Hunting and Fishing

Salmon and steelhead

Verna Foley of Darver Tackle said there are still a few spawning salmon in the Tucannon, resulting in poor steelhead fishing. Verna was a fish counter at McNary Dam for many years. She notes that even before spawning, steelhead and salmon do not get along, with each species using separate fish ladders.

Steelhead fishing has been good above Heller Bar, mostly on the Oregon/Washington line, but it has been tough to put a keeper in the boat, said Tim Johnson of FishHawk Guides in Clarkston.

The Snake below Heller Bar is slow. Two guides fishing from Asotin to just below Heller Bar last Sunday each hooked three fish, all in a one-hour period when the sun came out. One was plugging and the other using bait.

The Snake above the Salmon is running 47 degrees. Below the Salmon, it is 44 degrees and the Clearwater is 37 degrees, much colder than this time last year. The flat flow for fall Chinook spawning ends Tuesday, so things could change on both the Snake and the Clearwater. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will change for the good.

On the Grande Ronde, fly-fishing is slow, but bait and plug anglers are taking 2-3 fish a day, both up and down the river from Boggan’s Oasis. The Grande Ronde is running at about 35 degrees, but on Wednesday, air temperature was in the low 40s.

The best steelheading is at Ringold, with one out of three fish being a keeper. The bite has been better later in the day. Successful anglers are drifting Corkies with shrimp or eggs.

Many 3- to 6-pound chinook are hitting the troll at Coeur d’Alene Lake, said Jeff Smith of Fins and Feathers. He recommends a mini squid and flasher or herring at 90 to 100 feet.

Trout

Winter trout lake Williams in Stevens County had a good Dec. 1 opener, according to District Fish Biologist Curt Vail. Boat and shore anglers all took limits, averaging three fish an hour. The fish are essentially three classes, with this year’s spring plants running to 10 inches, and carryovers running to 16. A lot of carryovers were taken. Vail noted that one angler trolling a fly on top seemed to be outfishing everyone. Hatch Lake, on the other hand, had skim ice covered with snow, and no one was fishing.

There were no reports from Hog Canyon or Fourth of July, but the fishing was expected to be fair on Hog Canyon and excellent on Fourth of July for trout exceeding 14 inches.

Lake Roosevelt is not a sure thing, but if you poke around a little, you’ll probably find fish. Shore anglers at Hawk Creek were making good catches on 16- to 17-inch rainbow this week, but the biggest catches were coming out of the Keller area. The San Poil arm has been dead, although a few kokanee have been taken, indicating that fishery may be picking up.

Fly fishermen did well at Rocky Ford over the Thanksgiving break using small scud patterns. Crab Creek near the Tokio exit has been fair for small trout. But the Spokane River is high and mostly unfishable.

For some really fine winter fly-fishing, Jan Sadlo of the Blue Dun suggested making the two-hour drive to St. Regis and the Clark Fork. He recently fished from St. Regis to Superior, changing tactics throughout the day – from streamers to nymphs to dries – and had excellent success.

Spiny ray

It is still possible to take northern pike from Coeur d’Alene, Hayden, or Cave by hanging dead herring or smelt below a bobber and probing the edges of whatever weed growth that’s left.

Walleye are going strong for both bank fishers and boat fishers near MarDon Resort on Potholes Reservoir. Some are also being taken in the spillways. Wild Eye jigs and blade baits are accounting for a lot of fish. Roosevelt walleyes, however, have developed lockjaw.

Other species

Clam diggers will have an opportunity to dig razor clams Dec. 10-12 if a second marine toxin test confirms that the clams are safe to eat. Four beaches – Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks – passed the first round of tests for domoic acid “with flying colors,” said Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager. For best results, Ayres advised diggers to start at least one hour before low tide, which is at 5:12 p.m. on Dec. 10, 6:01 p.m. on Dec. 11, and 6:49 p.m. on Dec. 12. All are minus tides.

Vernita Bridge whitefish 18 to 19 inches have cooperated this week.

Waterfowl

Delta Waterfowl president Rob Olson said almost all waterfowl have abandoned their spring nesting grounds in Canada and are heading south. Don’t get your hopes up about sky-blackening flights of ducks, however. The breeding population last spring was down 11 percent from 2003. The May pond count was down 24 percent from the previous year and 19 percent less than the long-term average. “There’s nothing in those numbers to suggest a banner fall flight,” said Olson.

In Idaho, there has been a recent buildup of waterfowl on the Coeur d’Alene system. All water is open, and there should be decent hunting the next couple of weeks.

Moses Lake is dropping, with the water pouring into Potholes Reservoir. This has resulted in higher than normal levels, and ducks are finding a lot of food and are spread out in the channels and dunes. If you don’t get on the X, shooting opportunities will be slim.

Upland birds

I haven’t shot at a gray partridge this year, but Tuesday afternoon I hunted a draw west of Spokane and put up a good number of holding pheasants and two huge coveys of quail. Although the snow definitely helped, it won’t take the birds long to get used to the white stuff.

Friends who hunted the top of the Snake River breaks above Lake Bryan on the weekend logged a lot of miles for few chukars. Your chances would be better on the Salmon River system in Idaho, where bird numbers are the highest in years.