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| Mike McLean |
Bait starting to work on small lakes
The best bet for Coeur d'Alene Chinook is on the south end of the lake, say's Randy Richards of Tri State Outfitters.
Fish depths are fluctuating depending on weather and temperature, he said.
"It pays off to have a good fish finder," he said. "You've got to find them to figure out what depth they're at."
Most anglers are trolling herring in helmets. Some are pulling surface spoons with weight or on a downrigger to get subsurface.
"Some are trolling Dardevles or heavy spoons so they'll naturally go subsurface," he said. "If you're going to go spoons, you want to catch them 20 feet and up. Anything below 20 feet and you probably want to run your downrigger stuff."
He said anglers sticking with Hootchies or flies and dodgers are dropping them down to 40 feet.
Justin Kimberling of Fins & Feathers Tackle Shop said salmon anglers are using herring and a mixed bag of diving plugs like Frenzy Divers and Wally Divers, and flutter spoons like Pro Kings and Coyotes.
"This is the time of year when they are up shallow," he said.
No weight is needed on the diving plugs. But Kimberling advises anglers to use 1-2 ounces of weight or downriggers to keep the spoons down in the 15-25 foot range.
Tina Padgitt of Black Sheep Sporting Goods said some anglers are getting an early start on the spring tactic of running herring and plugs off planer boards.
Trout
Bait fishers are hitting the smaller lakes, including Fernan and Hauser.
Kimberling said he's seen some holdover trout caught in Fernan Lake.
"They are decent sized and fatter than regular stocked trout," he said.
Padgitt said she's noticed people starting to pick up worms to use with marshmallows for trout from the shore.
Richards said PowerBait also works well, especially in spring green and rainbow colors.
Northern Pike
Pike anglers are tossing smelt right off the bottom in Lake Coeur d'Alene bays.
Richards said the biggest pike he's seen lately is a 15-pounder caught out Blue Creek Bay.
Cougar Bay put out a couple close to 10 pounds, he added.
Wolf Lodge and Squaw Bays are other likely bays on Coeur d'Alene.
Kimberling said some pike agnlers are fishing toward the Chain Lakes.
"Any bay with decent deep-water access should be good -- long as the water stays up," he said. "If it starts dropping again. There's only a few bays pike can use. They'll back off.
Meantime Hayden Lake has put out a couple of 8 pounders, Richards added.
Steelhead
Steelhead are moving up the Snake and Clearwater rivers.
The North and South Fork of the Clearwater River have been good bets, said Richards said.
Jig-and-bogger anglers are still doing OK. He recommends brighter colors like pink, red and red/white for jigs.
Kimberling recommends orange/pink, white/black and chartreuse/black jigs.
Drift boats are using the same jig-and-bogger setups.
In faster water, shore anglers are having better luck bouncing roe off the bottom, Richards said.
The South Fork of the Clearwater had the best fishing rates with a steelhead caught for every seven hours fished as of Sunday. The North Fork wasn't far behind with a steelhead caught for every eight hours fished. The main Clearwater gave up a steelhead for every 11 hours fished. The Snake River produced a steelie for every five hours fished.
"Down toward Lewiston if you can backtroll shrimp, it's still working," he said.
Macks & Kams
Kimberling said Mackinaw Fishing was good up at Priest Lake, where most anglers are trolling the bottom 140-180 feet deep with bigger Flatfish or Kwikfish tipped with perch meat.
Lymans plugs in rainbow or fire-tiger patterns (no bait) are also popular.
Richards recommends using the same gear for mackinaw off of Whisky Rock in Lake Pend Oreille.
He said the Pend Oreille lake trout are 80 to 150 feet deep.
Wind and temperature fluctuations haven't helped the Kamloops bite on Lake Pend Oreille, Richards said.
He recommends trolling standard green/white or green/blue Apexes anywhere between the surface and 25 feet deep.
Mike McLean is The Press outdoors editor. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2011, or by e-mail at mmclean@cdapress.com. Remember to review appropriate rules and regulations before fishing.
