Originally published Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 5:30 PM

Trout fishing taking off in Eastern Washington lakes

The first day of spring is still a few weeks away, but the mild weather has boosted angler enthusiasm and catches during this past Monday's trout opener on Eastern Washington lakes.

By Mark Yuasa

Seattle Times staff reporter

Reel Time Northwest

Seattle native and lifelong angler Mark Yuasa blogs on fishing in the Pacific Northwest.

The first day of spring is still a few weeks away, but the mild weather has boosted angler enthusiasm and catches during this past Monday's trout opener on Eastern Washington lakes.

"Trout fishing was very good, and there was quite a bit of (angler) pressure and the fish caught were nice-sized ones," said Mike Chamberlain at Ted's Sports Center in Lynnwood.

Good producers of trout were Martha, Dusty, Quincy, Burke and Upper Caliche, and in the Quincy Wildlife Area places like Upper and Lower Spring, Cliff, Cascade, Dot, George, Cup and Crystal are go-to trout spots.

In Grant County try Lenice, Nunnally, Merry and Lenore lakes. In Columbia County head to Beaver, Deer, Big Four, Blue, Rainbow, Spring and Watson.

Lake Chelan remains good for lake trout. Roses Lake north of Manson is free of ice, and bank anglers tossing Power Bait or other floating baits were doing well.

Locally, Bryan Nelson at Three Rivers Marine and Tackle in Woodinville says trout and bass fishing is good in Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish.

Other lakes offering up some fairly decent trout fly-fishing are Lone Lake on Whidbey Island and Pass Lake at Deception Pass. Trout are biting at Blackman's, Goodwin and Flowing lakes in Snohomish County. Klineline Pond was good for planted trout.

The height of the Lower Columbia River spring chinook fishery is usually near the end of this month, but turnout remains strong and catches are typically fairly good one day and lousy the next.

"It has been a little slow the last couple of days, but we're seeing some spring chinook caught, plus the Willamette has some turbidity," said Joe Hymer, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. "We've had five spring chinook go over Bonneville Dam. The catch is made up of mainly lower-river stocks, and we haven't seen many upriver fish yet."

Boat fishing pressure in the lower river is twice as large as last year, and the bank angler count was similar to last year. Just over 300 boats and 250 bank anglers were counted during an aerial survey last Saturday.

Some reports indicated spring chinook were caught in the Cowlitz, Kalama and Lewis rivers.

Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com


Fishing report
Location	Comment
Marine salmon	The Strait of Juan de Fuca is the place to be, and Donnalynn Olson at Olson's Resort in Sekiu reports anglers were getting a good number of chinook, 5 to 12 pounds, off the Caves and just west of there in 113 feet of water. A Sunday check showed eight boats with 23 anglers at Olson's caught 17 chinook. Fishing also is fairly good off Port Angeles at the Humps and Winter Hole. Locally, it remains spotty at Hat Island, Possession Bar, Elger Bay, Camano Head, Point No Point, Mats Mats Bay and Midchannel Bank off Port Townsend. Slow in the San Juan Islands. The Hood Canal area was fair off Misery Point, Oak Head and Pleasant Harbor. The Geoduck Restaurant Salmon Derby is this weekend. Details: www.NorthwestSalmonDerbySeries.com. South-central Sound was slow with just a few fish caught in the Tacoma area.
Biting: Yes/no Rating:
Westside rivers	The northern Olympic coast remains the top pick for winter steelhead. "Fishing is pretty good in the Sol Duc, as well as the Bogachiel, Calawah and Hoh," said Bob Gooding, owner of Olympic Sporting Goods in Forks. Fair for steelhead in the Cowlitz and Kalama rivers. Good in the Upper Columbia for steelhead between Wells Dam and Pateros.
Biting: Yes Rating:
Statewide smelt	Good smelt jigging at the Oak Harbor Marina, but slow at Cornet Bay Pier on Whidbey Island and at the La Conner Marina for smelt. Not much happening for smelt on the Everett waterfront. The Cowlitz River is now closed for smelt, but the Lower Columbia mainstem is open through March 31.
Biting: Yes Rating: