Spring Fishing Windows

Spring Fishing

As with every spring fishing season there will be runoff highs and lows. Last weekend was a high, this weekend might be a low. Runoff is a game of cat and mouse, you have to time the days right to go and if the opportunity strikes that rivers are stable or dropping, adjust your schedule to hit the water.

We currently haven't seen the big runoff yet. What has been happening the last couple of weeks is just low elevation snow melt, and boy did we have a lot of low elevation snow late in the season this year! Nighttime air temps are keeping some of our rivers in check and it appears they will drop nicely over the next week. How long will that last? I don't know, my crystal ball is broken.

The short lived moments of opportunity are prime fishing times though in spring. Hatches are ramping up, fish are hungry. In my opinion it's worth pushing yard work back a day or so to take advantage of the potentially good catching.

Most of our rivers (NF Coeur d'Alene, St. Joe, Spokane River) will still fish while they are on the rise. They might not be red hot, but will produce some results. Unlike other more fickle rivers such as the Clark Fork or Missouri in Montana, the trout that reside in there tend to get pick on rising water levels.

Watch for these spring fishing windows, and if you can, take advantage of the opportunity. If not... we always have lake fishing!