Hunting+Fishing: Salmon and steelhead

Clearwater River steelhead have been holding in the deeper pools, where they will still take a jig or bait if you get it right in front of them. On Wednesday, the Clearwater went from 5,000 cfs to 8,000 cfs when warmer water was released from Dworshak Reservoir. The new water should get the fish moving again and perhaps stimulate the bite. All Clearwater steelhead are turning somewhat dark, with the hens in better shape than the bucks. The flesh is still excellent.

Pluggers and egg fisherman are doing fairly well on steelhead above Asotin. It isn’t hot fishing, but persistent anglers can expect to take a fish or two a day. On the Grande Ronde, both the water and the fishing was excellent on Wednesday. Heavy rains in the La Grande area may affect the water quality downriver, however, so call Boggan’s Oasis before making the trip (509-256-3372).

Long-lining off the lower sidewalk at Little Goose Dam has been popular the last couple of weeks, said Verna Foley at Darver Tackle in Starbuck (866-578-3808). Foley also said the Tucannon River has been good for steelhead, and it clears up much faster than the Walla Walla and the Touchet following rainy weather.

Two small lakes in southwest Washington are about to become regional hot spots for steelhead fishing. During the past two weeks, WDFW stocked 486 hatchery-reared steelhead in Kress Lake, a popular fishing area near Kalama in Cowlitz County.

At the same time, employees of Tacoma Power stocked the South Lewis County Park Pond near Toledo with 355 hatchery steelhead transported from state hatcheries on the Cowlitz River. It is expected that hundreds more steelhead – weighing an average of 10 pounds apiece – will be trucked to the 30-acre lake and the 17-acre pond from the Cowlitz River in the weeks ahead, said Craig Burley, WDFW regional fish manager.

Anglers may catch and keep up to two steelhead per day as part of their five-trout limit in those waters.

“Returns of early-winter steelhead are expected to far exceed our hatchery broodstock needs at the Cowlitz Trout Hatchery,” Burley said. “These are high-quality fish, and we want to maximize opportunities for anglers to catch them.”

Generally, the return of Kalama River hatchery steelhead to the hatchery peaks the second week in January. Water conditions have been starting to get good for boaters, but rain is forecast. Bank anglers should stick to the upper canyon where fishing has been good.

Trout and kokanee

Everyone seems to be catching Rufus Woods triploids, whether from boat or shore. Lake Roosevelt is near full pool again, but anglers report no shortage of fish. At the Onion Creek General Store, Mark Charbonneau said bank anglers are making good rainbow catches at the Northport boat launch, the mouth of Onion Creek, and practically any other place they can access the water.

Rock Lake is free of ice and giving up rainbows and browns to both bank and boat anglers. Fly fishermen are finding fish close to the surface and near the shoreline on olive and brown Woolly Buggers and Seal Buggers.

Rocky Ford is fishing well with small olive and orange scuds. Stillwater nymphs and small leech patterns are also taking fish.

Hog Canyon and Fourth of July had good ice at midweek and were fairly productive. Fish early and small.

Williams Lake near Colville was surprisingly good early in the season but has slowed down. Nevertheless, there were a lot of ice fishermen on the lake on Monday and quite a few trout on the ice. Williams is infested with small perch and will probably be rehabilitated this year.

Spiny ray

In Idaho, Fernan and Avondale perch anglers are finding success through the ice.

In Washington, Waitts Lake perch anglers can’t seem to find the fish this winter. A few nice trout have been caught in the process. The ice at the Waitts Lake Public Access was a solid 6 inches Tuesday.

It’s a 95-mile drive from south Spokane, but if you want perch, the Coulee City boat basin on the south end of Banks Lake is a good bet. Though I had heard the fishing was sporadic there, two friends and I made the drive Tuesday and found a hot morning bite. We took home limits of 8- to 11-inch perch. A Swedish Pimple tipped with a perch eye was effective, but so was a white Glo Hook tipped with maggots. The ice in the basin was 7 inches thick.

There are some large perch available, but apparently not the numbers, in seep lakes such as Long, near Odessa. Anglers there reported good ice Wednesday, but indicated that every lake in the chain can be different. Anglers are also ice fishing for perch near the I-90 Bridge west of Moses Lake. Sprague Lake is seeing some hard water action, with anglers taking perch and a few walleye.

If you don’t want to drive so far, Eloika Lake to the north is fair to good for a variety of spiny ray and an occasional trout. The ice there was a solid 7 inches at midweek.

Lake Roosevelt walleye are moving toward the Spokane Arm, and bank fishermen say they “are showing up from somewhere” close to shore in the evenings. Some have been taken recently on plugs, but worms under a bobber will give you a chance for walleye or trout.

Hunting

For Idaho hunters and anglers itching to start out the New Year in the field or on the water, several opportunities still are available. But before heading out, remember to pick up 2007 hunting and fishing licenses, tags and permits. Washington hunters and anglers have a while yet, as Washington operates on an April 1 to March 31 license year.

There are a lot of geese near Moses Lake, Banks Lake and the Tri-Cities. Ducks are sticking around, with good counts throughout the Columbia Basin. Ice, which had clogged most of the Potholes channels earlier, is disappearing. If balmy temperatures continue, look for an influx of mallards into scabland ponds south and west of Spokane.

Washington upland birds remain open until Jan. 15. Pheasant hunters are still putting in a lot of miles for a shot, but quail are predictably present in tangled Hawthorn patches and in blackberry thickets off the Snake River.