Salmon and steelhead

Herring and dodgers are taking most of the chinook at the mouth of the Okanogan, said guide Rod Hammons of R&R Guide Service in Brewster, Wash. He said Wells Dam can be good if you are there when a fresh batch of fish moves upstream. If not, it’s slow. The Budweiser-Lowrance Salmon Derby begins Saturday.

The Lake Washington sockeye run was larger than expected, prompting the WDFW to extend the season through July 26. “We will continue to assess the strength of this year’s sockeye return and monitor the catch to see if we can provide anglers another opportunity to go fishing on Lake Washington,” said Tim Flint, WDFW salmon resource manager. “If the run size allows for an additional recreational opportunity, the fishery could occur again early next week.”

The fall steelhead harvest season started in Lewiston Tuesday, but only on the Clearwater from its mouth to the Memorial Bridge on U.S. Highway 12, and runs through Dec. 31. The rest of the Clearwater above the Memorial Bridge is open from Oct. 15 through Dec. 31.

Through Thursday, salmon fishing is open five days a week at Ilwaco, Westport, Ocean Shores, LaPush and Neah Bay, but anglers fishing in those areas can only keep one chinook as part of their two-salmon daily limit. Beginning Aug. 11, salmon anglers along the Washington coast will be able to fish seven days a week and keep up to two chinook per day.

From July 24 through last Sunday, Ilwaco anglers averaged 1.4 salmon per rod, 82 percent of which were coho. Through Sunday, an estimated 22.3 percent of the coho quota had been taken. Westport has been mostly slow, but anglers who venture more than 25 miles out say they are seeing a lot more fish.

With the majority of the summer chinook run above Bonneville Dam, the salmon catch rates have slowed, but the steelhead catch rates are steadily improving. Kalama River bank anglers are catching some steelhead, as are Lewis River boat anglers in the mainstem and North Fork. On the White Salmon River, anglers are taking a few fish, and Drano Lake has seen some good steelhead catches. Steelhead and summer chinook are also showing on the Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam, but the best fishing has been from the mouth of the Cowlitz downstream.

Trout and kokanee

It is definitely an early-morning and late-evening show at area trout lakes. Night fishing can be excellent. West Medical, Fishtrap and Badger are giving up a few trout during the day, but fishing improves considerably when the sun goes down. Anglers at Loon Lake this week have had sizzling kokanee action most nights at around 30 feet, and those fishing 5 feet shallower are picking up a lot of rainbow 10-18 inches.

Marshall Lake cutthroat are not biting as fast as they were a month ago, but they are still biting, especially for trollers. The bigger cutts are a fat 14-16 inches. Smaller fish are 8-11 inches. Nearby North Skookum Lake is giving up brookies and some big rainbow.

Rainbow are hitting at Roosevelt if you get down deep enough. A lot of fish are coming out of 30-40 feet of water from Seven Bays to Split Rock. The silver bite has finally become interesting on Roosevelt and Banks lakes, and they are large enough to make you wonder why you’d consider driving to the coast.

In Lake Chelan, kokanee are mostly out of the lower basin and the lake trout fishery is slowing down. On Montana’s Koocanusa Reservoir, kokanee fishing is hot and anglers are also beginning to catch a lot of rainbow. At Koocanusa Resort and Marina, Randy Burch said kokes have added a lot of length since June, with many fish running 10-12 inches.

Fly fishermen have slimmer pickings when the weather gets this warm, but Sean Visintainer at Silver Bow Fly Shop suggested trying smaller, shaded tributaries such as the St. Joe, Kelly Creek, the Lachsaw and the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene. Attractor patterns as well as ants and grasshoppers should work.

Spiny ray

This has been a banner year on Banks Lake for smallmouth and walleye. Because of its depth, the bite there remains strong. Moses Lake and Potholes are still tough for walleye, but the bass fishing at Potholes has been excellent, and anglers fishing shallow water (less than 10 feet) early and late do pick up some nice walleyes.

Friends casting plugs on Waitts Lake in the evening report catching many largemouth to 3 pounds. Loon Lake can be good for large perch and bullheads in 20-25 feet of water if you can find weeds at that depth.

There have been scattered reports of decent walleye fishing on Roosevelt near Hunters, and smallmouth angling remains good throughout the system.

At Boggan’s Oasis on the Grande Ronde, Bill Vail said smallmouth fishing has been sensational.

Other species

The pikeminnow fishery on the Snake has slowed, but anglers near Boyer Park caught 1,465 last week, including two tagged $500 fish.