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Trout offer chance to taste spring
Trout are busting out all over.
From the Blue Mountain's Tucannon Lakes to the Basin's seep lakes, hungry trout are providing the perfect excuse to get outside and soak up some of our springlike weather - and perhaps bring home dinner.
While fish are biting at many locales, not every water that opened to fishing March 1, or is open year-round, is red-hot.
Many waters in the region still have some lingering ice despite the sun and shirtsleeve temperatures.
Jim Kirkpatrick, owner of the Last Resort on the Tucannon River east of Dayton, said most of the Tucannon Lakes are offering limits of rainbow trout for patient anglers.
"Rainbow Lake still has some ice on a portion of it, but the lake was heavily stocked and should be excellent when it thaws, which won't be long," he said.
Spring, Blue and Watson are ice-free and the fishing is fair, Kirkpatrick said.
"It's still early in the season and the lakes will be getting restocked every couple of weeks, so the fishing's only going to get better," he added.
Last week, I fished Spring, Blue and Rainbow and found the fishing a bit slugglish compared with previous openers. Nevertheless, I did manage to string up a few pan-sized trout at Rainbow.
Big Four Lake is still sheathed in ice and may remain that way for a few more days. When the ice does come off it will be stocked once with 2,500 catchable rainbows (8 to 12 inches) and 200 jumbo trout, averaging 1 to 2 pounds each.
Closer to home, many anglers have been frustrated by the tiny trout they've been reeling in at Quarry Pond and Dalton Lake (Big Flat).
Butch Hardy, manager of the Lyons Ferry Hatchery in Starbuck - where all the trout that area anglers catch are reared - explained the fish were excess steelhead smolt that needed a home.
"We had 50,000 5- to 7-inch steelhead that we needed to do something with, so we decided to plant 25,000 fish in Quarry and Dalton to avoid having to destroy them," he said.
Also, because the lakes are open year-round, Hardy said there's the likelihood the fish will survive and provide additional opportunity in the fall and next year. And, if you don't believe trout survive the heavy fishing pressure these lakes receive, think back to the photo the Herald ran a couple of weeks ago of the Tri-City youngster with his 27-inch, 5 1/2 pound rainbow from Quarry.
The good news is that Quarry and Dalton were restocked this week with 5,000 catchable trout in the more stringer-worthy 9- to 11-inch category.
Moreover, Quarry and Dalton will get their allotment of 300 jumbo trout near the end of the month, with Quarry slated to receive another 400 of the state's trophy triploid trout, averaging 1 to 3 pounds, in mid-April.
In the Basin, anglers report fair fishing at many of the nearly 40-plus lakes which opened March 1.
Mike Meseberg at Mar Don Resort on Potholes Reservoir said Corrall, Cattail, Pillar and Shoveler lakes are good bets.
In fact, an 8-pound rainbow was hauled out of Corral after the opener.
The Hamptons - Upper and Lower - while not offering limits, did give up some dandy carryovers ranging in size from 16 to 22 inches.
Elsewhere, the Caliche Lakes (near George along Interstate 90) gave up 14-inch yearlings and 17- to 20-inch carryovers, mostly in the springs area of Upper Caliche.
Quincy and Burke lakes were almost completely ice covered in early March. However, with the thaw under way, anglers can look forward to some excellent fishing for rainbow there that should average 12 inches for yearlings and 15 to 17 for carryovers.
Without a doubt, one of the trout fishing hot spots is Lenice and Nunnally lakes near Beverly.
Over the opener, anglers at Lenice - where selective gear rules (artificial flies and lures with a barbless single hook; bait is prohibited) and a one-trout catch limit are in place - averaged more than five fish per rod with a catch rate of almost two fish an hour. At nearby Nunnally, which has the same rules, anglers caught about two fish a rod.
Moreover, both lakes are yielding rainbows mostly 14 to 17 inches, with many stretching from 18 to 25 inches.
Lenice and Nunnally were heavily stocked last year after being rehabilitated.
In late spring, Lenice received more than 2,000 rainbows, ranging in size from 1 1/2 to 5 1/2 pounds, while Nunnally got more than 1,000 rainbows averaging 2 1/2 pounds each. Both lakes also received several thousand catchables - both browns and rainbows.
Joe Foster, a Fish and Wildlife Department biologist in Ephrata, said this is bonus year for anglers at these two lakes since most waters are not usually restocked with large, catchable trout so quickly after being treated.
"Usually there is a 'dead' year while the fingerling trout we plant grow large enough to enter the fishery," he said.
There are likely more large trout in Lenice and Nunnally now than there have been in several years, Foster added.
Need we say more.
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