Stop SNOWING!!!!!

Lake Pend Oreille:

Fishing has been consistent for Rainbows and Macks on LPO.  For best fishing focus on the mouth of the Clark Fork River and Pack River.  There are a lot of fish moving into the CF now with spring flows beginning to pick up.  Trolling Rapalas, Apex’s and Flies has been catching fish.   Try fishing about 10-20ft down with Rapalas for best results.

Clark Fork River:

Lower River:  The Lower river below Cabinet Gorge dam has been producing some great fish.  Don’t expect to hammer lots of fish…just good quality fish.  It is more like Steelhead fishing than anything else could compare.  Fish in the Teens are being caught every day with several smaller rainbows and browns.  Drifting eggs, Back plugging hot shots/rapalas, and nymphing beads have all been producing nice fish.

Kootenai River:

Today is the last day that the river is open right below Libby dam.  Fishing has been outstanding.  Lots of very BIG Bull Trout have been caught and released over the last two weeks.  Swinging flies on tips seems to produce the biggest fish…..don’t hesitate to fish a BIG white streamer on the top…dead drifting….for some massive topwater takes.

Clark Fork:

The lower river has been putting out some very big fish.  We have seen fish over 16lbs in the last week being caught below the bridge just outside of Clark Fork.  Drifting eggs and plugging has been producing the biggest fish.  Just across the border in MT, the Pike fishing has been good.  The ice is gone and those fish are moving into the shallows and warming themselves during the heat of the day.  Stick Baits, Zooms, and Spinnerbaits are working best.   As for fly fishing…it is very tough right now to get these big fish on flies.  The upper river around superior and above has been fishing very well….get out there before they remove that dam on Friday!!  BWO, Skwalas, March Browns are all showing themselves on top.

Kootenai River:

The Koot has been spitting out some huge fish below Libby dam.  There are several fish over 15lbs being caught daily.  A mixed bag of Bull Trout and Rainbows should be expected.  The upper part of the river closes April 1.  So get out there asap to catch some of these huge fish.

Lake Pend Oreille:

LPO has been fishing very well for both Rainbows and Macks right now!!  Fishing around the mouth of the Clark Fork and Pack River has been producing some very nice fish.  Trolling Rapala’s just below the surface seems to have good results.  For you best chance at a large Mack…fish Megabait Jigs over off of the Monarchs.  Glow, Chartreuse, and Perch color are the most effective.

Coeur d’Alene River:

The CDA has been fishing AWESOME!!! The fish are beginning to look up and they are hungry.  Big bushy dries with a 20″ dropper have been producing the most fish, but you can just fish a single dry and catch fish.  Look for some small stones and mayflys to begin showing there face over the next week.

I am off to swing on the Skagit this week….I will give you a report when I return.

cal

Lake Pend Oreille:

The lake is fishing very well right now.  Rainbows are being taken on the surface using J11 and J9 Rapalas.  A 14lb fish was taken yesterday.  The macks are hitting jigs, flatfish, and dodger fly pretty consistently right now.  

Coeur d’Alene River:

The CDA River is fishing very well right now.  The fish are beginning to look up and hit dries during the heat of the day.  Big bushy dries always slay the Cutthroat, also try other smaller stuff like Beatis Challanged, Adams, March Browns…..anything that floats.  If they aren’t on top look to fish princes, copper johns and Morrish Hotwire Mays.

St. Joe River: 

The lower river is fishing much better than the upper right now due to the snow pack and water levels.  Look for fishing to be much like the CDA river.  Dries with droppers are always a good bet this time of year.

 Kootenai River:

If you want a big ass fish go fish the Koot right now.  Below the damn we caught a 16lb rainbow two days ago.  There are lots of dead/dying kokanne floating down the river right now so fish somthing either on top dead drifted…about 4 inches long,  or get down and dirty and swing some big stuff on sink tips.  The Bull Trout and Rainbows are starting to feed very good.

Clark Fork River:

   As for the rest of the river…Pike fishing is awesome around Trout Creek right now…try fishing large stickbaits, spinnerbaits, or bucktails.  The river near St. Regis and Superior is fishing very well for trout right now.  Fish are being taken all day long so get out there.  Midges and BWO’s are producing some very nice fish.   SKWALAS are just around the corner……sorry I mentioned it.

Bitterroot River:

The root has some Skwalas floating around right now and the fish that are eating them are BIG!!  The lower river is your best bet and things will pick up fast as the weather continues to warm.

Local Fishing:

The Coeur d’Alene River is beginning to pick up during the mid day.  Most fish are being caught sub-surface, however, a few fish are being taken on Dries. 

The Clark Fork River is starting to fish well during the afternoon, Skwalas and March Browns are beginning to show themselves and fish are being taken on the surface.  The lower river in Idaho is still fishing slow due to low water in the Tribs.  What we need is some warm weather or some rain to bump up the flows to get the fish excited.

The Bitterroot River is fishing very well, Skwalas and March Browns are beginning to show themselves during the afternoon and fishing are being taken on the surface.  With a temp of over 54 today, fishing should be good.

Clark Fork River:

It is still a little early for the Big Bows on the CF.  We fished it hard yesterday and threw everything we could think of.  What we need is some warmer weather to kick up the flows in Lightning creek.  Once this happens, fishing should drastically improve.

Lake Pend Oreille:

Fishing for Lake Trout has been good over the last week.  The biggest we have seen is around the 16 lb mark.  Jigging has been producing the largest fish, chart/silver Megabait jigs have been working the best.

FINALLY IT’S MARCH!!!!

Local Fishing:

Clark Fork River: The lower CF has been fishing well,  The BIG fish are in!!  If you can get out there now is the time.  Gear fishermen are catching fish on eggs and plugs.  Fly Fishing should pick up over the next week.  Beads and San Juans are catching a few fish, but nothing big has come from it yet.

Lake Pend Oreille:  During the warmer days lake fishing is picking up.  Rainbows are being caught on the surface w/flies and Rapala’s  Look for fish to be concentrated around river mouths focusing primarily on the Clark Fork and Pack River.