18 Freshwater Species in North Idaho

Pretty intriguing, isn’t it? When fly fishermen think of a species-rich environment, saltwater is always the first to come to mind. Although the coast is home to ferocious, hard fighting water dwellers, we have a unique fishery here in northern Idaho that will prove just as challenging. Here is a list of fish that can be caught on the fly within a 50-mile radius of Sandpoint, Idaho, and where to catch them.

Trout

Rainbow

The panhandle is home to a few blue-ribbon rainbow trout streams, my favorite being the Kootenai River. This river is full of acrobatic rainbows that display an unmistakable deep red slash along their sides that simply cannot be found in stocker trout. These trout range from inches to 10+ pounds depending on what stretch of the river you decide to fish. The best time to fish for these beauties is during the summer. There are several guides that will go above and beyond the call of duty to get you into trout. If it is a guide you are looking for, I recommend Linehan Outfitting, Kootenai River Outfitters, and Dave Blackburn’s Kootenai Angler.

Brown

There are only a few places to find a good hardy brown up here, but the browns we have, won’t disappoint. My go-to place is Lake Cocolalla. I swear I break my personal best brown out of this lake every year. Coco is primarily looked at as a trolling lake, but there are plenty of opportunities to hook into a big brown in the spring and fall. Throughout the summer, the browns go deep and require a fast sinking line to reach them. This is a lake that requires a bit of time to truly figure it out.

Cutthroat

One of the few native species we have up here. Idaho Fish and Game have done an excellent job of protecting this species of trout in Lake Pend Oreille and Clark Fork River. We measure our cutthroat by inches and not pounds in these fisheries, so we are not quite on the Pyramid Lake scale. Catching a 20+ inch cutthroat is not unheard of, but they are generally caught on the lake.

Brook

We have your typical small, brushed in, full of small trout streams. The brook trout in Cocolalla Creek near Round Lake is the best place to catch a handful of brookies. Most of these trout are only 4-6 inches long, but there are a few that can touch 12 inches. This is a perfect stream to take beginning fly fisherman because the action is fierce in the summer, and access is easy if you go through Round Lake State Park.

Cut-bow

The non-typical cut-bow is a rarity in Lake Pend Oreille and Clark Fork River, but they are out there. Although it isn’t a true cutthroat, the regulations state “if it has a slash, throw it back”. So I advise releasing trout identified as cut-bows, in case it is a true westslope cutthroat.

Bull

Another native species here in Idaho, the bull trout hold a special place in our hearts. Idaho is one of the few states that allows fishermen to target bull trout. The trick to catching a bull trout is finding what kind of water they enjoy living in. I enjoy fishing fast moving big water like the Kootenai River. Be sure to fish the Idaho side of the Kootenai when targeting bull trout. It is illegal to target bullies on the Montana side of the Kootenai River.

Lake

Although IDFG is placing efforts to remove this species from Lake Pend Oreille, there are thousands of lake trout that live in the lake today. These fish prefer to live in depths around 100 feet making it tough for fly fisherman most of the year. However, during the spring, they will come to the surface to feed on unsuspecting kokanee. There is a small window to catch a laker on the fly, but the opportunity is there. Every lake trout caught in Lake Pend Oreille has a $15 bounty no matter the size. For more information on this incentive program, click here.

Warm Water

Smallmouth Bass

Lake Pend Oreille is home to a dense population of smallmouth bass that can be caught on the fly, April through November. The average size is around 1lb, but I truly believe this lake holds the next state record. I have seen too many pictures of giant smallies to believe otherwise. The best time to fly fish for bronze backs is May and June. During these months, the bass are closer to the surface and actively gorging themselves on anything that crosses their path.

Largemouth Bass

When I find myself wanting to target largies, I concentrate my time on the Pend Oreille River. Most of the sloughs and eddies hold decent populations of largemouth that can be caught on the fly in May and June. Once the weeds come up in late June, it is hard to reach the holes where the bucketmouths reside.

Walleye

There isn’t a big window to have a good chance at catching a walleye on the fly, but the window is there. I have caught a few walleye on Lake Pend Oreille from late April through early June -most of the time, it is purely coincidental while I am fishing for smallmouth. Most of the walleye I have found come off the north shoreline from City Beach to Denton Slough. I realize that is a long shoreline, but I have literally found them scattered throughout the north shore at that time of the year.

Northern Pike

My favorite place to fish for northerns “within a 50-mile radius” is Lake Pend Oreille. I added quotes to the previous sentence because I prefer to fish Cabinet Gorge Reservoir for pike, but they are outside of the 50 miles. Regardless, LPO still offers is a great place to get into big pike. Big shallow bays and sloughs are where you will find them. My favorite time of the year to fish for them is in April through June. They can be spotted sunning in shallow sandy bays on warm late spring days.

Tiger Musky

This is a tricky one. There are not many places where you can have a chance at a tiger in northern Idaho, but we do have one. Shepard Lake is stocked with roughly 15-20 tiger musky every year. This isn’t an easy fishery by any means. I would expect to spend a few days full of headaches and sore arms from casting before you hook one.

Black Crappie

When I think of crappie, one lake stands out above all others. Hayden Lake is well known for producing large numbers of sizable crappie come spring time. I have heard tales of shallow shorelines literally lined up with crappie as far as the eye can see, but I haven’t seen it for myself. This is a spring fishery because like everything else, once the weeds come up, they are tough to reach.

Bluegill/Pumpkinseed

No surprise here, Hayden lake also holds a healthy population of large panfish. There are not many places in the area that have bluegill large enough to eat, but Hayden lake does. After the crappie finish spawning, the bluegill takes to the shorelines by the hundreds. These aggressive little buggers will eat just about anything that falls near their nests. A fun challenge is to bring a light action 3-weight and spend the whole afternoon trying to catch 100 bluegills.

Yellow Perch

Lake Pend Oreille and the Pend Oreille River are literally full of perch. All you have to do is find some weeds, and you will find perch by the hundreds. We don’t get giant perch in our fisheries, but perch up to 15 inches isn’t uncommon. If you are the kind of person that enjoys keeping a few for dinner, it doesn’t get much better than perch.

Channel Catfish

I wouldn’t normally add this species to the list of fish you can catch on the fly, but I did catch one this year on Cocolalla on a rust Slump Buster. Even though I was looking for trout, that cat put up a great fight and I will fish for them again on the fly. You will need fast sinking line because they are between 20-30 feet. These kitties will be the most active throughout the summer.

Cold Water

Rocky Mountain Bonefish (Mountain Whitefish)

Over the years the mountain whitefish have been gaining respect from fly fisherman. I have been fooled several times by a hard fighting whitey thinking I have a 20-inch trout on. If you want a day of solid whitefish, float the Kootenai River. There are several flats that are loaded with 15-20-inch whitefish. All you have to do is run a double nymph rig of a #14 red Copper John with a #16 silver Lightening Bug. It works just about every time. Be sure to weight accordingly, and get those nymphs dragging on the bottom. You might be surprised by how much fun you will have.

Kokanee

I have only caught a handful of kokanee on Lake Pend Oreille and the Clark Fork, but I haven’t exactly targeted them either. The kokanee I've caught on the lake have been caught with a #1 chartreuse Hud’s Bushwacker. Those kokanees had no business chasing that streamer. The other few I have caught were on the Clark Fork in early summer while I was swinging small soft hackles through slow moving eddies. That makes a little more sense. The fun part was the kokanee on the CF were roughly 12 inches. Not bad for our fishery.