Coeur d'Alene Fishing Report 08.29.19

Here we've come into the beginning of the end of summer.  Nights are getting cooler, water temperatures are cooling off as a result.  Fishing has improved on all of our local streams and should just get better for the next couple of months.  My favorite four weeks of the year are the last two of September and the first two of October.  Elk hunting is imminent as well as school and all of the tourists are headed back home.  So, typically the streams are far less crowded this time of year.  Don't let these awesome two months slip through your fingers before winter.

Current Conditions

Coeur d'Alene River  - The river has cooled off quite a bit.  It is low but still fishing really well.  The hopper and terrestrial fishing are really good now.  The fish are keen on eating a medium or small hopper.  Hate to beat a dead horse, but the hopper beetle dropper setup is still killing it. Depending on what piece of water you are on, you will need to run a longer leader for some of the smaller dries.  The flat tail outs where the fish are sipping midges or a small mayfly pattern will require some stealth.  All in all, the river has shaped up a bunch from a couple of weeks ago when it was pretty hot.

St. Joe River - Hard not to catch fish, here, on the Joe.  It is such a consistent fishery.  Even in the hotter months, this river fishes well.  With the big canyon walls, there is typically always shade or cooler water somewhere.  The later months of summer are some of the best here.  Just like the CdA river, the fish are really keying in on the hoppers, beetles, and ants.  The October caddis nymphs are migrating into the shallows so a bigger Pat's rubber legs or large prince nymph right now will get plenty of eats.  Don't forget your streamers now too.  A small black rabbit leech is killing it in the faster shallower riffles.

Clark Fork River (MT) - The Fork is fishing well.  If you are looking to get into some bigger fish on dries, this is the place to be.  The Clark Fork averages a bit bigger fish than the CdA river or the St. Joe.  Plus, you're more likely to get into some rainbows and browns here too, versus all cutthroat on the other rivers.  It is a fun change of pace here with bigger water.  Don't let this hang you up  though, there is plenty of walk wading here. You just have to get off of I-90 on some of the frontage roads and you'll find spots.  Tricos are really prevalent now.  A pale morning dun with a trico spinner in the mornings will get fish.  Then use an ol' stand-by hopper and beetle dropper against the banks.  Also, crayfish streamers are a great pattern to throw too. Strip them really fast and hold on!

Match the Hatch

Tricos - Thorax duns, poly wing spinners.

Ants - Spent wing parasitic, foam parachutes, flying ants.

Beetles - Guard's fat bubba, hippy stomper, mohawk.

Hoppers - Morrish, head turner, I hop, J slam, BC hopper dropper.

Pale morning duns - Comparaduns, thorax duns, hackle stackers.

Midges - Zebra midge, Griffiths gnat.

Blue-winged olives - Comparaduns, cdc duns, parachute bwo.

Crawfish - JJ special, D's hoover mover, Brown crawdad.

Beadheads - Pt's, psycho prince, anatomy, poxy back pmd.

Soft hackles - Partridge and yellow, pheasant tail, peacock, wire rib.

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

Tips & Techniques

Spruce moths are out now.  These are one of our great, local hatches we look for every year late in the summer.  Last year, there seemed to be an epic amount of them and oddly the fish were not super keen on them.  That was the case with most guys coming in giving us reports. This year is different though.  This year, there are less of them and the fish are really liking them.

We have a good supply of these bugs in stock too.  The tip I want to give you with them is this;  make them move, a lot.  When they hit the water typically they are stuck.  They are not an aquatic insect or born in the river.  They are a terresterial and will not be able to regain flight after being in the water.  So, when this happens they "flutter" or "twitch"  a bunch when stuck in the water.  This triggers the trout. It's like saying, "come up and eat me."  So, you need to replicate this motion with your fly.  We have some tied here, in the shop, that will help mimic this action on the water.

Also, keeping your fly dry with a flotant or desiccant powder will help greatly.  Keep your rod tip high and either twitch the rod up slightly or back and forth to make the fly skitter on the water.  But, be ready!  When doing this, is when they should hit the fly, and if you are mid twitch, you could possibly miss a take.  This is a really fun hatch to fish!

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