Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Jan. 30, 2025

Ice fishing
Finally, there’s ice.
Ice fishing in Eastern Washington morphed from a wishful hope to clear, hard, cold reality this week as area lakes finally formed the safe ice fishermen have been waiting for.
A friend and I attempted to fish Eloika Lake on Sunday, but the ice was so slick my friend couldn’t stand up even with chain-link snow cleats on his boots.
Although I was doing better with my spiked cleats, we decided to try somewhere else and ended up at Diamond Lake, where the ice was covered with large frost crystals that gave us some traction.
We joined a group of anglers 100 yards off shore at the public access and drilled two holes through 7 inches of ice, and in 1½ hours had pulled two limits of 12- to 13-inch rainbow trout from 47 feet of water.
Other anglers were also doing well, and some of their catches included brown trout up to 16 inches. There were few perch in their catches. My friend and I had been using Swedish Pimples tipped with maggots, but Power Bait and worms were also working for other anglers.
Sacheen Lake has a thin snow covering and walking is much easier in the big bay at the public access. After that, however, there is no snow farther out on the lake, and though the ice is a solid 6 inches or better, few anglers have ventured out. Perch and a few trout are being caught at Sacheen, but the bite has been light and the perch are small. A friend who fished there Saturday said he and his son caught 25 perch in five hours, but the largest four were 7 inches long and the rest were only 5 or 6 inches. Waitts Lake perch have been elusive, but anglers are finding some big browns and rainbow just out from the public access. Power Bait is popular, but worms or maggots can be better,
Other lowland Eastern Washington lakes with good ice and fair to good fishing are Bear, Jumpoff Joe, Davis, Hog Canyon (yellow corn is a popular bait there), Fourth of July, Williams and Hatch. A couple of ice fishermen on Davis Lake showed photos of burbot they caught at Davis which were considerably larger than those anglers have been catching at Lake Roosevelt. Farther north, Thomas, Coffin, Gillette and Bonaparte continue to produce catches of perch and trout. The Coulee City Marina was good for perch last year and may be fishable again by now.
Curlew Lake and its large perch may be fishable soon. Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee, is fishable now through the ice. Palmer, out of Tonasket, and Patterson, out of Winthrop, also have good ice.
In Idaho, too, ice fishing is finally a reality. Almost all lakes, both high and low, have good ice, and anglers are taking advantage. Some of the more popular lakes – Fernan, Spirit, Hayden, Hauser, Cocolalla, Avondale, Granite, Kelso and Lower Twin – are attracting ice fishermen who are catching mostly perch.
Fernan anglers are getting some perch, but are probably seeing more trout. Largemouth bass are also available. Cocolalla ice is at least 5 inches thick, and there has been an excellent perch bite in the early evening. Most of the fish are 8 inches or better.
Hayden Lake pike anglers are getting a few small pike, and there are also perch and crappie. Blue Lake, near Priest River, has supported ice anglers for a couple of weeks. They are catching perch, crappie and bass through 5 inches of ice.
The best crappie fishing has been at night. Chatcolet Lake hard water anglers are catching a lot of perch and northern pike. In the Clearwater region of Idaho, Winchester Lake, Spring Valley Reservoir and Elk Creek Reservoir are good ice fishing destination with populations of perch and trout.
Trout and kokanee
The area above the narrows on Lake Chelan is beginning to kick out some mackinaw over 10 pounds, with smaller fish coming from the lower basin. Priest Lake mackinaw fishing has been good, but the fish are smaller.
Steelhead and salmon
With the cold weather, Snake and Clearwater steelheading is cold and slow, and so is steelhead fishing on the upper Columbia River above Wells Dam. The Grande Ronde is probably your best bet.
Idaho Fish and Game will be hosting six public meetings for anglers to provide comments and opinions for spring/summer chinook fisheries. The meetings are slated for February, are free to attend and complimentary pizza and beverages will be provided. Input from anglers is important to help ensure the chinook salmon returns are managed in a manner that is most satisfying to all who participate in these fisheries. The meeting locations and dates are as follows:
- Feb 10: Coeur d’Alene – Idaho Fish and Game Regional Office, 2885 W. Kathleen Avenue.
- Feb. 10: Cascade – Valley County EOC Building, 107 W. Spring Street.
- Feb 11: Riggins – City of Riggins Community Center – second Floor, 121 Lodge St.
- Feb 12: Lewiston – Idaho Fish and Game Regional Office, 3316 16th Street.
- Feb. 12: Nampa – Idaho Fish and Game Regional Office, 15950 N. Gate Boulevard.
- Feb 13: Orofino – Idaho Fish and Game Clearwater Hatchery, 118 Hatchery Roe Drive (located west of Ahsahka Bridge).
Other species
Tentative dates and tides for the next Washington razor clam digs on p.m. tides are as follows:
- Feb. 8, 3:36 p.m.; 0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
- Feb. 9, 4:29 p.m.; -0.3 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
- Feb. 10, 5:15 p.m.; -0.5 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
- Feb. 11, 5:54 p.m.; -0.5 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
- Feb. 12, 6:29 p.m.; -0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
- Feb. 13, 7:01 p.m.; -0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
- Feb. 14, 7:32 p.m.; 0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
“Success can be spotty this time of year, so don’t be afraid to walk or drive to a different area of beach and remember to stomp and pound the sand to make the clams show,” said Bryce Blumenthal, WDFW’s recreational razor clam manager.
Hunting
Washington and Idaho waterfowl hunters hoping to prolong the season should check local game pamphlets for white goose seasons, some of which run into March.
Washington youth, veterans and active military will have a special one-day waterfowl hunting opportunity on Saturday. All regular season rules apply.
Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com