Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Oct. 26

Oct. 26, 2023 Updated Fri., Oct. 27, 2023 at 2:04 p.m.

By Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

With the weather change, Rocky Ford’s “Miracle Mile” of small water will again begin attracting fly fishermen. The “Ford” is famous for large finicky rainbow. A good way to take them when they are refusing all the normal flies is to toss large leech patterns.

Overheard

Idaho Fish and Game biologists are still watching the mid-Snake River for fish mortalities following the chelated copper treatment in response to the detection of quagga mussels last month. As expected, the treatment, which was designed to eliminate quagga mussels, also killed fish and aquatic plants within the treatment area. Fish and Game has found thousands of dead fish within an approximately 6-mile section of the river, mostly large-scale suckers, common carp and northern pikeminnow, but also a few panfish and sturgeon.

Braggin’ rights

Matt Hosking of Lewiston, Idaho set a new state record with an 11.78-pound coho salmon, caught from the Clearwater River on Oct. 13. Joe DuPont, the Clearwater Region fishery manager, said fish like this are rare. “There are bigger coho out there,” he said, “but not many. Based on the 2,400 coho we have trapped at Lower Granite Dam this year, only two would surpass the size of this fish.”

Fly fishing

There was good fishing this week on the St. Joe, the North Fork Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane rivers, but the change in weather might shut that down a bit. Nymphing and streamer fishing will likely be the bulk of the tactics from here on out, Silver Bow Fly Shop said.

The Clark Fork near St. Regis has been good. Midges, blue-winged olives and mahoganies have worked at midday, with nymphs producing the best action early, before any hatches come off.

This is a good time to be on the Yakima River with your dry flies. Flows are low and insect hatches are numerous.

Trout and kokanee

Many Washington lakes close on Tuesday, but several of these provide some of the best fishing of the year for carryover trout. Jameson Lake in Douglas County is a good example. Wapato and Blue (near Wannacut Lake) are two others.

Last Saturday, David Browning of Kekeda Flies fished four hours from Seven Bays down to the mouth of Hawk Creek with his two boys, catching 11 rainbow. The biggest went 20 inches and the rest were 16 to 19 inches. Browning said they trolled around 2½ mph 50 to 100 yards from shore with downriggers at 7 and 12 feet with an olive Kekeda fly. The 7-foot downrigger caught the most fish.

Rock Lake anglers are beginning to catch some big brown trout along the east side cliffs by casting Rapalas right up to the rock walls. The browns are moving into shallower water to spawn. Smaller rainbow trout are numerous.

Anglers using planer boards and an Apex are set to catch some big rainbow from Lake Pend Oreille as the fish move closer to the surface.

Good kokanee fishing is available on Lake Chelan year-round, but as the year progresses, the area called “The Fences” above the Yacht Club down to the Blue Roofs generally heats up. Reports indicate the kokanee are running 12 to 14 inches. These are next year’s fish, which bodes well for the future.

Salmon and steelhead

The adult coho portion of the salmon daily limit on the Columbia River from the I-182 Bridge to the old Hanford townsite powerline crossing will be two adult fish from Wednesday through Dec. 31. One adult chinook may also be retained.

The Grande Ronde River is seeing some good steelhead fishing, and a few chinook have also been reported. The Clearwater and Snake River have also been decent. The Clearwater is in the middle of its catch-and-release season. Fishing pressure for steelhead is down, and the fish are stacking up. Contact Reel Time Fishing in Clarkston (208 790-2128) to book a catch and release trip. Catch and keep opens back up Nov. 10.

Catch rates for steelhead continue to steadily improve on the Upper Salmon River, resulting in increased angler effort.

Spiny ray

A friend who lives on Long Lake had a phenomenal perch fishing experience this week, keeping 41 fish. He said all the fish he kept were at least 9 inches and eight of them stretched 13 inches or better. He was fishing about 200 feet off his dock in 24 to 30 feet of water. The trick, he said, was to get in the weeds and just drift around until you find a hole to drop your jig and worm into. If the perch are there, the bite will be almost immediate. He also caught quite a few small walleye using this method and predicted that next year could be good.

Potholes Reservoir walleye aren’t always cooperative, though the fishing can be excellent on a given day. What anglers can usually count on, however, are the bluegill. They say that if you’re so inclined, you could fill a five-gallon bucket with bluegill along with a smattering of crappie and bullheads. Bass fishing has been good with most fish running 2-4 pounds. Willie Parsons, from Ellensburg, recently caught a largemouth pushing 7 pounds.

Northern pike and bass are still cooperating on Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Chain Lakes. For the pike, look for weeds in 8 to 12 feet of water. For largemouth bass, plastics have been good around wooden docks and flooded timber.

Hunting

Pheasant season opened in Eastern Washington this weekend and WDFW staff and officers in the field said the number of pheasant hunters they encountered was down. Some hunters said there was a lot of hunter activity and a lot of birds in pockets of cover.

A friend and I, unfortunately, did not find one of these pockets. Other friends who hunted between Spangle and Oakesdale said they had never seen so many roosters on opening day. They also noted there was a lot of cover.

Washington’s deer season is closed except in eight units close to Spokane, which close after Friday. Mule deer hunting is over for the year, but the late whitetail season begins Nov. 11 and runs through Nov. 19. Sitting in my elevated deer blind two evenings this week, I saw five coyotes, about 80 turkeys and one small white-tail doe.

Waterfowl hunters in Washington and Idaho are hoping the cooling weather will drive some birds out of Canada. The season has been better for suntans than for ducks, but the Idaho Chain Lakes are holding a fair number of ducks. In Washington, local geese have provided some good shooting for hunters in the Columbia Basin.

Friends in Alberta sent me photos this week of their latest goose hunt during which they took limits of big Canadas. They were most excited, though, by the two sandhill cranes they shot. The sandhill crane, a recent addition to Alberta bag limits, is rumored to be “the ribeye of the sky.” According to my friends, the two birds they shot “were the best wild game we have ever eaten.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the closing dates for Amber Lake. Amber Lake closes to fishing on Nov. 30.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com