Salmon and steelhead

Fri., May 12, 2006

The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

Many turkey hunters are trying to fill their second tag. They say they are seeing toms with a lot fewer hens, a sure sign nesting is taking place and a good opportunity to entice a lonesome gobbler into range. The season ends Monday.

Braggin' rights

The Lake Pend Oreille Spring Derby ended Sunday with William McCutchson of Spirit Lake landing a 16-pound, 9-ounce rainbow to edge out Wayne Heather of Clark Fork by 6 ounces. In the mackinaw division, Dennis Pringle of Clark Fork edged Dale Green of Sandpoint by 4 ounces for biggest laker with a 19-pound, 10-ounce whopper. Four other macks missed first-place honors by 7 ounces or less.

Overheard

A walleye angler throwing a crankbait at Sprague Lake this week landed an 18-pound channel cat.

Heads up

“Idaho ground squirrels seem to be thick this year, but Fish and Game cautions hunters not to shoot certain species. Six rare ground squirrels are found in south and east parts of the state. A map showing the general distribution can be found on page 34 of the upland game regulations. The season is open all year on Columbian ground squirrels, but to shoot them you must have a hunting license.

“During its quarterly meeting starting Wednesday in Coeur d'Alene, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission will consider changes to some mule deer hunts, lift some fishing limits and extend some game bird seasons. The commissioners will kick off the three-day meeting with a public hearing at 7 p.m. at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. The following day, commissioners are expected to set seasons and limits on upland game, upland birds and furbearers and to take action on proposed upland rule changes. The meeting is open to the public.

“Idaho Fish and Game has started a statewide fish-tagging study that involves tagging rainbow trout, crappie, smallmouth and largemouth bass. The study will rely on anglers to return the tags, some of which will have rewards. Tagged fish will be planted in all seven regions by the end of June. Anglers are encouraged to report tags on the toll-free hotline: (866) 258-0338.

With large numbers of late-arriving salmon moving up the Columbia River, fishery managers for Washington and Oregon have agreed to reopen the recreational spring chinook fishery in the upper Bonneville Pool to McNary Dam starting Saturday.

Counts of spring chinook moving above Bonneville Dam jumped by 38,518 fish this week, reaching a total of 51,834 by Wednesday. Fisheries managers are fairly confident the numbers will hold strong.

The season in the Columbia River runs from the Tower Island power lines 6 miles below The Dalles Dam to McNary Dam from Saturday through June 15 or until the catch quota is reached.

Fishing could possibly open next week on the Snake River near Little Goose Dam.

Lake Coeur d’Alene chinook are still active in the top 35 feet of water. Kokanee are where you find them, mostly in the south end, but the fishing has by no means been fast.

Trout

Most of the Eastern Washington put-and-take lakes continue to produce decent trout catches. Badger is good, West Medical is getting better, and Fishtrap and Williams haven’t slowed much from opening day. Trollers dragging small green Flatfish are duping Fishtrap rainbows, and those using worm-tipped Wedding Rings or flies are fooling Williams Lake rainbows, as well as some big cutthroat. Early-morning dock fishermen at Williams are taking limits in an hour, usually with a triploid or carryover in the mix.

Though open year-round, Rock Lake has been a fairly consistent fishery for both browns and rainbows.

To the north, Waitts Lake hasn’t seen many anglers this week, but those trying are finding carryover browns and rainbows 15-20 inches and this year’s plants averaging 10 inches. Jump Off Joe frustrated a friend and me last Tuesday, as we saw many schools of big browns in the shallows but could entice only one to hit.

Several Deer Lake anglers have mentioned being frustrated by large schools of huge, rolling, seemingly uncatchable fish in the north end of the lake. At Loon Lake, a few kokanee have been mixed with the rainbows.

Curlew Lake trout fishing is picking up but has not peaked. There have been several reports of 3- to 4-pound rainbows taken, as well as numerous reports of smaller plants.

Stocking is complete at all northern Idaho lakes normally stocked with catchable rainbow and cutthroat. Look for good fishing at lakes such as Upper and Lower Twin, Fernan, Hauser, Kelso and Round.

Spiny ray

The Moses Lake walleye bite has begun at the north end, but mostly small fish are being taken. On Potholes, the Crab Creek Channel has been best with catches also coming from Winchester and Frenchman Wasteway. Harnesses and leeches are popular. Walleye anglers are waiting for Potholes to break loose.

Scott Urlacher and John Grubenhoff won the Rod Meseberg Spring Walleye Classic on Potholes last weekend with a two-day weight of 26.46 pounds. In second place was the team of David Lewis and Tim Chapman with fish totaling 23.62 pounds – all caught on the second day.

Warming water is activating the panfish bite in Idaho lakes such as Shepherd, Dawson, Fernan, Kelso, Hauser and Cocallala. On Coeur d’Alene, pike fishing in the bays is starting to take off. It shouldn’t be long until anglers at Newman and Curlew in Washington, and Blue, Dawson, Freeman, Shepherd and Hauser in Idaho catch tiger muskie.

Panfish and bass action has also picked up on such Washington lakes as Downs, Eloika, Newman, Liberty and Rock. The few anglers who are fishing at Long Lake report phenomenal bass and crappie action, but the only decent launch at Long is at Nine Mile Resort. There is a public launch where the Little Spokane runs in, but it is a long, rocky, sometimes treacherous haul from there to the crappie beds downriver.

Despite high, fast water, Snake River smallmouth are biting from Clarkston all the way into Hells Canyon. Good smallmouth fishing is also possible on Banks, Potholes Reservoir, Moses Lake and Coeur d’Alene.

Other species

On the lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam, boat anglers from Marker No. 85 downstream to just east of Washougal averaged a legal sturgeon kept per boat last week. Anglers in the Bonneville and John Day pools are also catching a few legal fish.

This is a good time to try for sturgeon in both the Columbia and the Snake. It is estimated there are between 3,000-6,000 white sturgeon 2-11 feet long in the 105 miles of free-flowing Snake River from Lewiston upstream to Hell’s Canyon Dam. More than half of the fish are less than 3 feet long, indicating that there is good reproduction in this stretch. Smaller numbers are found in the lower Salmon River.

At White’s Tackle Shop, Evan Roda said this could be a great time to try for channel and blue catfish. With a full moon Saturday and the fish staging in pre-spawn locations near fast water, he recommended anywhere with a strong current, particularly at night and near dams like Little Goose and Lower Granite.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission recently gave recreational crabbers more days to fish during the first week of July in most areas of Puget Sound. By the commission’s action, crab fishing in six marine areas will get under way July 1 and remain open through July 8, rather than closing July 2-4 as originally scheduled. Waters affected by that action include marine areas 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Those areas will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays and the Labor Day weekend, with the possibility of extra time in fall and winter.

Hunting

With just a few days remaining, most diligent turkey hunters have taken at least one bird. For those who haven’t, the fall season will provide one more opportunity to use that tag. If you’ve already had success, don’t forget to make your report to WDFW.

(Outdoors editor Rich Landers contributed to this column.)