for fishing to improve fast at Dry Falls, Ell, Aeneas, Chopaka and Blue (Sinlahekin) lakes.

Meanwhile, the most effective way to hook trout is by fishing deep.

Incidentally, Grimes Lake, which holds big Lahontan cutthroat, will be closed to fishing on Aug. 31.

Trout, Idaho

The St. Joe River is now one of the best producers of cutthroat in North Idaho. Kimberling said fishing was excellent last weekend.

The water is cooling, but temperatures are still high enough for the cutthroat to be active. The best fishing will be from now until about mid-September, when low water temperatures will start driving large numbers of cutthroat down the river.

The St. Joe wasn’t nearly as crowded last weekend as it has been on most weekends in July and August. With the start of school and opening of hunting seasons, fishing pressure will drop dramatically.

The lower Coeur dAlene is still providing fair to good fishing. The upper river and tributaries are now extremely low.

Kimberling said trollers are continuing to catch 3- to 8-pound trout at Hayden Lake. Some of the trout are cut-bows and others are Gerard strain rainbows.

Fishing has been fairly good at Hauser Lake, with some anglers, fishing from shore, taking limits of 12-inch rainbows.

Trout, Montana

The water temperatures of Montana’s blue-ribbon trout streams have dropped dramatically during the last 10 days or so, and trout no longer are under stress in the major rivers.

However, the major rivers in the Missoula area and along the Big Hole, Jefferson and Smith rivers were still closed to fishing early this week. They’ll be opened when the fire danger has dropped.