Alan Liere’s hunting and fishing report for July 9, 2026
Fly fishing
Caddis hatches are getting sparse on the Spokane River, but you can fish a caddis pupa or soft hackle on this fishery all summer long. Fishing has been good and the usual dry/dropper game of a chubby and a caddis pupa, jig prince, attractor nymph, rubber leg stone is a good choice. On warmer days, focus your fishing on the morning or very late evenings.
The St. Joe is fishing better than the North Fork Coeur d’Alene, which is already getting skinny. The Joe is in prime summer shape, says Silver Bow Fly Shop. Small Chernobyls and Chubbies with a dropper are good for prospecting.
The North Fork Clearwater and Kelly Creek are now accessible as the landslide and all roads are clear. Trailers are once again traveling the road and the fishing has been good.
Long Lake in Ferry County near the town of Republic has a nice campground, a launch and a lot of cutthroat trout. It is a good place to hone your lake-fishing skills
Put-and-take lakes south of Spokane like Amber, Badger, Clear and Fishtrap, still have good populations of trout. Fish deep.
Baitfish and sculpin patterns are catching a lot of bass in multispecies lakes like Moses, Banks and Lake Spokane. Poppers are also very effective.
Trout and kokanee
North Skookum is a good place to catch small brook trout, and South Skookum has bigger rainbow. Nearby, Browns, No-Name, and Yocum lakes have cutthroat. Halfmoon Lake, on the left side of the road into Browns Lake, has small brookies. Summit Lake in Stevens County has decent fishing for rainbow trout, and you can catch small to medium-sized brook trout from nearby Elbow Lake. Big Meadow Lake in Pend Oreille County has decent fishing for rainbow trout.
Priest Lake mackinaw anglers are having good luck on 8- to 10-pound fish trolling hoochies and Rapalas between the Kalispell launch and Twin Islands.
With the hot weather, night fishing is gaining popularity for trout fishermen. Good reports come from Deer and Waitts.
Anglers are still catching trout at the Okanogan district lakes. Both of the Conconully lakes as well as Alta, Pearrygin and Wannacut have been yielding some nice catches for anglers fishing early and late.
The Pillar-Widgeon Chain of lakes in the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge are providing good trout action for anyone willing to do some walking. This group of waters sit roughly eight miles north of Othello and consists of more than a dozen small, interconnected lakes. For a map of these walk-in seep Lakes, stop by the MarDon store on Potholes Reservoir (8198 Hwy. 252 SE, Othello.) Anglers should consult the refuge website before visiting, as access is overseen by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Steelhead and salmon
The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife is forecasting approximately 651,000 Columbia River fall chinook and over 511,000 coho returning this season, setting the stage for another exciting fishery at Buoy 10.
Spiny ray
Fernan Lake and the Chain Lakes in the Idaho Panhandle are good destinations for a variety of spiny ray and northern pike. Fernan has a number of public fishing docks, which make it a good place to introduce the kids to fishing.
Walleye are providing good fishing for anglers on Lake Pend Oreille this summer. The Highway 95 Long Bridge and Railroad Bridge areas near Sandpoint have been very good. Fish the edges of weed beds.
There are a lot of smallmouth bass in Lake Roosevelt near Keller. Tubes and small plugs are effective. Walleye have been biting well in the Hunters area for anglers trolling close to shore.
Throw frogs early and late for Potholes Reservoir largemouth back in the sand dunes. Walleye fishing has improved considerably. Find them in the weeds in the sand dunes and up Crab Creek.
The kokanee fishing on Loon Lake is a thing of the past, but the perch fishing can be very good in about 28 feet of water on the east side of lake, and many of these are a respectable 9 inches. Worms are always good, but the same white Glo Hooks and maggots that used to catch kokanee are also working. Perch fishing has also been good at times on Waitts and Diamond lakes. Deer Lake is not known as a place to catch perch, but it has a big population and many of them are 9 inches or better. Find weeds in about 20 feet of water. Fishing around docks is often productive.
Both smallmouth and largemouth bass and northern pike are hitting on Lake Coeur d’Alene. Pike, perch and crappie are being caught on the Coeur d’Alene Chain Lakes. Chatcolet and Benewah lakes are also attracting a lot of pike fishermen.
Hunting
Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the Idaho Wild Sheep Foundation are offering another chance to hunt bighorn sheep in Idaho: the 2026 Idaho Bighorn Sheep Lottery Tag. No license is required to purchase entry tickets, and there is no limit to the number of tickets you can purchase. Ticket orders must be received by July 20 – one ticket for $20; six tickets for $100; 14 tickets for $166.75; 25 tickets for $250. To purchase, go to IdahoWildSheep.org.
WDFW is inviting new applicants to join the ranks of the almost 1,000 certified Master Hunters across the state. “Washington’s Master Hunters help perpetuate our hunting heritage and give back to our wildlife resources by volunteering, mentoring new hunters, teaching hunter education classes, and helping resolve human-wildlife conflicts with deer or elk,” said David Whipple, WDFW hunter education section manager, in a news release. Applicants must demonstrate a high level of hunting knowledge, skills, and abilities. Submit applications now through Aug. 15 and then complete all program certification requirements by May 15, 2027. There is a $69 application fee to apply to the program. For information on eligibility requirements and how to apply, visit WDFW’s website. Prospective applicants can review exam materials and other information on WDFW’s Master Hunter Exam webpage.
Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com.