NorthwestAugust 19, 1993

Lenny Frasure

Heavy rains turned the Snake River into brown hues, muddied by flows from the Salmon and Imnaha rivers upstream from Asotin. And our 1993 ''summer without a summer'' has had mostly negative effects on local bass fishing.

On a scale of fair, good, and excellent, smallmouth fishing, for the most part, has been only fair. There have, however, been some good fishing days; overall, the bite of the bass has not been that great.

There is a good chance this trend may change during the fall feed-up. It is then that bass begin to gorge themselves to sustain them throughout winter dormancy. The feeing usually begins somewhere during late August and lasts into mid-October.

By then, of course, most local anglers have turned their attentions toward steelhead fishing.

Hells Canyon trout fishing is also off this year. Last spring's long-lasting high water flows seem to have flushed more than smolts toward the sea. Trout up to five pounds are normally caught in the canyon, but few trout appear to have remained to become residents.

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Although trout that large are rare, it's fair to say that 12- to 15-inch trout are consistently harvested during a normal summer season.

Sturgeon fishing along the banks and in the deep holes remains popular. Catch results appear to be steady. Barbless hooks are required for this catch-and-release fishery.

Asotin Creek should not be overlooked for those seeking a quick trip to a neat area. This stream is great for trout fishing, especially with wedding ring spinners and a pinch of nightcrawler. The creek also is good for fly fishing.

The creek empties into the Snake at Asotin after traveling from deep within the Blue Mountains. Several tributaries add to the velocity of this stream's flow. Located entirely within Asotin County, most of this area can be easily accessed during a weekend's outing of hiking, backpacking and camping.

Cool weather should keep steelhead now entering the mouth of the Columbia River on track. Thousands of steelhead per day are migrating toward our area. Counts over Lower Granite continue to climb, as does enthusiasm toward steelhead fishing as the September opening closes in.

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