Salmon, steelhead
Lake Coeur d’Alene chinook are on top, and helmeted herring are taking numerous 3- to 6-pounders on the south end.
The hottest steelhead water is the Grande Ronde, where anglers are beginning to catch a lot of Washington fish. There was a little ice on the river at midweek, but not enough to hamper the fishing. Flow is approximately 1,500 cfs and dropping.
Steelheaders are still finding fish in the Clearwater, but the hours-per-fish is 13. It is higher on the North and South forks.
On The Dalles Pool, boat anglers are averaging more than a half steelhead per rod, but a majority of the catch is wild fish that have to be released. During the past two weeks at Ringold, Fish and Wildlife interviewed 54 anglers with a total catch of 19 steelhead. Anglers are averaging one steelhead for every 11 hours of fishing. The mainstem Columbia River from the Tower Island power lines (approximately 6 miles below The Dalles Dam) upstream to McNary Dam opens March 16 through April 30 for spring chinook. The upriver spring chinook run size is predicted to be 88,400. The extended season is expected to allow for harvest of hatchery chinook while minimizing impacts to ESA listed species. The mainstem Columbia River from the Buoy 10 line upstream to the I-5 Bridge continues to be open every day through April 19.
The North Fork Stillaguamish River and the Skykomish will close to all fishing March 1. Fish escapement goals are not being met, and the spring season closure will prevent incidental hooking mortality and disturbance of spawning fish. The Kalama River, on the other hand, is seeing good returns of both wild and hatchery fish.
Trout
At White’s Fly Shop, Barry Pipella said Crab Creek is running high with poor visibility, but Rocky Ford is fishing well with dark, size-18 midges at midday and leech patterns early and late.
Anyone contemplating ice fishing this weekend should proceed cautiously and drill holes on the way. The fluctuating winter temperatures have resulted in ice of varying thickness. With a light snow cover, it is difficult to see what is safe and what is not. There is some open water on the north end of Hog Canyon, for example, but the rest of the lake has an ice cover too thin to walk on. Williams will probably be good to go, and Waitts Lake has 3 inches of new ice.
Baited wedding rings behind dodgers from the surface to 30 feet have fooled a few Rufus Woods triploids by the barrels that form the boat barrier above Chief Joseph dam. Rufus Woods, for the most part, however, was a bust for boat anglers this week.
Bank fishing in Lake Roosevelt bays is heating up now that the water has dropped so substantially. On Thursday, Roosevelt was 1,269 feet, but all major launches are still usable. A friend fishing this week near Hanson Harbor on Lake Roosevelt caught a 171/4-inch blue-tagged rainbow. He called the tag in and learned it was implanted in an 8-inch fish last May. His tag enters him in drawings for Sportsman Warehouse gift certificates ranging from $20 to $200. If you catch a tagged fish, either put the tag and pertinent information in one of the collection boxes at Roosevelt boat ramps, call (509) 359-7498, or e-mail the info to hmclellan@ewu.edu. Information requested: date of capture, location of capture, length of fish, tag color and number, and a way to contact you (phone number, e-mail address, or mailing address). Fish tagged in Lake Roosevelt have been found clear to the mouth of the Columbia.
Lake Chelan macks are still active deep, though not quite as aggressive as last week. Most fish are 2-5 pounds and come from 200-243 feet in the lower basin “trench.”
Spiny ray
Eloika Lake never lost its ice cover this winter, and it has firmed up again with the recent cold weather. It should provide good fishing this weekend. Perch are the main attraction at Eloika, but a few crappie and bass will show up. Ice fisherman should find some perch on Waitts.
Walleye anglers are enticing fish by dragging a jig and worm slowly in the Spokane Arm and near Kettle Falls in 15-50 feet of water. Most of the fish are on the small side. A few smallmouth are being taken.
Moses Lake is as low as it will get, and only one launch – at City Park – is usable. The walleye spawn has not begun and fishing is slow, but anglers are picking up 9- to 11-inch perch beneath the I-90 Bridge. Perch are also being taken in Lind Coulee by the big island.
In Idaho, Upper Twin, Cocollala and Gamble are iced up again and producing mostly perch. There are 4 inches of new ice on Hauser. A 29-pound pike came through the ice on the north end of Hayden this week. Pike fishing on Coeur d’Alene is still “surprisingly good,” said Jeff Smith of Fins and Feathers. He said to try dead bait in the bays, but warns that there may be ice by this weekend.
On The Dalles Pool, anglers have averaged about a walleye per rod. Boat anglers also caught a few bass.