Coeur d’Alene Fishing Report 03.21.18
Coeur d' Alene River
Flow at Cataldo 2,540 cfs and dropping. This is a killer flow right now for floating guys. Weather is stable and water is dropping at a good rate. Walk wading is still an option but you will have to find slower inside bends and soft water to do so. Streamer fishing is awesome right now as well as nymphing. We are seeing Midges, Blue Wing olives, Numera stone flies and Skwalas are soon to come. Bigger stone fly nymphs like a Pat's rubber legs or a Kauffman's stone fly with a smaller bead head dropper under an indicator will clean house. Look for rising fish in tail outs and soft water mid day. Griffiths gnats with a small Zebra midge as a dropper will be a good set up or try nymphing with two Midge pupae or Skinny Nelsons. The dry fly activity will be short lived though mid day as the mornings and evenings are still pretty cold. It should be a great week guys, go get some!
St. Joe River
Flow at Calder 1,800 csf and dropping steadily. Great option for this week guys. The streamer fishing here can be extremely good now. So patterns like a Sculpzilla in black or olive, Baby Congas, Near Nuff sculpins, Bow river buggers will all get the fish. Be on the look out for a decent Midge and Blue Wing olive hatch mid day along with the Numera stone fly. Tandem bead head rigs under an indicator will work all day before or after any hatches. Small soft hackles trailed behind a bead head is a great way to go as well. Don't forget our friend the San Juan worm, these kill it this time of year. You can run one behind your streamer or dead drift one with your nymph rig. The Skwala is not too far off here either. From the looks of it the weather should cooperate for the rest of the week and little rain as well. So a tough choice right now guys on where to go as the Coeur d' Alene, the St. Joe or the Clark Fork are all great choices now.
Clark Fork River (MT)
Flow at St. Regis 5,100 cfs and steady. It will be a fantastic week over here. Partly cloudy and some sun too in the forecast, perfect for the Clark Fork. Fishing has been awesome on the Fork. Midges are still very prevalent and the fish are keying on them big time. Some Blue Wing olives are making a showing too. Lots of Numeras as well. The Skwalas are super close to coming off as the upper river ie. the Bitterroot and Missoula area are seeing adults now. The lower river is bound to see them very soon. Skwala nymphs would be a great choice, so think Pat's, large 20 inchers, double bead Prince Nymphs. Small Zebra Midges in black or red are good options too. March browns shouldn't be too far off along with the Grey Drakes. Dead drifting a soft hackle behind a small Parachute Adams is a great rig too for the sippers in the flat water and foam lines. Streamer fishing should pick up as the water temp has risen. Black and Olive sculpins, Gongas, big wolly buggers with rubber legs all will get attention. Don't forget to get your frequent flier fly punch cards when you buy flies guys. This is a killer deal and will earn you free flies the more you buy. We have been stocking all the bins with our new flies, so come check us out.
Read past reports from the CDA region here, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.