Tough time for fly-fishing

Mike Beard, a fly-fishing guide at Orvis Northwest Outfitters in Riverstone, scouted the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River on Monday, fly rod in hand.

The weather was cool, the fish were sluggish and he didn't catch anything.

"For this week, I'd have to say it's still pretty tough," Beard said. "There were no bugs, no fish up. The trout fishing should pick up in the next week or two."

If temperatures climb into the 40s and the sun starts shining, fly-casters itching to fish should check out the North Fork. Winter tactics still apply - try a double prince nymph rig, or a stonefly and San Juan worm.

"I would stay on the lower sections of the Coeur d'Alene," Beard said. "I wouldn't go much above Prichard. If you see fish up, stay on them."

Springlike conditions make dry flies a possibility, he added. Between 2 and 4 p.m., if the water is warming up, cast dry midges or small stoneflies.

"It has everything to do with water temperature," Beard said. "The dry flies will happen probably for an hour, maybe two. It's cold water, so the bugs and fish are moving slow."

Fifty degrees is the magic water temp, he added, when fish and flies become extremely active. But the water won't get that balmy until June.

Down U.S. 95, the steelhead season is shutting down. The rivers are fast-flowing and high right now.

"Steelhead rivers are still really big. South fork of the Clearwater is still the best bet," Beard said. "The fish are there; we haven't really been able to find a window where we can get to them. As of (Tuesday), the Grand Ronde and the Snake are too big to worry about."

Diehard anglers can still hook a steelie on the upper sections of the Clearwater, above Orofino. The Salmon is also fishing fairly well - search the water between White Bird and Riggins, Beard advised.

"If it looks like good fly water, chances are it is," he added.

Leeches and winter spey flies could do the trick. Now's the time to dead drift nymphs, jigs or egg patterns, too.

One angler, Beard heard, caught a steelhead on a black and green sting leech.

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Ice fishing is still in good shape north of Coeur d'Alene.

Especially on Spirit Lake, where kokanee are active and on Cocolalla Lake, south of Sandpoint, where perch are still going strong, said Tina Padgitt of Black Sheep Sporting Goods.

Try catching kokanee on Spirit Lake using glow hooks and ice jigs, like black-colored Swedish pimple.

Perch have been chasing the same setup, and adding a chunk of worm or maggot can get the best result.

South of Coeur d'Alene, steelhead fishing is still in good shape as well, because the B run is still going strong.

That means anglers looking to land prize steelhead should hit the road and head south to the Clearwater River.

Use slip bobbers and jigs to catch them, either casting from the bank or trolling.

Jigs should be black and white, green and black, and red and black patterns. When trolling for the fish from a boat load lines with shrimp, shrimp oil or eggs.

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Chinook are starting to bite on Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Snagging them is easiest with herring and rapallas up to 30 feet, according to Dale Odenbaugh with Fins and Feathers Tackle Shop and Guide Service.

Head to Lofts Bay and south of there, he added.

"That seems to be the best bite," he said.

The weather is starting to eat away at ice fishing, Odenbaugh cautioned.

"It's a fairly dangerous thing to be doing right down around the Coeur d'Alene area," he said.

Some ice fishing opportunities are still safe at lakes to the north, though.

Folks are still catching perch at Cocolalla Lake, for instance.

Walleye fishing on Lake Roosevelt is also picking up, Odenbaugh added, suggesting jigs and crawlers.

"Some of them are using flash baits and using plastic jigs," he said.

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Steelhead fishing on the Clearwater River remains a popular choice on the local fishing circuit, said Bud Frasca of North West Classic Tackle in Hayden.

"It's nymphing, hard-hat fishing," he said. "They're using jigs and indicators with nymphs."

The season is wrapping up on the southfork of the Clearwater.

"There's a great congregation of fish up there, there's lots of fish to be caught, but there's also lots of people," Frasca said. "It's just going to be crowded, but there's nothing you can do about that."

Frasca expects crappie and pike fishing on Hayden and Coeur d'Alene lakes to heat up in about two weeks.

"Pike typically start to take artificials when the water hits between 45 and 48 degrees," he said. "Right now they're being caught with dead bait (such as herring)."

Ice fishing, especially on lakes in Kootenai County, continues to be suspect at best as the weather warms up.

"I'd be really careful out there right now," Frasca said.

Some smaller lakes up north may be slightly better suited for ice fishing, he said.

Frasca said it's a good time to stay home and tie flies.

"Right now there isn't much going on locally," he said.