Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Aug. 28, 2025

Fly fishing

Dry-dropper rigs are still fishing well on the Spokane River. It’s worth dredging a nymph rig through some of the faster slots and deeper pools, although you’ll probably be sifting through more whitefish than trout. Try a streamer just to mix things up. Once there is a flow increase from Lake Coeur d’Alene, the fish will begin moving around more. Hopper-droppers are always a good prospecting tactic in the summer on the North Fork Coeur d’Alene and the St. Joe.

Silver Bow Fly Shop says the North Fork of the Clearwater and Kelly Creek are always an option this time of the year and there has been good fishing there recently during caddis and pale morning dun hatches. Small terrestrials and attractors have been good for searching patterns.

Okanogan region streams like the Icicle, upper Entiat and Kettle have a lot of trout, but they are small. A Parachute Adams fly will entice strikes, but don’t forget the renegade.

Bass fishing has been good for fly fishermen. Fish are still in the dog days mode, hanging in deeper water or under shade/structure. Targeting steep drop off areas with some rock structure has worked well lately. The fish will be more active with overcast and cooler weather.

Trout and kokanee

The bottom end of the middle net pens on Rufus Woods Reservoir has been productive for anglers dropping chartreuse-colored Power Bait on three feet of leader under a half-ounce sliding sinker. An eighth-ounce marabou jig can also be effective for 3- to 4-pound triploids.

Steelhead and salmon

Westport salmon anglers report a good coho bite this week. More than likely, there are fewer than 20 days remaining in the season.

This year’s near-record run of pink salmon is bending rods in Puget Sound, and should continue to do so well into September. These salmon generally run close to shore, making them more accessible to anglers without a boat. In the salt, good places to fish for pinks in Puget Sound are Lincoln Point, Point No Point, Picnic Point, the Edmonds Pier and the Les Davis Pier. In fresh water, the Puyallup, Green, Nisqually, Skagit and Snohomish rivers are all good. Pink salmon love pink, so most pink lures, spinners and spoons will get you fish. These salmon are often maligned because they are smaller and oilier than other species of salmon, but they are excellent smoked, barbecued or canned.

Spiny ray

Some of the best walleye fishing on Banks Lake now is from the Million Dollar Mile up to Jones Bay.

Anglers trolling for walleye on Lake Spokane have been catching some really large perch in addition to their walleye. Expect to be removing weeds quite frequently from your lures.

Loon Lake anglers are also taking some large perch in about 30 feet of water. Curlew Lake is still good, Liberty Lake can be, and despite no-bait restrictions, Coffeepot Lake perch fishing with small jigs can be outstanding for big fish. Don’t overlook Diamond and Jump-Off Joe.

Hand-sized Potholes Reservoir bluegills are still hanging near the habitat boxes and elsewhere. Bass fishing remains good.

Lake Pend Oreille is not often overlooked as a good bass destination, but some really big largemouth bass have been caught there this summer. It should get even better as fall approaches.

Other species

Washington and Idaho both have healthy populations of channel cats, as they are commonly planted in multispecies lakes and reservoirs, and many grow to impressive size. Almost any lake with spiny ray also has channel cats, and now is a great time to fish for them. As the temperatures begin to drop, they will start to aggressively feed. You can still find them near weed flats now, but as it gets colder, they will move to depths between 6 and 12 feet at night and down to 30 feet during the day.

Look for soft-bottomed areas just outside flats that lead down into basins. Just about any natural bait can tempt catfish, including nightcrawlers, shrimp and cut bait, and contrary to what you may have heard, they actually prefer fresh bait. On the Columbia River, Crow Butte Park and Two Rivers Park are prime spots. On the lower Snake River, the area just above the Ice Harbor Lock and Dam offers great potential – this section of the river is referred to as Lake Sacajawea – and you’ll find excellent access and boat launch facilities at North Shore Recreation Area. Head a bit farther upstream and you’ll find some of the best catfish angling in the stretch of river between Lower Monumental Dam and Little Goose Dam. The Palouse River meets the Snake River in this section, and the deep water at the confluence of the two rivers is a great area to find big catfish. Lyons Ferry State Park is nestled in the crook of land where the two rivers meet, and offers an ideal home base for catfish anglers.

There’s also another deep hole not too far upriver, where the smaller Tucannon River enters the Snake.

Other good channel cat waters on the east side of Washington are the Yakima and Walla Walla rivers, Roses Lake in Chelan County, Potholes Reservoir and Liberty Lake. In northern Idaho, Lake Fernan has some big channel cats.

Hunting

Washington’s early Canada goose season in goose management areas 4 and 5 runs September 6-7 with a limit of five Canada geese per day. These geese can be pin-pointed by driving back roads in wheat-stubble country in the evening.

Dove season begins in Washington and Idaho on Monday and runs through Oct. 30 with a daily limit of 15. This year, I’m heading to Sunnyside, Washington, for a couple days, where a nephew who lives in the area says the birds are numerous and have not yet begun to flock up. In Washington, dove hunters must have a federal migratory bird stamp in addition to their license.

Idaho deer and elk hunting looks positive heading into the 2025 big game season. Typically faring better than deer, elk this past winter did particularly well. Specifically, 82% of collared elk calves statewide survived the 2024-2025 winter, while survival of collared mule deer fawns was around 58% – an uptick from the long-term average of 57%. Ninety-one percent of collared does survived. For the last two years now, white-tailed deer harvests have accounted for roughly a 9% bump since 2022. In 2024, roughly 48,766 white-tailed deer hunters took home an estimated 20,908 whitetails statewide.

The Washington fall turkey season begins Sept. 1 and ends Dec. 31. In GMU areas 101-154 and 162-186, the limit is two beardless plus two either sex birds. In GMUs 382, 388 and 568-578, the limit is two birds of either sex. In GMUs 203-290, the limit is one bird of either sex.

The Idaho fall turkey season begins Saturday. Closing dates vary, so check your regulations. During fall seasons in Idaho, the daily bag limit is equal to the number of valid tags possessed. Either sex turkeys may be taken during fall seasons. Red squirrel and rabbits also open Saturday.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com