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.

Fishing report

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:

Anglers eager to target wild trout should consider timing as much as tackle when choosing a destination.
"Most people focus on flies and technique but often overlook the best times to go," said Dwight Landis, who is slated as a featured speaker at the 15th annual Cabin Fever trout fishing show. The March 7 expo is presented by Penn's Woods West Trout Unlimited in conjunction with Family Tyes.

The author of "Trout Streams of Pennsylvania: An Angler's Guide" (Hempstead-Lyndell), Landis is a big fan of mountain freestone streams and the limestone waters of Central Pennsylvania.

"When to go is particularly important for mountain freestoners like Cedar Run and Slate Run," said Landis, of Bellefonte. "People rush up there on opening day, when there are still patches of snow on the ground, and then complain they couldn't land a fish. I tell them, 'Come back in mid to late May when water's a little warmer and the hatches are getting good. Early in the season, focus on limestone streams or freestoners in the southern part of the state, closer to where you live.'"

Even in May, mountain brook trout typically don't begin feeding until late morning, and wild browns feed around noon or 1 p.m., he said. "At a time of year when it's still cold overnight, hatches don't turn on until afternoon."

In summer, insect activity peaks at dusk.
"A lot of people skip that last hour in summer, and that's the hour you should not miss," Landis said. "Another thing, people planning a weekend in the mountains in June, July or August will sometimes cancel if there's rain in the forecast. But that's exactly when you should fish a mountain stream -- when the water is coming down after it rains."
Landis' Cabin Fever talk also will include tips on recognizing good trout-holding water, which, on a mountain stream, usually is better in the mid-to-upper reaches.

"The geology changes and you get waterfalls and ledge pools as you go upstream. The lower reaches often have been impacted by human disturbances, like bridge construction, and tend to have a lot of flat, shallow sections, which are particularly evident in low flow," he said. "I'll see people on Cross Fork Creek changing their flies or technique and not realizing the [lower] water just isn't any good. There's a mile-long section on the Left Branch of Young Woman's. Same thing. You should walk long distances the first time you go to a stream. Fish fast. Cover miles if you're capable. Then in the future you'll know which sections to avoid.'"

While Landis prefers wild streams, stocked favorites include Pine Creek in Pennsylvania's northern tier.
"It has beautiful scenery and some of the heaviest hatches I've ever seen," he said. "The Hendrickson hatch was so heavy I couldn't even fish it. There was this mat of flies coming down the second day of the season."

Landis' book, which covers close to 500 streams, is now out of print and the third edition is fetching big prices on the Internet. The first edition is more affordable. All three editions are available at public libraries. Landis also directs anglers to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Web site (www.fishandboat.com) for a list of wild trout waters, ranked by wild biomass from Class A to Class D.
In addition to Landis, Cabin Fever will feature seminars by 2009 U.S. National Fly Fishing Champion George Daniel on nymphing and fishing underwater dropper flies under a floating dry fly; a casting demonstration by Tom Brtalik of Tom's Fly Fishing Service; and a presentation by Jeff Turner on his adventure fishing 50 waters in 50 states in 50 days.

Family Tyes will hold fly-tying and casting clinics and a kids-only casting contest, and there will be dozens of vendors and fly tiers, rod and bucket raffles with a grand prize trip to Spruce Creek, and a flea market. Proceeds from Cabin Fever support Penn's Woods West's habitat improvement projects on Pine Creek in Allegheny County.

The Steelheader's Ball and the national Fly Fishing Film Tour return next month.

Chagrin River Outfitters in Chagrin Falls features local steelheading stars Jeff Liskay and Jerry Darkes at a free session on spey rods and tube flies Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Noted Pennsylvania and Montana fly-fishing guide Eric Stroup is on the shop's stage March 13 at 11 a.m. with the presentation, "Seven Simple Lessons to Catch More Trout."

Stroup, who owns Pennsylvania's Spruce Creek Fly Co., is a regular here over the next few weeks. Stroup will entertain fly-fishers 7 p.m. Tuesday at a meeting of the Emerald Necklace Chapter of Trout Unlimited at the Cleveland Metroparks Rocky River Nature Center in North Olmsted.

FISHING REPORT
Some of the steelhead trout streams, especially the Rocky River, are opening up and a few trout are being caught. The ice fishing has been fair with lots of water and slush on the ice after rains earlier this week. The Coast Guard is warning western Lake Erie ice anglers that strong winds today could cause large breaks in the lake ice.

Trout streams, lakes The Rocky River has some open water and a few steelhead trout are being caught on spawn bags, jigs and live grubs and a variety of flies. The river was high and muddy early in the week, but is dropping and should be in good shape this weekend. Anglers report a fresh run of trout.

The lower Chagrin River is ice-covered, but there is open water upstream and the water levels are dropping and clearing. Extreme cold over the weekend could bring slushy conditions early, but warmer weather is in the forecast.

Conditions on the Grand River are still very difficult. The hot flies on the Chagrin have been a bright Zonker, Prince nymphs with orange dubbing and small black stone flies. Fly-fishers swinging flies have been casting leech, sculpin and goby patterns.

The Cleveland Metroparks ice fishing for stocked rainbow trout has been slow to fair on Wallace Lake. Suspending small jigs with Power Bait or live grubs under a small float has been the top technique.

Inland lakes, reservoirs The farm pond ice fishing for bluegills, bass and crappies is still good all around the area. Good lakes for ice fishing include LaDue and Spencer, where bluegills and some crappies are being caught, and Mosquito Lake, where the walleye and crappie fishing has been fair to good.

Lake Erie The ice along the Ohio mainland of Lake Erie is somewhat shaky after this week's rains and higher temperatures, but a few walleye are still being caught off Metzger's Marsh. Beware of the strong winds in the forecast, which can cause shifting ice. There is still solid ice along the west side of South Bass Island, with walleye biting best very early and very late in the day.

The East Harbor bluegill bite is still on. Fishermen are catching some big bluegills, but releasing lots of small bluegills.
-- D'Arcy Egan

The North Coast Fly Fishers fly-tying marathon and open house is from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Wednesday at the Lake Metroparks Penitentiary Glen in Kirtland. The Firelands Fly Fishers have a free fly-tying session at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Gander Mountain in Sheffield, and a program featuring noted local bamboo fly-rod maker Jeff Wagner at 6:30 p.m. on March 10 at the French Creek Nature Center in Sheffield.

The new Orvis store in Woodmere has a lineup of free fishing seminars, including a dry fly presentation by John Miller from 6 to 8 p.m. March 11. Orvis presents the Western Trout

Experience at noon March 13, and a seminar on choosing the right fly rod at noon March 20.
To benefit area steelhead streams, the Lake Metroparks hosts the Steelheader's Ball on March 20 at Pine Ridge Country Club in Wickliffe.

The Fly Fishing Film Tour shows off its 2010 fly-fishing adventure, "Rivers of Many Fish," from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. March 30 at the Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland Heights. The film features Kype Fishing publisher George Douglas. Stroup is at the Cedar Lee Theatre to talk fly-fishing and hold a book signing for his latest effort, "Common Sense Fly Fishing."

The big social events of the season for fly-fishers are the dinners and fly-fishing talks held by the Trout Club of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

The club's annual banquet at the museum is April 17, with the "Land a Fishing Adventure" event featuring a wealth of gear and trips as raffle and auction items. A dinner March 17 features fly-fishing writer and rod builder Hoagy Carmichael on "Fly Fishing for Atlantic Salmon." The dinners are open to nonmembers.

For tickets, call Karen Menn at 216-2231-4600 (Ext. 3278).

Registration is open first come, first-served for women 18 and older. A one-time fee of $125 covers instruction, equipment, most meals and camping accommodations.
Participants will learn the basics of fly-fishing from experienced anglers, including equipment needs, knots, fly-tying, casting and aquatic entomology, then put those skills to use fishing the Davidson River.
Contact BB Gillen at 919-218-3638 or bb.gillen@ncwildlife.org for more information or to register.

There are many ways to judge a fly rod. Brian Milne, with About.com has chosen to judge fly rods based on the number IGFA records were set using the equipment.

The best fly rods as used by the record holders in the 2007 World Record Game Fishes book, according to the International Game Fish Association:

1. Sage (75 world records)strong>
In a "think green" move, Sage has recently downsized its print catalog and is focusing more of its resources on its Web site, where you can find a new rod along with helpful resources like a cast analyzer. www.sageflyfish.com

2. G Loomis (24)
This year is the 25th anniversary of G Loomis. As part of the anniversary celebration, its Web site is positing user pictures of their biggest fish caught. Wonder if any of those are world records. www.gloomis.com

3. Thomas & Thomas (18)
For the "obsessive" fly fishers, the 2008 models are already on display at T&T. www.thomasandthomas.com

4. Orvis (14)
A household name for outdoorsmen across the country, Orvis carries plenty more than fly rods. www.orvis.com

5. Redington (7)
This Washington-based company was founded in 1992 and produces performance- and value-based rods. www.redington.com

6. Albright (4)
Albright Tackle LLC makes everything from rods to reels and lines, focusing on providing "affordable and relevant fishing tackle." www.albrighttackle.com

7. Winston (4)
R.L. Winston Rod Company produces fine fly rods made of everything from bamboo to second-generation boron and graphite composites. www.winstonrods.com

8. Cabelas (3)
The self-proclaimed "World's Foremost Outfitter," is a outdoors superstore with plenty of options for the fly fisher. www.cabelas.com

9. Temple Fork (3)
Temple Fork Outfitters started off with the "Killer Caddis" and originally made flies and tying tools but is now a proven rod maker as well.

10. Seven others (2)
Seven other rod makers are tied at two world records apiece.

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