The Lake
Fishermen that have been to Lake Coeur d' Alene know it is one of the
beautiful places in the country. That's the whole country, not just Idaho.
The mountain slopes are timbered with Cedar and Pine down to the shoreline.
It is a fishing and recreational paradise.
The lake is 25 miles long and covers 25,000 acres. The shoreline runs for
about 125 miles. The average depth is 120 feet. Coeur d' Alene is an alpine lake.
Lake Coeur d' Alene has a very diverse fishery. Smallmouth Bass were
introduced a few years ago and the species has been doing well.
There has been some concern about metal (lead and cadmium) levels in the
water and in the fish. Normal occasional consumption is reportedly not a
health problem for fishermen.
The Fish
Landlocked Chinook Salmon - Lake record is 42 lbs. Most caught are 16 to 30 lbs.
Trollers catch them at depths of 35' to 70', often below a school of kokanee, which
are a food source for Chinook.
Use a flasher and fly streamer 30 to 40 inches behind. Troll slowly, 1 to 2 mph.
Also jig with smelt or herring. Green colored lures are usually most effective.
Largemouth Bass - Range from 3 to 7 pounds. Lake record 10 lbs. 15 oz.
Fish the bays with traditional Bass methods.
Northern Pike - Lake Coeur d' Alene boasts the Northern Pike Record of
38 lb. 9 oz. Fish for Pike near the weed beds and structure. 3 to 6 lb. fish are
common. Some are 10 and 20 lbs. Use large crankbaits, spinner baits, and leadhead jigs.
Smelt and herrings work well also. Your best results will be in the bays.
Smallmouth Bass- Fished mostly in the North end of the lake on the rocky
shorelines.
Kokanee Salmon - These landlocked Sockeye Salmon often live 4 years. They
are self sustaining in Lake Coeur d' Alene, and run 9 to 14 inches. They
taste great. Use Attractors or Pop Gear and a spinner with white corn or maggots.
Good spinners for Coeur d' Alene are Wedding Rings, Needlefish, and Captain Bob's
Kokanee spinner.
Crappie
Rainbow Trout
Yellow Perch
Fishing Reports for Coeur d' Alene Lake
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June 30
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2006 |
Where are you salmon fishermen at? The fish are coming back on the bite and
I haven't seen many of you out lately. The fish are going deep or at least
many of the biters have been deep.
The flashers and squids have started to work on the deep fish, both the small
flashers and mini-squids and the larger flashers and the full size squids or
hootchys. On the north end try the area from Arrow point east to Hudson point.
Mid lake the Driftwood Mica areas are good and on down the lake Powderhorn bay
to Eastpoint. For the deeper fish run either a flasher squid combo or a flasher
and herring or dodger and herring. On the deeper rods I would put them 80-95 feet
and the shallower lines put them up at 30-50. The shallower rods a small flasher
and mini-squid would be good or a helmeted herring without the flasher. I have
been mostly Pike fishing lately so with this Salmon bite going again I guess its
put the downriggers back on time.
The Pike action has been pretty good we have been catching them on floating plugs ,
spinnerbaits and a few spoons on the shallow water fish and Husky jerk rapalas on
the deeper ones. Look for some evening buzz bait action in early June to start up.
The main lake bays which have been producing are Cougar, Mica and Minton. Chain
lakes which have been best are Killarney and Swan lakes.
Good luck and we will see you on the lake.
Jeff Smith
This report courtesy of our friend Jeff Smith at Fins and Feathers Guide Service
in Coeur d' Alene.
Visit their website.
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January 29, 2006
What a winter it has been Salmon trolling on lake Coeur D Alene!
For catch rates we have had one of the best seasons ever and it
should just keep on going into the new year. Early January has
brought some warm temperatures and lots of rain which has brought
the water levels up and moved some fish around. Start playing with
some shallower depths, we have been hooking some fish on helmeted herring
at 25 feet. You still want to run a flasher and mini-squid down at 90-100
or maybe a helmeted herring down deep either by itself or with a flasher
or dodger but bring at least one rod up and run it shallow. We usually
don't get many shallow water fish until late February but this year its
starting early. We are not sure what the rest of the winter will bring
but you can bet there is going to be more good trolling days out on the lake.
It seems like the best action has been on one end of the lake
or the other with the south end around East Point seeing most
of the boats. There are also fish being caught on the north end
of off Arrow and Stephens points. Most of the Chinooks have been
3-6 pounds but we have landed a few in the 8-12 pound range, again
the catch rates have been great in fact I think we are getting
a little spoiled. There is usually a tough time between January
and February when the fish are in transition between the deep
water and shallow but I think this year with the fish numbers
we are going to do a lot better during this time.
Some other fishing going on. The water flows have gotten
a few Northern Pike to start moving around and some have
been doing pretty well dead bait fishing the bays. Use a
Smelt or Herring and fish it under a bobber or even on the
bottom. We have had good catches in Blue Creek, Wolf lodge,
Minton and Mica bays as well as down by Harlow point but
you can go into about any bay and have a good shot at hooking up.
This Bait bite will continue as long as the water stays up and may
go right on into spring. If it gets cold again they may pull
back out of the bays.
Good luck and we will see you on the lake.
This report courtesy of our friend Jeff Smith at Fins and Feathers Guide Service
in Coeur d' Alene.
Visit their website.
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June 10, 2005
Kokanee, (Landlocked Sockeye Salmon)
We are currently catching limits of
these tasteful fish, and the size is once again awesome, they are ranging
up to 14''. The North end of the lake, Silver Beach to Arrow Point, mid
lake around Powderhorn Bay, and the south end of the lake around Harlow
Point have been the hot spots for these fish for the last few weeks. They
will continue to hang in these areas for the next few months. The only
thing that will change is the depth that they will be hanging at. As of now
we are catching them from the surface to 20' for the most part. The weapon
of choice for me is a # 6 Hilldabrant with a wedding ring trailing behind,
tipped with maggots, or corn. As far as speed goes slower the better,
usually around 1 m.p.h.
Chinook Salmon, ( Kings )
Our Chinook are a landlocked strain, the catch
rate on these fish has been improving in the past few weeks also. Pretty
much the same locations as the Kokanee, since that is there primary food
source. My best depths as of late have been 40' - 60', these will vary from
day to day, or time of day. Most of these have been caught on helmeted
herring rigs, and a few on Hoochies, and Flys. We have seen them in the
16lb. - 17lb. range this year, and I am pretty sure there are some around
20lb. out there. The most common size being caught are 4lb. - 8lb., with
the exception of course.
Northern Pike
These have been a little tough at times this spring, with all
the unsettled weather we have been having. They are done with the spawn now,
and should be feeding pretty hard. On June 4, I actually caught one that was
30lbs. 47'' long. They will be found in most all the bays, and can be
caught on spinner baits, jerk baits, or spoons. If this year is anything
like last year we should have some great Northern fishing.
Bass
The Smallmouth have really been consistent once again this spring,
showing up in good numbers, and also some respectable size. These fish can
be found almost anywhere along the rocky shore lines, docks, or weed beds.
Crankbaits, or tube jigs are working really well right now, and will
continue to for weeks to come. If you can't find em shallow just move out a
little deeper, they are still a fish, and fish swim.
This report courtesy of Brett Nearing from Hooked On Fish Guide Service
Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
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Brett Nearing with a 30 lb 47"
Northern Pike he caught on June 4,
of this year(2005).
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4/29/05
Northern Pike fishing is normally peaking at this time.
Fishermen are using herring, smelt, and skinned perch under a bobber.
When the water warms up the Pike will be more into hitting lures.
This is the time of year the Chinook start coming up into the shallows
in search of bait fish.
IDFG
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2/25/05
Fishing is good in winter for small chinook. Use glow flashers and mini-squids
below 60 feet, where the water is a little warmer. When the lake turns over
troll spoons, plugs, and herring in a helmet.
Northern Pike are biting in the bays. Guys are using cut bait under a bobber.
IDFG.
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