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| Mary Souza |
Slush fun tailored for snowshoes
Deep snow has turned into a thick mass of slush on area lakes.
"Avondale, Fernan, all of them are good," said Dan Pierce of Fins & Feathers. "Its just a mess."
Pierce doesn't have snowshoes, but he's seen others use them on Avondale. When he struggles a couple hundred yards or until he gets tired, snowshoers scoot over the top barely sinking with each step.
Pierce's boots aren't quite tall enough to keep out the slushy water that pours in over the top when his knee dips, but he's not complaining.
"They're so insulated my feet don't get cold," he said. "You can be soaking wet and still stay warm."
Because the nights have been dipping below freezing the integrity of the ice remains intact, although keep watch for signs of water on lake edges, said Randy Richards of Tri State Outfitters.
Even now, ice fishermen should look out for inlet streams where a lake's ice first weakens.
Jigs and maggots remain a good way to fish for perch and panfish, while glow hooks tipped with red worms, wax worms and night crawlers have worked well for trout, Richards said.
Pierce uses either maggots or wax worms on white glow jigs.
Up north, Cocolalla, Mirror, Jewel and Kelso lakes have been fishing extremely well, Richards said.
Pierce has done well on Round Lake for trout and perch. He's seen others using Swedish Pimples with success, but he stays with the little white glow jigs and hooks tipped with a crawler put down around 10 to 15 feet.
Fernan, Avondale and Twin lakes are good around here, Richards said. Some good rainbow trout from 10 to 16 inches have been caught on bead chain spinners and glow hooks.
At Avondale, Pierce has done best from 3:30 p.m. on.
"The middle of the day is slow," he said.
And don't forget the Chain lakes.
The slushy snow still helps to reflect the sunlight and it will protect the ice below for awhile.
"The ice is still good, but you've got to earn your fish," Pierce said. "It's still fun though and if you've got snowshoes, wear them."
Northern pike
Pike are hitting good on smelt over at Medicine Lake, Pierce said. Put the bait down on the bottom and then raise it 2 feet.
One fellow came into the shop to buy more steel leaders to replace one that a big pike broke at the crimp on Fernan, he said.
Walleye
Fishermen are starting to catch walleyes on Lake Roosevelt.
Several locals went over a few days ago and they limited out by 10:30 a.m. They launched at the Fort Spokane boat ramp on the Spokane Arm and traveled 7 or 8 miles upstream on Lake Roosevelt.
"They got a lot of nice ones," Pierce said. "The biggest one they caught was 12 pounds."
Finally, the bite is on.
Steelhead
Steelhead fishing has been spotty but the dam and the Pole Yard hole have been a couple of the better spots, Richards said.
His pick for seasonal action is the South Fork of the Clearwater.
"It's usually a little clearer this time of year," he said.
In murkier water use brighter 1/4- to 3/8-ounce jigs in chartreuse, pink and orange.
Six local guys caught 12 steelhead in three days fly fishing down on the Snake last week, said Pat Way of Northwest Outfitters, who was in the group. They all used spey rods and threw black and blue string leeches.
The Snake River was big but clear, he said.
If it gets warmer and rains, as forecast, it will come up a lot more.
Macks and Kams
Ed Dickson of Diamond Charters caught a few decent fish recently on Lake Pend Oreille, Richards said. He's not alone, others are reporting the same thing.
Mackinaw are hitting drop shot minnows, as well as, Brads Super Bait, Lyman lures, and U-20 Flatfish in silver with red spots, Fire Tiger and Blue Pirate colors.
Kamloops are still sub-surface going for bright colored Apexes, broken-back Rapalas and flies in whites, pinks and brighter greens.
Fly fishing
If you've got to toss flies for trout try Rocky Ford over by Moses Lake. It's the fly angler's winter haven, when cabin fever strikes.
For other fly aficionados the Anglers Exploration Group Fly Fishing Film Tour will show a series of entertaining fly fishing films Friday night at the Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. in Spokane. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors 55 and over, and $10 for youths 12 and under.
"It's big fish in wild places," Way said. "It's well worth the money."
Information: (509) 227-7638 or www.flyfishingfilmtour.com (click on "Fly Fishing Film Tour 2008," then "Schedule," and finally "Feb-15/WA Spokane.")
Mike Satren is the Hagadone News Network outdoors editor. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2015, or by e-mail at msatren@cdapress.com. Remember to review appropriate rules and regulations before fishing.
