Hunting & Fishing

Partridges

Chukar hunting could be tough in Asotin County and perhaps other parts of Eastern Washington when the partridge season opens Sunday.

Both chukar and gray (Hungarian) partridges will be legal targets from Oct. 1 through Jan. 15. The daily limit is six chukars and six grays.

There have been conflicting reports about the size of the chukar population in Eastern Washington.

One Fish and Wildlife Department official, after seeing three large chukar broods in Steptoe Canyon in south Whitman County, concluded that the chukar population may be better than had been anticipated.

When I spent a day last week along the Snake River between Asotin and the mouth of the Grande Ronde and along the lower Ronde, I never saw a chukar or heard one. I’ve always heard chukars along the Ronde when I have fly fished the lower river, but the canyon didn’t echo with the typical “chuka-chuka” calls that fishers are used to hearing. I drove slowly along the road from Asotin to the Ronde’s mouth during the time when chukars traditionally leave the steep talus slopes to drink the Snake’s water. No birds showed themselves.

It’s still possible that there may be a lot of chukars along the Snake and Ronde. I was in the area following a nightlong rainstorm. As chukar hunters know, a rainstorm causes the birds to leave springs, creeks and rivers.

However, even after a rainstorm, I’ve heard chukars while I cast flies as I moved through steelhead drifts along the Ronde.

Hunters will know by Sunday afternoon whether the chukar population in that popular area is big enough to provide fair to good shooting.

Most experts agree that the Hungarian partridge population is a good one this year. The little gray bombshells have been spotted in good numbers in Whitman, Asotin, Columbia and Walla Walla counties.

Steelhead

The Snake River is filling up with steelhead. More than 70,000 have climbed the ladders at Ice Harbor Dam and are moving slowly up the Snake River. The count at Lower Granite has exceeded 40,000.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that water temperatures early this week were still a little too high for good fishing.

The Columbia at McNary Dam was 65 degrees. The Snake was 63 degrees at Ice Harbor and 70 degrees at Lower Granite.

Temperatures should be below 60 degrees, preferably in the 55-degree range, for the steelhead to become aggressive and readily take anglers’ lures.

However, fishermen have been catching steelhead above and below Lower Monumental and Little Goose dams, in the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake rivers, along the lower Clearwater and, occasionally above Asotin.

It’s possible that water temperatures may be a couple of degrees lower this weekend along the Columbia and Snake.

The steelhead run up the Columbia River system already is considerably larger than runs of the last 10 years or so. The Corps of Engineers has counted at least 270,000 at Bonneville Dam.

A 32-mile section of the Columbia River above Pasco will be opened to fishing for hatchery steelhead Sunday. All wild steelhead must be released.

The section is from the U.S. Highway 395 bridge at Pasco to the old Hanford townsite wooden powerline towers. It does not include the river above the White Bluffs launch site.

The limit will be two steelhead a day.

Salmon

At least 60,000 “upriver bright” chinook salmon are along the Columbia above Pasco and most are in the Hanford Reach section between the White Bluffs launch area to the Priest Rapids Dam. With water temperatures still above 60 degrees along the Columbia, the salmon are still not striking lures often enough to satisfy most fishermen. However, a few experts have caught the limit every time they’ve drifted and backtrolled Blue Fox spinners and backtrolled Magnum Warts.

Fishing pressure in the Hanford Reach has been extremely heavy, probably the heaviest its ever been. Anglers have been fishing for the chinooks in every type of boat, including 12-foot cartoppers.

The next few days are the best time to fish for the chinooks in the Reach. The section will be full of chinooks getting ready to spawn and the fish will be in fairly good condition for eating.

The Fish and Wildlife Department said anglers in southwest Washington are focusing on coho salmon in the lower Columbia River tributaries. Hot spots are the Cowlitz, Toutle and Lewis rivers, with adult and jack coho being caught in good numbers.

On Sunday, the daily limit will be increased to six hatchery coho. Coho salmon are taking anglers’ lures in the Sekiu and Port Angeles areas. Most fish are 5 to 6 pounds.

The lower Yakima River is now open to fishing for coho and fall chinook salmon fishing. The open area includes the river from Highway 240 bridge at Richland to 400 feet below Prosser Dam and from the eastbound lane of Interstate 82 bridge at Union Gap to 400 feet below Roza Dam. The limit is two salmon a day.

Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene, said that 6- to 8-pound chinooks have been hitting anglers ‘ lures regularly. He said he guided three clients one day; the men caught three chinooks before 9 a.m.

The most productive fishing is off Arrow Point and in front of Carlin Bay in 85 to 100 feet of water.

Turkeys

Most of the 405 hunters who drew permits to hunt either hens or gobblers in Eastern Washington will be in turkey country Sunday, each hoping to fill his or her tag.

The five-day hunt will end on Thursday. Most of the permits were issued for hunting turkeys in the Spokane region.

Idaho Panhandle hunters will have to wait until Oct. 20. The Idaho Fish and Game Department issued 500 permits for the fall season in the Panhandle.

The Clearwater and Southwest regions were opened to turkey hunting Sept. 15. The state issued 200 permits for the Clearwater region and 250 for the Southwest region.

With turkey populations at an alltime high in both states and hunters permitted to shoot either a tom or a hen, the hunter success rate is expected to be high.

Spiny rays

If you want to catch lots of big perch, fish Moses Lake. Fisheries biologist Jeff Korth of Ephrata said the perch fishing, somewhat slow during the hot summer months, has improved dramatically.

He said fishing for the perch, some of them 15 inches long, “has really turned on. Most of the perch are 8 to 12 inches long.” Anglers are continuing to catch small perch at the Potholes Reservoir. Walleye fishing has been slow.

Bass fishing has been excellent at Coeur d’Alene and Hayden lakes, Smith said.

He recommended fishing the lower end of Coeur d’Alene Lake and the lower St. Joe River for largemouth bass and the upper end of Coeur d’Alene for the smallmouths.

He said anglers, using a Carolina rig and plastic worms, have been hooking and releasing 20 to 30 smallmouths a day at Coeur d’Alene. Anglers who have been fishing Hayden have been using the same rigs and fishing the deep weed edges.

Trout, Washington

Saturday is the last day to fish for trout at numerous Eastern Washington lakes, including the lakes in the Pillar-Widgeon chain. However, many lakes remain open until Oct. 31 or Nov. 30 and several yearround lakes are good bets for rainbows and browns.

Water temperatures have dropped and trout that sulked in deep water during the hot weather are starting to gorge themselves on midge pupae, scuds and leeches.

A few selective gear and fly fishing-only lakes will be popular the next few weeks. They include Dry Falls, Ell, Aeneas, Blue and Chopaka, all of interest primarily to fly fishers.

However, the Potholes Reservoir and Moses Lake are yielding rainbows that average 2 pounds.

Incidentally, the public access area at North Silver Lake was closed Monday and will remain closed until Oct. 15. The closure is the result of an agreement with Terry McNabb, owner of the property. McNabb wanted the access area closed so that he could hunt waterfowl without fly fishers on the water.

Insect hatches along the Yakima River are bringing trout to the top, Steve Worley of the Worley Bugger Fly Co. reported. Trout are keying in on big female stoneflies that are returning to the river to lay their eggs. October caddisflies also are starting to hatch.

Several mayfly species, including the Blue-winged Olives, also are hatching.

Trout, Idaho

Anglers are starting to jig for mackinaw trout at Priest Lake, Smith said. The most popular area has been Cavanaugh Bay. Anglers use three-quarter ounce to 1-ounce jigs with Hootchie skirts baited with sucker or perch meat.

Most of the macks are 3 to 8 pounds.

Fly fishing has been fantastic along portions of the Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe rivers. Smith said that fly fishers, casting imitations of the Blue-winged Olive mayflies, have been hooking and releasing large numbers of cutthroat along the upper Coeur d’Alene.

A Spokane fly fisher reported excellent fishing along the St. Joe below Prospector Creek.

Trout, Montana

If you’re planning to fish any of the trout streams in the Missoula area, keep in mind that the most productive fishing will be during cloudy days. Fishing was fairly good along most rivers this week, but hatches occurred late in the day.

Be prepared with plenty of imitations of the Mahogany Dun and Baetis mayflies and October Caddis. However, you can do well with such attractor patterns as Adams, Royal Wulffs, Stimulators and Elk Hair Caddis.

Fishing along the Clark Fork, Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers and Rock Creek has been excellent since the streams were reopened to fishing. Fishing pressure has been light.

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department this week reopened the lower 72.7 miles of the Big Hole River to fishing. The section was closed Aug. 12 to protect wild brown and rainbow trout as the result of extremely low water. The agency last week reopened the Jefferson River to fishing.

Big game

The general elk season in backcountry game management units in North Idaho will be opened during the next few days.

For Selway units 16A, 17, 19 and 20 will be opened Sunday. Units 8, 8A, 11A, 14, 15 and 16 will be opened Oct. 3.