Cd'A River conditions prime

Bud Frasca of North West Classic Tackle in Hayden fished the Coeur d'Alene River this week and found conditions to be good.

"The river is in great shape to fish," he said. "It's clear and coming down every day."

Frasca said he caught fish in the morning on streamers and stone fly imitations before it slowed down in the middle of the day. Frasca said he went as far north as Teepee Creek.

"It's a great time to be out with a fly rod," he said. "The water is high, but it's still wadable. If we don't have a bunch of rain in June, we may have a low, dry summer, but that remains to be seen."

Frasca said the March browns, salmon flies and stone flies are coming off, making river fishing conditions good.

Frasca said he heard that the St. Joe River is still too high to wade, but it's floatable.

He said he's also heard good reports of fishing on area lakes.

Jordan Smith of Fins and Feathers said the Chinook fishing is finally slowing down. "The fish are down deep between 40 and 60 feet, and they are spreading out," he said. "There are a few guys catching them still - most are still using herring with helmets, but a few guys are having some luck with mini squids and eight-inch flashers."

Smallmouth bass, he said, are up in the shallows and spawning now. Crank baits and rattle traps are working well, Smith said.

"Pike are starting to hit on the Johnson silver minnows," he said, adding that most of them have yet to get up in the shallow water. "Some people are using plastic trailers on those to get a little more action."

Silver and gold are the colors to use right now, he added.

For those pike that are still lurking in the deep water, the husky jerk lures are working well.

"Overall things are little slow right now," Smith said. "But a couple more weeks in the 70s and we will see things start to get a little more active."

The new fish on the scene is blue channel catfish that just started hitting on Fernan Lake. Smith said a dough-based catfish bait on a treble hook off the bottom is the key to landing the big cats.

Kokanee are hitting well on the south end of Lake Coeur d'Alene near Harrison. The best lures are slim willies baited with maggots or pink corn. Smith said wedding rings are also working with the same bait. He suggested red, orange or pink colors for the best luck.

"They haven't made the journey up to this end of the lake yet, but they should be moving up here in the next couple of weeks."

The Hayden Lake Kokanee are going deep and spreading out, Smith said. That will make them a little harder to catch, but they will still bite on the same lures and bait that Smith recommended for Lake Coeur d'Alene.