Outdoors Report: Eastern lakes still showing ice

Trout anglers headed over the Cascades for Saturday's fishing opener on a couple dozen Central Washington lakes might consider bringing shakers and the appropriate liquids for martinis, since they won't be lacking for ice.

Department of Fish and Wildlife fish biologist Jeff Korth in Ephrata reports that, as of Tuesday, ice was still covering many of the "March 1" lakes.

The two lakes that are probably the best bets, both in the Quincy Wildlife Area, will likely be largely unfishable this weekend. Quincy Lake on Tuesday was almost completely covered, and Burke Lake had just small open areas at the west and east ends, including around the two boat launches.

However, nearby Dusty Lake, a popular and productive "selective regulation" water (no bait, single barbless hook required) in the Quincy Wildlife Area, was thawing out rapidly, and Korth figured it would be open enough to fish by Saturday.

Lenore, a Lahonton cutthroat lake with selective regulations north of the city of Soap Lake, had a small area in the south end open and fishable.

Leniece and Nunnally, two selective regulation lakes in the Crab Creek region to the south, were mostly free of ice.

Anglers can check with the Fish and Wildlife Department's Ephrata office for updates on the ice cover at 509-754-4624.

On this side of the mountains, a few lakes open year-round are starting to produce some trout with the milder weather. Lone Lake on Whidbey Island and Pass Lake, both selective regulation waters, have been fair to good for rainbows 12 to 20 inches. American Lake in Pierce County and lakes Stevens and Goodwin in Snohomish County are all starting to produce a few carryover rainbow for bait anglers. Locally, Lake Washington has been fair for cutthroat 12 to 16 inches for trollers.

Salmon fishing is still fair to good in the northern marine waters, and at least one locale to the south. A block of decent fishing for hatchery chinook 4 to 12 pounds seems to have emerged lately from Pilot Point north past Point No Point and along Admiralty Inlet to Lip Lip Point and Midchannel Bank in the Port Townsend area.

"It's not a slam dunk, but by golly it did pick up," said Gary Krein of All Star Charters out of Everett. "Everything seems to be on the west side of the (Puget) Sound."