Hunting & Fishing

Kokanee

If you want to catch kokanee that are in perfect shape, do so soon. Some mature males in Loon Lake already are starting to darken; however, they’re still in excellent condition.

The kokanee in Coeur d’Alene and Mary Ronan lakes and Koocanusa Reservoir spawn later than those in Loon and therefore will remain in good condition at least another month. Most productive spots continue to be Loon and Koocanusa.

Some who troll from dawn to 9 a.m. at Loon have been taking 10-fish limits of 10- to 20-inch kokanee. Most of the fish they catch are small.

The key to catching kokanee in Loon is to get your lure down at least 30 feet. That means letting out four to five colors of leaded line, or using a “poor man’s outrigger” ahead of monofilament line.

Some anglers have been fishing at night and occasionally doing well. Since catching kokanee at night is tricky, only a small percentage of anglers succeed in taking limits.

The kokanee population in Deer Lake is small, but a few trollers, by fishing from dawn to 8 a.m., have been catching one to three large kokanee.

Trollers continue to have a tough time catching kokanee at Lake Coeur d’Alene. Steve Smith of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene said limits are few and far between.

However, the kokanee are bigger than they’ve been in several years, averaging more than 12 inches. The south end of the lake has been the most productive.

Koocanusa continues to provide fair to good fishing for two age classes. The limit is 20, and persistent anglers have been boating 15 to 20 during a day’s trolling.

Trout, Idaho

Although daytime temperatures have been in the high 80s and low 90s the last few days, water temperatures of North Idaho’s cutthroat streams have started to drop, and fishing has been picking up gradually.

Shadows are on the water earlier as days grow shorter, causing water temperatures to drop.

The St. Joe, Lochsa and lower Selway rivers and Kelly Creek are the most productive streams. Fishing has slowed along the Coeur d’Alene.

The St. Joe continues to attract large numbers of anglers, mostly fly fishers, from throughout the Northwest, making it difficult at times for fishermen to compete with other anglers.

The Lochsa and Kelly Creek aren’t nearly as crowded.

As usual, most fly fishers cast Elk Hair Caddis and Renegade patterns, as well as bead head nymphs.

Smith said numerous anglers have been jigging for the mackinaw trout at Priest Lake. The macks are small, running 2 to 8 pounds, but they seem to be plentiful.

Most small Idaho lakes continue to provide fair fishing for planted rainbows.

Trout, Montana

Don’t count on good fishing at rivers in the Missoula area if you fish during mid-day. Water temperatures of the Clark Fork and Bitterroot have been running in the low 70s. Rock Creek and the Blackfoot are in the mid-60s.

Until the water temperatures drop several degrees, according to guide Kurt Long of Grizzly Hackle International at Missoula, fishing usually will be slow during mid-day.

He said fishing with hopper patterns can be productive during late afternoon hours.

“The best time to fish any of the rivers until water temperatures drop is from 6 to 7 each morning,” he said.

“However, when there are a lot of hoppers and ants, mid-day fishing can be fair to good.”

Imitations of Pale Morning Dun mayflies and caddisflies are the name of the game, he said. Fly fishers have been using dry flies and nymph patterns early and late each day.

The PMDs hatch early. Caddisflies are out in the evenings.

Trout, Washington

Fishing pressure has been light at nearly all Eastern Washington lakes, primarily because of the heat. Even the most dedicated anglers are waiting for cool weather and water temperatures in the 50s and 60s.

However, some lakes have been yielding five-fish limits. One is Sprague, where still-fishermen, using worms and Berkley power baits, have been catching limits, Monika Metz, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, reported.

Fishing has been so productive at times, she said, anglers have caught limits in an hour or two. The rainbows average 16 inches and some are more than 20 inches long.

Fishing has been slow at the selective gear and fly fishing-only lakes of Eastern Washington. All major hatches are over and fly fishers are resorting to leech, dragonfly and damselfly nymph patterns. A few have done fairly well on chironomid patterns.

Trollers have been taking a few good-sized brown and rainbow trout at Clear, Silver and Waitts lakes. And trolling has been productive for net-pen-raised rainbows at Lake Roosevelt and the Potholes Reservoir.

Spiny rays

Walleyes, crappies and bass are providing some action at the area’s lakes. Anglers continue to catch good numbers of walleyes at Lake Roosevelt and some walleyes at the Potholes Reservoir.

Experienced walleye fishermen have been taking limits of 12- to 15-inch walleyes at Lake Roosevelt. They’ve been jigging and trolling in 10 to 30 feet of water from Seven Bays to Northport and in the Spokane arm.

Fishermen have been catching bass and a few crappies at Sprague Lake, Metz said. They’ve been fishing plugs in fairly deep water early in the mornings. Some of the bass weigh 4 to 5 pounds.

Metz said most of the crappies are 11 inches long. They don’t seem to be plentiful, but some fishermen have been catching two or three while fishing for trout.

Walleye fishing has been slow, she said.

Several North Idaho lakes have been yielding good catches of crappies, Smith said. Most productive has been Hayden, where there seems to be a good population of 11-inch-plus crappies.

Smith said he fished Hayden a few days ago and caught numerous crappies off docks in 10 feet of water.

Other lakes where crappies have been taking anglers’ lures are Hauser and Fernan.

Bass fishermen have been fishing early and late for largemouths and during mid-day hours for smallmouths, he said.

Salmon

Chinook salmon are providing some of the best fishing at Lake Coeur d’Alene.

“The fishing went from nothing a few weeks ago to excellent for immature fish and fair for the spawners now,” Smith said.

The final two days of the fall chinook derby will be Saturday and Sunday. Smith said trollers have caught a few chinooks in the 20-pound-class, mostly near the mouth of the Coeur d’Alene River.

The mature salmon are moving to their spawning streams. They’re already fairly dark, but still in good condition. Anglers wanting to catch a big salmon or two should troll near the river’s mouth or in Wolf Lodge Bay. However, because the population of mature salmon is small this year, fishing will be slow.

For those willing to catch small chinooks, the best area to troll small flashers and mini-squids is from Arrow to Hudson points. Some anglers have hooked and released a dozen 2-to 5-pound chinooks a day.

Bears and cougars

Only a few die-hard hunters have been looking for bears in the Spokane region. Most seem to be waiting for daytime temperatures to drop into the 60s and 70s.

Few, if any, hunters have been looking for cougars. The Fish and Wildlife Department cut the cost of the cougar tag to $5 to encourage deer, elk and bear hunters to buy the tag in case they see a cougar.