Hunting and Fishing

Hunters who don’t bag a turkey before the spring season closes can use their tag during the week-long, fall turkey hunt, which in northeast units has changed from a permit-only season to one for all hunters with valid tags. Up to two turkeys can be harvested per year in eastern Washington, but only one can be taken during the fall hunt.

Washington deer hunters who want a chance for a second deer this fall have two new opportunities in this region to consider when applying for special hunting permits May 15 through June 20. Four hundred second-antlerless-whitetail-deer tags are available in portions of Game Management Unit 105 (Kellyhill) in Stevens County. The goal is to reduce whitetail deer numbers in parts of the “Wedge,” the area between State Route 395 on the west and State Route 25 on the east. Permit application is open to modern firearm, archery and muzzleloading hunters, although muzzleloaders will only be able to hunt during a special late season, Dec. 16-31, since there are no general muzzleloader seasons in that unit.

Another new, second-antlerless-whitetail-deer permit opportunity is in portions of GMU 162 (Dayton) and GMU 163 (Marengo) in the Blue Mountains. The “Columbia” hunt offers 150 permits in an area of mostly private land where deer damage is a problem. As with other second-deer-permit hunts in the region, both these new opportunities require applicants whose names are drawn to purchase a second deer license and tag within 15 days of notification.

Trout

Many of the trout waters that produced limits on season openers are continuing to provide steady fishing, including Amber, Badger, Clear, Coffeepot, Fish, Fishtrap, and Williams lakes. West Medical is still hot, and Medical Lake browns are biting, too.

Sprague is regarded mostly as a producer of walleye, bass and other spiny-rayed fish, but the lake holds some big rainbow and they are on the bite. One group of three Spokane anglers trolled bottom walkers in the middle of the lake for walleye this week, catching one 20-inch walleye and eight rainbow that averaged three pounds each.

The chain of lakes off the Tiger highway between Colville and Ione are fishing very well. Bayley and McDowell are giving up some large trout. Take your camera, says Jan Sadlo at Blue Dunn Fly Shop in Spokane. He also says that Chopaka Lake just west of Oroville is starting to turn on. Chopaka is known for its unbelievable mayfly hatches.

Loon Lake resident, Red Crass, reports the net pens maintained by the Loon Lake Home Owner’s Association and the Loon Lake Loon Association just released 15,000 nine-inch rainbow from the net pens at Granite Point. He was particularly excited, though, about the 14-22-inch carryover rainbow showing up all over the lake. “They’re beautiful fish,” he says, “very thick.”

Newman Lake still holds some big rainbow, and Waitts Lake carryover browns and rainbow are 15-18 inches. Waitts has a lot of 7-9-inch planters, which will grow quickly as the weather warms.

On lake Pend Oreille, kams 3-5 pounds are fairly common, and the mack bite at Priest is good.

Kokanee

Dworshak Reservoir has been good for kokanee up to 12 inches, Loon Lake trollers are taking lots of 9-10-inch fish, and Coeur d’Alene anglers are finding 11-12-inchers by moving around.

In Montana, Lake Mary Ronan opens Saturday, and Koocanusa kokes are running 6-12 inches.. At Koocanusa Resort and Marina, Randy Burch says plenty of fish are being caught up high now, but the bite really gets good around Memorial Day. The daily limit has been increased to 35 kokes per day with 70 in possession.

Salmon

Although two stretches of the Snake River closed May 8 to spring chinook salmon fishing due to a lower-than-expected return run, the Idaho boundary water fishery remains open from the Lewiston/Clarkston Southway Bridge upstream to the concrete boat ramp at Heller Bar. Salmon fishing there, however, is slow, according to Glen Mendel, WDFW district fish biologist, and anglers are averaging 40 hours of effort per fish caught. “When fishing opened April 24 the river was low,” Mendel said, “but now with spring run-off, flows are high and fishing is more difficult.” Tim Johnson at Fishhawk Guides, on the other hand, has had some success, particularly above Lewiston. He said the Clearwater was dirty, too, at mid-week, but dropping fast. The water near Orofino has fished best.

WDFW Fish Biologist Eric Anderson says that Yakima River chinook fishing is very good. The open stretch of the Yakima River runs from the Highway 223 Bridge at Granger upstream to 3,500 feet below Roza Dam at the “closed water” boundary markers.

The mainstem Columbia River is closed to spring chinook fishing, but several tributaries are providing anglers continuing opportunity. The Cowlitz, the Kalama, and the Wind Rivers have been fair, and a few steelhead have also been taken from the Cowlitz and the Kalama. The Lewis River has fished a little better, with anglers averaging a half salmon each near the hatchery.

Drano Lake, the White Salmon River, and the Klickitat were decent last week. Catches on the Klickitat improved as the water cleared.

Spiny ray

Eloika Lake bass appear to be in the middle of the spawn. Last week, two females over seven pounds were taken, one with eggs and one spawned out. Crappie, too, are going to their beds. The males are already in shallow water, with the larger females in deeper water waiting to come into the shallows. Eloika now has a limit on crappie—10 a day over nine inches.

Walleye fishing has been relatively poor on Banks. It is the smallmouth that are providing the most action now. Lou Nevsimal, conservation project manager for the Washington Bass Federation, says the smallies are setting up in classic spawning areas, with the larger females in 8-12-feet of water. Tubes, grubs, and small worms are most effective. The Roosevelt smallmouth bite is also turning on.

At Four Seasons Campground on Sprague Lake, Scott Haugen says channel cats between 8 and 13 pounds are still coming in. Don’t overlook Sprague for walleye, either.

Other species

The Columbia River from the mouth to the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line opens to retention of sturgeon seven days a week beginning May 15. The minimum size in this area will be 45 inches.

Shrimping in Hood Canal will be open May 15, 19, 22 and 26 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This increasingly popular fishery produces some of the nicest spotshrimp catches in the state. Additional openings for May 29 or June 2 will depend on May catch rates, and will be announced after May 26.

Seasons for both halibut and lingcod are open from Ilwaco to Neah Bay. Although fishing for both species has been good out of Westport and Ilwaco since the first week of May, the recent halibut opening in marine areas 3 (La Push) and 4 (Neah Bay) offers anglers the chance to “supersize” their catch. “We see people catch halibut in excess of 100 pounds every year at the `Garbage Dump’ and other prime spots off the north coast,” said Scott Barbour, WDFW fish biologist.