Hunting+Fishing
Trout and kokanee
Diamond Lake is a good place to stillfish for rainbow, and you don’t need to go too far from the public access to find cooperative trout. Forty feet of water should put you in both rainbow and perch.
A couple of midweek expeditions south of town found a fair bite off the dock at Klink’s on Williams Lake for 10- to 13-inch rainbow. A friend and I also trolled Fish Lake with worms, using two small splitshot for weight. We caught nine tiger trout to 15 inches and one 14-inch brook trout. Fly fishermen were also catching fish at the far end along the lily pads.
Other put-and-take lakes around Spokane continue to offer good to excellent trout fishing. West Medical, Fishtrap, Badger, Waitts and Jump-Off Joe still have good populations of trout. For the fly fisherman, Medical Lake is popular, as are Amber and Coffeepot. Browns Lake, near Usk, has also had good reports.
A few 10-inch kokanee have been landed recently by Loon Lake trollers. The trout bite remains good, and another large mackinaw – a 14-pounder – was checked in at the Granite Lake Resort.
Roosevelt water level had dropped to 1,247 feet at midweek but was supposed to start coming up again. Fishing has not been productive for any species, but persistent anglers are taking a few trout, many of which are 3 pounds or better.
Kokanee are showing on the lower end of Chelan Lake. Roses and Wapato lakes have produced good-sized rainbows.
Spiny ray
A lot of big smallmouth are coming from the Snake River recently, with fish 6 pounds and better taken near Steptoe Canyon, Central Ferry and Lewiston. Lake Roosevelt has been slow, possibly because of dropping water.
Moses Lake walleye are red-hot, said friend Gary Russell who lives near the lake. Fish are coming on trolled spinners and nightcrawlers. A recent walleye tournament on Potholes Reservoir was said to be tough fishing. Most catches came from the Lind Coulee and the Crab Creek Channel rather than the main lake. The largest fish was around 7 pounds.
Eloika Lake crappie and bass are in their spawning mode near the shoreline. Ten-fish limits of crappie are common on chartreuse jigs in less than two hours. Eloika crappie much be 9 inches or better.
Crappie and smallmouth have also moved into the shallows at the mouth of the Palouse near Lyons Ferry. Long Lake and Newman Lake anglers are making nice crappie catches, but the bite is hit or miss. Anglers on Long Lake last weekend reported catching more largemouth than crappie. Bass are catch and release only at Long until July 1.
Banks Lake perch are cooperating, said Dave Altier at Coulee Playland Resort. He suggested fishing the Punchbowl, Barker Flats or at the inlet. Good-sized perch and some rainbow are possible at Downs Lake, located in the scabrock near Fishtrap. Bass fishermen are also catching many largemouth.
Banks Lake walleye are just beginning to bite, but veteran tournament fisherman Bob Ploof said the lake will explode at the end of May. The best walleye fishing in the area has been on Rufus Woods, particularly during the week when more power is being generated and there is a good current.
Sprague Lake walleye anglers are still frustrated by the anemic bite.
Other species
Despite rising water, sturgeon fishing remains good in Hells Canyon on the Snake River. This is a catch-and-release fishery only, but you have an excellent chance of tying into a fish more than 6 feet long. Sturgeon fishing has also picked up in the lower Columbia.
Beginning May 24 through Aug. 5, there will be open recreational fishing for halibut in Marine Area 5, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. The daily bag limit is one halibut per angler, with no minimum size limit. All catch must be recorded on a catch record card.
The pikeminnow reward program begins Monday on the Snake River. Four dollars is paid for fish 1-100, $5 for 101-400, and $8 for 401 and higher. There will also be tagged fish worth $500 each.
Hunting
Entries in the first Idaho Super Hunt and Super Hunt Combo drawing must be received at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game headquarters by May 31 for the drawing set for June 15. Tickets will be drawn for eight elk, eight deer and eight antelope hunts as well as one moose hunt. One Super Hunt Combo ticket will also be drawn that will entitle the winner to four hunts – one each elk, deer, antelope and moose. Winners may participate in any open hunt in the state, and any animal they shoot will be in addition to any other general season tags or controlled hunts the hunter may hold.
Turkey hunters who have waited this long to take a bird in Washington or Idaho should find the gobblers a little more vulnerable in the coming days. Reports are that most toms are alone or running with only a few hens.
Washington special permit applications will be available Tuesday. Submissions are due by June 28.