Hunting & Fishing

Bear hunting

Hunters who couldn’t get away from work to take part in the opening of Eastern Washington’s bear season Wednesday will turn out this weekend.

The state’s most dedicated bear hunters usually are in their favorite haunts a day or two before the opener to spot bears so they’ll be ready opening day. Other hunters join them the following weekend.

Most productive hunting usually is opening day. That’s when unsuspecting bears are in berry patches stuffing themselves for the winter. Those that survive quickly become extremely wary.

Huckleberry bushes in the high country are loaded with berries. However, there’s a possibility the berries will be frozen in some parts of northeast Washington as the result of low temperatures earlier this week.

The Fish and Wildlife Department won’t have any information on how well hunters have been doing for a week or so.

Steelhead

This year’s steelhead run up the Columbia River system seems to be running out of steam, leading some biologists to conclude the run may not be an exceptionally good one after all.

More than 150,000 steelhead have been counted at Bonneville Dam, still more than were counted at the end of August a year ago. However, the daily counts have dropped significantly the last week or so.

Still, there apparently will be plenty of steelhead in the Columbia, Grande Ronde and Snake for good fishing later this fall.

Nearly 20,000 steelhead have started up the Snake. Most are between Ice Harbor and Lower Granite dams. More than 5,000 have been counted at Lower Granite since May 31, but because of high water temperatures above the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater, most are in the pool above Lower Granite, in the confluence area and in the lower Clearwater.

Snake River temperatures above Asotin probably dropped several degrees this week as the result of low night temperatures. As a result, the movement of steelhead up the Snake will increase. Best areas to fish are in the confluence, and between Lower Granite and Ice Harbor dams. Temperatures in those areas are several degrees lower than the Snake above Asotin.

Oregon’s Deschutes River and the Columbia just below the Deschutes’ mouth are popular. Most of the steelhead caught in the lower Deschutes are fish that were headed for the upper Columbia and the Snake River, but had entered the Deschutes for a while before continuing their migration.

Salmon

Anglers are starting to catch a few chinook salmon in the Hanford Reach area of the Columbia River. Only 10,000 fall chinooks have been counted at McNary, but most seem to be moving steadily up the Columbia.

Most popular fishing area, as usual, is between the public boat ramp below White Bluffs and just above the Vernita Bridge.

Incidentally, the Columbia River Buoy 10 area was opened six days earlier than scheduled. The area opened Aug. 30 is from Buoy 10 upstream to the Megler-Astoria Bridge. Daily limit is two salmon.

The Fish and Wildlife Department announced it will lift restrictions for hatchery chinook on several Columbia River tributaries by mid-September. They are the Grays, Elochoman, Kalama and Washougal rivers.

Fishing for chinooks at Lake Coeur d’Alene has been slow the last week, Ross Fister of the Fins & Feathers shop said. Most anglers are waiting for the salmon to move toward their spawning streams.

Doves

Eastern Washington’s dove population is supposed to be one-third smaller than last year’s. Fifteen Spokane-area men, who hunted in north Lincoln County opening day, are wondering where the Fish and Wildlife Department counted birds.

All shot limits before 10 a.m. Sunday.

Hunting, it seems, was good in many areas, including south Stevens County, south Spokane County and in the farming areas above the Snake River.

Washington’s season will continue through Sept. 15; Idaho’s will end Sept. 30.

This week’s subnormal temperatures probably started thousands of doves toward warmer country.

Trout

Cool weather this week may result in improved fishing at numerous Eastern Washington lakes. High surface temperatures discouraged most trout from feeding in shallow areas. Those temperatures are now down 8 to 10 degrees.

Anglers have removed most planted trout from the majority of lakes in Eastern Washington. What’s left are the fish that were released as fingerlings last spring and are 8 to 9 inches long.

Best bets for large fish are the selective fishery and fly fishing-only lakes, including Amber and Medical in the Spokane area; Bayley, Stevens County; Dry Falls, Lenore, Lenice and Nunnally, Columbia Basin; and Ell and Chopaka, Okanogan County.

Now is a good time to fish North Idaho’s cutthroat streams. School’s open, so pressure on the streams will be light. However, the good fishing will last only a few weeks. As water temperatures drop, the cutthroat will migrate down the rivers and into deep holes for the winter.

Streams in the Missoula area have been providing fair to good fishing. Water has cooled as the result of low night-time temperatures and trout are on the prowl.

Hagen Wonn of Grizzly Hackle at Missoula said fly fishers, casting Nos. 12 and 14 Royal Wulffs and Royal Humpies, as well as No. 10 Madam X patterns, have been hooking trout in the lower Clark Fork and along Rock Creek.

Kokanee

Many of the 4-year-old kokanee in Loon Lake are slimy and the males have hooked jaws, but others still are in good condition, Joe Haley of Granite Point Resort said. Kokanee turn red, become slimy and males develop hooked jaws just before spawning.

Trollers are hooking some 3-year-old kokanee, he said. Most are 13 to 14 inches, compared to 18-20 inches for the older fish.

Trollers are continuing to catch a few each day by letting out five colors of leaded line ahead of dodgers or flashers and maggot-baited lures.

Lake Coeur d’Alene and Koocanusa Reservoir are good bets. The 8- to 9-inch kokanee in Coeur d’Alene are deep and most anglers are using four colors of leaded line plus 1 ounce of lead to get to the fish.

Some trollers are taking 20-fish limits of 10- to 12-inch kokanee at Koocanusa.

Spiny rays

Sprague Lake is a good place to catch 6- to 9-inch perch, and perhaps a few good-sized bluegills and crappies. Mike Mielke of the Sprague Lake Resort said perch fishing has been good the last week or so.

He also reported a fisherman Monday caught two 5-6 pound rainbows.

Fernan is producing good numbers of perch, Fister said.

Pike fishing is picking up at Lake Coeur d’Alene, he said. Most are fishing in 10 to 15 feet of water over weed beds with Dardevle spoons and spinner baits. Most of the pike are 8 to 13 pounds.

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