'Magical' time for fishing

Conditions are ripe for great fishing on both area lakes and streams, said Bud Frasca of North West Classic Tackle in Hayden.

"It's the magical time of year for fishing in North Idaho," Frasca said. "It will be that way until the end of June or beginning of July when fish go into deeper water and are harder to find."

He said all lakes are fishing well, including for bass on Hayden.

"The smallmouth are in pre-spawn, so they're coming into shallow water," Frasca said. "That's what makes it good. There's a lot of small and medium fish."

Frasca said the females are still in deeper water, but he said anglers can catch 12- to 14-inch smallmouth from the shorelines all day long if you're in the right place.

"If I was fishing Hayden, I'd either be fishing with streamers or 4-inch plastic worms," he said.

Frasca said the trout and crappie bite is also going on.

The rivers are dropping, so that's another option for anglers.

"Bugs hatching include March browns andsalmon flies," Frasca said.

Catfish fishing is hot right now, said Tina Padgitt, of Black Sheep Sporting Goods.

So go after them at Fernan Lake using a worm at the bottom of the lake.

Otherwise, smallmouth bass are active just about anywhere.

Use Texas rigs or wacky rigs at any of the area lakes and cast lines from either the banks or boats to catch them, she said.

Kokanee are active in Hayden Lake. Troll for them with kokanee gear, she said.

Dale Odenbaugh from Fins and Feathers said chinook salmon fishing is slowing down on Lake Coeur d'Alene, but a few are still being caught between the surface and 60 feet of water.

Kokanee are starting to pick up though, he said. The hot spot is down around Harrison. Successful anglers are using wedding ring lures, jackaloids or slim willies baited with either maggots or red corn.

The Kokanee on Hayden Lake are still hitting, as well. Odenbaugh said you have go deep and long for the Hayden kokanee. He suggested trolling about 100 feet of line 40 feet below the surface. The Hayden kokanee are averaging between 14 and 16 inches in size, he added.

The crappie are also starting to hit on Hayden Lake, Odenbaugh said.

"The pike are really getting active out there," he said, adding they are catching them every day they go out.

The pike are hitting spinner and jerk baits pretty hard right now.

"The smallmouth bass are picking up too," he said. "The lipless crank baits and the square-bill crank baits are doing pretty good."

Things are shaping up nicely for flyfishers on the Coeur d'Alene River, said Pat Way of Orvis Northwest Outfitters.

Although still high, the water continued to drop down to 4,110 cubic feet per second at Enaville as of Wednesday.

"It seems as if we are considerably ahead of schedule with runoff," Way said. "Wading is still difficult and not advised, but you can catch plenty of fish from the shore. The upper river has actually been giving up some nice fish the last few days."

Look for adult salmonflies, March browns and even a few green drakes. Fish big, ugly dry flies with a prince nymph dropper and concentrate on what soft water you can find.

Nymphing and streamer fishing has been effective as well, Way said.

Useful fly patterns are Berrett's Mutant Stone, Para Green Drakes, Para March Browns, various streamers, prince nymphs and 20 inchers.

"Experienced rowers have been floating the river and doing well," Way said. "These flows are not for beginner boaters.

Make sure to check before planning a float as there is new debris and log jams in several sections of the river. The St. Joe River is still a few weeks out.

Streamflow at Calder is still around 10,000 cfs.

Area lakes are also fishing well. Hayden, Twin Lakes and the Chain Lakes are giving up some nice largemouth and smallmouth bass. Leech patterns fished under an indicator and tight to cover should produce fish.