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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Hunting+Fishing

Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Open-water fishing

The phenomenal triploid trout fishing continues on Rufus Woods Reservoir and for those pursuing them, the regulations are fairly clear: If you are using bait, the first two trout caught must be kept, and once they are, you are done trout fishing for the day. Walleye anglers, however, are faced with a dilemma: If a jig or spinner is tipped with a nightcrawler (bait) and a rainbow is caught, that fish must be retained. If another is caught, you are done fishing even if you’re not targeting trout. It doesn’t sound right to me, either, but I checked with a warden and he told me that the way the law is written, he would have to issue a citation if you continued to fish.

Trout fishermen with boats have been avoiding Lake Roosevelt lately, but those fishing from shore are picking up fish at favorite spots like Hawk Creek, Jones Bay and the swimming beach at Fort Spokane. This kind of fishing is usually frantic or dead as the fish move through in schools.

Walleye fishing on Lake Roosevelt is heating up near Kettle Falls, Fort Spokane, Lincoln and Seven Bays. John Norisada, manager of the fishing department at Sportsman Warehouse, said he and friends had good walleye fishing out of Fort Spokane recently, dragging jigs and ripping blade baits. Norisada said his party took fish early in 25-30 feet, then moved to drop-offs in 35-45 for the afternoon bite. There is still plenty of ice in the Spokane Arm, and Porcupine Bay is frozen.

Walleye fishing on the Columbia near Brewster is just getting started. Jigs are most effective for “eating size” walleyes, but a big one is caught just often enough to keep things interesting.

If the weather holds and the snow doesn’t all come off at once, Coeur d’Alene fly fishermen could find some excellent trout fishing the next two weeks. The river is coming up slightly, and bead head nymphs and small egg patterns should work well.

“They’re getting ‘em good” at Rocky Ford near Ephrata, said Josh Seaton at Orvis Northwest Outfitters in Coeur d’Alene. Typical, big Rocky Ford rainbow are hitting large streamer patterns as well as small scuds.

Walleye anglers fishing practically in downtown Kennewick are taking some really large walleyes in 15-20 feet of water. The bite is slow, but when you get one, hang on. The same is true for the Umatilla area.

Any of the feeder arms of the Columbia below McNary should soon be getting good for walleye as they enter their pre-spawn staging mode.

Steelhead and salmon

The Clearwater River fishery has been steady if not fast. Guided drift boats are taking 2-3 steelhead a day both above and below Orofino.

Steelhead action on the Snake is still better than that on the Clearwater, with anglers averaging a fish every six hours. The Grande Ronde was dropping and clearing up nicely on Thursday, running at about 2,100 cfs. Fly fishermen did well swinging black leeches on the Grande Ronde last weekend.

Early spring runoff in the drainages feeding the lower Columbia River has created muddy conditions for salmon and steelhead anglers. Salmonid effort below the I-5 bridge is light and angler success is low with the majority of anglers concentrated in the Rainier area.

On The Dalles Pool, boat anglers are doing well on steelhead with an average of two fish per rod. Light effort and no catch were observed from the bank.

Approximately 270,000 upriver spring chinook salmon are expected to return to the Columbia River this year, which would be the third-largest run since 1977. However, returns to the Willamette River are expected to be down, which will likely constrain fishing opportunities in the Columbia River downstream from its confluence with the Willamette near the Interstate 5 Bridge

Ice fishing

Eastern Washington and northern Idaho lakes had a layer of slop on top of solid ice early in the week, but the cooler weather has firmed it up somewhat. Still, wear tall boots or snowshoes to avoid getting wet.

Eloika Lake perch aren’t big (7-10 inches), but access is good and the lake has been a reliable fishery since the ice came on. Friends and I fished just north of Jerry’s Landing three times this week, keeping about 20 fish each per trip and releasing many others. The best bite has consistently been from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. A perch eye on a Swedish Pimple is our preferred enticement.

I had one report this week from an angler fishing Williams Lake in Stevens County. He said he took an “easy limit” of nice trout and a few small perch.

Whitefish are coming through the ice by the jetty at Coulee City. Anglers are using pieces of shrimp either alone on a No. 8 hook or on the tip of a small jig or fly. Inside the Coulee City boat basin, small perch are biting. The Causeway by Electric City is giving up some much larger perch. To get there, take the first right just before the long bridge into Electric City. Four-wheel drive is necessary.

Ice anglers are catching small pike at the Chain Lakes near Coeur d’Alene and at the north end of Hayden Lake. The usual ice-fishing destinations like Fernan, Avondale and Rose have plenty of solid ice. Kokanee fishing is said to be excellent at Lower Twin for fish up to a foot long.

Other species

Whitefish are hitting on the Coeur d’Alene and Clark Fork rivers.

Those on the Clark Fork are huge. A fly tipped with a maggot is tough to beat.

Test dipping Wednesday confirmed smelt are finally present in the lower Cowlitz.

Sturgeon catch rates on the lower Columbia River are low but should improve as water temperatures gradually increase

Hunting

Idaho’s turkey regulations will be combined in the same booklet with upland game and furbearers this year.