Hunting+Fishing: Steelhead and salmon

The Columbia River summer chinook salmon fishing season that opened July 1 has been slow, said Art Viola, WDFW district fish biologist in Wenatchee.

“The run this year is about two-thirds what it has been in the past three years,” he said. “It appears that the fish are very late in reaching the upper Columbia.”

Anglers have been catching a moderate number of fish below Wells Dam and in the Wenatchee area, and fishing should pick up.

Bob Jateff, Okanogan district fish biologist, said that summer chinook fishing in the Brewster/Bridgeport area of the Columbia has improved a bit in recent days.

“Average size of the adults has been 15 to 18 pounds, and a good number of jack salmon are being caught as well,” he said.

The steelhead catch and release season is on now on the Clearwater River, but few fish have been hooked. Total count over Lower Granite Dam on Monday was 546 – up from 185 on the same date last year. The Bonneville count of 18,431 steelhead was about the same last year.

Including fish released, boat anglers on the Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam averaged a steelhead per every six rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 12.6 rods.

“Anglers have been working pretty hard for their fish,” said Joe Hymer, a WDFW fish biologist. He suggests that anglers look for steelhead in the cooler waters at the mouth of the Cowlitz, Lewis and White Salmon rivers, as well as in Drano Lake.

From July 1 through Sunday, Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco) anglers averaged 1.6 salmon per rod. Ninety-six percent of the catch were coho. An estimated 6 percent of the coho quota and 3.2 percent of the chinook guideline had been taken.

The salmon catch estimates last week for Area 3 (LaPush) were 32 chinook and 370 coho (12 percent of the sub-quota). The estimates for Ocean Area 4 (Neah Bay) were 358 chinook and 1,489 coho (12 percent of the quota).

Creel checks off Sekiu (Marine Area 5) last weekend revealed a mix of salmon. At Van Riper’s Resort, 165 anglers caught 23 chinook, 31 coho and 53 pinks. Near Olson’s Resort, 183 anglers averaged one salmon for every three rods.

Trout and kokanee

On Lake Chelan, kokanee have been biting off of Minneapolis Beach, along the face of Mill Bay and up near the Yacht Club. Lakers are being caught there at depths of 110 to 185 feet.

Coeur d’Alene kokanee fishing is on and off. It was tough last week. The fish average 12 inches.

Koocanusa Lake in Montana has 12- to 14-inch kokanee, but the hot weather has slowed the bite. At Koocanusa Lake Resort and Marina, Randie Burch suggested fishing early and late with Kokanee Killers at depths of 20-30 feet.

Kokanee are finally biting at Rimrock Lake in Yakima County. Rimrock had been muddy and the fishing slow, but it has cleared up and fishing is much better.

Anglers are still catching trout at the Okanogan district lakes – Conconullys, Spectacle, Wannacut, Alta and Pearrygin. Early morning and evening are the best times to fish

At the Aris Sports Shop in Coeur d’Alene, Josh Seaton said the St. Joe is fishing best, particularly from Avery up. He noted that the Coeur d’Alene is still decent if you can find a hole not clogged with swimmers. In Montana, closures are in effect on numerous rivers, including the Clark Fork, the Thompson and the lower Bitterroot from 2 p.m. to midnight.

Davis Lake in Ferry County and Yocum Lake in Pend Oreille County are good cutthroat trout fisheries this time of year. Summit Lake in Stevens County has nice rainbow trout, and Elbow Lake just to the west has eastern brook trout. Elbow Lake, at just 48 acres, is best suited for float tube or shore fishing.

At about 4,300 feet elevation, Big Meadow Lake west of Ione in Pend Oreille County is usually a good bet for reeling in 12-inch-and-better rainbows. The Little Pend Oreille chain of lakes, from Frater and Leo lakes in Pend Oreille County to Heritage, Thomas, Gillette and Sherry lakes in Stevens County, offer rainbows in the 10-inch range and tiger trout up to 14 inches. Also in Stevens County, Waitts Lake continues to be a good evening spot to catch rainbows and brown trout.

Jim Cummins, WDFW fish biologist, said access is good now to alpine fishing lakes in the South Cascades. Rainbow and cutthroat trout from last year’s fry plants are available at Dog and Leech lakes in the White Pass area of Yakima County and at Lost Lake near Snoqualmie Pass in Kittitas County.

Catch-and-release fishing for rainbows more than a pound is usually good in the evenings and early mornings at Starvation Lake near the Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge southeast of Colville. Starvation has selective-gear regulations, which includes no motorized boats.

Jigging or drop-shotting for Priest Lake macks remains excellent. Brian Stauffacher, who fishes the lake often, says he has changed over from Glo Grubs to small Hoochies because he was losing too many tails. He says the Hoochies work perfectly.

Lake trout fishing on Lake Pend Oreille has also been excellent, says Kurt Arnter at Pend Oreille Charters. He says rainbow fishing, too, is good for 6-7-pound fish. Troll from 50-120 feet down for the rainbow and go to the bottom for the macks. Anglers trying the drop-shot technique are catching the larger macks.

Spiny ray

Rufus Woods has been kind to walleye anglers this week, as has Banks Lake, where walleye are suspended in 20-30-feet of water. At Coulee Playland Resort, Lou Nevsimal suggests fishing the flats for the morning and evening bites. Between those times, move to outside weed lines that drop off abruptly. The west shoreline and points off Jones and Crooks Bays have been good.

You have to move around to find big Banks Lake perch, but when you do, fish 12 inches and up are on the bite. Fifteen-inch perch are not all that uncommon at Banks. Smallmouth bass are in their summer patterns and plentiful.

Bonnie, Chapman, Eloika and Long lakes are good for perch right now. Fish the weed lines early, but go deeper as the day progresses. Loon Lake perch up to 10 inches are easy to catch in 20-30 feet of water off the east side. Look for weeds rather than sand.

Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir have been decent for bass, but the walleye bite is way off.

Coeur d’Alene is a good bet for small northern pike. Spinnerbaits have been effective alongside weed beds. The Pend Oreille River has recently produced catches of large northern pike. The river is also a good bet for largemouth bass, especially from Ione to Box Canyon Dam, and smallmouth bass in the Metaline Falls area.

Anglers are catching crappie and big channel catfish at Sprague Lake. Crappie and perch have also been caught at Coffeepot Lake, northeast of Odessa in Lincoln County.

Recreational crab fishing is now open in all areas of Puget Sound, except the waters north of the San Juan Islands (Marine Area 7 North), which open Aug. 15. Reports on success are mixed.