Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for June 26, 2025

Fly fishing

Riffles and faster water will overall be more productive on area rivers. Fishing a dry like a small chubby or stone with a dropper (caddis pupa, small perdigon, Spanish bullet) is a good way to begin prospecting. The Spokane remains good. Silver Bow Fly Shop said that while it’s not in its peak fishing form anymore, the North Fork Coeur d’Alene is still fishing well. The St. Joe is seeing good fishing, which will probably remain true the rest of the summer.

Go deep with sinking fly lines using leech and/or soft hackle patterns to catch Coffeepot rainbow. For crappie, ply shallow water with light-colored flies.

Trout and kokanee

Trout fishing at Spokane-area lakes perked up during the recent cooler weather. Fishtrap, Amber, Badger, Clear and Williams had some good fishing. In Idaho, Fernan and Cocolalla were productive.

Lakes to the north of Spokane, such as Sacheen, Jumpoff Joe and Diamond, still have good trout numbers, but don’t get the pressure as lakes to the south do. For the most part, these northern lakes are deeper and the fishing remains good well into the summer.

Coeur d’Alene kokanee are spreading out and hitting all over the lake. Most of the fish are around 10 inches long. Lake Chelan is also experiencing some good kokanee fishing. The fish are smaller than last year’s, but there seem to be many of them. The bite from big bass is about over on Dworshak Reservoir in Idaho, but there are a lot of smaller bass and decent-sized kokanee to keep anglers occupied.

Spiny ray

Medium-sized Silver Lake largemouth bass have been actively hitting spinnerbaits and plastics. Newman Lake bass are in the lily pads and will hit a topwater frog, as will the tiger muskie.

Hauser Lake is giving up some big bluegills in the shallows. Also in Idaho, Hayden Lake has been good for smallmouth and largemouth bass.

The walleye bite at Banks Lake has been erratic – lights out one day and nothing the next from the same spot. Smallmouth bass fishing has been a lot more consistent all over the lake. A good place to start would be directly across the lake from the Million Dollar Mile boat launch, casting to the sunken rocks along the shore. Many of these fish are 2-3 pounds.

Walleye are being caught on Long Lake, but for the most part are on the small side. There are still some whoppers around, as Spokesman Review Outdoor Editor Michael Wright found recently when he boated a fat 8-pounder.

The perch bite has been good in the Willow Bay area of Long Lake. If you get into a school of little ones, moving just 20 feet can often put you in larger fish. Crappie fishing has been poor at Long this year.

Snake River smallmouth bass fishing is good in the lower part of the river. A smoke-colored tube with black pepper flakes is popular in the stretch that runs along the road between Wawawai Canyon and Clarkston.

Some mixed-species waters in the Columbia Basin that are fishing well are Soda and Long lakes. The wide spots in the canal south of Potholes Reservoir can also be good.

Other species

Carp are spawning in the shallows of Long Lake. On a nonwindy day, bow fishermen are finding numerous targets. There are also a lot of easy targets in the Central Ferry area of the Snake River.

Bullhead are common and sometimes quite big at area lakes best known for their trout fishing. Liberty and Deer are two of the best, but you can also catch 12- to 14-inch bullheads from Long Lake. Fishing shallow at night near a light source has always been the best for bullhead catches. Use a gob of night crawlers or pieces of cut fish. Even a chunk of hot dog will attract these fish. Despite their ugly appearance, bullheads are a mild-fleshed fish that can compete on the table with any bass, crappie or perch. There are a lot of ways to clean a bullhead, but keep it simple – fillet and skin them with an electric knife.

Hunting

Most sage grouse populations fluctuate naturally in approximately 10-year cycles. Idaho sage grouse are in the upward portion of that cycle. The sage grouse general season in all zones is Sept. 20 to Oct. 31. The sage grouse falconry season in all zones is Aug. 15 to March 15. Hunters and other interested parties can comment about seasons and limits on the public comment webpage until midnight on July 6.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com.