Hunting and Fishing

Salmon and steelhead

The Methow River has been fishing very well. Bobber fishing from shore with shrimp has been productive for some, while others prefer black marabou jigs.

The Snake River is also fishing well, said Tim Johnson at FishHawk Guides in Clarkston. He added that this has been his best year since 2001, and that plugs are still working better than bait. Snake River steelhead don’t seem to be in such a hurry to get upriver this year, so the bite isn’t great on the Salmon yet.

The Clearwater has been up and down. The Grande Ronde has been low and tough to fish. With the recent rains, however, it could take off at any time.

Anglers catching fall Chinook or coho salmon in Idaho waters while fishing for steelhead are required to immediately release them unharmed. Fisheries biologists encourage anglers to hold any fish they plan to release in the water at all times.

The Stillaguamish and Snohomish rivers on the West Side are both having strong runs of chum salmon. The coho runs, too, should be hitting their peaks in the lower Skagit, Skykomish, and Snohomish rivers, but last week they were running muddy. If the rivers drop back into shape, there should be some good fishing. Finding a clear stream during unpredictably rainy autumns is a key to West Side angler success. Best bets now are the Wynoochee and the upper Chehalis River near the Montesano boat launch, or around the mouth of the Satsop River

Trout

Most Washington lakes not already closed will close after Monday. Diamond Lake is one of the best for the last three days with lots of chunky rainbow and even browns up to 19 inches.

Despite the scheduled end-of-the-month closures, there are a lot of options with such lakes as Amber (catch and release only), Waitts (until Feb. 28), and year-round waters like Silver, Eloika, Bonnie, Bead, Billy Clapp, Chelan, Curlew, Newman, Potholes Reservoir, Moses Lake, Roosevelt, Sprague, Banks, Rufus Woods, and Long (Lake Spokane). The winter lakes such as Hog Canyon and Fourth of July open Dec. 1. In Idaho, you can still wet a winter line in such Panhandle lakes as Coeur d’Alene, Cave, Medicine, Cocolalla, Round, Pend Oreille, Priest, Hauser, and the Hayden and Twin Lake outlets. See page 18 of the Idaho fishing pamphlet for a list of year-round family fishing waters such as Kelso and Fernan.

Rainbow fishing on Lake Roosevelt just gets better for trollers and bank anglers as the temperatures cool. Trollers are finding fish in the top 10 feet of water, and bank anglers are floating worms and Power Bait off the bottom of the bays. Most of the fish are a solid 14-15 inches, but there are enough 4-plus pounders to make you temporarily forget how much fun steelhead are.

Late October is a popular time of year on the Yakima for fly fishermen. It can be frustrating because of the challenge of catching and releasing very selective trout on dry flies, and it can get crowded, but flows are very low and insect hatches and surface feeding fish are the rule. The Yakima is open year-round for catch and release fishing upriver from Roza Dam near the Yakima/Kittitas county line.

Spiny ray

Pike and bass are still hitting aggressively on Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Chain Lakes. For the pike, go with big plugs or spinnerbaits in 8-12 feet of water that still support growing weeds. For bass, plastics are best, but concentrate on wooden structure such as docks or flooded timber.

With so many other fishing and hunting opportunities, yellow perch are often ignored in the fall. Right now, in the last few days of the season, you can catch big perch from Diamond, Loon, and Waitts. Year-round waters such as Long, Bonnie, Eloika, Banks, and Moses Lake also have good populations of perch.

Other species

There is a tentative razor clam opening on all Washington beaches scheduled for evening low tides Nov. 12-14. Additionally, Mocrocks and Twin Harbors will be open Nov. 15.

Hunting

As predicted, the Washington pheasant opener was the best in many years, though pressure appeared lighter than in the past. Traditional pheasant haunts around Pine City, St. John, Ritzville, Colfax, and Pullman were loaded with pheasants, and glowing reports spanned the central and southeast side of the state. In some areas, however, hunters reported the birds were wild for an opening day. I experienced this myself in the Endicott area, where I think mule deer hunters have kept the pheasants stirred up.

Gray partridge and quail populations, also, are up, and chukar hunters in all the East Side regions are finding birds. Central Adams County, a vast area with lots of wheat (and also lots of “feel free to hunt” areas) is loaded, though you’ll burn a lot of boot leather until you pinpoint concentrations.

Modern firearm elk hunting opens Saturday for any elk in three northeast game management units (101-Sherman, 105-Kelly Hill, 109-Douglas) and in several other units throughout the central district. Hunting also begins that day for any bull in three northeast units (111- Aladdin, 113-Selkirk, 117-49 Degrees North) and for spike bulls in several Blue Mountains units in the southeast. Elk hunters can expect about the same opportunity and success as in past years throughout the region. Overall that means about 6 percent of hunters will bag an elk.

The Washington general deer season ends today. So far, it has been a normal year. There will be a late whitetail hunt beginning Nov. 7 in many units. Check page 29 of the regs for specifics.

Idaho general season mule deer hunters pursuing game in Units 43, 48, and 49 enjoyed an overall 19 percent harvest success for the opening weekend of season, according to Idaho Department of Fish and Game check station data.

I hear a lot of complaining this time of year about how complicated the fish and game regulations are, but here is something to keep in mind: The game departments in both Idaho and Washington are trying to maximize opportunities for anglers and hunters. Simplifying the regs, giving them a more generic flavor, sounds like the solution, but it is contrary to sound fish and game management. In addition, local departments are required to follow federal guidelines for some species.