Hunting and Fishing
Salmon and steelhead
Chinook anglers enjoyed a good opener at the mouth of the Okanogan and also below Wells Dam. There have been numerous reports of limits and 30-pound-plus fish. I talked to guide Ray Bailey on the water early Wednesday afternoon and he already had two big fish in the box. He says Bait Busters are outfishing everything. Info: (509) 725-8342.
After nearly a month of fishing, the ocean salmon season is still gaining momentum. During the week ending July 18, anglers made 9,623 trips and caught 12,218 salmon coastwide, the highest totals in both categories since fishing opened June 27. Those numbers are likely to rise higher after today, when anglers can fish seven days per week and retain two chinook per day at Ilwaco and Westport.
An estimated 13,800 anglers caught approximately 13,700 sockeye on Lake Washington during last Saturday’s fishery, said Tim Flint, WDFW statewide salmon manager. A similar one-day catch on Saturday would likely mean the end of recreational fishing opportunities for the year, he said.
When fall salmon fishing gets under way Aug. 1 in the lower Columbia River, anglers below Bonneville Dam will face a tighter chinook bag limit intended to keep the season running through December without interruption. This year only one adult chinook may be kept as part of each angler’s two adult salmon daily limit in the mainstem Columbia from the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line upstream to Bonneville Dam.
Fall salmon seasons also begin Aug. 1 on several Columbia River tributaries, including the Cowlitz, Toutle, Green, Kalama, Lewis, Washougal, Wind and Klickitat rivers and Drano Lake. The daily limits on those waters remain six salmon, no more than two of which may be adults. Up to two adult chinook may be retained. Any chinook, fin clipped or not, may be kept. Wild coho must be released in tributaries below Bonneville Dam.
Boat anglers sampled at the Blue Creek and Massey Bar Ramps on the Cowlitz River averaged a hatchery summer run steelhead per rod last week. On Drano Lake, anglers are catching summer run steelhead, and on the White Salmon River, there is sporadic summer run steelhead action. Chinook are reported rolling at the mouth in the early morning hours
On the lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam, boat anglers last week averaged a steelhead per every four rods while bank anglers averaged one per every seven rods. Most of the steelhead catch was observed from Kalama downstream. A few hatchery summer chinook were observed in the catch.
Catch rates of 1.2 salmon off Neah Bay and 1.45 salmon off LaPush were recorded last week. Catch figures for LaPush would have been higher if not for fog and rough seas, which limited fishing. Anglers fishing close to shore appeared to enjoy about the same success rates as those fishing farther out.
Trout and kokanee
The heat of the summer has slowed most trout fishing action throughout the region, says regional Fish Program Manager John Whalen. On the south end of Fishrap Lake, however, one angler reported “phenomenal fishing” drifting worms and marshmallows. He said there was no one else fishing, and judging by the number of evening rises, fly fishermen should also do well there. Up north, Marshall Lake cutthroat have maintained a consistent bite.
The mornings are fishing well on the Big Spokane. The evening caddis hatch, too, is producing good-sized rainbow. Angling has been tough on the Clark Fork and most of the other popular fly fishing rivers lately. Flows are generally below normal and clouds have kept the heat in and allowed little cooling at night. Look for the fishing to improve with clearer skies and colder nights. Fish early and late
In the Columbia Basin, WDFW district fish biologist Jeff Korth reports nice catches of rainbows coming from Blue Lake in the Sun Lakes chain.
On Lake Roosevelt, anglers are still taking rainbow and big kokanee in the Swawilla Basin. The larger rainbow are deep at 50 feet, but the kokes are even farther down—120-130 feet.
Coeur d’Alene kokanee are depth-sensitive and you need to experiment. Mostly, they are between 20 and 50 feet, but if you’re off by five feet, fishing will be slow. Double Whammies and Pro-Trolls with flashers are taking a lot of fish.
The kokanee bite is getting later for Loon Lake still-fishermen. I tried my luck at midweek with friend Jerry Hawkins, boating a total of 17 kokes and five trout about midway between Granite Point and the far north end. The fish didn’t start hitting until 11 p.m., and even then, the bite was slow. We did much better after moving into 32 feet of water. Some of the fish were running an honest 11 inches.
Spiny ray
The water level on Potholes Reservoir near Moses Lake is still dropping and more of the dunes are showing. Bass fishing has been excellent. There is better channel definition this week, allowing walleye trollers to better orient themselves in the primary channels.
Big perch are still available in 24-28 feet of water off the weed beds at Loon Lake. By sorting, an angler can take home all the 9- to 11-inch perch he wants to clean. The bite shuts off when it gets dark, but otherwise, time of day doesn’t seem to matter much.
The Snake River and its tributaries have been productive, especially at night, for smallmouth bass and pikeminnow. Whitman County’s Rock Lake and Spokane County’s Clear and Downs lakes are yielding some largemouth bass. Sprague Lake, on the Lincoln-Adams county line, is a good bet for walleye at night.
Other species
Bottom fishing has been good at Seiku near Tatoosh Island. Anglers have been loading up on tasty rockfish fillets while waiting for the second wave of salmon to enter the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The mouth of the Palouse River gave up over 30 channel cats recently to Ray Bailey and a boatload of kids. He said the fish were 2-6 pounds, and that they also threw back “lots of 10-14-inch bullheads.”
Hunting
Black bear hunting opens Aug. 1 across most of the state, except in northeast and Blue Mountains areas, which remain closed until Sept. 7. Cougar hunting also opens statewide Aug. 1.
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission recently approved two bighorn sheep tags for auction and lottery for 2005. The Foundation for North American Wild Sheep will auction a hunt in Unit 11, available in 2005. A Unit 11 hunt, considered among the best in North America, is available in odd-numbered years. For the second tag, lottery tickets will be sold. This year’s lottery drawing is set for 2 p.m. Wednesday.