Weekly hunting and fishing report

Thu., April 16, 2015

By Alan Liere spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

Tip of the week

The Triple Fish Challenge out of Coulee Playland Resort on Banks Lake runs April 25-26. This is a fun, exciting tournament with excellent prizes in several categories for adults and kids. Anglers are challenged to weigh in a trout, a walleye and a bass on both days of the tournament. Info and registration: grandcouleedam.org. Click on “events calendar” then “area events” or call (509) 633-3074.

Braggin’ rights

More than 100 volunteer anglers were recruited by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, with assistance from the Nez Perce Tribe, to help catch and collect adult steelhead from the South Fork Clearwater River for hatchery spawning needs. The goal of collecting 225 spawning pairs was completed by March 7. If all goes as planned, about 1.2 million juvenile steelhead will be released into the South Fork Clearwater next spring.

Heads up

The 2015 Clear Lake Kids Fishing Event sponsored by the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will be held at the Fairchild AFB Recreation Area on Clear Lake May 2. Each participant will receive a free rod/reel combo and an event T-shirt. The registration form, directions and information about the event can be found on WDFW’s Youth Fishing Calendar ( http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/kids/events.html). Registration will continue through this Friday.

The Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club’s annual spring fishing derby will begin April 25 and run through May 3 with a total prize package of more than $13,000. Tickets for the adult division are $40. There is no charge for two youth divisions for children 13 and younger. Kids in these divisions compete for donated prizes and trophies. New this year is a Junior Division for teens aged 14 to 17 with a reduced entry fee of $20 to fund cash prizes for their own division. Info: www.LPOIC.org

Overheard

In early March, an angler provided a photograph of about two dozen dead pike in a dried-up pool near Kettle Falls. Since then, there have been have been reports of anglers catching pike in the Kettle Falls area as well as a nearby shallow area called Marcus Flats. A friend recently caught a 25-incher in the Kettle River.

Fly fishing

The north end of Lake Lenore has been giving up healthy 16- to 22-inch Lahontan cutthroats by the rock slide area. Lenice Lake has also been good for trout ranging from 16-23 inches.

Nunnally Lake in Grant County has been good for fly fishermen. The average trout size is 15 inches.

Dry fly fishing has picked up, and the Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe have been fishing well. Skwalas and March Browns are leading the way.

The Washington State Council of The Federation of Fly Fishers invites all fly fishermen to see the huge variety of tying, casting and learning events at the Ninth Annual Fly Fishing Fair in Ellensburg, May 1 and 2 at the Kittitas Valley Event Center.

Salmon and steelhead

Clarkston guide Toby Wyatt has been fishing the Columbia near Portland for chrome-bright chinook. He said catch rates are increasing each day and as he follows the fish upriver, the John Day Pool will be his next stop.

Two sections of the Snake River, below Ice Harbor Dam near Pasco and below Lower Granite Dam, will open to fishing for spring chinook salmon Sunday. Two other sections of the river – below Little Goose Dam and Clarkston – will open April 23. Waters below Ice Harbor Dam and below Lower Granite Dam will be open Sunday through Tuesday each week, while the Little Goose Dam and Clarkston area sections will be open Thursday through Saturday each week. Review the spring chinook fishing rule change on Washing Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website at fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules.

Trout and kokanee

A lot of boats at Deer Lake have been trolling near the public access. Planter rainbow have been extremely cooperative there.

Rock Lake is a good spot for catches of big brown and smaller rainbow trout.

Anglers at Long Lake are finding fast action on 13- to 16-inch rainbow in the Suncrest area and all the way to Long Lake Dam. The most strikes are coming at around 15 feet down. Nine Mile Resort launch is open, as is the launch/park in Corkscrew Canyon.

Sprague Lake fishing for trout and steelhead remains good. The east end has been mentioned a lot.

Liminator Lures in orange and pink have been the hot lure for Lake Chelan kokanee to 17 inches. Fish are still deep – 90 to 130 feet – and trolling speed is a steady 1.2 mph. It is possible to also take cutts, rainbow, macks and an occasional chinook while trolling Chelan. Up lake of Mitchell Creek along the North Shore is a good place to start. Nearby Roses Lake is still producing relatively easy limits of 12- to 16-inch rainbows for shore and boat anglers

Hayden Lake continues to boot out some beautiful silvers with bright red flesh. Three-colors lead and a Wedding Ring with shoepeg corn has been a good combination.

In the Idaho Panhandle, several more lakes will be stocked with catchable rainbow between Monday and May 1. These are Sinclair, Round, Lower Twin, Granite, Kelso, Fernan, Jewel and Antelope. Fernan will get the biggest plant of 3,600 fish.

Spiny ray

There has been a lot of boat activity on Eloika Lake and the largemouth fishing improves each week. There have been no reports of crappie, but that should also be starting soon. Perch are just coming off the spawn and are rather scrawny.

The Potholes Reservoir walleye bite has been consistent for 15- to 21-inch fish at the mouth of Crab Creek, but some good catches have also come from Lind Coulee.

Friends fishing the Spokane Arm of Lake Roosevelt upriver from Porcupine Bay have had excellent success catching walleye, but they say the hot spot one day may be devoid of fish the next. Move around. Drop-shotting, blade baiting, jigging and trolling spinners have been equally productive. Most of the fish have been in 20 feet of water or less in back eddies and channel edges.

Newman Lake largemouth are waking up, and so are the tiger muskies. Both species have been in 10 feet of water and less. At Silver Lake, anglers are seeing quite a few muskies in the shallows but not catching any yet.

Deer Lake smallmouth are concentrated – find one and you’ll usually find a bunch. Jerkbaits have been effective.

Walleye and smallmouth fishing on Banks Lake is good. Look for scattered boulders in flats with 3-10 feet of water and throw crankbaits for the smallies. The walleye, which are in various stages of the spawn, are spread out in depths of 10-45 feet. The walleyes seem to have moved off Barker Flats.

Smallmouth fishermen near Wawawai on the Snake are finding nice-sized fish along the rip-rap by throwing Rapalas or jerk baits. The water is down and the side of the launch nearest the dock has some boat-tire-gobbling gaps.

Other species

Razor clam diggers can return to coastal beaches starting Friday for an eight-day dig on minus morning tides. The lowest tides will be Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Hunting

New hunting rules approved this year will expand hunting opportunities for nearly every big game species and gear type. All of these will be included in the 2015 Big Game Hunting pamphlet, which will be available later this spring on WDFW’s website at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/, in sporting goods stores, and at other license vendors throughout the state.

Idaho hunters have until April 30 to apply for moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat controlled hunts. Telephone applications may be made at 1-800-554-8685.

The Washington and Idaho turkey openers were Wednesday. Two friends were lucky enough to take home birds.

Contact Alan Liere @spokesmanliere@yahoo.com