Hunting and Fishing

Fri., May 27, 2005

The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

» Everything you could possibly want to know when planning a hunting trip in Idaho is available in one location on the Internet. Idaho Hunt Planner provides answers to questions from "Where can I hunt mule deer?" to "Where are the boundaries of Unit 36B" to "How much will a two-bed motel room in Riggins cost me?" System features include Hunt Finder, which allows you to get information about specific hunts without sorting through multiple pages in the rules brochure. It also features Map Center, which allows you to zoom in on any point in Idaho and check everything from topography to land ownership. It even allows you to make your own maps. Idaho Hunt Planner can be accessed at: fishandgame.idaho. gov/ifwis/hunterinfo

Braggin' rights

» Since 1990, the pikeminnow program has removed more than 2.3 million northern pikeminnow from the Columbia and Snake rivers, resulting in an estimated 25 percent reduction in pikeminnow predation on juvenile salmon.

Overheard

» Live leeches have accounted for some good catches of Sprague Lake walleye. Anglers are advised to just throw them out and let them do their thing. Leeches are available at White's and at Northside Fishing.

Heads up

“Idaho hunters who plan to apply for big-game controlled hunts have until Tuesday. The Idaho Fish and Game licensing division is advising hunters to apply as soon as possible to avoid the possibility of bogging down the computer licensing system.

“Rivers throughout Washington will open for trout fishing on Wednesday. The daily limit on rivers and streams is two trout of at least 8 inches. An exception in the region is the Little Pend Oreille River, where up to five Eastern brook trout of any size can be harvested. Also Wednesday, stretches of the Skagit and Skykomish rivers open to fishing for hatchery spring chinook salmon.

“In-season run analyses predict that 5,500 chinook are en route to the Icicle River n Chelan County. As a result, the Icicle, from 400 feet upstream of the mouth to 500 feet downstream of the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery rack, will open Saturday. Daily limit will be two salmon, minimum size 12 inches. Night closure and non-buoyant lure restrictions will be in effect.

Salmon and steelhead

Coeur d’Alene chinook are hitting the usual offerings – helmeted herring and Mini Squid in 30-40 feet of water.

Spring chinook are being caught on the Clearwater near Orofino, said Rick Hedding of Family Christian Angler. He said the water is dropping and fish are still coming, so it should hold up. His best success has come on a sardine-wrapped M2 Flatfish. Buana’s Guide Service’s Phil Amsden of Spokane said he’s caught fewer fish when there were five times as many in the river. He and his clients limited four consecutive days last week from midriver up to Orofino using eggs or Kwikfish. He said there is not much pressure and the salmon run 8-15 pounds.

Spring chinook fishing effort has been dropping on such rivers as the Cowlitz, Elochoman, Kalama, Lewis, White Salmon and Wind. Drano Lake is also not getting much pressure. Bank anglers in the mainstem Grays upstream to the mouth of the West Fork and in the West Fork did well on hatchery spring chinook last week.

On Tuesday, to mitigate fish loss from the Snake River dams, tanker trucks transported 400,000 subyearling fall chinook from the Lyons Ferry Hatchery to the release site on the Grande Ronde River, a couple of miles below the Oregon border. Snake River fall chinook juveniles have been released at several other locations. In all, more than 4 million yearling or subyearling chinook salmon will be released into the Snake River system this year.

Trout and kokanee

Trout fishing is holding up at nearly all Spokane area put-and-take lakes, but WDFW biologist Chris Donley singled out Williams, Fishtrap, Badger, Fish and West Medical. The cutts and rainbow in Williams run 12-14 inches with fish up to 24 inches. A friend and I dunked worms in front of the Winona Beach Resort dock on Waitts Lake Tuesday, taking five 10-inch rainbow, one 14-inch brown, and a dozen 9- to 11-inch perch.

May is the month for stocking fry in the trout managed lakes. If they are only 2-3 inches long, as they are in lakes such as Badger and Williams, they are not a huge problem. However, the cutthroat trout that go into some of the northern lakes are about 5 inches and can be a pain for anglers.

On Roosevelt, trollers are taking some big rainbow at 22-25 feet from White Rock to the dam. The San Poil Arm and Swawilla Basin have given up a few kokanee for surface trollers.

Lake Chelan mack anglers are catching around one lake trout per hour per boat. There has been a scattering of bigger fish to keep things interesting. Kokanee fishing on Chelan is prime, with fish running mostly 9-10 inches. Also near Chelan, 13- to 16-inch Roses Lake rainbow are falling to rainbow-colored Power Bait on a 40-inch slip sinker rig.

At Dworshak Reservoir in Idaho, park manager Mike Betrick said all boat launches and campgrounds are open. Kokanee fishing has been good for 8- to 10-inch fish with a few up to 15 inches. He suggests launching at Big Eddy near the dam or Bruce’s Eddy on the south end. Try Mary’s Bay, Canyon Creek or the mouth of Elk Creek. There has also been a lot of action under Dent Bridge, which is about 15 miles up the reservoir. There is a campground and launch there.

Coeur d’Alene kokanee are the big Idaho story, with fish averaging close to a foot. Concentrate on the south end near Windy Bay and East Point, by Harrison, or near Arrow Point and Squaw Bay on the north end. The fish have been relatively shallow, with some anglers taking their fish trolling mono down to 10 feet.

Spiny ray

Silver Lake in Spokane County has been a disappointment for trout this year, but it offers some great largemouth fishing, as well as crappie and bluegill.

The Snake River is still high but dropping slowly. If it doesn’t rain for a while, sturgeon and smallmouth fishing should pick up again. Bass fishing is good in the Clarkston area’s Granite Lake.

Banks is still slow for large walleye, although a lot of small fish are being caught. Barker Flats has been good. Doug Holcomb at Northside Fishing said there are some jumbo perch available at Banks, particularly near The Million Dollar Mile. He said 12-inch fish weighing a pound are not unusual.

Potholes is not giving up walleye the way it did last year, although the smallmouth angling has been excellent. Moses Lake walleyes have moved off into deeper water and fishing is good. Kettle River walleye are biting well. At Valley White Elephant, John Kallas noted that trout trollers are picking up a few large walleye in the Seven Bays area. The area known as “The Dalles,” near China Bend, is still productive.

Smallmouth fishing is good on Coeur d’Alene, and largemouth have been banging plastics on Spirit and Twin. Pike averaging 3-5 pounds are fairly common at Killarney, with the occasional fish to 17 pounds. Pike and smallmouth fishing is good at Hayden.

Crappie are still biting on Eloika Lake, Long Lake near Forshees resort, at Ayer’s Junction southwest of the Palouse River and in the slough at Central Ferry. The Central Ferry fish have some shoulders on them this year

Other species

Around 80,000 shad had been counted at Bonneville Dam on Wednesday. Oddly, well more than twice that had been counted at The Dalles. Obviously, a lot of fish are sneaking through the locks rather than using the fish ladders. A good shad rig is chartreuse or pink shad dart with a gold hook.

The lower Columbia and the Columbia River pools experienced slower sturgeon fishing last week. Smallmouth bass in the same water was also down slightly, with anglers averaging about a half-dozen each. On the Snake River near Starbuck, however, sturgeon fishing has been good above Little Goose Dam and particularly below the Lyons Ferry Fish Hatchery. At Darver Tackle, Verna Foley noted a number of keepers have been taken by both bank and boat anglers. Foley noted that catfishing on her part of the Snake has been slow, but smallmouth fishing is excellent. Info: 1-866-578-3808.

Hunting

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission approved the harvest of 440 sandhill cranes this year. Permits will be available in four Idaho counties – 300 to hunters in Caribou and Bear Lake counties, 70 in Teton County and 70 in Fremont County. Crane season will run from Sept. 1-15.