Hunting & Fishing

Waterfowl

Washington and Idaho waterfowl seasons will end soon. In fact, Idaho’s goose season ends Saturday, but Idaho hunters can continue pursuing ducks through Jan. 15.

Washington hunters have longer seasons. The Eastern Washington goose season will end Jan. 16; the duck season will continue through Jan. 23.

Although Washington’s goose season ends Jan. 16, hunters can start hunting every day starting Saturday in goose management area No. 1. The area includes part of the Spokane region and most counties in the Columbia Basin, where hunters could hunt only Saturdays, Wednesdays and Sundays and holidays until the last week of the season.

Indications are that ducks are feeding more often during shooting hours than they’ve been much of this season. The birds apparently feel they must put on more fat to survive the winter.

Geese, on the other hand, have been feeding actively during shooting hours, providing outstanding hunting for experienced gunners.

Most of the region’s small potholes and land-locked lakes are covered or partially covered with ice. As a result, ducks and geese no longer are spread out over hundreds of water holes. They’ve moved to large lakes and the Snake and Columbia rivers. Barring a “chinook,” they’ll be on big waters the rest of the season. If a warm spell occurs and melts the ice on small waters, the hunting could be fantastic for a brief spell. Ducks and geese, always anxious to move back to where they came from, start moving east and north in almost unbelievable numbers.

Meanwhile, hunters will hope the birds will do a lot of flying during shooting hours.

Duck and goose hunting has been excellent at a few of North Idaho’s lakes, including Coeur d’Alene.

Upland birds

If you want to hunt quail and partridges in Eastern Washington, you have only two more days. Seasons on the birds end Sunday.

Idaho hunters can continue to hunt Chukar and Hungarian partridges through Jan. 15. Seasons on other upland birds ended Dec. 31.

Few hunters have been seeking either quail or partridges the last few weeks, although the weather has been mild for this time of year; so mild hunters and their dogs have been comfortable.

If there is snow on the ground, Hungarian partridges will be visible in the fields. Usually, hunters have had to hunt for long periods to find Hun coveys.

Steelhead

This is a good time to plunk for steelhead in the deep holes along the Snake and Clearwater rivers. It’s also a good time to fish prawns and other bait under bobbers.

With the water temperature near 40 degrees, steelhead have settled down in holes to spend the winter. The holes are where to find them much of the time.

The most popular areas have been near Lower Monumental and Little Goose dams, the mouth of the Tucannon, the Tucannon, Touchet, Clearwater, mid-Snake from Clarkston to the mouth of the Grande Ronde and the Ronde.

The hottest steelhead fishing in the Inland Northwest during the week that ended Sunday was along the Touchet and Tucannon rivers. The Snake River Laboratory reported that anglers averaged 3.5 hours per steelhead along the Touchet and 5 hours along the Tucannon.

Other checks: Walla Walla River, 8.2 hours; Lower Monumental Dam, 22.4; Little Goose, 96.3, and the Grande Ronde, 20.7.

Steelhead fishing continues to be fairly good along some of the coastal streams, the Fish and Wildlife Department reported.

Cowlitz River boat anglers averaged nearly a steelhead kept per every two rods last week. Bank fishermen averaged one kept for every four fishermen.

Checks along the Lewis River showed that one steelhead was caught for every four boat fishermen. Shore anglers averaged one steelhead for every nine fishermen.

Salmon

Temperatures rarely get above 35 degrees this time of year, but fishing for chinook salmon in Lake Coeur d’Alene can be hot.

Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene, said trollers have been doing exceptionally well the last few weeks.

He said clients of guide Rick Caddy have had good luck in recent days. They caught nine salmon to 8 pounds a week ago and others caught seven to 6 or 7 pounds.

The salmon have hit helmeted herring at various depths from 15 to 80 feet, he said. Most productive areas have been near Arrow and Stevens points in the north end and Carlin Bay in the south end.

Trout, Washington

Most of Washington’s winter fishing trout lakes are covered with ice that ranges in thickness from 1 to 4 inches. Some have been fishing through holes in the ice at Fourth of July and Hog Canyon lakes, even though the ice could be dangerously thin in spots.

Because of ice, it’s no longer possible to launch a boat at Fourth of July. Barring an unseasonable thaw, the lake will be ice-covered until late February or later.

Meanwhile, fishermen will dot the ice, especially on weekends. There are still large numbers of big rainbows in Fourth of July; however, the yearling rainbows, 10 inches and longer, should start showing up in the catches in good numbers, enabling anglers to take home five fish.

The limit is five rainbows, only two of which can be more than 14 inches. Because the yearling rainbows usually don’t show up in catches until January, fishermen have had trouble taking more than two fish.

The road into Hog Canyon from the nearest county road is a mile long. As long as the snow isn’t too deep during January and February, anglers will be able to drive to the public access area. However, if the snow is more than a foot deep, access to the lake will be difficult, even with four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Williams Lake, north of Colville, is adjacent to a public road and will remain accessible through the winter months. It’s been yielding lots or rainbows 13 to 16 inches long.

It’s unlikely Lake Roosevelt will become ice-covered. Most anglers will continue to fish from shore into open water and from boats. The rainbows are 15 to more than 20 inches long, with most in the 15- to 16-inch class.

The Potholes Reservoir and the seep lakes south of the Lind Coulee have been yielding enough trout to continue to attract fishermen. Most of the seep lakes are ice-covered.

Trout, spiny rays, Idaho

It’s ice fishing time at lakes north of Sandpoint, Smith said. Ice at lakes in the Bonners Ferry area is 4 inches thick. Among them are Perkins, Smith, Robinson, Freeman and Blue.

Freeman has some rainbows to 14 inches, small perch, northern pike and tiger muskies, he said. Blue holds pike, as well as rainbows and perch.

Ice still wasn’t thick and solid enough at most lakes between Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint to support anglers safely earlier this week.

“We’re waiting for some low temperatures,” he said. “Usually, ice fishing is good at most of our lakes by this time of year, but lakes like Fernan and Hauser don’t have solid enough ice covers for safe ice fishing.”

Smith said a few anglers have been trolling the north end of Lake Pend Oreille for mackinaw trout. The lake is closed to fishing for rainbows, but fishermen can continue to fish for macks.

Most fishermen have been trolling around the islands south of Hope.

Trout, Montana

Rock Creek east of Missoula is the best bet for catching a few trout in the Missoula area, the Kingfisher fly shop reported.

Once the ice lets up a bit, the shop said, the famous stream may resume relinquishing trout. Flow ice has been making fly fishing difficult along Rock Creek, as well as along the Clark Fork, Bitterroot and Blackfoot.

The shop’s experts recommended using red San Juan Worms, large Squirrel Tails and stonefly nymph patterns. Egg patterns bounced off the bottom can be productive.