Alan Liere’s weekly fish and game report for Dec. 16

Fly Fishing

Silver Bow Fly Shop reminds anglers that double nymph rigs and streamers at midday are going to work best from now through late winter. The Spokane River has maintained a fishable level despite the rain last week. It’s higher, but still worth poking around in some spots. The North Fork Coeur d’Alene is dropping back into shape. Fishing will probably not be fast, but it won’t be entirely futile either.

Rocky Ford is still the top pick for active fish and decent fly fishing and will stay so through the winter. Stripping streamers, slow twitching scuds and baetis nymphs, and dead-drifting midge pupa are all good options.

Salmon and steelhead

The Clearwater River was high, but clear, at midweek. Visibility was 24-36 inches and anglers were doing quite well around Lenore by backtrolling sand shrimp. The Grande Ronde River was murky but fishable at Boggan’s.

If you want to fish for steelhead you’ll probably have your best luck on the main stem Columbia River for a while. The tributaries blew out during the heavy rains last week and are not yet back in good fishing shape. The water around Bridgeport might be your best option.

Ringold steelhead anglers are finding fish from shore, but the best catch rate has been for anglers with boats.

Trout and kokanee

Rising water in Lake Roosevelt slowed the fishing last week and it is just now picking up again. The Keller area is still the best place for kokanee and the rainbow fishing has also been good. Don’t give up on Lincoln, though. Most of the kokes are 16-18 inches, but fish to 24 inches have been reported. All have been unclipped, so the limit is two. Pink hoochies and pink and orange Kekeda flies trolled 10-30 feet down at 1.7 mph will do the job. Tip with white shoepeg corn.

Fourth of July and Hog Canyon have been kind to bank anglers recently, with the larger fish coming from Fourth of July. Power Bait is usually the offering of choice, but some anglers choose to throw small Blue Fox spinners for their fish.

The temperature was 10 degrees Wednesday morning in Colville. It is likely both Williams and Hatch have some ice, but that is not to say it will be safe to walk on.

Rock and Sprague lakes are both kicking out some nice trout and steelhead. Anglers fishing from shore are doing particularly well at Rock right at the access, catching both rainbow and browns. At Sprague Lake, too, the public access provides the best access. It can be great at times but is more inconsistent than at Rock Lake.

Spiny ray

Blade baits at about 20 feet are enticing Lake Roosevelt walleye, mostly small. Rufus Woods ‘eyes are larger overall, but harder to find. A friend was skunked there last week but talked with a boat that “had a cooler full of 2- to 5-pounders.”

Other species

Burbot anglers on Lake Roosevelt are beginning to find some success near Hawk Creek in 30 or more feet of water. The homely but great-eating fish can be taken throughout the day, but best fishing is at night. The mouth of the Colville River is also very good. Tackle is simple – a jig or a heavy weight and hook baited with nightcrawlers or cut bait.

There are a lot of waters where an angler can catch a whitefish now, but the stretch of the Columbia near the Vernita Bridge has been red-hot. Anglers bouncing egg fly patterns and white or green Glo Hooks tipped with maggots or even a small piece of worm are taking lots of 11- to 16-inch fish from about 20 feet of water. Though some anglers like fried whitefish fillets, most find them too oily and prefer to smoke their catch.

Clam diggers will have an opportunity to dig for razor clams on Copalis Beach over the Christmas holiday if the next marine toxin test confirms the clams are safe to eat. The dig is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 24-26 at Copalis Beach on evening tides. No other state beach will be open to digging those three days. Comprehensive information about razor clams – from updates on tentative digs to how-to advice on digging and cooking – is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams/.

Hunting

Turkey hunting is over for the year in Washington – one of the best seasons in the past decade. Huge flocks of turkeys are finding the living easy so far this winter, which bodes well for the popular spring season. A wheat stubble field near my home which normally holds a flock of 12-30 birds had at least 200 one day this week.

This is an excellent time of year to find a coyote wandering about at midday. A drive through the Palouse from Spangle to Colfax will usually result in numerous sightings if there is a little snow on the ground.

Jim Tearre, Regional Wildlife Habitat Manager in northern Idaho, says lowland wetlands and ponds that were frozen a few weeks ago are now open, offering duck hunting opportunities in areas that had been previously deserted. The mouth of the St. Joe has been good for puddle ducks and the Pend Oreille River between Sandpoint and the Washington State line has a lot of divers such as redheads and goldeyes. Tearre says there has been no great influx of birds, and he speculates that there are a lot of waterfowl still to the north.

Overall, waterfowl hunters are having better luck shooting geese than ducks in the Moses Lake area. The erratic weather patterns have actually brought back widgeon and teal from the south. A waterfowl survey two weeks ago counted more wigeon and scaup on the Columbia River Pools than ever before. Mallard numbers were surprisingly high, especially given poor hunting reports.

Chukar hunting is reported to be excellent in Hells Canyon in Idaho and every brushy draw seems to be loaded with California quail. Gray partridge populations are also good.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com