Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Feb. 13, 2025

Thu., Feb. 13, 2025

By Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

A nice “poor man’s fish cocktail” can be made by boiling or pan frying perch fillets in a little olive oil, then flaking them, cooling them, and mixing in plain ketchup with a little horseradish and lemon juice added to taste. Some finely chopped celery is a good addition, and perhaps a drop or two of Worcestershire sauce.

Heads up: After March 5, customers will no longer be able to opt into Idaho Fish and Game’s Price Lock program by purchasing a 3three-year license or by purchasing a lifetime certificate. There will be no change for any customer who is currently in the Price Lock program – but no new customers will be able to opt into the program after March 5.

The Inland Empire Safari Club is sponsoring their its Ladies Night Banquet Auction April 25, and their its annual fundraiser auction and banquet April 26 with special guest Melissa Bachman. Doors open both nights at 6:00 p.m. at the Mirabeau Park Hotel and Convention Center in Spokane Valley. Contact wallitedb@gmail.com for more information.

Silver Bow Fly Shop has again partnered with Spokane Riverkeeper to present the International Fly Fishing Film Festival and Spokane River Fundraiser on Feb. 27 at the Garland Theater in Spokane. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the show begins at 7:00 p.m. All proceeds from the raffles and film ticket sales go directly to the Spokane Riverkeeper team to help support their efforts in protecting the Spokane River. For more information, including the list of films and trailers as well as information about tickets, visit: https://www.flyfilmfest.com.

Overheard: Several rumors have surfaced this week about northern pike being caught at Diamond Lake. While I enjoy catching and eating pike, I hate to see them in a confined trout and perch water. A friend added credence to the pike rumors this weekend when he set up on a good bite at Diamond. The line quickly went slack and he reeled in to find his 12-pound braided line had been cleanly cut.

Fly fishing

Midday will be the best local option to find a few trout on area rivers. Don’t expect a lot of action. Stick with the standard winter tactics – dredging double nymph rigs, streamers fished slowly and deep. Flows are well below average for this time of year, so wade access is ideal.

Ice fishing, Idaho

Crystal Lake is giving up a mixed bag of perch, crappie, sunfish and bass. The perch are 8-9 inches. Actively jigging is necessary.

Hayden Lake pike fishermen are not having much luck, but Cocolalla has been good for perch and trout, and the Chain Lakes near Coeur d’Alene have been good for small pike. Hauser has perch and overall size is around 8 to 9 inches long. Fernan has perch, too, many of which are small.

Priest Lake isn’t ready for ice fishing, but there is a possibility of some soon, as Coolin and Cavanaugh bays were forming some ice early in the week.

Some big perch are being caught adjacent to the Long Bridge in Sandpoint.

Ice fishing, Washington

Diamond Lake anglers are taking trout and some big perch through 10 inches of ice over 47 feet of water. The bite has not been fast. Electronics show perch especially are picky eaters. A friend who fished there Saturday had a slow start and then a spurt of action where he caught five trout and six perch in an hour around 2 p.m. He was using a small tungsten jig baited with maggots.

I fished the north end of Eloika Lake with a friend through good ice on Monday, beginning at 9 a.m. and quitting at 2 p.m. After a slow start, we finally got into some fish at around noon, eventually keeping two dozen ranging from 8 to 10 inches. My friend was using a MarCum Fish Locator. Without it, we probably would have caught fewer than 10. The bite was so light it was barely noticeable.

Perch in Tiger Slough in the Pend Oreille River have been coming in by the hundreds. They could use some pressure, but access to the lake is limited to no more than six vehicles. Fishing was slow Sunday until midday when the fish, which were swarming on daphnia, filled locator screens.

Ice fishermen at Sacheen have been leaving the big bay off the public access where the perch have been small, searching for (and finding) larger fish down the lake in deeper water. Small tungsten jigs have been popular, as the denser metal makes them drop faster than lead.

Burbot fishing is still popular at Davis and Bead lakes, and the occasional kokanee is also brought through the ice at Davis. Davis Lake burbot are larger than the average fish from Lake Roosevelt, and Bead Lake burbot are much larger.

A friend from Moses Lake fished Red Rock Lake near Royal City this week and said he could hardly keep the perch off his hook. After sorting through over a hundred, he still kept and filleted more than 50 9- to 10-inchers.

Mixed reports come from Curlew Lake with some anglers reporting single-digit catches of perch and others icing more than 100 in four hours. Keep moving until you find a school. Most of the fish are in the 9-inch range.

Trout and kokanee

Fishing from shore with Power Bait has been better for trout this week than trolling on Lake Roosevelt. Bank anglers at popular spots like Keller, Fort Spokane, Lincoln, Spring Canyon and Bradbury Beach are averaging about three fish each. The bites come in bunches.

Steelhead and salmon

Now through March, the Clearwater River is full of steelhead. These frigid temperatures have kept the bite a bit slow, but when this cold snap is over there will be some excellent fishing.

Spiny ray

A friend who likes to fish Lake Roosevelt for walleye said if the fish are brought up slowly from deep water, they will not suffer the fatal “bends” that cause their swim bladders to come out their mouths. He said adding a couple of minutes to the usual “playing time” will allow you to release fish safely. He has had some good catches recently in Porcupine Bay.

Other species

Whitefish are hitting on the Coeur d’Alene and Clark Fork rivers. A fly tipped with a maggot is tough to beat. For the largest fish, hit the Clark Fork.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife shellfish managers have confirmed the season’s next round of razor clam digging opportunities at Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks, with dates still available Thursday and Friday.

Additional tentative dates running through April 3 will be posted as soon as marine toxin testing is complete.

To target winter walleye on Potholes Reservoir, throw one-half ounce or five-eighths ounce blade baits or number 7 Jigging Raps in 20 to 40 feet of water along perch point, in front of the state park and around Goose Island. Anglers have also been finding perch mixed in with the walleye. Some parts of the big reservoir are iced over, but the main lake was still open early in the week.

Hunting

Idaho Fish and Game will be setting new big game seasons for deer, elk, pronghorn, black bear, wolf and mountain lion in March, and hunters can comment on season proposals through Feb. 23.

Hunters can check out the proposals on the big game season setting webpage at idfg.idaho.gov/comment.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com