Alan Liere’s hunt-fish report for Aug. 3
Tip of the week
People playing in the water on the state’s rivers and creeks sometimes build rock dams to create deeper holes to cool off in. If you encounter one of these, take it apart and spread the rocks out. Dams block fish from swimming upstream or downstream to find cool water, spawn, and feed.
Overheard
Daily limits and size restrictions for gamefish have been removed from Williams Lake (the winter lake in Stevens County) and June, North Windmill, and North Windmill lakes (Grant County) effective now through Oct. 1 prior to rehabilitation to remove undesirable species. Anglers may not gather fish from these lakes during or after rehabilitation. They will be restocked with trout in early spring.
With higher-than-normal numbers of adult-size sturgeon found dead in several pools of the Columbia River so far this summer, white sturgeon fishing has closed on a large portion of the mid-Columbia. The closure will extend from The Dalles Dam upstream to Priest Rapids Dam, and is scheduled to remain in place through Sept. 15.
Heads up
Selective gear restrictions are in place on the Spokane River from Nine Mile Dam to the Washington/Idaho border and WDFW officers are patrolling the river. Selective gear rules mean using barbless single hooks and lures and no bait or scent.
WFDW, partnering with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians and Colville Tribes is holding the annual National Hunting and Fishing Day event at Camp Cowles on Diamond Lake in Newport this year. This free event is a great family-oriented way to introduce youth to target shooting, hunting and fishing and other outdoor recreation. It is also an opportunity to recognize that hunters and anglers continue to be among the most active supporters of wildlife management and conservation. This year’s event is Sept. 30 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pre-registration has already begun. More information and registration instructions can be found at https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/requirements/education/hunt-fish-day.
Trout and kokanee
Big cutthroat – 12-plus inches – and kokanee in the 10- to 14-inch range are providing good action at Badger Lake this summer. “The kokanee will continue growing throughout the summer and early fall so you can expect even bigger fish later this season,” WDFW Region 1 district fish biologist Randy Osborne said.
Night fishermen at Loon Lake are beginning to find a good bite at times in 34 feet of water by jigging Glo Hooks and shoepeg corn.
Small lakes with secluded settings in the Okanogan area include Round Lake and Long Lake east of Tonasket and Beaver Lake and Lake Beth and Wannacut Lake west of Oroville. Fishing for kokanee can be found in Patterson, Alta, Conconully, Bonaparte and Spectacle lakes.
Salmon and steelhead
Summer chinook can still be caught in the Entiat and Chelan River mouth areas, below Wells Dam, and from the Brewster Pool upstream toward Bridgeport. The peak timing of the chinook and sockeye runs coincide with the Brewster King Salmon Derby on Friday through Sunday.
The opening of the fall salmon sport fishery in the Hanford Reach area of the Columbia River begins Aug. 16. From the Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco/Kennewick upstream to boundary markers 650 feet below the fish ladder at Priest Rapids Dam, the daily limit will be six salmon but no more than two adults. Anglers can harvest fall chinook and coho. Both hatchery and wild salmon can be harvested.
Salmon retention is legal on Lake Wenatchee from the mouth to the Icicle Road Bridge. The daily limit is six, including no more than two adult hatchery chinook and no more than four sockeye. Wild coho and chinook must be released. A night closure is in effect and no motorboats may be used, other than boats with electric trolling motors. Selective gear rules are in effect, except bait is allowed.
The chinook salmon fishery boundaries have been extended on the Entiat River. The new boundaries are from the railroad bridge at the mouth of the river to the Mad River Road Bridge, near Ardenvoir. Fishing opened on Tuesday. It is hoped the new boundary will provide more opportunities for anglers.
The popular Buoy 10 fishery near the mouth of the Columbia opened Tuesday, but the fishery has a different look this year with fishing initially scheduled to run through Aug. 20 with a limit of two hatchery fish, up to one of which may be a chinook. The fishery will pause from Aug. 21 to Aug. 23 so managers can assess the catch, followed by a scheduled reopening Aug. 24 to Aug. 27. Another pause follows from Aug. 28 to Aug. 29, then another opener from Aug. 30 to Sept. 4.
Spiny ray
Anglers launching at Boyer Park on the Snake River are finding a lot of smallmouth bass, but also some decent crappie fishing from shore. There are a lot of carp in the bay, and though not the preferred species for most anglers, they provide quite a fight on rod and reel and some pretty conspicuous targets for bow fishermen.
Long Lake has a good population of walleye, but trollers are finding it all but impossible to get to them through the heavy weed growth. Perch fishing is better as one can dunk a simple hook, worm and sinker into holes in the weeds in about 20 feet of water.
Potholes Reservoir walleye have been elusive, but everything else seems to be biting – perch, bass, bluegill and lots of catfish. The crappie and bluegill are moving out of the sand dunes and posting up on the face. Some of these are quite large.
Several hike-in lakes just west of Potholes Reservoir are a decent choice for anglers in search of largemouth bass that don’t get a lot of pressure. South of Potholes are some good spiny ray options like Soda, Long, Upper and Lower Goose, Hutchinson and Shiner lakes. Leader Lake and Washburn Island Pond in Okanogan County are good for bass and panfish. Roses Lake in Chelan County, and Palmer Lake and Whitestone Lake in Okanogan County are also good options for spiny ray.
Walleye, smallmouth and catfish are biting throughout the Columbia and Snake river systems. The best fishing for these is in Lake Umatilla (John Day Reservoir) and Lake Wallula (McNary Reservoir). There is no minimum size and no limit on the number of walleye, bass or channel catfish anglers can keep while fishing in the Columbia and Snake rivers.
Other species
The Lake Roosevelt sturgeon fishery opens Sept. 16 through Nov. 30. This is to take advantage of cooler water temperatures which reduce stress on wild fish that are caught and released because they are not legal to harvest.
Hunting
Any hunter who drew an Idaho controlled big game hunt tag had until Tuesday to buy it, and those that aren’t purchased will be available for a second drawing. The application period for Idaho’s second big game controlled hunt drawing runs Saturday to Aug. 15.
Hunters wanting to hunt sage grouse or sandhill cranes in Idaho can buy tags on a first-come, first-served basis. Sage grouse and sandhill crane tags cost $22.75 each for residents and $74.25 for nonresidents.
Idaho big game hunters are reminded to check for changes to the 2023 big game seasons that were adopted by the commission in its March meeting. Due to harsh winters and other population factors, changes were made to many hunts that could affect hunters expecting the same as last year. If hunters feel their hunts have been negatively affected and they no longer want a certain tag, they can exchange it if other tags are available. Hunting licenses and resident tags are nonrefundable.
General hunting seasons for black bear opened Tuesday in Washington. Hunters in Northeastern A Zone (including GMUs 101-121) in particular are reminded that it’s possible to encounter protected grizzly bears, so species identification is critical. Successful completion of WDFW’s online Bear Identification Program is required if hunting bears in GMUs 101, 105,108, 111, 113 or 117.
Washington forest grouse season will again run from Sept. 15 to Jan. 15 to protect brood hens with chicks.
Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com
Tip of the week
People playing in the water on the state’s rivers and creeks sometimes build rock dams to create deeper holes to cool off in. If you encounter one of these, take it apart and spread the rocks out. Dams block fish from swimming upstream or downstream to find cool water, spawn, and feed.
Overheard
Daily limits and size restrictions for gamefish have been removed from Williams Lake (the winter lake in Stevens County) and June, North Windmill and North Windmill lakes (Grant County) effective now through Oct. 1 prior to rehabilitation to remove undesirable species. Anglers may not gather fish from these lakes during or after rehabilitation. They will be restocked with trout in early spring. With higher-than-normal numbers of adult-size sturgeon found dead in several pools of the Columbia River this summer, white sturgeon fishing has closed on a large portion of the mid-Columbia. The closure will extend from The Dalles Dam upstream to Priest Rapids Dam and is scheduled to remain in place through Sept. 15.
Heads up
Selective gear restrictions are in place on the Spokane River from Nine Mile Dam to the Washington/Idaho border and WDFW officers are patrolling the river. Selective gear rules mean using barbless single hooks and lures and no bait or scent. WFDW, partnering with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians and Colville Tribes, is holding the annual National Hunting and Fishing Day event at Camp Cowles on Diamond Lake in Newport this year. This free event is a great family-oriented way to introduce youth to target shooting, hunting and fishing and other outdoor recreation. It is also an opportunity to recognize that hunters and anglers continue to be among the most active supporters of wildlife management and conservation. This year’s event is Sept. 30 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Preregistration has begun. More information and registration instructions can be found at
wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/requirements/education/hunt-fish-day.