Fishing report for Nov. 20

LAKES

American: The lake was stocked Monday with 2,500 rainbow trout weighing almost 1 pound each.

Munn: The lake is fishing really well. Fly-anglers are using leech and Woolly Bugger patterns, while others are using chironomids.

Potholes: Walleye fishing has been good. Anglers have been avoiding the wind by fishing in the Lind Coulee arm. Dock fishing has been slow.

Spanaway: Fishing pressure should pick up with sunnier weather this weekend.

Washington: Cutthroat trout have moved closer to shore. Look for schools in water 25-30 feet deep. Trolling Trout Killer and needlefish lures have been effective.

RIVERS

Columbia: The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife on Friday (Nov. 20) opened portions of the upper river and two tributaries to fishing for hatchery steelhead and rainbow trout. Also open are portions of lower Wenatchee and Entiat rivers. The stretch of the Columbia opening runs from Rock Island Dam to the power lines crossing the river at Doroga State Park. The Wenatchee is open from the mouth of the Icicle Road Bridge. The Entiat is open from the mouth to approximately a half-mile upstream to a point perpendicular with the intersection of the Entiat River Road and Hedding Street. Go to wdfw.wa.gov/fishing for details.

Green: Flows are still quite high for this time of year, and the color is brown. Chum salmon fishing had been picking up before the rains, with some anglers reporting catching their limits. People were reporting using purple jigs under a float.

Olympic Coast: The rivers are still high, even though they have dropped quite a bit. The Hoh, which reached about 41,000 cubic feet per second Tuesday night, was down to 5,330 cfs Friday morning. As long as the rain doesn’t return, the rivers should be decent this weekend.

Yakima: After flows topped 11,000 cubic feet per second Wednesday, they have been gradually dropping. Still, the river is high for this time of year. Look for trout holding close to the banks. Crystal flash Woolly Buggers had been effective before the river level rose.

SALT WATER

Fly-fishing: Fishing for coastal cutthroat has been good but will start to slow down in the coming week. But resident coho salmon are already showing up in the Tacoma Narrows. Try using small baitfish patterns in dull colors, such as gray and olive over white.

Hoodsport: Chum fishing is tapering off every day. This might be the best weekend to head there before that fishery comes to an end.

North Sound: Salmon fishing is very slow in those areas that are open.

South Sound: Salmon fishing has been slowed by the weather. People setting their crab pots are getting some Dungeness and rock crab in locations such as Quartermaster Harbor, along the shore of Commencement Bay and around Dash Point. Squid fishing remains very good to excellent.

This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 2:35 AM with the headline "Fishing report for Nov. 20."