Hunting+Fishing

Local tributaries of the Snake River are in excellent condition for steelhead fishing, reported WDFW fish biologist Joe Bumgarner of Dayton. Anglers are averaging just 21/2 hours per steelhead on the Tucannon River, just more than three hours per fish on the Walla Walla and about five hours per fish on the Touchet River.

The Clearwater River system is still giving up steelhead, with the North Fork Clearwater showing the best angler success per hour and the Clearwater proper seeing the most anglers.

Steelheading on the Columbia near Brewster, Wash., is fair, but the well-known holes are getting pounded. Bobbers and jigs tipped with shrimp are the ticket. The fish are in good shape with the females starting to put on weight.

Blackmouth anglers have had some success recently in parts of the North Sound area, where Marine Areas 7 and 9 opened on Feb. 1. Four more marine areas, which include Seikiu, the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, Tacoma-Vashon and Hood Canal, will open for blackmouth fishing Thursday.

Western Washington’s swollen rivers have finally started to subside, giving steelhead anglers another chance to catch some fish. The best bet is probably the Olympic Peninsula, where the streams are dropping into shape and visibility is improving. At least one early chinook salmon, as well as some nice steelhead, have been caught in the Sol Duc River in recent days. Starting March 1, anglers can keep up to two marked adult chinook caught below the Sol Duc Hatchery and on the Quillayute River. The limit on wild steelhead is one per year. If you want to catch and keep steelhead, the Cowlitz and Kalama rivers are your best bet, because they have late-running hatchery stocks and are dropping back into shape.

The state’s oldest salmon derby, the Discovery Bay Salmon Derby, runs Feb. 18-20 and features $10,000 in prizes. Usually confined to parts of Marine Area 6, boundaries for this year’s derby will be expanded to include parts of Marine Area 9 and other popular fishing spots. For more information, call 360-797-7711.

Trout

WDFW fish biologist Curt Vail of Colville reported Stevens County winter lakes have “ambiguous” ice conditions. Warm daytime temperatures followed by freezing nights are leaving water surfaces unsafe.

Whitman County’s Rock Lake continues to produce nice brown trout. Winter season lakes – Fourth of July and Hog Canyon – are providing open water fishing for rainbows. Fly fishing has been excellent.

Lake Roosevelt and Rufus Wood’s rainbow trout are a good bet for both boat and bank anglers. Successful fishermen, however, must be patient, as there are long periods of nothing between brief periods of frantic activity.

In the Potholes seeps lakes, Corral has been producing trout. The Lind Coulee arm of Potholes Reservoir along the bridge on Road M has also been showing trout.

Lake Trout fishing on Lake Chelan has been excellent in the lower basin this week. Most fish are 2-6 pounds. U-20 flatfish continue to produce fish “like a metronome,” according to Anton Jones of Darrell & Dad’s Family Guide Service (866-360-1523). Depths of 200-245 feet have been the most productive. There are no limits on macks from Lake Chelan because of concerns about them eating their way through the food chain.

Spiny ray

Walleye fishing on the Columbia between Grand Coulee Dam to below Wells Dam continues to improve, with jigs taking most of the fish, said Rod Hammons at R&R Guide Service in Brewster.

The walleye bite is on at Rufus Woods. Jigs are doing the trick, and once in a while, a 10-pound triploid rainbow surprises an angler.

Walleye action is picking up on Roosevelt, though it was not spectacular this past week. Drifting the flats above the mouth of the Spokane has proven effective. Pull a jig on the bottom, changing depth and colors until you find what is working. The bite has been soft.

Potholes walleye fishing is spotty at best, with a few coming from around the net pens and along the face of the dam. It is still early for Moses Lake walleye, but perch fishing off the Alder Street Fill has been good at times, and walleyes will congregate there soon.

Mar Don Dock Marshal Dick Hemore said perch are showing in the seep lakes below O’Sullivan Dam. Try Long, Blade and Soda lakes.

Hunting

The bobcat season in Idaho closes Thursday. Controlled hunt applications for spring bear and turkey are accepted to Wednesday, and landowners interested in the Access YES! program have until Feb. 28 to apply. Application forms are available on the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Web site at fishandgame.idaho.gov.

In April, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will randomly draw names for 1,500 multiple-season deer permits and 500 multiple-season elk permits. Hunters can enter this drawing for a limited number of special permits that would allow them to participate in archery, muzzleloader and modern-firearm general hunting seasons for deer or elk. Multiple-season permit application maybe purchased at fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov, at an authorized license dealer, or by calling (866) 246-9453. The permit application is $5.48, and the deadline to apply is April 5. A hunting license is not required to apply. Washington state residents selected for the special permits must purchase a $164.25 multiple-season tag, along with a regular hunting license, to participate in the special hunt.

Washington spring black bear hunt applications must be submitted by March 13. The season runs April 15 through May 31, with 105 permits in seven Blue Mountains game management units.