Fly fishing

Rocky Ford continues to provide excellent action for large rainbow, but it gets crowded on the weekends.

Good fishing continues on the Clark Fork. Dry flies will fish well for only a few hours at midday, but nymph rigs, slow moving streamers, and deep droppers are effective before and after that. Streamers like buggers and sculpins are enticing nice fish both above and below Missoula.

Trout and kokanee

Sprague Lake continues to boot out limits of large rainbow. The area around the public boat launch has been hit pretty hard and fishing has been slow, but anglers casting marshmallows and worms off the dock at Sprague Lake Resort report a fast bite. The smallest Sprague Lake trout will be about 14 inches, but fish 16-19 inches are more common. The flesh of these fish is bright orange and table quality is excellent.

The winter-only rainbow trout fishery in the region won’t be the best this season. Two of the four lakes that open Monday – Hatch and Williams lakes in northern Stevens County – were treated this fall and will not be re-stocked with trout until spring. Chris Donley, WDFW district fish biologist of Spokane, says Fourth of July Lake is full of fathead minnows and trout fishing may be slow. There are tiger trout as well as rainbow in Fourth of July this year. Water levels are down, so boat access will be difficult.

Another winter-only lake in the region – Hog Canyon in southwest Spokane County – still has rainbows, but is full of tench and bullheads and is slated for rehabilitation next year. Some pre-season sampling at Hog Canyon showed the trout range from eight to 12 inches. Both spinning and fly tackle worked, and catch rates were better in the afternoon in the middle of the lake.

There are few Lake Roosevelt reports from anywhere but the stretch from Keller down. Trollers there are seeing pods of fish on their graphs, particularly in and near the bays. The bite, though not frantic, is consistent for 14-24-inch rainbow, and the walleye bite has also been decent.

There have been some slow periods on Rufus Woods, but those who stick with it are taking fish – usually lots of them by day’s end. Black Super Roostertails cast to shore account for a lot of fish, but flies and spoons are also effective, and the old standby Wedding Ring and nightcrawler should not be ignored if the bite is slow. A small steelhead jig with the barb pinched down can be very effective at Rufus, either from shore or boat, and no bait is required.

Sherman Creek in Ferry County opens to all game fish Monday and will mostly produce catches of rainbow trout, with some mountain whitefish in the upper reaches. The lake trout bite on Pend Oreille, Priest and Chelan has been aggressive this past week, but you need to find the bottom. Most of the fish are less than three pounds.

Idaho’s winter Panhandle stream season begins Monday in the Coeur d’Alene River, Little North Fork Coeur d’Alene River, South Fork Coeur d’Alene River, North Fork Coeur d’Alene River, St. Joe River, St. Maries River and the Spokane River from Stateline upstream to Post Falls Dam.

Steelhead and salmon

Good steelhead fishing is available now from above Rocky Reach Dam to Bridgeport. The lower Methow has slowed considerably due to lowering water temperatures, but there are enthusiastic reports from anglers fishing further up the river. Jig and bobber set-ups are the most popular. Steelhead moving into the Okanogan system are larger this year than in years past.

The docks at Pateros on the mainstem Columbia River continue to provide good fishing for steelhead. Average catch rates there are about one fish per 10 hours of angling.

At the mouth of the Grande Ronde and on the Clearwater, steelhead anglers are taking a fish every six or seven hours. The Salmon River system is a little slower this week. Catch rates in the Salmon River section 15 from the Middle Fork of the Salmon River to North Fork was eight hours per fish caught. Moving upriver into section 16 from North Fork to the mouth of the Lemhi River, catch rates were 10 hours per fish caught. In section 17 from the Lemhi River to the mouth of the Pahsimeroi River, the catch rate was 12 hours per fish caught.

Angler effort and catch at Ringold dropped off this week, but catch per angler hour was similar to the week prior. Bank anglers averaged one steelhead for each 11 hours of fishing and boat anglers averaged one steelhead for eight hours of angling.

Other species

Four evening razor clam digs are tentatively scheduled at Copalis and Mocrocks Dec. 11-14, while Long Beach and Twin Harbors are scheduled for three evening digs Dec. 12-14. Kalaloch Beach is closed for the fall season.

Anglers are still catching legal-size sturgeon below Bonneville Dam, although strong winds have made boat fishing in the gorge an on-again, off-again proposition.

Whitefish season opens Monday on the middle section of the Little Spokane River, from the state Highway 291 Bridge to the West Branch of the river. Whitefish gear is restricted to a single-point hook with a maximum size of 14. Most whitefish will run from 10 to 13 inches and can be found in deep pools. Maggots or small artificial flies or lures work well. In North Central Washington, portions of the Chewuch, Entiat, Methow, Similkameen, and Sinlahekin rivers open for whitefish on Monday, and in South Central Washington, the Naches and Klickitat rivers open.

Hunting

Pheasant hunters tired of beating themselves up for few if any shots are chasing quail with much better results. The usual brushy draws in the Palouse, near Cheney, and along the Snake River are full of birds, and parts of the Columbia Basin have seen a resurging population

There are definitely some northern ducks in the area, but not as many as you’d expect for the Thanksgiving weekend. Indications are the bulk of the birds are still on the Canadian prairies.

Deer hunting in Idaho didn’t improve much in November, at least through the Priest River check station. Hunter success rates on white-tailed deer were down 71% from the average and 72% from last year. Mule deer were down 20% from average and 7% from last year. This may be the worst year in the last 24, as the drop was evident throughout the region.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has simplified the price of Super Hunt and Super Hunt Combo tickets. As soon as license software is updated, the first ticket will cost $4.25 plus $1.75 vendor fee for a total of $6. Each additional ticket purchased at the same time will cost $4 each. For the Super Hunt Combo, the first ticket will cost $18.25 plus the $1.75 vendor fee for a total of $20. Each additional ticket purchased at the same time will cost $16. The Super Hunt ticket will entitle the winner to hunt for one each elk, deer, antelope and moose. The Super Hunt Combo ticket allows winners to participate in any open hunt in the state for deer, elk, pronghorn or moose, including general and controlled hunts. Tickets are available online at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ superhunt/, at license vendors and Fish and Game offices, by phone at 800-554-8685.