Weekly hunting and fishing report
Fly fishing
WDFW has closed the lower Rocky Ford Creek footbridge because the wooden piers it rests on have been deemed unsafe. Since wading is prohibited at Rocky Ford, anglers have only one way to cross the stream – the upper bridge. Anglers wanting to fish from the east shoreline will need to cross at there and hike downstream.
There have been some decent fishing reports from the lower- to mid-Coeur d’Alene River. A push of water over the weekend caused the river to rise, but as it drops back down, there should be some windows in the afternoon.
The Spokane River is not a bad place to get your winter fly fishing fix as it doesn’t blow out or freeze as much as the other local river. Streamers slowly swung or deep double nymph rigs can find some action.
The recent rains put the Yakima River out of shape. Even the creeks are flooding over in the valley, and it may be a while before the Yakima becomes fishable again.
Salmon and steelhead
The rain last weekend caused area steelhead rivers to rise quickly, but they seem to be settling down. The Methow or Salmon did not rise as much and will probably provide better fishing than the Snake. According to IDFG, the Clearwater has been good with a lot of the steelhead running 14-16 pounds. Flows are back to approximately 1,600 cfs.
Steelhead anglers bouncing small jigs are catching steelhead around Pateros, but they say the majority of the fish caught are wild.
Trout and kokanee
Rufus Woods flows have been slow recently, but it hasn’t seemed to affect the trout fishing near the first net pens. The fish have been in the drop-offs rather than on the flats. Jigs are working well, with white being the preferred color this week. Most of the fish run 2-6 pounds, with 3 pounds a good average.
Few anglers are launching boats on Banks Lake, but those fishing from shore are taking trout, many larger than the fat rainbow being caught at nearby Lake Roosevelt.
Lake Roosevelt was a good place this week for anglers who like to sleep in. Although an early-morning bite is usually best, a lot of rainbow were taken by those arriving after 9 a.m. Friends trolling Roosevelt down from Lincoln said the trout bite this week was fast on “anything we put out.” Three limits were taken in short order, with the fastest bite coming on small pink hootchies like the ones used for summer sockeye. They said they trolled over 130 feet of water, but the fish were in the top 10 feet.
The trout planted in Long Lake by Avista seem to have moved down river. The few anglers fishing for them report fast action near the Long Lake Dam on fish averaging almost 15 inches. The best success has been up high in the water column trolling an Apex or an orange Kekeda fly. Launching is still available at the Nine Mile Resort.
Williams Lake north of Colville is mostly open with the only ice early in the week on the west side. Car top boats can be launched and the fishing for trout has been fair.
Rock Lake is a launching nightmare for trailered boats, but anglers who persist and find the deep spot are rewarded with excellent fishing for rainbow running 13-15 inches as well as some larger brown trout. The north end of the lake by the inlet creek is reported to provide fast fishing. Hog Canyon Lake still had some thin ice on it early in the week, but even if a cold snap sets in, it is doubtful it will firm up enough to fish. Bank anglers at Fourth of July are still taking some large rainbow from open water, but the bite has been slow. Power Bait Eggs on bottom are doing best.
Sprague Lake is wide open, but on two passes there this weekend, not a single boat was seen. Sprague should provide some good winter trout fishing.
Spiny ray
Eloika Lake has ice but not enough to walk on. There is just enough to keep perch anglers from launching a boat.
Other species
Whitefish anglers are having success on the Kettle River near the mouth at the Kamloops Campground and also in the deeper pools under the bridges at Barstow and Orient.
Maggots are a top bait, but the fish will also hit a plain white fly. Whitefish angling is also good on the Wenatchee, Methow and Entiat rivers as well the Okanogan and Similkameen.
Close to Yakima, the Naches, Tieton, Cle Elum and Bumping rivers also have whitefish. In Idaho, the Clearwater River below Kooskia, the lower Selway and Lochsa are good places for whitefish action.
The winter sturgeon retention season opens January 1 in the Columbia River and tributaries from Bonneville Dam upstream to The Dalles Dam. The daily bag limit is one sturgeon between 38 and 54-inches fork length, and the annual limit is two.
The sport clam fishing season will open on Jan. 1 at Dosewallips State Park on Hood Canal. This is earlier than usual, but surveys indicate the clam population on this beach has greatly increased and can support a year-round season in 2015. At Fort Flagler State Park and Frye Cove Park, the sport clam and oyster fishing seasons will not open until May 15, as surveys indicate the clam populations on these beaches have decreased.
Hunting
The Washington goose season in Management Area 4 will be open today through Jan. 1 before going back to the regular Wednesday/weekend schedule until Jan. 19 when it will remain open every day through Jan. 25.
There are a lot of the big birds spread out throughout the area. The Pend Oreille River seems to have fewer birds this week than last, but sources say they are spread out on smaller water throughout the Pend Oreille valley around Kalispell Lake.
Goose Management Area 5, which borders Area 4 on three fronts, remains open seven days a week until the end of the waterfowl season.
Eastern Washington’s pheasant season closes after Jan. 11. The quail and partridge season closes after Jan. 19.
Hunters report finding a few chukars up high on the Snake River breaks as well as quail in the blackberry patches down low.
Northern Idaho and high Eastern Washington duck numbers remain high as the mild weather is keeping them in the area. Excellent hunting is reported on the Columbia near Paterson as well as McNary. The Potholes sand dunes area can be outstanding at times.
Contact Alan Liere by email at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com