Fishing Report
Idaho streams
Numerous North Idaho rivers and their tributaries will open to fishing Saturday, but most will be too high and off-color for good trout fishing as the result of the spring runoff.
The Coeur d’Alene was high and fairly clear last weekend, but hot weather this week was causing the river to rise and go off-color. Despite what happens to the water, campgrounds along the river almost certainly will be full during the Memorial Day weekend.
Major rivers that open Saturday include parts of the Coeur d’Alene, St. Joe, St. Maries, North Fork of the Clearwater, Lochsa and Selway.
Some of the small streams and tributaries of major rivers likely will be clear and low enough for fishing Memorial Day weekend. Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene, said such small streams as Fernan and Brickel creeks will be fishable.
“The St. Joe is fast and cold,” he said. “It’s likely to be too high for fly fishermen, but spin fishermen could catch a few fish.”
Nearly all the major streams will be too high and roily for good fishing until the end of June, perhaps longer.
The snowpack is large this year and the runoff period, depending on the weather, may be long.
Idaho lakes
Most anglers will continue to fish such lakes as Priest, Pend Oreille, Coeur d’Alene, Hayden, Spirit, Cocolalla, Round, Hauser, the Twins and smaller lakes that are stocked periodically by the Idaho Fish and Game Department.
Smith said he expects numerous anglers will troll Lake Pend Oreille this weekend. Fishing has been good for large rainbows, which are still near the surface.
“Water temperatures have risen fast,” he said. “Most fishermen will troll bucktail flies and lures off planing boards.”
Some will go after big mackinaw trout. They’ll fish deep, both at Lake Pend Oreille and Priest Lake.
Most North Idaho lakes have been stocked with rainbows in recent weeks. Since fishing pressure has been light, there are still plenty of trout available for good fishing. Smith said trout fishing has been slow at Hayden Lake.
Trout, Washington
Thousands of anglers, intent on enjoying the Memorial Day weekend, will fish Eastern Washington’s lakes the next three days, especially if forecasters promise fair and mild weather.
Although fishing action has slowed at most of the lakes as the result of continuous fishing pressure since opening day, most of the lakes managed for trout still have fair to good populations. However, fishing may be most productive during morning and evening hours.
Many anglers will spend the weekend in motor homes, pickup campers and trailers at resorts and public campgrounds.
Popular lakes in the Spokane area almost certainly will be Badger, Williams, Fishtrap and West Medical. But some of the multiplespecies lakes, including Clear, Silver, Liberty, Newman, Waitts and Jumpoff Joe, will attract anglers and others more interested in having a good time during the holiday weekend than catching a limit of five 10- to 12-inch fish.
The small lakes in Pend Oreille, Stevens and Ferry counties that have been providing fair to good fishing also will likely be crowded. Expect scores of campers and anglers at the Little Pend Oreille chain of Yocum, Marshall, Swan, Cedar, Pierre, Starvation and Deep.
Most popular lakes on the Colville Indian Reservation also will attract hundreds of fishermen. They include the Twins, Buffalo and McGinnis. All have fairly large trout populations.
Blue and Park lakes on and near the Sun Lakes State Park should be dotted with fishers for the first time since they opened in April. And Jameson in Douglas County will be home for many anglers, primarily those from the Coast, during the three-day holiday.
Campgrounds at numerous Okanogan County lakes will be jammed with RVs. The scenic Sinlahekin Valley is popular with recreationists this time of year. Several lakes along the valley have developed campgrounds. One of the most popular this spring has been Fish at the lower end of the valley.
The Sinlahekin is a birders’ paradise. When I camped at one of the lakes last week, I saw at least 20 species of song birds and waterfowl and heard quail and pheasants.
Other lakes in the Okanogan that will attract fishers and recreationists are Conconully lake and reservoir, Pearrygen, Wannacut, Alta and Bonaparte. The fish aren’t tacklebusters, but they’re plentiful.
Specially managed waters
Callibaetis mayflies are hatching at several fly fishing-only and selective-gear lakes in Eastern Washington.
Members of at least two fly clubs, as well as a score or more other fly fishers, will be camped at Chopaka Lake during the Memorial Day weekend. The fly fishers hope the mayflies will hatch for an hour or so each of the three days.
The length of Callibaetis hatches vary from day to day. The mottle-winged mayflies may hatch for only 15 minutes one day and then nearly 3 hours the next. If the sky is overcast, the hatch is most likely to last more than an hour. Fly fishers just hope for long hatches.
When I was at Chopaka last week with Jack Pattullo, we got lucky. The mayflies started hatching at noon and continued hatching for at least 2 hours. We hooked and released numerous rainbows ranging from 14 to 18 inches on dry flies.
Mayflies have hatched or are hatching at Amber, Bayley, Dry Falls, Lenice, Blue in the Sinlahekin, Aeneas, Ell and Big Twin.
Damselflies are hatching at a few of the lakes, including Dry Falls, Amber and Lenice. They should start hatching at Blue, Ell, Big Twin and Chopaka in a few days.
The Callibaetis hatch at Blue seems to be over. Most fly fishers have been fishing chironomid pupa imitations or trolling Woolly Buggers and other big flies. The chironomid hatch last week was sporadic.
Blue, Chopaka and Big Twin are the most productive lakes in Okanogan County. Fishing at Aeneas and Ell has been slow.
Kokanee
The kokanee in Loon Lake were still making knowledgeable anglers happy last weekend. Joe Haley, manager of the Granite Point Resort, said one fisherman caught 10-fish limits in an 1-1/2 hours both Saturday and Sunday.
“Some fishermen still don’t know what to do to catch the kokanee,” Haley said. “They come up here and can’t catch any.
“The key to catching the fish is to find them first and then fish at the right depth with the right equipment,” he added.
Most veteran fishermen have sonar units so they can spot schools of kokanee. The units tell them how deep the fish are.
“Last weekend, fishermen were letting out 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 colors of leaded line,” he said.
Most anglers use 00 or 000 dodgers ahead of maggot-baited lures.
Incidentally, trollers are still catching a few mackinaw trout at Loon Lake. Haley said Diana Beck of Spokane, while fishing for bass with a worm, caught a 19-pound, 6-ounce mack, and John Tracy, also Spokane, who spends a lot of time fishing for the species, caught a 14-pounder as well as a couple of other smaller lake trout.
Kokanee fishing has been poor at Lake Pend Oreille and slow at Lake Coeur d’Alene. However, trollers continue to catch kokanee behind the Dworshak Dam.
Wesley Brown of Spokane said he thinks reports of good catches of huge kokanee at Montana’s Hauser Lake have been exaggerated. He said he fished the lake for a few hours without catching any kokanee and then talked with local fishermen, who said the fishing had been poor.
Spiny rays
If you’re willing to fish just before and after sundown, you have a good chance of catching enough bluegills and crappies for a meal or two.
A Spokane fly fisher said he caught a dozen in an hour by fishing the south shoreline in the upper part of the lake. He said he didn’t start fishing until the sun was setting.
The bluegills and crappies averaged 8 inches. However, Mike Mielke, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, said he’s seen a few crappies more than 12 inches.
“When the cottonwoods start to bloom,” he said, “it’s time to fish for crappies and bluegills. Fishermen who stayed until dark last weekend did well on both.
“With a full moon coming up, fishing could be great this weekend.”
Most of the lakes adjacent to the lower Coeur d’Alene River are yielding fair to good catches of crappies, Smith said. Some are 9 to 11 inches long. Among the best producers have been Blue, Black and Thompson.
Salmon
If you fish for pike at Lake Coeur d’Alene during this weekend, you might hook a chinook salmon or two. Smith said the salmon are scattered around the lake. Some are in water only a few feet deep and others are in the main part of the lake.
He said guide Rick Caddy caught a couple of chinooks last week while fishing for pike in 2 to 6 feet of water.
Montana rivers
Most of the major rivers in the Missoula area probably will be high and roily this weekend. Anglers planning trips to the Clark Fork, Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers and Rock Creek should check with tackle shops before finalizing their plans.