Coeur d'Alene Fishing Report 09.06.18

Coeur d'Alene River

The fishing here is killer right now, guys.  It's all about the micro ants.  So, using a size 18-22 flying ant pattern behind a caddis, or a pmd, will catch fish like crazy.  Hoppers and beetles are still viable options too.  Spruce moths will work great as well, so a large size 10-8 light colored caddis pattern skittered on the surface will get lots of looks.  You’ll want to be on the lookout for the October caddis. The nymphs will be making their way to the edges. So, a large rock cased caddis nymph on the bottom will do the trick in the riffles.  Orange stimmies with a pheasant tail dropper is also a great searching set up.  Plus, soft hackles in the evenings with a caddis lead fly, or a pmd, and your good to go.  And, it looks like the beginning of next week we are supposed to get a cool down. We may even get some rain so; blue-winged olives should be out as well.

St. Joe River

What a place to be this time of year! The nights are much cooler, and the midday fishing is rocking.  It is a bit more technical, but this is to be expected with the lower water and the smaller bugs.  This is fine with me.  The Joe is mostly vacant this time of year as most folks are trying their luck at elk or deer.  So, if you have the fishing bug, the Joe will not disappoint.  You’ll want to use the same bug selection as the Coeur d'Alene; lots of small ants, beetles, hoppers, small x-caddis, orange and yellow stimmies.  Streamer fishing will be pretty good too. Don't be afraid to run a sculpin through the riffles and fast water after a good dry fly session.  Also, take advantage of the last few weeks of the good stuff as October starts to get a bit more technical and has smaller windows for the dry fly fishing.

Clark Fork River (MT)

The Clark Fork River is fishing awesome folks.  It is a big trico and ant game right now.  The fish are podded up in the flats sipping tricos and small ants.  You’ll want to use long leaders and 5x or 6x here, guys.  Make the first cast count, as you may not get a second chance at some of these feeding fish.  If the pods of sippers are frustrating you, you should concentrate in the riffles with a hopper and a bead head dropper.  Also, the nymphing is still a good idea in the bright sun this time of year on the Fork.  Just downsize your nymphs in the 16-20 range and run lighter yarn indicators to help detect the subtle strikes.  The evenings are killer too!  There are caddis galore and rusty spinners and pmds.  If you find a pod of fish, throw the anchor down and be patient.  Pick off the closest fish first and then work your way into the pod so as not to spook the whole group. Make sure you have a good selection of small soft hackles too. You’ll want to run these under your pmd or behind a smaller orange stimulator.  Smaller hoppers and chubbie chernobyls will be productive as well, give them the "twitch" every so often and this should produce.

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