Alan Liere’s weekly fish and game report for Jan. 14

Wed., Jan. 13, 2016

Tip of the week

When fishing for trout from shore with Power Bait and a slip sinker, let the sinker hit the bottom and then reel in just enough to keep a slight bow in the line rather than keeping it absolutely tight. When a fish takes the bait, he will have a few feet of slack to swallow the bait before he feels tension and drops it. Watch the line and get ready to strike just as it straightens out.

Braggin’ rights

Jeff Witkowski, a guide with Darrell and Dad’s Family Guide Service in Chelan, went out alone on the big lake to test a finicky outboard last week and decided to drop a line. He quickly caught four nice mackinaw and then hooked and landed another that weighed over 27 pounds. He was fishing above Rocky Point.

Overheard

These are just a few of the “23 signs you’re addicted to fishing” found on the Sportsman Channel webpage: “You cringe when you hear, ‘birds nest.’” “Opening day means fishing, not baseball.” “You have more fishing poles than socks.” “All your selfies have fish in them.”

Heads up

Hunters interested in bidding for the ultimate bighorn sheep hunt can attend the Wild Sheep Foundation Banquet and Auction in Reno Jan. 21-23, or bid online beginning Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. PST. Online bids will be taken at onlinehuntingauctions.com. This year’s auction tag is valid for use in all open bighorn sheep hunt areas throughout Idaho, except Hunt Area 11 of Hells Canyon. Idaho will also offer one bighorn lottery tag to be drawn in late July 2016. The lottery tag is valid in all open bighorn sheep hunt areas, including Hells Canyon. Tickets are on sale now. More information and raffle application can be found at idahowildsheep.org.

Washington hunters who report the results of their deer, elk, bear or turkey hunting activity before Jan. 31 will avoid the $10 “administrative fee” when they buy their 2016 hunting license. A reminder this week from WDFW saved me the penalty, as I had neglected to report my turkey hunting success. You can report online at fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov, or by calling toll free at 1 (877) 945-3492.

The recent rains and warm weather have made any ice fishing trip a go-and-see proposition. Good, solid ice will not be affected much right away, but lakes with a lot of snow on top or springs below demand extra caution.

Fly fishing

The Spokane and North Fork Coeur d’Alene are the best close options right now. But don’t expect a whole lot of action. Use nymphs or streamers in the slower water on the edge of deeper pools. Get your offering down.

The Yakima River is not fishing much differently than the Spokane or the North Fork. These fish haven’t seen a lot of activity lately, so you can get by with larger flies. Work each pool carefully with the big fly, then go to a smaller offering and start over.

Rocky Ford continues to be one of the best spots for trout this winter. The fish have been running a little smaller lately, but a friend caught one close to 30 inches long last week.

Steelhead

At Reel Time Fishing in Clarkston, Toby Wyatt says steelhead fishing on the Clearwater has been consistently producing between seven and 10 fish a day for his boats. Fish are beginning to stack up in the slower, deeper holes.

Open water fishing

Kokanee and trout fishing has been good this week at Keller Ferry. A friend said he had his best success on Apexes – pink or orange – but also caught fish with small Wedding Ring-type spinners baited with white corn. Most of the fish were around 15 feet down.

At Whitestone on Lake Roosevelt, kokanee anglers are going a little deeper for their kokanee at 20-25 feet. Once again, Apexes are doing the best.

Trout fishing on Roosevelt has been tough for some trollers, with a fast early bite tapering off to a lot of hours staring at the end of the bobbing fishing rod. Anglers fishing from shore at numerous spots along the reservoir say fishing is generally slow. The river is dropping now about a foot a day.

Rock Lake has been producing some nice carryover rainbow but few browns. Trollers report “almost ridiculous numbers” of planted steelhead running up to 14 inches.

On Lake Roosevelt, the mouth of the Colville River and the mouth of the Spokane River are good spots for burbot. The first annual YJ Guide Service Burbot Tournament on Lake Roosevelt last Saturday had 11 boats and 26 anglers. A total of 54 burbot were brought in with the largest weighing a little over 4 pounds. Fish were caught around Hawk Creek and in the Spokane Arm with the arm being the most productive by far. Jigs tipped with a variety of baits did the damage and chartreuse seemed to be the favorite color.

The kokanee bite on Lake Chelan has been good above the narrows for trollers. The fish are averaging 13 inches, and it is possible to also take suspended macks.

Ice fishing Washington

Anglers are finding 4-5 inches of good ice on Hog Canyon. The trout bite can go from zero to torrid in a few hours, but there doesn’t seem to be any consistency to the best time. The best luck has been about a third of the way down the lake.

Silver Lake perch are the perfect size for the blue heron that visit ice anglers each winter, but if you’re looking for a fish dinner for yourself, you’ll have to do a lot of filleting of 5-inch fish. The lake has 4-5 inches of ice all the way across.

Moses Lake still had about 5 inches of ice near Blue Heron Park on Tuesday, but the perch haven’t shown up in good numbers like they did last year. The ice at Lind Coulee didn’t look good last weekend and no one was on it.

Eloika Lake is the surest and closest bet for hard water anglers in the Spokane area. It is possible to catch more 6- to 8-inch perch than you want to clean on one day and be skunked the next.

Burbot are available through the ice at Bead or Sullivan. At Sullivan Lake, anglers do best on the south end and at Bead, fishing under the power lines that cross the lake has been a traditional destination.

Ice fishing Idaho

Ice fishermen are finding 5 inches of ice and a good perch bite on Lake Chatcolet near Rocky Point and Cottonwood Bay in Idaho. The fish, found mostly in about 10 feet of water, are about the same size as those in Eloika. Chatcolet can also be good through the ice for northern pike.

Avondale Lake in North Idaho has good ice. Anglers are catching trout as well as most of the spiny ray species. Round Lake has solid ice and perch up to 9 inches. Those targeting trout are having the best luck in the morning.

Kelso Lake ice is holding at about 5 inches with slush on top. Anglers are catching small trout early in the day. Fernan perch have been up to 9 inches. The ice depth can vary by several inches in just a few feet, so walk slowly and drill holes as you go.

Hayden Lake ice anglers are finding good ice but less than 4 inches of it. The pike fishing has been poor so far. Parking is limited.

Hunting

A friend who lives near the Pend Oreille River at Usk says the river was loaded with geese last weekend and the shooting went on all day.

Hunters are finding good goose shooting still in the Royal Slope area of Grant County near Potholes Reservoir, but the ducks appear to have moved on.

The Washington upland bird season is over after this Monday. Snow depth has diminished somewhat but is sloppy. Final-weekend hunters are hoping the predicted freeze materializes to make walking easier.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com