Hunting & Fishing

Steelhead

The Ringold area of the Columbia River will be opened to steelhead fishing Oct. 1.

The Fish and Wildlife Department said that a 32-mile section of the river from the U.S. Highway 395 at Pasco to the old Hanford Townsite wooden powerline towers will be opened.

Only hatchery steelhead with missing adipose or ventral fin clips may be retained. Wild steelhead must be released. The daily limit will be two.

Approximately 3,000 Wells stock hatchery steelhead released from the Ringold Springs rearing ponds are expected to turn to the section, the department announced. Most of the fish will be concentrated in the Ringold areas.

The section to be opened doesn’t include the Hanford Reach area where anglers are fishing for fall chinook salmon.

The steelhead run up the Columbia River and its tributaries now totals more than 260,000. About 85,000 have climbed the fish ladders at McNary Dam and nearly 40,000 now are above Lower Granite.

Although there have been enough steelhead in the Snake for fair to good fishing, especially in the vicinity of Lower Monumental and Little Goose dams, the fishing has been spotty. One of the possible reasons is that water temperatures are still a little too high for excellent fishing.

Steelhead fishing has been good at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers and in the lower Clearwater. Many steelhead have been staying in the lower Clearwater awaiting lower temperatures in the Snake.

The best fishing for steelhead is when water temperatures are below 62 degrees. Prime temperatures are between 50 and 55 degrees.

The Snake and the Grande Ronde have been running at higher than 62 degrees on sunny afternoons.

Salmon

More than 55,000 chinook salmon are in the Columbia River above McNary Dam. However, salmon anglers had poor luck last week and during the weekend in the Hanford Reach.

Air temperatures in the Reach area last week hit more than 90 degrees during mid-day hours. Anglers said they cooked as they drifted and back-trolled their lures.

When the salmon didn’t bite, they blamed the water temperatures. If they’re right, salmon fishing will be outstanding when the temperature is in the 50s.

The prime time to catch the “upriver bright salmon is the last week of September and the first two weeks of October. Expect to see scores of boats on the Columbia between Priest Rapids Dam and the White Bluffs.

Most anglers are drifting and back trolling Blue Fox spinners and Magnum Wart plugs. Many, however, are drifting salmon eggs and other bait through salmon traveling lanes.

Upland birds

Chukar partridge hunting was poor to fair along the mid-Snake and Salmon rivers during the first few days of the partridge and quail seasons in the Lewiston region. However, quail and gray (Hungarian) partridge hunting was excellent.

Rod Parker of Lewiston, public relations representative for the Idaho Fish and Game Department, said the 73,000-acre Maloney Creek fire in last August chased chukar partridges out of good bird areas near the confluence of the Snake and Salmon rivers.

Chukar hunting was fairly good along the lower Snake River canyon and the lower Clearwater River.

Big game

Hunters are continuing to pursue elk, deer and bear in the region.

Archers are tagging some deer and elk in North Idaho and Washington hunters who have been hunting trophy buck deer in the Cascades have until Tuesday to tag bucks.

Bear hunting is under way in both Washington and Idaho. Washington hunters can kill bobcats and cougars through March 15.

Trout, Montana

Trout fishing couldn’t be much better than it is now at several Missoula area streams, Paul Koller, owner of the Missoulian Angler, reported.

“The fish continue to cooperate with fly fishermen on a huge scale, he said. “Fishing activity is back to normal, with only a few callers wondering whether the rivers have been reopened to fishing.

“With fishing this good, he said, “it may well be this could be the best fall in a long time. Great hatches with big fish gulping Hatch Masters and on sunny days hopper and chernobyl tossing produces bunches of fish.

He said Mahogany Dun and Baetis mayflies, as well as caddisflies, are hatching along Rock Creek. The Clark Fork comes alive in the afternoons, he said. He recommended small flies for the big fish.

Both the Bitterroot and the Big Blackfoot are producing big fish, he said.

Kokanee

Kokanee fishing has been excellent at Lake Coeur d’ Alene, Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop, reported.

The 14-inch kokanee are now 20 to 40 feet deep and are scattered throughout the lake, he said. Most anglers are trolling Wedding Rings and other popular lures behind 00 to 0000 dodgers.

Popular spots have been Squaw, Bennett and Mica bays and off Arrow Point.

The kokanee are still in good condition, he said, but are starting to get a little slimy. They should be in good condition for at least 10 more days.

Trout, Idaho

Big fish in Lake Pend Oreille are on the prowl, Ed Dickson, operator of the Diamond Charters, reported.

“We’ve had as many as 30 hookups a day, with fish in the 5- to 7-pound class being the most prominent, he said. “But we’ve had fish up to 15 pounds in the boat and lost way too many as the result of fisherman error.

He said the big fish are showing up on the graph at 67 to 87 feet. Some are even coming to the top in the evenings.

Best lures have been Flashy Flies and Apexes. Pink has been the best color for plugs and amber white or pink and white behind blue flashers have been the best for flies.

The Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe continue to produce good fishing.

Smith said fly fishing has been outstanding along the Coeur dAlene River above Yellowdog Creek. Fly fishers have caught and released 10- to 16-inch cutthroat on Blue Winged Olive mayflies and orange-body Stimulators.

If you go to the St. Joe, you no longer will have much competition from other anglers. A Spokane fly fisher spent three days on the St. Joe last week and saw only a few other anglers. He said he hooked and released numerous cutthroat to 16 inches above and below Prospector Creek.

Some cutthroat spend the winter in the upper sections. Others migrate down to deep holes. He said he found migrating cutthroat several miles below Prospector Creek and hooked and released numerous fish.

Trout, Washington

Water temperatures have dropped, but not enough for outstanding fishing at Eastern Washington’s lakes. However, many lakes will be closed before the temperatures drop into the low 50s. Numerous lakes, many of them in the Columbia Basin, will be closed Sunday.

Numerous lakes will remain open. Check the regulations before fishing a lake if you don’t want to be ticketed by a wildlife agent.

All the selective gear and fly fishing-only lakes will remain open through this weekend. Among the best bets are Amber, Medical, Dry Falls, Ell, Aeneas and Chopaka.

Spiny rays

Sprague Lake is yielding lots of walleyes and bass, as well as a few perch, bluegills and crappies, according to Monika Metz, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort. Some fishermen also have been catching good-sized rainbows.

If you fish Sprague for walleyes, be sure to get your lure below the algae. At times, the algae bloom has made fishing at the lake difficult.