Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Dec. 11, 2025

Fly fishing

Silver Bow Fly Shop says there’s not much new happening on the Spokane this week. Steamers have been most productive. Flows have come up, so some of the walk and wade access will be more limited, though still fishable. Keep an eye on Latah Creek levels if you’re planning on fishing the lower river as it can muddy quickly. Nymph and streamer fishing is still the way to go, but keep a couple small dry flies handy.

Rocky Ford is still weedy but should be getting better with cold temps. Scuds, midges, small baetis will all play. Streamers will work, too.

The Yakima River and other nearby trout streams can fish well in winter with small nymphs or sculpin patterns, as rainbows and cutthroat feed actively in slower winter flows.

Trout and kokanee

Trout fishing is sometimes very good from the banks of Lake Spokane from turnouts off Highway 291 downstream of Tum Tum or between Nine Mile Dam and the mouth of the Little Spokane River.

Fourth of July and Hog Canyon lakes are both options until they freeze over. There were mixed reviews from anglers fishing these last week. Fourth of July Lake is walk-in access only. Water levels are too low for launching any kind of boat that you can’t carry a quarter mile.

Steelhead and salmon

The lower section of the Hanford Reach from the I-182 Bridge upstream to old Hanford townsite powerline is open for chinook and coho salmon, as well as steelhead (with adipose and right ventral fin clip) through Dec. 31.

Coho and hatchery steelhead fishing is open in the mainstem Columbia River from Buoy 10 upstream to The Dalles Dam through Dec. 31, though only hatchery coho may be retained below the Hood River Bridge. Steelhead retention in the McNary Pool (upstream of The Dalles Dam), did not open Nov. 1, as occurred in 2024. The fishery will follow the preseason plan, with the area opening Jan. 1 under permanent regulations.

Other species

The Entiat River opened Dec. 1 for whitefish. As per the current sport fishing rules, the season runs Dec. 1 through Feb. 28 under whitefish gear rules (one single point hook, maximum hook size 3/16” point to shank, bait allowed, release all fish except whitefish)

Lake Wallula (McNary Reservoir) is open year-round for sturgeon except for a winter closure from the Hanford townsite to Vernita Bridge but limited to catch-and-release only. Use one single point barbless hook when fishing for sturgeon. Fishing at night is not allowed.

During the 2025 season, the Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Fishery program reached its goal of removing 10-20% of the larger northern pikeminnow from the population. Preliminary estimates indicate 12,625 registered angler efforts resulted in 150,388 qualifying northern pikeminnow being caught and turned in. The top 20 anglers caught an estimated average of 4,134 fish per angler and averaged reward payments of $41,445 each throughout the five-month season. The program’s top angler took home approximately $157,910 by turning in an estimated 15,715 fish. The payout and total catch would be the second highest in program history, falling just short of the current record of $164,260 and 16,150 set in 2024.

The WDFW will be sending out a brief online survey Thursday to Dungeness crabbers who harvested crab this year in Marine Area 6 (East Juan de Fuca Strait), Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands), and Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) These crabbers will be invited to complete a survey, which will remain open through Dec. 23. All crabbers licensed to fish for Dungeness crab in Puget Sound and Hood Canal are required to report their harvest.

Spiny ray

The I-90 Bridge isn’t the only place on Moses Lake where good numbers of perch can be found. The area of the lake near the outlets at the southern end of the lake is also a spot where good catches can be made. There is some shore access near the outlets and a large parking area with toilets. It would be easy to launch a kayak or pontoon boat there, too. To reach the outlets by vehicle, take the signs to the ORV Park. The outlets are on this road.

Last winter I caught a lot of crappie at Eloika Lake, and for nostalgia purposes, I decided to clean them the way my father and uncle had 70 years ago when Potholes Reservoir was a young reservoir and I thought all crappie were at least 14 inches long. Their method was to scale the fish, remove head and entrails, then cut out the top and lower fins and lop off the tail. My grandmother rolled these in cornmeal and fried them in lard; they were delicious! When I tried this method with my smaller Eloika Lake crappie, however, the skin had a “grassy” taste and the bones seemed to be in places no bones had existed with the Potholes fish. This year, I’ll go back to my original technique and fillet them.

Hunting

The late archery and muzzleloader general deer seasons continue through December. Remember to file your mandatory hunting report on time.

Hunters who harvested their full bag limit of turkeys during the spring can still participate in the fall turkey seasons which end Dec. 31. Each season has a separate bag limit. Depending on which unit you hunt, the bag limit in fall/winter can be as many as four birds, and there are a lot of them.

Hunting access has become a problem all over Washington, but 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. The Windmill Unit also has nine circles of corn that can provide field hunting opportunities. Hunting in the corn fields can be productive in the afternoons as the weather turns colder.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com