Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Jan. 25

Thu., Jan. 25, 2024

By Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

Just when I thought we were going to have a good ice fishing winter, things warmed up, got wet, and the ice began to melt some. Wherever you go this week, check the ice thickness often, and don’t be fooled by “white ice” that is usually nothing but compressed snow and does not have the integrity of clear ice. Some lakes may appear to have 8 to 10 inches of ice, but often, only half of that is solid.

Heads up

Washington hunters, whether successful or not, have only until Jan. 31 Wednesday to submit their mandatory hunting harvest reports for deer, elk, bear and turkey to avoid a $10 penalty when purchasing 2024 hunting licenses. You can report, either on the phone at (877) 945-3492, or online at http://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov.

Trout and kokanee

Trout fishing on Lake Roosevelt is getting good on the lower end of the reservoir near Spring Canyon. Most are taken on the troll 10-20 feet below the surface. The reservoir is still high.

Lake Chelan has begun to heat up for big mackinaw above the narrows, while the lower basin has been good for smaller fish.

Salmon and steelhead

A friend in Clarkston tells me that the Snake and Clearwater rivers are rising and are likely to be blown out by the weekend, but there were some big B-run steelhead caught Tuesday on the Clearwater. He also said the Grande Ronde is frozen all the way to Troy.

Ice fishing

Three friends went to Curlew Lake on Friday. After a tense 3-hour drive on snowy roads, they were fishing by 8 a.m. “We sat on the same three holes until noon,” said George Orr, “caught about 125 perch, kept 100 and were on our way home by 1 p.m.” He said most of the fish were 8-10 inches, but he caught a 12-incher toward the end of the day.

I have been fishing Eloika Lake since I was 8 years old – that was 71 years ago and the first time I went fishing. In all these years, I have never caught a perch there over 9 inches long, and most were much smaller. For the past two years, perch fishing at Eloika was terrible and I didn’t fish it but twice. Last Saturday, however, my friend Mike Sweeney and I drilled a couple of holes over about 12 feet of water, and Mike began catching perch – big perch – immediately. He had 20 on the ice before I got a bite, and most of them were 9-11½ inches.

Mike took pity on me and not only gave me his rod but the hole he had drilled. He moved 5 feet over, drilled another hole and continued to catch fish. I finally iced 10 or so myself. When the bite died at 9:30, we had kept 45 perch and released anything under 8 inches.

Two days later, I was on the ice at Eloika again, this time with Mike Vargas and his 7-year-old son Jack. Jack gave us a fishing lesson, catching the majority of fish on a 35-fish morning and keeping nothing smaller than 9 inches. Once again, the bite ended around 9:30. The most effective lure was a green and orange Buckshot Spoon tipped with maggots. On Wednesday, the lake ice was covered with water. I think my next trip to Eloika will be for spring crappie.

Perch fishing was also good on Sacheen Lake last weekend. Ice anglers were making healthy catches of 9- to 10-inch perch as well as some 12-inch crappie. Anglers who had cameras in the water said that though the fishing was hot, at times the bait would be surrounded by perch that only wanted to stare at it.

A friend who fished Silver Lake this week said the perch were a little bigger than last year. He said the bite was constant and he sorted through the fish to keep a dozen of about 7 inches.

Reports of 10-inch perch were trickling in from Diamond Lake last week, but a friend who checked the ice Sunday said he wouldn’t trust it as there were places where it was only 3 inches thick and cloudy.

Hog Canyon Lake has been producing an early trout bite through good ice. Yellow corn has been accounting for fish of around 13 inches. At Fourth of July, the bite has been good for even larger trout, but with the warm, rainy weather, the ice could go south quickly.

Thomas Lake is still good for 8- to 9-inch perch as well as some 9- to 10-inch crappie, but you need to be on the lake early. Nearby Coffin Lake has also been good for perch.

Bonaparte Lake is producing nice catches of perch, but some big tiger trout are also showing. Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee, is good for perch through the ice.

At Hayden Lake, ice fishermen are catching some small pike to the left of the launch and about 100 yards out. Hauser Lake has had some fair perch fishing. Cocolalla had good ice on Monday and a decent perch bite.

Other species

Razor clam digging on coastal beaches continues Thursday at Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Copalis; Friday at Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks; Saturday at Long Beach and

Mocrocks; and Sunday at Copalis. It resumes Feb. 6-12 and Feb. 21-25. All digs are in the evening.

Hunting

Washington hunters have only through the coming weekend to hunt waterfowl except for some opening dates for white geese into February and March. Late-season snow goose only in Western Washington will be Feb. 10 to 20 in goose management area 1 with a limit of 20 a day. Goose management area 2-coastal will run Feb. 10 to 21 for white front and snow geese. In goose management area 2-inland, the season for both snows and white fronts will run Feb. 10 to March 6. In Eastern Washington’s goose management area 4, snow geese will be open Feb. 17 to March 3 with a limit of 20 per day.

Area 3 (Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties) in Idaho will remain open for Canada goose hunting through Wednesday.

A Washington youth, veterans and active military waterfowl hunt is set for Feb. 3 statewide.

Chukar hunters have only through Wednesday to create a few more blisters and leg cramps. Hunting can be good this time of year, and sometimes the birds will be on top in the wheat stubble.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com