Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing Nov. 14, 2024

Fly fishing

The Spokane River will be one of your better options from now on during the fall and winter as the water temperatures will be warmer than other rivers like the North Fork Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe. Randy Dingman, guide for Silver Bow Fly Shop, said a trip this week provided good streamer fishing, and good blue-winged olive action is also reported during midday. Nymphing is, and will always be, good.

The lower North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River is still a fishing option, especially at midday. Try streamer fishing the deeper pools.

The Grande Ronde River has been good most days for steelhead fishermen. On the middle (Shumaker) and upper (Boggan’s and upriver) stretches it is predominately indicator tactics due to colder water, but if you are looking to swing a fish, head to the Snake or mouth of the Grande Ronde.

The many springs on the Bitterroot River in Montana keep the water a little warmer than other rivers and good fishing is still available. Fly fishing, though erratic, persists on the Clark Fork. Throw nymphs on the tail ends of riffles on warm afternoons.

Trout and kokanee

Rainbow trout fishing has definitely picked up on Lake Roosevelt with the Keller Ferry area getting some good reviews lately. Good reports also come from Keller, Spring Canyon and Fort Spokane where shore fishermen are beginning to connect. These trout are of exceptional quality, averaging 16 inches with lots of vigor and bright red flesh. From shore, cast a hook baited with either Power Bait or a worm and marshmallow combo. If trolling plugs or flies, stay in the top 20 feet of water.

Such lakes as Amber, Lenice, Nunnally, Lenore, Medical and Dry Falls remain open through the end of November. The desert lakes are fishing well now, but it won’t last much longer as dropping water temperatures slow the feeding cycles.

Brown trout are biting well on the north end of Rock Lake, but be careful making the run down-lake. Rock Lake has pinnacles of rock in unlikely places that can take your lower unit.

Breaking down on any lake in winter is not good, but the winds on Rock make it particularly treacherous for a disabled boat.

Steelhead and salmon

Steelheading has been mostly good on the Grande Ronde, Snake and Clearwater rivers. There are plenty of fish in the systems.

Coho fishing on the Icicle River is just getting started as fish have moved into the river with the rains. Fishing the stretch below the hatchery has been decent at times.

The Pateros area of the Columbia River is a good option for steelhead. Anglers casting shrimp under a bobber from shore have taken some nice fish recently.

Spiny ray

Perch anglers are waiting for an ice cover on Curlew Lake, but if you have got a boat, you don’t have to wait. As the weather gets colder, perch just go deeper and continue to feed voraciously. This is still a good time to catch a mess of perch at lakes like Long, Eloika and Waitts in Washington and Hauser in Idaho.

Drag spinners and crankbait for suspended walleye on Banks Lake. On Lake Roosevelt and Rufus Woods, jigs are taking the most fish.

Other species

From December through January, fishing for whitefish on Banks Lake can provide lights-out action. Common winter locations are the northernmost points of the lake across from North Dam Park and by the dike at the Coulee City Marina. From a boat try off the red buoys or anywhere along the riprap. A popular bait is the common store-bought salad shrimp. Whitefish have small mouths, so sometimes just a piece of shrimp is enough. Smoked whitefish can be as tasty as a smoked trout or salmon. Lake Roosevelt anglers are finding some large whitefish in the deeper holes between Buoy one and three on the Spokane Arm of the reservoir. Burbot are also beginning to appear in angler catches.

Hunting

The late Washington white-tailed buck season ends after Tuesday. With the wet woods and loss of foliage, hunters are seeing more deer than last year. Two friends scored on cookie-cutter four-points this week.

The rainy weather is keeping pheasant hunters at home, but the few who venture out say there are still lots of birds. Don’t look for them in tall, wet vegetation, though. They are more likely to be in trees and other woody cover.

The duck migration from the north has been sporadic. Although some hunters report new birds, most are still finding just a little action on local birds. Canada geese are providing good hunts in harvested fields and alfalfa throughout the Columbia Basin.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com.