[dbk]

I am not sure what type of fishing opportunities you are interested in, but I had some good luck fishing for steelhead on the Tucannon river in SE Washington about 2 hours away from Spokane (3 fish landed in two trips this past week). I also fared decently at Amber lake near Cheney. The Spokane river is high, but still fishable. I fished it a couple of times and managed to land some nice sized rainbows. Rocky Ford is also an option, which I fished tuesday of last week with hard earned success, nothing however compared to what some guys here experience when they fish that creek. A number of Eastern Washington Lakes just opened up (Lenice, Lenore, etc.) if you are interested in stillwater fishing. Crab creek is another place within an hour of Spokane that can offer decent fishing. I spoke with a guy last week who did real well there recently fishing San Juan worm patterns. Another place to try, assuming that water levels are not too high and/or water clarity is still good is the Little Spokane river, although this time of year the water can be high and too muddy for good fishing. Hope that helps some. Good luck.

Dave

 

[dbk]

The stretch of the Tucannon I had the most sucess was along 261 which runs through Starbuck. I am not sure where you will be traveling from, but 261 is reached directly off Hwy 12 which takes you to Dayton when coming from Spokane. There are a number of pullouts off 261 where you can park and walk down to the river which runs parallel to 261. If you stop in at Darver Tackle in Starbuck the lady there is very nice and can help you find some of the better spots on the river to fish. To get there, turn left off of 261 when you come to a cafe which is off 261 on the left hand side (sorry I cannot give you the name of that road). Stay on the road for a few blocks until you see a Darver tackle sign which tells you to take a left and the store is 1/2 block up on that road. There are lots of good spots to fish above and below the town of Starbuck. If you go past Starbuck on 261 you will see a road on your left that leads a bridge. You can take that road and park at the bridge and walk down to the river. You can also continue on past a short way and you'll see another pullout on your left where you can park and walk down. There are lots of good spots between those two places to fish if you want to wade the river a bit.

If you stay on Hwy 12 coming from Spokane (instead of turning right on 261 toward Starbuck) you will come to the Tucannon river road. If you take a left on that road you will find access along it in spots, although I did not fish this section very much. At that left there should be a sign pointing to the fish hatchery and conservation camp. It is only a mile or so past the turn off for 261 when coming from Spokane on Hwy 12.

As for patterns, the only ones that worked for me were pink egg patterns, although I tried a variety of patterns (egg sucking leeches, buggers, green butted skunks, etc.) There is lots of good pocket water and one can effectively swing flies if they want in some spots, but I found dead drifting egg patterns on a floating line with some spit shot to be most effective. If I can be of any more help, email me at [email protected]. Good luck.

Dave

 

[dbk]

jdogburke,

When I fished Amber, it was in my pontoon boat using a type VI sinking line at about 20 feet deep. I really had no success in fishing the shallower water areas at Amber. Deep and slow was the method, using a variety of damsel nymphs and woolley buggers. Water temp was very cold,but the ice was off unlike on opening day. I would go back again as it should only improve with some warmer weather.

The Little Spokane is a great place to fish, although access can be tough. I like to float it in my pontoon boat during the summer when the water levels are down and the fishing is better than it usually is in the early spring. Give it a shot sometime, it is a nice fishery.

I am not sure which river you are talking about that runs at Little Falls Dam. Could you clue me in on that one? I am interested to know what and where it is. Thanks.

Dave