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

Hatches

Skwalas
March Browns
BWO's
Samonflies

The Fishing

Fishing has been good on the CDA lately. There was a good window of stable conditions earlier on in the week, which brought out some salmonflies and gray drakes on the lower river. There was a slight bump in flows yesterday but looks to be leveling off and dropping over the next few days. Not going to be particularly warm here through the weekend, but water conditions should be plenty fishable. I’d expect subsurface action to be more productive if temps are chilly, bug hatches could be limited until it warms back up next week, should still see some BWO’s and March Browns though so keep your small dries handy. Dry-dropper combos are a worthy prospecting rig if you don’t want to dredge with an indicator, a skwala/salmonfly type dry with your favorite attractor nymph should get it done. Expect to find less active rising fish and bug hatches the further up you venture in the system, dry fly fishing has been more consistent on the lower reaches.



Lower North Fork Coeur d'Alene Floating Restrictions @ I90 Bridge Near
Cataldo: For both the 2025 and 2026 construction seasons, restrictions will once again be in effect from April through November inhibiting access, use and passage Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Boat launches outside of the work zone will remain available for use, though no one will be able to pass beneath the structure during working hours for safety reasons. Later in the summer restrictions may be changed or lifted depending on overhead work being done. Read more here: https://itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/i90cataldobridges

Current Flow

Prichard = 1040 ft³/sec
Prediction Flow - Prichard

Cataldo = 3990 ft³/sec
Prediction Flow - Cataldo

St. Joe River, Idaho

Hatches

March Browns
Skwalas
BWO's
Salmonflies
Golden stones

The Fishing

Flows came up quite a bit over the last couple days. Looks like it turned the corner and is back on the drop, but will be a day or two before it’s back into ideal shape. Fishing was good up here earlier on in the week, we heard from a few different folks that dry fly fishing was consistent mid-day with March Browns, Gray Drakes and a variety of stoneflies. If you are venturing here this weekend, plan on fishing the margins close to the bank, softer pools and eddies. As flows recede fish will start sliding back into riffles and faster zones. Fishing will definitely be best below Avery, gonna be a lot colder and swifter water up high.

Current Flow

Red Ives = 918 ft³/sec
Prediction Flow - Red Ives

Calder = 6760 ft³/sec
Prediction Flow - Calder

Miscellaneous

The Fishing

Lake fishing has been very good around the area. Chironomid hatches are great on most lakes, Coffeepot and Amber have been noteworthy lately. The general lowland lake opener is this Saturday April 25th, which will offer a bunch more stillwater options close to Spokane. West Medical, Clear Lake, Fish Lake and Williams Lake near Cheney would all be on my radar. Bass fishing is also very good right now if you want something different to chase.

Spokane River, Washington

Hatches

n/a

The Fishing

The Spokane River from the WA/ID state line down to Nine Mile Falls Dam is now closed until the Saturday before Memorial Day. This closure is to help protect spawning Redband rainbows.

Current Flow

13100 ft³/sec
Prediction Flow - Lower River / Post Falls

Steelhead Rivers

The Fishing

Reports for steelheading on the Grande Ronde, Snake and Clearwater are wrapped up for the season. Time to let them spawn. We will begin reports for steelies late summer as they trickle back into the Columbia system. We will periodically have some smallmouth reports from this region when we get them.

Current Flows

Grande Ronde River at Troy - 5690 ft³/sec
Prediction Flow - Troy

Snake River at Anatone - 48600 ft³/sec
Prediction Flow - Anatone

Clearwater River at Spalding - 37200 ft³/sec
Prediction Flow - Spalding