Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Nov. 21

Thu., Nov. 21, 2024

By Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

Smoked fish dip is always a hit during the holidays. I make mine by first crumbling a cup of smoked trout, salmon or steelhead. Mix this with two blocks of soft cream cheese. Next, add a half a cup or so of sliced pimento-stuffed green olives, a half teaspoon of garlic powder, a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce and a half teaspoon of lemon juice. Mix well by squishing all ingredients together by hand. Roll individual portions in crushed walnuts if so desired and put in glass or plastic containers with a lid. It stores well in the refrigerator.

Heads up: Winter-only lakes open the Friday after ThanksgivingNov. 29. These lakes include Hog Canyon Lake northeast of Sprague in Spokane County, Fourth of July Lake on the Lincoln-Adams county line just south of the town of Sprague, and Williams lakes in Stevens County. Williams was treated with rotenone last fall to remove invasive fish species that were competing with native trout. It did not open for the 2023 winter season but was stocked this past spring and as recently as October for this season.

Overheard: The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has approved a program that will give youths in foster care and one foster parent within each household free fishing licenses in 2025. The program is a cooperative effort between Fish and Game, Health and Welfare, Idaho Sportsmen and Access & Opportunity, a hunting and fishing advocacy group that is paying for the balance of discounted fishing licenses.

Approximately 250 steelhead will be released into the Boise River on Friday. Idaho Fish and Game fish stocking trucks will be releasing fish at Glenwood Bridge, Americana Bridge, below the Broadway Avenue Bridge behind Boise State University, West Parkcenter Bridge and Barber Park. The fish are trapped at Hells Canyon Dam on the Snake River and will be released in equal numbers at these five stocking locations.

Fly fishing

Rocky Ford is beginning to fish well. The fish will pod up in this colder weather, so if you find one, there are probably others nearby. Large leech patterns will make finicky fish strike.

Fishing the North Fork Coeur d’Alene River will now be a dredger’s game with streamers on sink-tips or indicator rigs, Silver Bow Fly Shop said. Get your flies down in the deeper pools and keep them down. Hot bead stones or hot bead (or hot spot) nymphs like Spanish bullets and perdigons will work, as will San Juans or Squirmies and midge pupas.

There have been decent steelhead reports for the Grande Ronde River from the upper river near Boggan’s and the mouth. Near Boggan’s and up, it is predominately a nymph game. Fly fishermen are getting steelhead using big black or brown stonefly nymphs off the bottom. Some fish have been swung on tips, but swinging up higher is limited. The mouth of the Grande Ronde and the Snake are much better swing options.

Trout and kokanee

Lake Roosevelt trout have been moving closer to shore, and fishing near the Hunters launch has been good at times. Bank fishermen are also finding fish near the swimming area at Spring Canyon Park and at Brandt’s Landing. Power Bait under a slip sinker remains the most popular bait. So far, orange is the go-to color.

Don’t be afraid to move around on Lake Chelan to find the right spot for kokanee. Water near the Yacht Club or the Blue Roofs is a good place to start, but Rocky Point on the other side of the lake can be better at times. Moving can also change the average size of fish caught. Chelan has some honest 14 inch kokanee, but there are also schools of much smaller fish.

Elton Pond North near Selah will be stocked with 2,000 half-pound rainbow trout for fishing in time for the Black Friday opener the day after Thanksgiving.

Steelhead and salmon

The catch-and-release season for steelhead ended Nov. 10 on the Clearwater River, so anglers can now keep some of those big B-run hatchery fish in this year’s run. Side drifting shrimp, roe or beads has been productive.

Fishing has slowed in the main Salmon as steelhead are entering their winter pattern of holing up in the deep, slow stretches of the river. The best way to catch them when they are in this mode is to anchor on the edges of these runs and drift shrimp or roe on the bottom.

The Grande Ronde will continue to kick out steelhead and the occasional fall chinook until icing up in a few weeks. Back trolling plugs is the most common method used by guides this time of year.

Spiny ray

A friend fished Long Lake this week, catching six walleye, a big bass and numerous perch. There have not been any trout reported for quite a while, but with the weeds dying back, trolling for these becomes a much better option.

Walleye fishing has been good in Porcupine Bay on Lake Roosevelt and at Banks Lake. Spinners and nightcrawlers are taking most of the fish at both places, but blade baits are also working. Rufus Woods walleye fishing has been fair.

Other species

The popular white sturgeon fishery runs through Nov. 30 on Lake Roosevelt from Grand Coulee Dam to the China Bend Boat Ramp (including the Spokane River from the Highway 25 Bridge upstream to 400 feet below Little Falls Dam, the Colville River upstream to Meyers Falls Dam and the Kettle River upstream to Barstow Bridge.)

There will be more clam digs on low tides on Washington beaches beginning Nov. 29 and running through Dec. 5. These are as follows:

Nov. 29, 5:20 p.m.; -0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Nov. 30, 5:54 p.m.; -0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Dec. 1, 6:30 p.m.; -0.6 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Dec. 2, 7:06 p.m.; -0.7 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Dec. 3, 7:46 p.m.; -0.6 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Dec. 4, 8:28 p.m.; -0.5 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Dec. 5, 9:13 p.m.; -0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis

Hunting

Duck hunters are still waiting for northern mallards, but goose hunters are finding some good hunts in harvested grain fields from Spokane to the Tri-Cities and on the Pend Oreille River.

Snow geese are beginning to show around Potholes Reservoir. On a long, winding scouting trip through the scablands south of Spokane, I was disappointed but not surprised this week to find few ponds with enough water to float a decoy.

I’m hoping for snow and then a late-December chinook wind to fill the ponds with water. Goose hunting for big Canadas can be spectacular during this time.

With deer season essentially over, I expect to see more pheasant hunters afield, especially if it quits raining.

Between storms, the season has produced for hunters with good dogs working heavy cover. On my Tuesday drive, I ran into multibird flocks in several locations in the Palouse – near Rock Lake, Lamont, Rosalia and St. John.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com