Try local lakes for fly-fishing

Local lakes are a fly-fisherman's best bet, said Mike Beard of Orvis Northwest Outfitters in Coeur d'Alene. The runoff has taken its toll on the Coeur d'Alene and the Joe.

"The good thing is the lakes are fishing well," the guide said. "That's a good thing, because the rivers are pretty much done."

Fernan and Round Lakes are producing good rainbows, crappie and bass. The warmer Chain Lakes - Rose, Killarney, Cave, Swan - are northern pike territory.

"The bays, definitely, for pike," Beard said. "Big bunny leeches."

Cast red-and-white or chartreuse-and-white patterns, and give the flies some action. Clouser minnows, especially the baby smallmouth pattern, should also draw strikes from aggressive pike.

Vary your retrieve, Beard advised. Take long strips, then short strips, and keep changing it up.

"You wanna go slow, fast, different depths, until you find something they're keying on," he said.

Pike are sharp-toothed predators, so don't be afraid to use a beefy leader or a bite guard. Beard suggested 25-pound Maxima.

While searching for fish, try to cover as much water as you can. Beard will sometimes yank with two hands on the line, just to alter his retrieve.

Anglers hunting bass or crappie should throw wooly buggers or crappie jigs, Beard said.

With the weather warming up this week, "The bass - largemouth and smallmouth - are going to start moving into the shallows," he added.

Hayden Lake crappie are biting lately, Beard said. He went out Saturday and caught a mess of crappie for a Mother's Day fish fry.

Trout fisherman can still hook rainbows on spring creeks in eastern Washington. Rocky Ford, near Moses Lake, is largely immune to runoff, and Crab Creek is a good spot for spring trout.

Warmer temps heat up lake fishing, cool river options

Warmer temperatures have spurred on better lake fishing, but have temporarily slowed river fishing due to rising water, said Bud Frasca, owner of North West Classic Tackle in Hayden.

"It can be tough fishing on the rivers now because of the runoff," Frasca said.

But he said all of the area lakes are fishing well.

"Lake fishing is the ticket this week," Frasca said. "The crappie bite is on and bass and pike are starting to turn on. The recent temperatures are warming up the surface of the lakes, so that helps."

Frasca said if kids are out on the water, he'd suggest going to lakes such as Cocolalla, where there's no catch limit. He said now is the perfect time to take kids to a lake with nightcrawlers, spinners, power bait and a bobber.

He said several lakes in Eastern Washington also offer good options within driving distance.

"There's more than 100 lakes within an hour of Spokane that are fishable," Frasca said.

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The most active fish to catch right now is pike.

Sooner or later, when the weather stays warm for longer spells, large and smallmouth bass season and crappie fishing will heat up too, but right now the best bet for fishing is pike fishing.

They're chasing smelt bait and husky jerks, said Blake Becker of Black Sheep Sporting Goods. Toss those lines out in Lake Coeur d'Alene, which is producing the biggest prizes of the local waters.

The best spots are in the bays like Cougar Gulch or Kidd Island.

Largemouth bass fishing is heating up, but still needs a week or two of warmer weather to bring the fish into shallower waters.

Both bass and pike can be pulled out of Hayden, Fernan, Hauser and Twin lakes. They're chasing Husky jerks, and jerk baits like rapalas. Toss those lines out about 15 feet from the banks, but in a week or so move in and throw line about 6 feet out beneath lily pads and atop spawning beds.

They should be more active then, Becker said.

Crappie fishing should heat up then too. Anglers are going after them now using crappie jig heads, 1/32 oz ones, or even fly fishing for them with beaded nymphs, or bumble bee patterns.

Back on Lake Coeur d'Alene,chinook salmon are chasing helmet and herring lines, plainer boards as well. Troll those lines about 30 feet deep around 2 miles per hour or so.

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There are plenty of pike to be nabbed in the Chain Lakes these days.

"They range anywhere from five up to 20 pounds," said Dale Odenbaugh with Fins and Feathers Tackle Shop and Guide Service.

Most fishermen are grappling with pike using Husky jerks and Rapalas, he said.

The pike are usually concentrated in the bays, Odenbaugh added.

Chinook salmon fishing is still tepid on Lake Coeur d'Alene, he said.

"It's a little bit slow," he said. "They're kind of scattered all over the lake, still up high, from the surface to say 30 feet."

The salmon tend to chomp on deep-diving Rapalas, Odenbaugh said. Yo-Zuri plugs are working, too.

The salmon fishing should pick up soon, Odenbauh said.

"We just need some warm weather to get them livened up," he said.

Trout fishing is doing well on Lake Fernan, Odenbaugh said.

"There's holdover trout that made it through the winter there, so you're getting some really nice sized fish," he said.

PowerBaits and night crawlers are snagging trout, he said, as are spoons and Rooster Tails.

Panfish like crappie, perch and bluegill are also biting in the smaller lakes, he said, and even the south end of Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Jigs and maggots are bringing the panfish in, he added.

"That's pretty active fishing right there for everybody," he said.