Fishing Report
Kokanee
Both trollers and still fishermen have been catching 10-fish limits at Loon Lake, Joe Haley, manager of the Granite Point Resort, said.
Best time to troll is in early morning, when there are few speedboats and water skiers on the lake, he said.
Trollers have been letting out 3-1/2 colors of leaded line ahead of flashers and baited lures. He recommended anglers use a 00 or 000 dodger or a two-bladed Jack Lloyd to attract the fish. Five-bladed spinners pull against the soft-mouthed kokanee and result in a high percentage of the hooked fish being lost.
Some anglers who have complained that they caught more rainbows than kokanee may not have gotten their baited lures deep enough, he said.
Surprisingly, night fishing for kokanee has been excellent before dark. Some anglers have taken their limits soon after 8 p.m. “`The fish sometimes bite like crazy before dark,” he said.
The most popular areas with night fishermen are the Sockeye hole, the north end and the windmill area. The kokanee have been schooling up at the 27- to 30-foot level.
The kokanee range in size from 9 to 13 inches long, with a few larger. Some anglers have been releasing the 9-inchers and continuing to fish until they get 10 of the bigger fish.
Kokanee fishing was somewhat spotty much of the last week at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop, said.
However, trollers averaged 10 to 15 each on the slow days. The kokanee are 11 to 12 inches long.
Fishing for kokanee has been fair to good at Dworshak Reservoir and at Lake Mary Ronan and Koocanusa Reservoir in northwest Montana.
Tiger muskies
Anglers are continuing to catch tiger muskies in the 25- to 35-pound class at Hauser Lake.
Smith said a lot of big tiger muskies have been caught the last few weeks, leading many anglers to conclude they can hook a big fish every time they go fishing.
“It isn’t that easy,” he said. “You might make 300 to 400 casts without a hit. You might fish for several days before catching one. If you do catch one, though, it likely will weigh more than 25 pounds.”
Tiger muskies are much more active than northern pike, Smith said. The muskies jump a lot and take out a lot of line.
“Anyone who goes after the tiger muskies should be prepared with the right tackle,” Smith said. “He should have a high quality reel, line that tests a minimum of 20 pounds, a 6-1/2 to 7-foot medium or heavy action rod, wire leader and high-grade swivels.”
Salmon and steelhead nets are inadequate, he said.
Dave Tachney of Post Falls holds the Idaho state record. His tiger muskie, caught on a brown and orange spinner bait, weighed 37 pounds, 13 ounces.
Salmon
With the possible exception of the North Fork of the Clearwater River, streams open to spring chinook fishing no longer are crowded with anglers.
The spring chinooks have turned dark and many fishermen no longer consider them good table fare.
Fishing has been slow along the Yakima and Icicle rivers and the Ringold Springs area of the Columbia River. It’s been fair to good in the Clearwater’s North Fork.
About 9,600 anglers in 3,700 boats converged on Seattle’s Lake Washington on July 4, when recreational sockeye fishing opened there for the first time in four years. Over 13,000 sockeye were caught on the opening day, state officials said.
Spiny rays
About one of every six walleyes hooked by anglers at Sprague Lake over the holiday weekend was a keeper (18 inches or longer), Mike Mielke, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, reported.
Mielke said most anglers cast Rattle Traps or used a floating worm harness with a nightcrawler.
He said strong winds moved algae to the east end of the lake, creating excellent fishing but puzzling fishermen.
A few big walleyes have been caught at the Potholes Reservoir, Mike Meseberg of the Mar-Don Resort said. One of the largest was an 11-pound, 7-ounce fish caught by Amy Wren of Arco, Idaho. She used a worm harness.
The Crab Creek channel is one of the most popular and productive areas for walleyes, he said.
Idaho’s Hayden Lake may be one of the most productive spots in Idaho to catch good-sized smallmouth bass. Smith said anglers should do well casting jigs and plastic worms off the beaches and rocks. The bass are moving from the spawning areas to the rocky areas.
Anglers could start keeping bass hooked at Hayden Lake on Monday. The limit is two a day. No bass between 12 and 16 inches can be kept.
Smallmouths in Lake Coeur d’Alene also are moving away from spawning areas to the rocky points and rocky areas.
“If you want to hook the smallmouths on top,” he said, “fish from 4:30 to 6:30 a.m. After that, go to plastics.”
Trout, Idaho
Now that the huge holiday crowds have diminished, it’s possible to find a fishing spot at most of North Idaho’s cutthroat rivers. However, expect the St. Joe and Kelly Creek to be crowded much of July and August.
The St. Joe likely will be the most productive cutthroat stream this month. Fishing has slowed along the Coeur d’Alene, and the large, mature cutthroat that have been in the lower river are moving up to the headwaters.
Anglers have reported numerous break-ins to their vehicles along the two rivers in recent weeks.
Some anglers think they can get away from other fishers by hiking a few miles up the St. Joe beyond the end of the road. In most cases, they discover other anglers who also thought they could get away from other fishers.
Mayflies, caddisflies and some stoneflies are still hatching. In fact, there will be hatches of insects, particularly caddisflies, all summer.
Smith said that trollers have had few problems catching 3- to 12-pound mackinaw trout at Priest Lake. Most of them have been trolling perch or frog pattern plug and dodgers and hootchies with nightcrawlers or fish meat at about 140 feet deep. Most productive areas have been Distillery and Huckleberry bays and near the Twin Islands.
“The best time to start fishing is about 4:40 a.m.,” he said. “The daily limit is two macks of any size.”
Trout, Montana
The lower Clark Fork River is continuing to produce some of the best fly fishing in northwestern Montana.
Spokane area fly fishers who have fished the stream below Superior have told their friends that they’ve experienced the best fly fishing in years along the river. They say they’ve hooked one 15- to 19-inch trout after another on some days, particularly on cloudy or overcast days.
Kingfisher fly shop guides also said this week that the Clark Fork is their choice for hooking consistently nice-size fish on dry flies. However, they warn their clients that the popular stream doesn’t have as many trout per mile as most other trout rivers.
Green Drake and Pale Morning Dun mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies have been hatching. Caddisfly hatches come off in the evenings and sometimes during mid-day hours. Fly fishers have been using size 8 Royal Stimulators, sizes 12 to 18 Parachute Adams, yellow and red Parachute Madam X.
The fly shop said that the Bitterroot is dropping fast and may be too low for easy floating, particularly after farmers start irrigating their crops.
Same species of bugs that have been hatching along the Clark Fork have been hatching on the Bitterroot. Besides patterns mentioned above, fly fishers have been doing well on sizes 14 and 16 Golden Stonefly patterns, red San Juan worms and stonefly and Green Drake nymph flies.
Rock Creek also is dropping fast. It’s been unfloatable for some time.
The Kingfisher shop said that fishing has been outstanding along the Missouri below Holter Dam, with fly fishers casting Parachute Adams, Elk Hair Caddis and Royal Wulff patterns.
Incidentally, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has closed the upper 19 miles of the Big Hole to all angling because of extremely low water conditions that threaten the survival of the river’s native Arctic grayling population.
Trout, Washington
If you want to catch big trout, troll Lake Roosevelt, the Potholes Reservoir, Sprague Lake or the specially managed lakes.
Lake Roosevelt is now nearly full and all the traditional trolling areas are producing good-sized rainbows, as well as some kokanee.
An 8-pound rainbow was caught several days ago at Sprague Lake, but most of the trout are 13 inches long. Mielke said anglers have been trolling and still-fishing for trout. A good still-fishing area is over and near springs not far from the Sprague Lake Resort.
At the Potholes Reservoir, trollers have been catching big trout at the mouths of the Frenchman Hills and Winchester wasteways, off the face of the O’Sullivan Dam and in the Crab Creek channel.
Fishing has been tough at times at trout-only lakes in Eastern Washington. Fish early and late for best results.