My Picks

for the Week

In spite of a short but much appreciated cool snap, fishing has been about as good as can be expected. Now I know there are some who didn’t find Free Fishing Day to be any better than any other day, and some who weren’t impressed at all. But all told fishing is fairly consistent and anglers across Idaho are catching pretty much whatever they put their mind to. Of course there are exceptions, that’s fishing. But I’m relatively certain that if you give an honest effort any one of the fishing holes below will produce some sort of action, and even if you don’t catch your limit you will at least have enjoyed a great time on the water. Isn’t that what it’s really all about?

BOISE RIVER DAMS (ANDERSON, ARROWROCK, LUCKY PEAK RESERVOIRS)

Kokanee anglers are starting to catch fish on all three reservoirs. Lucky Peak seems to be the most consistent, but Anderson Ranch is giving up some decent fish as well. In all three reservoirs anglers are starting to pick up a mixture of trout and kokanee, mostly either long-lining or fishing fairly shallow (top 30 feet) with small pop gear or dodgers trailed with baited lures like squids, micro-jigs and Hoochies. Pinks, greens and oranges seem to be the colors of choice, but if you’re not baiting your lure with scented Shoepeg Corn then you’re not catching fish. Arrowrock is the one question mark here. Fishing reports have been like the fish, scattered at best. The Idaho Fish & Game conducted a Kokanee survey last week on both Arrowrock and Lucky Peak. Nothing definitive yet, but rumor control has it that the fish populations are up in Lucky Peak and down in Arrowrock. But it’s just a rumor, stay tuned for the straight scoop.

LAKE LOWELL

Decent bass fishing has been consistent most of the season so far and with plenty of light left after work this is a great place to head for a few hours fishing. Weekends of course can be a madhouse so I wouldn’t recommend fishing here unless you’re one of the first ones on the water because finding a place to park after 8-9 a.m. is almost impossible. Most anglers are also fishing during low light hours to avoid the heat and with warming water temperatures and now that the fish have spawned it’s a great time to catch fish using various topwater baits like buzzing frogs, chatterbaits and buzzbaits. Anglers also catching fish using plastics in and around the pockets Smartweed, submerged brush and various tree trunks, especially during the day. Anglers are also catching a few crappie, a few bluegill and catfishing is still pretty good from shore.

BROWNLEE RESERVOIR

The reservoir level is at full pool so be cautious of floating debris. Bass fishing continues to be good but no matter where you fish you’re going to catch a lot of small fish before you catch a keeper. To catch the bigger fish you’re going to have to either fish shallow rocky banks early or late in the day or fish the deeper current breaks midday to find fish.

Once the sun gets on the water the bigger fish retreat to shelter which is the nearest current break, usually off a main lake point. Try using crawdad or minnow colored crankbaits and jerkbaits during low light hours and split shot, drop shot or Carolina Rigs in similar colored soft plastics during the day. Crappie fishing continues to be excellent throughout the reservoir but most of the fish are only about 9 inches. Some anglers are also still catching a few smaller perch using cut bait, small Red Worms or small nightcrawlers. Catfishing remains good with fair numbers of decent sized fish biting, especially around Steck Park.

CASCADE RESERVOIR

Anglers are doing best catching perch right now. There are some real bruisers coming in up to 15 inches. Most fish are being caught shallow in and around the weedline. Trout fishing is still hit and miss but anglers are catching fish, a few from shore but mostly from a boat. Trollers are catching fish using small pop gear and spinners or flatfish and Rapala type lures to catch trout and coho and they’re even picking up a few kokanee, but not enough to get too excited about, at least not yet. Other boat anglers are drifting various baits to catch both trout and perch. Most of the perch are taking little black or perch colored leeches or curly tailed grubs. Cut bait well also work to catch perch, as will small spinners and crankbaits, but a little nightcrawler dangling from a hook is also hard to beat. Bass fishing has been tough lately with most folks only able to find the smaller fish. Try using crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, jerkbaits and especially soft plastics fished from the shoreline out to 15 feet.

C. J. STRIKE

Fishing on C. J. has been fairly consistent all season with few exceptions due to weather and it’s probably going to continue to be good until things really heat up once and for all. Bass fishermen continue to catch smallmouth and some largemouth throughout the reservoir using crawdad and minnow colored crankbaits and stickbaits; spinnerbaits or soft plastics, depending on the time of day and location. Perch fishing has been best on the main lake through the Bruneau Arm using worms and cut bait, which will also catch crappie. Fishing for trout from shore is still slow during the day but anglers fishing very early in the morning or on cloudy days are managing to still catch a few fish using worms, marshmallows or cheese flavored PowerBait. Boat anglers are still catching trout, also mostly during low light hours trolling small pop gear, flatfish and broken-back Rapalas. But once the sun starts to penetrate the water you’ll need a downrigger to get to the better fish.

WARM LAKE

Trout fishing is just starting to get good and with the South Fork of the Salmon River opening up to salmon fishing this weekend this is also a great place to pitch a tent or camp out. This way you can catch two kinds of fish in one trip, so to speak. You can fish for salmon from the crack of dawn until your arm gets tired then you can light off to a campground at Warm Lake and fish the evening trout bite, or visa versa. Here you can catch trout from shore or by boat and since the lake isn’t that big you don’t need a big boat to fish it. The trout are eager to eat worms, but marshmallows and PowerBait are good to take along just in case. Small spinners and even flies will also catch fish.

OUT-OF-TOWN

Dworshak Reservoir is expected to produce a lot of kokanee this year so if you’re looking for and out of the way adventure this might be a great place to take a family vacation this year. There are numerous campgrounds around the reservoir and there is even boat camping available. Never been boat camping, then you’ve got to hitch the boat up and get after it, because not only is the kokanee fishing expected to be pretty fair there are literally record breaking, line breaking smallmouth lurking in these waters as well. So what are you waiting for? Let’s take a road trip.