Coeur d'Alene Fishing Report 06.06.19
Well, to say fishing has been good would be an understatement. It's been incredible on most of our local waters. The weather has improved, and we are seeing consistent mid-70 degree days. The next few days we are expecting some weather to come in -cloudy, cooler in the 60s with rain and maybe a thunderstorm. This is not a bad thing. From here on out throughout the summer, an occasional storm is welcome. This helps drop the water temperatures and keeps the fish active.
As the flows drop and the water warms up, the fishing will change -not for the worse but you will have to adjust the times you hit the water. Most drainages east of CdA, like the St. Joe and Clark Fork or Clearwater region, still have a lot of snow to melt. Specifically, the CdA River drainage is pretty much done with runoff and is shaping up nicely. The fish have really been active throughout the day into the evenings, and the hatches are great and plentiful. The local lakes are in great shape and fishing really well. Come on in and resupply for your next outing and we will get you ready to go.
Current Conditions
Coeur d'Alene River - The fishing here has been great lately, and this upcoming week should be no different. We are expecting some weather mid-week, and this should not hurt the fishing. If we get cloudy, rainy conditions, expect many more green drakes and blue-winged olives. There are tons of yellow sallies, flav's, Hendrixson's, golden stones and some caddis too. The river is getting lower by the day. Water temperatures are still fine and the upcoming storm will help keep the temperatures lower. Look for a great week of fishing.
St. Joe River - The river is steadily improving. We fished over the weekend and it was killer! We floated the lower end of the river and had great success. The river is much more manageable now. Still, a touch high in some spots to walk/wade, but the floating is great now. On a steady decline, we will see a small bump if we get the rain they are forecasting this week. Also, there are lots of bugs out and plenty of fish them eating up. Yellow sallies, pmds, green drakes, caddis, and a few bigger stoneflies are all on the prowl. The river is dropping and still holding a good cool water temperature.
Clark Fork River (MT) - The river is still big over here in Montana. The Clark Fork has a couple of weeks yet before it is floatable. Finally, the Northwest River Forecast shows that in about 10 days flows will be about 17,000 cfs. (I like to see 15,000 or lower before I'll go.)
Match the Hatch
1) Yellow sallies: yellow stimmies size 14-16
2) Golden stones: orange or yellow stimulators, flush fatter golden, chubby chernobyl, Turk's tarantula, p.m.x.
3) Pale morning duns: sparkle dun, comparadun, sparkle flag, film critic, tilt wing
4) Hendrixons: thorax dun, softhackle pink
5) Green drakes: ext body, Christian's adult, film critic
7) Grey drakes: parachute Adams, extended body grey drakes, comparadun, and sparkle dun
8) Caddis: elk hair, corn-fed, x-caddis, translucent emerger, hares ear soft hackle
9) Nymphs: double bead stones, bead head prince, bead head pheasant tail, psycho prince, jigged Pat's, copper johns.
10) Streamers: kamakazi sculpin, near nuff sculpins, home invaders, congas and baby congas, woolly buggers
Need to fill the box before you go? Order flies online here.
Tips & Techniques
I'll tell you what, the fishing this year is and has been superb. The fish in all of our rivers are healthy and willing to play. It can be somewhat overwhelming if you are a new angler to know what hatch the fish are keying in on and then applying the right fly. Don't over think it too much. Start in a piece of water with an attractor fly like a chubby chernobyl or bigger stimulator and then add a smaller bead head dropper off the back about 12-18 inches. Keep moving through the run. Covering water is important and will show you what is holding in the run and where. Then come back through the run with a different tactic, like a double nymph rig or a streamer. These two techniques should be done secondly as they can cause more of a disturbance in the run as the flies are larger and impact the water hard. You will be pleasantly surprised with the results. You may connect with a much larger fish that did not want to respond to a small or even a medium-size dry fly.
The afternoons will typically produce better hatches and more fish will be on the feed. Caddis will start to be the main player in the afternoons along with green drakes. Emergers are key later on in the day. Try running a medium-sized caddis with a soft hackle or a green drake with a larger soft hackle dropper. At the ends of your drifts, make sure to "swing out" your flies. The soft hackle or emerger dropper should get grabs doing this. Riffled water is perfect for these kinds of conditions. So, if you did not have great or even mediocre results in your first run, come back through with a different rig and see what happens. But, keep your feet moving through the run unless you have many fish rising near you. Try to rest your water a bit in between the fish you catch. This will allow the fish to get comfortable and become more responsive to your offerings. Have fun, guys. It’s going to be a great summer!!!
See past reports from the CDA region here, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.