Alan Liere’s fishing-hunting report for March 21

Ice fishing, Washington

Sacheen Lake still had solid ice last weekend, but it was under a crust and slush. Perch fishing was fairly good in the first bay out from the access and the fish were an average of 9 inches.

Liberty Lake saw a surge in popularity two weeks ago, which also enticed quite a few anglers to try their luck last weekend. A friend said he drilled 16 holes all over the lake and didn’t catch a fish.

Deer Lake ice remains good and the fishing is fair for rainbow, brookies and a few mackinaw. The best fishing has been down toward the narrows – a long walk from the public access.

Waitts Lake has been a bright spot for trout fishermen, but a report from a friend on the ice Tuesday indicated time is running out. Although he saw one huge brown cruising just below the surface and caught one 10-inch rainbow, he said it would be his last trip as there was only 2 inches of good ice under 4 inches of milky ice.

Eloika Lake is one of the first local lakes to become unfishable because the ice breaks away from the shore rather quickly. Still, it has good ice accessible with a plank. The fishing has been only fair recently.

Curlew Lake is full of fat perch averaging 10 inches and still has 20 inches of ice. Access is limited, but the state park is available. While the fish aren’t being caught straight out by the island, anglers are having some big days down the lake to the left.

Sprague Lake still has ice, but there is some open water at the east end. When the ice comes off, Sprague heats up for rainbow 17 inches and larger.

Ice fishing, Idaho

Mirror Lake has good ice and plenty of fish. It has bass, rainbow, lake trout, cutthroat, kokanee and brook trout and some specific limits. No largemouth less than 16 inches may be retained, but there is no limit on lake trout. The limit on brook trout is 25 and on rainbow two, only one of which can be more than 20 inches. The kokanee limit is 15. Cutthroat are catch and release only.

Cocolalla Lake has finally come into its own and ice anglers are leaving the lake with some hefty catches of 8- to 9-inch perch. Expect to do a fair amount of “prospecting” before finding good concentrations of fish.

Hard water anglers are finding a slow kokanee bite on Hayden Lake’s Honeysuckle Bay and also between McLean’s Bay and Skinner Bay in about 90 feet of water. The ice is getting a little thin.

Avondale has been slow for perch and trout. The ice is thin around the edges, but a foot thick farther out.

Trout and kokanee

Two friends fishing from shore at Fort Spokane on Lake Roosevelt on Tuesday said the water was in good shape and they caught limits of 16- to 17-inch trout, mostly on orange Power Bait. Trollers were doing well in the same area and another good bank fishing report came from Hansen Harbor.

Rufus Woods no longer gives up the crazy numbers of big fish it did 10 years ago, but there are still triploids there pushing 20 pounds. An angler fishing on the Nespelem Bar recently lost a huge trout because it was too big for his net.

Several of the Tucannon lakes are still iced over, but Blue Lake is open. The few who have tried bottom fishing from shore are finding lots of fish by throwing Power Bait or worms and marshmallows.

Trolling for 9- to 13-inch kokanee has been good on Lake Chelan just above the Yacht Club. The fish have been in the top 100 feet.

Steelhead and salmon

Idaho Fish and Game has received federal reauthorization for its steelhead fishing season, so fishing will continue uninterrupted and the two areas closed will reopen immediately. Steelhead fishing resumes in the following locations: the Main Salmon River between Warren Creek and the Copper Mine Boat Ramp, and the South Fork of the Clearwater River upstream of the Mount Idaho Grade Bridge.

Spiny ray

Anglers who go deep with 1-ounce jigs are dredging up Lake Roosevelt walleye between Fort Spokane and Hunters. You needn’t go as deep to fish the flats, humps and rocks in the main lake, and those spots have also been good. A recent report sent photos of nearly three dozen fish between 16 and 21 inches caught by casting a jig and dragging it slower than slow back to the boat. Some of these fish were hooked in water less than 20 feet deep.

Blade baits have been taking some decent-size walleyes from the Nespelem Bar on Rufus Woods Reservoir.

Other species

Burbot have made an amazing comeback in northern Idaho on the Kootenai River and tributaries. This is one of the best times to fish for them as they move to shallow waters to spawn. Burbot have also been feeding actively on the north end of Lake Roosevelt.

Razor clam diggers can return to four ocean beaches (Long Beach not included) for a four-day evening opening beginning today and extending through the weekend. Information is available at wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/ shellfish/razorclams/

Hunting

The general Washington state turkey season begins April 15. Hunters will have a rare opportunity among turkey hunters nationwide to earn a Washington Slam pin by harvesting a Merriam’s, a Rio Grande and an Eastern gobbler. The Eastern species is found in the western part of the state. Thurston, Lewis and Cowlitz counties along the I-5 corridor are the strongholds. The others subspecies are spread out all over the state. The slam can be done over the course of years. To qualify for the pin award: (1) Report your harvest online at fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov or by calling toll free 1-877-945-3492; (2) Call the Washington State Chapter of NWTF at (509) 279-2030 to complete and submit record forms.