Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for July 25, 2024

Fly fishing

The Spokane River is still fishing well in the mornings, and caddis are still hatching. Silver Bow Fly Shop said everything below Sullivan Bridge and downtown will stay in the safe water temperatures for trout. Above that will be warm bass water. Hopper or Chernobyl/droppers will be effective all summer.

The St. Joe River is still a decent option for trout despite the heat, but summer heat is making the North Fork Coeur d’Alene tough to fish. Go early and fish moving water with some depth.

Kelly Creek and the North Fork Clearwater are good summer options for some dry fly action. The Lochsa and Selway rivers have also been fishing well. Early morning is best with attractors like Royal Wulffs.

Fishing the lowland lakes in Eastern Washington during the evening can be good. Fishtrap, Amber and Williams have had positive reviews lately. Southeast of Colville, Starvation and Bayley lakes have also fished well in the evening.

Trout and kokanee

Brown trout are biting at Rock Lake. Anglers trolling Firetiger Apexes are doing well. Fishing for rainbow trout has also been good.

Lake Roosevelt rainbow are being taken by trollers near Lincoln and Sterling Point. Success has been erratic. The biters are suspended at 20 to 35 feet, but graphs also show schools of fish much deeper than one would normally be able to fish with leaded line.

At an average length of nearly 12 inches, Dworshak Reservoir kokanee are larger than previously reported and 25-fish limits are common.

The Lake Coeur d’Alene kokanee bite continues. The fish are on the small side – 9 or 10 inches – but trollers are taking limits at around 30 feet.

Anglers at Omak Lake on the Colville Reservation are catching Lahontan cutthroats averaging 17 inches, with some stretching over 2 feet.

Priest Lake macks are biting just off the bottom near the islands. Lake Pend Oreille also has some decent mack fishing. Lake Chelan macks are hitting trolled offerings down deep along Minneapolis Beach and near the Yacht Club. Those fish are generally larger than the other two lakes.

Salmon and steelhead

Sockeye fishing opened Monday on Lake Wenatchee, but angler participation and success were down because of high winds. More than 119,000 fish have entered the lake and they are still coming. The catch rate will improve dramatically when the weather cooperates.

The return of sockeye salmon to the Columbia River has passed the 750,000 mark at Bonneville, and more than 300,000 have passed over Wells Dam. Fishing for sockeye in the Brewster Pool has been excellent, and new fish are arriving each day.

During the week ending Sunday, 3,357 Westport salmon anglers caught 1,526 chinook and 3,899 coho. Those totals accounted for 24% of the coho quota and 20% of the chinook guideline. No pinks have been recorded since the opener on June 30.

Spiny ray

Walleye fishing on the Snake River has yielded good numbers, including some fish more than 10 pounds. The smallmouth bass bite has also been excellent.

Largemouth and smallmouth fishing have both been excellent this week at Potholes Reservoir in Grant County. For the largemouth, fish frogs early and late back in the sand dunes. For the smallmouth, fish the rock piles around Goose Island and along the face of the dam and up Lind Coulee with just about anything from spinnerbaits to blade baits and tubes.

Priest Lake smallmouth are in the rocky areas in 6 to 15 feet of water. Fast bites on tubes are the rule.

Potholes walleye are starting to move from the weeds to the main channels and can be caught by casting into the weeds or trolling the channels in the sand dunes and up Crab Creek. If trolling, follow the weed lines as closely as possible.

The Spokane Arm of Lake Roosevelt is providing anglers with good walleye fishing over weed beds. The water in front of Bradbury Beach has also been good. Fish mud lines along the shores created by boats and jet skis. Walleye feel safe in the murky water and will linger there even as your boat passes over.

Long Lake has been good for largemouth and smallmouth bass. Gulp Minnows drop-shotted from a boat in small pockets in thick patches of weeds have resulted in some impressive catches. Long is also seeing catches of 10-inch perch at 25 to 35 feet over weed beds.

Loon lake perch are worth going after, as there are schools of fish running 10 inches and sometimes more. Find 25 feet of water over weed beds, particularly on the east side of the lake for best results.

Hayden Lake anglers are taking an occasional pike, bass and a few large crappie. Hauser Lake perch fishing is hot at times early in the day.

Other species

Pike fishing on Lake Coeur d’Alene has been decent in bays like Mica, Wolf Lodge and Cougar. The key to success is finding weed beds in 10 to 15 feet of water.

Fishing for channel cats on Potholes Reservoir is picking up, as it usually does this time of year. The best fishing is at night in shallow water with nightcrawlers or cut bait. Fish as large as 15 pounds have been landed recently.

The Columbia River shad run is essentially over, as only 234 fish were counted at Bonneville Dam on Tuesday.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com