Hunting+Fishing

Fri., Feb. 9, 2007

Alan Liere Correspondent

Tip of the week

If you are planning to launch a boat at Rufus Woods this winter, it would be a good idea to throw in a pair of hip waders. Otherwise, water fluctuations could make loading at the end of the day a wet proposition.

Overheard

A resolution to ban the personal use of semi-automatic firearms has been withdrawn by Canada's Liberal Party. It was removed after sporting and industry groups from across Canada objected to language contained in the resolution.

Heads up

The fishing rule changes affecting several Eastern Washington waters that were adopted last weekend by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission will not go into effect until May 1. Fishing at Deer Lake will open April 28 this year and March 1 in 2008.

“The Idaho Fish and Game Commission is expected to set the seasons for big-game hunts at a meeting in Boise, March 7-9 at Fish and Game headquarters, 600 S. Walnut. Public comment will be taken there at 7 p.m. on March 7.

“The inaugural Anacortes Salmon Derby is scheduled for March 10-11 out of the Cap Sante Marina. Tickets for the event are $50 per person, with proceeds going toward scholarships to benefit young adults interested in pursuing an education in fisheries and a related natural science. Top prize is $5,000. Info: www.anacortessalmonderby.com.

“An ice fishing festival is scheduled Feb. 17 at Sidley Lake near Molson, Wash., about a mile from the Canada border. Coordinated by Eden Valley Guest Ranch, the festival includes fishing contests for kids and adults, with a first prize of a 14-foot Lund boat. Info: (509) 485-4002.

Steelhead and salmon

The Clearwater River and the North Fork Clearwater are still yielding steelhead, and though many are dark with pale flesh, others are still in pretty good shape. From the mouth to the Orofino Bridge, anglers are averaging a fish every 15 hours, but on the North Fork, the average is four hours per fish. Bobber and jigs seem to be producing the best catches, although a group of fly fishermen recently had phenomenal success there casting over a shallow flat.

The Grande Ronde was running clear at 1,200 cfs Thursday and anglers were averaging a fish every five hours. Grande Ronde steelhead are still in excellent shape and the fishery should hold up through March.

The Columbia River is open for retention of hatchery steelhead upstream to the wooden power line towers at the old Hanford town site north of the Tri-Cities. WDFW fish biologist Paul Hoffarth reported anglers are picking up a few steelhead below McNary Dam near the Umatilla River and at Irrigon. Steelhead fishing in the Ringold area is typically spotty in February, Hoffarth said, but it can produce the occasional great day and really picks up by March. Boat anglers on The Dalles Pool are averaging more than 1.6 steelhead per rod. Bank anglers are also catching some fish.

Steelhead fishing is also improving on a number of West Side rivers and streams, particularly the Wynoochee, Bogachiel and Sol Duc on the Olympic Peninsula. Low water temperatures and stream flows have chilled the bite on the Cowlitz and some other rivers, but fish biologists say that could change quickly with a little rain.

Anglers have caught increasing numbers of blackmouth salmon in Puget Sound, where four more areas will open to fishing next Friday.

Trout and kokanee

Spirit Lake, according to IDFG, has been the most productive lake per surface acre in the state of Idaho, and it appeared to have a strong population of kokanee last fall. This winter, however, Spirit has produced few kokanee for ice fishermen. There are no explanations for the lack of success.

Normally, guide Rick Hedding of Family Christian Anglers is off chasing steelhead on the Grande Ronde River this time of year, but last Tuesday he fished Rocky Ford Creek near Moses Lake for big rainbow on dry flies. He said he caught no monsters, but enticed several 2- to 4-pounders.

Trout fishing at Hog Canyon and Fourth of July can be hot at times. The ice is plenty thick for safe fishing. Take your ice cleats.

Rufus Woods Lake continues to crank out triploid rainbow for bank and boat anglers. I fished the long reservoir Tuesday with friend Al Rettman of Spokane. Although we went fishless dragging a Slinky and nightcrawler, we put four 3-pound fish in the boat quickly once we both switched to a Rapala SR No. 8. We trolled four colors of leaded line in 30 feet of water along the net pen side. There are a lot of 3-pound triploids being caught at Rufus Woods, but another party of two caught four fish ranging between 7-14 pounds.

No rainbow fishing reports have come from Lake Roosevelt for a couple of weeks. Guide Lenny Mayo at Seven Bays said the ramps and docks are all usable, and he plans to resume fishing today.

Ice fishing is fair at many Okanogan County lakes, including Rat Lake near Brewster and Green Lake near Omak where 10- to 12-inch rainbows are being caught. Patterson Lake has a lot of hungry trout.

If you are getting anxious to troll for Priest Lake macks, you’d best leave the boat at home and take an auger and jigging rod. Priest is still capped with ice, the first time in at least a decade.

Spiny ray

Some really big walleye have been caught this past week from Roosevelt. Friend Gordon Milbrandt took a 16-pounder and I heard of two more than 14 pounds. Walleye anglers on Rufus Woods are also doing well some days, although a 14-fish Saturday might turn into a two-fish Sunday. Walleye fishing above and below McNary Dam on the Columbia River has been on the rise.

There were a couple of good reports this week from Sprague Lake, one regarding some slab crappie that bit hard and fast for 15 minutes and then disappeared. Walleye have not been similarly inclined. Ice at Sprague is 10 inches thick.

On Banks Lake, Gordon Steinmetz at Big Wallys said ice fishermen on the east side of the Causeway out of Electric City are catching perch. The boat basin at Coulee City has slowed down, but should crank up again in March when the perch come in to spawn.

Hike Hepper of Richland was back on the Columbia Thursday after catching a Washington-record 19.3-pound walleye on Monday (see Sports, Page 1). He said the good fishing for prespawn trophy walleye is getting under way in the McNary area. The river was 37 degrees on Thursday, Hepper told Outdoors editor Rich Landers. The fishing for lunkers should be good for several weeks until the spawning kicks in at river temperatures of 42-45 degrees.

WDFW fish biologist Bob Jateff of Omak said anglers need to fish as many areas of Patterson Lake as possible to find the schools of perch. He recommends using small teardrop-shaped jigs tipped with maggots or worms.

Ice fishing is tapering off on Moses Lake. The seep lakes below O’Sullivan Dam have also slowed down, though there are some big whitefish coming out of Soda Lake. Perch are just starting to bite on Winchester Wasteway off Road No. 5.

Eloika Lake still has good ice, although it is getting a little slushy on top.

Other species

WDFW has tentatively scheduled an evening dig at four ocean beaches next Friday and Feb. 17, pending the results of a final round of marine toxin tests. If the tests show the clams are safe to eat, fishery managers will open Twin Harbors, Long Beach, Mocrocks and Kalaloch for digging between noon and midnight those two days.

Hunting

Hunters interested in shaping the future of mule deer hunting in Idaho have the opportunity to do so over the next few weeks by participating in a survey that will provide the foundation to develop a new statewide Mule Deer Management Plan. This planning process will take place over the next six to nine months.

“We are in the beginning stages of creating a new mule deer management plan for the state of Idaho,” said Brad Compton, state big game manager. “What we need to know is what sportsmen want when it comes to hunting opportunities.”

The department, in partnership with the University of Idaho, has started an online survey of mule deer hunters. The 50-question survey takes about 30 minutes to complete. It is available at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov until the end of February.

The new rules for Idaho moose, mountain goat and bighorn sheep are at the printers and last-minute corrections have been turned in. The rulebooks should be available by the end of the month or early March.