Think deep for kokanee these days

If you're fishing for kokanee on Lake Coeur d'Alene, think deep, says Steve Holweg of Cabela's.

"I was marking a lot of fish in the 52 to 55-foot range," said Holweg, who recently fished on the lake in Bennett and Wolf Lodge bays.

Holweg netted an 18-inch, 2-pound kokanee with a plastic squid while fishing for chinook 65 feet down during the outing.

Holweg recommends wedding rings and maggots tipped with corn for kokanee.

Holweg advises fishing early, especially as boat and jet ski traffic increase during the course of the day.

"The earlier, the better, especially if you're fishing on the weekends," he said. "We got knocked out of the water by 1 p.m. There were just too many wakes from other boats."

Fishing is also prime on area rivers, including the Coeur d'Alene and St. Joe, said Bruce McDonald of Cabela's.

"Good dry fly action," he said. "Both rivers are in great shape and wadable. The trout are hitting good and the water is crystal clear."

Dry flies, ants, beetles, hoppers and another fly called Pale Morning Dun work well.

For nymphs, try Copper Johns or Pheasant Tails.

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Things are holding steady with fishing, and shouldn't change up for at least another month.

Eventually, colder temperatures will bring small- and largemouth bass back to shallower waters, northern pike too, but meantime, cast lines in deeper waters for the best results.

"Cast around any kind of structure that's deep," said Blake Becker, of Black Sheep Sporting Goods.

Deep weed or grass batches, docks, rocks, anything that offers shelter for pike and bass cast the line around.

Smallmouth bass are still the deepest, swimming at 30 feet or deeper.

They're going after Gulp Alive leach and lizard patterns, Becker said, especially on Lake Pend Oreille and Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Largemouth bass meanwhile are swimming at more shallow depths, like 10 feet and deeper, so throw all sorts of plastics and tubes.

Ocho plastic worms are working really well for largemouth bass, too.

Northern pike, starting at 10 feet deep, and going after spinnerbaits, from white, black fire tiger patterns.

"Pike are pretty on fire," Becker said. "Any kind of weed beds you come upon, they're pretty thick inside of them."

Coeur d'Alene, Fernan and Hayden are the lakes for those.

This style of fishing should hold up until autumn, when temperatures drop and the fish swim up more shallow, he said.

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The big salmon to snag are in the Coeur d'Alene River, said Raleigh Turley with Fins and Feathers Tackle Shop and Guide Service.

"There are still a few of them left down there," he said, adding that many will be heading up the river soon to spawn.

Smaller salmon are still abundant all over the lake, he added.

He suggested using flashers and hoochies, or flashers and flies.

Pike fishing at the lake has been fantastic lately, Turley added.

"Those pike are out off the weed lines right now," he said.

Fishermen are nabbing pike by relying on spinnerbaits and spoons, he said.

Smallmouth bass are still biting on Lake Coeur d'Alene, too, mostly on twin-tailed grubs and tube jigs.

"Look for them off any of the rocky shorelines," Turley said. "And they're off the bank a little bit right now, feeding heavy on the crawdads."

Many water bodies to the north like Round, Granite and Kelso lakes are boasting plenty of rainbow trout, he said.

He suggested using worms or powerbait.

Cutthroat trout on the Coeur d'Alene River are still active, he said. They're mostly chomping on salmon eggs or flies, he said.

"It's catch and release on those," he reminded. "But they're still a lot of fun to catch."