Coeur d'Alene Fishing Report 04.11.19
Words By: North 40 Outfitters
Posted: April 12, 2019

Coeur d Alene Fishing Report

Coeur d'Alene River

Up, up, up and away!  Hate to say it guys and gals, the Coeur d'Alene River is blown out for a while.  It’s hard to say for how long.  The Northwest River report is saying that it will come down in a week and a half to possible fishing levels.  This can all change with the weather though.  So, stay tuned and we will keep you posted on what is going on.  Maybe it’s time to get out bass and pike fishing or on a trout lake?

St. Joe River

Same here folks, she's a goner. Keep tying some flies, maybe go out and try for a spring turkey or bear?

Event

  • We have our dry fly seminar coming up on the 17th.  It's $25.00 at the door, and we’ll go over gear, techniques, flies, etc.  It’s a great way to learn about our favorite way to fish on local waters.  It starts at 10:30 a.m. and goes until 12:30. We look forward to seeing you there!
  • For More Information: Please contact Coeur d'Alene Fly Shop, (208) 666-0506.

Clark Fork River (MT)

If our runoff is anything like last year, it will be interesting, to say the least.  The Clark Fork rose to near record levels.  I remember my second year of guiding in 1997 and going over to the Clark Fork in the spring, during runoff. The river was so powerful you could hear large boulders churning underneath the current.  There were whole trees and all sorts of crazy items floating down the river.  Please be careful this time of year near the rivers! They are incredibly powerful and dangerous.  But man, when the Clark Fork comes into shape, it will be fantastic.  We may see a window here and there in between the rain though.  If we see a flow at 12,000 or lower, and dropping, it should fish.  Stay in touch with us weekly, and we will keep you posted on the conditions.

Local Lakes

Coeur d'Alene, Hayden, the Chain Lakes, and Fernan are all fishing decently right now.  There have been reports of crappie and some bass being caught on Fernan and some of the back bays on Coeur d'Alene, Hayden and the Chains.  There have also been a few reports of pike on the fly too.  Warmer days will be better to get the water temperatures up. But, hey, the creeks are blown so why not get out on the lakes and give it a go. 

 The spring crappie fishing can be awesome and it’s such a perfect table fare fish.  Also, the smallies and largemouth are in pre-spawn mode and should be moving into the shallows more as the water warms up.  It’s still a bit on the inconsistent side, but if you find one fish there should be more.  So, stay put and try different tactics with them.  The colder the temperatures, the more the fish will be coy and a little trickier.  Balanced leeches, black mohair leeches are fantastic for the crappies.  Keep your eye out for downed trees or structure under the water and use your polarized glasses to see the fish holding on the structure.  Using a longer leader with an adjustable indicator and with one or two balanced leeches or maybe a bead head pheasant tail or trout nymph should get it done.  

See past reports from the CDA region here, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.