Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Dec. 19, 2024

Thu., Dec. 19, 2024

By Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

The Spokane Fly Fishers are again offering a six-week beginners fly fishing school beginning in March and running into April. The class will cover equipment needed, aquatic entomology (all about bugs and flies) and lots of casting instruction; it would make a great Christmas gift. Cost for non-club members is $100, which includes club membership. To sign up, go to spokaneflyfishers.com.

Heads up: Idaho Fish and Game is again inviting burbot fishermen to participate in the Kootenai River Angler Science Program to gather information that will help make burbot fishing better. Simply for participating, anglers will receive free swag and be entered in a free raffle for a chance to win some great prizes. Contact the Panhandle Regional office at (208) 769-1414 if you have questions or would like to learn more about the Kootenai River Angler Science Program.

Idaho fishing licenses and permits for 2025 are now available. Be ready to fish on New Year’s Day by purchasing your license and permits now. Washington renewals are not needed until March 1, 2025.

Overheard: West Medical Lake in west Spokane County was treated with rotenone in October to eradicate illegally introduced goldfish that had proliferated and taken over the lake, squeezing out the trout. This lake will remain closed until the fourth Saturday in April after being stocked with rainbow and brown trout of various sizes this spring.

Twenty years of habitat improvements on southeast Washington’s Tucannon River are resulting in a mix of outcomes for adult anadromous fish returning to the river, especially over the past few years. Steelhead returns have grown significantly, while spring chinook salmon returns are far below project objectives and the fish continue to be at serious risk of extinction.

Braggin’ rights: My friend Wes Graham had never fished for steelhead until last week when he booked a trip with Stotts Fishing on the Clearwater River near Orofino, Idaho. Although his boat caught fish while side-drifting with shrimp, Graham caught a 35-incher on the troll. His boat netted three hatchery fish, and three other Stotts boats also caught fish. “It’s supposed to be even better in January when the water comes up,” he said. “I’m hooked.”

Fly fishing

Fishing on the Spokane River has been consistent for this time of the year, Silver Bow Fly Shop said. Throwing streamers on spey rods has been the most productive, along with running some nymph rigs through the slower water. You don’t need a spey rod to fish the Spokane, but it’s much more efficient for covering water and making longer casts. Small to midsize streamer patterns have been the most effective. Patterns like the Sculpzilla, marabou leech or buggers have been consistent producers if thrown with T-8 or T-11 style sink-tips. For nymphing, a heavy stonefly paired with a hot bead or brightly colored dropper is a reliable combo. Noon until dusk will be the optimal feeding window for trout this time of year.

Anglers fishing the lower Coeur d’Alene River have been doing fairly well swinging streamer patterns in the slow, deep holding water. Nymphing is always reliable. Stick to the lower river for your best shot at finding a few fish.

The Snake River has been fair to good for steelhead, and fly fishermen are swinging up a few fish. The folks from Boggan’s say the Grande Ronde has been fishing steadily.

Trout and kokanee

Trollers are catching good numbers of kokanee from Lake Chelan this fall. These fish come in several sizes, and many of them are more than a foot in length.

One of the best places to catch a big trout is at Omak Lake. A lot of the fishing is taking place from Nelson Beach, also known as Beer Can Beach. Anglers are casting spoons from shore. Lahontan cutthroat of 3 and 4 pounds are common.

Brandts Landing on Rufus Woods Reservoir has been mentioned numerous times in this column as a good winter destination for catching big triploid trout from shore. It needs to also be mentioned, however, that fishing will be slow if there is no current.

A friend and his crew limited all three rods this week on Lake Roosevelt. All the trout were around 17 inches. They were fishing near Hunters.

Lake Roosevelt has also been decent from assorted beaches, with bait fishermen averaging a couple of trout each.

At Medicare Beach on Potholes Reservoir, anglers in folding chairs can often be found scattered along the black sand beach with their rods in holders. Big rainbow trout cruise along this shoreline and will suck in the baits cast from shore. To reach Medicare Beach, drive Highway 17 south from Moses Lake and take a right on Road M SE. A few miles up the road take a right on road 6 SE and continue to Road J SE, and the entrance to the public access. A Discover Pass is required.

Ice fishing

It doesn’t look like we’ll be doing much ice fishing in the near future.

Most local lakes are ice free or just barely skimmed over. Exceptions where there may be some fishing taking place are Bonaparte, Molson, Coffin and Gillette ( only 2 inches of ice there). Even Thomas Lake has only 1 to 3 inches of ice.

Anglers are catching trout from open water on Waitts and Rock lakes.

Steelhead and salmon

The upcoming Steelhead Fishing Derby sponsored by Reel Time Fishing and Hells Canyon Grande Hotel will run Jan. 10-12. Billed as the ultimate steelhead sportfishing event, these three days of seminars, speakers, demonstrations and vendors are focused on all things fishing in Lewiston, the self-proclaimed steelhead capital of the world. The indoor part of the event begins in the late morning so participants have a chance to catch the early bite. More information can be found at www.steelheadexpo.com.

Steelhead fishing has slowed down on the Methow and the main stem Columbia River, but the fish caught are big.

Spiny ray

The perch fishing near the I-90 Bridge over Moses Lake has been excellent from shore and boat. Anglers fishing from the rip rap at the edge of the cut under the bridge are filling stringers.

Although Rufus Woods has been quiet this winter for triploid rainbow trout, anglers using jigs are getting walleye on the Nespelem Bar.

Walleye fishing has been decent around Hunters on the edges of the sand flats. The best bite is on jigs, but on some days blade baits are deadly.

Hunting

There are a lot of quail and turkeys this year.

Look for quail in brushy areas along water and in scabrock draws and sagebrush. A harvested grain field nearby is a plus. Turkeys are in big flocks almost everywhere from harvested wheat fields to small woodlots and the edges of dense pine forests. The season runs through Dec. 31 for turkeys and Jan. 20 for quail.

Forest grouse are open in Washington through Jan. 15. With some snow, pheasants will also be easier to hunt as they will hold better and will often sit off the ground in thick brush. The season ends Jan. 20.

A nephew in Sunnyside said he has had several decent duck and goose hunts on the Columbia River and is seeing more new birds each time out.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com