Hunting and fishing

Fri., Sept. 17, 2010

By Alan Liere spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

Tip of the week

The best bite for Snake River steelhead and chinook is from dawn until about 8 a.m., but there is often another bite at about noon.

Braggin’ rights

Excellent salmon and steelhead reports abounded on the Snake/Clearwater this week. Friend Jerry Hawkins, fishing the confluence for steelhead over the weekend, hooked 15 in two days using purple shrimp under a bobber. He went back Tuesday with two friends and they brought home seven keepers. The bite slowed noticeably Wednesday and Thursday near the confluence at Lewiston. But with more than 3,500 fish pouring over Lower Granite the past few days, that’s going to change.

Overheard

The flow over Dworshak has been cut to almost nothing. This most likely will negatively impact fly fishing for steelhead on the Clearwater for a while as the fish disperse back into the Snake (see above).

Heads up

• If you’re heading for the Clearwater confluence to take advantage of the good steelhead and chinook bite, don’t forget that the most logical launch at the Greenbelt Boat Ramp and Swallows Park in Clarkston is unavailable because of a paving project. Some anglers are launching just on the other side of the Red Wolf Bridge.

• WDFW has adjusted seasons and temporarily removed daily limits and size restrictions for game-fish species on Grant County lakes scheduled for rehabilitation this fall. These are: Heart, June, North Windmill, Windmill, Canal, Pit, North and South Teal, Martha, Upper Caliche, Lower Caliche and West Caliche. All will close in October.

• First-time hunters ages 12-15 can register for a free youth pheasant hunting clinic set for Oct. 9 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Genesee, co-sponsored by North Idaho chapter of Pheasants Forever. Contact Idaho Fish and Game in Lewiston, (208) 799-5010 by Oct. 1.

• Idaho Fish and Game has scheduled three mentored waterfowl hunts in the Panhandle Region on Sept. 25 for youths 15 and younger. Hunts will take place at Boundary Creek Wildlife Management Area, Heyburn State Park and the Clark Fork River Delta. Space is limited, so register early. For Boundary Creek and Heyburn hunts, contact Bryan Helmich, (208) 769-1414. For the Clark Fork hunt, contact Ray Millard, (208) 264-5252.

Fly fishing

The Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe are seeing little pressure and fishing is excellent. It is a blue wing olive game now, but October caddis are definitely out. Don’t be afraid to skate those flies.

Trout and kokanee

Rock Lake rainbow 13-20 inches have been hitting all day in 20-30 feet of water. Try a Roosevelt-type fly with a piece of worm. The big browns haven’t been so easy to catch and are probably much deeper.

The Two Rivers Trout Derby was a raging success last weekend. Most anglers checked in limits, and the winning weight, which included some large kokanee, was more than 70 pounds. Kokanee are staging in the Spokane Arm and are probably doing the same in the San Poil Arm.

An angler who fished Badger Lake earlier this week said he couldn’t keep them off, and speculated there may have been a recent plant. Most of his fish, taken on a Flatfish, were 11 inches.

Salmon and steelhead

The Columbia River is full of fall chinook between Tongue Point and Bonneville Dam, with an average of 11,586 passing through the Bonneville ladder daily. Many of these are making their way to the Snake River, which is open to chinook retention in Washington and Idaho. Guide Rick Hedding of Asotin said that in addition to steelhead, he is putting “all kinds of chinook in the boat,” some as large as 30 pounds. The salmon are more likely on a trolled Kwik Fish, but it is not uncommon to catch one on the shrimp.

Guide Rod Hammons of R&R Guide Service in Brewster said Columbia River steelhead are running larger than normal and are full of fight. He said fishing is good at Bridgeport and below Wells Dam with both salmon and steelhead in the daily catch.

WDFW staff interviewed 434 anglers from 184 boats this past week in the Hanford Reach. An estimated 585 adults and 58 jacks were harvested for the week. Harvest this year is well more than last year at this time. Boats are averaging a little less than a chinook per boat.

Paul Hoffarth, WDFW District 4 Fish Biologist in Pasco, said WDFW staff interviewed 75 anglers over the first 12 days of the Yakima River sport fishery. No salmon had been reported at midweek.

Neah Bay, LaPush and Westport still have significant numbers of coho left in their yearly quotas. At Ilwaco, approximately 70 percent of the quota has been taken. Anglers are averaging about three-four fish each.

Spiny ray

Banks Lake largemouth have been pounding Rattletraps in relatively shallow water over weeds. Smallmouth are also on the bite practically anywhere but are holding a little deeper. Some of the most enthusiastic reports are coming from the Seven Bays area of Lake Roosevelt.

The north end of Lake Roosevelt has been excellent for small walleye near Buoy 5. Jigs tipped with worms in 20-30 feet of water works well, but anglers trolling spinners on bottom bouncers are taking walleye as well as trout. Closer to Hunters, walleye anglers are finding their fish deeper.

Area panfish lakes are doing well. Bluegill anglers report excellent success at Silver Lake with pieces of shrimp on a jig. Long, Eloika and Downs lakes are booting out perch, and the fall bass bite is sometimes frantic.

A report from a Pend Oreille River pike fisherman indicates the fish are again moving into shallow water. He said he caught a half-dozen fish casting plastics from shore near Newport.

Other species

During the 2009-10 season, clam diggers harvested more than 3.7 million razor clams on the five ocean beaches open for digging on the Washington coast. WDFW is accepting public comments on digging days, catch limits and other management options for the upcoming season, tentatively set to begin in early October. Comments can be sent to razorclams@dfw.wa.gov or to Razor Clams, 48 Devonshire Road, Montesano, WA 98563. WDFW is soliciting public comments on this year’s digging options as a lower-cost alternative to conducting a series of public meetings, said Ron Warren, regional WDFW fish manager.

Hunting

The early fall Washington hunting season for wild turkey begins Sept. 25 in many game management units throughout the region. The northeast district will provide the most opportunity. In Idaho, most units opened for fall turkey Wednesday. Birds are numerous and success has been high, though participation has been low.

A muzzleloader-only seasons for deer and cougar starts Sept. 25 in Washington, followed by the early muzzleloader hunt for elk that begins Oct. 2. The high buck hunt in the Okanogan wilderness areas runs until Sept. 25. Most of the deer in this region are mule deer, and populations are doing well. Hunting prospects are fair to good in all districts.

Mandatory hunter reports for Idaho will be Web-based this year. All deer, elk and pronghorn hunters must complete and submit a report for each tag issued within 10 days of harvest or within 10 days of the close of the season. Hunters who supply an e-mail get verification they complied with reporting requirement and will be in the drawing for 10 super tags. To submit the harvest report go to: id.outdoorcentral.us/id/HunterReporting/ welcome, or: fishandgame.idaho.gov, and click on the orange Hunter Report logo below the photo.

Grouse hunters don’t have much good to say about bird populations in eastern Washington and northern Idaho. As always, there are pockets of grouse, but for the most part, success is low.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com