Time to get out and go ice fishing

Ice fishing loyalists had better get out and enjoy it while they can, recommends Jeff Smith of Fins and Feathers Tackle Shop and Guide Service.

"We've been really lucky this week, it's been 40 degrees during the day and 20 degrees at night, it's absolutely perfect," Smith said on Tuesday. "As soon as we warm up in the evenings, the ice will recede from the shorelines. That can change really quickly."

Just about everything an ice fishermen could ask for is on Fernan Lake, he added.

Nice weather, seven inches of reliable ice, and fish biting just about everywhere folks are compelled to drop a line.

"No complaints. I went a different place every time. I went to Fernan Lake, and caught them every place we went," said Smith, who has said there are trout, perch, pike and more in Fernan. "It seems like if you're in 20 foot of water, they'll come around."

Some have been successful using the green Ratso jig, or the Swedish Pimple and dropper setup.

Favorite ice fishing jigs have included the Cubby jig and the white glow Ratfinkee, Smith added.

He emphasized loading up on bait or fish "won't even look at it."

Fish size has been mostly around 8 inches, Smith said, though he did catch a few 10-inch perch.

"You'll have to be somewhat easily amused," he said of the sizes. "But it's fun ice fishing. You're going to get good action."

There's still some ice fishing at Twin Lakes, where folks are snagging a hodgepodge of crappie, perch, bluegill and pike.

Ice fishing at Kokallala has slowed down, Smith said, though some are still reeling in 9-inch perch.

"It's been hit real hard," he said. "They're not getting the numbers they were."

Many are heading across the border to snag walleyes from the Spokane River arm, he said.

The access area is Porcupine Bay, he said, adding that walleyes will be biting for the next couple months.

He suggested fishing between 25- to 50-foot depths, and using a jig and nightcrawler.

"Walleyes is one of those fish we don't have around here," Smith said. "It's fun to go over there and catch them. They're really good eating fish."

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Steelhead fishing on the Clearwater and Grand Ronde rivers has been excellent in recent days, said Bud Frasca of North West Classic Tackle in Hayden.

Jigs should do the trick.

Trout fishing on the lower Coeur d'Alene River has also been promising, Frasca said.

"The sunny days we've had offer good days to fish," Frasca said. "Fish have been rising to midges for an hour or two in the middle of the day. Access has been pretty good on the lower river, but I wouldn't recommend the upper river."

Frasca said pike fishing with bait on Lake Coeur d'Alene has also been a good option.

The nonprofit North Idaho Flycasters will hold a six-session class called "Flyfishing 101" at the Lake City Senior Center in Coeur d'Alene starting March 20.

Classes are held on Tuesdays from 6-9 p.m. Cost is $125 and the class is limited to 50 students.

Registration is at northidahoflycasters.org under "education."

Proceeds from the class will be used by the club for conservation projects. This year the club will do trail work at the Steamboat pond on the Coeur d'Alene River.

For more information, call Frasca at 772-0372.

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Pike fishing is the hottest thing going right now, so keep after them as long as they're this aggressive.

Big numbers of pike are being pulled from the Chain Lakes, as well as from the backside of Hayden Lake. Lake Fernan and Shat and Round lakes south of Coeur d'Alene near the St. Joe River and Heyburn State Park, said Blake Becker, of Black Sheep Sporting Goods.

Use braided lines, anywhere from 50 to 100-pounds, with a steel leader on the end and hang dead bait, like smelt or herring.

On Fernan Lake, catfish are hitting pike lines too, but they're also going after lines better suited for them, like lines baited with Powerbait Catfish Dough.

Cutthroat and rainbow trout are hitting vertical Rapala jigs, especially out of Fernan Lake.

For anglers tired of winter fishing, spring season bass fishing should get under way in less six weeks, Becker said.

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Pat Way, of Orvis Northwest Outfitters in Coeur d'Alene, said the main attraction right now has been steelhead fishing on the Snake, Clearwater and Grande Ronde rivers.

Water temperatures are really low, he said.

"You've got to get on or near the bottom with your offering to get them to commit," Way said.

To get low he recommends sink-tip lines.

And the fish have to see it.

To make sure that happens he recommends using a hobo spey. The black and green or the black and blue color combinations are best, he said.

"We've had some decent success on some brighter patterns, too," he said.

On a recent trip south, he said, "Everybody was getting them on different stuff."

Local trout fishing on the lower Coeur d'Alene River has been good, too, Way said.

"It's been giving up a few nice cutthroats," he said.

He recommends subsurface flies. Both the Pat's Rubber Leg and San Juan Worm have been productive, he said.

"There are moments of some dry fly activity, but it's very short lived," Way said.