Lewiston, Idaho Fishing Report 04.04.18

Lochsa River

Pre-runoff is one of the best times of the year to fish trout in Idaho and Montana and this timeframe occurs before the heavy angling pressure arrives in summer. Unfortunately, water conditions fluctuate almost daily so you have to be ready to hit the water when the getting is good. Last week the getting was probably good on the Lochsa River because water conditions were near ideal and the air temperature had risen slightly. Today, with rain having hit our area and rivers on the rise, with more rain to follow, it’s anyone’s guess what the river looks like. Be sure, however, when the rain stops the river should drop again and there will be bugs moving about, meaning blue-wing olives and maybe some skwala stoneflies. Watch the flow and the weather and if you have free time this month and the window looks promising hit the Lochsa. It offers lots of nice native cutthroat trout that range between 10 and 16 inches with a few bigs thrown in on the side.

Snake River (WA)

One of our guys on the conventional angling side has been catching bass while dredging relatively deep on the Snake. In a couple more months the fishing will start picking up on the Snake and fly-fishing will become a reasonable tactic.

Steelhead

Lots of high and challenging water. Not the best time to hit the Clearwater, Ronde or Snake.

Read past reports from the Lewiston region here, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.