Alan Liere's hunting and fishing report for April 23, 2026

Fly fishing

With the warmer weather, insect hatches on lakes are starting to get more consistent and the fish are responding well, says Silver Bow Fly Shop. Chironomids are beginning to dominate the game, both dry fly and nymph variations. Leeches will always find fish, but pair them with a chironomid pattern. Damsel patterns should start getting more attention as the water temperatures warm. Coffeepot continues to have good reports of quality trout.

There have been lots of bugs out on the Coeur d'Alene River, and dry flies are working fairly well on warmer days. Cold mornings have been good for nymphing and swinging streamers. The lower St. Joe River is a good option at current flows. Look for the soft water, side channels and flooded willows. The Lower Clark Fork River has been off-color, but conditions are getting better. Skwalas are active as are baetis and March browns. Dry fly action is picking up.

Trout and kokanee

The Washington state lowland trout opener begins Saturday. Randy Osborne, WDFW biologist for the Spokane area, says Badger, Williams and Clear lakes should be three of the best. Badger cutthroats will run up to 15 inches, and there will be carryovers up to 18 inches. The kokanee fishery is looking good for the summer. The fish were 10 inches long when sampled in March. By late August, these could be up to 14 inches. Williams Lake should be "pretty good," says Osborne. Williams has 12- to 14-inch rainbow, cutthroat and a few tiger trout. Clear Lake had a good rainbow carryover rate, with plants running about 11 inches and two-year-old carryovers up to 19 inches. The lake also has some big brown trout.

West Medical will fish fairly well. For unknown reasons there was a partial fish kill there last fall, but 10,000 catchables were planted last week. Trout that survived the fall kill are 17 to 18 inches. Don't expect much from Fish Lake. It does have a few trout, but is loaded with small perch. Fishtrap Lake will also be "decent," says Osborne. It has sunfish and bullheads and some catchable trout and quite a few trout broodstock.

Bill Baker, WDFW's biologist for the lakes north of Spokane, had this to say: "Based on our sampling, I expect Cedar, Mudgett, and Starvation lakes are all going to fish well on the opener. Fry plants are running 10 to 12 inches with carryovers 15 inches and up. Rocky Lake looks good, too. Waitts Lake should be a solid bet, as well. At Waitts, I expect the typical 12- to 14-inch fish to make up the bulk of the catch with some larger carryovers mixed in."

A friend fishing at Sacheen earlier in the week said he caught a tiger trout, a rainbow trout and a brook trout. All were about 13 inches.

The annual WDFW Trout Derby kicks off Saturday and runs through Oct. 31 this year. For the Trout Derby, the WDFW has placed special green tags near the dorsal fin on trout stocked in more than 100 lakes statewide. Anglers who catch a tagged trout win a prize donated from a nearby business. Find more information on the WDFW Trout Derby webpage, where you can also see which Eastern Washington lakes have tagged trout in them.

Coeur d'Alene Lake kokanee are running an average of 12 inches, but there are also a fair number of fish stretching 14-15 inches. Good trolling is reported near Wolf Lodge and Powder Horn. On Lake Pend Oreille, the kokes are small this year. Coeur d'Alene Lake chinook have gone a bit deeper.

Steelhead and salmon

Starting mid-May, spring chinook season begins on the Clearwater River. This is a very limited fishery and the season goes quickly, so if you're hoping to fish with a guide, don't wait to book your trip. The Clearwater River season will run four days a week, Thursday through Sunday with a two adult limit.

Spiny ray

Largemouth bass anglers are having some success now at the year-round lakes. Some big fish have been taken recently at Jumpoff Joe, Sacheen, Eloika and Silver lakes.

Long Lake has been very good for walleye, and the Lake Spokane Campground and Day Use Area launch is now open. A friend caught a 12-pound 'eye recently (released) not far from the launch.

Banks Lake has been good for smallmouth bass, but the lake is still cold and walleye are going into spawn mode, which makes them difficult to catch. The Snake River, the Pend Oreille River, the Grande Ronde River and Lake Roosevelt have produced some good smallmouth fishing lately.

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