Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for Oct. 10

Thu., Oct. 10, 2024

By Alan Liere The Spokesman-Review

Tip of the week

With a record return of coho salmon expected this season, October and November are set to provide fishing opportunities for anglers in the Willamette River and coastal waters.

Overheard: The confluence of the Snake and lower Clearwater rivers is putting out a lot of fish. Trollers are catching a few fall chinook and also some coho salmon. Bobber fishermen are catching mostly big steelhead. The B-runs have arrived and the A-runs are bigger than usual because of a higher percentage of two-ocean fish. Night trolling with lighted lures is consistently good. An angler caught a 39-inch keeper using lighted lures in the confluence last week.

Coho fishermen are optimistic that as many as 10,000 coho are waiting for more rain off the mouth of the Wenatchee River or somewhere between there and the Icicle River. With rain, coho will be pouring into the Wenatchee and up the Icicle.

Heads up: A recent rule change on Park, Blue and Deep Llakes in Grant County allows anglers to fish until Oct. 31. October is an excellent month to fish for brown and tiger trout in those lakes.

Braggin’ rights: Last week, a friend and I fished with Lyle Draper of Reel Time fishing, launching at Steelhead Park on the Clearwater River and back-trolling shallow water near the pulp mill. Draper did an awesome job covering the water and getting everyone in the boat into big steelhead. I caught my largest steelhead – a 32-inch B-run weighing an estimated 17 pounds. My friend, John Kruse, caught one 3 inches larger.

Fly fishing

This is a great time of the year to fish the Spokane River as most techniques and flies will produce strikes. There are reports of mayflies late in the day. Purple haze or Adams Parachutes can entice risers. Swinging a Zirdle Bug with a soft hackle is a good choice.

Good reports come from the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. Terrestrials still pick up fish, but so will steamers and fall patterns such as October caddis and mahoganies. The lower and midstretches fish best. The St. Joe is also fishing well.

Trout and kokanee

There are still many fishing options in the Spokane area. Clear Lake has rainbow and brown trout, bass and other spiny ray through October. Amber Lake rainbow and cutthroat remain open through November. Medical Lake is also open through November and has great opportunities for rainbow and brown trout. Waitts Lake trout fishing has been excellent. Some big browns have been netted there. Blue and Spring lakes will be stocked again this fall in on the Wooten Wildlife Area. Both are scheduled to receive 2,000 catchable-size rainbow trout.

Idaho Fish and Game is stocking nearly 47,500 10- to 12-inch trout at locations across the Clearwater Region in October. For maps of these fishing locations and other angling destinations in Idaho, visit the Idaho Fish Planner.

Salmon and steelhead

Reel Time Fishing guides are putting clients into a lot of chinook at the Hanford Reach. This fishing experience will continue to deliver until mid-October. The lower section of the Hanford Reach (I-182 Bridge upstream to old Hanford townsite powerline) is scheduled to remain open through Dec. 31 to provide the opportunity to target coho. The area from the I-182 Bridge to old Hanford powerline crossing is open for steelhead with an adipose fin clip and a right ventral fin clip.

Steelhead fishing is picking up on the Grande Ronde River. The river can be crowded at times. These are A-run fish.

The Yakima River is open for salmon with a daily limit of six, only two of which can be adults. Barbless hooks are required, and anglers should take note of closure areas 200 feet above and below the Chandler Powerhouse.

Spiny Ray year-round lakes like Spokane County’s Silver, Long and Newman have good bass and panfish fishing. Farther north, year-round lakes such as Curlew (Ferry County), the Little Pend Oreille Chain of lakes (Stevens County), and Diamond (Pend Oreille County) provide good bass, yellow perch and trout fishing. Banks Lake has good fall fishing for rainbow trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye and lake whitefish. Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir in the Columbia Basin, Roses Lake in Chelan County, and Leader, Patterson and Palmer lakes in Okanogan County should be decent for yellow perch, crappie, bluegill, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass.

Other species

The white sturgeon fishery in Lake Roosevelt runs through Nov. 30. Sturgeon must be between 53 and 63 inches to be kept. One can be harvested per day, with an annual limit of two. A friend who fishes the Northport area extensively throughout the year said boat traffic is heavy at the China Bend launch, and parking a boat trailer can be difficult. He has caught and released many oversized and undersized sturgeon while fishing for walleye this year, but said he has caught no legal sturgeon .

Hunting

The general Washington season for modern firearm hunting for white-tailed and mule deer begins Saturday. In northeast Washington, the best white-tailed deer hunting is in District 1 in Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties. Mule deer hunting is usually best in GMUs 101 and 121.

In Spokane, Lincoln and Whitman counties, there is almost equal hunting opportunity for white-tailed and mule deer, although much of it is on private property. The best white-tailed hunting is usually in GMUs 124 and 127, both of which have new rules in effect to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease. The best mule deer hunting is in GMUs 136, 139 and 142.

WDFW’s Region 1 southeast district, which covers Asotin, Garfield, Columbia and Walla Walla counties, is best known for mule deer. GMUs with the highest success rates – 145, 149, 178 and 181 – also have the most private land so access can be limited. Again, getting permission to hunt is the place to start. GMUs 166 and 175 have the most public land, but also the lowest success rates, in part due to high hunter numbers.

The general season for Washington pheasant hunting starts Oct. 19 in Eastern Washington, with most of the action in Whitman County and south of the Snake River. In addition to wild birds, pheasant hunting opportunities are enhanced with releases of farm-raised roosters at sites across the region. Details can be found on the Eastern Washington Pheasant Enhancement Program web page. Pheasant season opens Saturday in North Idaho and Oct. 19 in southern and eastern Idaho.

Washington duck and goose hunting opens statewide Saturday.

Mallards and Canada geese are most often harvested in the early season, but wood ducks that nest in the Pend Oreille, Colville and Kettle River valleys can be good for early season hunting.

Contact Alan Liere at [email protected].