Alan Liere's hunting and fishing report for May 14

May 15-Fly fishing

Flows on the North Fork Coeur d'Alene River have continued to drop below 500 cubic feet per second at Prichard, which is half the flow on this day last year. And the snowpack apparently is largely gone.

Silver Bow Fly Shop guides said every stretch is worth checking out.

Fishing has been good with yellow sallies, salmonflies, green drakes, golden stones and march brown patterns. Prospecting with a chubby or stone and a dropper is always a go-to from here on out. Don't wait to fish. The water flows will be very skinny this summer.

St. Joe River flows are up a little, but not fat enough to hurt the fishing, which is still best around and below Avery.

Bug hatches have stayed consistent with this warmer weather. March Browns, salmonflies, Drakes and Caddis are effective. The trout are closer to the bank and not sitting in mid-river currents.

Trout and kokanee

Sprague Lake is now providing some exciting trout fishing for anglers trolling flies or plugs in the center of the lake. Flies are usually tipped with a piece of nightcrawler. The fish are running 20 inches long and better.

Sources have not provided any kokanee reports from Loon Lake, but a man reportedly caught an 8 1/2 -pound mackinaw while trolling for the smaller kokanee.

A friend and good fisherman, who has tried Sacheen Lake several times this spring, is wondering where the fish have gone. So far, all he has to show for his efforts are a couple sunfish. He said his poor luck also has carried over to Loon Lake.

Blue Lake and Park Lake in Grant County have been generous for trout anglers this week. Trollers and bait casters are doing equally well.

Trout fishing on Long Lake seems to have lost some of its allure, but there are still a lot of good-sized fish to be had. A recent report said limits of 14- to 16-inch rainbow were common for trollers, and bait fishermen at the Tum Tum pull-offs were also taking a few.

Spiny ray

Largemouth fishermen at Tiger Slough are catching the bass, but crappie fishermen aren't doing any good.

On Potholes Reservoir, anglers are reporting large bluegill and crappie coming out of the dunes. Most anglers who target these jumbo-sized slabs are sight fishing in the weeds and are using 2-to-3 inch paddle tail swimbaits and No. 5 Flicker Shads in Slick Mouse and Slick Perch colors.

Potholes walleye fishing has been only fair. Most anglers are trolling bottom bouncers with a Mack's Slow Death rig or Wallypop worm harness in 10 to 12 feet of water along weed lines.

With the high water, the walleye are spread throughout the reservoir.

Bass fishing remains very good. Most are in the 1-2 pound range with a few over 3 pounds mixed in. Top water fishing is starting to pick up.

This is the right time to start finding smallmouth bass on the Grande Ronde River. The bite near Heller Bar is best now before the fish head upriver to cooler water.

Walleye fishing has been good on the upper end of Moses Lake for anglers dragging bottom walkers with Slow Death hooks baited with nightcrawlers.

Perch fishing at Curlew Lake gets better each day, and it has also been good for 9- to 12-inch fish on Long Lake. The crappie in Long Lake are just beginning to school up in 6 feet of water.

Anglers targeting them say the fish so far have been generally small, though an occasional whopper has emerged.

Hauser Lake produced some huge crappie last week, and Hayden anglers are also finding some big ones.

The Chain Lakes at the south end of Lake Coeur d'Alene are good for crappie. Look for them around woody structure.

Eloika Lake crappie are slowly moving into shallower water, and largemouth fishermen are finding a lot of bass as the spawn commences.

Silver Lake is loaded with bluegill, and if you fish long enough, you'll catch enough of the "big ones" (7 inches) to fill a frying pan. Silver also has crappie, but bass fishermen are giving the lake the most attention, and the chance of catching a tiger musky are pretty good.

Some big pike are being caught in Idaho. Lake Coeur d'Alene leads the lunker parade with several fish weighing in the teens.

Other species

The best fishing for channel catfish and smallmouth bass will be this month in the Yakima, Palouse, and Walla Walla rivers.

Cats running 3 to 8 pounds are biting in the Snake River along the dikes near Lewiston. The shallow Palouse River flats are just starting to yield some 5-pound channel cats on cut bait or nightcrawlers.

Bullheads don't get much attention in this part of the country, but they are delicious and numerous in many lakes that are mostly known for trout fishing. Long Lake has the biggest fish, and night time is the best time to catch them.

Hunting

Turkey hunters are finding the birds more difficult to call, and the gobbling that had been previously heard at random times has become almost non-existent. I still have a few lonesome jakes wandering around my property, but they aren't making any noise.

Contact Alan Liere at spokesmanliere@yahoo.com.

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