Hunting + fishing

Fly fishing

Fly fishers were iced-out of some March 1-opening lakes in the past, but not this year

Amber and Coffeepot, both selective fisheries, are ice-free fly-fishing darlings. Amber (Spokane County) holds rainbows and cutthroat, while Coffeepot (Lincoln County) is a selective fishery for rainbows as well as perch and crappie.

“There’s no reason Amber and Coffeepot shouldn’t fish great,” WDFW fish biologist Chris Donley said Thursday.

Selective-gear lakes worth a trip for the Monday openers include the Quincy walk-in chain. Dusty Lake received almost 9,000 rainbow trout fry last March which should average 16 inches. A smaller proportion of brown and tiger trout fingerlings also was planted.

Lenice and Nunnally could also be good on Monday for rainbow triploids, brown and tiger trout ranging from 15-21 inches.

If current mild temperatures persist, Lenore may also be fishable. If so, the north and south ends are usually best.

Trout

Rufus Woods reports are mixed, but the upper net pens have provided much better fishing than the lower pens. Anglers who have tried both say it is possible to dead drift a black marabou jig near the upper pens for numerous fish of more than 6 pounds and quite a few in the 10-pound range.

Two friends and I fished the Keller area of Lake Roosevelt Wednesday, so I know where the fish aren’t biting. We tried multiple depths and presentations and had only four hits and three fish to show for seven hours of trolling. Similar reports came from all over the system.

Sprague Lake is still slow. A two-fish day is way above average.

Most of the seven impoundments off the Tucannon River on WDFW’s Wooten Wildlife Area in Columbia County are being stocked with catchables and jumbos and will open Monday.

Other Monday openers in the region should provide open-water action on a variety of fish:

•Downs Lake in southwest Spokane County might be best early in the season for perch, but it also has bass, crappie, and carryover rainbow trout.

•Liberty has rainbow and brown trout, bass and perch. Ice out is earlier this year, so the browns may be headed for the depths by Monday.

•Medical has brown and rainbow trout.

•Deer Lake in southern Stevens County offers rainbow and lake trout, kokanee, and a variety of spiny rays.

Grant County lakes opening Monday are largely ice free. The best bets for limits of trout are Martha, Burke and Upper Caliche lakes. Quincy Lake could also be good if ice-free.

Several year-round lakes in that area also will be worth checking out, including Blythe, Canal, Chukar, Corral, Heart and Windmill. All of these are south of Potholes Reservoir. Corral and Blythe should offer excellent fishing for yearling and carryover rainbow trout. Boat anglers can move between these lakes through the substantial surface water connection.

On Lake Chelan, anglers are seeing signs that kokanee are starting to school up and feed off of Lakeside. It’s early, but the mild January and February may allow the bite to begin sooner this year.

Small Idaho lakes around Coeur d’Alene are shedding ice quickly. Trout fishing from shore is not fast, but it is possible.

Steelhead and salmon

The Grande Ronde River may have slowed down a little last week, but it still provides excellent steelhead fishing. WDFW fish biologist Chris Donley said the biggest problem is crowds, and notes than when the Cottonwood fish arrive, things will really get nuts.

The Salmon River system had some of the best catch averages last week. The Middle Fork to the North Fork Salmon River produced a steelhead for every three angler hours. The North and South Fork Clearwater were good, giving up a fish for every eight or nine angler hours.

The Upper Columbia steelhead fishing has been decent around Wells Dam and Pateros. Anglers are baiting quarter-ounce Rock Dancer jigs. A steelhead angler throwing Blue Fox spinners reported landing several fish on the Okanogan near Tonasket.

Wenatchee River steelheading will close Sunday evening.

The Okanogan, Entiat, Similkameen and Methow rivers, as well as the mainstem Columbia are scheduled to remain open through March.

The exception is a section of the Okanogan River (see regs) set to close on March 14.

Steelhead fishing continues to be good for boat anglers in The Dalles and John Day Pools. Bank anglers are also catching a few fish. Winter steelhead and a few spring chinook should be available on the lower Columbia for boat and bank anglers.

Spiny ray

Lake Roosevelt walleye anglers are working hard for their fish, but a few big ones are being caught. The bite is light with limits one day and a skunk the next.

A 19.1-pound walleye – just 2 ounces shy of the state record – was caught in the McNary pool of the Columbia and verified on Saturday.

Eloika Lake is ice-free, but it will probably be a month before a decent bass bite begins. Perch are either in the spawn or just coming off it. It takes them a few weeks after spawn to look healthy again.

The Newman Lake boat launch is ice free, but at midweek there was still a lot of ice. The bay south of the launch is open.

Walleye anglers have had some good days recently jigging at the Crab Creek mouth at Potholes Reservoir in Grant County.

Other species

The sport fishery for white sturgeon between John Day Dam and McNary Dam on the Columbia River will close to retention on Monday.

The sport clam and oyster fishing seasons at Penrose Point State Park will close Monday.

Clam diggers have the go-ahead to proceed with an evening razor-clam dig late this month. WDFW has expanded evening digs at two of those beaches – Long Beach and Twin Harbors – to run from Friday through Monday.

Hunting

Though uncommon in Idaho during the fall and winter, tens of thousands of snow geese stop over in the spring to feed and rest during their migration northward. Idaho hunters have a new opportunity to hunt these white geese in the Southwest and Magic Valley Regions during Idaho’s first spring snow goose hunt, which began Saturday and runs though March 10.