Fishing report for March 11

LAKES

American: Anglers are catching a few trout. Shore anglers are using orange eggs with garlic scent and maggots. Start with a 3-foot leader and adjust the depth until you find where the fish are holding.

Harts: A few holdover trout have been caught recently. Power Eggs have been the most effective bait, fished on a 2 1/2-foot leader.

Lost: The lake has been fishing well for trout. Some people are trolling very slowly with wedding rings tipped with a worm, or olive or black woolly buggers. People who prefer still fishing are using chartreuse Power Bait or Gulp bait.

Offut: Anglers are having luck trolling and still fishing. Trollers are running spinners, tipped with a worm, slow and deep. The people who are still fishing are using white Power Bait with a bit of a worm. Use a leader 2-3 feet long

Potholes: With water temperatures rising, the walleye have been spawning. Look for them along the face of O’Sullivan Dam and in the lower section of Crab Creek. The Lind Coulee arm is a good spot to find post-spawn walleye.

Spanaway: In the past two weeks, the lake has been planted with about 10,000 rainbows. They seem to be holding in the top 4 feet of water. Boaters are limiting fishing near the bridge at the island. Anglers trolling deep with Rapalas are catching some large brown trout, some weighing 7 pounds.

RIVERS

Olympic Coast: With more rain in the forecast, it does not seem likely that the rivers in the Forks area will be an option for fishing this weekend.

Rocky Ford: The creek has been fishing fair to good for trout. Use small flies on this clear desert stream.

Satsop: This and other rivers in the area are blown out.

Yakima: The stretch near Cle Elum, above the mouth of the Teanaway River, is the best bet right now. The canyon stretch doesn’t look too good for the weekend.

SALTWATER

Clams: The state has approved a three-day clam dig at Mocrocks and Copalis, starting March 18. The beaches will be open through March 20. Low tides will be at 4:15 p.m. on March 18, 5:07 p.m. on March 19 and 5:50 p.m. on March 20.

North Sound: The state is closing salmon fishing in Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands) as of Monday. By then, anglers will have reached the limit (12,248) encounters — keeping or releasing chinook — that the state and tribal co-managers agreed on prior to the season.

South Sound: Storms this week have meant that few people have been on the water. When people have been out, they have been finding some blackmouth near the mouth of Quartermaster Harbor to about 1 mile past Point Dalco. People are trolling with spoons or artificial squid behind flashers. Shore anglers are hooking a number of resident coho, most measuring 14-18 inches long.

Ilwaco/Westport/LaPush: Fishing for ling cod and rockfish will open Saturday. The question is whether the winds will allow anglers to get out. The minimum size for ling cod is 22 inches and the daily limit is two fish. There is no minimum size for rockfish, and the daily limit is 10 fish. No canary or yelloweye rockfish can be kept.

This story was originally published March 11, 2016 at 4:24 AM with the headline "Fishing report for March 11."