By Zach Bowhay With many pronghorn seasons in full swing and the archery elk season fast approaching, it’s easy to be distracted right now finishing up your summer to-do list before the big game. However, if a big mule deer buck in the high country is at the top of your list for this fall, the time is now to be out scouting. By now, all the bucks have made it back to the high country and can be found, for the most part, close to where they will spend their fall. Many bucks right now are within a half-mile, or often times within a few hundred yards, of where they will be when the fall rifle seasons begin. If you spend the time now finding a buck that fits what you are after, you will be further ahead than just hopping around from basin to basin in hopes of stumbling on the buck of your dreams. Want to do some scouting with trail cams to...

Weather is cooling and some of our area lakes are falling in line with lower water temperatures. Depending what lake, it is nighttime temperatures are anywhere from the mid 40s’ to the mid 50s’. As such the fishing is starting to pick up as we come closer to my favorite time of the year. Current Conditions Chopaka Lake - Day time temperatures have been in the mid-60s’ to the mid-70s’, with nighttime temperatures in the mid-40s’. I would recommend fishing in the northern part of the lake. The water temperature there stays cooler than the rest of the lake throughout the summer months and the fish will move there because of it. Even with the lake cooling down you should find more fish holding in that area than the southern part. Mornings will be the best time right now. Even though the temperatures are...

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...

With everyone going back to school, rivers should be nice and quiet. Not much has changed from last week for our trout rivers. The weather is still calling for temperatures in the 80s and 90s and no rain in the forecast. So, rivers are going to be low and warm. Terrestrials are still going to be out and producing great fish. The Snake and Ronde are in good shape and producing great bass. Current Conditions Lochsa River near Lowell, ID - The river flow is at 434 cfs, so the river is low. Reports haven’t changed much from last week. The river has been fishing great higher up. Hoppers are out in full swing, but parachute Adams and purple hazes are still producing. Any of the terrestrial’s, ants, beetles, and hoppers are the go-to right now. Similar to last week, you will want to get to the river early and take a break when th...

The days will be in the mid to upper 80s this week… so, fishing early and late will be the best game-plan. Local lakes and timberline lakes offer some relief from the super-hot weather. Fun hikes and fishing abound for mountain lake brookies and cutthroat. Local streams are skinny and on the warm side, but deeper holes offer some great dry fly fishing for smaller trout. Larger rivers are the best bet right now for trout and smallmouth. The big lake is a playground, and lake traffic has decreased as the kiddos get ready to go back to school. The time to start thinking fall is now, so gear up! Current Conditions Lake Pend Oreille - The dog days of summer persist. Bass fishing is persisting and you can find fish at most depths. Craw patterns like a sweet baby cray or RJ’s jiggy worm will get the best looks. Check o...

The kids are getting ready for school and Labor Day is coming up. Everyone is trying to cram in their last few family weekends.  Nights are getting much cooler, days are getting shorter. Fall is on its way and this means some of the best fishing of the year is coming.  The fishing is very good right now. It can be a difficult decision now on where to go.  Usually, the crowds start tapering off here in a couple of weeks as the tourist start to head home and the rivers are far more peaceful.  There are lots of good hatches now and the hopper fishing on our rivers is going off in a good way.  We have had, in my mind one, of the better weather summers in recent history.  Temperatures hardly hit the 90s, and there were very few fires.  There has also been good rain throughout the summer too.  Hop...

Current Conditions Missouri River below Holter Dam - Late August and into September is a prime time to fish tiny nymphs. There are lots of micro mayflies of the trico, pseudo, and bwo swimming around. Scuds and sowbugs are also strong players this time of year, so pair them up with the little guy. Daily hatches are sporadic with some larger mayflies of the pmd, ped and callibaetis variety in play.  Caddis are also present, so a mayfly spinner pattern behind a caddis is a good searching choice.  The best option for finding heads is likely to be from fish feeding on tiny trico spinners when the weather cooperates.  Warm stable weather is the best for trico action.  Unstable temperatures and wind can throw off the trico game. Terrestrials have provided some really nice fish on the Mo lately.  You won’...

We have another warmup forecasted this week. Hit the water early and late. Mid-day can be a good time to chill streamside for an afternoon siesta or quick tying session, getting ready for the evening hatch. Lakes are predominantly a bass fishing game, trout will be deep, especially during the daytime hours. Tourist traffic is waning as kids head back to school. Shorter nights will mean cooler temperatures in the evenings in the upcoming months. Stay strong through the hot weather – it won’t be long now. Current Conditions Lake Pend Oreille - The dog days of summer persist. Bass fishing is persisting and you can find fish at most depths. Craw patterns like a sweet baby cray or RJ’s jiggy worm will get the best looks. Check out Denton Slough for largemouth bass and pike. Topwater can be effective early and la...

As we inch closer to fall, the nighttime temperatures are starting to cool down. The more we have cooler nights, the quicker the lakes will start coming into play. The area rivers are still dropping in water flows and as such the fishing is getting a little more challenging. Current Conditions Lost Lake - The fishing for the lake's brook trout hasn’t been super-hot but if you are willing to hunt them down and are flexible enough to keep changing flies till you find what is working, you will catch some nice ones. Lake temperatures have been okay for most of the day but the mornings and just before dark will be your best times to go. This is the time of the year where electronics come in handy. It will save you a lot of time trying to figure out what depth the trout are holding at. That being said, from what I ...