Alan Liere’s weekly fish and game report for July 28
Fly fishing
Fly fishermen found decent fishing on the Spokane River this past week. Nymph rigs run through the deeper slots as the sun gets high in the afternoon will be the best tactic. Early and late have been productive, say the guides from Silver Bow Fly Shop.
The North Fork Coeur d’Alene has been good despite the lower water of summer. Short nymph rigs through the riffles and pools have been consistent. The bigger fish in the deeper holes are susceptible to nymphs.
The Clark Fork early and late will produce some nice rainbow, though fishing is slower than last week.
Trout and kokanee
Loon Lake kokanee anglers keep reeling them in at night with the bite beginning as early as 8:45 p.m., and 10-fish limits coming in an hour. White Glo Hooks that glow green, tipped with two maggots, have been deadly in 29-31 feet of water. Run 14 inches of leader between sinker and hook and put on enough weight to get to the bottom quickly, thus avoiding the numerous sunfish and bluegill near the surface.
Coeur d’Alene and Dworshak kokanee are small but plentiful, and there has been a decent bite at times on Horseshoe Lake. Lake Pend Oreille kokes are a healthy 12 inches and those in Priest Lake even larger. Hayden Lake has seen a good kokanee bite from English Point northward and out 200 yards from shore. Most Hayden kokes are roughly a foot in length, but fish in the mid-teens are not unusual.
In Montana, kokanee anglers at Lake Mary Ronan are catching kokanee that average 14 inches. The limit is 10. Trolling works well, but night fishing has been popular also. Little pieces of crawdad tail have always been popular at Lake Mary Ronan, and most still-fishermen use a large Swedish Pimple for a weight with a baited white Glow Hook hanging down from that on 8 inches of leader. The fish are in 28-32 feet of water.
Trollers are still hitting Lake Roosevelt this week for a go at the large kokanee. Reports of smaller kokanee – both hatchery and wild – have come in recently, but guides say most of the fish are over 3 1/2 pounds, with rumors of fish to 5 pounds. Roosevelt kokes should be at their prime right now. Info: Captain Dave’s Guide Service (509) 939-6727.
Deer Lake anglers, particularly those fishing in the evening and at night, are making good catches of 2- to 3-pound rainbow, and some large brook trout as well. Find 30-40 feet of water in a bay and dunk a worm or some Power Bait. Trollers have taken fair numbers of 7- to 10-pound macks from Deer.
Sprague Lake trout as large as 6 pounds are being taken by still fishermen dunking Power Bait or worms between the island and Four Seasons Resort. The recent algae bloom did not seem to affect the fishing in the least.
Priest Lake mackinaw of 3-5 pounds are fairly common these days for anglers trolling in and around Outlet Bay.
Salmon and steelhead
Good news for sockeye fishermen is that the Okanogan River has warmed up enough to make the fish linger in the Brewster Pool. Success on both bright sockeye and chinook has been excellent the last few days, following a dismal beginning when the cool Okanogan River waters enticed the fish to move quickly out of the pool and head upstream.
Fishing for chinook on the Salmon River from the Copper Mine boat ramp upstream to 100 yards from the Sawtooth Hatchery will close on Sunday. Chinook fishing continues in the lower Mainstem Clearwater from the railroad bridge in Lewiston upstream to the Cherrylane Bridge and from the Orofino Bridge upstream to the South Fork Clearwater, and on the South Fork Clearwater and Lochsa rivers.
Ilwaco salmon fishermen have had an excellent week for both chinook and coho. The bite has been very early. Lots of shakers and a few big chinook are coming in at Seiku. Westport anglers are now allowed to keep two chinook salmon daily. Coho must still be released.
Baker Lake has disappointed a lot of anglers this year. That’s not to say no sockeye are being caught, but currently, it would best be described as “very slow.” There is a good possibility, however, that fishing will improve – as always – in August.
The sockeye season is open on Lake Wenatchee and fishing has been good. The average number of fish taken per angler on the opener was 3.5 with the best bite at 50 feet and deeper. The morning bite has been the best. Anglers are running bare hooks and pink hoochies with Smile Blades. No bait is allowed on Lake Wenatchee and hooks must be barbless. Info, or to book a trip: Moons Guide Service (509) 860-6497.
Numbers of steelhead over Lower Granite are beginning to hit triple digits now and then, but fewer than 8,000 fish have been counted so far. A few anglers are hitting the lower Clearwater River for catch and release fishing, but little success is reported. Fishing the Clearwater will be a better option in a few more weeks.
Spiny ray
A good walleye bite is attracting anglers to Porcupine Bay on Lake Roosevelt. The best success has been upriver. Anglers trolling with bottom bouncers and big flies are doubling their fun by taking rainbow and walleye on the same offering.
Newman Lake tiger muskies are still a good possibility, and largemouth fishing has been fair. A couple of big smallmouth have also been reported.
Friends who fished Sprague Lake specifically for bass caught a 6-pound largemouth this week in addition to a few others between 2-4 pounds. They were throwing Senkos.
Downs Lake’s notorious big perch have been scarce this summer, but anglers are catching a lot of 8- to 9-inch fish. Crappie have been scarce too, but the ones taken have been 12 inches and larger. Largemouth fishing remains good, and carryover trout to 19 inches have been more common than the smaller spring plants.
A friend who fished Banks Lake last weekend said walleye were active all over the lake. He didn’t catch any big ones but said 14- to 17 inch fish were willing biters in 20-35 feet of water. He dragged a 2-ounce bottom walker with a chartreuse Mack’s Smile Blade and a Slow Death hook.
The water level on Potholes Reservoir has dropped significantly, giving more definition to the sand dune area and creating moving water which congregates the bass. Now that the weather is heating up again, walleye fishing will improve also.
Other species
The Lind Coulee arm of Potholes Reservoir has been giving up some big channel cats recently. The Snake River near Lyons Ferry and Central Ferry has also been good, particularly at night. A gob of nightcrawlers will significantly outfish a single nightcrawler.
Hunting
Idaho sandhill crane tags will be available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 10 a.m. on Aug. 1. They can be purchased at Fish and Game license vendors, online at idfg.idaho.gov, or with a credit card by calling (800) 554-8685.
Contact Alan Liere via email at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com