Fly fishing
Fishing has been good this week on the Spokane River as bigger fish are showing again and insect hatches are a more common. Dry/droppers are working with the brighter chubbies like red or purple during the daytime hours coupled with a caddis pupa. Silver Bow Fly Shop says Nymph rigs with caddis, Spanish bullets, and rubber leg stones are always a good option.
The North Fork Clearwater River and Kelly Creek drainage is fishing very well. Due to the Moose Mountain fire this summer, the Black Canyon of the North Fork Clearwater will remain closed for a large stretch and likely for the rest of the year. Access to the upper North Fork Clearwater, Hidden Creek Camp Ground, Deception Saddle, Kelly Creek and lower North Fork Clearwater is good.
The Clark Fork River near St. Regis has been good. Fish have moved into slower water but are still looking for hoppers and low-profile Chernobyls. Patterns like Purple Haze Parachute behind a low-profile foam bug worked will catch trout. Droppers are also good at times.
Fishing has been good at Rocky Ford.
Trout and kokanee
Clear Lake and Loon Lake remain open through October and have an assortment of trout and spiny ray. Amber and Medical lakes are open through November under selective gear rules and have some nice cutthroat and rainbow trout. Year-round lakes like Diamond, Sacheen, Waitts and Jump-Off Joe are other multispecies lakes with good fishing opportunities.
Steelhead and salmon
Steelhead fishing in the Inland Northwest saw an improvement this week with better reports coming from the Grande Ronde and Snake River. Fish are being caught on the Grande Ronde at the mouth, Shumaker and up beyond Boggan’s. The Clearwater has given up a few B-runs. Fishing has picked up at the confluence despite the fact that counts of steelhead over Lower Granite are over 40% lower than the 10-year average and fall Chinook numbers are more than 20% below the 10-year average Bobber fishing using pink or purple shrimp 15-20 below the float was more effective than trolling for both steelhead and chinook, but trolling lighted lures after dark is picking up.
The Lewiston area steelhead fishing has been better than expected says Reel Time Fishing, with most guide boats putting four to eight fish in the boat each day. There has been a recent change to the steelhead harvest regulations. On the Clearwater River, anglers can keep two steelhead per day – one fish over 28 inches and one fish under 28 inches. On the Snake River, the daily limit is two steelhead of any size. Guide boats will be harvesting steelhead from now until Wednesday on the Clearwater River with a mandatory catch and release period from Thursday to Nov. 9. There will be no mandatory catch and release period on the Snake River.
There are good numbers of coho in the Columbia and Wenatchee rivers, and anglers fishing for coho on the Icicle River are casting twitching jigs made of marabou or rabbit fur, or small steelhead jigs. The most popular stretch is below the hatchery deadline to an area above the bridge on Icicle River Road.
Anglers may now keep coho salmon on the Columbia River from Priest Rapids Dam upstream to Rock Island Dam through Oct. 15. Sockeye must be released. A popular fishing area for coho is on the rip rap at Wanapum Dam. Cast spinners or go with a bobber and jig set up.
Spiny ray
Walleye fishing has stayed steady through the summer on Lake Pend Oreille, with harvested fish in July and August averaging 19 to 20 inches. There are no size or bag limits on walleye in Lake Pend Oreille, and besides some wonderful eating, there is a possible bonus to keeping fish caught – biologists have tagged and released 60 walleye every year carrying $1,000 reward tags. By turning in the heads of fish caught in the Lake Pend Oreille Angler Incentive Program, lucky anglers have a chance of collecting a nice chunk of cash. Keeping walleye numbers low helps protect the lake’s kokanee, which are a key food source for bull trout and trophy rainbow trout.
Other species
The Final Pikeminnow Weekly Catch report for the 2026 Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Fishery which took place along the Columbia and Snake rivers is in, and Washougal was the top station in 2026 with 24,120 fish recorded. The Dalles was in second place with 18,389. Once again, the Sports Reward Fishery achieved its 10-20% harvest goal.
Hunting
With chukars, gray partridge and quail now open in Washington State, bird hunters should take advantage of WDFW-managed lands in the Columbia Basin district. For quail, these include the following:
The Desert Unit of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area between Potholes Reservoir and the town of George.Lower Crab Creek between Corfu and the Columbia River.Gloyd Seeps Unit between Stratford and Moses Lake.The Quincy Lakes Unit near the town of QuincyThe Dry Falls area at the south end of Banks Lake.
For chukars, most hunters are familiar with the Snake River breaks, but the breaks of the Columbia River in District 7 are also good, as are areas adjacent to Banks Lake and Moses Coulee. On the Chelan County side of the Columbia River and on the north shore of Lake Chelan in the rocky exposed grassland habitats below the Grade Creek Road. More chukars are harvested there than any other district in the state.. District 7 also offers some of the best quail and gray partridge hunting in the state, particularly in Douglas County.
Hunters have been sighting in rifles and shotguns in preparation for the October 17 opening of deer, pheasants and waterfowl.
Pheasant season opens on Saturday, Oct. 10 in Montana, but non-residents may not begin hunting until Oct. 20.