Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for April 30

Fly fishing

For the 2026 construction season, restrictions will once again be in effect from April through November at the Interstate 90 Bridge near Cataldo.

This will limit access, use and passage 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday on the Lower North Fork Coeur d’Alene River.

Boat launches outside of the work zone will remain available for use, but boaters will not be allowed to pass beneath the bridge during working hours for safety reasons. Fishing has been good on the river, but cooler temperatures will make subsurface action the most productive.

Fishing on the St. Joe will be best below Avery. As flows recede, fish will start sliding back into riffles and faster zones.

Lake fishing has been very good around the area, according to guides at the Silver Bow Fly Shop. Chironomid hatches are great on most lakes; Coffeepot and Amber have been noteworthy lately. West Medical, Clear Lake, Fishtrap and Williams Lake near Cheney have reported good fly fishing.

Trout and kokanee

In Eastern Washington, reports from creel checkers and other WDFW staff on opening day indicate the sunny weather brought a huge turnout to area lakes.

At Fishtrap Lake, Mike Barker said plenty of 10-inch rainbow were taken, as well as some huge carryovers.

At Clear Lake, anglers were taking limits of rainbow in less than two hours, and many of the trout were more than 16 inches. A lot of largemouth bass were also taken.

Williams Lake fished really well with many limits caught. One derby fish came out of the lake.

Another derby fish came out of Cedar Lake in Stevens County, which also fished well.

Mudgett Lake in Stevens County was a little slow but all the fish caught there were good sized.

Fishing was good at Rocky Lake in Stevens County before 8 a.m., but slacked off after that.

Starvation Lake anglers had success, but nothing outstanding. At Waitts Lake there were a lot of mostly small rainbows caught. Success was low at Diamond and West Medical lakes.

The few fishing reports I received from Loon Lake suggest fishing was not that good. Although a few decent-sized rainbow were caught by trollers, no one said anything about catching a kokanee.

Trollers are catching quite a few 15-to-17-inch rainbow at Deer Lake. Mackinaw have been active and are rolling on the surface early morning and at dusk.

Fishing was slow at Wapato in Chelan County, but the average fish caught was bigger than usual.

At Jameson Lake in Douglas County, limits were rare, but lots of chunky-plant holdovers from 2024 were caught. They ranged from 15 to 17 inches.

The lowland lakes trout opener in Grant County saw some blustery weather, but a few anglers braved the wind at Blue and Park lakes where most of the fish caught were more than 12 inches long.

Park Lake was planted with more than 34,000 rainbow in October 2024 and Blue Lake with more than 53,000 rainbow the same year. Both of these should fish well this season.

The 2024 fingerling-fry plants at Jameson Lake are now 15- to 17-inches long, and the fingerling plants made in 2025 are a fat 11- to 13-inches long. Jameson has a lot of good shore access and fishing has been very good.

At Alta Lake in Okanogan County, anglers were catching a lot of 13- to 14-inch kokanee. It sounds like the place to go right now for kokanee though, is Lake Coeur d’Alene. Trollers reported catching fast 15-fish limits of fish more than 13 inches in length.

In the Idaho Panhandle, the following lakes will be receiving plants of catchable-size rainbow: Fernan Lake – 5,200 rainbow trout; Jewel Lake – 1,620 rainbow trout. This lake also has channel cats and bluegills. Kelso Lake – 2,500 rainbow trout. It has good fishing opportunities from a large dock. Round Lake – 2,500 rainbow trout; Sinclair Lake, a small quiet lake beside the Moyie River – 450 rainbow trout.

Smith Lake – 1,575 rainbow trout; Spicer Pond – 800 rainbow trout. This is a small, easily accessed pond near the town of St. Maries; Steamboat Pond – 900 rainbow trout. It’s an easily accessible pond next to the North Fork Coeur d’Alene River.

The 2026 Lake Pend Oreille Spring Derby began April 25 and will run through May 3.

On the fourth day, the adult rainbow division was led by Tim Faiers with an 18-pound fish, and the adult mackinaw division was led by Scott Plue with a 19.80-pound fish. In the junior division, a German brown trout of 10.20 pounds was caught by John Mace.

Steelhead and salmon

Drano Lake has been producing nice catches of spring salmon, one of the best eating fish that swim.

Spiny ray

The Largemouth spawn has started in the Potholes Reservoir sand dunes. Male fish are moving up into the shallows and sun-soaked flats, while the females are holding just off the breaks in 5 to 10 feet of water. Potholes anglers also report finding good numbers of smallmouth in Lind Coulee, holding tight to the steep rocky banks along the north side in 15 to 18 feet of water. Deep diving jerk baits are producing the most consistent action.

Anglers are finding walleye in the Lind Coulee and Crab Creek. Look for areas with a hard bottom (gravel or rock) in 12 to 20 feet of water, where current and cover are present. Most anglers are trolling Mack’s Slow Death-worm rigs behind a bottom bouncer at 0.9 to 1.1 mph.

Other species

The final coastal razor clam digs of the season at Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, and Mocrocks beaches runs from Thursday through May 6. “There was lots of successful spring digging during this past tide series, and it is looking like more of the same for the last digs of the season,” said Bryce Blumenthal, WDFW’s recreational razor clam manager. Copalis and Mocrocks beaches are not open every day during each dig series.

Hunting

The Idaho application period for fall 2026 deer, elk, pronghorn, swan, black bear and turkey controlled hunts begins Friday and runs through June 5.

Hunters can also apply for the first Super Hunt drawing through May 31. Hunters with a valid 2026 Idaho hunting license may apply for controlled hunts online at GoOutdoorsIdaho.com, at any license vendor, Fish and Game office, or by calling 800-554-8685.

There is an additional fee for online and phone orders. The application period to apply for fall 2026 swan controlled hunts in the Panhandle Region is Friday through June 5. Successful controlled hunt applicants will be notified by July 10.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com