Hunting & Fishing

Trout, Washington

Spokane-area residents won’t have to travel far the next few days to catch enough trout for a meal or two. At least two lakes, Badger and Fishtrap, should produce fivefish limits. Four others within 40 miles of the city will be popular; they include Williams, Fish and West Medical.

The tastiest table trout will come from Badger, Williams and Fish.

Badger is full of 9- to 12-inch yearling rainbows and cutthroat. Hundreds of anglers caught limits within an hour on opening day. Fishing wasn’t as good at Williams, but the lake seems to hold enough trout for good fishing for several weeks.

Fishtrap should churn out limits of 12-inch yearling rainbows and some carryover trout for a few weeks.

The fishing at West Medical probably will be slow; however, a high percentage of the rainbows and brown trout caught will be 16 to 17 inches long. The brook trout in Fish average 13 inches.

Clear seems the best choice for mixed-species lakes in the Spokane area. Proficient anglers will take limits of 12- to 18-inch rainbows and brown trout.

Anglers didn’t do well at Newman and Liberty opening weekend and the fishing isn’t apt to improve significantly. If you want to get away from crowds, fish Diamond, Waitts, Fan and Sacheen. The fishing won’t be as productive as that at the trout-only lakes, but you may get lucky.

If you want to catch cutthroat, fish Yocum and the lakes along the Little Pend Oreille chain. You have a good chance to take a limit of 9- to 12-inchers.

Best choices in the Columbia Basin are Blue and Park on and near Sun Lakes State Park. The two big lakes are loaded with rainbows that average nearly 12 inches long.

Top producers in Okanogan and Douglas counties should be Conconully Lake and Reservoir, Big Twin, Wannacut, Fish, Long, Round and Jameson. Yearling rainbows are 10 to nearly 12 inches long.

Specially managed waters

It looks as though Amber, Dry Falls, Ell, Aeneas, Blue (Sinlahekin) and Chopaka may be the most popular selective-gear or fly fishing-only waters.

For the more than 150 anglers, who last weekend fished Amber, a selective-gear lake, the fishing was a little disappointing. Although most caught numerous fish, the rainbows were smaller than expected with the average only 13 inches.

Scores of fly fishers descended on Bayley, a fly fishing-only lake on the Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge, but most were disappointed. Only a few caught big fish.

Chopaka, Aeneas, Blue (Sinlahekin) and Ell should be popular the next few weeks. Aeneas apparently was the top producer last weekend. Although fishing wasn’t fast at Blue, a selective-gear lake, fishers expect the lake to be a good producer of big rainbows and brown trout. Ell, another selective-gear lake, holds big, fat rainbows that average at least 16 inches long.

Kokanee

Based on what happened opening weekend at Loon Lake, it will be one of the most popular spots in Eastern Washington. Many trollers caught 10-fish limits of 10- to 13-inch kokanee.

Higher-than-usual water temperatures for this time of year apparently brought on midge hatches and the kokanee seem to be feeding on the tiny pupae fairly near the surface.

Joe Haley, manager of Granite Point Resort, recommended that anglers let out one to three colors of leaded line ahead of a long monofilament leader. Popular with successful trollers have been the Fisher Fly and Kokanee Killer baited with maggots or white corn.

A few mackinaw trout to 15 pounds were caught last weekend.

The kokanee in Chapman Lake also hit anglers’ trolled lures. However, most of the kokanee were only 9 inches long.

Trout, Idaho

A rainbow weighing 19 pounds, 10 ounces and caught by Dave Ivy was the biggest taken during opening weekend of the Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club’s spring fishing derby.

Largest mackinaw trout was a 20-pound, 1-ounce fish caught by Lynn Reese.

The rainbow took a J Fly off Maiden Point and the mack took a Rapala off the Monarchs.

Numerous rainbows and macks larger than 12 pounds were caught during the weekend and early this week. The derby will end Sunday evening. Anglers are fishing for $18,000 in cash prizes.

Several North Idaho lakes are yielding good-sized hatchery-raised trout, according to Justin Kimberling of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene. Among them are Fernan, Hauser, Kelso and Cocolalla.

Some of the biggest rainbows and browns have been caught at Cocolalla. Anglers have boated fish to 20 inches.

Salmon

Anglers started fishing for hatchery-produced chinook salmon along the mainstem Clearwater River and its North Fork this morning. The Idaho Fish and Wildlife Commission authorized the chinook fishing as the result of higher-than-expected returns of hatchery fish.

The Little Salmon River is tentatively scheduled to open May 12. The Clearwater’s South Fork and the Lochsa will open May 27.

Anglers can use artificial lures or flies only. Single barbless hooks are mandatory. The limit will be three chinooks daily, six in possession and a season total of 20.

Only chinooks with a clipped adipose fin can be kept.

The South Fork and the Lochsa River will open May 27.

With Lake Coeur d’Alene high and still off color, salmon didn’t respond as well to trollers’ lures last weekend as they did a few days earlier. Most of the chinooks caught were suspended in water 17 to 30 feet under the surface.

If you’ve been planning to fish the lower Columbia, now may be a good time. Boat anglers averaged a chinook per every 3.3 rods at Drano Lake last week. Drano is a big bay along the Columbia.

Indian lakes

North and South Twin and McGinnis lakes on the Colville Indian reservation have continued to yield limits to a high percentage of anglers.

Trollers have caught numerous 14- to 20-inch rainbows and brook trout at both North and South Twin. The brook trout in McGinnis average 14 inches and are somewhat skinny, but in good shape.

Turkeys

Reports indicate this will be the best season ever in Eastern Washington. Hunters have tagged scores of gobblers in Stevens, Ferry and Lincoln counties in the northeast corner and in Asotin, Garfield, Columbia and Walla Walla counties in the southeast.

Some of the best hunting has been along the breaks of Lake Roosevelt in north Lincoln County and western Stevens County.

Most hens have laid their eggs and the gobblers are wandering around looking for hens that haven’t been bred. Hunters say the gobblers have become extremely wary and are difficult to call.

Idaho’s Panhandle opened for the general season Monday. Some hunters have reported the gobblers, most of which have been hunted by those holding special tags, are wary.

Trout, Montana

The Clark Fork River in the St. Regis area and Rock Creek have been responding to fly fishers’ offerings, but the fishing hasn’t been outstanding as the result of high and off-color water.

Spiny rays

You can catch a lot of walleyes at Sprague Lake, but you’ll have to catch several small ones for every keeper, Monika Metz, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, said.

Most of the walleyes being caught are less than 18 inches, an indication the population of walleyes may be in good shape. Keeper fish must be 18 inches or larger and a few anglers have caught two or three during a day’s fishing.

Anglers have been catching crappies on small jigs below bobbers at Hayden Lake and the Twin lakes, Kimberling said.

Smallmouth bass fishing has been good at Hayden and Coeur d’Alene lakes and largemouths have been hitting Jig n’Pigs and crankbaits at Spirit and the Twin lakes.