Fishing Report

Kokanee

Still fishermen now are catching kokanee at night at Loon Lake. Experienced anglers have been taking home 10-fish limits in less than an hour on nights when the kokanee can be coaxed into taking small, baited jigs.

Trollers also have been doing well, primarily before water skiers churn up the water.

If you plan to fish at night, launch your boat about 8 p.m. or a little later at the public access area on the north side of the lake. Look for kokanee schools in 28 to 35 feet of water. If you don’t have a fish finder, watch other anglers but don’t anchor too close to the ones who are catching fish.

Many serious night fishers use specialized tackle, including stainless steel piano wire for rod tips to detect delicate mouthings of the kokanee, ultra-light spinning rods, luminescent hooks and homemade lighting systems. They bait hooks with maggots, corn, grubs and even worms, but maggots are a favorite.

Anchor your boat at both ends so that the boat won’t swing around. Fish you baited glow hook just off the bottom. Lift it slowly and drop it; swing the rod tip back and forth slowly to detect the pickups.

Kokanee don’t grab bait and run. They mouth it. If you’re not sensitive to the slightest movement, you won’t feel the fish.

The night-time still fishing will continue through the summer.

Kokanee fishing has been excellent at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Justin Kimberling of the Fins & Feathers shop reported.

Anglers have been using both leaded line and monofilament line when rolling for the 11-inch-plus kokanee, he said. Those who use leaded line have been letting out two colors ahead of flashers and lures. Anglers who use monofilament have been getting down to the fish by using 1 to 1-1/2 ounces of lead attached to the line.

Earlier, the south end had been the favored part of the lake to catch kokanee. Now many fishers have been trolling in Wolf Lodge Bay.

Salmon

The upper Yakima River will reopen to fishing for chinook salmon Saturday and Sunday. The river is open on weekends during daylight hours only through July 1 and 2.

Fishing was slow last weekend, fisheries biologist Jim Cummins of Yakima reported. Fish and Wildlife Department officials checked 116 anglers with only one chinook.

Cummins said that the best fishing was above Interstate 90. He added that he thinks fishing will improve. About 8,500 chinooks have been counted at Rosa Dam and only about 300 have been taken by the department for spawning purposes.

He said that the salmon fishing at Ringold Springs is ending. Fishing was slow last weekend, with 67 anglers catching only four adult salmon, one jack salmon and two steelhead.

If you plan to fish the Icicle River, start fishing at first light or in the late evening. Fishing hours are a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset. The water’s low and “gin clear,” and the salmon are easily spooked when the sun’s up, fisheries biologist Larry Brown of Wenatchee said. Fishing has been extremely slow during the daytime.

An estimated 5,000 spring chinooks have been caught. However, few have been caught by sports fishermen. Most have been taken by Indians or have been trapped at the hatchery.

The chinook fishing will continue on the Icicle through July, but Brown said the salmon will soon start turning dark. The fish are still in good condition.

The Icicle was jammed with salmon fishermen during the first few days of the season. However, pressure has dropped considerably, probably because anglers learned that fishing for the chinooks wasn’t as good as it was expected to be.

The most productive fishing last week was along the North Fork of the Clearwater River. Biologist Larry Barrett of Lewiston said 308 fishermen were checked with 101 chinooks, one chinook for every three anglers. The fishermen averaged 15 to 16 hours per salmon.

Most of the chinooks were caught early last week. Fishing was slow during the weekend.

He said that the Corps of Engineers has boosted the water flow from the Dworshak Dam to about 5,000 cubic feet per second. Until the flow was increased, most of the salmon were concentrated just below the dam.

“With increased flow,” he said, “the salmon will be more spread out, perhaps even into the Clearwater just below the North Fork, and fishing could be a lot better.”

He said shore fishermen have been doing better than boat anglers. That could reverse with the increased flow.

Fishing was slow along the South Fork and Lochsa last week. However, Barrett said he believes a lot of salmon are in the streams and fishing could pick up.

Trout, Washington

Some of the region’s trout lakes are continuing to provide fair to good fishing, but the most productive times will be early and late in the day.

With Lake Roosevelt’s level now at more than 1,275 feet above sea level, all of the boat ramps along the huge reservoir are useable and anglers are trolling for trout from just above Grand Coulee Dam to near the U.S.-Canadian border.

Full pool is 1,290. At one time earlier this year the lake was down to about 1,234 feet.

Trollers have been hooking rainbows to 4 pounds at the Potholes Reservoir. However, the average size is more like 1 to 2 pounds. Popular areas have been the Frenchman Hills Wasteway mouth, between the sand dune islands, the Crab Creek channel, off the Mar-Don Resort dock and off the O’Sullivan Dam.

Although fishing has slowed down at such lakes as Fishtrap, Williams, Badger, Amber, Clear and Medical lakes, it’s still possible to take limits. Best bets are Williams and Badger.

Lakes known for their cutthroat in northeast Washington also are good bets. They include the lakes of the Little Pend Oreille chain and Yocum. Many lakes in Okanogan County still hold plenty of trout for fair to good fishing.

Most insects have hatched and trout in the fly fishing-only and selective-gear lakes and trout are scrounging for leeches, scuds and midges. Ell, Aeneas, Chopaka, Dry Falls, Blue and Grimes are continuing to provide interesting fishing for persistent anglers.

The rainbows stocked in Sprague Lake now are 13 inches long and fat. In addition, some walleye fishermen have caught carryover rainbows to 6 pounds.

Spiny rays

Walleye fishing has been outstanding at Sprague Lake, Mike Mielke, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, reported.

“The fishermen have had good luck with bottom bouncers and floating worm harnesses,” he said. “As always, the best success comes to the ones who can troll or drift the slowest. Color doesn’t seem to matter. Also, casting Rattle Traps and jigs has been good.”

He said lots of crappies have been showing up, some in the 9- to 11-inch range, but there have been some small ones. Whenever small crappies start taking lures, he said, it’s time to move and try to find a school of larger fish.

Beetle Spins are effective crappie lures, he said. Fishermen should work them in and around the weeds and along the banks.

Anglers have been catching everything from smallmouth bass to muskies at Northern Idaho lakes.

Kimberling said some big muskies have been caught at Hauser Lake the last couple of weeks. Numerous 25-pound-plus muskies have been hooked on top water plugs.

One angler, Justin Robinson of Coeur d’Alene, caught a 31-pound 14-ounce muskie on a top water plug.

Bass fishing has been excellent at numerous North Idaho lakes, including Coeur d’Alene and Hayden. Crappie fishing seems to have slowed.

Northern pike fishing has been fair to good at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Kimberling said. With the water warming, he said, fishers are expected to start taking pike on top water plugs.

Walleye and smallmouth bass fishing has been excellent at the Potholes Reservoir. Anglers have caught walleyes at the mouth of the Frenchman Hills Wasteway, in the sand dune islands area and along the Crab Creek channel.

Fishermen also have caught perch, but they’ve been too small to keep.

Trout, Idaho

North Idaho’s cutthroat streams have been attracting fairly large numbers of anglers.

The Coeur d’Alene River has been popular, according to Kimberling.

“Everybody’s been catching cutthroat,” he said.

The St.Joe, Lochsa and Selway rivers and Kelly Creek are now in good shape. However, they’re still high, swift and difficult to wade. Spokane fly fishers who fished the streams last weekend said they believe the streams won’t be in good, fishable condition for at least 10 days, perhaps longer.

Kimberling said that both Pend Oreille and Priest lakes are good bets for big fish. Trollers are still taking rainbows near the surface and mackinaw trout near the bottom at Pend Oreille and macks at Priest.

Trout, Montana

If you plan to fish the trout streams in the Missoula area during the next few days, be sure to have plenty of patterns that imitate Green Drake mayflies, Golden Stoneflies and caddisflies.

Green Drakes are hatching along the Bitterroot, Clark Fork and Blackfoot areas and along Rock Creek. The most prolific hatches, matching those of Idaho’s fabled Green Drake hatch on the Henry’s Fork in the Last Chance area, are along the Bitterroot.

The rivers have been dropping gradually, but they’re still high and swift. If they are fishable this weekend, you should do well, particularly if there’s an overcast.

The Kingfisher fly shop at Missoula recommends that fly fishers carry Green Drake imitations, as well as size 12 yellow and red parachute Madam X for the stoneflies and the Goddard Caddis and Elk Hair Caddis for the caddisflies.

The Bitterroot above Hamilton has been low enough for good fishing, but the lower river should be fishable now, the shop said.

Salmonflies, as well as the Green Drakes, Pale Morning Duns, Little Yellow Sally Stoneflies and caddisflies, are hatching along the Blackfoot and Rock Creek.

Incidentally, Rock Creek now is too low for easy floating.