Fishing Report

Winter lakes

An often-frustrating but sometimes-rewarding season will end Sunday at Fourth of July and Hog Canyon lakes southwest of Spokane and Williams and Hatch lakes in Stevens County.

A continuous mix of cold and mild, warm weather almost from the time the lakes were opened created problems. The lakes were sometimes covered with ice not thick enough for safe ice fishing and rarely thick and hard enough to support anglers safely.

Lately, fishing has been slow at Fourth of July and Hog Canyon.

Anglers fished long and hard last weekend for a few trout at Hog Canyon. Few bait and fly fishermen took home five-fish limits of the 10- to 17-inch rainbows.

Unfortunately for Fourth of July anglers, the rise in the water level, which enabled them to launch small boats for the first time in a couple of winters, didn’t encourage the rainbows to bite. Most complain the trout won’t take their flies and bait.

But fishermen are optimists. Many are likely to be at the lakes for the final days of the season this weekend.

March 1 waters

Anglers have learned a few Columbia Basin lakes open all year provide better fishing than those that opened March 1.

For example, Susan Lake on the Seep Lakes Recreation Area south of Lind Coulee is yielding limits of 10- to 11-inch rainbows, as well as a few carryover fish to 4 pounds.

Susan is one of the few readily accessible lakes in the area. Anglers can drive to the lake and launch boats, but most fish from the shore.

The Windmill lakes in the south part of the recreation area hold big rainbows and have provided better fishing than lakes opened March 1.

Fishing hasn’t improved much at the Pillar-Widgeon chain of lakes and at Upper and Lower Hampton. Trout populations may be low.

Warden Lake has yielded some rainbows and browns, but fishing has been disappointing.

Upper and lower Caliche in the Quincy area have yielded limits of pan-sized rainbows, wildlife agent Dan Rahn said. Fishing has been slow at Burke and Quincy lakes.

Soda Lake

Anglers have had poor luck hooking big whitefish near the area where water from the Potholes Reservoir enters the lake, Rahn said. Fishing should pick up this weekend, however, as more whitefish are attracted to the inlet.

If you try your luck, be careful not to use any equipment that may be interpreted as snagging gear. Some anglers cast into the big schools of whitefish with large, weighted triple hooks and snag the fish. Wildlife agents know some people try to snag the whitefish and they arrest a few anglers every year at this time.

Lake Roosevelt

Walleyes are providing the most action at Lake Roosevelt, guide John Carruth of Davenport said.

Anglers have been jigging in 30 to 35 feet of water above the mouth of the Spokane River and hooking numerous walleyes, including a few longer than 20 inches.

Carruth said this is the time of year to fish with jigs at the big lake. Most anglers use curly tail grubs and similar plastic baits for good action. Some fishermen, however, continue to ignore the regulations, taking walleyes that should be released.

Trollers and plunkers have taken a few rainbows in the 15- to 22-inch range.

Lenore

Cold weather and high winds have hampered anglers who have tried to catch the big Lahontan cutthroat at Lenore Lake. Fishing is expected to pick up following a couple of days of settled weather.

Sprague Lake

The water is high, off-color and cold, but fish are starting to take anglers’ lures and bait.

The few who fished the lake the last 10 days have had problems locating perch and bluegill schools, but they’ve caught some good-sized bullhead catfish, a few keeper walleyes and some 4-pound rainbows and 7- to 11-inch crappies.

The catfish, most 14 to 18 inches long, seemed to be the most cooperative fish in the lake. Anglers, fishing near where the inlet stream comes into the lake, hooked enough for a few dinners.

One angler reported he hooked a walleye that appeared to weigh more than 5 pounds on a crappie jig. He got it alongside his boat, but didn’t have a net and lost it.

The big rainbows aren’t plentiful, but there are enough in the lake to provide some excitement.

Steelhead

Steelhead are moving fast toward their spawning grounds along Snake River tributaries. More than 1,000 have climbed the fish ladders at Lower Granite Dam this year.

The upper Grande Ronde is still providing fair to good fishing, Jay Poe of Jay’s Gone Fishing reported. He said the Ronde above Bogan’s is high and slightly off color, but the steelhead are taking lures.

If they are in good condition this weekend, the Walla Walla, Tucannon and Touchet could yield some steelhead. The rivers will be closed to steelhead fishing after April 15.

In Idaho, the best steelhead fishing last weekend was along the Little Salmon, where anglers averaged 6 hours per fish, the Idaho Fish and Game Department reported. Fishing was slow along the Clearwater.

Chinook salmon

Diehard trollers are continuing to troll helmeted herring in the northeast corner of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Few have boated salmon.

Nearly all salmon taken have hit bait near the surface.

Northern pike

The best fishing in North Idaho is for northern pike. Some big pike weighing more than 20 pounds have been caught the last week.

The pike are in shallow bays. Anglers, using wire leaders with two treble hooks, sizes 4 and 6, and baited with smelt are fishing in 3- to 4-feet of water. They use slip bobbers above the bait.

Clark Fork

A few fly fishers are spending time drifting the Clark Fork River in the St. Regis area as the result of reports that good-sized rainbows are on the prowl for food.

The river is low and clear enough for fair and sometimes good fishing. Fly fishers report they’ve been using nymph patterns.

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