Fishing opens early at some lakes

MEDICAL LAKE - Anxious anglers are getting their itch scratched.

In excess of two-dozen lakes in in the state opened for business March 1 for fishing, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Nearby, Medical, Liberty, Amber and Downs lakes are open.

Coffeepot Lake in Lincoln County also opened March 1, with selective gear rules in effect. Those rules include, but are not limited to, artificial flies with barbless single-point hooks or lures with barbless single-point hooks.

Bait is prohibited.

"Early spring is a great time to get out fishing at some of our east side lakes," state Inland Fish Program Manager Steve Caromile said last week. "It has been a warmer than normal winter and looks like we may have an early spring."

Deer Lake, in Stevens County, also opened, as did Pampa Pond in Whitman County.

Martha and Upper Caliche lakes near George in Grant County are popular March choices and expect good fishing for 10- to 14-inch rainbow trout, Caromile said. The north section of Martha Lake is usually ice free with plenty of shoreline space and where most of the trout will be concentrated.

Other Grant County waters open include Dry Falls, Lenice, Lenore, Cascade, North Potholes Reserve and Nunnally Lakes.

Recent surveys found a good number of 12- to 13-inch fingerling rainbow trout plus a fair number of larger carryover fish at Quincy and Burke lakes in Grant County.

The water temperatures in each lake were around 38 degrees.

"It is normal to have some lakes open in March, then the rest open on our big April opener," Eastern Washington spokeswoman Staci Lehman wrote in an email. "We went through a process several years ago to determine which lakes would open when so that it is consistent every year."