Don’t ignore rivers in own backyard

While Montana and Idaho have the glamour rivers featured in the fishing magazines, Eastern Washington has some less-popular gems.

Except for the runoff period, the Spokane River produces good fishing for rainbow and brown trout. Catch-and-release is the rule upstream from Upriver Dam. Good fishing also is found from below the falls in downtown Spokane downstream past the Bowl and Pitcher area of Riverside State Park.

The Little Spokane River is not a blue-ribbon fishery, but it shouldn’t necessarily be overlooked. Although the density, according to recent research, is only about 65 trout per stream mile, the Spokane River tributary can providecatches of brown and rainbow trout and especially mountain whitefish in winter.

Crab Creek in Lincoln County has good rainbow and brown trout fishing even on the public walk-in stretches. Watch for ticks during spring.

Rocky Ford Creek north of Moses Lake is a fly-fishing only area that’s the darling of winter anglers. The large trout will hit Woolly Bugger patterns, but they tend to have an affinity for tiny dries and nymphs.

The Yakima River is probably Washington’s top trout stream. Trout angling is best in spring and then in fall, plus winter for whitefish. During summer, water levels rise to handle water destined for irrigation.