Alan Liere’s fishing-hunting report for Jan. 5

Jan. 4, 2023 Updated Wed., Jan. 4, 2023 at 8:05 p.m.

By Alan Liere For The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

There is a small tackle and bait store just a 100 yards north of Millers One Stop on the left side of Highway 2 heading towards Newport. It’s called North 2 Tackle, and it’s one of the few places in the area where you can find maggots now. It also has a good selection of ice fishing gear, and it’s open at 6:30 a.m. seven days a week. The congenial owner is a wealth of information about fishing destinations to the north like Sacheen and Diamond lakes. Info: 821-2787

Heads up

You don’t have to be a fisherman or a hunter to share your best moments in the outdoors from the past year in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's 2022 Outdoor Experiences photo contest. WDFW wants to see how you and your family engage with nature in your community, whether fishing, hunting, skiing, hiking, or participating in any other outdoor pursuit. Submit photos of outdoor moments of yourself or others, or your epic outdoor selfie between now and Jan. 15. To be considered, images must include people. There will be $25 Cabela’s gift card prizes for three winners. Send entries to https://wdfw.wa.gov/share and select the “2022 Outdoor Experiences” category from the drop-down menu. Winning images will be announced in late January.

This year's Big Game Hunting Rules and Regulations photo contest theme is "Who hunts?" WDFW is looking for photos of you, your friends, and family enjoying hunting in Washington. Submit your photos on WDFW’s Facebook page any time before Feb. 15. Winners will be announced this spring.

Fly fishing

This should be a good week of winter fishing on the Spokane River, Silver Bow Fly Shop said. Trout spey or streamers fished deep with sink-tips have been productive. Nymphing a stone, San Juan, and/or hot bead or hot spot type of nymph in slower currents is a go-to all winter long.

Ice fishing

The Northwest Ice Fishing Festival is Jan. 14 at Sidley Lake in Okanogan County. The event is sponsored by the Oroville Chamber of Commerce. For details, go to the Okanogan County website or phone 557-5165.

The Bonaparte Lake Resort Ice Fishing Derby is Jan. 28. There are six species of fish in the lake, including some huge tiger trout. Bonaparte Lake is located north of Tonasket in Okanogan County. Cost for entering the derby is $10 for adults and $5 for kids. For details, call 486-2828 or go to the Bonaparte Lake Resort website.

“Fourth of July and Hog Canyon are two of the most popular ice fishing destinations around the Spokane area for trout,” WDFW central district fish biologist Randy Osborne said. “Fourth of July has rainbow trout up to 22 inches. The fish at Hog Canyon are a bit smaller, ranging 13 to 16 inches, but still provide plenty of action.”

The ice is holding at both lakes.

Hatch Lake, about 5 miles southeast of Colville, was rehabilitated in 2020 to remove illegally introduced yellow perch, and then restocked with rainbow trout. Low water over the past two years impacted survival of stocked trout, but the remaining fish are decent-sized.

Another winter-only lake is Williams in Stevens County. Rather than planting small fry, WDFW planted catchable-sized trout this year. Fishing has been great this winter, but in the future the bass and perch are expected to negatively impact the trout fishery.

For perch anglers, arguably the best fishery around is Curlew Lake in Ferry County. Jumpoff Joe, Sacheen, Diamond and Waitts lakes are other good options with good reports of large perch and some big trout in Sacheen and Diamond. Newman Lake in eastern Spokane County should be a decent perch destination, but success has been limited this winter. Silver Lake ice is not safe.

A friend and I tried Eloika Lake on Tuesday with limited success, though a party that fished the lake the day before did well. We caught an anemic mixture of small sunfish, bass and perch in four hours of fishing.

Ice fishermen on Scooteney Reservoir aren’t catching many walleye but say the perch bite has been ridiculously good, and they are big enough for a decent-sized fillet. One angler said he couldn’t drill a hole anywhere without immediately finding perch.

Thomas and Lake Gillette lakes in the Little Pend Oreille chain of lakes in northeast Washington offer good numbers of perch, rainbow trout and crappie. The ice is good. In Adams County, Sprague Lake is known for its winter ice fishing for big trout.

Fish Lake in Chelan County, about 16 miles north of Leavenworth, offers good fishing for perch, kokanee and rainbow trout through the ice.

In Idaho, Avondale Lake has good ice, but there is slush on top that is beginning to firm up. Anglers are catching a few trout and a lot of small perch.

Gamlin (Gamble) Lake has 3 inches good ice with 5 inches of dirty ice on top of that and some slush. The perch bite has been sporadic.

Hauser Lake has been good for perch this winter, and Hayden Lake is giving up decent pike.

Open water fishing

While Roosevelt is usually a reliable trout destination, a friend who trolled there Sunday said he couldn’t find a fish. He noted that bank fishermen appeared to be doing well and he met some anglers at the launch who said they’d caught a lot of burbot. Burbot are congregated in the winter months near the mouth of the Colville and Spokane rivers. Bead and Sullivan lakes in Pend Oreille County also have burbot. They can be caught through the ice or by plunking bait from shore.

Lake whitefish can also be found in Lake Roosevelt. In January, they spawn in groups near the bottom, generally in about 45 feet of water. Banks Lake is even better for lake whitefish.

Bank fishing on Lake Spokane is producing rainbows in the 14- to 17-inch range. Access is limited, but those fishing from the turnouts downstream from the town of Tum Tum are doing well.

The single walleye report from Lake Roosevelt this week indicated the humps across from the mouth of the Spokane Arm and across from 7 Bays were good for 18- to 20-inch fish. Jigs and Jigging Raps fished slowly were the ticket.

Salmon and steelhead

Great steelheading areas abound on WDFW lands and access sites along the Grand Ronde River. Fish the upper part of the river from the Highway 129 bridge upstream to the Oregon border on 4-O Ranch Wildlife Area lands and public fishing easements. Or try your luck at access sites on the Shumaker unit of the Chief Joseph Wildlife Area. There are also many places to fish on the lower Grande Ronde that are accessed from the Heller Bar area and upstream from there.

Both hatchery and wild steelhead can also still be caught in the Snake River and its tributaries, especially on warmer days when these fish become more active.

Other species

Lake Umatilla, John Day Dam to McNary Dam, opened for sturgeon on Sunday with a daily limit of one.

Only sturgeon between 43 inches and 54 inches fork length (tip of the snout to fork in the tail) can be harvested. The season will be open until the 2023 quota of 105 sturgeon is reached.

Hunting

In Yakima and Kittitas counties, the best waterfowl hunting is in the Lower Yakima Valley, especially on Yakama Nation lands, which has abundant opportunity along the Yakima River.

The Yakama Nation’s Satus Wildlife Area is the most popular, open to hunting Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

There are many places to hunt ducks and geese in Benton and Franklin counties, including locations on WDFW’s Windmill Ranch Unit, Mesa Lake Unit, Scooteney Reservoir, Sunnyside Wildlife Area Units and Bailie Memorial Youth Ranch.

Many parts of the Columbia, Snake and Yakima Rivers are also open to waterfowl hunting.

There is still open water in popular waterfowl hunting areas on the Pend Oreille and Colville rivers.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com