Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Jan. 4

Fly fishing

In southeast Washington, steelhead fishing on the Grande Ronde River usually gets good in January. Regional Fish Program Manager Chris Donley said the Grande Ronde is in good shape around Boggan’s Oasis. He has been swinging streamers while wading for some good days on the water, although he admits, “The fish aren’t super cooperative.”

Salmon and steelhead

Steelheading areas abound on WDFW lands and access sites along the river. Fish the upper part of the Grande Ronde from the Highway 129 Bridge upstream to the Oregon border on WDFW’s 4-O Ranch Wildlife Area and public fishing easements. Or try your luck at access sites on the Shumaker unit of the Chief Joseph Wildlife Area. There are also many places to fish on the lower Grande Ronde that are accessed from the Heller Bar area or upstream from there.

Both hatchery and wild steelhead can be caught in the Snake River and its tributaries, especially on sunny or warmer winter days when the fish become more active.

Trout and kokanee

Big lakes such as Roosevelt, Rock and Lake Spokane provide excellent bank fishing for trout throughout the winter. While Roosevelt is the most notable winter bank fishing destination, good shore fishing can be found a little closer to Spokane at Lake Spokane, which has been producing rainbows in the 14- to 17-inch range. Bank fishing locations are limited, but those fishing from the turnouts downstream from the town of Tum Tum are doing well.

Friends fishing from shore at Fort Spokane on Lake Roosevelt are having fair to good luck catching 15- to 18-inch rainbows. Most of the fishing has been on both sides of the swimming area. Power Bait or marshmallow/worm “sandwiches” have been productive, though they are not always equally good.

Numerous Region 2 lakes offer year-round trout fishing opportunities, including Roses (planted with nearly 22,000 rainbow trout in the late fall). Lake Chelan continues to produce kokanee, trout and a few landlocked chinook salmon throughout the winter months. Patterson, Bonaparte, Sidley and Molson lakes in Okanogan County should produce some action for rainbow trout. Just south of Potholes Reservoir, Corral and Blythe lakes offer great trout fishing. Corral is also good for bass and crappie. To the southeast, Janet and the Sage lakes offer trout fishing opportunities year-round.

A few kokanee are being caught on Lake Roosevelt. That fishery usually gets much better when the water is dropping, but it is barely moving.

When it drops, the daphnia that the kokanee feed on are drawn down into the lower end of the reservoir.

“Fourth of July and Hog Canyon are two of the most popular ice fishing destinations in this area for trout,” Central District fish biologist Randy Osborne said. “Fourth of July typically offers rainbow trout up to 22 inches. The fish at Hog Canyon are a bit smaller, ranging in size from 8 to 15 inches, but still provide plenty of action.” Both lakes are ice-free.

Farther north, Hatch Lake is producing beautiful 12- to 14-inch rainbow from open water. Conditions change on a daily basis, however, and open water one day may have skim ice the next.

Spiny ray

Porcupine Bay on Lake Roosevelt has been a consistent walleye and burbot producer this winter. Blade baits and jigs in perch colors have been most effective.

Mixed reports come from perch anglers fishing around the I-90 Bridge in Moses Lake, but the fishery seems to be holding up. Boats are anchoring just above the bridge and bank anglers are casting from the rip rap.

Anglers are still catching walleye on Potholes Reservoir, and bass anglers are still doing surprisingly well.

Freeman Lake in Idaho is said to have enough ice for ice fishing, but most ice fishing destinations in Washington and Idaho have little or no covering. Usually, perch fishing on Curlew Lake is good through the ice by now, but this year the lake is wide open.

At Curlew Lake Fisherman’s Cove Resort, Sandy Beck said this is the first winter in memory they didn’t have snow by Christmas.

Thomas and Lake Gillette lakes in the Little Pend Oreille chain of lakes in northeast Washington have enough ice for ice fishing and have been good for perch and rainbow trout.

Other species

The whitefish fishery on the Little Spokane River (from the SR291 Bridge upstream to Chain Lake) is in full swing. This season runs through February. These are river whitefish, usually about a foot in length. For the bigger lake whitefish, try Banks Lake or Lake Roosevelt. In January, they spawn in groups near the bottom in 40 to 50 feet of water.

Retention fishing for white sturgeon opened Monday on the three pools of the Columbia River from Bonneville Dam upstream to McNary Dam, including adjacent tributaries.

This year, following the Monday opener, The Dalles Pool and Bonneville pools are open only on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Mondays, instead of the normal seven days per week. John Day Pool will open daily for sturgeon retention.

Hunting

Duck and goose hunting continues through Jan. 28. Some smaller water bodies are iced up, but there is still open water in popular hunting areas such as the Pend Oreille River, Lake Roosevelt and the Colville River.

Hunting for forest grouse, pheasant, quail and gray partridge continues into mid-January. Chukar hunting season is open through the end of January. Remember that nontoxic shot is required on all pheasant release sites statewide.

Washington hunters who bought tags for fall black bear, deer, elk or turkey must submit their harvest reports by Jan. 31 for each 2023 license, permit or tag. File your report by calling 877-945-3492, or online, starting with “ID and Birthdate” under Log-In. Whether reporting online or over the phone, follow the prompts until you receive a confirmation number for each report, to make sure it has been accepted.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com.