Fish & Game Report

Fly fishing

Rocky Ford near Ephrata has produced some huge trout this week. A lot of fish with lengths in the high teens have been taken, but some have been in the high 20s and even into the 30s.

Nymphs and streamers are the top trout producers on most local rivers. Fishing is not fast, but a good bite usually develops in the afternoon. Steelhead waters were clearing up at midweek, but there is more rain in the forecast.

The International Fly Fishing Film Festival will make a stop at 6 p.m. Monday at Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, 508 S. Main Street in Moscow, Idaho.

Salmon and steelhead

According to statistics recently released by Idaho Fish and Game, the best steelhead fishing recently was on the Snake River downstream from the mouth of the salmon with an average of one fish caught per every 4 angler hours. The Clearwater River from the mouth to Orofino gave up one fish for every 10 hours and upstream from Orofino the average was a fish every 5 hours. The South Fork Clearwater showed an average of one steelhead per every 6 angler hours. Those fishing with roe are finding fish pretty consistently.

Heller Bar on the Snake River in Washington continues to fish well for steelhead. Recent cool temperatures have cleared the water. The most effective technique has been side drifting from a boat with small yarn balls tipped with pink-dyed coon shrimp, but anglers are even taking fish casting spinners from shore.

Jigs tipped with shrimp fished about 6 feet under a bobber have accounted for some good steelhead action above Lower Granite Dam. The same technique has been effective at Ringold this week.

The Gene Fink Memorial Winter Chinook Derby will be held Dec. 5-6 on Lake Coeur d’Alene. Fins and Feathers in Coeur d’Alene said the water is “getting close to right” and they expect to weigh in some large fish. Most chinook are found at depths of 80-110 feet.

Trout and kokanee

Rufus Woods triploids of around 3 pounds are full of crawdads, but that hasn’t kept them away from angler offerings. Fish the dropoffs. Anglers trolling the can line at Rufus Woods are finding a good kokanee bite.

Lake Roosevelt is about as high as you’ll see it, but rainbow continue to cooperate with trollers. Good reports came this week from the Jones Bay area but also at Whitestone and Split Rock. The fish are mostly in the top 15 feet of water and seem to prefer perch-colored or orange flies. A few large kokanee have also been landed. An angler fishing near Daisy reported “great action for the larger rainbow” by trolling an orange Rapala on 4.5 colors of leaded line with a 50-foot leader. Wind is a nuisance when trolling Roosevelt, but in Porcupine Bay in the Spokane Arm, it concentrates fish along the points and fishing has been excellent.

At Sprague Lake, anglers braving the wind report catching a fair number of rainbow up to 23 inches. Sprague Lake steelhead are around 15 inches in length. Rock Lake trollers report excellent action for the steelhead planted there this spring. Spinners tipped with Power Bait, corn or a piece of nightcrawler are taking fish at a torrid pace between 20 and 30 feet down. Rock Lake steelhead are 12-14 inches long.

Waitts Lake remains good for 14-inch rainbow. Trolling flies has been the most effective.

Spiny ray

Walleye anglers on Moses Lake are still finding good fishing near the State Park off I-90. Blade baits are popular. On Potholes Reservoir, walleye are also prevalent in 8-15 feet between the mouths of Frenchman Wasteway and Crab Creek.

Northern pike in Lake Coeur d’Alene haven’t bunched up, but fishing has really picked up in and around the weed beds. The brighter colors in a variety of offerings have been most effective.

Tiger musky are still hitting at Newman Lake in the shallow water near shorelines. At Long, the same kind of shallow water is yielding an occasional northern pike.

Other species

At YJ Guide Service, Craig Dowdy said Roosevelt water temperatures are too high for good burbot fishing. He looks for conditions to improve around Thanksgiving if temperatures drop into the high 40s.

Hunting

Deer hunter check stations near Deer Park and Chattaroy will be conducted Saturday and Sunday to help provide information about success rates and deer body condition. The late buck season is entering its second and final week for whitetail and conditions are perfect – cool and quiet with most of the deciduous trees leaf-free.

Just in time to put a bird on the Thanksgiving dinner table, late fall wild turkey hunting runs Nov. 20-Dec. 15 throughout the region (GMUs 105-154 and 162-186). As usual, the big birds are prolific nearly everywhere.

Duck hunters in the Moses Lake area have had some good shoots recently and report that about half the birds taken are widgeon. These birds usually move into the Columbia Basin about the time the teal depart and are followed a short time later by the northern flights of mallards.

Goose hunters are seeing a lot of lesser Canadas in the Columbia Basin and around Harrington. Gunners at Duck Lake near Harrington also report shooting a few white-fronts (specklebellies).

Friends and I hunted Tuesday along a creek in the sagebrush out of Davenport, finding one large covey of quail and quite a few gray partridge. Driving around after the hunt, we saw numerous pheasants but left them for another day because of tired “dogs” – the ones at the end of our legs.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com