Coeur d'Alene Fishing Report 08.15.19

Looks like my rain dance worked!  What a blessing to get some really good rain in August.  It's been a  long time since we've had this kind of rain in the middle of summer.  Hopefully, it helped quell some fires, and it for sure helped the water temperatures on our rivers.  We fished Sunday on the St. Joe and had a great time in the rain -nothing a little Goretex can’t solve.

Looks as if we are going to be back in the mid-'80s for the foreseeable future.  It will at least be a bit cooler than it typically is in August.  We’re long overdue for a temperate summer like this.  It's been awesome, to say the least.  Hopefully, we get a few more of these types of storms from here on into the fall.  It will do nothing but good for fishing. September is right around the corner and this is our favorite time of the year.  Not only for fishing but squeezing in the last of camping and hopefully a big bull elk in our sights.

Current Conditions

Coeur d'Alene River  - Fishing has been good.  Even with the rain, getting on early and staying late is still advisable. You should see good streamer action throughout the day.  Smaller size 6 and smaller black streamers stripped quickly in the riffles will do well.  Ants and beetles are still on the plate along with hoppers.  I love using a hopper and a small beetle now.  We just received a great new batch of Umpqua beetles and ants in the bins too.  Small bead heads in the pocket water should produce some good fish too.  Swinging a soft hackle in the evening is a no brainer.  The caddis hatches are still strong and fish up from late afternoon to dark on them. The crane flies and spruce moths are out as well, so a skittered big caddis or leggy crane fly imitation will get smacked.

St. Joe River - There is solid fishing here.  From floating the lower river to walk wading the upper reaches, you will do just fine.  The streamer action has been very good -just downsize your bugs to the smaller variety. Quick strips will trigger them to strike.  A small Morrish hopper with either a beetle, ant, or bead head nymph dropper will kill it all day.  Pmds and blue-winged olives are out but small though.  The fish in the tail outs will be sipping these guys and somewhat difficult to fool.  Longer leaders and a good cast are what is necessary.

Clark Fork River (MT) - The Clark Fork has been decent, just pick your times correctly. On the hot sunny days, again, no need to beat your self to death in the middle of the day. Concentrate on the early hours and the late afternoons.  A big hopper twitched near the banks will produce very nice fish.  Keep an eye out for isolated clouds of rusty spinners and tricos.  When you find them, get your "A" game on. It will be technical fishing but good nonetheless.  Small soft hackles hung behind your pmd or blue-winged olive is a good thing.  Just make your casts count in these situations.  Small bead heads on a 2 to 3-foot leader in the riffles will kill it too.

Match the Hatch

Expect to see pmds from morning to mid-day along with tricos in pockets.  Use hackle stackers, thorax duns, and cripples for the pmds.  Use thorax duns and spinners for the tricos. Many ants and beetles are still out with the warmer weather.  We just received a new shipment of terrestrials in that are really cool. The high vis ant, foam ant, hamburgler, and mowhawk beetle are just a few to try.  Also, don't forget your hoppers either. We have plenty of stock of BC hoppers, Morrish, chubby chernobyls, head turners, and Ihop grasshoppers. Small streamers have been great and I love the near nuff sculpins this time of year.  They are a perfectly small, yet, heavy enough fly to cover most runs in late summer conditions.  Crayfish are out in the sun on the rocks so don't forget to throw some of these patterns now. Tandem bead head setups on short leaders are killer in the pocket water and riffles.  Psycho princes, rainbow warriors, skinny nelsons, small San Juan worms, and small pheasant tails are all good choices.

Need to fill the box before you go? Order flies online here.

Tips & Techniques

The streamer fishing this time of year really gets ignored by many folks.  They get affixed on the superb dry fly fishing we have which is understandable.  But, the streamer fishing in the faster riffles and pocket water can be incredible.  Go with smaller but heavily weighted sculpins, wooly buggers or the like.  Cast across and down and start stripping quickly -sometimes as fast as you can.  We were having fish blow up on the streamer as it nears the surface going into a cast multiple times.  So, when the fly was just exiting the water to cast at a high rate of speed, the fish were triggering on it. This should be a lightbulb moment.  Strip the fly fast!  I found short and quick was the way to go on Sunday. By the way, the takes were very violent too.

Also, start nymphing with larger October caddis nymphs and pupae.  There are tons of them migrating now into the shallows on our local rivers.  Fish in runs are really keying in on them.  You can even see some of their stomachs distended with them.  They are big bugs so use a Pat's rubber legs or try a tan mop fly, these work well for imitating caddis larvae.

Did you know...

We are still holding our fly fishing 101 classes on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.  Come learn the basics, casting, knots, techniques, and more.  The classes are FREE!  Just show up and we'll get you started on this awesome sport.  Plus, look for our Fall/Winter free fly tying classes to start up again.  We will be holding the same schedule as last year.  Every Saturday and Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. -everything is provided in the class.  There is a sign-up sheet as the classes are limited to 15.  So, come in early and get your name on the list and join us in learning how to tie flies!

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