Fishing Report
Trout, Idaho
With Lake Pend Oreille open to trout fishing, the big lake is starting to attract anglers. The last 10 days the lake has been dotted with a few boats.
Under new regulations, fishermen can keep six trout a day of any size. The trout include rainbows, browns and trout hybrids, but not bull trout, which are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Cutthroat are included; however, the limit is two a day.
Anglers also can keep all the mackinaws (lake trout) they catch.
Although many fishermen, and even biologists, refer to the macks as “trout,” the fish actually are chars.
For the most part, rainbow fishing has been slow. It’s apparently a little too early. However, the rainbows probably will be heading toward the mouth of the Clark Fork River soon to spawn and will be easier to catch.
Most veteran fishermen have been trolling for macks. A popular area is around the islands near Hope. Fishermen can launch their boats at Hope and be fishing in a few minutes.
There are several other areas where anglers troll for the macks, according to Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene. He said off Whiskey Rock, around the shoreline in the south end and in the bays are sometimes productive.
Scenic Bay just outside of Bayview and Idlewilde Bay are a couple of favorite spots.
“Fishermen catch bull trout everywhere, but they have to release them,” he said.
Most of the time, he said, fishermen troll at 100 to 150 feet deep. Lyman plugs and dodgers and flies seem to work well.
Winds have kept most anglers off the lake at times the last week.
Several small lakes, including Mirror, Kelso and Fernan, have been yielding fair numbers of trout. Mirror has brook trout and Kelso has 10- to 14-inch rainbows.
Trout, Washington
The ice-fishing season, disappointing to anglers who like to fish through holes in the ice, may be over. Ice caps developed a month after the winter season got under way and have been marginally safe for ice fishing at most Eastern Washington lakes.
Anglers will fish in open water at Fourth of July Lake this weekend. Unless the weather pattern changes, the long, narrow lake likely will be ice-free until the end of the winter season March 31.
Although the lake has been fished hard since it opened Dec. 1, it apparently still has a good population of rainbows in the 10- to 19-inch range. Periodic checks by Fish and Wildlife Department biologists and wildlife agents have indicated fishermen have been able to catch at least two to three rainbows during a few hours of fishing.
Most of the rainbows are 13 to 19 inches long.
The lake will attract scores of fly fishers the next few weeks. It’s the only lake open to fishing that holds large numbers of big trout and it’s only 40 miles from Spokane.
On the other hand, Hog Canyon Lake won’t be as crowded as it has been in recent years. Because the lake was 8 feet under full pool, the Fish and Wildlife Department cut the usual rainbow plant drastically. Fishermen have caught most of the fish the last 2 months and there aren’t enough left for good fishing. However, some anglers will catch limits of 12- to 13-inch rainbows. > Williams Lake north of Colville should provide fair to good fishing for 10- to 15-inch rainbows the next week or so.
Mike Meseberg of the Mar-Don Resort said fishermen have been catching trout at the Potholes Reservoir and several small lakes in the vicinity. The lakes include Corral, Heart and Blythe.
Meseberg said 160,000 young rainbows are in the net pens at the resort and will be released into the Potholes Reservoir this spring. About 300,000 rainbows have been raised in the net pens and released into the reservoir the last three years.
Spiny rays
Anglers fished for perch and crappies through ice in the upper end of Sprague Lake last week and part of the weekend. Some launched boats at the Harder ramp and fished in open water.
Fishing was slow. One angler reported he and a friend fished for 5 hours from his boat and didn’t get a bite. He said they tried to find perch, bluegills, crappies and walleyes.
Any ice left on the lake this weekend likely will be too thin for safe ice fishing.
Fishermen have caught some walleyes at the Potholes Reservoir and Soda and Long lakes, Meseberg said. Dewey Huhe of Moses Lake caught a 12-pound walleye and four smaller ones while fishing from shore at the reservoir.
Many of the small lakes in Bonner and Boundary counties of Idaho’s Panhandle still have good ice covers. However, most lakes in Kootenai, Benewah, Latah and Nez Perce counties have never had ice covers thick enough for safe fishing.
Smith said fishermen have been catching lots of small perch and some northern pike through the ice at Upper Twin. Perch fishing is slower at Lower Twin, but the perch population is smaller.
He said he and friends caught bass and 10-inch perch Saturday at Gamble Lake. However, the fishing was slow.
Perch fishing has been good through ice at several lakes in the northern Panhandle, Smith said. Fastest fishing has been at Upper Twin Lake, but the perch are quite small. Perch in Lower Twin are a little larger, but fewer. Fernan had a questionable ice cover last weekend and fishermen caught 9-inch perch and some pike through the ice.
Few fishermen used tip-ups at Lake Coeur d’Alene and the lakes adjacent to the lower Coeur d’Alene River. Some Lake Coeur d’Alene chain lake bays have had ice covers, but most fishermen figured the ice wasn’t trustworthy.
Steelhead
Snake River tributaries will get a lot of attention from anglers the next few weeks. The steelhead are approaching their spawning period and, when water temperatures rise above 40 degrees, will migrate up the streams.
Some spawners have been in the Walla Walla, Touchet, Tucannon, Clearwater and Grande Ronde for several weeks. Fishing has been sensational along the Tucannon and Touchet and good along the Clearwater and Grande Ronde.
Some streams will become too high and roily for good fishing after rainstorms.
Salmon
The chinook salmon in Lake Coeur d’Alene are still scattered around the lake, but many seem to be near the surface, Smith said. However, catching them has been difficult.
“Some salmon have been caught the last week,” he said. “Anyone who fishes for them now should consider trying both lures and bait. Lures can be productive when the fish come up near the surface.”
Most fishermen have been trolling helmeted herring. Smith suggested trying Rapala plugs, as well as herring.
Kokanee
If you want to fish for 9-1/2 to 9-inch kokanee at Spirit Lake, you have to do so the next few days. The lake will be closed to fishing for kokanee from Thursday through April 29.
Under the new regulations, the daily is limit 15.
Ice conditions at the lake are marginal.
At Lake Roosevelt, park rangers report that anglers are jumping the gun on changes in kokanee limits that won’t take effect until May 1.
At that time, anglers will be able to keep two kokanee a day regardless of whether their adipose fins are clipped, plus up to five trout.
Until May 1, however, anglers are still prohibited from keeping wild kokanee. Only kokanee with missing adipose fins can be kept.
Trout, Montana
The Clark Fork River should be a good option for fly fishers if the current mild weather continues, the Kingfisher Flyshop said.
“Heavy midge hatches will have the fish up and eating in their typical pod pattern and they won’t be at the peak of their intelligence curve in the middle of the winter,” it reported.
The shop’s owners suggested fishers try trail shuck midge emergers and size 20 Royal Wulffs on the surface and flashback Pheasant Tail Nymphs and the San Juan Worms under the surface.
Midges also have been hatching along the Bitterroot during mild days, but the shop’s experts recommended using big and black stonefly nymph patterns and Girdle Bugs.
Dry fly fishing is a possibility along Rock Creek during mild days, Kingfisher owners said. However, most productive patterns probably will be mayfly and stonefly nymphs, San Juan Worms and Prince and Hare’s Ear nymphs.
“Keep (the flies) deep and slow,” the experts recommended.
Whitefish
Only a few anglers have been fishing for the whitefish along the lower Coeur d’Alene River, Smith said. Probable reason: the whitefish are too small for most fishermen.
Whitefish in the Columbia below Priest Rapids Dam are more than 12 inches long and are plentiful enough for fishermen to take home limits of 15.
Soda Lake holds a big population of lake whitefish; however, they’re hard to catch this time of year. Fishermen are waiting for water to be pumped out of the Potholes Reservoir into the lake. When the water volume is good, whitefish will concentrate at Soda’s inlet area.