Cold weather has slowed the fishing, but there are positive reports

LAKES

Chelan: People trolling the lures, tipped with a piece of pikeminnow, have been catching lake trout. The Barrens area of the lake has been productive. Keep your setup within 5 feet of the bottom, and your speed at 1 mph.

Moses: If you are looking for some ice fishing opportunities, people are catching perch through the ice near the Interstate 90 bridge. Cold weather in the area will continue to thicken the ice.

RIVERS

Olympic Coast: Based on the most recent state reports, the steelhead action dropped off on the Bogachiel and Calawah Dec. 19-22. There were three wild and 18 hatchery fish caught then, on both rivers, down from two wild and 53 hatchery fish caught Dec. 16-18.

Skykomish: The action for steelhead has been fair to good on the river in the Reiter Ponds stretch. People also are catching steelhead on the Wallace River.

Yakima: With cold weather hanging over central Washington, this is not the best time to fish the river. Reports say there is plenty of ice in the river.

SALT WATER

Clams: A two-day razor clam dig is scheduled to open Friday at Copalis and Mocrocks, if marine toxin tests show that the clams are safe to eat. Digging is best an hour or two before low tide. The daily limit is 15 clams. The low tides will be: Friday, 7:22 p.m., -0.4 feet; Saturday, 7:57 p.m., -0.4 feet. Check wdfw.wa.gov for updates.

Crabbing: Crabbing in areas of Puget Sound currently open will close at 5 p.m. Saturday. All anglers licensed to fish for Dungeness crab in the Sound will have until Feb. 1 to file their winter catch report. Because the state recently switched to a new online system, anglers should allow a few extra minutes to get into the new system.

Fly fishing: The action isn’t great, but people are catching some searun cutthroat trout. A Knudsen Spider fly in yellow has been effective, according to an online report.

South Sound: Salmon fishing in the waters south of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge has been slow, in large part because few people have been on the water. Good options to try are the Fox Island area and Devil’s Head. Most people will troll with flashers and lures or artificial squid close to the bottom in water 120-150 feet deep. Squid fishing has slowed, but people are still catching some. There are reports that the squid action has been good off the docks in Bremerton.

Strait of Juan de Fuca: The Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby, one of the most popular winter derbies, will take place Feb. 17-19. The first-place prize is $10,000. Tickets are $40 a person. Learn more at gardinersalmonderby.org. With just a few days expected to be open for halibut fishing, the Port Angeles Salmon Club has decided to cancel its halibut derby in 2017.

This story was originally published December 27, 2016 at 10:37 AM with the headline "Cold weather has slowed the fishing, but there are positive reports."