Next razor clam dig will open Jan. 27, but only Copalis and Mocrocks will be open

Lakes

Harts: The ice is starting to melt, but there is still plenty around the edges.

Potholes: If Snoqualmie Pass is open and you want to do some ice fishing, the reservoir is an option. Much of the lake is covered with ice about 11-15 inches thick. It’s recommended that fishermen avoid the mouth of Frenchman’s Wasteway because the ice in that area is not safe due to moving water.

Spanaway: Few people had been fishing because the lake was iced over for about three weeks. The lake was ice free as of Friday morning.

Washington: People fishing from shore are landing some rainbow trout. Try using a worm and green marshmallow on a leader 2-3 feet long.

Rivers

Chehalis: Reports from early in the week showed some steelhead were being caught. Anglers were having more success drift fishing with eggs. With river flows very high, look for fish holding in slower water close to the bank.

Columbia: The forecast for the smelt run this year is about 3.2 million pounds, well below the 2016 run, which reached 5.1 million pounds. If there is to be a recreational dipping, expect a season similar to last year, according to state fisheries managers.

Olympic Coast: The action has been very slow, in part because there have been few anglers on the water. From Jan. 9-12, state creel checks showed the Sol Duc River was the best option. The Hoh also is producing fish, but creel checks are not being conducted there. Five boat anglers released four wild steelhead. By late in the week, melting snow and rains had the rivers too high to fish.

Satsop: The river and others in the area are not fishable following heavy rains midweek. The Satsop’s flow, measured near the community of Satsop, topped 18,000 cubic feet per second early Friday.

Yakima: Videos posted online earlier this week show more ice than free-flowing water.

Saltwater

Clams: The next razor clam dig will open as planned on Jan. 27. The dig is scheduled for Jan. 27-31 at Copalis and Jan. 29-31 at Mocrocks. The low tide times will be: Jan. 27, 6:26 p.m., -0.5 feet; Jan. 28, 7:01 p.m., -0.6 feet; Jan. 29, 7:37 p.m., -0.5 feet; Jan. 30, 8:13 p.m., -0.3 feet, and Jan. 31, 8:50 p.m., 0.2 feet. No digging is allowed before noon, and the best digging is an hour or two before low tide. Marine toxin levels from clams at Long Beach and Twin Harbors remain too high to allow digging in those areas.

North Sound: Winter chinook fishing has been fair to good around the San Juan Islands. Three-inch Silver Horde spoons have been effective. This weekend is the Roche Harbor Salmon Classic. Salmon fishing in Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) will be closed from Monday to Feb. 28. Anglers are expected to reach the number of chinook encounters — 2,597 fish kept or released — by then.

South Sound: Salmon fishing in Marine Area 13 has been slow, with some good reports coming from around Fox Island, Eagle Island and Devil’s Head. Marine Area 11 will reopen to salmon fishing on Feb. 1.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Next razor clam dig will open Jan. 27, but only Copalis and Mocrocks will be open."