Hunting and Fishing

Fri., Aug. 20, 2004

Alan Liere, Correspondent The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

» White shoe peg corn is an excellent bait for trout or kokanee, but an opened can becomes moldy in a short time. You can preserve your corn almost indefinitely by putting it in a plastic container, such as a screw-top vitamin bottle, filling the bottle with vodka and storing it in the refrigerator.

Braggin' rights

» James Parker of Coeur d' Alene has a long autumn afield before him. As the winner of Idaho Fish and Game's second Superslam Pak, he now holds tags for deer, elk, antelope and moose, which are valid for any open hunt for each species in the 2004 hunting season. Idaho's Superslam Pak has been nicknamed the "Divorce Ticket" for its potential to keep a big-game hunter in the field from September to the holidays. The two Superslam drawings raised more than $151,000 for Fish and Game's Access Yes! Program, which compensates willing landowners who provide access to private land or allows hunters and anglers to cross their land to get to public property.

Overheard

» Horseshoe Lake north of Spokane is giving up kokanee a foot long and bigger this summer. Since the resort on Horseshoe closed, the lake has been largely ignored.

Heads up

» Washington's Migratory Waterfowl and Upland Game Seasons pamphlet is hot off the press and available at local license vendors, or on WDFW Web site at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm /game/water/water.htm.

» The Reiter Ponds section of the Skykomish River opens to recreational fishing Saturday for all game fish. The Reiter Ponds Hatchery has collected enough summer steelhead brood stock to meet production needs. Public access through the Reiter Ponds Hatchery opens at 6 a.m.

» Because of the heat, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks requests anglers voluntarily limit fishing on the Blackfoot River and some of its tributaries until conditions improve. For details, go to www.fwp.state.mt.us and click on "Fishing."

Salmon and steelhead

“If I had to pick one time of the year to fish for salmon, this would be it,” said Steve Thiesfeld, Puget Sound recreational fishing manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “The next few weeks are prime time for salmon fishing in Washington State.”

At Buoy 10 at the mouth of the Columbia River, catches of fall chinook are picking up after a slow start earlier this month. Catches are also increasing farther up the mainstem river. A few hatchery coho are taking bait at Buoy 10, too, but they’re not expected to make an exceptionally large showing this year.

Fishing has also been good at Sekiu where thousands of feisty silver salmon are streaming into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Chinook catches at Westport began to improve last week, reports Joe Hymer, regional fish biologist.

Summer chinook and sockeye salmon fishing in the upper Okanogan River and the lower Similkameen River will run Sept. 1-19. The upper Columbia River returns are strong with 25,000 chinook and 75,000 sockeye passing Wells Dam by midweek.

Steelhead fishing is fair to good in the lower reach of the Clearwater with the colder water temperatures drawing the fish up from the Snake and providing some fantastic catch-and-release fishing. A few B-run fish are beginning to show.

The Clearwater is also open for catch-and-keep fishing from the confluence to the Memorial Bridge on adipose-clipped fish only. Because this stretch is slack water, best results will be had pulling plugs or soaking shrimp under a bobber. In the lower catch-and-keep area, night fishing produces more fish than at any time during the daylight hours. For those who learn the area, it can be fair to good.

Lake Wenatchee sockeye salmon are still biting, although the catch rate has slowed as more fish begin migrating upstream to spawn. The sockeye are starting to turn red, but the flesh is still good. The season will run through at least Aug. 22, and possibly to the end of the month. As of Aug. 15, the catch was estimated at 4,800 fish.

Good numbers of summer run steelhead are present near the mouth of the Wind River, but effort has been generally low. Boat anglers on Drano Lake averaged over a steelhead per rod last week. Some fall chinook are also being caught.

Bank anglers on the White Salmon River are catching chinook early morning or late evenings. Boat anglers are catching mainly summer run steelhead. Based on the difference between steelhead counts at Bonneville Dam and The Dalles Dam, over 100,000 fish are swimming somewhere in Bonneville Pool or its tributaries.

Trout and kokanee

Coeur d’Alene kokes are spread out but still biting. They will be schooling again soon, and when they do, the fishing should be red-hot for 12-inch fish.

Night fishing limits on Loon Lake kokes has been an automatic for my group of friends this summer. I was out twice this week. The first night, it took three hours to limit on fat 10-11-inch fish. The second time, I limited in a half hour, but several of the fish were but 8 inches long. If that is already the size of next year’s class, 2005 may see Loon Lake kokanee over a foot long by June.

On Deer Lake, a few large kokes are showing for night fishermen off the Salvation Army Beach.

Big Banks Lake kokanee are hitting trolled pink and pearl Apexes and Wedding Rings in 55-65 feet of water on the west shoreline in the southwest end of the lake. Because of frequent water turn-overs, Lou Nevsimal, Conservation Project Manager for the Washington Bass Federation, suspects Banks will never again be as good for kokes as the glory days of the ‘60s. The lake has been building a strong population for the past few years, though, and is better than most people think. Banks is also producing rainbow. They are suspended at 30-35 feet over 50-80 feet of water next to the vertical rock walls.

Roosevelt kokanee are still deep in front of Whitestone. The bite has slowed some.

Twin Lakes near Inchelium is getting an early-morning rainbow bite. The big Twin brookies should take off in September. A tribal permit but no state license is needed to fish Twin Lakes. Info: Dawn or Randy Hartman, (509) 722-3543.

Spiny ray

Newman Lake is giving up largemouth and some big (12 inches plus) crappie at the north end of the lake. Banks smallmouth are hitting plastic grubs with abandon, especially in the evening, and a few walleye are also coming in.

University High School teacher, Scott Sutherland fished north of Hunters on Wednesday for a walleye limit. He said the fishing was steady rather than fast and that the fish are not big. Sutherland also reported excellent smallmouth fishing off the rocks in the same area.

At Starbuck, Verna Foley at Darver Tackle reports “one very big sturgeon” caught below Lyons Ferry Fish Hatchery, as well as “lots of bass and catfish.” She says she has a good supply of coon shrimp and is gearing up for the steelhead season.

Pat Long, a guide from Clarkston, says the Snake River fishery is holding its own for small bass and sturgeon fishermen, even with river temperatures in the low to mid-70s. The best fishing is early and late, especially for the smallmouths. The bigger bass are showing some signs of activity, which will increase as the weather cools. Snake River guides say sturgeon fishing will pick up as we get closer to fall

Cougar Bay, Squaw Bay and the Harrison Slough on Lake Coeur d’Alene are still giving up northern pike. Don’t forget the steel leader!

Other species

The northernmost portion of Puget Sound opened Aug. 16 to crab fishing. The area includes the popular Bellingham and Point Roberts areas. Don Velasquez, WDFW shellfish biologist, says early reports from the recently opened area indicate good numbers of legal-sized crab. Crab fishing has remained strong throughout the Strait and Puget Sound, where All marine areas are open until further notice.

Hunting

In response to the loss of thousands of white-tailed deer last fall in the Clearwater Region, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game initiated a project this summer to investigate the transmission of the disease known as Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD). EHD is spread to deer by small gnats, which live and breed in the mud along the edges of standing water, especially if the water is enriched by animal manure. Late summer and early fall are the primary season for transmission for both EHD, and outdoor enthusiasts are encouraged to look for and report dead animals.

With the big-game archery season rapidly approaching, Idaho Fish and Game reminds hunters that the use of bait, including salt, to attract deer or elk for the purposes of hunting goes against fair chase ethics and is illegal. Washington does not have similar restrictions.