Salmon fishing, even on the best of days, is a study in patience.

And last Tuesday, Oct. 19, was most definitely the best of days - a calm, brisk morning, sunlight flashing off the placid surface of Lake Coeur d'Alene, autumn at its very best.

The kind of day that's made for fishing.

At the helm, wearing a baseball cap and dark sunglasses, Jeff Smith pushed the throttle forward. The engine whined and the boat rocked, zipping toward the center of the lake, toward Harrison, headed for a deep drop-off where big salmon swim.

"There's times they come easy," said Smith, owner of Fins & Feathers tackle shop on Sherman Avenue. "But most of the time, you earn whatever you get."

The 51-year-old has a slight Minnesota accent, a reminder of his Midwestern roots. It comes out when he says things like "coast" and "boat." He has fished a long time, but hunting salmon, Smith explained - particularly the muscular chinook salmon of Lake Coeur d'Alene - is always a challenge.

Rick Caddy, 55, another Fins & Feathers guide, rode in the stern. Talkative, amiable, Caddy never sits down when he's fishing - he's always pacing, studying the lines, hoping, pondering, a picture of nervous energy. Even on cold winter days, when the wind is blowing hard and the boat's cabin is snug and warm, Caddy will be out in the stern, exposed to the elements.

"I just like being back, watching the rods," he said. "I've been like that forever."

He and Smith have fished together for about 25 years; they know each other well. They work long hours, especially during the summertime, so they rarely fish in the same boat.

But when they do, it's a lot of fun.

"(Jeff) thinks they're over there, but I know they're over there," Caddy said, pointing to a patch of water near Carlin Bay.

His partner chuckled.

"Really, he doesn't know," Smith said. "He doesn't know jack. When that rod bends, we'll say he knows."

Two old friends, they bantered over location, tackle and depth. As Caddy checked the gear, Smith threw another friendly jab.

"We don't let him own any of his own things anymore," he said wryly. "Kind of a jinx."

When the boat was in the right spot, the two guides went to work. They lowered the downriggers, setting their lines around 100 feet. One lure ran a bit shallower, the other a little deeper - the idea, the guides explained, was to cover as much water as possible.

Smith displayed one of the lures: a bright mini squid on a 2-foot leader, attached to a flasher. Another line off the stern dragged a baitfish.

Trolling around 2 mph, the boat rocked slowly across the water. Precision was paramount, Smith said.

"These salmon are real finicky. They're hard to catch on a good day," he said. "Landlocked chinook are probably the toughest fish to catch, because everything has to be pretty well perfect - your speed, your presentation, everything."

Rods rigged, lines deployed, the fishermen settled in. There was nothing left to do but watch and wait.

The Orvis way

Fishing guides are a different breed.

Experienced and knowledgeable, they're always on the water, wandering local lakes or nearby rivers. They know where to go, what the fish are hitting. At a place like Fins & Feathers, the guides fish for salmon, pike or bass, trolling and casting from large, comfortable boats.

At Orvis Northwest Outfitters, though, a fly shop and guide service at Riverstone in Coeur d'Alene, the fishing is something else entirely.

Pat Way, a devoted fly-fisherman and longtime Orvis guide, leads a nomadic life.

Searching for big fish across the Inland Northwest, he's always on the move. In the summer, he'll ply the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River, the St. Joe, or the arid environs of eastern Washington - one of his favorite trips.

"I like that scabrock country. It's basically the beginning of the Columbia River Plateau," Way said. "It's weird to see the topography change an hour west of town. In eastern Washington, it feels like a whole different world."

In the fall and through the winter, the 32-year-old Way will head south, toward the roiling waters of the Clearwater or Snake rivers, steelhead country. And anytime, depending on what's biting, he might be found on Lake Coeur d'Alene or the Spokane River, fly rod in hand.

"They're all, in their own way, very unique," Way said.

He's very much a man of the West, a man of rivers. Born in Colorado, Way moved to Post Falls early in life, and there's no place he would rather be. He's an expert fly-fisherman, a master of tippets and leaders, nymphs and duns. The North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene is the water he knows best; the cutthroat trout and the steelhead - sea-run rainbow trout - are his favorite fish.

"I'm pretty partial to the cutthroats," he said. "Idaho in particular has done a really good job maintaining that fishery. The fishing, both the Coeur d'Alene and the Joe, has improved so much in my lifetime."

Orvis offers guided trips on all the local rivers, including the Clark Fork in Montana and a private ranch in Washington. Guests can choose from full or half-day outings, wading or floating (depending on location). There's also private casting lessons available at the shop, as well as two-day fly-fishing workshops.

"And in two days, we're confident we can take someone who's never picked up a fly rod before, turn 'em loose, and they can catch a fish or two," Way said.

Elegant and artful, fly-fishing has its own vocabulary, gear and skill set. It's different from conventional fishing, more esoteric and sometimes more confusing. Newcomers, Way said, are intimidated by the sport's mystique - but it's often not as hard as it seems.

"There's a lot of misconceptions out there that just aren't true," Way said. "A good majority of our clientele are beginners. From a guide's perspective, I really like beginners."

Novice fishermen tend to listen well, he explained. They absorb lessons better, and they don't have bad habits yet.

"Beginners are definitely kind of our favorite," Way said.

At peak season, Orvis employs seven guides. There might be a trip every day, Way said, a group of friends, a family outing, even a large corporate excursion. A successful guide is patient, organized, thoughtful. He knows the water, but he also understands his clients.

"I think patience is, if not the most important, definitely an (attribute) that you need," Way said. "It's pretty evident whether or not your guide is in tune with what you're doing. Regardless of what the fishing is like, it's our job to make (the client's) day."

This time of year, there's still plenty of fish to catch, he said. The steelhead bite is getting better (Orvis sets up multi-day trips on the Snake), and trout are sipping the right fly. Fishing season isn't over.

"When's the best time to go fishing? Any time you can," Way said. "Trout don't live in ugly places. Not here. It's just a cool way to get outside."

A good

day's fishing

Rick Caddy was being himself.

He fiddled with the riggers, checked the depth, paced and bounced. He scanned the horizon, looked down, looked back up. The lines dragged along, probing.

Suddenly, one of the rods started to bounce, and the guides sprang into action. The hook was set, the rod handed to a novice salmon angler, and before long the first chinook - silver-sided, speckled with purple and blue - was in the boat. It wasn't big, but it was a fish.

Soon another salmon hit, but came off the hook before it could be reeled in. Now things were heating up.

Between strikes, Caddy and Jeff Smith talked fishing. They recalled the monsters: a seven-pound smallmouth bass, a 47-inch pike, a salmon that must've been 31, 32 pounds.

"The bigger ones we usually do let go," Smith said. The medium-sized fish were best for eating, he added.

Smith started guiding around 1990. It took quite a while to secure a guiding license, he said, because of all the regulations involved, but eventually things worked out. He operates two boats, a 22- and 23-footer, equipped with powerful engines, trolling motors and downriggers. They're versatile craft.

"We like them because we can pike fish, or bass fish, or salmon fish, whatever we need to do," Smith said.

They guide families, individual fishermen and even the occasional celebrity (Pierce Brosnan, for instance).

Soon, Fins & Feathers will start their winter special, a popular deal with locals. The weather won't be great, of course - rain, snow and cold await any angler bold enough to fish Lake Coeur d'Alene in the wintertime. The salmon are worth it, though.

"Usually you can fish in most anything," Smith said.

With time ticking away, the day's final salmon struck. The novice angler set the hook, cranked on the reel, and tried to keep the rod tip high. The fish fought back, pulling off line. After a pretty good battle, another chinook was in the boat.

Caddy wanted a bigger one. He pointed the bow toward an underwater slot, not far from the eastern shore. The boat trolled along.

"I mean heck," Smith called to Caddy, "we caught a fish right here, why don't we go down another three or four miles?"

Caddy kept going, to no avail.

But it didn't matter. Patience had paid off, and two landlocked chinook, the most elusive of fish, were in the live well. Smith gutted the fish, the guides pulled up their lines and the boat headed home.

There would be fresh salmon for dinner.