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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Kootenai River float pleases fly fishers

Fly fisher Mike Berube prepares to release a brown trout while fishing the Kootenai River in Montana. (Dan Ferguson)
Fly fisher Mike Berube prepares to release a brown trout while fishing the Kootenai River in Montana. (Dan Ferguson)

FISHING -- Wise anglers keep diaries of their fishing trips in log books with dates so they can look back for water conditions, hatches, lure-fly selection and other details that might help them next time around.

Last year at this time, Mike Berube of the Spokane Fly Fishers filed this report after floating and fishing the Kootenai River:

Oct. 13, 2013:  Kootenai River

  • Put in at Troy, Mont., city park.
  • Took out at Yakk River Campground.
  • Float-fishing time: 5 hours.
  • Weather: Overcast most of the day and about 45 degrees.
  • Fishing was slow but we all caught fish. Brown trout in the picture fell victim to an olive woolhead sculpin on an intermediate sink-tip line. Rainbows also were sipping dries in the riffles.  
  • Comments: One of us found out the importance of a dry bag and extra clothes.  Not me!


Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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