Anglin' with Anglen – April 1973

Editor’s note: For 27 years, beginning Feb. 8, 1973, Ralph Anglen of Bonners Ferry wrote an outdoor column for the local paper that was widely read and used as a source of fishing and hunting information. It was called “Anglin’ with Anglen,” and was the real deal, the genuine item, written by someone whose socks were wet, whose toes were cold and who pulled no punches. We will continue as space allows to reprint Anglen’s column solely for its pleasure and historical significance. Any typos, we leave as is. Readers are reminded that this column was written almost 50 years ago and conditions, including state fish and game regulations, have changed.

- • •

April 19, 1973

Had another rather quiet week! Was on Herman lake Wednesday looking for bass. Saw two but didn’t get a strike. I have never solved the problem of early bass fishing here. They have been catching bass in Washington for some time now. Did some green wing teal and mallards.

The lake is quite clear. You can see the bottom in 15 or 20 feet of water. Fished pretty hard for a couple of hours, then just went sightseeing. We could see the perch eggs tangled up in the brush and grass in two to four feet of water. Finally dipped out a few and found they are transparent now and we could see the little perch in them. When they hatch fishing should pick up.

I was on Smith Lake for a short time Friday morning and got three rainbow and a cutthroat on a trolled Carey Special.

I guess the hatchery had too many cutthroat fingerlings last summer as we got several loads n some of the lakes up here.

Smith is another quiet lake that was rehabilitated quite a few years ago and is strickly a put-and-take proposition. It is a fairly good lake to fish, close to town, and easy to get too. It too was bootlegged to bullheads and I guess it has sunfish in it but I have never caught one out of it. It does have good bullfrogging.

My oldest grandson and I made several trips in there last summer. We used a triple hook on a short line and a red rag for bait and really had a ball. Of course grandpa got to row the boat, but the boy is big enough this year that things are going to be different. We used our fly rods and worked the shallows. McArthur has good bullfrogging and so does Perkins.

Smith lake raises lots of ducks every summer. We see lots of mallards, blue wing teal and I think they are ringnecks, but I’m not too sharp on my ducks so am not sure. The osprey are not back yet!

It’s hard to realize that the general lake season is just two weeks away, April 28. The open lakes should produce fair fishing between now and then — Smith, Brush, Sinclair and Bass. All the lakes are accessible now so the fish trucks will start rolling.

Scuttlebutt! A dead moose on the road above McGinnises, turkeys and elk being seen on Baldy. Elk on the field at McArthur, bullhead fishing food at Morton’s slough, the other side of Sandpoint, and fishing still good at Balfour.