Fishing Report

Memorial Day weekend

If the weather is reasonably mild during the Memorial Day weekend, thousands will fish lakes and streams in the Inland Northwest. Fishermen have hoped for sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s, and maybe they’ll get their wish.

Some fishing clubs, particularly fly fishing organizations, have scheduled outings for the weekend. In addition, bass and walleye fishing contests will be held.

Rain, hail, snow and low temperatures have kept fair-weather fishermen home the last couple months. Even die-hard anglers have complained they had trouble maneuvering their boats during 15- to 30-mph winds.

Because fishing pressure has been light as the result of unusually cold and rainy weather, most of the trout lakes still hold good populations of fish.

Many streams, however, will be high and muddy. The major runoff has started, and the streams won’t drop and clear for several weeks.

Nearly all of Idaho’s prime trout streams, including the Coeur d’Alene, St. Joe, Clearwater, Lochsa and Selway, are high and off color. The rivers will open to fishing Saturday, but few fishermen will try their luck.

Trout, Washington

Mayflies, damselflies and midges are hatching at most lowland lakes of Eastern Washington, creating good opportunities for fly fishers. Because the trout will feed actively, even spin and bait fishermen will benefit.

Fly fishers say Callibaetis mayflies are hatching at Amber, Bayley, Dry Falls, Lenice, Nunnally, Ell and Chopaka, their favorite lakes. Damselfly hatches are just getting under way. Chironomid hatches have occurred for several weeks.

Numerous lakes in the Spokane region should yield limits during the weekend. Among the most productive will be West Medical, Fishtrap, Williams, Badger, Clear, Silver, Waitts, Jumpoff Joe and the cutthroat lakes in Pend Oreille and Stevens counties.

Blue and Park lakes southwest of Coulee City have been ignored the last few weeks despite the fact they still hold good numbers of 10- to 12-inch rainbows. They may be more popular this weekend as Coast fishermen seeking good places to fish camp in the area.

Jameson Lake in Douglas County is a good bet for 10- to 14-inch rainbows. It’s been a reliable producer since opening weekend.

Several lakes in the Okanogan region will attract anglers who want to camp during the weekend and take home a couple of limits of fish. The fish aren’t big, but they’re plentiful in Alta, Blue, Bonaparte, Conconully lake and reservoir, Fish, Patterson and Pearrygin.

Sidley Lake, now a selective fishery water, may be the target of anglers after big rainbows. It’s a relatively high lake that doesn’t produce well until late May.

Kokanee

Mature kokanee in Lake Mary Ronan are an inch and a half larger than they were in 1995, Mark Thomas of Tuffit’s Resort said.

He reported most of the kokanee caught during the last week were 14 to 15 inches long. One angler, however, brought in a 17-incher.

Fishing was tough during the first few days of the season, he said. Most anglers, particularly those who aren’t experts, caught only one or two; some got skunked.

“The lake is the highest I’ve seen it in years,” he said. “It’s also very cold and murky.”

Thomas said fisheries officials recently put a gill net into the lake and learned there are good numbers of 15-inch cutthroat in the lake. No one caught the trout, however, the first few days of the season.

“We need warm, calm days to start the kokanee biting regularly,” Thomas said.

Trollers aren’t catching many of the 16- to 19-inch kokanee at Loon Lake, but that hasn’t stopped the most persistent fishermen from trying, Joe Haley of the Granite Point Resort said.

Experienced anglers are catching two or three nearly every time they troll for the kokanee, he said. Inexperienced fishermen often get skunked.

He said kokanee have been caught down to 35 feet. Trollers have let out two to five colors of leaded line. Numerous lures have taken kokanee. The most productive have been red or red and black.

Trollers have been catching 20-fish limits of 9- to 13-inch kokanee at Lake Koocanusa, a spokesperson for the Koocanusa Resort said. Although the smallest kokanee are 9 inches, she said most are 11 to 13 inches. The lake was murky from rains early this week.

It’s apparently too early for Coeur d’Alene and Pend Oreille lakes to produce good kokanee fishing. Spirit Lake, however, is churning out 25-fish limits of 8-inchers. Most anglers are jigging.

Trout, Idaho

Best trout fishing on the weekend will be at the lakes. With major rivers now high and off color, trout fishermen will troll for trout in Hayden, Pend Oreille, Priest and numerous small lakes.

Jeff Smith of the Fins & Feathers shop said trollers and shore fishermen have hooked good-sized rainbowcutthroat hybrids at Hayden Lake.

Trollers are using plugs and Needlefish. Most shore fishermen are baiting their hooks with nightcrawlers.

Prospects for hooking large rainbows at Lake Pend Oreille are dismal. Fishing has been slow since the opener.

Chinook salmon

Chinooks are still hitting trollers’ bait and lures at Lake Coeur d’Alene. Numerous anglers, trolling in the north end of the lake, caught chinooks weighing 8 to 15 pounds last weekend.

The chinooks are still being caught near the surface, he said. As usual, the favorite lures are Rapalas and flutter spoons. Many trollers, however, use helmeted herring.

Northern pike

Two- to 8-pound pike are attacking anglers’ lures at Black, Swan and Cave lakes, Smith said. Action has been slow at Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Spiny-rayed species

Walleyes are hitting at Sprague Lake and the Potholes Reservoir.

Monica Mielke of the Sprague Lake Resort said anglers caught numerous keeper-size walleyes at the lake the last week. The largest brought to the resort, she said, weighed 5 pounds.

Bass fishermen have been catching largemouths to more than 3 pounds along the shoreline.

Joe Keller of the Four Seasons Resort on the lower end of the lake said few perch, crappies and bluegills are showing up in catches. He said one angler, however, found a big school of bluegills and caught a lot of them.

The Potholes Reservoir may attract lots of campers during the Memorial Day weekend. Fishing has been slow for most species, but anglers have started hooking fair numbers of walleyes.

Smith said anglers are catching 8- to 11-inch crappies at Cave, Black and Swan lakes along the lower Coeur d’Alene River.

Trout, Montana

The big snow runoff has started in the Missoula area and the blue-ribbon trout streams are high and muddy, reported Jim Toth, operator of Grizzly Hackle.

“This has been an unusually wet and cold spring,” he said. “Rain has kept the rivers high and sometimes off color during the pre-runoff period. By this time of the year, the runoff usually is at a peak. Now it’s just starting.”

Toth said Rock Creek and the Clark Fork and Bitterroot rivers will be too high and muddy for good fishing during the Memorial Day weekend. He said some anglers will fish tributary streams, a few of which are fishable.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN - Fishing and Hunting Report