Alan Liere’s weekly fish and game report for Dec. 15

Wed., Dec. 14, 2016

By Alan Liere spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

Tip of the week

Anglers don’t typically catch as many walleye in the winter as during the summer months, but the fish they do catch are often much larger. Hot spots for winter walleyes in the Tri-Cities area include from the Snake River downstream to Badger Island and below McNary Dam from Lake Umatilla downstream to Boardman. Some of the best spots are within one-half mile of the boat launches.

Braggin’ rights

Anyone who goes out to fish or hunt in weather like this automatically has braggin’ rights. I tried pheasant hunting early in the week and saw quite a few roosters, but I quickly discovered my hands were too cold to find the safety. I decided to hole up with the dogs by the wood stove at home until conditions moderate a little. I think the dogs appreciated the move too.

Overheard

With $9,000 in reward money on the table, enforcement officers for the WDFW continue to search for the poacher or poachers who gunned down five elk in a canyon near Ellensburg last month. The elk – four yearlings and a full-grown cow – were discovered by two hunters in Schnebly Canyon on Nov. 6. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call WDFW’s Poaching Hotline at (877) 933-9847 or text tips to WDFWTIP Report and send them to 847411.

–I’ve heard it all now: Current research from a university in Sweden is said to show that young salmons’ desire to migrate to the sea can partly be limited by anxiety – a fear of the unknown downstream. By treating salmon with an anxiety medication, migration intensity of the treated salmon is said to be artificially changed, making them travel further and faster.

Heads up

All navigation locks on the lower Columbia and Snake rivers have been placed out of service to conduct a 14-week-long maintenance outage.

–Idaho Fish and Game wants to hear from hunters on proposed changes to moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat seasons for 2017 and 2018. The proposals are available for public review and comment on Fish and Game’s website.

Fly fishing

Rocky Ford Creek is about 7 miles long, but the best fishing is usually near the mile-long section near the public access. Now that the really cold weather has settled in, scuds, chironomids, and leeches will do the best, though in moving water, nymphs and Pheasant Tails, Hare’s Ears and Zug Bugs will take some of the large rainbow.

Silver Bow Fly Shop reminds anglers that Spokane River trout are receptive to slow-stripped streamers now, but sink-tips are a must. The river is high but fishable and there is no need to wade as the sweet spots are in pockets close to shore.

The Grand Ronde is frozen, but Snake and Clearwater steelhead will hit sink-tips with Intruders, stone and bead nymphs and Reverse Marabous. As a general rule, go larger and deeper than you would in the fall.

Salmon and steelhead

Idaho’s Clearwater River steelhead have gone into their winter mode and are holding in deep holes, the slow edge of the seam water, and long gentle tailouts. A slow presentation works best, so drifting eggs cured roe and yarn combination is popular. Fishing, while not fast, has been steady. Anglers are averaging one fish for every eight hours of fishing.

The Snake River has had windows of incredible action for steelhead trollers dragging plugs in the vicinity of the Wawawai boat launch. Bobber and shrimp fishermen also report occasional flurries of action off the rip-rap there, but the average is one fish every nine hours.

The Salmon River downstream from Whitebird Creek and the Little Salmon River had the best ratio of steelhead to angler-hour this week, both giving up one fish roughly every 4-5 hours.

Trout and kokanee

Nothing but positive reports come from trout anglers at Lake Roosevelt. Trollers from Sterling to Hunters are reporting five-fish limits, and bank fishermen are also beginning to do well. Bright yellow corn Power Bait has been especially good cast from shore. A few large kokanee have been netted by anglers trolling trout gear (a fly with a piece of added nightcrawler) between Lincoln and Sterling. The fish were relatively high in the water column.

There have been no fishing reports this week from the northern winter lakes (Williams and Hatch) but one would have to assume both are ice covered. The thickness of that ice, however, may not safely support anglers. Some nice rainbow trout were being caught from both prior to the onset of cold weather.

Sprague Lake iced over last Saturday, but it is most likely not safe yet for ice fishing. Before the freeze, boat anglers were catching lots of big rainbow. Banks and Rock Lake have no ice. Shore fishermen are catching brown and rainbow trout at Rock. The only fishing going on now at Banks is for whitefish, and that has been slow.

Lake Chelan kokanee are still being found near the Yacht Club at 80-100 feet. The bite has been good from mid-morning on.

Some of the lakes near Sandpoint, notably Round, Campbell, Mirror, Kalispell and Granite, could have enough ice by the weekend to allow safe fishing. Don’t venture out, however, without checking ice depth in several spots. I’ve fished (nervously) through three inches of ice, but four is better if it is clear and hard.

Spiny ray

Eloika Lake had an ice cap of roughly 2 inches, under 3 inches of snow, on Tuesday. No one was seen fishing. If the current cold persists, Eloika will be one of the first lakes to provide ice fishing for perch, bass, crappie, and numerous other species.

The perch fishing on Moses Lake has picked up. The area around the I-90 Bridge has been popular with both shore and boat fishermen, but ice is beginning to form and the lake might be unfishable until the current cold front puts a solid cap on the water.

Other species

Burbot exist is many lakes in Eastern Washington. Bead, Banks, Roosevelt and Sullivan are the most frequently fished, but the burbot at Palmer Lake in the Okanogan get the largest.

While anglers on Roosevelt and Chelan are catching Burbot of 2-3 pounds, anglers at Palmer can catch them 10 pounds and more. The state record for burbot was set two years ago at just over 17 pounds.

Burbot action at all lakes is best after dark in 30 or more feet of water. You can catch them now, but the bite will really pick up in January as the fish begin to gorge prior to spawning.

Hunting

With most small local ponds iced over, mallards and teal have been sitting in open water on small creeks and spring-fed sloughs, but there are not a lot of birds still in the area. Canada geese, however, have stuck around.

As long as they can find some open water (think rivers) and their food is not covered too deeply with snow, they will tough out the cold weather. On a drive north this week, I saw a lot of geese on open water in the middle of Bear Lake and on the little Spokane and adjacent spring-fed sloughs.

It’s warmer somewhere, and Washington and Idaho waterfowl are looking for that place. Most are moving on through. Hunters were finding huntable numbers on the Columbia River near McNary and Patterson late last week, but say the last few days have seen slim pickings. The Snake River can be good in the Central Ferry area, but the Yakima Valley is frozen tight.

Potholes Reservoir and Moses Lake both have open water in the middle, but bays are freezing and it would be all but impossible to launch a boat at this time.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere @ yahoo.com