Alan Liere’s fish-hunt report for April 6
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Trout and kokanee
Southwest Spokane County’s Amber Lake is a popular selective gear fishery, with the season running through Nov. 30. Anglers are allowed to keep one trout (either Westslope cutthroat or rainbow) over 18 inches each day. Internal combustion motors are prohibited on Amber. Lincoln County’s Coffeepot Lake is also under selective gear rules. It is producing rainbow trout and yellow perch, mostly on flies. Medical Lake in southwest Spokane County has rainbow and brown trout. This lake is also under selective gear rules with a daily limit of two trout of at least 14 inches, and no motors of any kind allowed.
Liberty Lake, in eastern Spokane County, opened on March 1 and is ice free. It has seen decent catches of brown and rainbow trout. As the water warms, Liberty also provides some of the earliest yellow perch and crappie fishing in the area.
Fishing from the banks of Lake Spokane (Long Lake) continues to be productive for rainbow trout in the spring. Once water levels rise enough to use the main boat ramps, boat anglers should find good fishing for not only rainbows but also perch, crappie, and both largemouth and smallmouth bass.
Sprague Lake has shaken off its ice cover and a few big rainbow have been taken, though fishing is generally slow. The best trout action at Rock Lake is at the top end of the lake, though those fishing from shore at the launch are also catching fair numbers of nice-sized rainbow.
At the W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area in southeast Washington’s Columbia County, five of the Tucannon Lakes are open. These are Blue, Spring, Rainbow, Watson and Deer lakes. Curl Lake opens May 27 and Big 4 Lake will not be stocked with fish due to a lack of water.
In Grant County, anglers should find good trout fishing on lakes such as Martha, Upper Caliche, Quincy and Burke. Many lakes that were ice covered during most of March have shed ice. As these waters warm, trout will be much more susceptible to anglers’ offerings. In addition to annual stocking of spring fingerling rainbow trout, these lakes all recently received additional ‘catchable’ 10- to 12-inch rainbow trout.
Lake Lenore is a selective gear lake that provides excellent opportunities for anglers to catch large Lahontan cutthroat trout. April is the best month to fish this lake as fish are preparing to spawn and can be found in large schools along the shore. Dry Falls Lake is another selective gear lake and is a great choice for anglers wanting to target large rainbow trout and brown trout.
Lake Chelan has been producing a few limits of kokanee. Anglers can expect to catch kokanee in the 9- to 13-inch range. There is no minimum-size limit on Lake Chelan kokanee and the daily catch limit is 10 fish (not included in the five-trout daily limit).
Year-round Antilon Lakes, northwest of Chelan, will produce some nice brown trout this month as the ice melts. Lower Antilon typically fishes better than Upper Antilon, with 14- to 18-inch brown trout common. Roses Lake, near Manson, is fishing well for foot-long rainbow.
Spiny ray
It hasn’t been fast fishing, but walleye anglers are taking some nice fish near the Rufus Woods net pens during times when the current is good. Black jigs have been effective.
Walleye fishing has been tough in the Porcupine Bay area, what with muddy water, no dock and the nets set to capture/kill northern pike. Better walleye fishing has been around Seven Bays. Male fish are still not showing sign of the spawn. Some of the major Lake Roosevelt launches are unusable because of low water.
Launching is still available at Hunters, Keller Ferry, Kettle Falls, Seven Bays and Spring Canyon.
Walleye fishing is “decent” in Potholes Reservoir, Jeff Fisher at MarDon Resort said. The largemouth bass are moving into the dunes and are being targeted in 2-10 feet of water.
Other species
The next round of coastal razor clam digging will proceed as planned from Thursday through Wednesday with an increased daily limit of 20 clams per person on all open beaches – Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks and Copalis. Not all beaches are open for every dig, so make sure your intended destination is open before heading out.
Hunting
The application period for Idaho moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat controlled hunts runs through April 30. Hunters can apply online or at any Fish and Game office, license vendor or by calling (800) 554-8685.
Here are some important dates to help you make plans: Saturday, youth general turkey season; April 15, general black bear/turkey season in most of the state; April 20, returned nonresident tag sale at 9 a.m.; April 22, spring chinook salmon fishing begins; April 30, moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat application period closes; April 30, spring steelhead season closes on remaining waters.
Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com.