Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Dec. 25, 2025

Thu., Dec. 25, 2025

By Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

Tip of the week: When deep-running lures hang up on the bottom of the lake, the downward-facing hook on the front treble is usually to blame. To avoid such snags, simply clip it off. The remaining double hook will still catch fish. For further protection, add a split shot or two 18 inches ahead of the lure. This will keep it in a slightly head-down position that lifts the hooks away from snags.

Overheard: The annual Columbia River adult salmon returns report has just been released and according to the report, anglers who enjoy fishing for spring salmon can look forward to better fishing than last year. The return of sockeye is also supposed to be higher than last season.

For now, ice anglers are hanging their hopes on an announced ice fishing tournament on Idaho’s Lake Cocolalla Feb. 7. Currently, however, there is zero ice. I’m wondering if this could be the first winter in memory I didn’t break out my ice fishing rod and auger.

Heads up: If you plan on hunting mule deer in Montana next year, be aware that the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission has recently made a variety of changes to address concerns about nonresident hunting pressure and mule deer numbers. Mule deer declines, particularly in eastern Montana, have been a concern, so the commission has capped the sale of a particular nonresident deer license by about 2,500 and most mule deer B licenses will be valid only on private land. The commission also reduced the total number of deer licenses a resident can hold from eight to three and also reduces the number of deer B licenses a nonresident could hold to one. For more information, visit the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission website.

Idaho fishing licenses and permits for 2026 are now available. Be ready to fish on New Year’s Day by purchasing your license and permits now. Washington renewals are not needed until March 1, 2026.

Fly fishing

Virtually all rivers and streams are blown out at this time. Fly fishermen are catching a few trout at Hog Canyon, Fourth of July and Sprague, and some fly tossers were seen doing fairly well in some of the bays on Lake Roosevelt. A black Muddler Minnow has proven effective. Rocky Ford is good for trout. There are some of the traditional sized “footballs” being landed, but most trout are smaller than last year.

Trout and Kokanee

A good place to be fishing from shore right now would be at Spring Canyon Park on Lake Roosevelt. There has also been some good shore-fishing success at Fort Spokane and Keller, and there is no reason why Kettle Falls and the Hansen Harbor area and other locations shouldn’t also be productive. Trollers note that the smaller fish are in the top 20 feet and the larger fish much deeper, but even a “small” Lake Roosevelt trout is fat, healthy and a good 15 to 16 inches long.

There hasn’t been much angler input from two of the northern lakes that opened the day after Thanksgiving, but Williams Lake should be good as it got two plants of rainbow in March of this year, prior to the closure. These fish have had plenty of time to grow and should be a good size by now. Hatch Lake was planted with rainbow twice in the month of October and should be even better. At this time, all fishing is from shore or small boat.

Twenty-inch fish are pretty common for Fourth of July anglers tossing Power Bait from shore, but anglers who have eaten a 20-inch fish from Lake Roosevelt know Roosevelt trout taste much better. I have tried a number of methods to improve (disguise) the taste of a Fourth of July fish. So far, no luck. Hog Canyon trout, on the other hand, aren’t too bad.

Lake Pend Oreille remains a good bet for large rainbow. The fish are a little deeper than they were a month ago, but the top 20 feet is still best.

Steelhead and salmon

Don’t forget that the Columbia River salmon and steelhead endorsement goes into effect Jan. 1 and all anglers age 15 and older must buy a Columbia River salmon and steelhead endorsement to fish recreationally for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and many of its Washington tributaries.

As for steelhead fishing, opportunities are very limited. Both the Snake and the Clearwater were blown out at this writing.

Spiny ray

Walleye fishing has been fair in the Hunters area of Lake Roosevelt. Fish the edges of the sand flats. Jigging and blade-baiting are both popular. Blade baits are also accounting for some decent walleye catches on Lake Spokane and Potholes Reservoir.

Perch fishing is a lot of fun through the ice at Curlew each winter, but at this time you still need a boat. The fish have moved into the 30- to 40-foot depths but are as numerous as ever. Trollers are also catching some nice rainbow trout. Usually, you can count on Eloika Lake for some good perch fishing through the ice by now – but not this week. If you’re hardy enough to use a boat, you’re liable to catch more bass than perch at this time. The perch fishing at the I-90 Bridge over Moses Lake has slowed down. Schools move around, though, and will probably be back.

Other species

Burbot fishing is picking up on Lake Roosevelt. Walleye anglers in the Spokane Arm report catching more burbot than walleye. They are also taking some big whitefish.

Banks Lake whitefish are showing more frequently in the water around Coulee Playland Resort.

Hunting

Even without snow, this is an excellent time to find a coyote wandering about in the scabrock and the Palouse hills at mid-day. On a recent drive to Moses Lake, I spotted several from I-90 that showed no alarm when I slowed down or even pulled over to take a photo.

Your best chance for a pheasant now is to find a protected draw near a food source. Friends and family say when it is not raining they are finding birds in tall grass next to harvested grain fields. As reported in weeks past, the birds have either been getting up very wild or holding until they are almost stepped on. The consensus is there are more pheasants available than last year. If we ever get a good snowfall, things could get interesting.

Some of the scabrock ponds are beginning to fill up with rain water. If they don’t freeze up (unlikely this week), a few decoys and a good hide should help fill your hopes for a goose dinner. Mallards? I don’t know where they are, but I doubt they will stay away forever. This might be a good time to sample the diver shooting on local rivers and reservoirs. With a few exceptions, most divers eat pretty well. Redheads, bluebills and canvasbacks make excellent table fare. Gadwalls, teal and pintail, which are more of the puddle duck designation, are also good, but I try to stay away with ducks that have teeth–buffleheads, shovelers and mergansers specifically. Goldeneyes are okay but take more preparation and spices.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com