Fish Tips

Posted: Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008 - 11:29:33 pm PST
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Mike Satren

Last man standing

Josh Kinghorn of Black Sheep Sporting Goods wasn't ready to give up on largemouth bass for the season so he launched his 14-footer near Dufort Road and Lakeshore Drive and fished the inlets up and down the Pend Oreille River with his buddy, Roy.

He began with a variety of Rapalas and then switched to orange, brown and yellow crankbaits -- all fall colors.

"Bam, I started getting some nice largemouth," he said. "There's huge bass in there, tons of them."

They caught bass in 5 to 10 feet of water right on the weed lines.

"It was cold," Kinghorn said. "That was the only bad thing."

Chinook

Lake Coeur d'Alene salmon trollers have been a rare sight since the summer Big One Derby. Dan Rife keeps one of only two boats still moored in the Carlin Marina but he's been out three or four times a week recently.

Rife and his wife, Janet, caught three salmon in about three hours a few days ago with the largest in the 9-pound class.

"I have been all over the lake of recent and have not been skunked yet," he said. "So there is still hope in capturing the money fish in the tournament."

Salmon can be found all over but mid-lake from 65 to 90 feet seems best, Rife said.

Jeff Smith of Fins & Feathers Tackle Shop was putting together mini squid setups Monday afternoon. After tying on a treble hook, he'd string seven beads and then slip on a Spumoni, Grateful Dead or black and glow mini squid, leaving about 4 feet of line above that.

Many salmon trollers use only six beads but Smith likes to get the hook a little farther back.

"I'll make up all these and somebody'll get hot on something we haven't thought of," he said. "But they'll hit any of these, the main thing is finding the depth range that day."

Smith has been down the middle to Carlin Bay but he's seen a few boats out in front of Silver Beach, the golf course and Tubbs Hill.

"I like to make a troll up through here every once in a while, too," he said.

Smith thinks the voluntary layoff in trolling has given the salmon a break, which may be good for the upcoming salmon derby. Many of the regular salmon trollers are just getting back into it.

"It'll be fun, I'm just glad that it looks like we've got enough fish to mess with," Smith said. "So I'm kind of excited about it."

Macks and Kams

Flies and boards account for most of the Kamloops caught on Lake Pend Oreille recently, said Randy Richards of Tri State Outfitters.

Heather, Natural or Spotted Brown -- all contain brown -- flies have been producing the best.

Another good technique for Kams is long lining Apexes or broken-back Rapalas in Army Truck or Brown Trout patterns.

Macks are hitting better on Priest Lake but trollers on either lake are doing well with Brown Perch, Frog or Rainbow Lyman plugs, he said. Alternately pull black and purple, black and white or Army Truck Apexes, gold and orange, Brown Trout or Rainbow broken-back Rapalas, or Frog or Perch U-20 Flatfish.

Drop shotters with drop shot minnows or weighted jigs such as the 1-1/2-ounce Point Wilson Dart are other successful Mackinaw angling techniques, Richards said.

Northern pike

"Most of the bays on Coeur d'Alene, the Chains and on the back end of Hayden have all put fish out in the 10-pound-plus range," Richards said.

Bait is working the best but large plugs like the magnum Rapalas work, too, he said.

"There's quite a few guys bait fishing for them," Smith said. "Some of that's a factor of guys who are maybe stuck on the shore line so they're going to bait fish."

Another factor may be that casting for hours can be a lot of work for someone who doesn't do it all the time.

"You're never wrong bait fishing," he said. "Obviously it's a good way to catch them."

Steelhead

Steelheaders are enjoying fairly warm weather but the fishing has been a bit slow partially because it blew out last week with the rain.

"A lot of fish in the system, but they're not biting that great," Smith said.

Shore fishermen are doing fair bouncing roe, while black and white, black and red or purple jigs are also working, Richards said.

In the deeper holes, boaters are doing well back trolling shrimp or spoons. Storm Mag Wart plugs in Green Pirate or silver and red Herring Bone work, too.

Richards recommends not heading too far up toward Orofino as most of the action is still on the Lewiston side.

Fly fishermen head for the main Clearwater River above Orofino to get out from the jet boat traffic or they head for the Grand Ronde in Oregon, said Pat Way of Northwest Outfitters.

"The Ronde is on its way down and baring any torrential downpours, the fishing should pick right back up again," he said. "Swing traditional flies and articulated leeches."

As the hunting seasons end, hunters will pick up their steelhead rigs and head down to the Clearwater and the timing may be just right.

"When it gets colder, it just gets better," Smith said. "I don't know the whys. It just does."

Walleye

This is the time to night fish for walleyes on Lake Roosevelt.

Successful anglers may cast Husky Jerks, Countdown Rapalas or small lip shallow Shad Raps along the shoreline and banks from Fort Spokane to Seven Bays.

Randy Johnson of Sportsman's Warehouse has been the cameraman for Seth Burrill and Chad Kaiser during their night trips for walleyes.

"I've been a part of the three biggest walleye ever captured on film," Johnson said. "It can be fun but usually the colder and more miserable it is, the better the fishing is."

Recently Kaiser caught a 15-1/2-pounder on a River2Sea V-joint Minnow, a high-performance jerkbait, sold only at axtackle.com. They also had success with six or seven other lures including Rapalas, a glass Shad Rap and various swimbaits.

But fishing behind Burrill and Kaiser is not even fair, Johnson said.

"That's hardcore fishing, putting the boat in at 6 o'clock at night," Smith said. "That's for the young guys."

Small lakes trout

Nice holdover trout are still being caught on many of our smaller lakes, Richards said.

Most shore fishermen are using pink or fluorescent red PowerBait, night crawlers or marshmallows, he said.

Trollers have done well with hammered gold Lake Trolls in front of night crawlers, or with small plugs like size-3 or -5 Perch or Rainbow Countdown Rapalas.

Hauser, Kelso and Jewel are some of the best rainbow lakes, he said.

Another productive lake is Sprague Lake in eastern Washington. Smith drove by it this weekend and reported up to 20-inch trout being caught on bait or by trolling.

Some of Way's friends did pretty well on the rainbows there recently throwing Leech patterns under an indicator, slow stripping Wooly Buggers or on Chironomids.

Way advises using a fish finder on the big lake and to be prepared for the wind.

"It can get nasty out there," he said. "But it can fish good in the fall."

Fly fishing

The Coeur d'Alene River can fish decently if you stay with the narrowing afternoon window of opportunity and predominantly nymph fish.

"We'll use two nymphs with a dropper, all the standbys, Pheasant Tails, Hare's Ears or streamers fished in deeper pools," Way said.

He hasn't been to the St. Joe River recently because of the drive time.

"I want my fishing time to double my windshield time," Way said. "And right now it's not."

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.