Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Nov. 27, 2025

Tip of the week

Chukars are nervous, skittish birds by nature, so be extra quiet and stealthy when working likely-looking terrain. Keep your voice to a whisper and try to avoid any loud noises, even like whistling for your dog. Birds that see you are more prone to stay put and allow you to close the gap if you hunt quietly.

Overheard

Some anglers who have read the stocking reports from Roses Lake in Chelan County think the lake was planted in October with rainbow trout weighing 2.5 pounds each. This is incorrect. Roses Lake was planted with trout which were the typical “catchable” size of 2.5 fish per pound.

Heads up

If you are fishing in the Yakima area, be aware that WDFW is not stocking North Elton Pond this year. Instead, WDFW will be stocking I-82 Pond No. 4 for Black Friday fishing.

Anglers hoping to fish Fourth of July Lake on the Black Friday opener may have a difficult time finding the lake as The Fourth of July sign on the open gate is missing again. The entrance is on the right, two miles out of Sprague on Highway 23. If you get to Lamont, you’ve gone too far.Fly fishing

The Spokane River is still plugging along as one of the better trout fishing options. Silver Bow Fly Shop says streamer fishing has been quite good, and their guide, Jesse, has been getting into fish consistently using the trout spey, either with a steady swing or a stripped retrieve. Nymphing is also a constant. Start targeting the more “winter” waters. Slow moving deeper zones with some structure are likely to hold fish.

The best window of fishing on the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River will be on the lower river below Prichard. Nymph rigs or slowly-fished streamers are going to be the most effective presentations.

For steelhead, the Grande Ronde can get a little dicey for fly fishermen when the cold starts to lock things down, but the Snake will hang in there a little longer. On the Ronde, nymphing will be most effective.

The Clearwater River is worth a shot for steelhead, says Silver Bow. You can still find fish on dry line techniques, but have sink tips ready to go.

Trout and Kokanee

Four Eastern Washington lakes open Friday. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife district 1 biologist Bill Baker says Hatch and Williams lakes should fish very well. The rainbow trout in Hatch are running mostly 12 to 15 inches, and those in Williams are running 14 to 15 inches. Both lakes also have carryovers.

District 2 biologist Randy Osborne sampled Hog Canyon and Fourth of July lakes last week. He said both should fish well early season. Hog Canyon had 10,000 trout averaging a quarter pound each stocked in mid-April and 1,600 trout averaging 1 pound each stocked in October. The fish there ranged in length from 111/2 to 16 inches and averaged 141/2 inches. The fish at Fourth of July ranged from 16 to 241/2 inches and averaged 18.3 inches. All fish were very healthy. Although the water is somewhat low at Hog Canyon it is possible to launch most watercraft there. Do not plan on launching a boat at Fourth of July, though, as the water is a long way from the put-in.

The 2025 Lake Pend Oreille Thanksgiving derby began Saturday and is expected to produce some big fish. These expectations are holding true. On day two of the tournament, Jim Moore was in first place in the rainbow division with a fish weighing 23.50 pounds. In the mackinaw division, first place on day two was Scott Johnson with a fish weighing 11.60 pounds. Last year, Dan Kaestner won the adult rainbow division with a fish weighing 26.45 pounds. The adult mackinaw competition was won by Zac Taylor with a fish of 10.85 pounds.

Lake Roosevelt trout have been moving closer to shore, and it is becoming more likely to have a good fishing day plunking Power Bait on a slip sinker from the bank at places like Hunters, Fort Spokane and Spring Canyon. Overall, fishing has been excellent at Lake Roosevelt this fall/early winter. Fish released from net pens earlier this spring are running between 15 and 16 inches with some larger carryovers from previous years. WDFW Communications Manager Staci Lehman says this is the best trout fishing seen in the upper portion of Lake Roosevelt in several years.

Roses Lake in Chelan County is fishing very well for rainbow running 10 to 12 inches for anglers trolling flies. They are also catching a few tiger trout.

Steelhead and salmon

Back-trolled plugs have worked the best for catching Grande Ronde steelhead this week. Fishing has been decent for A-run fish.

Spiny ray

Perch action has not really taken off by the I-90 Bridge over Moses Lake. When the water cools down some more, the perch should school up and fishing will be much better.

Walleye anglers on Banks Lake are finding a decent bite using blade baits in about 40 feet of water. The bite on Rufus Woods has been even better. Walleye are biting in and around Porcupine Bay on Lake Roosevelt.

Other species

The burbot (fresh water ling cod) bite is picking up on Lake Roosevelt. Porcupine Bay and the Spokane Arm are seeing the most action. Anglers are also beginning to catch some big whitefish there. Look for deep depressions in shallow water where they congregate to spawn. A small jig or fly will be all you need. Whitefish are just starting to show at Banks Lake. In a couple more weeks, it should be good.

Hunting

Washington and Idaho hunters can chase cottontail rabbits and snowshoe hares well into March. The Washington limit is five. In Idaho it is eight.

Goose hunters in Lincoln, Spokane and Walla Walla counties, where goose hunting is allowed only on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays, get a few extra days this week with the Thanksgiving holiday. Thursday and Friday, as well as the weekend, are open to goose hunting in that zone.

Pheasant hunters who become tired of chasing running pheasants are switching over to chasing quail, which will hold much better. The brushy draws on the Palouse, near Cheney, and along the Snake River in Wawawai Canyon are full of birds. The Columbia Basin, once a pheasant-hunting mecca, is seeing more quail hunters these days. There are a lot of birds in thick cover along the wasteways in sagebrush close to harvested grain crops.

There are definitely some northern ducks in the area, but not as many as there once were at Thanksgiving. The bulk of the birds are still hung up on the southern Canadian prairie, though the weather to the north of there is freezing up ponds. One of my friends in Killam, Alberta, said he had about four inches of snow and his pond was frozen solid. He also said a big snowstorm is projected to hit this week in the southern end of the province.

A friend from Idaho says the chukar population above Brownlee Reservoir and in Hells Canyon is probably only half of what it was last year, but last year was outstanding with crazy numbers. He says he is still taking limits this year – he just has to walk more.

Muzzleloader elk hunters planning to hunt the Palouse and Dworshak zones need to be aware of the following season changes for the 2025 season: The Palouse zone, units 8 and 11A are now open only for the harvesting of antlerless elk and on or within 1 mile of private agricultural lands. The season is open from Dec. 2 to Dec. 14. Unit 8A is open for the harvesting of spike or antlerless elk from Dec. 2 to Dec. 5, then is open for spike elk only from Dec. 6 to Dec. 14. In the Dworshak zone, the muzzleloader season is open for antlered elk from Dec. 2 to Dec. 14. Hunting for antlerless elk with a muzzleloader in the Dworshak zone is now only open to those with the appropriate controlled hunt tag.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com