Salmon and steelhead

Fri., Aug. 11, 2006

Alan Liere Correspondent

Tip of the week

Anglers trying the Lake Washington sockeye fishery for the first time this weekend should know that the early-morning bite is the best, an extremely slow fishing speed is critical, 40 feet is the depth of peak fish abundance, and the best bait is no bait at all. Troll with bare, colored hooks, preferably red.

Braggin' rights

Deckhand Dominic Romiti of Darrell and Dad's Family Guide Service on Lake Chelan exceeded the extent of his job description this week. He dove 15 feet under the boat to release a fouled snap weight so angler Brian Badinec could finish the fight and land a 17-pound mackinaw.

Overheard

Banks Lake anglers are saying walleye fishing there is as good as it gets, with few fish less than 16 inches – most coming on spinners in 20-30 feet of water. This would translate to good fishing on the front edge of Barker Flats, on the grass hump on the west side of Steamboat Rock, and by Poplar Point and The Rose Bush.

Heads up

Fishing and hunting license holders get a discount Aug. 20 at Fish & Wildlife Night at the Spokane Indians baseball game at Avista Stadium. Fish casting and elk bugling contests will be held in center field during the seventh-inning stretch, and fish and wildlife displays and information booths will be available throughout the evening. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. Discounted tickets can be purchased with presentation of a valid fishing or hunting license at the stadium's ticket office, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or online at www.spokaneindiansbaseball.com.

An extra six days of sockeye fishing on Lake Washington began Tuesday and lasts through Sunday. State and tribal salmon co-managers recently updated the size of the Lake Washington sockeye run to about 466,000 salmon.

Idaho hunters shouldn't wait for the last minute to buy hunting license and tags or they may find themselves at the end of a long line at computers jammed with other last-minute buyers. Most regular-season tags are available at Fish and Game offices and license vendors around the state. A few leftover controlled hunt tags for deer, elk, pronghorn and black bear also are available for a second drawing. The application period for this runs through Tuesday.

The first Budweiser/Lowrance King Salmon Derby held last weekend in Brewster, Wash., saw 120 entrants land 50 king salmon with an average weight of 21.3 pounds for the adult division and 15.2 pounds for the youth division. Cash and prizes were awarded through 20th place for a total of more than $10,000 in cash and prizes including raffle items. Winning the overall derby was Brad Wagner from Wenatchee with his 34.1-pound salmon. Second place went to Steven Anderson from Bridgeport, Wash., with his 30.3-pound salmon.

The Okanogan River dropped 10 degrees last week, drawing salmon upriver and away from the tournament anglers. Fish counts at Wells Dam had averaged only 50 salmon a day, but the day after the tournament, 800 fish went over the dam.

If possible, salmon fishing at Buoy 10 has slowed. ODFW estimates 58 angler trips the first two days of this week with no catch. Most anglers fishing out of Ilwaco are catching their daily limit of salmon, although the odds of landing a chinook are better farther north. Fishing in all ocean areas will be open seven days per week starting today. At Westport, 2,150 anglers landed 702 chinook and 651 coho. At Neah Bay, 1,445 anglers caught 192 chinook and 733 coho. Early in the week, fishing at Sekiu was reported to be excellent, but it has slowed down considerably since.

Tim Johnson of Clarkston fished the Clearwater for a couple of hours this week with his grandson, hooking three fish and landing one. Steelhead counts at lower Granite are half of last year’s, though the hot weather is definitely affecting migration. A total of 1,166 have been counted. Steelhead anglers had the best success in the Gorge last weekend when boat anglers averaged 1.4 summer steelhead and 0.2 fall chinook caught per boat. Bank anglers averaged 0.4 summer steelhead and 0.03 fall chinook caught per bank rod.

Effort and catch on Drano Lake is increasing, with boat anglers averaging 0.5 steelhead per rod. Some summer chinook are also being caught. On the White Salmon River, steelhead effort and catch is also increasing.

Drift boat anglers are catching some summer run steelhead on the Klickitat River. On the Cowlitz, bank anglers averaged a steelhead per every five rods and boat anglers one per every three rods. Steelhead fishing on the Hoh River is “the best we’ve seen this time of year,” according to David Low, WDFW fish biologist. Last week, 75 anglers reeled in 28 steelhead, along with four chinook and one coho.

The fall chinook salmon fishery on the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River near the Tri-Cities opens Wednesday. WDFW fish biologist Paul Hoffarth said a strong return of fall chinook is expected this year.

Steelhead counts at Bonneville Dam are near the 10-year average. From Aug. 1 through last Sunday, a total of 26,000 fish (including a yearly high of 5,853 on Monday) had been counted at the dam.

Trout and kokanee

Some rainbow are hitting trolled Apex lures or Needlefish at Banks Lake, but the best fishing for those species has been at Swawilla Basin on Lake Roosevelt. Rufus Lake trout have also been on the feed.

Loon Lake kokanee anglers found limits tough to come by this week, but good fishing should continue into September. On Lake Coeur d’Alene, trollers are finding some of the big kokanee, although the limit catches of last year have been rare.

Spiny ray

Smallmouth fishing is excellent on Banks with Rebel and Rapala Skitter Bugs taking a lot of the fish. On Roosevelt, Walleye fishing has improved somewhat for anglers using jigs and chartreuse grubs. The smallmouth bite remains strong throughout the system.

WDFW central district fish biologist Chris Donley of Spokane said perch are abundant and cooperative at many regional waters. Downs Lake in southwest Spokane County is a good perch fishery. So is the Spokane River reservoir of Long Lake and Deer and Waitts lakes in Stevens County.

“But fish deep for them at this time of year,” Donley said. “They’re not along the shorelines like they were during spring spawning. You have to jig for them at 25 feet or more.”

The Pend Oreille River continues to produce good catches of large northern pike. The river is also a good bet for largemouth bass, especially from Ione to Box Canyon Dam, and smallmouth bass in the Metaline Falls area.

Walleye fishing has been good in most areas of the Columbia River from Boardman to McNary.

Hunting

The region’s bear and cougar seasons opened Aug. 1. Hunters are allowed two cougars during the season, which runs through March 15. Hunters are allowed two bears during the general season (Aug. 1-Nov. 15), but only one bear can be taken in Eastern Washington.

Washington waterfowl hunters will enjoy seasons similar to last year’s under a package adopted by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. The statewide duck-hunting season will run Oct. 14-18 and Oct. 21-Jan. 28, and a special youth hunting weekend is scheduled for Sept. 23-24. Goose hunting seasons vary by management areas across the state, but most open Oct. 14.

Special $5 permit applications are available online or at license dealers for 800 late fall turkey hunting permits in northeast district Game Management Units 101-124. The season runs Nov. 20 through Dec. 15. Deadline for applications is midnight Aug. 31. Drawing date is Sept. 6.

Salmon and steelhead

Trout and kokanee

Spiny ray

Hunting

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