Hunting+Fishing

Fri., Aug. 17, 2007

Alan Liere Correspondent

Tip of the week

If you plan to do any night fishing at area lakes, take a duffel with warm clothes just in case. Do not, however, put them in the livewell as I did this week when I fished with our newest Fish and Wildlife Commissioner, George Orr. Though I didn't turn the livewell on, I left the plug out and when Orr went looking for a jacket, it was very wet.

Overheard

Twenty deer hunters this fall will be allowed access to 6,300 acres of private and public land near Oroville that was previously off limits to public access. Apply to the Fish and Wildlife Department by Sept. 4 by calling (509) 754-4624 or (360) 902-2515. The drawing will be Sept. 6.

Braggin' rights

Yakima resident Bill Shields was the lucky winner of this year's special permit to hunt a Rocky Mountain Bighorn ram in the Blue Mountains. The raffle returned a gross of $101.880, 90 percent of which will go to the WDFW Bighorn Sheep Project.

Heads up

Several large Idaho fires have raised concerns about public safety and sportsman access. Some areas have already been closed. Those heading into the backcountry are advised to check with Forest Service Ranger District offices before heading out.

The Columbia from Marcus up to China Bend, and Northport to the Canadian border rises and falls daily. Watch for obstacles, as a half dozen boats hit rocks in one day last week.

The Two Rivers Trout Derby runs this Saturday and Sunday on Lake Roosevelt. The drivers' meeting is at 7 tonight at the casino, and registration will go until then. Pick up forms at local sporting goods outlets.

Rock Creek, from where Stony Creek flows in to the confluence with the Clark Fork near Clinton, has been closed to all recreation. Helicopters are using the river as a water source for fighting the Sawmill Complex fires. All fishing on the Big Hole River and Jefferson River will close, effective today, due to extremely low flows.

Salmon and steelhead

Chinook fishing remains fair in the Brewster area and will continue until the water temperatures drop a few degrees in the Okanogan River. Then, the fish will leave all at once. Well’s Dam is an afternoon bite, but it doesn’t last very long, says local guide Rod Hammons, so you must be there when fresh fish move upriver. He says few salmon have moved upriver to the Bridgeport area.

The Idaho fall steelhead fishing season has started on the Clearwater River and opens Sept. 1 on most other steelhead waters. The fall harvest season opened Aug. 1 on the lower Clearwater River from the mouth upstream to the U.S. Highway 12 Memorial Bridge, but anglers may not keep any steelhead upstream from the bridge until Oct. 15. Clearwater anglers are averaging a fish every 12 hours.

Trolling squid in 70-90 feet seems to be the ticket for Coeur d’Alene chinook up to 16 pounds. The bite has been good.

Salmon fishing opened Wednesday in the Okanogan River and the lower Similkameen River. All game fish except trout may be retained in the Okanogan River upstream of the highway bridge in Malott between Sept. 1-15.

Salmon catch rates were slow this past week on the lower Columbia. Steelhead anglers continue to do well.

Wind River had light effort this past week, but some steelhead are being caught. Drano Lake boat anglers averaged more than a half fish per rod. Salmon River boat anglers averaged a steelhead per rod.

Buoy 10 anglers are not reeling them in yet, but effort and catch has increased at Ilwaco. Anglers are averaging 1.8 salmon per rod, 93 percent coho. At LaPush, the estimated catch for last week was 67 chinook and 557 coho. At Neah Bay, the numbers were 1,258 chinook and 7,146 coho.

Trout and kokanee

Fly fishermen report fast action for Marshall Lake trout, but they say many of the fish are small. At Diamond Lake, perch anglers are complaining they can’t get to the perch in 35 feet of water because their worms are being intercepted by hordes of 10-12-inch rainbow and a few browns. Further north, Curlew Lake rainbow fishing is said to be “superb,” and Twin Lakes at Inchelium is also experiencing a good rainbow bite. Brook trout have been scarce.

Lake Pend Oreille lake trout fishing has been good around Hope-Warren, Cottage and Pearl Islands using dodgers and flies. The rainbow trout bite has slowed.

Both the Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe rivers are warm. St. Joe has decent fishing, however. Fly fishermen are catching cutthroat using grasshopper patterned flies with nymph droppers. Good catch rates are being reported at Henry’s Lake, including hybrids up to 10 pounds. North Fork Clearwater, Lochsa River and Kelly Creek fly-fishing is improving with cooler weather.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will lift all fishing restrictions on the Bitterroot and Clark Fork Rivers beginning Saturday. Fishing restrictions will also be lifted today on the Boulder River and much of the Yellowstone River. Restrictions will remain on parts of the Stillwater.

The Kootenai River is fishing well for rainbow trout upstream of Bonners Ferry. Try woolly buggers, bead head nymphs or spinners.

The Dworshak Reservoir kokanee bite has slowed. Low water levels have affected boat ramps at Canyon Creek and Grandad, but ramps at Bruce’s Eddy, Dent and Dworshak State Park are still useable.

Lake Koocanusa yielded 110 kokanee over a recent three-day period for area anglers Myron and Ann Ingebo, and Wes, Melinda and Rachel Jewell. They said the fish ran 8-13 inches. Cow bells with wedding rings and maggots did the damage.

Trout anglers on Rufus Woods report a good triploid bite below the second set of net pens. Cast spinners and spoons at fish holding along the shoreline. Trolled Shad Raps have also taken trout to seven pounds.

Two times this week, my friend Mike Sweeney and I outlasted several other Loon Lake kokanee anglers and took limits of 10-12-inch fish on chilly, 40-something degree nights. The fish were at 32 feet on the east side, and the best bite was from 10:30 p.m. to midnight.

Lake Roosevelt trout are active from 7-Bays to Whitestone and beyond. The water around Bradbury Beach was excellent this week.

Spiny ray

Big Downs Lake perch are lurking in the pads. Anglers dunking worms are taking dozens of the 9-12-inch fish.

Pend Oreille bass fishing is good if you avoid the heat of the day and fish in the morning or evening. The same is true on Coeur d’Alene in Idaho and Long Lake near Spokane. On Banks Lake, it doesn’t seem to matter—bass and walleye angling remains excellent.

Coeur d’Alene Lake continues to be good for pike fishing with anglers using chartreuse and orange spinner baits and spoons in deeper weed beds.

At Curlew Lake, tiger musky are hitting large Rapala plugs in silver or gold. Fish are found in 3-4 feet of water around structures. The fish will be on the bottom, and a presentation that comes from the side is more effective than a straight-on approach.

Bass fishing is good in the smaller Idaho chain lakes around Coeur d’Alene. Crappie fishing is also good in the chain lakes.

Spokane angler John Petrofski reports catching a bass on tube jigs every third cast on Coffeepot Lake recently. He also took three rainbow that were more than four pounds each.

On the Grande Ronde, Bill Vail at Boggan’s Oasis says fly-fishing for smallmouth is holding up despite water flows under 400 cfs.

Other Species

Some big channel cats have been mixed in with the rainbow trout at Roses Lake in the Okanogan.

Tuna ranging from 10-20 pounds are feeding voraciously six hours out of Westport.

Hunting

The Idaho waterfowl season in Area 1 will run from Oct. 6 to Jan. 18. In Area 2, the season runs from Oct. 13 to Jan. 25, 2008. A two-day youth hunt is set for Sept. 29 and 30 for hunters aged 15 and under.

Idaho archery pronghorn season continues through Sept. 15. In many units, archery seasons on mule deer, white-tailed deer and elk open Aug. 30 and run through September.

Idaho hunters affected by a fire closure can adjust their schedule to hunt later in the season or exchange general tags to hunt in a different area. Tags must be exchanged before the season begins.

The Washington Game Commission has modified rules regarding the Nooksack elk herd in Game Management Unit 418, ensuring that state hunters will have an opportunity to harvest up to 15 bulls this year in the unit. They have also restricted access to the southern end of the North Potholes Game Reserve to protect breeding birds and waterfowl habitat.