Hunting & Fishing
Trout, Idaho
North Idaho’s major trout streams will be lower and clearer Saturday than they’ve been most opening days the last few years. However, they still may be a little too high for easy wading.
Anglers should study this year’s fishing regulations. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission completely overhauled fishing rules for the Spokane River drainage. The Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe rivers are in the drainage.
With the exception of the catch-and-release sections of those and other streams, the daily limit will be six trout, only two of which can be cutthroat. All cutthroat between 6 and 16 inches must be released. Because few anglers will keep a cutthroat under 6 inches and most will not be successful in catching a cutthroat more than 16 inches, the only trout most anglers will take home will be rainbows and brook trout.
Fishermen can keep up to six rainbows of any size. Because brookies compete with cutthroat, the commission has established a bonus limit of 10 brook trout in addition to the six-trout limit.
Ned Horner of Coeur d’Alene, Panhandle fisheries manager, said fishing opportunities for anglers “will be greatly increased because they can now fish areas that didn’t open until July 1.” Such areas include the Spokane River above Post Falls Dam and the Coeur d’Alene River below the confluence of the South Fork. The catch-and-release section on the St. Joe has been extended for 12 miles downstream to Avery.
Horner said the department is stocking rainbows in the Spokane River drainage to enhance fishing opportunities. However, only sterile triploid rainbows are being released. The eggs are heat shocked to produce a third set of chromosomes that does not allow them to hybridize with cutthroat trout.
He also said stocking locations have been reduced. Rainbows are being released from Bumblebee Meadows Campground up 3 miles on the Little North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River, from Steamboat Creek to the steel bridge and from Shoshone Creek to Yellowdog Creek on the Coeur d’Alene’s North Fork, Marble Creek up to Avery on the St. Joe and in the vicinity of Fernwood on the St. Maries River.
The Moyie River is being managed for wild trout with a two-fish limit.
The Upper Priest River above Upper Priest Lake will be open to catch-and-release fishing for the first time in many decades, Horner said.
The first two weeks of the season is the best time to catch the biggest cutthroat in the lower Coeur d’Alene River, according to Jeff Smith, owner of the Fins & Feathers shop at Coeur d’Alene.
“The big cutthroat are still not very wary and they’ll take anything that looks like food,” Smith said. “Later, they’ll become very selective and wary.”
Trout, Montana
The giant Pteronarcys californica stoneflies, called salmonflies by anglers, are hatching along Rock Creek. As a result of the long-anticipated hatch, as well as hatches of golden stoneflies, caddisflies, mayflies and midges, the nationally known stream is producing the best fishing in the Missoula area.
The Kingfisher fly shop recommended fly fishers have good supplies of salmonfly imitations, red Turck’s Tarantulas, Goddard or Elk Hair Caddis, olive Chernobyl Ant, Parachute Adams and San Juan Worms.
The Clark Fork was high and dirty earlier this week. The Bitterroot also was too high and roily for good fishing. The fly shop recommended fly fishers spend their time on the side channels and slough areas.
Trout, Washington
Numerous lakes in Pend Oreille, Stevens, Ferry and Okanogan counties that have campgrounds or areas where people can camp will be fished during the Memorial Day weekend by anglers who have RVs if the weather is mild and people feel there will be little or no rain.
Unsettled weather the last few weeks has discouraged a lot of anglers from spending a few days at lakes far from the population centers. Consequently, many lakes haven’t been fished as hard and frequently as they could have been.
Forest Service, state and commercial campgrounds likely will be full for the first time since the opening of the general fishing season.
Popular lakes should be those in the Little Pend Oreille chain, Yocum, Ellen, Deep, Swan and a score of put-and-take lakes in Okanogan County.
However, several lakes in Spokane County, including Badger, Williams, Fishtrap and Clear, will be popular with hundreds of anglers. Resorts at Williams, Fishtrap and Clear could be full of campers.
Fastest limits at lakes in the Spokane area should be at Badger and Williams, both of which still have large populations of rainbows and cutthroat.
Blue and Park southwest of Coulee City will attract many fishers, particularly those from the Coast.
Park and Blue have been fished relatively lightly since opening weekend and still hold large numbers of rainbows and browns averaging 12 inches, as well as some carryover trout to 16 inches.
Lake Roosevelt is too low for easy trolling. The elevation was at 1,234 early this week, or 56 feet below full pool. However, the Bureau of Reclamation was expected to start raising the lake later in the week. Many of the launch ramps are unusable.
Trout fishing has been fair to good at the Potholes Reservoir. In fact, the trout fishing has been better than fishing for walleyes, perch, crappies and bluegills. The trout anglers are catching were raised at the net pens at the Mar-Don Resort.
Salmon
Largest chinook salmon caught at the Lake Chelan salmon derby last weekend was a 12-pound, 1-ounce fish boated by Mike Reamy of Endicott. He won a $5,000 cash prize.
Smith (Fins & Feathers), said 600 anglers from throughout the Northwest took part in the derby. Many caught chinooks, but only 40 were large enough to qualify for the derby.
Hottest fishing was for mackinaw trout. Smith said he and his son Jordan, 11, caught between 15 and 20 and kept a 9-pounder for a barbecue. Also, Jordan placed seventh in the derby with a 7-pound, 2-ounce salmon. He caught the salmon on a herring behind a flasher and won $700.
The anglers who fished for chinooks caught several hundred macks.
Chinook fishing was fair at Lake Coeur d’Alene during the weekend, Smith said. Most of the 3- to 6-pound salmon were taken on herring behind dodgers in 30 to 60 feet of water. Most productive areas were Squaw and Beauty bays and East Point.
The Fish and Wildlife Department reported that bank fishing for chinooks and steelhead in the Ringold Springs area was excellent for the opener but catches dropped off later. For the week, an estimated 133 adult and 104 jack spring chinooks plus 20 hatchery steelhead were caught.
Kokanee
The 10- to 12-inch kokanee in Loon Lake resumed hitting anglers’ baited lures last weekend, Joe Haley, manager of the Granite Point Resort, said. The fish were somewhat difficult to catch at times last week.
Haley said the kokanee are scattered throughout the lake and seem to be in schools 20 feet under the surface. Most effective method of catching a 10-fish limit, he said, is to use a flasher or 000 Dodger 14 to 16 inches ahead of a Fisher Fly or other small lure baited with a maggot. Most anglers let out two to three colors of leaded line and troll at 1-1/2 mph.
Haley said an angler caught a 16-pound mackinaw at the lake last week.
Trollers have been catching some kokanee at Lake Coeur d’Alene. However, the fishing hasn’t been as productive as it will be as the water gets warmer.
The Dworshak Reservoir has been yielding some limits of kokanee the last few weeks.
Specially managed lakes
Most of the selective-gear and fly fishing-only lakes in Eastern Washington have been providing fair to good fishing and almost certainly will be the destination of hundreds of big-fish anglers this weekend. Fly fishers hope to encounter good hatches of Callibaetis mayflies, damselflies and dragonflies, as well as midges. Scores of fly fishers will be at Chopaka, where the mayflies have been hatching.
Most popular lakes will be Amber, Dry Falls, Ell, Aeneas and Chopaka.
Amber, a selective-gear lake, provided excellent fishing for 10- to 16-inch rainbows during the first few days of the season and then started going downhill. More than 20 members of the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club, many of them expert fishers, caught fewer than 50 fish during the club’s annual fishout Tuesday. One fly fisher said he has fished the lake four times and caught only eight trout.
Fishing has been fairly good at North Silver Lake, a catch-and-release fly fishing-only lake just north of Silver Lake. There still are enough the big broodstock rainbows in the lake to interest fishers who want to catch trophy-size trout. The rainbows stocked as “catchables” just before the opener are growing fast.
Medical, a selective-gear lake, is one of the state’s least-fished selective-gear lakes. However, it holds some big brown trout.
Fishing has picked up at Bayley, a fly fishing-only lake on the Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge; however, it isn’t as good as it has been the last few years. The water level is down a foot, but too high for fly fishers to drive to the second launch areas.
Rainbows and brook trout in McDowell, also a fly fishing-only lake on the refuge, are 9 to 16 inches long, with the average 14 inches. Fishing has been better at McDowell than at Bayley.
Dry Falls Lake at Sun Lake State Park is almost certain to attract large numbers of anglers, particularly fly fishers. The rainbows and browns have been feeding on midges, mayflies and damselflies. Average size of the trout is probably 16 inches, with a range from 13 to more than 20 inches.
At least two fly clubs will have outings during the long weekend at Chopaka Lake. The Callibaetis mayflies, as well as damselflies and midges, are hatching. The state park will be overflowing with RVs the next three days.
Little Ell in Aeneas Valley has become one of the most popular selective-gear lakes in the state. The rainbows are 15 to more than 20 inches long and there are enough in the lake to provide excellent fishing.
Aeneas, a fly fishing-only lake south of Tonasket, is loaded with rainbows and some browns. The rainbows probably average 15 inches, with a few to more than 22 inches.
Blue in the Sinlahekin likely will be crowded even though fishing hasn’t been as good as it has been the last couple of years.
Spiny rays
Some walleye limits and one walleye that weighed nearly 6-1/2 pounds were caught by anglers at Sprague Lake last week and weekend, Mike Mielke, co-owner of the Sprague Lake Resort, reported.
Winds hampered anglers at the 7-mile-long lake much of the time, he said, but those who put up with them did well.
“Trolling with a floating worm harness was the most productive,” he said. “Color didn’t seem to make a big difference, but speed was critical.”
If an angler figures he’s fishing slowly, he should slow down even more, Mielke said. The fisherman who caught the 6-1/2-pounder was fishing in weeds for crappies.
Mielke also said that during mild, sunny days some good-sized bluegills and crappies were caught. Beetle Spins tipped with power wigglers or worm were effective.
Now is the time to fish for bass in North Idaho, Smith said. Water temperatures are 60 to 65 degrees and the bass are active.
“You can get good fishing at nearly all the lakes,” he said. “Bass fishing is good along the chain lakes, the Twins, Hauser and Fernan.” Smith said a 9-pound, 1-ounce largemouth bass was caught a few days ago at Lake Pend Oreille.
Turkeys
Idaho hunters have only a few more days to tag a gobbler. The state’s long turkey season ends Wednesday.
Smith said hunters are seeing lots of turkeys, including some big gobblers and jakes.