Fishing Report

Stream fishing

Idaho and Montana trout streams are still high, but some have dropped and are clear enough for good fishing.

Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene River may be the most fishable the next few days. The runoff is about over and the river has been dropping daily. However, rainstorms could cause the river and its tributaries to rise.

Green Drake mayflies will be hatching along the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River in the Last Chance area the next week or so. The renowned hatch attracts fly fishers from throughout the world.

Best hatches occur during overcast days.

The big salmonflies have been hatching along Rock Creek east of Missoula for two weeks. The stream has been high and wild.

“The salmonfly hatch on Rock Creek is often a modified form of jungle fishing and this year has tested anglers’ abilities (to handle boats),” the Missoulan Angler said in its report of river conditions.

Fishing conditions have been tough, with fly fishers dredging big nymphs along the banks.

The Clark Fork and Bitterroot rivers have been dropping and, barring heavy rain, could be low and clear enough for fair to good fishing before the end of the month.

The Missouri River has been too high for good fishing, particularly for wading anglers.

Shad

Shad have reached John Day and McNary dams in good numbers. However, the best fishing still may be above and below Bonneville Dam.

Thousands of anglers, most from the Coast, have been fishing for shad the last three weeks. At times, the most productive spots on both sides of the Columbia River near Bonneville have been so popular anglers have competed for room to cast their lures and flies.

For Washingtonians, the best area to fish from shore is below Bonneville Dam. Shore fishers can cast lures along a 3- to 4-mile stretch. They park along a road and try to find a good place to fish.

On the Oregon side, there are areas above and below the dam where anglers can cast flies and lures.

Trout, lakes

Fortunately for the region’s anglers, lake temperatures have remained lower than normal this spring as the result of cool weather and periodic rain showers. But expect the temperatures to rise into the 70s and low 80s the next few weeks.

That means fishing will be tough much of the time, especially during mid-day hours. Major insect hatches are over and trout gradually will turn to near-microscopic crustaceans, leeches and terrestrial insects for their food.

To catch trout consistently during hot weather, anglers will have to fish deep most of the time. That means trollers will have to get baited lures down into relatively deep water and still-fishermen will fish bait in 20 to 35 feet of water.

When midges hatch in the evenings, trout will move to shallow water for brief periods to feed on the pupae and adult midges, even though the surface water temperatures are in the low 80s. Both bait and fly fishers will benefit.

Anglers have caught most of the fish in lakes managed for trout since opening day. As a result, the remaining trout don’t have much competition from other fish.

Trollers have been catching fair numbers of mackinaw trout at Lake Pend Oreille, but they’ve had problems interesting rainbows in their lures, according to Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop in Coeur d’Alene.

If the weather is mild and stable, anglers could boat more rainbows than they hooked during the unusually cool and rainy weather earlier this month.

Smith said mackinaws have been hitting trollers’ lures in both ends of Lake Pend Oreille. Most of the fish weigh 6 to 15 pounds.

Priest Lake may be a good choice for small macks this weekend.

Specially managed waters

Most productive fishing during the summer months will be at selective gear and fly fishing-only lakes, primarily because their fish populations are still relatively big. However, fishing will be slow even at those lakes at times.

Some of the most experienced fly fishers say they’ve been having trouble at times hooking more than a half-dozen trout at such lakes as Amber, Bayley, Browns, Dry Falls, Lenice, Nunnally, Chopaka and Blue.

Most have given up fishing Aeneas and Ell in Okanogan County. Aeneas, a fly fishing-only lake southwest of Tonasket, holds a few enormous triploid rainbows and lots of small trout stocked a couple months ago. And Ell, a selective-gear lake, has disappointed anglers since it opened in April.

Grimes, a selective-gear lake in Douglas County, holds good numbers of big Lahontan cutthroat. However, the fish, which were in shallow water the first few days of the short season, now spend nearly all their time in deep water. Anglers who know the lake have the best chance of hooking a few of the fish.

Forget about Lenore, which, like Grimes, holds Lahontan cutthroat. Fishing has been so poor fishermen have given up on the lake.

The region’s fly fishers are making their annual pilgrimage to British Columbia lakes. Although chironomid hatches have peaked at the B.C. lakes, big caddisflies, called Traveling Sedges by fly fishers, are hatching.

Large numbers of Canadian lakes are managed to produce big trout. Daily limits are small, often one a day, making it difficult for anglers to strip the lakes of their trout populations.

Spiny rays

This is the time of year when anglers hook large numbers of bass, walleyes, northern pike, crappies, perch and bluegills at the region’s lakes.

Several Eastern Washington lakes and reservoirs provide fair to good fishing for walleyes. Among them are the reservoirs between the dams on the Columbia River and such lakes as Sprague and Soda.

Idahoans go after pike at Coeur d’Alene, Hayden and the lakes adjacent to the lower Coeur d’Alene River. In addition, tiger muskies are attracting a lot of attention at a half-dozen North Idaho lakes; some huge tackle-busters are in Hauser.

For a long time this spring, fishing was so slow at Sprague, anglers just about gave up on the lake. However, when water temperatures climbed at the end of May, fishing improved dramatically. Fishermen have been catching lots of perch, many 10 to 12 inches long, as well as 8- to 9-inch bluegills, 9- to 12-inch crappies, keeper walleyes and catfish.

For the best fishing at Sprague during the summer months, start fishing just before sundown and stay until dark.

This is a good time to fish Coffeepot Lake for bass. Water temperatures are near ideal at the lake west of Harrington. Keep in mind the limit is two a day and bass longer than 14 inches must be released.

Because Coffeepot is a selective-gear lake, only unscented artificial flies or lures with a barbless single hook can be used.

Walleye fishing has been fair to good at the Potholes Reservoir.

Crappie and bass fishing has been good at several North Idaho lakes, Smith said. Bass are on their spawning beds at most lakes and are aggressive, he said. Coeur d’Alene, the Twins, Hayden, Rose and the lakes adjacent to the lower Coeur d’Alene River have been especially good.

Crappies haven’t yet spawned and fishermen have been catching enough of them at several Panhandle lakes for a few meals. Among the better producers have been Hayden, Hauser, Cocolalla and the Twins.

Salmon

Salmon fishing has been inconsistent at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Smith said.

Most of the chinooks that were caught the last week were 40 to 60 feet deep. Although the salmon are growing fast, most of those that have been caught weigh 3 to 7 pounds.

Smith said he expects fishing for the salmon to improve gradually.

Kokanee

Loon is still the most productive lake in Eastern Washington to troll for good-sized kokanee. In Idaho, Lake Coeur d’Alene is a good choice.

Although trollers at Loon Lake aren’t catching kokanee as fast as they did a month ago, experienced fishermen who have sonars and good equipment have been catching 5 to 10 of the 11- to 13-inchers nearly every time they troll.

The key to hooking the kokanee is to locate the schools and troll maggot-baited lures at the right depth and right speed. Anglers who don’t have sonars usually troll near those who periodically hook fish.

Fishing for the 9- to 12-inch kokanee at Lake Coeur d’Alene has been excellent, Smith said. Some fishermen have had little trouble taking 25-fish limits. The kokanee have been fairly close to the surface.