Hunting and Fishing

Steelhead

The Snake River system around Lewiston has been mostly high and fishless recently, with high, fast, murky water making steelhead angling tough. Idaho Power is fluctuating the river an average of about 10,000 cfs daily, and is releasing an average of about 10,000 cfs more than the historical average. Until that changes, don’t expect much improvement.

The bright spot for steelheaders is the Clearwater River, particularly between Kooskia and Kamiah, which is non-motorized during steelhead season. A guide for Clearwater Drifters with two clients reportedly brought 22 steelhead to the boat last weekend. Several other boats have also limited, even though the water is higher than normal. No one method is working better than the others. Overall, Clearwater steelhead anglers are putting in 10 hours per fish.

The Grande Ronde River has cleared up nicely, said Bill Vail at Boggan’s Oasis. Though running at 3,000 cfs on Thursday, it is coming down slowly and fish are hitting throughout the system. Vail notes that a lot of bright, 6-pound fish, as well as some larger ones, should provide excellent fishing for the weekend. On Wednesday, guide Rick Hedding’s boat took 11 steelhead, and two other anglers both reported limits.

At Darver Tackle in Starbuck, Wash., Verna Foley said the Snake and the Tucannon are fishable, but the Palouse, the Touchet and the Walla Walla are running mud. She noted that the fish ladder is shut down and anglers are taking a few stragglers off the sidewalk near The Wall.

Trout and silvers

Roosevelt rainbow are a bit more selective, now that the weather has warmed up. Bank anglers are still waiting for the river to drop and concentrate fish in the bays. It is holding at 1,228 feet, and fishing can be good one day and terrible the next. The trout appear to be schooling, so it’s often feast or famine. The lower end of the lake near the dam seems to be the most consistent.

Roosevelt kokanee are biting in depths from 30-60 feet. Dave Altier at Coulee Playland City on Banks Lake said anglers who can’t entice the big kokes are often not trolling fast enough. He recommended 3-5 mph. Regarding Banks Lake, Altier said there are plenty of big rainbow, but many are getting dark.

Fourth of July Lake is ice-free and anglers are fishing from both shore and boat. At midweek, Barry Pipella from the fly shop in White’s Outdoor fished Fourth of July and did well on wine-colored Wooly Buggers and Seal Buggers. He said all the fish were more than 15 inches and noted the water is low. Despite the abundance of water elsewhere, even the launch of a car top boat is difficult at Fourth of July. Anglers fishing from shore in the first quarter mile of lake should be aware they are in water 3 feet deep or less.

Hog Canyon Lake still has some unsafe ice. The last time I checked, water was pulling away from shore.

Rufus Woods triploids are less active than they were a couple of weeks ago, but two friends trolled for three last Friday that ranged from 6-11 pounds. The bigger fish measured only 24 inches – nearly as wide as it was long. All fish came on a gray Shad-Rap. The scent of the week at Rufus is Ultra Clam by Smelly Jelly, which bank anglers are adding to their Power Bait.

Mackinaw fishing has been good most of the winter at Pend Oreille and Priest. Fish to 25 pounds are being caught near the island and from the Green Monarchs south on Pend Oreille.

Rocky Ford is still treating fly-fishers well. Olive and gray scuds have been the No. 1 fish-catchers.

Hunting

I saw more ducks in the scablands south of Spokane this week than I have seen the entire season. Geese, too, are there in good numbers. Waterfowl hunters in Washington can hunt through Jan. 29. In Idaho, only Areas 2 and 3 in the south end of the state are open.

Washington upland bird hunters wrapped up a long season Monday, and the good news is there are still a lot of birds out there. With optimum spring conditions for nesting, next year could be a dandy.

At its meeting last weekend, the Washington Game Commission approved permits for a limited number of deer and elk hunters to participate in archery, muzzleloader and modern-firearm general hunting seasons in the same year. Hunters are still limited to one deer and elk each year. Interested hunters need to apply for the special permits. Once selected, the permit will cost the hunter $150, in addition to the regular license fee.

The commission also approved hunting permits for a special hunt opportunity in Grant County. Under the adopted rule, the landowner will open his lands to hunters. A portion of those permits is reserved for licensed hunters who will be drawn at random by WDFW. The landowner also can sell hunters the opportunity to use a portion of the special permits on his lands.

Spiny ray

Walleye are coming into shallow water several weeks earlier than usual and feeding heavily on Lake Roosevelt. Enthusiastic reports come from the mouth of the Colville, Fort Spokane, Seven Bays and Rufus Woods. Blade baits and jigs are doing the damage. Roosevelt is at full pool with lots of wood and trash on the surface.

Last Friday, I caught a 4-pound walleye while trolling for triploids at Rufus Woods. I was dragging a small, deep-diving Rapala behind 40 feet of leader and three colors of leaded line in 35 feet of water. Some anglers have noted the best time for Rufus fish is the last hour or two of daylight. Rufus has been the walleye place to be, especially between the island and the net pens.

Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir walleye are biting but haven’t really turned on yet. There is still ice on Moses, but it is possible to launch at the State Park and skirt the edge if you wish to fish open water near the I-90 Bridge.