Coeur d'Alene River Flowing 12,500 cubic feet per second at Cataldo and climbing. This is big water guys, probably not the best choice now. Looks like it is going to warm up and this should melt more snow. The Coeur d' Alene may be a gonner for a while. If that’s the case, check out the local lakes report (see below). St. Joe River Flowing 7,370 cfs at Calder and dropping. This has been a rollercoaster lately with brief windows of opportunity between highs and lows. Actually had some decent reports from folks who floated the Joe last weekend. It was running high but clear and there was sone good streamer fishing and decent dry-fly activity. I don't foresee the Joe holding shape with the warm weather that is coming. This will be a welcome change as the weather as we all know has been depressing to say the least. Old Ma Nature just can't...

Clark Fork River (ID) Recently, flows have bounced between 25,000 to 35,000 cubic feet per second. Water clarity has a stain to it, but remains fishable. This is fine if you have a jet-boat and know the river better than the back of your hand. If you’re only access is from the bank, fishing is going to be tough. Fishing has been good, but not great. Still waiting to hear a report of double digit trout numbers. Midges have been hatching mid-day in large numbers on the upper stretches of the river, along with very few Mother’s Day caddis. Dry flies to try include #12 brown Elk Hair Caddis, #14 Purple Haze, and #18 Griffith’s Gnat. Double nymph a #10 DB Stone, #14 red Copper John, or a #12 Squirmie Wormie. The cutthroat simply can’t resist those. Swing a #6 black Balanced Leech, #6 Stinging Smolt, or a Copper Trout Slider through lo...

Lochsa River Streamers, skwala's, orange Stimulators—those are the flies that produced when I fished the river last Sunday. The current flows are sitting around 5,100 cubic feet per second. On Sunday the water clarity was wonderful—you could see the rocks on the bottom and watch the fish rise to the fly. With the upcoming weather showing some warmth, the river could come up and start to get blown out with runoff. If it stays in shape you’ll likely see some smaller mayflies flying around in the afternoon and the fish will key on them for an hour or so. They also took skwala sones through that hatch, so a skwala followed by a smaller mayfly dropper would be a good bet. Here are some flies I would take to the Lochsa: Flush Floater skwala, Parachute Adams, Purple Haze, Galloup’s Mini Dungeon. Read past reports from the Lewiston regio...

Missouri River “Are the fish biting yet?” This is a routine question I get almost daily this time of year. Of course the answer is yes. Knowledgeable anglers know they never stop eating. Do you stop? Drilling down, the questions should be what flies are working, at what depths, and at what times during the day. While we don’t have all the answers, we are here to help and can provide suggestions, point out productive flies, explain rigging options and so forth. Ice Out If you are heading to Holter, we’ve got lots of flies to get you in the game, starting with the extremely popular balanced leeches and balanced squirrels. The best color is a variable thing and can change hour to hour. Purple has been a recent favorite. The blood leech is always a solid choice. Sometimes olive/chartreuse is the ticket. Black is often a good place to ...

When you look at a fly fishing boot, most of us only see cosmetics. At a glance, the Simms’ new G3 boots looks great and complement any of the Simms wader lineup nicely. I’m sure many anglers will simply buy the G3 on looks alone, but let’s dig a little deeper and see what the new G3 boot has going for it. What surrounds your foot? The height of the boot is slightly lower than the previous G3, though not as low as the Vaportread model. It still covers the ankle and provides good support while being easy to pull on and off. An additional lace-point provide a more secure fit, and locking hardware at the ankle provides a secure contact point to hold tension, before final lacing and tie off. Scratch-resistant rubber extends from the toe to the heel clip. The inside of the boot is neoprene lined. The neoprene adds a cushioning layer and...

By Darron McDougal The author claimed this western tom fresh off the roost. The gobbler was roosted with hens in a giant dead cottonwood tree in the middle of the prairie. (Photo by Rebecca McDougal) Faint, distant gobbles gained volume each time I scratched my slate call. In mere minutes, as my bride, Becca, rolled footage, an angry Merriam’s gobbler confronted my jake decoy, which was positioned six yards away from our hide. I drew back when his head disappeared behind his fan feathers. Then, I held my draw until he re-exposed his head. Once my pin found red, I squeezed the trigger. My broadhead sliced his neck wide open, and death followed almost instantly. Sounds like your typical bow-bird success story, but that wouldn’t be an accurate assessment. Just 15 minutes earlier, we watched the tom from our Jeep, which was parked a half...

When anglers consider Idaho, they definitely don't think about 30-plus pound northern pike. And yet, the state record is a little over 40 pounds and there are great opportunities to tie into one of these toothy critters—especially at this time of year. In order to do just that, however, you’ll need the right lures. Here are my top five, all proven winners for me, in reverse order from last to first. 1oz. Dardevle (perch coloration) This is the first lure I threw at pike, and is something I continue to carry whenever chasing these leader shredders. As far as lures go, they don't get any easier to operate than a Daredevil. This is the lure you give your friend who can't fish. It’s as easy as this: Cast it a quarter mile, and once it touches the surface, start reeling. These spoons display an erratic, defenseless action n...

The G3 wader is Simms’ bestselling wader and has been so for many years. When word came out that a redesign was in the works, many wondered what they could really do to make it worthy of a new release. Would it simply be repackaged in a new color scheme or completely re-engineered? We were happy to see that it is completely re-engineered and deserves the title of being a new wader. Completely re-engineered The first sign that something special occurred was when, in July, the fly-fishing industry voted the G3 as the best new wader of 2017 at Icast’s new products showcase . That’s kind of a big deal. What changed? Notably, the color changed. Customer feedback said the older model was kind of dark, so the new model was lightened up. They look pretty good hanging on the wall and they look pretty good in the pictures I’ve seen on the ...

The bright red, luscious looking strawberries in the grocery store might be a shining example of perfection, but don’t let them fool you. The taste is closer to sweetened styrofoam. I’ve succumbed over the years to the store-bought berries, but am frequently disappointed. This year, I’m planting more beds of these delicious fruit to be able to eat them fresh, freeze them, can them, and hopefully dehydrate some for the trail. And this may be something you want to do, too. New strawberries in the bed Choosing June-bearing or ever-bearing berries June-bearing is a bit of a misnomer as you can find varieties of strawberries that bloom at different times of the summer, but the basic premise is these strawberries give you a single big harvest in the summer, oftentimes with nice-sized berries. If you prefer larger crops, particularly if ...