Great time to be on the water in North Idaho

Chinook salmon fishing on Lake Coeur d'Alene continues to shine, said DeWayne Sunell of Cabela's.

"Quite a few people are buying yellow apex trolling spoons," he said. "We keep having to stock those."

For silver salmon, try a red wedding band with maggots or corn.

"On Priest Lake, there haven't been a lot of silvers, but they're good-sized ones," Sunell said.

Mackinaw fishing on Priest Lake has slowed a bit, but a green split Rapala is still a good choice.

Sunell said anglers are also jigging for mackinaw using cloth bags with tuna.

"Drop those to the bottom," he said. "They've been fishing pretty deep - up to 150 feet."

On Priest River, the rainbow fishing has heated up. Using cyclone spinners (a spoon) and yellow or orange Mepps hooks have worked well.

On the St. Joe River, the water level has come down to levels to where there are good reports of fly fishing with May flies and Parachute Adams.

"It's still a little early for hoppers, but they're picking up a few fish," Sunell said.

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Bud Frasca, owner of North West Classic Tackle in Hayden, said the Joe and Coeur d'Alene rivers are in summer mode and fishing "very well."

"Flies to use would be soft hackles and attractor dry flies and hopper and ant imitations," Frasca said. "Streamers also work well early in the morning and just at dark. We have plenty of water to last the rest of the season and the fishing should be great through October."

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Fishermen shouldn't have to look hard for a lake full of trophies.

There are plenty of fishing opportunities in North Idaho lakes these days, said Dale Odenbaugh with Fins and Feathers Tackle Shop and Guide Service.

"All the lakes are going good right now," Odenbaugh said.

Lake Coeur d'Alene has myriad fish to snag, like chinook, kokanee, smallmouth bass and pike.

The chinook are hitting on squids or herring, Odenbaugh said, and folks are reeling in kokanee with a flasher unit and a wedding ring.

"They're pretty much scattered all over the lake," he said of the salmon. "There are areas that are chock full of 'em, and other areas are a little bit sporadic. But you will find a sizeable batch of them."

The smallmouth are chomping on twin tail grubs, he added, and some folks are also using spinner baits and tube baits.

The pike are mainly responding to spinnerbaits and some jerk baits.

"Your pike are pretty much in bays or along the lake, near any weed growth," Odenbaugh advised.

The Chain Lakes are also offering plenty of pike, he added.

Fernan Lake is also doing well for all these species, with an abundance of trout, catfish and pan fish.

The pan fish, which include bluegill, crappie and perch, generally bite on a jig and bobber, Odenbaugh said.

Some prefer just hanging a worm off a bobber at the shoreline, he said.

"Kids just love that," he said.

Folks have been throwing spoons or rooster tails for the trout, he continued, or nightcrawlers with marshmellows off the bottom.

Fishermen are using scented crawlers off the bottom to snag catfish, he said. Some are also using dough baits and chicken livers.

Hayden Lake is also "full of everything," Odenbaugh said, including largemouth and smallmouth bass.

Some are using the Jig n Pig, he said, or throwing crank baits.

Most fishermen he sees are using a senko, he said.

"They love to use those," he said. "They're getting some nice bass out of all the lakes with those."