Alan Liere’s fish and game report for April 6

Fly fishing

Both the North Fork Coeur d’Alene and the St. Joe rivers have been dropping, and though still high, are fishable. Anticipate rising water this weekend, however. Silver Bow Fly Shop says streamers and nymphs should be equally productive.

The next Spokane Fly Fishers meeting on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. will feature two speakers: Sean Visintainer, owner of Silverbow Fly Shop, will cover fishing the Idaho rivers of Kelly Creek and North Fork Clearwater, followed by Randall Osborne, Region 2 Fish Biologist for the WDFW. He will provide information regarding lake plants and lake fishing opportunities in Spokane, Lincoln and Whitman Counties. Location: St Francis School, 1104 W. Heroy.

Salmon and steelhead

Most steelhead sport fisheries are now closed in the Columbia and Snake rivers, although a “bank only” fishery near the Tri-Cities adjacent to WDFW’s Ringold Springs Hatchery is open until April 15. Anglers can take two hatchery steelhead per day along the Franklin County shoreline from the WDFW marker one quarter-mile downstream from the Ringold irrigation wasteway outlet to the marker one half-mile upstream from Spring Creek.

Trout and Kokanee

The ice is finally gone from Deer Lake and mackinaw fishermen are beginning to take some fish on the surface. A 20-pounder was reported this week.

Liberty Lake has increasingly good catches of rainbow and brown trout as the season progresses.

Amber Lake, which opened March 1 for catch-and-release fishing under selective gear rules, has been providing catches of nice rainbow and cutthroat.

Also open since March 1, Medical Lake, under selective gear rules, has brown and rainbow trout. Two fish per day, minimum size of 14 inches may be retained.

Three friends and I had a good morning of trout fishing from shore near Hansen Harbor this week. Using Power Bait on bottom, we took home fish.

The Colville Tribal Fish Hatchery has recently released over 50,000 rainbow into Rufus Woods Reservoir and anglers are taking their two-fish limit without much problem. Most of the fish are close to 2 pounds.

The boat ramp at Coffee Pot Lake is under water, but it’s still open for launching smaller, non-trailered boats. Nevertheless, a friend who fished the lake last week said he was able to launch his 18-footer in the weeds next to the launch. He said he and a friend caught and released 15 large rainbow on Firetiger size 60 Hot Shots with barbless single hooks. Other anglers have done well trolling flies.

Rock Lake is a consistently good spot for catches of both brown and rainbow trout. Anglers are reminded to pick up after themselves at this privately-owned launch site.

The Tucannon River impoundments (man-made lakes) on WDFW’s Wooten Wildlife Area in Columbia County have been producing nice rainbow catches since their March 1 opener. Big Four Lake has not yet been stocked, but the other lakes are well-stocked with hatchery trout.

Chad Jackson, WDFW Columbia Basin district fish biologist, says North Teal Lake should be especially good this year with rainbow trout in the 12- to 20-inch range. Access at North Teal is good for both shore and boat anglers, with a simple gravel launch suitable for small boats. Both of the Hampton lakes should also offer good opportunity for 12-inch rainbows.

Dry Falls, a selective gear fishery with an internal combustion motor prohibition, has rainbows in the 14- to 16-inch range, and there are also some nice brown and tiger trout. The daily limit is one.

Several trout lakes in the Columbia Basin are providing good opportunities for anglers. These include Martha, Upper Caliche, Quincy, Burke and Dusty. The Quincy walk-in lakes (Crystal, Cup, Upper and Lower Spring, and Cliff), west of Evergreen Reservoir on the Quincy Wildlife Area, offer good fishing for anglers who prefer to hike into smaller lakes to fish with fewer people.

Lenice Lake, north of Mattawa, has been fishable from the start of the season and continues producing catches of rainbow trout in the 14- to 20-inch range. Lakes open year-round in the Columbia Basin, such as Blythe, Canal, Chukar, Corral, Heart, Windmill and North Windmill are worth a try now, too.

More than two dozen lakes are scheduled to receive fish this month in South Central Washington, including Rotary Lake, Tim’s Pond, I-82 Ponds No. 4 and No. 6, Sportsmen’s Pond, Fiorito Lakes, Kiwanis Pond, Lavender Lake, McCabe Pond, Naneum Pond, Mattoon Lake and Woodhouse Pond. Most of those fish run from one-third to one half-pound each, but some weigh in at 1 1/2 pounds.

The Hayden Lake boat ramp is flooded and launching is possible – but it is not easy. The water is 39 degrees on the surface, but the kokanee fishing has been fair to good. Troll slowly with dodgers and hootchies tipped with maggots. Most of the fish are 11-13 inches.

Spiny Ray

Walleyes are biting at Lake Roosevelt. Start looking in shallow depths at 25 feet with soft bottoms. Most of the ’eyes caught now do not show up on electronics.

Friends fishing Bradbury Beach and French Rocks after launching at Kettle Falls said they had a “decent walleye day” this week by dragging Smile Blades and Slow Death Hooks with ’crawlers in 39-50 feet of water, but the fish were only 14-15 inches long. Most of the action came before noon.

There haven’t been any positive reports from walleye anglers on Banks Lake. Trout fishing from shore on the north end has been fair.

Walleye fishing should be picking up this month at Moses Lake. Mike Schmuck, WDFW warm water fish biologist, reports Moses Lake will soon get increased flows from Crab Creek when the local irrigation district turns on the water to the East and West Low canals. The higher flows coincide with the walleye spawning migration into Crab Creek, which typically occurs in early April.

Anglers fishing the Alder Street fill right in the town of Moses Lake are taking some big walleye from shore at night, and anglers fishing with a worm and bobber in the Cascade Valley area are also doing well.

The outlets of Moses Lake, where water enters Potholes Reservoir, can be a great place to target pre-spawn, migrating walleye this month. Bank fishing can also be great for trout along the east shore of Potholes Reservoir. There’s good access via Road M to provide shore anglers plenty of area to fish for trout, walleye and smallmouth bass. Stan Coffin Lake in the Quincy Wildlife Area can be excellent for largemouth bass in spring. Anglers should have good success fishing just offshore in eight to ten feet of water.

Other species

A proposed razor clam dig on morning tides is scheduled for April 12-16 at Twin Harbors.

Sturgeon fishing on the Snake River has been pretty good despite the extreme high water.

Hunting

Idaho’s spring turkey and black bear general seasons open on April 15 in much of the state.

Washington youth turkey hunters didn’t find many cooperative birds on the two-day early season last weekend. Lots of birds were heard, but few responded to a call.