• NF CDA - North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

  • Hatches

    Caddis
    Ants / Beetles
    Hoppers

  • The Fishing

    Repeat again this week, sorry we sound like a broken record... it's just that time of the year! A little less smoke lately and slightly cooler temperatures will help, just need a bunch of rain! Things won't change much until fall really.

    The North Fork Coeur d'Alene River is low as it usually is this time of the year. I would also add that it's best not to fish when water temps are above 68 degrees which will be the case right now in the heat during the afternoons and evenings. Mornings will be the only time to fish. Idaho does not "hoot-owl" their rivers like Montana so it's up to you to show the trout some respect and let them be when water temps are not safe. Plus the inner tube hatch will be out late morning and on. Find water with some depth and you will find fish. It's going to be a terrestrial game (hoppers, ants, beetles), caddis, and attractors. Large flies will likely not do well. Smaller is better this time of the year for success. So are longer / finer tippet and leader. The upper stretches will be super skinny. Middle and lower stretches of the drainage are going to have more water volume, but hey it's a free country so feel free to explore where you want!

  • Current Flow

    Prichard = 69.7 ft3/sec

    Cataldo = 285 ft3/sec

    Flow Graph at Prichard
    Flow Graph at Cataldo

  • St. Joe River, Idaho

  • Hatches

    Caddis
    Ants / Beetles
    Hoppers

  • The Fishing

    More folks have been on the St. Joe River as of late with low water conditions on the NF CDA and the fires in the Black Canyon of the NF Clearwater (see Miscellaneous reports for those updates). The St. Joe has been slow-decent which is typical for the dog-days of summer fishing in the middle of August. Is it worth going? Absolutely, it's still a good option. Just adjust your expectations during the heat of the summer... mornings are best, smaller flies work better, terrestrials and attractors, look for riffles and deeper boulder gardens, find off-the-beaten-path water for better results, longer / finer leader and tippet. Bigger fish are harder to come by in the summer, it's typically smaller to medium fish. Check water temps, anything over 68 degrees is too hot for safe trout fishing conditions, give 'em a break at that point. Mornings will be best for coolest water.

  • Current Flow

    Red Ives = 64.5 ft3/sec

    Calder = 390 ft3/sec

    Flow Graph at Red Ives
    Flow Graph at Calder

  • Spokane River, Washington

  • Hatches

    Caddis
    Pseudo-baetis

  • The Fishing

    Plugging along as a consistent option this summer. Flows are low but still nice and cold thanks to the aquifer. There’s been an uptick lately in some good dry fly activity on hopper patterns and other low-profile foam dries. I start benching the chubby type patterns this time of year and throw a bug that sits lower in the water and doesn’t have a giant white wing draped over top of it. These trout have seen a couple flies drift over their heads at this point, so giving them a less intrusive option gets more eats and less refusals. Still a few heads up in the mornings in the slow tailouts; these fish are pretty keyed in on micro mayflies but a small ant pattern will fool a few. Long leaders and a downstream presentation is key for this program. Hatches are sparse overall but a few random caddis are out along with the pseudo-baetis.

    The Spokane Valley stretches above Sullivan are extra skinny... if not dry, so focus your efforts below or below downtown.

  • Current Flow

    688 ft3/sec

    Flow Graph at Spokane River - Post Falls
    Flow Graph at Spokane River - Below Falls

  • Miscellaneous

  • The Fishing

    NF Clearwater / Kelly Creek - The Black Canyon section of the NF Clearwater is closed due to the Moose-Mountain Fire. You can access the upper NF CW over Hoodoo Pass and access Deception Saddle Rd (255) down to Kelly Creek. "The 250 road remains closed north of Kelly Forks to the intersection of 255 due to increasing fire behavior and ongoing suppression efforts. - Watch Duty App" - I would add to this that I would have plenty of fuel and a plan to drive out the long way to Pierce / Orofino if Deception Saddle Rd gets closed due to the fire.

    The NF Clearwater below Kelly Forks CG is also open and a good fishing option.

    Warmwater Species: If you wanna mix things up and pull on a few fish that don’t mind the heat, bass fishing is quite good on many of the lakes and river systems around the area. Largemouth are hanging around any area with deep water access, shade or structure. Smallies love any type of rocky shoreline where they can mow down some crawdads. Topwater fishing can be very effective in the mornings and evenings, so sling some poppers around and get some blowups.

    Kootenai River - the Kootenai is cold and plenty of water. Bo and I have recently fished here. We both had similar experiences, small fish mainly. Not that it's bad, it just seemed a little off for whatever reason on the lower stretches that we fished. Foam bugs like chernobyls, chubbies in various sizes / colors, caddis pupa droppers, hoppers, caddis, and a few pmd patterns all worked. It's an option to fish at least.

    A lot of Montana fishing restrictions have been lifted lately! A good time to get back to exploring.

    Montana Hoot-owl Restrictions website (copy / paste this link):
    https://fwp.mt.gov/news/current-closures-restrictions/waterbody-closures

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