Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for March 12, 2025

Thu., March 12, 2026

By Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

Tip of the week: Water clarity on the Columbia River in early spring can vary dramatically depending on runoff. Some days the river carries a green tint with decent visibility; other times it’s stained from upstream melt. That variability makes vibration and flash critical components of a productive setup when fishing for walleye or smallmouth bass.

Heads up: The last day to fish the Spokane River is Sunday. It closes after that for trout spawning and will reopen the Saturday before Memorial Day.

The 2026 Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show at the Spokane Fairgrounds will run March 19-22. Thursday is Hero Day when veterans, first responders and military pay only $5 online or $7 at the gate. Sunday is Family Day when kids under 13 get in for free. Gates open Thursday and Friday from noon to 7 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Overheard: The International Fly Fishing Film Festival celebrating fly fishing around the globe will be held March 31 at the Garland Theater in Spokane. Sponsored by Silver Bow Fly Shop, doors open at 5 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Proceeds benefit Spokane Riverkeeper. Enter the raffle for prizes – including a guided Spokane River trip. More information is available at https://flyfilmfest.com/spokanewa/.

Beginning July 8, the WDFW will no longer provide hunting and fishing licenses or other license products on waterproof, tear-resistant license paper and is encouraging the use of mobile licensing. New mobile licensing features are now available through the agency’s new MyWDFW mobile application, or the updated Fish Washington app. Through July 7, customers can buy licenses on waterproof, tear-resistant license paper. Starting July 8, customers who want to remain paper license holders can print their license at home. License dealer locations and WDFW offices will continue to offer printed license products on standard copy paper.

Fly Fishing

Flows are still high on the Spokane River but have been slowly dropping over this week. Keep an eye on the flow from Hangman Creek. If higher flows occur, everything downstream will be a muddy mess, but you can still fish above the confluence below town or in the valley. A Silver Bow Fly Shop guide and his customers had a good day recently on nymph rigs.

The Coeur d’Alene River is on a slow rise, but this shouldn’t have much effect on the fishing unless the bump gets more drastic. Some good hatches should show up soon, so keep some blue-winged olives, March browns, nemouras and skwalas on hand.

The St. Joe River is beginning to fish well and boat ramp access is good on the lower stretches below Marble Creek. Fish should be looking toward the surface as soon as hatches get rolling. Bring your springtime dries along just in case.

Amber has been fishing very well and is usually crowded. Medical Lake is giving up some nice-sized fish, but not as many as Amber. Coffeepot rainbow are 16-19 inches. Typical early season flies have been producing at all lakes with best success on various blob colors and balanced leeches.

Trout and kokanee

WDFW Fish Biologist Michael Schmuck says trollers did very well on Quincy and Burke lakes on the March 1 opener, but anglers throwing bait from shore had slow fishing. Both lakes have been planted with 1,500 one-pound rainbow trout. Martha and Caliche lakes are fishing well. Schmuck also said that most of Lenore Lake was too cold for great fishing, but that the southeast side has warmed up and anglers there are doing fairly well.

The lakes at the W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area in southeast Washington’s Columbia County have been fishing pretty well since the March 1 opener. Stocked on Feb. 25, they are soon due for another influx of catchable trout and perhaps a few broodstock.

Lakes that are open year-round in Washington – like Diamond, Sacheen and Waitts – are beginning to attract a few anglers now that the ice is gone. Fishing for trout has been the main attraction.

Coeur d’Alene Lake is probably at least a month away from a good kokanee bite, but Hayden Lake has produced good catches of 11- to 14-inch kokes lately, with an occasional “whopper” up to 19 inches coming to the net.

Steelhead and salmon

The preseason forecast of spring chinook returning to the Wind River (6,054 adults) necessitates a reduced adult salmon daily limit to provide spring chinook angling opportunity and help ensure the broodstock collection goal at Carson National Fish Hatchery is achieved. Effective date is March 16 until further notice. Two adult salmon and hatchery steelhead may be retained, of which no more than one may be an adult chinook. Fishery managers encourage anglers to sign up for rule change email notifications and to check for emergency rules on the WDFW website prior to fishing.

The chinook bite on Lake Coeur d’Alene has been good, says Jeff Smith at Fins and Feathers, but the fish remain undersized. Smith said it would not be unusual to catch 10 fish a day, but of those, probably only two would meet the minimum 24 inches for retention. The biggest he has seen this spring was 28 inches. Still, it’s a lot of fun, as the chinook are up high – surface to 30 feet – and hitting helmeted herring and practically any diving plug.

Spiny ray

A few boats have been out on Eloika Lake looking for crappie. It is a little early for that, as the better bite materializes when surface temperatures are closer to 50 degrees. Every year is different, though. Last year I had great fishing in early May, and the year before that the bite began in April in deep water but was practically on shore by month’s end. Some of the lakes besides Eloika with good crappie populations are Silver, Liberty, Sacheen, Coffeepot, Newman and Long. Of these, Newman and Long have the largest fish.

As the lake fills again, walleye fishing is picking up on Moses Lake. The Alder Street Fill should soon begin kicking out some good catches, though it may still be a week or so before it really turns on.

Some of the year’s largest walleye will be caught in the Columbia River in March. Look for them in Lake Wallula, Lake Umatilla and Scooteney Reservoir. In the Tri-Cities area, fish the Snake River downstream to Badger Island and from McNary Dam downstream to Boardman.

Other species

Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco), Marine Area 2 (Westport-Ocean Shores), Marine Area 3 (La Push) and Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay west of Bonilla-Tatoosh boundary line) are open to bottom fishing from Saturday through Oct. 17. Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay east of Bonilla-Tatoosh boundary line) is open year-round. Ling cod fishing is open from Saturday through Oct. 17. For additional information, regarding seasons, daily limits, gear rules, depth restrictions and bottom fish closure areas, refer to the Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet webpage and the WDFW recreational bottom fish and halibut webpage.

Coeur d’Alene pike fishermen are catching quite a few pike, but the big ones have been scarce recently. The next water flow into the lake should stir things up and account for more and larger fish.

Razor clam digging opportunities at Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks beaches will begin Tuesday and run through March 24. This will begin with the last few evening digs, then switch to spring morning tides to kick off weekend digging and the Ocean Shores Razor Clam Festival. Be sure to check which beaches are open before heading out.

Hunting

New hunters need to sign up for hunter safety classes so they can participate in upcoming seasons. Washington’s youth spring turkey season runs April 1-7 and the general spring turkey season is April 15 through May 31. Anyone born after Jan. 1, 1972 must complete a hunter education course before buying a hunting license. To find an upcoming course near you, visit the WDFW hunter education webpage.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliee@yahoo.com