Alan Liere’s fishing-hunting report for June 11

June 10, 2020 Updated Wed., June 10, 2020 at 10:03 p.m.

By Alan Liere For The Spokesman-Review

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Tip of the week

All hunters born after Jan. 1, 1972 must show proof of hunter education course completion before purchasing their Washington hunting license. In an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, WDFW has cancelled all in-person hunter ed classes until further notice, but there are other options. You may take the online hunter education course and a Virtual Field Day to replace the in-person Field Skills Evaluation. This course takes approximately 10 hours to complete, but students can do it in multiple sittings. Register for and complete the online hunter education course at https://www.hunter-ed.com/washington/. Next, register for and complete the online Virtual Field Day course at https://www.huntercourse.com/virtualfieldday/.

Heads up

Prize claims in the 2020 Washington Trout Derby are now open. If you've caught a winning fish with a yellow WDFW tag attached to its fin, you can see what you've won at wdfwderby.com.

Braggin' rights

Scott Turner of Boise, Idaho, recently set a new catch-and-release state record for channel catfish. He landed the 32-inch catfish on May 16 while fishing the Snake River in Canyon County. His fish was just long enough to pass the previous 31-inch record, set in 2018 by James Stackhouse. Scott now holds catch/release records for both channel catfish and flathead catfish. While both species are found in the Snake River, flathead catfish are much less common and are typically found from Brownlee Reservoir to Swan Falls Dam.

Mark Randolph of Ahsahka, Idaho also earned a catch-and-release record in May with a 21-inch tiger trout from Deer Creek Reservoir.

Overheard

On Lake Chelan, anglers have been catching the occasional landlocked Chinook salmon while targeting kokanee. The daily limit for Chinook on Chelan is one fish with a minimum size of 15 inches. Anglers are also catching cutthroat and rainbow trout. Trolling near shore for these has been the most effective, but casting and retrieving various spinner and spoons from shore also works.

Fly fishing

The Spokane River is still high but starting to come down. All the fish are tight to the bank. Silver Bow Fly Shop recommends Pat’s rubber legs, stones, red darts, peacock stones, caddis pupa and some big Chubby Chernobyls for dries. Big, flashy streamers are also good.

Good fishing continues as the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River drops. Foam patterns like Chubbies, Gypsy Kings, golden stones and a drake patterns will find trout. Dry fly fishing is usually good at some point during the day. If that is off, put on a dropper or try nymphing.

The St. Joe River has dropped and is back to a more fish-friendly level, though the lower river is still best. Look for the “softer” water areas where fish can find relief from the heavier flows.

Trout and kokanee

West Medical Lake anglers are finding their rainbow by trolling Wedding Rings tipped with worm. Many of the fish are over 18 inches.

Other southern lakes like Williams, Fishtrap and Badger continue to fish well. The rainbow at Fishtrap are somewhat larger.

Potholes Reservoir trout are hitting spinners and Smile Blades with crawler and also Old Goat Lures behind a small dodger. No large fish were reported this week, most stretching less than 19 inches.

Banks Lake is also good for trout. Anglers often catch them while trolling along the steep banks near Dry Falls Dam, the West Wall across from Coulee City, the Million Dollar Mile, and Old Devils Lake.

The lower basin of Lake Chelan is giving up good catches of up to 11-inch kokanee. Anglers trolling practically in town are finding fish in 30-40 feet of water.

Fisheries researchers estimated that over 2.5 million adult kokanee occupied Lake Pend Oreille last fall. This is the highest count on record since the mid-1990s. Anglers are catching lots of fish in 9- to 10-inch range. Good reports come from Ellisport Bay and Garfield Bay.

Another option for kokanee anglers in North Idaho is Hayden Lake. Biologists have typically managed Hayden Lake for larger kokanee and stocked it with early-run variety of the fish, which tend to grow faster than their late-run relatives. They reach maturity at two years and attempt to spawn in late summer and early fall. The kokanee in the 2020 fishery were late-run fish and may be smaller on average than they have been in recent years.

Dworshak Reservoir in the Clearwater region of Idaho is another good option for kokanee, though anglers might see some smaller fish this year. Dworshak had roughly a half-million kokanee in the 10- to 12-inch range i last summer, which is both larger and more abundant than normal. Based on last year’s surveys, a similar abundance of the larger 2-year-old kokanee is expected in 2020.

Steelhead and salmon

Sufficient returns of Icicle River hatchery spring chinook are expected to meet broodstock needs at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. As a result, the Icicle River has been opened to retention of hatchery spring chinook through June 30.

Beginning Tuesday, the Columbia River will open to fishing for sockeye salmon from the Megler/Astoria Bridge upstream to the Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco and from the Interstate 182 bridge at Richland upstream to Priest Rapids Dam. The area between the bridges at the confluence of the Yakima River will not open for sockeye this summer. Downstream of Highway 395 the daily limit is two salmonids, including no more than two adults, with retention of up to two sockeye or one sockeye and one steelhead. From the I-182 Bridge to Priest Rapids Dam, the daily limit is two sockeye.

Spiny ray

Long Lake is beginning to clear up and has been fishing well lately for rainbows in the 17- to 20-inch range, but there are also walleye over 17 inches and black crappie, some of which are reported to be over 15 inches long.

Lake Roosevelt walleye have been caught near Buoys 3 and 5. Bottom walkers, Smile Blades and Slow Death hooks baited with nightcrawlers have done the damage. The best walleye fishing has been at The Dalles near Northport. Jigging is the most effective technique in that stretch.

The postspawn walleye bite at Banks Lake has been good, particularly in water 25-30 feet deep. Once again, bottom walkers, Smile Blades and Slow Death hooks with a nightcrawler are what the fish are looking for.

Walleye fishing has been tough recently on Potholes Reservoir. Most of the fish caught have been in the weeds.

Other species

The white sturgeon season on Lake Roosevelt opens Monday and runs seven days a week from Grand Coulee Dam upstream to the China Bend Boat Ramp. That includes the Spokane River from the Highway 25 Bridge upstream to 400 feet below Little Falls Dam, the Colville River upstream to Meyers Falls Dam, and the Kettle River upstream to Barstow Bridge. There is a daily limit of one sturgeon with an annual limit of two. The slot limit has been opened a little a bit this year. Legal size for retention is between 50-63 inches, measured from the tip of the snout to middle of the fork in the tail.

Shad have begun moving up the Columbia River. Weighing up to 8 pounds, they should reach McNary and Ice Harbor dams by mid-June in numbers that make for great fishing.

Hunting

The Washington spring black bear season has been extended until June 30. You are asked to hunt close to home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If that isn’t possible, you may seek a permit refund and reclaim your points.

The Idaho migratory game bird hunting brochure for the 2020 and 2021 seasons is available online at the Fish and Game website. This brochure contains seasons and rules information for waterfowl (ducks and geese) and also includes information for doves, crow and sandhill crane.

Spring seasons for wild turkey ended May 31, so it’s time to report your spring hunting, even if you plan to hunt turkeys again this fall. Hunters can file reports toll free at (877) 945-3492.

Contact Alan Liere @spokesmanliere@yahoo.com