Fishing Report

Trout, Washington

Cold, windy weather didn’t stop the region’s trollers and bait fishermen from catching trout the last few weeks, but it hampered fly fishers.

Insect hatches have been sporadic and some species, including mayflies, are apparently hatching a little later than usual.

Near-microscopic chironomids have hatched for several weeks, but the big chironomids haven’t started moving to water surfaces to hatch. That is, until now.

The big pupae are starting to hatch at many lakes, creating good fishing opportunities for fly fishers. Air temperatures were higher this week than they’ve been for some time. As a result, water temperatures have risen a little and the big pupae are responding.

Callibaetis mayflies have hatched sporadically at numerous lakes. Not enough have come out, however, to start trout feeding consistently on them. That’s changing.

Fly fishers are expecting to see many mayflies and rising trout at several of their favorite lakes, including Amber, Chopaka, Dry Falls, Lenice and Nunnally.

Trollers, still fishermen and fly fishers are continuing to take limits at several lakes. The best in the Spokane area have been West Medical and Fishtrap.

Because pressure has been relatively light at Williams and Badger, anglers are still catching limits of 8- to 11-inch rainbows, as well as a few broodstock trout.

Persistent fishermen have hooked good-sized brown trout at Clear, Silver and Waitts lakes. Anglers can’t count on a limit, but a couple of 15- to 18-inchers provide more meat than five yearling rainbows.

Wildlife agent Dan Rahn said fly fishers have done well lately at Lenice and Nunnally lakes. For a while, fishing was tough at Lenice, but experienced fly fishers have hooked and released good numbers of big rainbows and browns.

Most who fish Jameson Lake in Douglas County are taking five-fish limits, Denny Smullin of the Jameson Lake Resort said. The yearling rainbows are 10 to 13 inches long, carryover fish 14 to 17.

Kokanee

Most of the kokanee that fishermen will catch at Montana’s Lake Mary Ronan when the lake is opened to fishing Saturday will be 12 to 13 inches long, Gary Thomas of Camp Tuffit said.

Tuffit said fisheries biologists told him indications are that the lake will have a big population of kokanee in that size range at the beginning of the season. The fish could average 13 inches.

The kokanee in Koocanusa Reservoir are 9 to 11 inches. Anglers have taken 20-fish limits.

You’re not apt to catch more than four or five of the 16- to 18-inch kokanee at Loon Lake during a day’s trolling, but if you keep fishing at the right depth, you have a good chance of taking home a couple.

The giant kokanee are spread out around the lake; when you catch one, you can’t depend on finding others in the same vicinity. Most anglers agree that kokanee aren’t plentiful in Loon Lake this year. Because they’re big, though, they’re worth pursuing.

Joe Haley of the Granite Point Resort at Loon Lake said the kokanee are in the upper 25 feet of water. Trollers are using two to four colors of leaded line, two-bladed flashers or OOO dodgers and Fisher Flies baited with maggots and corn.

Some anglers have created their own fly patterns. Don Ostlund has had success with flies tied on Nos. 2 and 4 long shank hooks. He builds up bodies with various colors of surveyors’ tape. His favorite color is fluorescent red. For a hackle, he uses fluorescent pink or red.

The best kokanee fishing in North Idaho is at Spirit Lake. The kokanee are small, but an angler can take a 25-fish limit in a couple of hours.

Chinook salmon

Chinooks in Lake Coeur d’Alene are more aggressive than they’ve been in several weeks, Jeff Smith of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene said.

Most anglers who know how to rig up and troll for the salmon have hooked good numbers of chinooks running to 14 pounds. The salmon are hitting helmeted herring and lures from the surface to 25 feet.

The best fishing is in the north end, where the water is clearer than in the south end. Most of the fish are 6 to 8 pounds, but there are lots weighing more than 10 pounds.

Smith said Nos. 11 and 13 Rapalas are hot plugs. He said most colors will catch salmon.

Perhaps the best chinook fishing in the Northwest has occurred this week on Oregon’s Rogue River. Anglers have caught daily limits of three springers in a few hours.

Trout, Idaho

Anglers are hooking good-sized hybrid rainbow-cutthroat trout at Hayden Lake and numerous mackinaw trout at Priest Lake, Smith said.

It’s possible for a troller to hook a half dozen or more macks at Priest during a day’s fishing, he said.

Rainbow fishing at Lake Pend Oreille has been slow, but mackinaw trout have taken anglers’ lures.

Trout, Montana

Stable water conditions are necessary for good fishing along trout streams in the Missoula area, said Jim Toth, owner of Grizzly Hackle at Missoula.

He said all streams were high and fairly clear earlier this week. Because of rain, however, they could be off color this weekend.

Although such insects as Bluewinged Olive and Gray Drake mayflies, and Skwalla stoneflies have hatched, trout sometimes have ignored them.

Rock Creek has provided the most reliable fly fishing, he said. Even though the stream has been high and clear most of the time, the trout have taken nymphs consistently.

The Clark Fork provided excellent fly fishing last Friday and Saturday, but rain caused the stream to rise and trout to stop feeding the next few days.

Northern pike

Pike in lakes adjacent to the lower Coeur d’Alene River have recovered from spawning stress and are aggressive, Smith said. Fishing for pike that run from 2 to 10 pounds has been excellent at Black, Cave and Swan lakes.

Pike fishing also has been good at Hayden Lake.

Spiny rayed species

Walleyes have hit anglers’ lures regularly at Sprague Lake, Mike Mielke of the Sprague Lake Resort reported.

Although some anglers have caught keeper-sized walleyes during mid-day hours, the best fishing has been during evenings, he said.

Mielke said he hooked several walleyes, including a couple more than 18 inches long, while casting Rattletrap lures in two feet of water one evening this week.

He said anglers usually catch 10 sub-legal walleyes for every fish that’s 18 inches or longer.

Crappies and bluegills are in the weeds along the shoreline, he said, but fishing for them has been spotty. Bass and perch fishing has been slow at the lake.

Smallmouth bass and walleye fishing was fair last weekend at Banks Lake, guide John Carruth of Davenport said. Carruth said several anglers planning to enter the Big Wally walleye tournament at Banks this Saturday and Sunday were at the lake last weekend.

Teams will pay $200 to enter the two-day tournament. If enough anglers enter, the payoff could total more than $12,000.

Carruth said fishing has been slow at Lake Roosevelt.

Rahn said walleye fishing has been excellent at Moses Lake, with good numbers of keeper fish showing up in catches. The best spot is the Pelican Horn area south of Interstate 90.

Smith said fishing for 9- to 11-inch crappies has been excellent at most of the lakes adjacent to the lower Coeur d’Alene River and at Rose and Hauser lakes.

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