Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for January 8

Jan. 7, 2026 Updated Tue., Jan. 27, 2026 at 1:13 p.m.

By Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Jan 8 hunting and fishing

Tip of the week: Burbot are beginning to stack up in the Spokane Arm of Lake Roosevelt to spawn. To best catch this fish, which is said to have the body of a cod, the meat of a lobster and the soul patch of Frank Zappa, fish shallow flats (5-15 feet deep) at dusk or during the night or try river junctions where smaller streams flow into the mainstem of the river (such as the mouth of the Colville River). If fishing during the day, try dropping a line in 40-plus foot deep holes where burbot rest before heading out to eat at dusk. The same techniques are effective on the Kootenai River in Idaho where burbot have made an amazing comeback from a population once estimated to be only around 50 fish.

Overheard: A white-tailed buck harvested in Unit 15 south of Grangeville, Idaho, has tested positive for chronic wasting disease. It is the first detection in this hunting unit, but near CWD detections in Unit 14.

Heads up: Hunter reports are required by Jan. 31 for each deer, elk, bear, cougar, and turkey tag you were issued, as well as for each special hunt permit awarded. Reports are required regardless of whether you hunted. Call in now to avoid a $10 administrative fee when you purchase your 2026-27 licenses. Hunters who report their activity by Jan. 10 will be entered automatically into a drawing for one of nine special permits which include two any-elk permits for Western Washington, two any-elk permits for Eastern Washington, and five statewide any-deer permits.

Braggin’ rights: I hope this doesn’t jinx him, but my son recently retired the old Baker side-by-side 16 gauge shotgun that once belonged to his grandfather and has been using the 20-gauge SKB Ithaca side-by-side that I have been shooting for probably 30 years. So far, he says he hasn’t missed a pheasant or quail.

Fly fishing

The Spokane River flow remains extremely big and fishing spots are very limited. Most fish will be tucked in along the bank where there is relief from the main flow. Nymphing a hot bead pattern will usually find a few eaters.

The North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River has dropped to a fishable level.

Silver Bow Fly Shop says to find some back eddies, deep/soft inside bends and slow/deep water for your hot bead nymphs, Squirmies or San Juans. Streamer fishing with sink-tips is always a winter go-to. The fish are going to be lethargic.

A number of Sportsmen Shows are coming up, which will hopefully break the sameness of this weird winter. The Tri-Cities Sportsmen Show (Jan. 23-25) is hosted at the HAPO Center in Pasco and focuses on regional fishing and hunting.

The Washington Sportsmen’s Show (Jan. 28 to Feb. 1) in Puyallup features a unique indoor “Steelhead River” and extensive fishing seminars, and the Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo (Jan. 30 and 31) is a two-day event in Boise/Garden City featuring expert fly tyers, casting demonstrations and industry exhibitors.

Trout and Kokanee

My son and I stopped on Monday at Rock Lake to see how the bank fishermen were doing at the primitive launch. Anglers there were using worm/marshmallow combinations to catch mostly 16-inch rainbow trout and steelhead, though they told me that in recent weeks they have also caught brown trout, bass, crappie and carp.

Long Lake trollers are catching good numbers of rainbow trout, most over 14 inches long.

Fishing has been best using orange flies and lures close to the dam. The fish have mostly been taken from the top 10 feet of water. If you aren’t using a boat to troll, try fishing from shore at one of the pull-outs near Tum Tum. Trout fishing in these spots has been fair to good.

Despite the high water, shore anglers are doing well plunking Power Bait all over Lake Roosevelt, often doing better than the trollers. Good reports about limit catches come from almost any bay on the reservoir.

Potholes Reservoir in Grant County is giving up nice rainbow trout this month. Troll around Medicare Beach or fish there from shore with bait.

Ice fishing

A few ice fishing reports are trickling in from northern Washington and Idaho.

Some of the lower lakes have skim ice, but for the most part, conditions are not good for safe fishing. Chain Lake on Tiger Pass is said to be fishable for perch, and Bonaparte Lake has 5-7 inches of ice.

There are 3½ inches of hard ice on Thomas Lake. An angler recently reported taking 80 perch there.

Coffin Lake has 2-4 inches of ice, Patterson is capped, but I’ve received no indication there is enough ice to support an angler.

Curlew Lake now has two inches of ice at the state park – hopefully with more to form because the big bay between the launch and the island is usually where the perch bite begins. Even if I weighed a hundred pounds less than my current 200, I wouldn’t get on it now, however.

Steelhead and salmon

Jan. 1 marked the beginning of the spring steelhead season with general rules on the Snake, Clearwater, Boise and Salmon rivers.

The Grande Ronde, Snake, and Clearwater are on the high side. The spring chinook run doesn’t arrive in earnest until late March. Anglers often start catching early-arriving fish later this month.

Spiny ray

Walleye anglers are catching fish in Porcupine Bay on Lake Roosevelt by drifting the main river channel with jigs. Most fish taken this winter have been in the 14- to 16-inch range.

Walleye fishing on Moses Lake near the I-90 bridge has been decent at times for anglers dragging grubs on the bottom. Most of the fish have been under 17 inches. Perch fishing in the same area has slowed way down.

Perch and walleye anglers can still do well with blade baits on Long Lake. The problem is finding a place to launch.

The only one that remains open is where the Little Spokane enters the river. In a normal winter, even this is not usable as the water is too low, but this winter, high, swift water has been more of a problem.

Hunting

A recent 300-mile mile scouting meander through Sprague and Lamont, into the Palouse from St. John to Endicott and all along the Palouse River and Rock Creek made me certain some northern ducks have finally come this way.

Nearly every flooded field was crammed with waterfowl, including lots of geese. Rock Lake looked like a prime spot for a goose hunter with a boat to set up fairly close to the launch area.

There are still pheasants out there, but mud was a major headache this week for pheasant hunters. As the cover gets beat down by rain and wet snow, the birds have become very flighty.

A friend recently was lamenting the fact he is having a hard time finding birds now, saying his trigger finger is beginning to atrophy. I suggested he try rabbit hunting, as I’ve seen quite a few this year in the sagebrush and the brushy scabrock thickets around Lamont.

He said he wouldn’t eat a rabbit for anything, and I told him I would take all he would give me. Cut into five meaty pieces and fried the same way you would a chicken, cottontails and snowshoes have delicious white meat almost indistinguishable from pheasant.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com