Chilly opening day had fishing hot spots in Columbia Basin

FISHING — Fishing season opened today in a select group of lakes, mostly in Central Washington. While success rates weren’t good everywhere, some lakes — notably Upper Caliche, Martha, Burke and Quincy Lakes — were the best in recently years, said Chad Jackson, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife fish biologist for the Columbia Basin.

The quality waters — Lenice, Nunnally, Lenore and Dusty Lakes saw very low effort and poor catch rates early in the day, he said.

Although air temperatures were 28-32 degrees, skies were mostly sunny with mild winds and good to excellent harvest rates in many waters.

The cold weather appeared to be the factor in reducing angler effort 50-70 percent from recent years.

Read on for Jackson’s detailed report by water.

PRODUCTION WATERS

UPPER CALICHE LAKE: Upper Caliche Lake was the best “producer” on the opener with harvest rates of 4.3 trout per angler . This rate is up significantly from 2010 ( <1 trout per angler ). Trout quality was good with sizes ranging from 11.5-13 inches . Fishing should continue to be good over the next couple months.

QUINCY AND BURKE LAKES: Both Quincy and Burke Lakes fished very well, and very similar, on the opener with harvest rates of 3.0 and 2.9 trout per angler , respectively. Yearling trout size was good ranging in size from 12-14 inches . Of interest to anglers, nearly 40% of trout checked in the creel at both lakes were carryovers ranging in size from 16-20 inches . Fishing on both lakes should be good to excellent over the next 2-3 months for yearling and carryover trout. Trout will continue to grow during the spring. Additionally, on March 3 ^rd a fishing derby sponsored by Quincy Valley Tourism will be held on Burke Lake where cash and prizes will be awarded for a variety of categories (e.g., largest fish, largest limit, etc.). Angers should check the QVT website for more information.

MARTHA LAKE: Martha Lake was slightly down from last year, but still produced well with a harvest rate of 2.7 trout per angler . Trout quality was good with sizes ranging from 12-14 inches . Fishing should be good the remainder of March.

QUALITY WATERS

LENICE AND NUNNALLY LAKES: Fishing was very slow at Lenice Lake due to cold air temperatures (~29°F) and strong winds (15-20mph sustained) out of the west. There were white caps on the lake surface during the entire creel survey. Effort was lower than observed last year with a peak angler count during the creel survey of 14 boats/pontoons with 18 anglers at 10:00AM. Only one fish was observed caught-and-released. Water temperature was 42-43°F. Fishing will likely pick up once the wind dies down. No anglers were observed at Nunnally Lake on the opener.

DUSTY LAKE: Only four anglers were observed fishing Dusty Lake on the opener. One anglers was interviewed and caught rainbow trout from 12-14”.

LAKE LENORE: No anglers were observed fishing Lake Lenore on opening day. Currently, the lake is 100% ice free and fishable.