Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Oct. 17, 2024

Thu., Oct. 17, 2024

By Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

You can make an excellent tool for unraveling backlashes on a reel by using pliers to straighten a No. 2 hook and flattening the barb, then filing the point slightly. Push the eye of the hook deep into a wine cork and glue it in place. Use this cork-handled tool to pick loops of line out of the tangle until it clears.

Heads up: If you fish Lake Roosevelt, be aware that biologists from the Spokane Tribe, the Colville Tribes, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will conduct Fall Walleye Index Netting (FWIN) in late October. FWIN sampling has been conducted in Washington since 2002 to monitor Wwalleye populations in Lake Roosevelt, Potholes Reservoir, Moses Lake, Banks Lake, Scooteney Reservoir, and Billy Clapp Lake. Walleye are not removed during this annual index.

The Methow River reopened Wednesday for a steelhead season. Reference the WDFW website for exact information.

The Washington State 2024 Trout Derby is open at more than 100 stocked lakes and runs through Oct. 31. More than 80 participating businesses are offering hundreds of donated prizes valued at more than $42,000, and many of these remain unclaimed.

Overheard: WDFW collected 181 deer samples on the Oct. 12 Saturday’s deer opener at 10 check stations in Region 1. Species collected included 95 mule deer, 78 white-tailed deer, 5 five elk and 3 three moose. Other species harvested and checked included turkeys and cougars. Chronic wasting disease has not been detected in any of the samples tested so far.

Braggin’ rights: Greg Cozza said if you only catch one fish, make it count. He did so earlier this month, taking a 31-inch rainbow trout out of Lake Roosevelt near Northport while fishing for sturgeon with frozen herring.

Fly fishing

There have been good Spokane River fishing reports from Silver Bow Fly Shop guides. A Chubby or October caddis with a dropper is a good way to start. On the North Fork Coeur d’Alene, terrestrials will still pick up fish, but so will fall patterns like October caddis, mahoganies and blue-winged olives.

There is no need to start early on the St. Joe River, as the best fishing has been closer to noon and on through the evening. Terrestrials like hoppers, ants and beetles will continue to work well until the cold weather sets in.

Trout and kokanee

A friend on an abbreviated fishing trip to Deer Lake caught several rainbow trout there this week in addition to smallmouth bass. He said one of the trout was 13 inches long. Deer closes after Nov. 30 and reopens March 1.

Lake Roosevelt rainbow are becoming easier to catch. Now that the water has begun to cool, they are moving up in the water column and are being hooked 10 to 20 feet below the surface. Some good reports come from Swawilla Basin and the mouth of the Sanpoil.

In northeast Washington, many lakes remain open until Oct. 31, and fall is an excellent time to fish for trout and panfish. Cedar and Rocky lakes, both in Stevens County, are good bets for rainbow trout, while Renner in Ferry County offers brown trout and brook trout.

Brown trout begin to congregate for the spawn in October. Give Rock, Clear, Waitts and Sullivan lakes some attention if you’re looking for big browns. On Rock Lake, the best fishing has been with trolled Wedding Rings tipped with a piece of nightcrawler.

It is coming on the best time to catch big Pend Oreille Kamloops trout as they move up in the water column. Also showing are a few mackinaw.

Coeur d’Alene kokanee are still biting. They are starting to turn, but the flesh is still OK. Even later in the month, they will be good for smoking.

Big Lake Bonaparte tiger trout are moving into shallower water. Flies and small jerk baits and spinners will bring vicious strikes.

Salmon and steelhead

Idaho is experiencing one of the largest run of steelhead in 15 years and the Clearwater River is turning out some big steelhead – some more than 20 pounds and most weighing in the mid to high teens. Drano Lake is also good for chinook. A friend who fished there last weekend said the bite was almost too fast and many of the fished weighed more than 20 pounds.

Spiny ray

Several hike-in lakes just west of Potholes are still a good choice for anglers in search of largemouth bass that don’t get a lot of pressure. Some of these are Soda, Long, Upper and Lower Goose, Hutchinson and Shiner.

Moses Lake anglers are experiencing some good perch fishing. The I-90 Bridge and the bottom end of Goat Island have been mentioned in recent reports. The best fishing is in 12 to 15 feet of water.

Good numbers of perch, crappie and bluegill are also being taken at Potholes Reservoir in shallow water along the northwest side of the Crab Creek Channel, but most of the larger crappie (11-16 inches) have been coming off structure that is down deeper than 15 feet. Largemouth bass fishing has been on fire, with several anglers reporting 100-fish days, most of which are 1 to 2 pounds.

Lake Spokane is loaded with perch in many age classes. Anglers trolling large plugs for walleye are lip-hooking a lot of perch but snagging just as many. Walleye catching also remains good. They are looking particularly well fed. You won’t find any cigar-shaped fish in Lake Spokane this fall.

Other species

Razor clam digs have begun on some Washington beaches.

Upcoming nighttime digs on minus tides will be held Friday and Saturday at Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks. Sunday and Monday will see diggings at Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Copalis.

Hunting

WDFW wants to remind people that they can’t take whole deer, elk or moose carcasses from 100 series GMUs to other parts of the state. They can only legally export meat that has been deboned. Skulls and antlers (with velvet removed), antlers attached to the skull plate, or upper canine teeth (bugler, whistlers, ivories) from which all soft tissue has been removed may also be transported, as well as hides or capes without heads attached, and tissue imported for use by a diagnostic or research laboratory. Finished taxidermy mounts may also be transported.

The Eastern Washington modern firearm general season for elk starts in most units Oct. 26. The best opportunities are in the southeast district of the Blue Mountains. GMU 166 has the highest success rate for general season hunters in recent years, but also a higher density of hunters because it is made up mostly of public lands.

Elk hunters on private lands in GMU 130 have the highest success due to its proximity to the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. Elk hunting is only allowed on Turnbull for those who have drawn special permits.

The best elk hunting in northeast Washington is in the Pend Oreille subherd area, which includes GMUs 111, 113 and 117.

Opening-day weather wasn’t conducive to great duck hunting in Eastern Washington, but waterfowl hunters on Potholes Reservoir and elsewhere in Grant County reported mixed bags of ducks, with a lot of greenwing teal. A few hunters were able to connect on whitefront (specklebelly) geese.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com