Spokane River Opener this Weekend

The fishing season is just about to begin!

Saturday before Memorial Day marks the Washington Stream Season Opener for all rivers that are not currently open. Why have some streams been closed for the spring you ask? To protect spawning populations of native trout. With spawning season behind us now, the general opener this year is May 25th. Keep in mind each year the date will vary slightly, but will always be the Saturday before Memorial Day.

One of the great rivers opening up this upcoming weekend is our hometown favorite, the Spokane River. For many of us living in the Spokane / Coeur d'Alene region having the ability to fish the Spokane before or after work significantly increases the amount of fishing time we get. A quick 1-2 hours of fishing after a long day does amazing things to one's psyche.

Will the Spokane River be fishable for opening weekend? That's the million dollar question. It MIGHT be. Currently the prediction flows are showing a big drop in water levels this week. But as anyone knows that follows the river forecast they are accurate about sixty percent at best. I would NEVER live or die by the gauge, not a in a million years. More often than not the flows don't follow the prediction and are in better, more fishable, shape than graph would indicate. Same as the weather! If I lived and died by the weather forecast I would fish about one quarter of the time. Usually, things pan out just fine.

We will keep you posted as the week progresses if it's not fishable. Keep in mind that my version of "fishable" is different than someone else's version of fishable, and theirs is different than others. Some angling buddies I know fish the river higher than I do, others won't touch it at all until it's under "X" cfs. To each their own.

What I do know is that we LOVE the Spokane River and traditionally opening week is a very good week, as is the month of June on the Spokane and we would love to show you our home river. We have guides willing and ready, if river levels look "doable" we will get you out there. Give us a shout and ask for Bo. Bo knows and Bo will help you go.