Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Nov. 6, 2025

Thu., Nov. 6, 2025

By Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

Tip of the week: Processing a whole hindquarter of a big game animal is time consuming, so don’t get caught leaving the meat you are not working on out too long at room temperature. Bacteria grow most rapidly between 40 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. Keep the meat you are not capable of soon processing refrigerated.

Overheard: The word “jerky” does not get its name from the act of ripping dried meat with your teeth. Instead, the word comes from the Quechuan (Incan) word ch’arki, meaning “dried flesh,” and didn’t come into the American English vocabulary until 1850.

Biologists have received over a thousand reports of just under 1,000 white-tailed deer mortalities in the Clearwater Region suspected to be caused by EHD. About 72% of these reports have come from Units 8 and 8A, and approximately 18% have come from Units 11A and 14. In other units only a handful of suspected cases have been reported.

Heads up: Nonresident deer and elk hunters interested in applying for general season Idaho deer and elk hunts in the first-ever nonresident tag drawing can see what tags are available for 2026, and apply for those tags Dec. 5-15. For more information about the nonresident tag drawing, including information about nonresident disabled American veteran tags and junior mentored tags, see the nonresident deer and elk tags webpage.

Braggin’ rights: Rick Itami did some bobber fishing with jigs for steelhead on the Main Salmon River this week out of Riggins, Idaho. At the confluence of the Main and Little Salmon Rivers he quickly managed to beach a nice 6-pound keeper male. After tagging the fish, he waded out to the same spot and on the second cast caught a beautiful 9-pound keeper hen. The next morning, he was back on the river a little after 7 a.m., and though conditions were not as good, he managed to hook and land another male keeper. He says he quit fishing about 10 a.m. and headed home a happy camper.

Fly fishing

Mid-day and later will be best on the Spokane River as well as the Idaho rivers. Blue winged olives and midges will have some fish podded up and feeding early afternoons for a few hours.

Swinging for steelhead is starting to become a sink tip game. On the Snake and the mouth of the Grande Ronde you can fish traditionals and still and have reasonable odds, says Silver Bow Fly Shop, with the opinion it is actually more of sink-tip/leech game. Nymphing is working very well for steelhead lately.

Fly fishing typically heats up on the Yakima River this month. Small nymph and sculpin imitations will entice rainbows and cutthroat looking to fatten up before winter.

Trout and Kokanee

An angler trolling a Muddler Minnow behind a flasher recently reported catching a limit of Sprague Lake trout, none less than 20 inches long.

Rock Lake has been fishing well for rainbow and brown trout. The big browns are getting the most attention from anglers with boats, and anglers plunking bait at the public access are catching rainbow 11-14 inches.

Lake Roosevelt has become more predictable for trollers, and catches of 16-20-inch fish are coming out of the Ft. Spokane area by anglers dragging flies, small Rapalas or Old Goat lures in the top 10 feet of water. Roosevelt is dropping slowly, but a lone shore fisherman throwing orange Power Bait at Ft. Spokane reported catching two fish in about four hours this week. Bank anglers have also been taking a few trout in Spring Canyon.

The Lake Pend Oreille Thanksgiving Derby sponsored by the Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club kicks off Nov. 22 and runs through Nov. 30 with a break over the Thanksgiving holiday. Adult entry fee is $60; junior entry fee (ages 13-17) is $10. There are also categories for youths ages 9-12 and 0-8 with no entry fee required. Numerous derby ticket outlets are located throughout North Idaho.

Steelhead and salmon

The coho salmon season began Nov. 1 on the Icicle River. Recent rains have moved fish up the Columbia and the Wenatchee and into the Icicle. The counts are not great, though a few fish have been spotted at the intake, at the bridge and from the handicapped platform downstream. The daily limit is two coho, fishing with bait (including scents and flavors) is prohibited and a night closure is in effect. Barbed hooks are allowed, but anglers may not use the two-pole endorsement in this fishery.

There have been good steelhead fishing reports from the Snake and Grand Ronde rivers. B-run fish in the Snake are usually 15 pounds and better, with A-runs in the Ronde quite a bit smaller.

Spiny ray

Long Lake is turning over, the fish are spreading out from their autumn haunts, and walleye fishing is just generally getting tougher. There are still plenty of smallmouth and perch to be had though, and the rainbow trout fishing is picking up.

Moses Lake is cranking up, and the largemouth bass fishing at both lakes remains good. It is also possible to find some real “dinner plate” bluegill.

Other species

The new set of razor clam digs at Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, and Mocrocks began Nov. 3 on evening tides. Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks remain open this Friday and Saturday. On Thursday and Sunday, Long Beach Twin Harbors and Copalis will be open. Additional tentative clamming dates will run Nov. 18 to 23.

Burbot are beginning to fill in some of the deeper holes up the Spokane Arm. Craig Dowdy of YJ Guide Service (509-999-0717) says the best bite has been late afternoon into the night.

Northern pike are hitting Husky Jerk Rapala and lipless crank baits along Lake Coeur d’Alene weed lines. Wolf Lodge Bay, Harrison, and Harlow Point have been good.

Hunting

Idaho Fish and Game will stock nearly 29,000 pheasants through December this year at locations in every region of the state. Hunters can see a full list of where and when pheasants will be released statewide on the Pheasant Stocking Program webpage.

Washington has designated several pheasant release sites for hunting. These sites are primarily located in eastern Washington. For the most current information on specific release dates and locations, checking the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website is recommended, as they provide updates on pheasant releases and hunting regulations.

My friend Otto Klein, upon returning from a successful elk hunt in Montana, had a three-pheasant day on the Palouse last week. This is shaping up as an above-average pheasant season with lots of wet cover that is making the birds hold better than usual.

The late buck whitetail season begins this Saturday in units 105, 108, 111, 113, 117d, 121 and 124. The season ends Nov. 19.

Has anyone shot a ruffed grouse this year? If so, they’re keeping quiet about it.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com