Where trout go

Cutthroat trout in the St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene rivers have different strategies for surviving summer heat.

According to telemetry studies, Coeur d’Alene River fish tend to say in the same general areas from spring through fall, surviving the heat by finding mainstem and side channel springs that provide cool water sanctuaries.

St. Joe River cutthroats tend to migrate upstream from the warmer lower reaches of the river starting around mid to late July. Many of the fish spend the rest of the summer in the cooler upper reaches and tributaries.

“Some downstream movement begins in September,” said Joe DuPont, Idaho Fisha and Game fisheries biologist, “but the big movements of fish may not filter back down to wintering areas below Avery until late October or early November.”

Water temperatures peak around the beginning of August in both rivers. In this period, the best fishing is early in the morning and the last hours before dark.