Northwest Fishing Reports

New to the area and do not have a boat... I am looking for some top water bass action or just any bass action at all from the shores. Where is the best place to go this time of year?! I look forward to reading your suggestions thank you!

Read all the fishing reports on the lakes in your area, go back a few years.

http://washingtonlakes.com/LatestReports.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

this lake isn't in your area, but read it anyway;

http://washingtonlakes.com/ReportCommen ... id=110&t=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The key to your question is Shore Fishing. In short, fishing from the shore in the Spokane area SUCKS! Fishing the shores is great, just getting access SUCKS.

Downs lake is a private resort, but for $8 bucks, if I recall correctly, you could fish the shore for a pretty decent stretch.

Coffee Pot is a selective rules lake, but it has some shore access.

Sorry, I can't think of anything else in the area that has shore access in the area, at least not with good fishing near it.

I got nothing.

I would suggest doing some research into public land or private land that allows public access to the bodies of water. fishing from the shore can be just as good as from a boat. I have fished from the shore more than from a boat. I suggest going to the Columbia or Snake rivers. There is a lot of public access on both and bass fishing from the shore should start to heat up in the next few weeks. I mainly use tube jigs or other types of crawfish imitators, but be prepared to lose a few because of the rocks. Cranks will also produce well, again the colors I have the best luck with are craw patterns. If you intend to fish the small lakes around the area then getting access can be a problem as the property owners around them act like they own the lake. If the lake has public access try fishing along docks and any structure available. I use google earth to get a look at the areas I want to fish. I think it is a great tool for finding fishing spots. Some lakes, such as Sprague, have resorts that allow fishing from their docks for a fee. Don't get discouraged, with a little effort you will be able to find some good fishing without a boat.
Good luck.

Fishing the shore is great, most bass are caught on shore structure. Getting access to shore structure in the "Spokane Area" sucks.

let's include the Grande Ronde River during the summer; great SMB fishing and there is a huge amount of shore fishing. Just watch out for the snakes. The lower stretch near the Snake is better but I still get great fish near Bogans Oasis. June is the start of that fishery for me.

let's also include the Potholes State Park area, especially the area below the dam with all of the small walk in ponds and other ponds that you can even drive to. That area is starting to heat up now.

Last, what I consider acceptable fishing may not be what you consider acceptable fishing. Fishing from overfished docks with limited areas and limited cover is NOT my idea of fishing. On the other hand, a float tube or inflatable pontoon was one of my low cost boats that allowed me to access any lake or pond with any public access.

Personally, I like the limited harvest policy that In Fisherman use to teach. Maybe they still do, but I don't take their magazine and I don't get them on TV now that the Linder's are no longer involved. I liked the idea that we can take some for dinner, leave the spawners to spawn, let some grow to trophies, and most of all, eat more of the smaller and more plentiful fish. Of course, with Bass, smaller and more plentiful should not mean so small that you only get two bites of meat from them. Again, I usually C&R, but not because I am opposed to keeping fish, but because I just don't like cleaning a lot of fish. If I kept 1 in 10 I would have a how freezer full and I can't eat that many anyway.

irishman10, I hope we have helped some. Perhaps if you tell us what you consider the Spokane Area we could expand where you might want to try. Some of the best "foot soldier" area are ones that we might not even consider. I have been considering looking into the Spokane River from Argonne road down. I know the river is loaded with SMB now, and if shore access can be had, there might be some real sleepers there. Looking downriver from the bridge just gives me goose bumps with all of the potential. I also forgot to mention that the Centennial trail follows the river over a huge distance and there are a lot of SMB to be caught from the Idaho State Line downstream. Most of the fish are not big, but they are fun.

I agree that an "area" is abstract and should be better defined. Where I live any body of water is at least 1 hour away, not counting farm ponds. As for shore fishing, I completely understood you.

knock it off or this thread will get locked or maybe deleted.

A follow-up if I may. The upper Spokane River has specific seasons, and they have changed, so make sure that if you try for the SMB that you review them first. Also, keeping fish from Upriver Dam up to the Idaho State line is prohibited, at least it has been for several years now, and I expect it to still be so.

I guess it goes as a truism that we need to check the regulations before we fish each area, every years.

Yup, EVERY time you go to a new lake, river, whatever, check the rigs. EVERY year you need to check the regs for your usual lakes, rivers, fish, whatever, to see if anything has been changed. Like Lake Sammamish for this past year between Jan 1 and April 30th, which covers/involves EVERY specie in the lake.