Hunting + fishing

Fri., Dec. 25, 2009

By Alan Liere spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

Tip of the week

There is some good winter perch fishing at times at Rufus Woods. The schools are usually found by trollers who keep any eye on their depth finders while searching for walleye, but the water directly off the Seaton Grove boat launch is often productive.

Braggin’ rights

Spokane resident Chuck Holden had good waterfowling at Patterson last weekend, taking three geese, 12 greenheads and a pair of wood ducks. The wood ducks were his first.

Overheard

Want to help the economy? Go fishing. A new report by the American Sportfishing Association shows that in 2006 U.S. recreational anglers – that’s 40 million people – purchased almost $45 billion worth of goods and services. According to the data, sportfishing created 1 million jobs which generated more than $38 billion in wages and $16.6 billion in taxes paid.

Heads up

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will be accepting enrollment applications for its Master Hunter program Jan. 1 through Feb. 15. Details on the program, application forms and enrollment procedures are available at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/masterhunter

Salmon and steelhead

The North Fork Clearwater has been best for steelhead with a fish per every six angler hours. The Snake is giving up a steelhead every nine hours.

Steelhead fishing at Pateros has been slow but steady. Most anglers are staying on the Columbia, but some of the tributaries were breaking up at midweek.

At Boggan’s Oasis on the Grande Ronde, Bill Vail said a couple of ice jams are making the river unfishable by boat. There is some fishable water for bank anglers, but conditions are not ideal.

Trout and kokanee

The small Idaho lakes still have 5-7 inches of good ice. Anglers were still sampling the lakes around Coeur d’Alene on Wednesday.

Big triploids are showing more frequently at Rufus Woods Reservoir as the winter progresses. Anglers throwing black Rooster Tails or trolling Rapalas are taking numerous fish between 4-7 pounds. Those who can hold off long enough are usually rewarded with at least one 10-pounder.

It doesn’t seem to matter where you troll on Lake Roosevelt, you’re eventually going to find good trout fishing. Two friends and I trolled recently near the Hunters launch with flashers and Muddler Minnows tipped with a piece of nightcrawler. It took a half hour to find the fish and another 11/2 hours to boat 15. One was 23 inches and all the rest were 15-16 inches. Similar reports come from Spring Canyon, Fort Spokane and Hawk Creek. The only variable seems to be depth, which ranges from the surface down to 20 feet.

Roosevelt bank anglers are also taking trout, though not as furiously, by throwing nightcrawlers, marshmallows and Power Bait in assorted combinations. All of the 750,000 Lake Roosevelt trout planted this year were triploids, and though they have seen phenomenal growth, don’t expect them to reach Rufus Woods proportions. Food from the commercial fish growers on Rufus cannot be duplicated on Roosevelt, where almost all trout sustenance comes from plankton.

Rock Lake brown and rainbow fishing was slow this week, with trollers taking most of the fish on a variety of plugs and spinner flies. I received a late report from a party of anglers who said they “knocked ’em dead” throwing shad-type grubs to shore and jigging them back. They said they caught nothing but browns, mostly between 18-21 inches, with one measuring 27 inches. The only complaint was that the fish were skinny.

Omak Lake near Chelan has been consistently providing Lahontan cutthroats ranging from 15-24 inches and more. Try 3-inch Pro-Troll Trout Killers along the east side of the lake.

Spiny ray

The ice at popular perch-fishing destinations Silver and Eloika made it through the warm snap and rain, somewhat sloppier but still firm. Recent cold weather should make conditions good again. Silver has one access spot for public fishing – the boat launch. At Eloika, you can go to the boat launch on the south end or Jerry’s Landing on the east side at about midlake (parking fee required).

Waitts Lake perch anglers are also catching rainbow and brown trout. The majority of fishing is taking place straight out from the public access.

Newman Lake never seems to hit full stride in the winter, though it is loaded with perch and sunfish and some big crappie. No one has reported taking a tiger muskie through the ice, but a few anglers are trying. It’s just a matter of time.

On Banks Lake, the launches at Coulee Playland and Northup are ice-free and you can fish most of the lake with the exception of the south end and bays such as Osborne and Poplar. A few walleye and perch are being caught.

The Coeur d’Alene Chain Lakes have a variety of panfish as well as northern pike. Pike fishermen are taking fish off their tip-ups. Dead herring is a popular bait.

Other species

Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks and Kalaloch beaches will be open for razor clam digging Thursday and next Friday. All of those beaches, with the exception of Kalaloch, also will be open Jan. 2. Twin Harbors will open for a fourth evening of digging on Jan. 3.

A few burbot (fresh water ling cod) have been pulled from Bead Lake this week. There were no mackinaw reports, but that is usually productive through the ice in the winter.

Hunting

Upland bird hunting in Idaho has been fairly good all season. Pheasants remain open until Thursday in the southwest part of the state; forest grouse season is open until Thursday statewide; and quail, chukar and partridge seasons are open through the end of January. Waterfowl seasons are open to Jan. 15, in Area 1, northern and eastern Idaho, and to Jan. 22 in Area 2, southwestern Idaho and Magic Valley. Any Idaho hunter planning to go hunting or fishing on or after New Year’s Day must have a 2010 license.

Low bird populations, particularly in traditional covers in Whitman County, have kept Washington upland bird hunters at home. On an outing Tuesday, I shot one rooster near Rosalia – the only male bird I saw. The last three times out, there has been no competition from other hunters. The upland season ends Jan. 18 and the waterfowl season ends Jan. 31. Forest grouse close Thursday.

Friends who hunted above the Snake River breaks Tuesday found a few chukars and grey partridge as well as a few roosters. They said the pheasants were running on a fast track.

Ducks have been moving around with the changing weather. Good reports at times have come from Pattersons, Burbank Slough and McNary. Guide Gary Russell of Quackers Guide Service in Moses Lake said his season has been pretty bleak, but for three consecutive days early in the week his clients did well. On my Tuesday outing, there were several hundred ducks on moving water in the Rosalia area.

As of Monday, the Idaho statewide hunter harvest was 131 wolves. Wolf hunters are reminded to check the harvest limit in the wolf hunting zones they intend to hunt. Idaho Department of Fish and Game set wolf harvest limits by 12 zones. The season closes in each zone when the limit for that zone is reached, or when the statewide limit of 220 wolves is reached, or on March 31, whichever comes first. Several units have already closed after filling their quotas.

Coeur d’Alene Lake was said to be loaded with geese last week. In the Spokane area, there is a large concentration on Long Lake. The area from Spokane to almost Moses Lake was a waterfowl wasteland when I drove through there this week.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com