Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Feb. 27, 2025
Fly fishing
With warmer weather in the forecast, low-elevation snowmelt on places like Hangman Creek will add color to the lower Spokane River.
Fish above that confluence. Flies like rubberleg stones, San Juans, squirmies and hot bead nymphs will be top producers. Streamer fishing should also be somewhat productive with flashy flies like Sparkle Minnows. Whether you are nymphing or streamer fishing, get your flies down deeper. There has been some midge and blue-winged olive activity, Silver Bow Fly Fishing reports.
The weeds on Rocky Ford have cleared out and conditions are the best this winter season.
Ice fishing, Washington
Most Eastern Washington and Idaho lakes still have ice, and the cooler mornings the past few days keep hard water enthusiasts hoping the ice fishing season will continue a little while longer.
Even area lakes that are still fishable accumulated a lot of slop earlier, and those that lost this covering are extremely slick.
I fished at Eloika last weekend and stood in 2 inches of watery slush the whole time.
My goal was to catch the evening bite and I didn’t get any action until 4:30 p.m. Then, in a half-hour, I caught a dozen perch from the same hole, most around 9 inches long and one at 11 inches.
My fishing partner, Mike, did about the same. Another friend went two days later and said a lot of the surface slop had disappeared. His bite didn’t begin until almost 5 p.m., but he and his young son caught 25 perch in the next hour.
Diamond Lake also got some of my attention last week, and again, the perch bite was late. Some of the anglers I spoke with back at the truck had caught more trout than perch, but one angler had a bucket half full of big perch. His effort was concentrated to the left of the access and out about 100 yards in 35 feet of water. That is 20 feet shallower than what I fished a week ago. The ice was about 11 inches thick.
Farther north in Washington, Thomas, Coffin, Bead, Curlew and Bonaparte lakes have not been affected as much by rain and wind as those closer to Spokane. Burbot fishing has slowed on both Davis and Bead lakes.
A couple of lakes in the Methow Valley – Patterson and Davis – are attracting anglers. There are nine species of fish in Patterson.
While most folks are fishing for perch, the lake also has other spiny rays. There is also a good population of trout and kokanee in the lake.
Davis Lake, near Twisp, is a quality trout lake, with selective gear rules. The rainbow kept must be at least 14 inches and the daily limit is two. Another quality lake with selective gear rules that is often overlooked is Rat Lake, just a few miles west of Brewster.
The lake is known to produce good catches of rainbow and brown trout. The daily limit at Rat Lake is two fish, and they must be over 14 inches.
Apparently, the ice on Billy Clapp Lake never did get thick enough this winter to tempt ice fishermen, so the water has not been fished since the cold snap in late January. Now, however, anglers will still have to wait for open water to catch the rainbow trout that usually offer terrific fishing in the early spring.
I haven’t talked with anyone who has fished Fourth of July, but as shallow as it is and as windy as it gets, I suspect the ice is leaving, at least along the shorelines.
Ice fishing, Idaho
Crystal Lake has slush under the snow, but spiny ray species (perch, crappie and bass) have been biting. Hauser Lake has good ice. Cocolalla is the same.
Early in the week, ice at Fernan was still good, but like many winter lakes, the snow is gone and overflow on top of the ice has created slush. Check the ice carefully before venturing out, as the top 2 inches are getting soft. Anglers are mostly catching perch.
Trout and kokanee
Saturday marks the opening of the Tucannon River impoundments in Columbia County, but there may be ice. For current conditions, call The Last Resort at (509) 843-1556.
Also opening on Saturday are Amber, Liberty, Medical and Downs lakes, all of which have deteriorating ice. Liberty usually has good fishing for brown trout right after ice-out.
Selective gear lake Coffeepot, in Lincoln County, is another Saturday opening, but it is also ice-covered. There are some big rainbow in Coffeepot, as well as perch, bass and bullheads.
The small lakes in Grant County scheduled to open Saturday were quickly losing their ice earlier in the week. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Mike Schmuck said all lakes were getting slushy, and a good wind could open them up at any time. Upper Caliche and Burke lakes should fish well (12- to 14-inch rainbow), as should Lenice, Lenore and Martha. The north section of Martha Lake is usually ice-free with plenty of shoreline space.
Other lakes include Cascade, Chrystal, Cup, Dry Falls and Dusty, which is a walk-in lake with good numbers of some large rainbow. It also has tiger trout and brown trout. It is a selective gear fishery with a limit of one fish per day over 18 inches.
Lenice and Nunnally lakes have triploid rainbow, and Lenore has a lot of Lahontan cutthroat over 4 pounds. Many of these prespawn fish will be caught on the north end of the lake if the ice is gone. From March through May, it is a selective gear lake.
Pampa Pond in Whitman County opens Saturday for rainbow trout fishing. Fish Hook Pond in Walla Walla County is open year-round. Both are open for bank fishing only and the ponds often warm early, providing good early spring fishing opportunities.
Spiny ray
Preseason walleye are turning on near Lyons Ferry on the Snake River. Most of these fish will be in the “eater” category, running 14 to 18 inches.
Other species
Razor clam digs are ongoing on ocean beaches Thursday through Saturday, with tentative digs open March 8 through 14.
While Long Beach and Twin Harbors will be open on all of these dates, Mocrocks and Copalis will not. Refer to WDFW’s razor clam webpage for more information.
Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com