Fishing Report

Unpublished correction: The name of Higgens Point is misspelled in this story. This information is from the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation.

Trout, Idaho

It’s time to fish North Idaho’s cutthroat streams. The Coeur d’Alene, St. Joe, Lochsa and Selway are low and clear enough for good fishing.

The Coeur d’Alene has been fishable for more than two weeks. Until a week ago, it was a little too high to wade, but the water level has dropped enough for anglers to wade easily.

The mature cutthroat are migrating up the Coeur d’Alene and anglers have been hooking 14- to 22-inchers all along the open sections of the river, according to Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene.

The St. Joe is still a little high, but it’s fishable. In fact, if you’re considering floating the catch-and-release section, this is a good time to do it. Numerous fly and spin fishermen float the stream on pontoon boats, rafts and canoes this time of year. By floating, they can easily reach parts of the river that are difficult for waders to fish.

The Lochsa and Selway are low and clear enough for good fishing.

Fishing has been fairly good at Lake Pend Oreille, Smith said. Trollers have been catching rainbows and mackinaw trout.

The rainbows are still near the surface and many anglers are using monofilament line.

Shad

More than 1,500,000 shad have climbed the fish ladders at Bonneville Dam and the fishing is peaking. You can fish from shore and from a boat above and below the dam.

If you don’t want to drive as far as Bonneville, stop at John Day Dam. The count at John Day’s ladders has exceeded 300,000, indicating there are enough shad below the dam for good fishing.

Spiny rays

At least 180 fishermen will be on Lake Roosevelt Saturday and Sunday trying for cash prizes that will be awarded to those who catch the most walleyes. The event is the annual Governor’s Cup.

John Carruth of Davenport, a fishing guide who will fish the tournament with Dick Hemore of Moses Lake, said the winning team probably will take home $8,000. Last year’s winners won that much money.

Each two-person team pays $260 to fish for the prizes.

Carruth said fishing could be tough during the tournament. He said he fished the lake last weekend and talked with several other anglers. Fishing was so slow, he said, few fishermen caught more than four walleyes.

“I think Lake Roosevelt is in bad shape as far as fishing is concerned,” he said.

The kokanee and rainbow fishing has been poor this year.

If the wind doesn’t kick up white caps, Sprague could be a good lake to fish this weekend for bluegills, crappies and walleyes.

Mike Mielke, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, said fishing was excellent much of the time last week and weekend for all three species.

“Fishermen caught lots of good-sized bluegills and many crappies, mostly on Beetlespin lures,” he said.

They also caught keeper walleyes on Beetlespins and Rattletraps. When the wind picked up a little, they drifted lures.

Bass fishing has been good at numerous lakes and reservoirs in Eastern Washington.

And it’s possible for an angler to hook 15 to 25 smallmouth bass a day at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Smith said. The limit is five over 12 inches. Most fish shallow water near rocky and gravel banks.

Several North Idaho lakes are producing fair to good crappie fishing, Smith said. Among them are Hauser, the Twins and Spirit.

Hayden is the place to catch large crappies, but they can be difficult to catch, he said. The lake is so clear the crappies are spooky. Experienced fishermen keep as far away as possible from the boat docks and make long casts.

Trout, Washington

Most of the lakes managed for trout fishing are continuing to yield five-fish limits to persistent and knowledgeable anglers.

However, best fishing is in the late evening, when the trout become active. The fish can be finicky and non-cooperative during midday hours.

Many anglers are taking vacations in British Columbia, Idaho and Montana. Many Canadian lakes are providing excellent fishing, especially those in the Kamloops and Cranbrook areas.

The selective gear and fly fishing-only lakes of Eastern Washington have large trout populations. Among the most productive have been Amber, Medical, Bayley, Dry Falls, Lenore, Lenice, Nunnally, Aeneas and Chopaka.

Kokanee

Few, if any, anglers are catching 25-fish limits at Dworshak Reservoir, but some are catching 10 to 15 of the 14-inch-plus kokanee a day, Smith said. Nearly all are fishing the lower end of the reservoir.

Smith said kokanee fishing has been good at Lake Coeur d’Alene, with many anglers taking 15 to 20 of the 10-inch-plus fish during a day’s fishing. Best fishing at the north end has been off Higgins Point and in Squaw Bay and at the south end off Spokane Point. The kokanee are 20 feet deep.

Smith said some are catching small chinook salmon while fishing for kokanee. The chinooks have good-sized spots on their side and are easily identified and can be released so they can grow to trophy size.

Kokanee fishing was slow at Loon Lake last week and weekend, according to Don Ostlund, who fishes the lake two or three days a week. He said experienced trollers have been catching two to four kokanee a day.

In some cases, he said, the kokanee are deep. He caught several while trolling a baited lure 48 feet deep.

Kokanee fishing picked up again at Koocanusa Reservoir last weekend, Mike Singer of the Koocanusa Resort reported. It was tough most of last week.

Singer said the average troller is catching 15 or more of the 12-to 14-inchers by letting out five colors of leaded line with a 1-ounce weight. He said he fished a couple of hours Sunday afternoon and caught 15.

Pike

Pike fishing has been good at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Smith said. The fish are in 2 to 4 feet of water in the shallow bays. Smith said he and others have been using top water plugs in Cougar and Harrison bays and at Lake Chatcolet. The pike average 5 pounds, but a 21-pounder was hooked and released last week.

Salmon

Now is a good time to fish for chinook salmon along the Columbia River near Ringold Springs and along the Icicle River, a tributary of the Wenatchee.

When the monthlong season opened June 1, only a few hundred chinooks had climbed the fish ladders at McNary Dam. More than 20,000 have been tallied at the dam, indicating there are enough salmon at Ringold and in the Icicle for fair to good fishing.

You can’t fish from a boat at Ringold. You’re limited to bank fishing and the river sometimes it too high for good fishing.

The Icicle is the most productive stream, but you’ll have plenty of competition. As more chinooks enter the stream, more fishermen will compete for the limited fishing areas. You can fish the Icicle from a small boat or raft.

Montana streams

The Missouri River below Holter Dam has been providing good fishing, guide Arnie Gidlow reported. The stream was running at 6,400 cubic feet per second early this week, a level that is slightly high for easy wading but is good for floating.

Gidlow said Blue Winged Olive mayflies and midges have been hatching.

Heavy rains last week and early this week have caused all the trout streams in the Missoula area to rise and turn muddy, making them almost unfishable.