Fish Tips

Posted: Wednesday, Nov 12, 2008 - 11:14:52 pm PST
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Mike Satren

Chinook wait in the wings

Coeur d'Alene salmon were as scarce as hen's teeth during the Big One Chinook Derby last summer. Many veteran salmon trollers just couldn't connect and those that did couldn't seem to catch a big one.

Last Saturday Frank Whitney Jr. and Skipper Bill Bongers trolled from Carlin Bay to The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course and caught four fish, two of them more than 11 pounds.

"Those are the two nicest fish that have come out of that lake since the summer derby," said Jeff Smith of Fins & Feathers Tackle Shop. "It's fairly encouraging, I mean maybe just seeing a couple of big fish gets you revved up."

Smith hasn't caught any salmon that big recently but he has caught some decent 5- and 8-pounders.

They are between 70 and 90 feet deep and most of the action is on mini squids now, including the two 11-plus-pounders caught by Whitney and Bongers.

If a troller puts in his time and is patient, there's a decent chance he can pull in a couple of fish even though they may not be 11-pounders, he said.

In the meantime Smith will tough it out in his 65-degree boat cabin as he trolls the waters of Coeur d'Alene for salmon.

He has scheduled the Gene Fink Memorial Winter Chinook Derby for the weekend of Dec. 6-7.

"I'm kind of excited about going fishing cause I was even questioning whether we should have this derby," Smith said.

Northern pike

More folks are switching to bait but plugs and spoons are still working, while spinnerbaits are fading, said Josh Kinghorn of Black Sheep Sporting Goods.

"You can bait fish any time, you're never wrong bait fishing," Smith said.

"The shore guys just about have to use bait cause they can't move around," said Randy Gardner of Fins & Feathers.

For his part Smith prefers the mobility and the action of plugs and spoons unless pike just won't chase.

The Husky Jerk in Tennessee Shad, Fire Tiger or Glass Blue is his favorite pike medicine this time of year.

"I throw the same three all the time," he said. "When people go to my boat, they think my store is in my boat, then they find out we don't really use all that stuff all the time."

Largemouth bass

Kinghorn is still looking for largemouth action although it's a bit slow. He figures as long as it's raining and not snowing, largemouth will hang.

Even on Fernan, he caught 1-1/2-pound largemouths a couple hundred yards out from the lily pads.

Smith figures they're late like everything else this year.

They are cruising the weedlines on Coeur d'Alene where they'll look at but not hit the No. 14 Husky Jerks he casts for pike. They will take a Senko worm but if he substitutes a No. 10 Husky Jerk they will grab it.

He expects to be fishing largemouth and pike all month.

Crappie

Guys are catching crappies on Hayden, Twin and Spirit lakes using the slip-bobber method.

"You have to kind of hunt around on Hayden, because they'll sometimes suspend off the docks and sometimes they suspend off the weed lines," Smith said.

That may put you in 12 to 15 feet of water on Hayden. Just be sure to start on the structure and work your way out, he said.

Of course the biggest crappie will be on Hayden but the numbers will be higher on Twin and Spirit.

Hayden Kams

Ever since Dan Pierce caught his big 17-pound Kamloop rainbow near the Clark House on Hayden Lake, others have trolled the same waters successfully.

"I've talked to people who are catching 9-, 11-, 12- and 13-pounders," Kinghorn said. "The Rapalas have been just smacking them."

His buddy caught a 13-pounder on a Rainbow-colored Rapala just last week and others have successfully used brown, gold or various trout-pattern Rapalas.

Pierce went back a few days ago but he got skunked, Gardner said.

That hasn't dampened Kinghorn's enthusiasm to get out and give it another try.

Lake Roosevelt Walleye

Walleye lovers can meet under the light of the next full moon on Lake Roosevelt.

"It's supposed to be the month for the big ones at night," Gardner said. "At night that big plug, big jerkbait thing is coming up."

Steelhead

Clearwater steelhead numbers are up but the bite isn't according to Smith and Randy Johnson of Sportsman's Warehouse concurs.

"I was down on the Clearwater Friday and got my butt handed to me," Johnson said. "I got soaking wet and not one bite."

Of course it started raining last Thursday and Johnson didn't get down on the river until Friday, but that's steelheading.

Some friends of Kinghorn had great success back trolling the dark-dyed pink shrimp behind a lighted diver plug and others did well using a little orange bead on a hook on a regular slip bobber rig.

Better numbers but smaller fish can be had on the Snake River back trolling Wiggle Warts and Hot Lips plugs but that's normally the case, Smith said.

He has been selling a lot of purple shrimp, the hot color of the season.

Methow River steelhead

Steelheading has picked up on the Methow River in Eastern Washington with the recent rains.

"All that rain has pulled in a ton of fish over the last four or five days," Wilson said. "There's also a bunch of coho (silver salmon) in the river right now."

A biologist told Wilson that there are about 4,000 coho in the river now, it's about the biggest return so far for a species they really want to bring back. It's all catch and release but it gives another option on the Methow.

The key to the salmon is to swing bright flashy colors, reds, pinks, oranges in front of them to trigger an aggression strike.

Methow steelhead, on the other hand, are more laid back, even with the warmer-than-seasonal temperatures.

They will still take flies on the swing, too, but Joe Roope of Castaway Fly Shop did best nymphing egg-patterns Sunday.

The slightly cloudy Methow River water was a good compromise, low enough visibility to relax the fish somewhat but still clear enough for them to see presentations.

Another successful technique is to dead drift a standard Egg Sucking Leech.

Fly fishing trout

As late as it is cutthroat fishing on the lower Coeur d'Alene River is not too bad, Wilson said. The most productive stretch is 6, 7 or 8 miles down from Bumblebee.

When it's not raining they've had some surface activity, like midges and size-14 and -16 darker brown caddis.

Basically it's just nymphing with real small stuff, flashback Pheasant Tails and black Copper Johns.

"Just working those through the real slow water, we've been taking quite a few fish," he said.

Mike Satren is the Hagadone News Network outdoors editor. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2015, or by e-mail at msatren@cdapress.com. Remember to review appropriate rules and regulations before fishing.