One Peek At Pike Enough To Satisfy Chilly Fishermen

Lake Coeur d’Alene may never be considered one of North America’s top chinook salmon producers, and it certainly won’t rank with some Midwest and Canadian lakes as a mecca for pike fishermen.

It’s one of the few big lakes, however, where an angler can fish for both pike and chinooks and expect to catch respectable representatives of each species.

It’s also a lake where anglers can catch good-sized bass, small kokanee and, once in a while, a cutthroat trout.

Once a lake that produced excellent fishing for cutthroat, the big lake has evolved into a chinook and pike producer the last few years. The release of chinooks into the lake was a deliberate effort to provide more recreational fishing. Bucket biologists probably were responsible for the pike.

But all that’s in the past. Now thousands of anglers are enjoying fishing for pike and chinooks. The two species provide a lot of recreation for anglers.

A few days ago Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene, invited me to fish for pike at the lake. He and his associates are experts on pike and chinook fishing and operate a guide service.

Although he knows the most effective methods of catching pike, Smith is not a fly fisher. He was interested in seeing someone hook pike on flies.

We launched his big bass boat at the Sun Up Bay public ramp just before noon and headed for Rockford Bay. The 130-horse engine powered the boat through the choppy water to the fishing spot in about 10 minutes.

I rigged a steelhead rod with a No. 8 weight floating line, tied on a 15-pound-test tippet made of Berkley’s new FireLine, a gel spun line, and then tied on a heavy 5-inch-long red fly. Because the FireLine is so tough that it dulls fingernail clippers, I hoped the pikes’ sharp teeth wouldn’t cut it. Smith already had three rods rigged with various lures.

We fished for a couple of hours in water slightly more than a foot deep. Smith had seen numerous pike in the bay a few days before, but the water level had dropped at least a foot. Nearly all pike had apparently left.

Smith cast a red and white Daredevle for a half hour and then began experimenting with other lures and plugs. A small pike took one of the lures. My big red fly was so heavy that I had to duck every time I cast it for fear of being clobbered in my head.

While we fished, we talked about the pike’s popularity in North Idaho. Smith said the pike have become so popular, particularly at Lake Coeur d’Alene, that anglers have reduced drastically the number of trophysized fish, but there are still good numbers of pike weighing 12 to 20 pounds.

“We (Fins & Feathers shop) get calls from all over the country for information on the pike fishing in our area,” he said. “Fishermen come from as far away as Texas to fish Coeur d’Alene lake for pike.”

In fact, nearly as many non-resident anglers apparently are interested in Coeur d’Alene’s pike fishing as in chinook fishing.

It’s necessary, Smith said, to run long distances this time of year to find good pike fishing spots. Later, when water temperatures rise and weeds come up in bays, pike fishermen won’t have to move a few miles each time they decide to change a fishing spot.

Dark clouds spilled their loads as we fished and the temperature dropped. Our fingers got cold and stiff. Finally, Smith decided to move. A few minutes later we were running at high speed for the south end of the lake.

We stopped at a spot that hasn’t been fished as much as the traditional places. I tied on a 3-inch-long yellow and red fly. In the past I’ve had more luck on yellow and red flies than any other color combination.

Suddenly, a few seconds after I had cast the fly near a floating log, my line stopped and I set the hook. The line sliced through the water as the pike swam under the boat. Smith quickly pulled up the electric motor so that the pike wouldn’t tangle my line in the prop.

Pike aren’t spectacular fighters, but a big one, like a 10-pound-plus walleye, can give an angler a thrill. My pike ran around the boat a couple of times, pulled out some line as it tried frantically to get rid of the fly and finally turned over on its side. It was too big for Smith’s net.

We estimated the pike weighed 12 to 14 pounds and then released it. I remember thinking that it was a beautiful fish despite its malevolent, toothy appearance.

A little while later we sped up to Harrison Bay, fished for a half hour over submerged weeds and then called it a day.

I wasn’t disappointed. After all, a 12-pound-plus pike (I prefer to call it a 14-pounder) on one’s first try for pike at Lake Coeur d’Alene is something to brag about.

, DataTimes MEMO: You can contact Fenton Roskelley by voice mail at 459-5577, extension 3814.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Fenton Roskelley The Spokesman-Review