Alan Liere’s fishing-hunting report for March 22

March 21, 2018 Updated Thu., March 22, 2018 at 8:09 p.m.

By Alan Liere spokesmanliere@yahoo.com

Tip of the week

It doesn’t do you much good if you know where a lake is located if you have no idea where the mentioned bay, flat or launch hot spot is. You can find a plethora of good lake and river information that will put you in the right spot by buying the appropriate map. Google the “Fish and Map Company” for a full menu of such.

Braggin’ rights

Although no one in the boat caught a walleye in six hours this Tuesday, I did catch an “almost walleye” – a 13-inch perch. It was the first perch I’ve ever caught from Lake Roosevelt, but after contemplating her lonely existence, the fact she was squirting eggs and the inability of one perch to provide much of a fish fry, I released her.

Overheard

—In 2018, Idaho waters will receive 123,000 more catchable trout (8-11 inches) and 41,000 more magnums (12-14 inches.)

—Washington’s wolf population continued to grow in 2017 for the ninth straight year, according to the results of an annual survey conducted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The state was home to at least 122 wolves, 22 packs, and 14 successful breeding pairs, based on field surveys conducted over the winter by state, tribal, and federal wildlife managers.

Heads up

All Washington hunters born after Jan. 1, 1972 must complete a hunter education course to purchase a hunting license. To find a course and learn about hunter education requirements, new hunters should visit the WDFW hunter education webpage. In order to hunt turkeys this spring, they may qualify to participate in the hunter education deferral.

Fly fishing

The upper and lower Spokane River closed last week, but the middle section is open all year, and so is the river in Idaho. The river is still up, but there are plenty of places to drop a fly.

The North Fork Coeur d’Alene River is beginning to fish, say the folks at Silver Bow Fly Shop. Streamer and nymph fishing has been the most consistent. The St. Joe is also perking up with fly fishermen reporting “decent” action.

Clark Fork River flows have been steady at 4,800 cfs with good visibility. Throw nymph till you see Skwalas then switch to the dries and concentrate on the willows where they emerge.

Amber Lake is fishing well. Two friends who tried it late last week said they caught a half dozen big trout and a lot of smaller ones. Coffeepot Lake is also fishing well with leeches. Most of Medical Lake is thawed, but there is still ice at the launch.

Trout and kokanee

As unlikely as it sounds, there were reports this week of kokanee being caught from shore – on bait – in the vicinity of Jones Bay. The reporting anglers also caught several rainbow, and said they know the difference.

The bank to the left of the Ft. Spokane launch near the swim area had numerous trout fishermen this week and success was good. Anglers throwing orange Power Bait on a slip sinker took home good numbers of 15- to 20-inch hatchery rainbow.

Trout anglers fishing some of the lakes on the Quincy Wildlife Reserve had mixed reports this week. The only consistent report was that there were a lot of people out. Otherwise, the fishing was either “great” or “terrible,” depending on who you talked with. Burke Lake is preparing for its annual trout fishing derby this weekend, and Quincy Valley Tourism has purchased and planted some really large rainbow to bolster the population.

There is still ice on Spirit and Lower Twin lakes in Idaho, and anglers who can swim in cold water better than I were venturing out for kokanee early in the week. Many of the more northern lakes in the Okanogan district and north Idaho are still frozen and anglers are taking trout and perch, but lakes at lower elevations are quickly losing safe ice. Two teenage fishermen fell through the ice at Avondale on Sunday. Both were taken to Kootenai Health to be treated for severe hypothermia.

Cocolalla Lake in Idaho is a good early season trout fishing spot with three species of trout and also brook trout. It also has spiny ray. Early spring is a great time to fish Hayden Lake for kokanee. There is a lot of food in the lake and anglers should soon be catching fish 14 inches and better. Fernan Lake near Coeur d’Alene is stocked often with catchable rainbow trout beginning in April. Fernan also has most of the spiny ray species, and fishing for those improves as the water warms.

Idaho has a lot of small ponds that are stocked with trout each April. Among them are Kiwanis Park Pond in Lewiston right next to the Snake River, Hordemann Pond in Moscow and Caldwell Rotary Pond in Caldwell. This pond has lots of space for bank fishing for bluegill and bass. It’s a great place for kids.

Curlew Lake near Republic still has plenty of good ice. The perch are moving around more now, so a fish locator such as a MarCum really helps. It doesn’t matter what bait or what color lure you are using if the fish aren’t in the area, and a locator cuts down time spent fishing in “dry” holes.

Spiny ray

Walleye fishermen had excellent success recently on Lake Roosevelt – until I showed up on Tuesday. Boats that had kept 20-30 fish a few days before were skunked. As a consolation prize, my two friends and I caught a half dozen beautiful rainbow while drop-shotting for ’eyes. Earlier in the week, some of the best walleye reports came from the flats in front of the Spokane Arm confluence in 35-45 feet of water. Further up the Arm, fishing had also been good, but on Tuesday the water was muddy and it didn’t clear up much until we came down to Porcupine Bay. A number of methods are being employed – bottom walkers, vertical jigging and blade baits. Search for current seams and back eddies just off the main river channel.

Eloika Lake still has a lot of ice but it is unsafe. Bass fishermen will have to wait another week or two for open water. Downs Lake is wide open now and bass and perch are being caught as well as the recently-planted catchable rainbow. At Liberty Lake, a few anglers are trying for bass with limited success and only a few of the big browns have shown – enticed with Rapalas from shallow water.

Columbia River walleye anglers are doing well in the area around John Day Dam, but the bite on Rufus Woods has not yet developed. It seems pretty easy to catch the 2-pound trout on the same offerings, however.

Smallmouth anglers are beginning to take some decent-sized fish from area waters. Moses Lake, Potholes Reservoir, and Soda Lake are beginning to turn on for both bass and walleye, as is the Snake River. Dworshak Reservoir is will undoubtedly give up some huge smallmouth in the next three weeks.

Mann Lake near Lapwai, Idaho is the region’s warmest lake, and anglers are already making good catches of crappie and bass. There’s a fishing dock and a boat launch.

Hunting

The general spring turkey season kicks off April 15 in both Idaho and Washington. There were turkeys in my driveway most of the winter, but Wednesday morning I heard my first gobble down by the creek. It’s certainly not too early to begin securing permission to hunt turkeys on private land. With the bird populations high, sometimes obnoxious and always messy, gaining permission should be easier than in years past. Folks who used to love seeing turkeys in their yards have decided they don’t like them sitting on their hot tubs and staring in the window. Once the spring breeding season begins, that behavior usually ends as the big flocks break up and a big tom turkey becomes a worthy query.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com