by John Kruse, November 26, 2020

FISHING REPORTS:

Bob Loomis, Sales Director for Mack’s Lure, went out with three friends to Banks Lake recently to try their luck for walleye. Their short afternoon of fishing went very well. Fishing metal Sonic Baitfish lures as blade baits they caught over 35 walleye averaging 20 inches in size. Loomis reports they were fishing ¼ ounce jigs 35 to 52 feet deep. The hot color? Glow white.

Rowland Lake in Klickitat County was planted on November 18th and 19th with some 2500 trout from the Goldendale hatchery. What’s impressive is the size of the fish put in here. The smaller rainbows weigh over a pound and the largest are tipping the scales at nearly nine pounds.

Pete Fischer at MarDon Resort shares the overall mild temperatures of November makes a fishing trip to Potholes Reservoir a worthwhile prospect. The fishing may not be on fire but largemouth bass and walleye fishing is fair and both species can be found at depths of 10 to 28 feet. One place where you can catch both species is the face of the sand dunes at the northwest end of the lake where a series of underwater humps provide structure for these fish.

If you want to go after trout here you have two choices. Boat anglers trolling #7 Berkley Flicker Shad plugs in various patterns are catching rainbows in front of the state park while shore anglers are having luck dunking marshmallows, powerbait and worms about 18 inches off the bottom at Medicare Beach on the east side of the reservoir. Find out more details about what patterns and lures are working best now at the MarDon Resort General Store.

HUNTING REPORTS:

Pheasant hunters, to include yours truly, did not see or hear many pheasant in the Swakane Wildlife Area in Chelan County or the Quincy Wildlife Area in Grant County in the week prior to Thanksgiving. Typically, roosters are planted at release sites throughout Eastern Washington for a final time during this week but birds were few and far between for most hunters. The average hunter I spoke with didn’t flush more than one pheasant per outing despite using dogs. WDFW biologists were unavailable for comment about whether less birds were released or not this November because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

On the waterfowl front Shelby Ross, owner of Ross Outdoor Adventures, says there are lots of ducks in the Columbia Basin and around Potholes Reservoir. Shelby says, “If there is wind the hunting is good. If not, it’s tough.” However, with colder weather coming Shelby expects a fresh push of northern birds and those birds will congregate to areas of open water as smaller ponds freeze up in the days ahead.

As for geese there are lots of them in the basin but they have been difficult to target during the mild fall days as their feeding times and locations have been unpredictable. Colder weather and freezing temperatures will make hunting better as the geese become more predictable as to when they head to the fields to feed.

Meanwhile, in Northeast Washington Daniel at Clark’s All Sports in Colville reports turkey hunting remains good this fall and this should remain a solid prospect as long as the weather holds. As for the deer; hunters are seeing more bucks than last year but over all the numbers harvested appear to be below average.

Finally, Dan McCredy, owner of the McCredy Company Store in Goldendale, says not a lot of turkey were taken during the fall season in Klickitat County. The general deer season this fall was also very slow with not a lot of animals harvested. Part of this could be due to the lower number of deer and turkey hunters seen in the region this season. On other hand, there is high interest and a great deal of participation in the muzzle loader season for elk in Western Washington now with the areas around Trout Lake and Glenwood in particular drawing good numbers of hunters.


John Kruse – www.northwesternoutdoors.com and www.americaoutdoorsradio.com


PHOTO CREDITS:

1. A rainbow trout caught at Putters Pond in Rock Island by Faith Kruse – J. Kruse
2. A valley quail taken at the Chelan Butte Wildlife Area – J. Kruse