Alan Liere’s hunt-fish report for June 15
Fly fishing
Silver Bow Fly Shop guides reported good fishing on the Spokane River with solid caddis hatches. The usual dry/dropper, double-nymph rigs and Euro rigs have been consistent.
The North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River should still offer good fishing. River levels are well below average for this time of the year.
A variety of insects has begun hatching.
The St. Joe River flows are also below average. The river is in good shape and fishing has produced from top to bottom. It’s peak dry fly season and dry/dropper season.
Nymphing with an indicator should produce strikes throughout the day on the Yakima River, where fishing has been excellent.
Pats Rubber Leg in black or brown with a bead head dropper has been good and so have caddis dries in the afternoon and evening. The streamer bite can be productive on cloudy days.
The Clark Fork is said to be high and brown and will need a few more days to be fishable.
Trout and kokanee
Some big kokanee have been caught recently in Lake Roosevelt near Plum Point, Swawilla Basin and Camel Nose, but anglers are mostly taking smaller ones.
Night fishermen on Loon Lake are all giving similar reports: The kokanee have all but disappeared.
Five boats interviewed this week reported zero bites from many of the previously night fishing hot spots – in front of Granite Point Resort, the Palm Tree, the Windmill and south of the island.
They also reported a lot of plankton and minnows in the water, which could account for the remaining kokes reluctance to take a Glo Hook and maggot.
Lahontan cutthroat are coming off the spawn at Omak Lake. Anglers are finding fish as large as 7 pounds in the shallow end of the bays.
Sacheen Lake rainbow are running up to 12 inches. Diamond Lake anglers are finding good rainbow action while still-fishing on the north end.
Waitts Lake rainbow and brown trout are still biting trolled flies tip with worm in the middle of the lake.
Some large Pend Oreille Lake rainbows have been taken from either the surface with planer boards or on shallow running downriggers.
Flies and Apexes have been effective. Drop-shot rigs are accounting for good numbers of lake trout, though nothing particularly large has been reported.
Salmon and steelhead
A part of the Wenatchee River opened for hatchery-spring chinook salmon on Friday and will remain open through June 30.
The open waters are from the Highway 2 Bridge in Leavenworth to the upstream point of confluence with the Icicle River, and from there to the opposite river bank adjacent to the Leavenworth Golf Course.
This fishery will be monitored closely and could potentially close at any time for a variety of factors. Anglers are advised to check the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website for updates.
The summer chinook and sockeye fishing on the Columbia from Tri-Cities to Priest Rapids Dam opens Friday. Fishing on the Icicle River has picked up.
Ocean salmon fishing at La Push and Neah Bay (Marine Areas 3 and 4) opens Saturday.
Ilwaco and Westport (Marine Areas 1 and 2) open June 24.
Summer chinook salmon, sockeye and steelhead fishing on sections of the Columbia River opens from Saturday through July 31 from the Astoria-Megler Bridge to Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco and from Richland to Priest Rapids Dam.
Spiny ray
Walleye spawning is over in Lake Pend Oreille, and fish are distributed widely throughout the system.
In the past month, walleye have moved down the Pend Oreille River and throughout the Clark Fork Delta and river.
The locations with the most individual walleye detected were the Highway 95 Long Bridge and Railroad Bridge.
Look for shallow flats and rocky shorelines early in summer before weeds become more established and fish begin using weed edges and beds throughout the north end of the lake.
The Sunnyside Point to Fisherman’s Island area also continues to hold a number of walleye.
In these areas, anglers should troll crawler harnesses or crankbaits near drop-offs and over the flats in the adjacent bays.
The lake system contains plenty of $1,000 reward-tagged walleye. Just last month, two lucky anglers each turned in walleye tagged with $1,000 reward tags.
Lake Spokane walleye have been more difficult to find , and the crappie bite never did take off.
A friend said he caught a 16-inch crappie in front of his Long Lake home this week, but the rest of the school was evidently playing hooky.
You should find good perch fishing adjacent to weed beds. Smallmouth bass are abundant.
Loon, Eloika, Newman, Liberty, Silver, Hauser and Hayden lakes have produced some nice-sized sized largemouth bass . Weeds are developing quickly at Eloika, a good place to try a weedless frog.
Coeur d’Alene and Hayden lake smallmouth fishing is good.
Fishermen are throwing Wooly Buggers under a strike indicator or small tube jigs for constant action. Senkos are always effective.
Other species
The 2023 Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Fishery Program taking place along the Columbia and Snake rivers reported 6,677 pikeminnow turned in last week.
The Dalles, with 1,212, and Boyer Park, with 1,055, recorded the most.
Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com
Tip of the week
A weedless plastic frog offers a distinct advantage when sight-fishing for bass on their beds because you can position it directly over a bed and let it remain there. Start by casting beyond the bed to avoid spooking the fish. If the spot is close to shore, try to cast onto the bank, then gently slide it into the water. Swim the frog slowly over the target and let it stay on the surface where the bass will notice it. Be patient. After a minute or so, a slight twitch is often all it takes to get a strike
Braggin’ rights
Cohen Stentz, who attends Eastmont High School, and Easton Clark, who attends Hanford High School, have qualified to compete in the Strike King Bassmaster High School Championship on Lake Heartwell in South Carolina July 27-29.
Overheard
Lake Roosevelt anglers say trolling is nearly impossible in Spring Canyon due to the amount of debris in the water. Kennewick resident Loren Monson was walleye fishing Sunday on the Columbia River with his dad, Laren, when he hooked an 8-foot sturgeon that burst to the surface, tail-danced and began taking line. Some 90 minutes later, he finally coaxed the sturgeon to shore, removed the circle hook and sent the 200-pound fish on its way.
Heads up
The Lower Granite Natural Resource Management office has closed the boat ramp at Wawawai Landing on the Snake River until further notice to assess the ramp’s condition and perform needed repairs. Doe deer are beginning to drop fawns throughout the northwest, and many calls were received at Idaho and Washington Fish and Game regional offices from people who are concerned about fawns that appear to be abandoned. The best thing concerned citizens can do for these fawns is to leave them be and get out of the area, because they were almost certainly not abandoned and the mothers likely are nearby. People who “rescue” fawns by removing them from the wild are actually taking away their best chance at survival.