Weather to improve fishing on area lakes

Bays on Lake Coeur d'Alene are the best spots to seek chinook salmon, said Dale Odenbaugh with Fins and Feathers Tackle Shop and Guide Service.

The fish are lingering at higher depths, he said, and suggested pulling helmeted herring and Deep Diving Rapalas.

"It's been a little slow," Odenbaugh said of chinook catches. "But they're all over the lake and in the bays."

Smallmouth bass is also picking up on the lake, he added. The bass are biting on rattle traps and tube jigs, he said.

"They've been up in the shallows, because the lake's still cold and that (shallow) water is still a little bit warm," Odenbaugh said.

Many of the small lakes like Fernan, Hauser and Round have been recently stocked with trout, he reminded, "so that fishing is good," he said.

Many have been trolling for the trout, he said, with spoons or wedding rings with a worm.

Fishing on the bottom with nightcrawlers and marshmallows or powerbait are also options.

Odenbaugh has also heard of folks snagging catfish in Fernan and Hauser lakes, he said.

Dough bait and chicken livers should do the trick, Odenbaugh said, adding that folks should fish off the bottom.

"They're doing pretty decent on 'em," he said.

Northern pike are also biting on most bays on Lake Coeur d'Alene, Odenbaugh said.

"The water is still a little bit cold, but you get into the bays and it's warmed up," he explained.

Some are snagging pike with spoons, he said, and some are using smelt or herring.

Odenbaugh reminded that Fins and Feathers' pike tournament is this weekend, kicking off in Harrison.

Entry is $50 for each two-man team, who must fish from a boat and use dead bait only.

Mackinaw are also hitting on Lake Pend Oreille, Odenbaugh said.

Fishermen have been pulling flies, spoons and Apexes, he said.

"Just troll the lake," he advised. "They're coming up and they're hungry."

•••

The secret to bass fishing is slow, slow, slow.

High water levels, cloudy from runoff, have made it more difficult for bass to spot baits, so anglers should slow down their presentations if they want to pull them from the water, according to Blake Becker of Black Sheep Sporting Goods.

"The water is so dirty they're having a hard time seeing them," Becker said. "Just slow your presentation down."

Brightly colored Crankbaits are the best bet right now for bass, especially largemouth bass, who are still pretty deep - maybe 25 feet deep - in Coeur d'Alene, Hayden and Fernan lakes.

Pike have really started hitting lines aggressively, especially in Lake Fernan.

Use something big and aggressive, like a big Jerkbait or Crankbait brightly colored to grab their attention. They're typically in 10 feet of water or less.

Perch are chasing small jigs with a screw grub. They should be brightly colored too, of course, as the water is murky all around with the recent rash of runoff.

But for bass, the secret is slow and steady. So slow, Becker said, that it's almost boring to reel it in. The Chain Lakes have been very productive areas for patient anglers.

Sun expected to make fishing bright

Recent warmer temperatures are expected to improve the local fishing outlook, said Josh Cass, fishing lead at Cabela's.

Cass fished on Fernan Lake this week and said the water is still a little too cold to bring on great fishing for all types, but it's prime time for others.

"The crappie are not quite biting yet, but perch are hitting hard back in the coves," said Cass, adding that hustler jigs of various colors are working.

Rainbow trout are also taking to nightcrawlers, he said.

"I caught about two dozen perch in a little over three hours and my dad caught a half dozen trout," Cass said.

He said bluegill and crappie were "nowhere to be seen and it was that way with others who I chit-chatted with," Cass said.

"They're just not quite in the coves yet," he said. "If the weather continues to warm up the water, I think you'll see crappie in the coves within the next week."

•••

Mike Beard, of Orvis Northwest Outfitters in Coeur d'Alene, said he had recent success on Hayden Lake crappie fishing.

Water temperatures have the fish getting ready to spawn and protecting turf.

He recommended a woolly bugger in black or olive not far from shore using an indicator to adjust for depth.

"The rivers are blown right now" with high flows, he said.

So, he recommended sticking with area lakes such as Hayden, or Fernan, Twin, Cocolalla, Chain and Hauser.

Pike fishing should be good at the Chain Lakes.

Largemouth bass fishing should be good at all of those lakes.

"The largemouth are starting to stage," he said.

Crappie should be providing some action to fishermen at Hayden, Fernan, Hauser, Cocolalla and Twin.