Weekly hunting and fishing report

Thu., Aug. 20, 2015

By Alan Liere spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

Tip of the week

If your summer angling has included an ocean bottom-fishing trip, you probably have a lot of tasty black sea bass fillets. The down side to a bountiful harvest, however, is that sea bass are best used in the first two months unless vacuum packed. Even fresh, these fish are very “fishy” smelling. When I prepare black sea bass, I do everything – unwrapping, seasoning and cooking – outside. An excellent method of preparation is to coat them with melted butter, season with a blackening spice and lay them in a glass or metal pan on the barbecue. In about seven minutes on high, they are done – and the smell remains outside.

Overheard

• As of Aug. 13, the Fish Passage Center reported that 510,245 sockeye had reached Bonneville Dam, but counts have progressively diminished upstream; over 200,000 fish are unaccounted for. That’s just a 54 percent conversion rate, but still 150 percent of the 10-year average for sockeye passage by that date.

• While fewer fall Chinook are expected in Idaho this year, IDFG expects a good number of them to approach 20 pounds.

Heads up

• A free two-hour salmon fishing seminar focused on fall Chinook in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia is set for noon Saturday at Sportsman’s Warehouse, 6720 N. Division St. in Spokane. Troy Black of Blacky’s Guide Service will share his expertise.

• WDFW will close its Methow Wildlife Area to target shooting until Sept. 14 to reduce the risk of wildfire in extremely dry conditions.

• The third annual Moses Lake Ducks Unlimited Greenwing Barbecue will be Sept. 19 at Mar Don Resort from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. In addition to a decoy painting station, a free barbecue and a duck calling seminar by a former Washington State champion, each attendee under 18 will receive nearly $300 dollars worth of duck hunting gear. Info: (509) 764-8557 or go to ducks.org, select Washington events, then events for kids. Select Moses Lake Greenwing event.

Fly Fishing

At Silver Bow Fly Shop, “Musky Dave” Dana says if you cast a big fly from 50 feet out toward shore in most spots on Curlew Lake, you WILL catch tiger muskies. He said there are fish of 40 inches and much larger all over the lake. Info: (509) 924-9998.

Afternoon water temperatures in Yakima Basin rivers and creeks are approaching the upper limit for survival of trout and salmon and WDFW has added restrictions and closures to protect the fish. The Yakima River from I-82 Bridge at Union Gap to the South Cle Elum Bridge and Swauk Creek and all tributaries downstream of Williams Creek will be under hoot owl restrictions. Williams Creek and all tributaries, Swauk Creek and all tributaries upstream of Williams Creek and the American River are closed to fishing. Previously announced restrictions and closures also remain in effect.

Fly fishing has been good on the North Fork Clearwater River. Hoppers with a dropper are effective now.

Trout and kokanee

Some beautiful stringers of carryover rainbow have been coming out of Roosevelt Lake. They are scattered, though, as are the smaller summer plants. Kokanee fishermen on Roosevelt say two-fish limits are “automatic” out of Sterling, Keller, Swawilla Basin and Spring Canyon. The pink Apex seems to be most popular for fish up to 17 inches.

It is not impossible to take a nice stringer of trout from area lakes like Badger, Williams and Fish Trap, but you’ll have to go deep. West Medical is very warm and fishing has been poor. Better success has been at Waitts and Diamond. The larger browns and rainbow are near the bottom.

Loon Lake is still good for kokanee at night. Friends and I fished out from the Granite Point bath house recently. We limited, but the bite was slow. The fish were mostly around 11 inches, but some were as small as 8 inches.

Salmon and steelhead

A few more steelhead are trickling into the Clearwater River now, but recently, 110 angler hours on the water between the mouth and the Memorial Bridge resulted in just two fish kept and seven released. Steelhead counts at Bonneville have been going down, but they are going up at Little Goose and Lower Granite.

Some good Chinook reports are coming from Wanapum Pool, but anglers say the water in the best spots is rough.

Anglers are now allowed to retain two Chinook salmon daily in ocean waters off Westport (Marine Area 2).

Buoy 10 anglers at the mouth of the Columbia River should be in for a stellar season, and weekend anglers will see good tides. Veteran guide Terry Mulkey says if he had only one weekend to fish it would be this Saturday and Sunday. Another weekend with a good tide is Sept. 5 through Labor Day, Sept. 7. Anglers at Buoy 10 are expected to take 34,800 Chinook and 45,800 coho this season.

Fishing for coho at Seiku and Neah Bay has been excellent and anglers are taking some large pinks as well. There are a lot of wild fish, but a lot of hatchery fish too. At Neah Bay, black rock bass are also plentiful in the kelp beds close to Tatoosh Island.

The pink run is stacking up to be as good as predicted. Anglers are catching a lot of them just off the coast and in rivers such as the Snohomish, Puyallup and Skagit where pink jigs, Dick Nite spoons and Corkies with red or pink yarn will all entice strikes.

Idaho anglers can enjoy the second consecutive coho salmon season in over 30 years this fall on the mainstem Clearwater, Middle Fork and North Fork Clearwater rivers. Last year, over 18,000 coho passed over Lower Granite Dam, with the previous high around 5,000 fish. This year, fisheries managers predict the run to be somewhere between these two numbers. The season will run Sept. 1 through Nov. 15 on the mainstem and Middle Fork Clearwater River from the mouth upstream to Clear Creek and on the North Fork Clearwater River downstream from Dworshak Dam. The fish are expected to arrive in late September or early October.

Spiny ray

Banks Lake is providing a lot of walleye action in the Steamboat Rock area. There are fish over 16 inches to be had, but you might have to catch 50 to get an 8-fish limit. Chartreuse Macks Smile Blades with Slow Death hooks have been solid in 17 feet of water. Lake Roosevelt walleye fishing remains good in the Spokane Arm.

Smallmouth fishing below Boggan’s Oasis on the Grande Ronde has been good clear to the mouth. The Spokane River between Sullivan and Idaho is also good for numbers of bass, though the ‘Ronde smallies are generally larger. Newman Lake has seen good smallmouth fishing near rocky points. Evening fishing with poppers near structure has also been good.

Hunting

Excluding Zone 1 in Southeast Idaho, most of Idaho will open for waterfowl hunting on Oct. 17 and run until Jan. 29 and the youth hunt will be Oct 3-4. The season will open a week later than last year in response to hunters who want to hunt as late into winter as possible to take advantage of flights coming out of the north.

Idaho Fish and Game rarely alters hunts or offers rain checks for controlled hunt tags because of fires. Hunters affected by a fire closure can adjust their schedule to hunt later in the season, or exchange general tags to hunt in a different area, but exchanges must be made before the season begins. Fire information can be found at fishandgame.idaho.gov/ content/fire. Click on the “inciweb” link for current information about all wildfires in Idaho.

Nonresidents can still buy a Montana elk license for this fall but the remaining licenses are in short supply and expected to sell out. A number of first-come first served surplus licenses – good for antlered elk in some hunting districts – can be purchased online at fwp.mt.gov. Click “ Nonresident Hunting Licenses. Cost is $841.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@ yahoo.com