Weekly hunting and fishing report
Fly fishing
The Spokane River is the best fly fishing option in the region because water temperatures remain somewhat stable. Focus on the slow water with nymphs or streamers at midday.
The Snake River has been decent for steelhead. The Grande Ronde froze up some recently, but with the warming trend it may be ready to go again by the weekend.
Whitefish are moving into area rivers. The Clark Fork should be excellent, and the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene is also a good bet.
Trout and kokanee
The triploid rainbow bite on Rufus Woods Reservoir is good. The recent releases of more than 20,000 triploids weighing from 1-2 pounds are showing up above Chief Joseph Dam. Anglers are also catching good numbers of 3- to 5-pound fish. The limit is two and stiff fines are imposed on anglers caught releasing fish while using bait.
Lake Roosevelt will most likely offer the most consistent local trout action for the rest of the winter. Two friends and I fished out of Hunters on Tuesday and limited in 4 hours with four fish more than 18 inches. The fluorescent orange Apex tipped with nightcrawler worked best for us at around 30 feet, but other reports from other destinations on the impoundment indicate flies and plugs are working and many trout are being caught at less than 20 feet. Kokanee have been a lot more elusive, but that fishery generally hits stride in late December.
Winter trout lakes open Dec. 1, but fishing could be difficult. About a third of Hog Canyon is iced over and the ice at the launch is too thick to break. There will possibly be open water fishing from shore for those who don’t mind the walk.
Fourth of July has ice at the launch but open water farther down the lake, which is accessible along the lake edge by anglers on foot. Although Fourth of July is a state-managed lake, permission to trespass comes from the private owner. Last year, a few individuals chose to illegally drive their vehicles overland or on rustic roads. If this practice continues, access to Fourth of July could be permanently denied. The landowner is also asking fishermen to not block access to the gates at the public parking area.
No information was available at press time regarding Williams and Hatch lakes, but it must be assumed both have a lot of ice. More information, as well as prospects for fishing on all winter lakes, will be in next week’s column, which, because of Thanksgiving, will run on Wednesday.
Salmon and steelhead
Idaho’s Clearwater River steelhead are moving into the deeper holes with slow water. Fishing has ranged from decent to exceptional. The average is about a fish per 8 hours of effort. The Snake River all the way to Hells Canyon Dam has produced similar success. Most anglers are pulling plugs. The steelhead count over lower Granite is below the five-year average for this date but considerably above last year’s numbers.
The nation’s largest steelhead derby, the Kendall Chevrolet Clearwater Snake Steelhead Derby, is back to its original dates during Thanksgiving week. The Derby begins at midnight Saturday and runs through Nov. 29. The opening ceremony kicks off on Friday from 6-9 p.m. at the Kendall Chevrolet Showroom in North Lewiston. First-place prize money is $2,000 with more than $10,000 in cash and prizes. To register, go to lcvalleychamber.org and look for “upcoming events.”
The Icicle River near the National Fish Hatchery in Leavenworth still holds large numbers of 5- to 12-pound coho. The fish are right near the shore, so anglers are tossing jigs or spoons on light gear and letting the current swing them close to the bank. Although the fish are dark, the meat is good enough for the smoker. The limit is two coho a day and the season runs until the end of the month.
Chinook fishing on Lake Coeur d’Alene has been fair to good for anglers trolling at 90-100 feet with small hootchies.
Spiny ray
Coeur d’Alene Lake weed beds are dying down quickly and the northern pike will soon be getting lethargic. That said, a lot of fish in the 25- to 28-inch range have been taken recently. Big Hammer Swimbaits and soft plastic frogs have been good with a slow presentation. Bait fishermen on shore are beginning to ply the shallow bays with herring under a bobber.
Potholes Reservoir anglers jigging over the 20-foot humps are taking some large walleye and perch.
Other species
Razor clam diggers will again be able to hit ocean beaches during a week-long afternoon dig that will run today through Wednesday. Good evening clamming tides are forecast. WDFW also has proposed another dig in early December, if marine toxin tests are favorable.
The burbot fishery will be starting soon on Lake Roosevelt and the fish seem to get a little larger each year. One of the few guiding operations to target Roosevelt burbot is YJ Guide Service (509-999-0717), which also offers combination trips for burbot and trout.
Hunting
Fewer hunters were checked coming through the WDFW check stations at Deer Park and Chattaroy last weekend, but the success rate ratio was about the same as last year. At Chattaroy, 52 hunters had 11 whitetails and at Deer Park, 93 hunters were interviewed with 25 whitetails. The late-season hunt ended Wednesday in Washington.
Small water has already frozen in Washington and Idaho, but a lot of ducks have moved into the area and are sitting on lakes and moving water. The stubble fields north of Deer Park were loaded with mallards on Tuesday.
Reports from the Pasco area indicate the birds are in heavy with an unusually high number of specklebelly and snow geese.
Pheasant hunters are hoping the predicted snowfall for this week will improve success. Hunters are averaging less than a bird each per trip.
The modern rifle season in much of Idaho continues through Dec. 1. Prospects for taking a whitetail buck are excellent as they will be in full rut by then.