Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for March 20, 2025

Thu., March 20, 2025

By Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

Tip of the week: Bass anglers like to say that bass feed when bass are in the mood. While this colloquialism is generally accurate, it is not specific enough to assure fishing success. Essentially, bass feed more heavily during times of low atmospheric pressure, like on the leading edge of a cold front, and also when water temperatures are between 60 and 80 degrees. Find these two conditions and you will find fish. Below 60 degrees you need to slow your presentation way down.

Heads up: For the foreseeable future, the resort on Downs Lake will be closed because the lease has not been filled and there is no one to run the facility.

You can buy your 2025-26 Washington hunting and angling license products today by visiting myWDFW.org or going to a license dealer near you. New this year: A 2.9% fee will apply to credit and debit card purchases made through the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife over the phone or when ordering online through the licensing system. Customers can avoid this fee by buying licensing products from WDFW in person or by purchasing through a license dealer that does not charge a credit card processing fee, but license vendors may charge their own credit card or other processing fees.

The Spokane Bighorn Outdoor Adventure Show runs Thursday through Sunday at the Spokane Fairgrounds.

Overheard: The 2025 Lake Pend Oreille State of the Lake open house will be held on March 27 at 6 p.m. at the University of Idaho Sandpoint Organic Agriculture Center (10881 N. Boyer Road). Anyone interested in the status of the diverse fish populations in Lake Pend Oreille is encouraged to participate in this year’s open house. The event is not a meeting. There will be no formal presentation, but fishery staff will be present to answer questions and mingle with those in attendance.

Chalking up this winter season as “mild” is no excuse to hit the hills early looking for deer and elk sheds. Deer and elk still rely on fat reserves to get through winter. Nutrient-dense spring vegetation is still weeks away, and bumping deer and elk off their winter ranges while looking for sheds can have potentially lethal effects. A reminder that in order to hunt sheds in Idaho, out-of-state shed hunters must have an Idaho big game license.

Fly fishing

The Spokane River between the Idaho state line and Nine Mile Dam is closed until the Saturday before Memorial Day.

The lower North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River is getting some good reports. Fishing below Prichard is generally the best bet this time of year. Avoid the smaller tributaries for now as the water is frigid and doesn’t offer much for bug and fish activity until it warms up. Stick to the mainstem for the best fishing. A stonefly/worm combo under a bobber is hard to beat this time of year. Dredging a streamer through deep pools can also be effective.

Silver Bow Fly Shop said the St. Joe River is a nymphing or streamer game. Find slower/deeper runs or pools and get your bugs down. Small perdigons, Spanish Bullets, Hot Bead nymphs, stones or San Juan types all work. There are ice ledges and snow and ice at the boat launches.

Amber, Medical and Coffeepot lakes are entirely ice free, but the boat launch access gate at Medical was still locked as of March 10. You could slide a raft or other small inflatable boat in at the north end access. Fishing has been slow at Medical, but the few that have been caught were quality fish. Amber seems to be hit or miss. Coffeepot will be a solid option this spring. It boasts some large rainbow.

Trout and kokanee

The Burke and Quincy lakes trout derby begins Friday at 6 a.m. and both lakes are ice free. Quincy Lake has good shore access on the lake except for the large flat about midway up the south shore. Burke Lake has good shore access along the north and south shores. Both lakes have been “sweetened” with recent trout plants.

Hayden Lake trollers have been taking some nice kokanee. Many of these are more than a foot in length.

The Lake Roosevelt water level is hovering around 1,275 feet above sea level. Major launches are still usable, and a few of the minor ones are as well. So far, there has been no consistent bite for trout, either from bank or boat.

Steelhead and salmon

A friend fished the South Fork of the Clearwater River and the Main Salmon last weekend. He said the South Fork Clearwater is hot if you can stand the shoulder-to-shoulder “combat fishing.” He fished four hours there Tuesday morning and hooked 12 huge B-run steelhead and landed five – all wild and all released. He also said the Salmon River is high and murky and anglers are having better luck on the Little Salmon.

Lake Coeur d’Alene chinook anglers are catching small fish in the top 35 feet of water using helmeted herring or plugs.

Spiny ray

Some of the North Idaho lakes still had good ice early in the week. Anglers were catching a few spiny ray from Gamble, Shepard and Jewel.

Perch fishermen with boats on Moses Lake are concentrating their efforts in the vicinity of the I-90 Bridge. You may have to move around a bit to locate the schools, but the fish are good-sized, with some more than a foot in length.

Evergreen Reservoir in the Quincy Wildlife Area is a spiny ray lake. The primary targets of anglers are the largemouth and smallmouth bass and walleye. There is also a good population of tiger muskie. Evergreen is drawn down in the winter, and the water is well below the boat ramp at this time.

Reel Time Fishing reports good walleye fishing on the Snake River out of Lyon’s Ferry, and the Columbia River near Umatilla, Oregon, and Tri-Cities. The Columbia River offers daytime and nighttime fishing opportunities. Late winter fishing provides opportunities to catch some of the largest Walleye of the season, as well as great eating-size fish.

Lake Roosevelt and Snake River smallmouth are still a few weeks away, as they need warmer water to begin actively feeding again. A few crappie are beginning to show at Hauser and Fernan lakes. While the crappie bite at Eloika Lake can get going in March, there haven’t been any reports so far.

Other species

Lake Coeur d’Alene is good for northern pike. The Chain Lakes are also producing. Fish the shallow bays with dead smelt or herring. Coeur d’Alene, Wolf Lodge, Blue Creek and Carlin bays have seen some nice fish caught. Harrison Slough is also good.

Hunting

The spring turkey season is right around the corner. The Washington youth season runs April 1-7 and the general season is April 15 through May 31.

“Turkey harvest in Washington continues to be above average with high success rates,” said Sarah Garrison, WDFW small game specialist. “After a fairly normal winter, we can expect another productive spring season in 2025.” In Idaho, the youth season begins April 8 and the general spring season April 15. Conditions there are also right for a productive hunting season.

WDFW is again hosting a spring mentored youth turkey hunt for first-time hunters 12 and up. To register, go to www.register-ed.com/events/view/222926. Registration opens Sunday and spots go fast.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com.