Pike, bass chomping in Lake Cd'A

Keep casting in the bays of Lake Coeur d'Alene if pike is your goal, said Jordan Smith with Fins and Feathers Tackle Shop and Guide Service.

He recommended using spinnerbaits at 4- to 8-foot depths.

"The average is probably 3 to 8 pounds," Smith said of most pike caught so far.

Smallmouth bass are also chomping in the lake, he added.

Fishermen have been relying on twin tailed jigs, Smith said, at 8 to 15 feet deep.

The kokanee salmon on the lake has been doing just "OK," he said, with the best catches still on the south end of the lake toward Powderhorn Bay.

He recommended jackaloids and wedding rings.

A few big chinook salmon have been snagged with helmetted herring, he added.

"They're spread out throughout the lake right now," Smith said. "The most I've heard is they're being caught on the north end of the lake, around Arrow Point."

The chinook have been found around 50- to 70-foot depths, he added.

The average size is 3 to 8 pounds, though there are some trophies out there, too.

"I've heard of 15- and 18-pound fish being caught," Smith said.

River fishing

'going gangbusters'

Fishing on the Coeur d'Alene and St. Joe rivers has been "superb" and it is expected to continue with sunny and warm temperatures predicted, said Bud Frasca of North West Classic Tackle in Coeur d'Alene.

"From now until the next three or four weeks, fishing will be going gangbusters," he said.

Frasca recently floated the Coeur d'Alene River and he and his partner caught around 100 fish.

"A lot of the fish were between 14 and 17 inches," he said. "The biggest was 17 inches. "We kept catching bigger fish with streamers, and typically that doesn't happen. Streamers work pretty good in the morning and all through the day."

Frasca said purple parachutes have also been popular with the fish.

"That fly did well and, for whatever reason, they seemed to like purple," he said. "You can certainly fish with dry flies now and do well."

Frasca said bass fishing is going well on Hayden Lake and the pike have gone deeper to 15 to 20 feet.

Go deep to catch kokanee, and keep after them until the fall.

Kokanee fishing is all the rage, according to Tina Padgitt, of Black Sheep Sporting Goods, so keep dragging lines 60 feet deep in Coeur d'Alene and Spirit lakes.

Wedding rings tipped with maggots, are the best bet in Coeur d'Alene, while the fish are going after glow hooks, tipped with corn.

Go slowly, about a mile an hour, and the best time to go out is right at daybreak, Padgitt said.

Keep using that approach and you should be able to land 10- or 11-inch beauties, and it should get even better as the days cool off heading into fall, which marks the best time for kokanee fishing.

Anglers are having good luck landing chinook by trolling, too Padgitt said.

They're at the north end of Lake Coeur d'Alene chasing lines loaded with flies, mini squids or herring helmets.

Bass, both small and largemouth are still active in Coeur d'Alene and Hayden lakes, too.

Keep throwing Crankbaits for smallmouth bass, anything that can get down 10 feet or so. Lines loaded with Lipless Crankbaits or Strike King 3 XD styles are really good bets to land fish.