Fishing Report

Chinook derby

If the weather is reasonably good, hundreds of anglers will be on Lake Coeur d’Alene Saturday for the opening of the nine-day Big One chinook derby.

If fishing is as good during the derby as it has been the last week, fishermen will net numerous chinooks weighing more than 20 pounds. However, it’s possible that the extremely heavy boat traffic will make the chinooks wary of smelt, flies and hootchies, the “baits” fishermen will troll.

Steve Smith of the Fins & Feathers shop said he thinks many anglers will troll dodgers and flies and flashers and hootchies, even though frozen smelt has suddenly become the lake’s bait of choice.

The salmon are 40 to 60 feet deep. Most fish have been caught in the north end of the lake. However, Smith said, many anglers after trophy-sized fish troll the south end.

Top prize, to be awarded the angler who catches the biggest chinook, will be a 17-foot boat, with motor and trailer. Second-place winner gets a 14-foot boat, with motor and trailer.

A 14-foot boat will be awarded each day to the fisherman who catches the biggest fish of the day.

Derby tickets are $25.

Kokanee

If you’re contented with lots of kokanee, fish Idaho’s Pend Oreille and Coeur d’Alene lakes or Dworshak Reservoir, or Montana’s Koocanusa Lake.

If you want to catch big ones, fish Roosevelt or Loon lakes or Montana’s Lake Mary Ronan.

Trolling for the outsized kokanee at Lake Roosevelt has been slow the last couple of weeks, possibly because the Bureau of Reclamation has been lowering and raising the reservoir. When levels fluctuate, kokanee fishing is usually slow.

However, the reservoir’s level has been somewhat stable this week at about 1,281 feet, or about 9 feet below full pool. As a result, fishing may be fairly good.

Kokanee in Lake Roosevelt are 13 to 23 inches long. Nearly all are 40 to 90 feet deep, making it necessary for anglers to use downriggers to get to the fish.

Trolling has been good for the 13- to 14-inchers in Loon lake, Joe Haley of the Granite Point Resort said. If you want to hook three or four, start trolling at about 5:30 a.m. By 8 a.m., fishing gets tough.

Night fishing has been slow the last couple of weeks.

Kokanee are small in the three big Idaho waters. Fastest fishing apparently is at Dworshak Reservoir. Trollers who get their lures below 25 feet have been hooking three of the 8- to 9-inch fish per hour. Limit is 25 per day.

Kokanee are larger in Coeur d’Alene and Pend Oreille lakes.

Trollers have been taking 20-fish limits of 10- to 12-inch kokanee in a few hours at Koocanusa Lake. Nevin Zugg, operator of the Koocanusa Lake Resort, said most anglers have been letting out 3 to 3-1/2 colors of leaded line across the lake from the marina.

Kokanee fishing was excellent early this week at Lake Mary Ronan, with many still fishermen taking limits of fish to 14-3/4 inches, Gary Thomas of Camp Tuffit said.

Perch fishing also has been good at the lake, he said. Anglers have been sorting fish to keep 11- to 11-3/4-inch perch.

Trout, Washington

Lake Roosevelt is the best spot in Eastern Washington to catch big rainbows. Although kokanee fishing has been slow, trollers, some of them trolling lures 60 or more feet deep, have been taking five-fish limits of 13- to 18-inch trout.

An angler can catch the rainbows by using leaded line, but a downrigger will enable him to get down to where the fish are feeding. If you have only leaded line, let out four to six colors ahead of a baited fly or a lure such as a small Rapala.

Some still fishermen have been hooking 14- to 24-inch rainbows at Sprague Lake, according to Mike Mielke of the Sprague Lake Resort.

Trout fishing has been slow at most lakes in Eastern Washington. However, an angler can take limits at numerous small lakes in Pend Oreille, Stevens and Ferry counties.

Trout, Idaho

North Idaho’s cutthroat streams are in perfect condition for fishing. Best bets are the St. Joe, Lochsa and Selway rivers and Kelly Creek. Caddisflies and some mayflies are hatching.

Trolling for mackinaw trout has been excellent at Priest Lake, guide Gary Brookshire said. The macks average 6 to 9 pounds, but some large fish have been boated recently. Anglers have been trolling slow and deep, he said

“The lure of choice is a single ‘O’ dodger in chrome patterns with a Priest Lake fly or hootchies in green or yellow,” he said. “Hot spots are south of Baritoe Island and the Twin islands.”

Trout, Montana

The lower Clark Fork is still full but wadeable, John Herzer of Streamside Anglers said. Tricos, Pale Morning Duns and caddisflies are hatching and hoppers are showing. Most productive times are early and late in the day.

The upper Bitterroot is producing better than the lower river. The same insects are hatching along the Bitterroot as at the Clark Fork.

Herzer said most trout that fly fishers catch along Rock Creek are small. He suggested anglers use Humpies, bead head nymphs and Elk Hair Caddis patterns.

Fly fishing has been good along the Missouri, Jerry Lappier, coowner of the fly shop at Craig, said. Tricos are hatching in the mornings, hoppers fall into the water during mid-day hours, and caddis and PMDs hatch in the evenings. Dun and emerger Trico patterns have been more effective than spentwing versions.

Other species

Walleye fishermen have done well at Roosevelt and Sprague lakes and the Potholes Reservoir. Fastest fishing has been at Roosevelt. However, numerous 18- to 19-inchers have been taken at Sprague the last 10 days, Mielke said.

Fishermen apparently have given up on the bluegills at Sprague, but one fisherman brought an outsized fish to the Sprague Lake Resort. Mielke said the bluegill was 12 inches long and 6 inches deep.

Bass fishing has been fair to good at the Potholes Reservoir.

Anglers have caught some 10- to 15-pound northern pike in recent days at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Smith said. The pike have been prowling around deep-water weed beds.

Smith said that good-sized perch have been caught in the Spokane River arm of the lake and crappies have been taken at Hauser and Killarney lakes.

Fishermen continue to catch good numbers of sturgeon along the Columbia River from Priest Rapids Dam to the Vernita bridge, wildlife agent Dan Rahn said.

Coastal salmon

Westport charterboats are enjoying excellent catches of albacore tuna averaging 20-30 pounds and coho salmon running 10-14 pounds, said Jim McBroom of Coho Charters.

Westport isn’t likely to reach its quota of salmon until Aug. 25 or so, he said.