Salmon and steelhead

Chinook fishing on Lake Coeur d’Alene is excellent, with most fish coming from the top 20 feet of water on helmeted herring. Anglers also report graphing huge schools of kokanee and are optimistic about this year’s fishery.

Growing numbers of spring chinook salmon in the lower Columbia River are sending a mixed message to anglers and fishery managers monitoring this year’s run. Catch figures below the Interstate 5 Bridge have jumped since the end of March, rising from 2,100 to 3,100 fish in two days. Anglers fishing the lower river have averaged one chinook for every 5.6 rods – a fairly good start, especially compared to last year’s catch rate of one fish per 17 rods during the same period. The best bet for anglers trolling for spring chinook is the mainstem Columbia near Cathlamet, Wash., where creel checks show 544 anglers caught 147 spring chinook from March 27 to last Sunday. Fish passage over Bonneville is different. As of Monday, 41 springers had cleared the dam, fewer than last year at the same time.

Hatchery steelhead are migrating quickly to areas where they were released as smolts. Consistent hot spots are the mainstem and North Fork Clearwater Rivers in the immediate vicinity around Dworshak National Fish Hatchery, the mainstem and Middle Fork Clearwater Rivers just below Clear Creek, the South Fork Clearwater River around the Mt. Idaho Bridge, the Little Salmon River and the Grande Ronde. Fishing is furious on some of these waters.

Trout and kokanee

The lowland lakes trout season opens throughout the state April 29. Hatchery crews have planted more than 21 million fish since last year, and will continue stocking lakes through the season.

Dworshak Reservoir is filling and kokanee fishing is picking up, with most anglers fishing between the dam and Dent Bridge. There are huge numbers of kokes in Dworshak, so size is down. Fish average 8-10 inches, but the limit is 25. The April Fool’s Opener on the Region 2 Refuge waters in the Columbia Basin was wet and cold, limiting overall success. Those fish taken were big and fat, with trollers and fly fishermen doing better than shoreline bait anglers. Trout in both Hampton Lakes were more than 15 inches. At Dry Falls, the catch rate was low, but the better showing of yearlings may bode well for fishing to come.

Spiny ray

Walleye fishing has been pretty bleak since Spokane Arm closed, though anglers are taking a few smallmouth deep. The best walleye reports come from Banks Lake, where anglers are picking up fish on Barker Flats. The Sprague Lake bite should start soon.

Further south, a few bank anglers were spotted at midweek with walleye taken from off the Alder Street Bridge in downtown Moses Lake. This would indicate the water is warming and the spawn is beginning. Potholes Reservoir is still being stingy with her walleye, but anglers are beginning to take smallmouth along the dam, near Goose Island and in Lind Coulee.

The smallmouth bass spawning run into the Yakima River has begun, reported WDFW fish biologist Jim Cummins, with fish running 11/2-4 pounds. Cummins recommends quarter-ounce tube jigs or “Gitzits” in a smoke with red flake color, bounced on the bottom of the river in rocky areas with deep slow water that is close to fast water.

Other species

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is closing the retention fishery for sturgeon between The Dalles Dam and John Day Dam on the Columbia River on Saturday.

On Sunday, halibut fishing starts in marine areas 6-11 and 13 in Puget Sound on a Thursday-through-Monday schedule. Coastal lingcod fishing expands to Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay) on April 16.

Hunting

Idaho moose, goat and sheep rules brochures are valid for two seasons. The brochure printed last year lists hunts for 2005 and 2006, and new brochures will be available Monday at all license vendors and IDFG regional offices.

With more than 30,000 turkeys, mostly Merriams, Idaho’s wild turkey populations are in good shape. General spring turkey seasons in both Idaho and Washington all run from April 15 through May 25 with a youth hunt scheduled for this weekend.

In Washington, Region 1 wildlife biologist Joe McCanna said there have been increases in Merriams turkey populations in Stevens, Pend Oreille and Ferry counties, with Stevens showing the biggest jump. McCanna also said huge increases are evident near Mount Spokane, Liberty Lake, Newman Lake and south to the state line. The west side of the river in Pend Oreille County is most heavily populated, as is the east side of Ferry County.

For Rio Grand turkeys, Lincoln County is the hot spot, but hunters will find a lot of private land there. Southern Spokane County, as well as the Rock and Bonny Lake have good numbers of Rios, as does the Asotin Wildlife Area. The Tucannon drainage is just starting to come back from the School Fire, so hunting will probably be much better there next season.

Washington spring black bear hunting by permit only runs April 15-May 3. The uplands of WDFW’s Wooten Wildlife Area, which have been closed while post-wildfire salvage logging by helicopter occurs, will re-open today so bear permit holders can scout and set up camps.