Fishing report for March 4

LAKES

Alder: Kokanee anglers are marking plenty of fish on their finders but are having trouble figuring out which bait will make the fish bite. The fish seem to be schooled 30-40 feet down near the dam.

American: Some people are catching their limit of rainbow trout. Berkley Gulp! salmon eggs in orange and green fished off the bottom have been producing bites.

Lawrence: The lake was stocked Monday with 500 rainbow trout weighing more than 4 pounds each.

Longs: The Thurston County pond received a plant of 140 large rainbows as well.

Munn: Anglers are catching some nice-size cutthroat trout. Try casting a bronze Mepps spinner. Some large rainbows were planted in the lake Monday.

Potholes: The walleye fishing has been good to very good. Look for fish holding over humps in water 35-50 feet deep near the state park. Anglers are having success casting blade baits to the shallower water and then working the lure deeper.

Sacajawea: This Cowlitz County lake was stocked this week with 3,100 rainbows, each weighing a little more than one-third of a pound.

Spanway: The action here should pick up after the state planted the lake with 4,300 rainbows. There were 2.3 fish per pound.

RIVERS

Kalama: Beginning Thursday, anglers will be able to keep up to two hatchery adult spring chinook. The change covers the river from boundary markers at the mouth to 1,000 feet below the fishway at the upper salmon hatchery.

Lewis: Fishermen will have to release all chinook they catch beginning Thursday. The state is putting the closure in place because the forecast return of 1,100 adult spring chinook is below the hatchery escapement goal of 1,350 fish.

Olympic Coast: Creel reports indicate last weekend was one of the best of the season, with steelhead being caught in fair to good numbers. If the rain holds off, the rivers should begin dropping back in shape after heavy rains Tuesday.

Wynoochee: The river and others in the area, including the Humptulips, were producing good catches of steelhead before the midweek rainstorms. Cured eggs and artificial worms were proving to be the most effective. Hopefully the rivers will drop in time for the weekend.

SALT WATER

North Sound: The fishing in the San Juan Islands has been fair, and slow from Possession Point to Point No Point and Mid-Channel Bank. Beginning March 12, anglers in Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands) will be limited to one chinook as part of the two-salmon daily limit.

South Sound: The salmon fishing remains very slow, in part because so few people are out fishing. A few blackmouth, most weighing just under 5 pounds, have been caught this week. There seem to be quite a few resident coho off area beaches. The fish seem to be holding close to shore, especially on windy days. There are some reports of chum fry already entering the Sound from streams.

Contributors: State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ted’s Sports Center, steelheaduniversity.com, Art Tachell at Point Defiance Boathouse, salmonuniversity.com, northwestfishingreports.com, washingtonflyfishing.com.

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 2:16 AM with the headline "Fishing report for March 4."