Fishing Report

MISSOULA-AREA STREAMS

The Bitterroot and Clark Fork rivers and Rock Creek in the Missoula area are starting to provide fair to good fly fishing.

John Herzer, manager of Streamside Anglers, said that the Skwala stonefly is hatching sporadically along the Bitterroot and a few of the bugs are appearing on the lower Clark Fork.

The Skwala is stonefly that has a dirty yellow to slate olive body. Herzer said that a No. 8 Stimulator with an olive body is effective when the sun is shining. A bullet-head pattern that sits low in the water is ideal when the sky is overcast.

The Skwala should be hatching along the two streams the next couple of weeks, he said.

A little brown stonefly also is hatching along the Bitterroot and midges are coming out along the Clark Fork.

The Bitterroot is low and clear and the Clark Fork is low and slightly off color.

Fly fishers are nymphing along Rock Creek, using Woolly Buggers, stonefly nymphs and bead head patterns.

LAKES, WASHINGTON

The most productive trout lakes in Eastern Washington the last week or so have been Hog Canyon and a few of the lakes in and near the Quincy Wildlife Recreational Area.

All the Lahontan cutthroat in Lenore, southwest of Coulee City, must be released until June 1, but fly fishers from throughout the Northwest have been hooking and releasing 16- to 25-inchers. Fishing has been slow lately, and only some midges are hatching.

The mature Lahontans are near the shoreline trying to spawn. For the most part, they’re easy to catch and they don’t fight very hard.

Fly fishers line up at the upper end of the lake and cast out to spots where the cutthroat are milling around. There are other spots along the seven-mile-long lake where the Lahontans prowl the shoreline and they’re popular spots with both fly fishers and spin fishermen.

The immature Lahontans fight harder than the spawners. They’re in areas where there are scuds, leeches and chironomids.

Fly fishers who get discouraged trying to hook the Lahontans drive a few miles to Rocky Ford Creek, where 10- to 22-inch rainbows have been feeding on scuds, leeches and midges.

Because the rainbows see fly patterns every day, they’re wary and difficult to catch.

Upper Caliche Lake has been yielding some big trout, some to 18 inches long. Fishing has been so good at times that anglers have taken their limits and then moved to lakes where they could catch perch and crappies.

Anglers are continuing to clobber Hog Canyon Lake in southwest Spokane County. Indications are that the lake still holds good numbers of 10- to 14-inch rainbows, and a few to 20 inches despite the heavy pressure. However, fishing has been slow at times.

Water levels finally are high enough to allow the launching of fmall boats at Fourth of July Lake. However, fishing has been poor.

The winter fishing season at Hog Canyon, Fourth of July, Williams and Hatch lakes will close next Friday.

Clear and Silver lakes are good possibilities for large brown trout. A few persistent anglers, using bait, have been hooking browns to 18 inches. The lakes are open the year-around.

Most trollers have had poor luck at Lake Roosevelt the last few days. The lake was about 1,255 feet above sea level earlier this week and the Bureau of Reclamation said it was expected to rise.

Until recently, the bureau had been drawing down the reservoir.

A few anglers have found spots where they could catch big rainbows and kokanee. Fish school in some bays, including Jones Bay, and shore fishermen, plunking with bait, have been catching trout and kokanee to 22 inches. Trollers who troll through the shallow water usually spook the fish.

PIKE, IDAHO

Anglers have been fishing smelt and herring under bobbers from the shore in several Lake Coeur d’Alene bays and hooking pike, Jeff Smith of the Fins & Feathers shop said.

Pike are in shallow water getting ready to spawn, he said. This is the best time of year to catch big pike, but few large ones had been caught early this week.

Anglers have been fishing off the dike road in Harrison Bay and along the shoreline of Cougar, Mica and other bays.

The lakes adjacent to the lower Coeur d’Alene River also are producing some small pike. Killarney is one of the best. Most pike are 18 to 24 inches long.

TROUT, IDAHO

Priest Lake is the best place to go to get good-sized trout. Smith said that trollers and jiggers are still hooking good numbers of mackinaw trout, most of them small.

The fastest rainbow fishing may be at Hauser Lake. Smith said trollers have been trolling Wedding Rings baited with worms and catching trout to about 16 inches.

STEELHEAD

With steelhead moving fast to their spawning areas, now is the time to fish Snake and Clearwater river tributaries.

Fishing could be excellent along the Touchet, Tucannon, Walla Walla and Grande Ronde rivers in Washington the next few days if streams are clear enough for steelhead to see lures and flies. In Idaho, the upper Clearwater and sections of the Salmon River are the best bets.

Rains have caused tributaries of most rivers to rise and turn muddy, but some streams clear more quickly.

The Idaho Fish and Game Department reported that anglers averaged 17 hours per steelhead along the upper Clearwater from March 13-19. Fishing along the lower river and the North Fork was slow.

Best fishing along the Salmon was below the South Fork, where anglers averaged 12 hours per fish.Only a few more days remain to fish the Methow. Last year’s run was one of the smallest in the last 10 years and fishing has been slow along the river.

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