Fishing Report
Salmon
The chinook salmon in Lake Coeur d’Alene suddenly started hitting anglers’ lures a few days ago.
Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene, said most of the chinooks caught last weekend and early this week were small, averaging 2 to 4 pounds, but some were 10 to 15 pounds.
Largest reported catch was a 24-pounder, taken last week.
Smith said trollers caught salmon in both ends of the lake. In the south end, Powder Horn Bay and East Point were productive; Squaw Bay was most popular in the north.
The salmon are 40 to 70 feet deep, with most at the 60-foot level. Smith said trollers used flashers and dark-hued squids, dodgers and flies and helmeted herring.
Kokanee
If you want to keep cool while fishing, consider still-fishing for kokanee at night at Loon Lake the next few weeks. You may need to wear a winter coat on some nights.
The 10- to 18-inch kokanee in Loon are starting to concentrate in big schools after dark. Your job will be to locate the schools, which cruise around just above the bottom in 28 to 35 feet of water, then fish a maggot- or corn-baited hook. You should take a lantern to see when you bait your hook, net a kokanee, untangle a line and watch your rod tip.
You can use a sonar unit to locate kokanee schools or you can anchor near where others are anchored. But don’t get too close to them. You’ll discover kokanee don’t take a baited hook and run, causing your rod tip to dip. Kokanee mouth baited hooks so gently you’ll have to be alert constantly to detect their take.
If you don’t want to fish at night, fish from dawn to about 8 a.m., when there are few, if any, water skiers creating waves.
Still-fishing is popular at Chapman Lake in Spokane County and at Lake Mary Ronan. At the latter, however, all the still-fishing is done during daylight hours. Traditionally, the biggest Lake Mary Ronan fish are caught by still-fishermen, although this has been a troller’s season so far. Trolling for kokanee at Lake Coeur d’Alene has slowed considerably, Smith said.
Spiny rays
Smith said anglers fishing bait and lures in 10 to 12 feet of water over weed beds have been catching crappies at Hayden, Hauser, the Twins and Rose lakes in Idaho.
“The crappies usually are hard to find this time of year,” he said. “Maybe the spawning period was late this year.”
Good-sized bluegills have been showing up in good numbers at Sprague Lake. Mike Mielke, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, said anglers, using bait under bobbers and Beetlespins, have been doing well in the evenings.
Fishing for the bluegills, as well as other spiny rayed fish, has been slow during daylight hours, he said.
Anglers continue to catch large numbers of walleyes at Lake Roosevelt, guide John Carruth of Davenport said. The walleyes are scattered around the lake from near the Canadian border to the Grand Coulee Dam.
Carruth said he and another fisherman caught both walleyes and smallmouth bass when they fished the lake in the Keller area last weekend. He said he and his partner caught lots of walleyes in the 14- to 15-1/2-inch range and many smallmouths to 1-1/2 pounds.
Bass fishing has been excellent at the Potholes Reservoir during evenings, according to Mike Meseberg of the Mar-Don Resort. Some anglers have hooked and released up to 30 largemouth bass just outside the sand dune islands.
Trout, Washington
Anglers who want to catch big rainbows shouldn’t overlook Sprague Lake, Mielke said.
“Trout fishing may be slow at many trout lakes,” he said, “but that’s not the case at Sprague. Fishermen have been catching rainbows off our dock and off shore. One person caught a 6-pounder a few days ago.”
Trout fishing has been excellent at the Potholes Reservoir, Meseberg said. Anglers have taken limits of rainbows averaging 14 inches off Medicare Beach and even off the Mar-Don resort.
Other multiple-species lakes, including Clear, Silver and Waitts, have been yielding some nice-sized brown and rainbow trout, primarily during evenings.
Most fly fishers, who earlier this year fished fly fishing-only and selective-gear lakes, are fishing the Northwest’s streams. However, such lakes as Bayley, Medical, Amber, Dry Falls, Lenice and Chopaka occasionally provide fairly good fishing.
Trout, Idaho
North Idaho’s most popular trout stream continues to be the St. Joe. In fact, the catch-and-release section has been so crowded during weekends that fishermen have been complaining they sometimes have to hike long distances in the roadless section or drive several miles to find a place to fish.
It’s not so crowded now that most of the big cutthroat have migrated to high, cool waters in the Coeur d’Alene River.
Kelly Creek and its main tributary, Cayuse, are providing good fishing, particularly in the mornings and evenings.
The Lochsa and Selway are low enough for wading fishermen. Most of the North Idaho lakes planted with hatchery-raised trout still have fair to good fishing, Smith said. Among them are Fernan, Hauser, Kelso and Round.
The only times to fish the Henry’s Fork are from 7 to about 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. to dark, according to Clayton Molanero of Blue Ribbon Flies at West Yellowstone, Mont. Pale Morning Dun mayflies and caddisflies have been hatching.
Trout, Montana
Now is a good time to fish Rock Creek and the Blackfoot and Bitterroot rivers in the Missoula area, Jim Toth, owner of Grizzly Hackle International tackle shop at Missoula, reported.
He said the rivers have dropped dramatically the last 10 days. In fact, the Bitterroot is a little too low for easy floating in some areas. And Rock Creek is lower than normal for this time of year.
“If I had my choice of the rivers in our area now,” he said, “I’d float the Blackfoot. The river is in ideal condition for good nymph fishing. I’d float from the mouth of the North Fork downstream.
“You won’t catch a lot of fish on the surface. I’d use a doublebeaded yellow stonefly nymph or a single-tungsten bead nymph. It’s necessary to get the nymphs down deep.”
The Blackfoot has become one of the most productive streams in the Missoula area, he said. It has good populations of rainbows, browns and cutthroat in a variety of sizes.
Toth said Rock Creek is low and clear. Hatching are golden stones, Pale Morning Dun mayflies and caddisflies. Periodically, there are carpenter ants on the water.
He said the upper Bitterroot is low and clear. In fact, he added, it’s low enough for wade-fishing from Darby to Hamilton. Fly fishers who float the river should consider fishing from Darby to Florence. Golden stones, PMDs and caddisflies are hatching.
The Clark Fork in the St. Regis area is low and clear enough for good fishing, but the best times to fish are before 11 a.m. and after 5 p.m., Brooks Sanford, owner of the Clark Fork Trout & Tackle shop at St. Regis, reported.
Big attractor patterns like Dave’s Yellow Hoppers, Madam Xs, Stimulators and Royal Wulffs are sometimes effective during the heat of the day, he said. Fly fishers who use a Prince Nymph or Pheasant Tail Nymph behind attractor flies also are taking trout.
Caddisflies and Pale Morning Dun mayflies hatch in the evenings. Top trout producer in the West Yellowstone area is the Yellowstone River.
“Fly fishing has been fabulous,” Molanero said. “There are lots of big cutthroat and a variety of bugs are hatching, including golden stoneflies, salmonflies, Gray Drake and Pale Morning Dun mayflies.”
He said Slough Creek and the LaMar River in the park have been providing good fishing, but fly fishers have been plagued by biting insects.
Crabs
It looks as though this will be a good season for crabbers, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “Historically, Pack Saddle Park near Anacortes has yielded good results for crabbers,” the agency said.
For information on the season and regulations, call the Spokane office at 456-4082 or Mike Judge at (360) 902-2407 in Olympia.
Shad
This year’s shad run is almost over. It’s still possible, however, to hook shad below Ice Harbor Dam. Nearly 20,000 have been counted at the dam.
Pike
Pike fishing has been slow at North Idaho lakes, Jeff Smith said. He speculated the hot weather has been one of the factors that have made fishing tough.