PAST COEUR'D ALENE RIVER FISHING REPORTS 2024
January 4, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: 810 CFS at Cataldo Station (CDA Flow), 550 CFS at Calder Station (St Joe Flow)
Water Temps: Mid to high 30's (Fahrenheit)
Happy New Year! 2023 Was a great year for fishing and looking forward to another great one in 24. We’ve had a prolonged fall it seems here in the North Idaho area. It has been very mild and has created a fair bit of good fishing as of late. But the forecast is looking much colder. We are in desperate need of snow. We are quite a bit behind the normal snowpack for this time of year. But historically we pick up the majority of our winters snowpack from January through March. So hopefully that stays true. Looks like starting beginning of next week the temps are dropping a bunch. And if the following week holds true, we will have lows in the minuses and highs at 10-15 degrees.
This will for sure ice up our lakes and most likely our streams too. Time to really dig in on the fly tying and re stocking of gear for the next season. If you can get out this week and catch the rest of the warmer temps, I’d stick with nymphs and streamers. Indicator rigs with tandem bead heads in the smaller variety and or a stonefly with a San Juan dropper. Make sure to get them down quickly and set on the lightest of takes as they can be very subtle now. A slowly swung streamer can get it done now too. Smaller black buggers, sculpins are go-to. Same thing here get them deep and no need to really strip them fast. Just a nice slow swing will get it done.
Make sure to come to our Fly-Tying Brewery nights this winter. We will be hosting several. 2 at Jeremiah Johnson, 2 at Trails End and 2 at Vantage Point brewing. The first one coming up will be at Jeremiah Johnson on Friday the 12th of January. It will start at 5 and go to about 8pm. Bring your own vise, materials and tools. We will have a few there to use too and will for sure give a helping hand if you are new. Will be door gifts and a few prizes too! Also guys we are hosting a Permit and Bonefish trip in Belize in May. It was fully booked a few days ago but we just had 2x spots open up. Call your local House of fly and ask for details.
January 9, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: 783 CFS at Cataldo Station (CDA Flow), 535 CFS at Calder Station (St Joe Flow)
Water Temps: Mid to high 30's (Fahrenheit)
Howdy!! So winter is finally here. Looking at some drastic changes in the weather here. A big cold front is coming and this weekend the temps will drop into the negatives. This will put our prolonged Fall to a cease. The next couple of days may still fish ok on the local rivers but by Wednesday I think the rivers will start icing up and most likely be unfishable. Steel heading will still be an option on the Clearwater as it is a tailwater out of Dworshak reservoir. It will be in the negatives through the weekend so even trying to fish in those temps you will find it challenging to say the least. Might be the week to consider filling up the fly boxes or getting some of the long overdue chores done at home.
We are still looking forward to this Friday Night at JEREMIAH JOHNSON BREWERY. We will be giving gift bags to the first 20 guests. We will have many more fun prizes to give away too. So come join us for the evening! We still have a few old model OC and Montucky reels on sale. The OC’s are $95 and the Montucky’s are $75 a fantastic deal at these prices so take advantage when you can!
January 17, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: ICE!!! @ CATALDO STATION (CDA River), ICE!!! CFS @ CALDER STATION (St Joe Flow), ICE @ ST REGIS STATION (Clarkfork Flow)
Water Temps: ICE
Well winter is here! Lots of snow this week and then warming up. We need snow badly. Hopefully it will get us somewhat caught up to normal. The fridged temps look like they are behind us for now. This weekend is warming back up into the mid 30’s and possibly the low 40’s. Hopefully it will stay cold enough to keep snowing in the high elevations. Now this means our rivers are still probably on hold for right now with the exception to the Clearwater below Orofino for steelhead and probably the Snake. There may be some central Washington spring creeks that are open, but iffy. The rivers here locally (Cda, Joe and Clark fork) are mostly iced over. Watch our reports, and we will tell you as soon as they are thawing out and time to go. Make sure you come down on the 26th to TRAILS END BREWERY TYING NIGHT! We had a blast at JEREMIAH JOHNSON BREWERY last week. Thanks to all who attended and will be doing several more of these this winter so stay tuned. We will have many door prizes and others to raffle off through the night so dont miss out!!
January 24, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: 1,040 @ CATALDO STATION (CDA River), ICE!!! CFS @ CALDER STATION (St Joe Flow), 2,810 @ ST REGIS STATION (Clarkfork Flow)
Water Temps: COLD
Well... Looks like we are already in Spring here in North Idaho. Last week negative 15 degrees and this coming week looking at over 50 degrees. Go figure! Honestly it's not that uncommon here in North Idaho. I've been here for almost 30 years and the only thing constant is the inconsistency of our weather. So, take advantage of this when it comes in to play. I think all of the rivers with exception to the St. Joe will be a viable option to go give it a try. The rain we are getting will flush a bunch of the ice out and should be good to go. Tandem bigger nymph rigs under an indicator will find fish. A medium size Pats rubber legs, 20 incher and a dropper of your choice. A smaller pheasant tail or a San Juan worm would be a good option. The bigger
heavy San Juans can crush this time of year. Especially during or after a good rain and warmer temps. Not sure how any of the boat launches are right now. Probably not great, so be careful trying to launch now. Nothing wrong with sledding in your favorite drift boat or raft down the boat launch. Kinda fun! You just might need a long rope or tow strap to get out at the take outs now. The flows are up a bit, which is a good thing. Streamers will get it done too. Heavy
sculpins in black and or olive will be good choices. Look for the softer inside bends and tail outs for holding fish. The most likely won't be in the riffles and faster water due to the water temps. There is still some life left on our steelhead rivers too. Keep a close eye on the flows and when they come back into shape I'd be hitting the Clearwater, Snake or Grand Ronde. So, who knows what the weather will hold for the next couple of months. This is typically our winter months but hey you get what you get. Get out there and give it a go! Make sure you guys join us for our Free fly-tying classes on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Call in and get on our list. Also make sure to come down to TRAILS END BREWERY this Friday from 5-8pm. Great food, drinks and tie some flies with friends. We will be raffling off several great prizes too. So be sure to come and hang with us! See you there.
February 14, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: 2,290 @ CATALDO STATION (CDA River), 1,210 CFS @ CALDER STATION (St Joe Flow), 2,810 @ ST REGIS STATION (Clarkfork Flow), 8,270 CFS AT POST FALLS ( SPOKANE RIVER)
Water Temps: High 30’s low 40’s
Typical late winter early spring conditions out there. Changing every day is the norm lately. Well, I shouldn't say typical too lightly. As it's been such a mild winter but may as well take advantage of it. We have been getting consistent reports from the Cda river. Even some dry fly
activity in the afternoons with some Blue Wing Olive and some midges. So, the fish are for sure waking up from winter. Streamers and tandem nymph rigs are still going to be the go-to. Be on the lookout for Nemoura stones and hopefully sooner than later some Skwalas. March Browns will be on the water more so in mid to late March and April. Flows are all in pretty great shape with the Spokane being the exception. It is running strong now but fishable. If floating
be cautious now as it is moving at a pretty good clip. The clarity on all the rivers is great. Haven’t had any recent reports on the Joe, but by the looks of the flows it should fish great. Now getting into some spots might be a challenge with snow and haven’t got any reports on
the ramps either. I’d imagine the lower ramps (Calder down) are good to go. I know the Clark fork put ins and take outs are all good to go from Superior down to St. Regis or below. Well hopefully we get some more snow to buffer our summer flows. Fingers crossed!!! Get
down to the shop and check out all of our new Simms 2024 gear, lots of great clearance items too. We just got our spring Umpqua fly shipment, so we will be busy getting all of the flies out for you guys the next week or so. Still 3 more Brewery tying nights coming up.
Give us a call at the shop and we will get you dates and times. See you here in the shop soon!!
February 21, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: 1640 @ CATALDO STATION (CDA River), 1060 CFS @ CALDER STATION (St Joe Flow), 2770 @ ST REGIS STATION (Clarkfork Flow), 7020 CFS AT POST FALLS ( SPOKANE RIVER)
Water Temps: High 30’s low 40’s
Spring is in the air! We are starting to warm up quite a bit in a week or so. Day time temps here and in parts of our region will be encroaching into the 50s’! The rain is for sure annoying and somewhat depressing right now. But we really, really need it! Trying to stay positive and know that the glowing orb in the sky will show itself sooner or later. The rivers are looking pretty good right now. We had a productive day on the Cda river last Monday. We were able to muster up 5 or so fish on streamers. We ran nymphs quite a bit, but all of our fish fell for the streamers. Water temps are still pretty cold, didn’t take a temp but I'd say it was in the high 30’s to low 40’s. Still just a bit cold to really get the fish super active. But it’s close. We did see just a few fish up on top too. But very sporadic and not that many. There were a few midges and a few Blue Wing Olives on the water. Still no reports from the St. Joe. But from the looks of the weather and the water flows it should be fishing very similar to the Cda river. With the warmup, the flows will increase a bit. Which is a good thing. The clarity on the rivers now is incredible. Won’t see any major color in them until it really warms up a bunch and or mass rain event. Keep a close eye on the weather and if you can handle a little rain this next week the fishing should be good. I’d stick to the streamer for the most part but have a double nymph rig and possibly a small dry fly rig at hand. Olive or Black sculpins in a size 4-6 on a fast sink tip in the tail outs of the riffles. Don’t strip the fly too quickly they seemed to like almost a dead drift or just a bit of movement, especially if the water is still cold. Do look for sipping trout in the soft water and back eddies. A short midge nymph rig or a small parachute BWO with a midge emerger under for a dropper should get an eat or two. Hang in there guys Spring is coming, and it should be great fishing. Don’t forget we have 3 more fly tying nights at our local breweries. Please call here at the shop for details!
February 29, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: 4070 @ CATALDO STATION (CDA River), 2140 CFS @ CALDER STATION (St Joe Flow), 3500 @ ST REGIS STATION (Clarkfork Flow), 8670 CFS AT POST FALLS ( SPOKANE RIVER)
Water Temps: High 30’s low 40’s
Welcome to North Idaho Spring/Winter. It has been a very conflicted and unsteady weather pattern lately. Buckets of Snow, Rain, Sun. All of the above even in one day. This is to be expected and makes it tough to schedule days on the water. But there is hope! Spring is on the way. Just keep a close eye on the flows and weather and there will be opportunity for sure. The rivers bumped fairly good the last couple of days. Now, some of the rivers this will affect more than others. The Cda took a pretty substantial jump from 1,500ish to just over 4K. Thats a big spike. But clarity is still ok for now. Northwest river forecast Center is calling for a very big increase in the next few days so pay close attention to the flows. It may be doable today but the next few days maybe not depending on how much rain we get. It is much tougher to walk wade at these flows but not out of the question. It will force the fish into the banks and softer water in pools and edges. It is still floatable, and maybe a touch high for my preference but not out of the question. The Joe didn’t spike as hard as the Cda but for sure clicked up a couple of notches. It’s at a pretty great flow in my opinion. But after a good spike like this it could be off a bit. Haven’t had any reports from there yet. Id assume some of the boat launches are ok and some not so much. The Clark fork actually looks decent. It jumped a bit, but it's a much bigger system and can handle small jumps like it’s at now. Id favor the Clark fork this week over the Joe or the Cda based on the upcoming forecast. Now the Clark Fork on the Montana side is where we are talking about. And can be intimidating for the walk wader. But there is plenty of areas to get in on foot, just gotta get those boots on the ground and find them. The flows are no problem now for floating. And from what I’ve heard pretty much all of the launches are good to go around St. Regis and Superior etc... Fly selection will be pretty much the same across the board on all these rivers. Tandem nymph rigs and streamers will be the go-to. Same stuff as what we’ve been suggesting the last few weeks. Pats rubber legs with a San Juan worm, 20 incher stone fly nymphs, bigger pheasant tails, Duracell’s. Keep them heavy and on the larger side now guys as the flows are moving a bit faster. Focus on the inside edges and slower water. Foam pools on the Clark Fork are good focus areas too. The fish will seek refuge in these when the flows increase. And always seem to hold fish in the colder months of spring. Streamers will be a great option too. From what I’ve been hearing the streamer has been the best option even over nymphing in some cases. Medium size black or olive sculpins or buggers. Heavy too. Keep them close to the bottom and no need to strip them very fast yet. The water is still cold and they are a little lethargic still. We guys and gals, hang in there. Spring is coming but it also comes with a temper at times. If the rivers blow out and you are looking for something to do. Come join us for our winter Fly Tying Nights at our local Breweries. Ill be putting on two more this winter. Next one is at Trails End Brewery on March 8th from 5-8pm. Then we will have our last one at Vantage Point Brewery on the 27th of March. These have been a blast and we appreciate everyone that attended. Please call for more details and hope to see you there or on the river.
March 6, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: 2500 @ CATALDO STATION (CDA River), 1360 CFS @ CALDER STATION (St Joe Flow), 2900 @ ST REGIS STATION (Clarkfork Flow), 9220 CFS AT POST FALLS ( SPOKANE RIVER)
Water Temps: High 30’s low 40’s
Howdy!! Well typical North Idaho here. Water goes up, water comes down, rain, snow, wind, sun. We’ve been getting it all. Things look promising though this coming week. Flows are on the drop and clearing. The weather is looking better too. Warming up a fair bit and some sun and mixed rain. Typical stuff here in Idaho. But for sure a good opportunity to get out this next week. Id be for sure on the look out for some surface feeding fish. But it’s still cold out and the subsurface game will still be where it’s at. Streamers I believe will be the food of choice.
With the water temps still pretty cold the fish will be a bit slow on the take with streamers. So no need to strip the fly quickly. Some movement is good but keep it down deep and an occasional strip and pause. Nymphs will produce for sure in the right water. Inside edges and tail outs will be the focus. No need to spend much time in the fast stuff. The afternoons when the water has a chance to warm up a bit will be better fishing. It’s still pretty cold in the mornings. If you are
looking for rising fish the afternoons for sure is when it should happen. Blue wing olives and midges should be on the menu and possibly a Nemoura stone. Longer leaders with a small thorax BWO and a small RS2 dropper or maybe a zebra midge dropper should coax a feeding fish now.
The Clark Fork on the Montana side can be a great option now. It is a bigger river and has a chance to warm up a bit more than the Cda or St. Joe. If you are a drift boater or rafter this is a great early spring option. Many spots to put in and take out and shuttle services available as well. Please feel free to call the shop for these services info.
Seems like temps are warming up so this should perk the fishing up for a bit. Late March and April can be some of the best fishing of the year. So pay attention to the flows and weather and get after it!!!
March 14, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: 3120 @ CATALDO STATION (CDA River), 1560 CFS @ CALDER STATION (St Joe Flow), 3030 @ ST REGIS STATION (Clarkfork Flow), 7640 CFS AT POST FALLS ( SPOKANE RIVER)
Water Temps: Low 40’s
Well looks like we are going to get a run of really nice weather this coming week. By this weekend we are supposed to be in the mid to high 60’s !! This is great. It’s been a dreary late winter early spring. Lots of overcast and gloom. Time to bust out the flip flops and shorts.
But don’t hold your breath. It’s still North Idaho and things can change. But I’ll take what we can get. Now this will do a couple of things for our local rivers. It will for sure help with the water temps. This will hopefully get some of our Spring bugs thinking about hatching. Skwalas, March browns, Bwo’s, Midges and a few others. This will make the fish more active for sure. So be prepared to give the fish many options. From streamers, nymphs and dries. Our spring fishing here can be some of the best of the year!! The flows can be altered by the warmer weather too. It should retain decent clarity even if it increases. This will make for more challenging walk wading. But great drift boating and rafting. If you have a drift boat, Id suggest blowing the dust off and greasing the bearings and get that puppy on the water. There are many local lakes that are starting to fish too. Ice off is right around the corner for most lakes and some are already good to go. Check in with our Airway heights shop and talk to Wayne and he will get you dialed on some of Eastern Washington’s great lake fishing. We’ve got some good stuff over here too but some are still iced up. We’ll keep a close eye on the flows and keep checking in with us and current reports. It’s going to be an awesome Spring. We still have a few weekly tying sessions left and there is some space on the sign up sheet. We have one Tying night left too. It will be at Vantage point Brewing on the 27th of March. This will be our last one for the winter so come join us for some great food, drink and tie some spring bugs up. See you there!!
March 20, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: 6690 @ CATALDO STATION (CDA River), 3630 CFS @ CALDER STATION (St Joe Flow), 3500 @ ST REGIS STATION (Clarkfork Flow), 8370 CFS AT POST FALLS ( SPOKANE RIVER)
Water Temps: High 30's Low 40’s
Flows are on the climb! With the nice weather we’ve been getting the rivers have taken a jump up. Some are a bit higher than others, but all have come up in the last few days. I'd say the CDA has taken the biggest jump over the St. Joe, Clark fork and Spokane. The Joe and the Clark fork look pretty good still. The Spokane River and CDA are a bit on the high side. All have decent clarity though. If you decide to head out this weekend, be careful out there as the flows are very strong now and wading will be much tougher and as well as floating. The Clark fork and St. Joe look to be the better of the options out there. Looking at Northwest River Forecast Center the CDA and Joe both will be making another decent jump. So, the next couple of days should still be ok, but by this weekend there might be a different
story.
The Lakes are starting to be good options too for some trout, bass, and pike. The warm weather is supposed to turn cold later this week so this may impact the fish's attitude. There have been many pike and some smallmouth caught this last week with the warmup. But again, this might change as it cools off. As for the Trout fishing this week, I'd be sticking primarily to streamers and double nymph rigs and maybe a small Skwala stone with a bead head dropper in the back eddies and calm water. This is typical spring conditions. One-week killer conditions and then the following who knows. But Spring is here regardless. Keep a close eye on the weather, flows and there is usually always somewhere to catch some fish. Don’t forget about our Jurassic Flats Carp Even coming up on April 20th in Boardman OR. This
is going to be a killer event. It’s free and come and learn all there is to know about Flats Fishing for Carp in Idaho and Washington. If you have the desire to one day, go Saltwater flats fishing this is where you should start and learn. We have amazing Carp flats style fishing all within a day's drive of North Idaho and Eastern Washington. Also, we have our Lake City Spey Clave coming up on May 4th. This will be our 3rd annual event and will be held Near NIC beach on the Spokane river. Come learn about Trout Spey and Spey in general. Again, is a free event and will have tons of rods, reels, and lines to try out if you are in the market to get geared up for Trout Spey. Hang in there the good Spring stuff is right around the corner!!
March 26, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: 5570 @ CATALDO STATION (CDA River), 3540 CFS @ CALDER STATION (St Joe Flow), 4730 @ ST REGIS STATION (Clarkfork Flow), 11,500 CFS AT POST FALLS ( SPOKANE RIVER)
Water Temps: LOW TO MID 40s
The break in the rain this week will allow most of the rivers to recede a bit. This is good! After a push of water and as the rivers come down a bit the fishing can be epic. Things are looking really good for this weekend. The weather is supposed to warm up to the 60’s by Saturday/Sunday. The dry fly fishing should start to get really good. Be on the lookout for March browns, Skwalas and probably some Blue wing olives. The streamer fishing and nymphing should be good all day with the dry fly fishing picking up mid-day to the afternoons. The slower flat water is still where most of the fish will be holding until the water warms up a bit more.
I'd be favoring the Cda, St joe and the Clark fork as options. Spokane is a bit high for my liking and getting to the unsafe levels. Don’t forget about our local lakes too. They are all starting to fish. I'd guess most if not all the lower elevation lakes are ice free. This can be some
of the best lake trout fishing of the year. Along with bass, pike and panfish. Been getting decent reports of all the species above being caught on numerous lakes around the region. The lake trout fishing being some of the most consistent. The Panfish (crappie, bluegill,
perch) fishing will be getting really good in the next few weeks as we get some warmer weather. This is some of my favorite fishing of the year. When the rivers are volatile and unfishable don’t forget about the lakes. Which we have many to choose from. Hayden, Cda, Ponderay, Round, Kelso, Cocolalla all being great choices right after ice off. There are many just over the border to our West in Washington too. Check in with Wayne Jordan our new Airway heights fly shop manager. Wayne is very knowledgeable on the local
Washington lakes! Spring is here and keep an eye on the weather and water and there is always somewhere to fish this time of year. Lots of great events coming to House of Fly this Spring
April 4, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: 3490 @ CATALDO STATION (CDA River), 2860 CFS @ CALDER STATION (St Joe Flow), 4210 @ ST REGIS STATION (Clarkfork Flow), 10,700 CFS AT POST FALLS ( SPOKANE RIVER)
Water Temps: LOW TO MID 40s
The roller coaster of Spring. Had a beautiful last weekend. Some areas saw 70’s and the timing of dropping and clearing water spelled great fishing for many anglers. This week may show differently though. Today back into the low 50’s to high 40’s with wind and rain. Northwest River Forecast Center is predicting rather large increases with all our rivers. This morning all of the rivers are increasing slightly. I’d say the next 3 days we should be ok. By the weekend though this may not be the case. The CDA, St Joe and Clark fork all are going to increase 3-4k (+-) CFS depending on how much rain we get. In the meantime, if you can get out the next few days before it blows out it should be good fishing. I have been getting good reports of a few Skwalas out, March browns showing up too and some Blue Wing olives as well. With the increase in water the streamer fishing should be great still. I'd be nymphing the softer inside bends and also looking for heads up to pick off with the dries. Don’t forget about the lake fishing too! The small mouth and pike fishing is really picking up in a good way. The next warm spell we get should keep pushing them into the shallows to spawn. This is when it gets fun on the fly rod. Sight casting to smallmouth in a few feet of water is a blast! There are some good trout lakes that are fishing well now too. Be on the lookout for crappie in the shallows and under docks and Lilly pads. Spring crappie fishing is one of my favorites to do, and we have some exceptional crappie fishing lakes around. A balanced leech or two below an indicator and a good pair of polarized glasses you’ll have a blast.
We are super excited for our upcoming event in Boardman Oregon on the 20th of April, Jurassic Flats. This is our first event of its kind. If you want to learn to “Flats fish” just like you would for Bonefish or Permit in the saltwater. Carp fishing here in the Northwest is the closest thing you’ll find. We will have 4 speakers on flats fishing for Carp and will show you all about it. It is a FREE event and there is no need to sign up. Give us a call here at the shop and we can get you dialed in more on the event.
Also, May 4th we are having another event “Lake City Spey Clave”. Come and learn how to Spey cast and also what “Trout Spey” is. This is a fantastic approach to fishing bigger water with streamers and or some other flies to make you more effective in covering water. The event will be held at the mouth of the Spokane River near NIC beach.
April 17, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: CDA Flow: 5400 CFS at Cataldo, St Joe Flow: 5410 CFS at Calder, Clarkfork Flow: 11200 CFS at St. Regis, Spokane River Flow: 11200 CFS at Post Falls
Water Temps: Mid to high 40s
Same roller coaster flows as we’ve been experiencing. Up one week down the next. The key is to get out on the drop if possible. Both the Cda and St. Joe rivers will fish very well this coming week with what looks like a substantial drop. Both went up to the mid 6,000 cfs range a few days ago, peaked and are now on the drop. It is getting warmer too which will really excite the Skwala hatch and the March browns too. Good reports from before the water came up of great dry fly fishing. Mostly March browns with a few Skwalas around. I think the hatch will intensify with the warmer weather this week. The Clark Fork and the Spokane are not looking as good. I have been getting a few good reports from the Kootenai though.
I'd keep a close eye on the Clark fork though. If it peaks and drops in the next week, even at the higher flows it can be fantastic. Mostly a drift boat or raft affair though. It can be amazing with the Skwalas in the next few weeks if the flows cooperate.
We are super excited for our upcoming event in Boardman Oregon this Saturday, 20th of April, Jurassic Flats. This is our first event of its kind. If you want to learn to “Flats fish” just like you would for Bonefish or Permit in the saltwater. Carp fishing here in the Northwest is the closest thing you’ll find. We will have 4 speakers on flats fishing for Carp and will show you all about it. It is a FREE event and there is no need to sign up. Give us a call here at the shop and we can get you dialed in more on the event.
Also, May 4th we are having another event “Lake City Spey Clave”. Come and learn how to Spey cast and also what “Trout Spey” is. This is a fantastic approach to fishing bigger water with streamers and or some other flies to make you more effective in covering water. The event will be held at the mouth of the Spokane River near NIC beach.
April 25, 2024
Location: Coeur d'Alene River / St. Joe River
Flows: CDA Flow: 2420 CFS at Cataldo, St Joe Flow: 3180 CFS at Calder, Clarkfork Flow: 7120 CFS at St. Regis, Spokane River Flow: 6420 CFS at Post Falls
Water Temps: Mid to high 40s
Guys! This week looks fantastic. Now it is supposed to change again in about a week so get it while it’s good. Flows have come down a bunch and are looking really, really good. Skwalas, March browns, Blue wing olives even some Salmon flies have been spotted. So the big bug thing is happening, and it is so much fun! One of my favorite times of year to fish.
Being prepared though for different things is good. It really wont’t be popping off first thing in the mornings but you can find a fish or two on nymphs or a streamer before the dries start coming off. It’s really “pick your poison” right now. If you want to sleep in and get a late start and catch the hatch mid-day or the afternoon, that's cool. Or if you want to make a full day out of it, that's a thing too. The days are getting longer, and the flows are up a bit, so it keeps you moving through the day. Lots of options to choose from now.
Don’t forget about the killer bass, pike and panfishing right now as well. The spring is a hard time to make fishing decisions as there is so
much to choose from. I like to keep an eye on the flows and when they come up I'll take a break from trout and hit the lakes. Smallmouth fishing is honestly my favorite lake fishing to do in the spring. The big spring spawners come out and will crush a big streamer or popper. It is game on right now. These fish are moving into the shallows and are on the hunt. Rocky shorelines are best that have some shallow sandy areas at the base of them. Docks are good to. Which is about every lake here in North Idaho! It is super fun and a good change of pace.
We’ve also really been getting after Carp. We just wrapped up our first annual “Jurassic Flats Carp Clave”. The event was awesome and are looking to make this an annual event. If you are curious about Carp and want to know more about it, swing in and we can dial you in.
Lastly we have our 3rd annual Lake City Spey Clave at NIC beach coming up on May 4th . This is really an all Spey things event but more concentrated on “Trout Spey”. If you are new to Spey Casting and want to learn or try a bunch of different lines, rods and gear come on down and hang out for the day. Will have burgers and dogs and come and say hi.