By Alan Liere

Trout and kokanee

Loon Lake kokanee trollers are catching kokes to 12 inches, with a few unverified reports of even larger fish.

There are some huge brook trout in Deer Lake, and anglers throwing crankbaits usually do pretty well in late May. Reports are, however, that the fish are skittish this year – they follow but don’t hit.

Lake Roosevelt was at 1,253 feet and rising more than a foot a day at midweek. Trout fishing has been decent in the main river.

Rufus Woods Reservoir is running a lot of water and is difficult to fish right now. Dragging black Muddlers has worked for some.

Washington Rivers and streams will open to fishing Sunday throughout the region, but WDFW central district fish biologist Chris Donley warns anglers that high water from recent snow pack melt and flooding is both dangerous and tough to fish.

“It basically means there will be good fishing longer through the summer this year,” he said.

The Clark Fork River in Montana will probably be a good late summer prospect, too, but for now it is unfishable. Huge flows are also rearranging the Bitterroot River

The St. Joe River will probably be unfishable for a couple weeks, as will the Blackfoot, but the St. Regis River is close to being in shape again. Anglers who want to fish running water are finding trout on stretches of the Yakima, the Missouri, the Bighorn and the Beaverhead. All have been high but fishable.

Central Washington fly fishermen have been fishing chironomids and leeches at Dry Falls Lake and Lake Lenore with spectacular results. Rocky Ford, too, has been excellent with “small” rainbow running 18 inches and most into the mid-twenties.

Anglers in Eastern Washington should have excellent luck in most area lakes as the weather warms. Good reports have come recently from Clear, Badger, Amber, Fish, Medical, West Medical, Sprague and Cow lakes. Fly-fishermen throwing buggers and chironomid patterns are having good luck.

WDFW District Fish Biologist Bob Jateff said production trout waters, such as Conconully Reservoir, Conconully Lake, Pearrygin, Spectacle, Wannacut, and Alta lakes, should continue to provide good fishing for rainbows in the 10-12-inch range with carryover fish up to 15. Selective gear waters, such as Blue Lake, Rat Lake and Davis Lake, are all providing good fishing for rainbow.

Lake Chelan mackinaw have been biting well along Minneapolis Beach and kokanee fishing is still good, too. Chinook salmon fishing on Lake Chelan, slated to end Saturday, has been extended indefinitely.

Salmon and steelhead

Salmon fishing in Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco) opens Sunday and will be open seven days a week. Marine Area 2 (Westport) also opens Sunday, but fishing is restricted to Sundays through Thursdays. On the north coast, fishing opens Tuesday in Marine Areas 3 and 4 (LaPush and Neah Bay) five days a week, Tuesdays through Saturdays. Water conditions have improved at Wind River and so has chinook fishing. Including jacks, boat anglers at the mouth averaged a fish per every four rods. Drano Lake boat anglers averaged a spring chinook per every three rods.

Salmon returning to Idaho are expected in numbers four to five times as high as last year. Fishery managers expect more than 50,000 hatchery fish to pass Lower Granite Dam on their way back to Idaho waters.

Spiny ray

The Spokane Arm of Lake Roosevelt reopens Sunday and is expected to see a lot of walleye anglers. Water conditions will not be optimum, but they will not be terrible, either.

The Big Wally Walleye Tournament on Banks Lake last weekend produced good numbers of small fish. Most anglers were dragging worm/spinner rigs, but the tournament winner was pulling live leeches. Banks Lake anglers fishing from shore have reported catching big crappie close to the willows.

Tiger musky anglers haven’t done much catching, but they report seeing fish along the shore at Silver, Newman, Curlew and Hauser lakes. The fish should beging hitting when the weather gets a little warmer. Big tubes or grubs are popular, but suspending twitch baits will probably take more fish overall. The tiger musky minimum has been changed to 50 inches.

Largemouth bass are hitting a variety of plastic and plugs at Coffeepot, Downs, Eloika, Newman, Silver, Sacheen, Liberty, and sloughs off the Pend Oreille River. On the Pend Oreille, pike are showing, too.

Moses Lake and Potholes have picked way up for walleye anglers, and though crappie, perch and bluegill have not shown in any numbers yet, the bass fishing has been excellent. Lind Coulee is hot for walleye, but bigger fish are coming from the Crab Creek area. Nightcrawlers and leeches both are effective. Moses Lake anglers are finding the majority of their fish south of the freeway.

With the lack of access, it’s tough to get a fishing report from Long Lake. One angler who fished the Memorial Day weekend near Felton Slough said he took a lot of crappie, some as large as 15 inches. Other area panfish lakes, such as Eloika and Bonnie, are really coming on.

Anglers fishing north of the island on Loon Lake report catching dozens of smallmouth under a foot. Tube jigs are popular. John Norsada of the Sportsmen’s Warehouse fished Deer Lake recently and reported catching numerous smallmouth in the two-pound range by throwing tubes and Senkos. Norsada said he also caught several trout in the process.

Hayden and Houser are good bets for bass right now. Hayden also has a healthy crappie population, and Hauser has tiger musky. Despite the high water, Coeur d’Alene smallmouth are biting aggressively.

Hunting

Washington’s spring wild turkey and special permit black bear hunting seasons end Saturday.

A hunting season on Idaho wolves will run from Sept. 15 in the backcountry and Oct. 1 in all remaining areas through Dec. 31 or until quotas are met. A hunter can kill one wolf with a valid 2008 hunting license and wolf tag.