Fishing Report For Lake Pend Oreille, ID

Current Report: Fair To Good

FALL. Cooling water temperatures in the shallows, draw rainbow trout out of deeper Summer depths. Weekend anglers report catching rainbows on small spinners, worms rigged on a bobber setup, and small lures imitating baby kokanee. Anglers are now catching them 25 to 75 feet deep on rocky banks, wind-blown points, rocky structure, humps, and anywhere baitfish are gathering. Now that they had a full summer to grow, there are some nice size rainbow to be caught. Later in Autumn, they move into 80 feet of water, and deeper.

WINTER. When Winter sets in jigging spoons, and jigs tipped with bait, are catching nice limits of rainbows out of 80 to 200 feet of water. Deep trolling with leaded line or downriggers, or vertical jigging with spoons and jigs, are the best approach during the cold-water season. Structure edges are keys to locating rainbows.

SPRING. As water begins to warm in early Spring, rainbow trout move from their late winter holding areas to shallow, warmer water 15 to 50 feet deep. Spring and Fall is the best time to fish shallow water. A good number of rainbows are typically caught from mid morning to late afternoon, during the warmest water of the day. Shallow flats, bays and rocky structure are quick to warm in the afternoon sun. A wide variety of small spinners, spoons and bait are catching most of the fish.

SUMMER. Once Summer is here to stay, the warmer water drives rainbow deeper. In summer fish in water at least 60 feet deep, and work down to 200 feet. During the Spring spawn runs, Garfield Bay, Hope Peninsula, and especially Sagle Creek Inlet are reportedly good areas. Trolling with spoons, spinners and crankbaits, using downriggers or leaded line, and drift fishing with bait, are currently the most productive methods. Following drop-offs into deeper water, along structure or creek channels, is a major key to getting bites. Anglers fishing from the bank are using nightcrawlers or Berkley PowerBait, with heavy weights on a Carolina rig, to get baits in deeper water.

Current Report: Good

FALL. Lake trout are returning to relatively shallow water, as Fall weather cools the lake. Reports by local anglers, local guides and Idaho Fish and Game suggest beginning your search for lake trout in the Sagle Creek Inlet or Garfield Bay areas. They spawn in the Fall, and for a few weeks can typically be found 50 to 120 feet deep on points, flats and humps that have a rocky bottom. Later in Fall they often migrate deeper. Trolling around river channels, flats which are adjacent to deep drop offs and points is a key factor. Casting jigs and jigging spoons are also catching lakers. Use flashy lures, nightcrawlers, salmon eggs, small minnows and bucktail jigs to entice feeding lake trout.

WINTER. Favoring water temperatures in the 40's, lake trout find areas to their liking in 100 to 200 feet of water, and tend to stay there throughout the cold months. Learning these areas before the lake ices over can get you into some of the better area for ice fishing. Patient anglers willing to work slowly are catching some nice lake limits through the ice. After ice out, trolling with leaded line or downriggers, or vertical jigging with spoons and jigs, completes the cold-water season.

SPRING. Spring weather finds lake trout, along with baitfish, into 25 to 100 feet of water. Lakers are being caught in areas of the lake which have deep water next to the shallower feeding spots. Jigs and heavy spoons are catching the majority of these big feeders. Slow trolling with leaded line or downriggers allows small crankbaits and spinners to be worked in deeper water, which also produces some nice lakers.

SUMMER. Summer heat drives lake trout deeper, around 80 to as much as 180 feet deep. Lake trout feed on small fish, so lures imitating baitfish, sunfish, perch or small trout are good choices. Flashy spoons can be fished at any depth, either jigging, trolling or cast and retrieve. For big lakers, use larger baits. Lake trout prefer to stay deep, near the thermocline throughout Summer. They look for depth variations like ditches, channels, humps and ledges, but are being caught in the deeper water around this structure. Heavy jigs and spoons, as well as low trolling with leaded line or downriggers produce many of the lakers being caught during Summer.

Current Report: Fair

FALL. During Fall, kokanee migrate into spawning grounds, which can be along the shoreline of the lake, or upstream in rivers and tributaries. Granite Creek, Sullivan Springs, and Trestle Creek are just a few of the many options. Trolling for kokanee is the preferred method here, concentrating on depths from 20' to 60' or more. In the weeks just prior to the spawn, they will gather in sizeable schools near the mouths of these inflows. The spawn typically occurs between August and early September. Casting or trolling spinners, spoons, or kokanee rigs works well during the spawn.

WINTER. When ice fishing in Winter, kokanee are typically caught from 10 to 30 feet below the ice, where their food source is located. On occasion they move deeper. Ice jigs, spoons, PowerBait, ShrimpZ, shoepeg corn and maggots are popular ice fishing baits here. After ice out, they descend into 60 to 120 feet of water.

SPRING. Spring and Summer tend to be the best time of year according to reports by local anglers. The Worden's Spin-N-Glo Kokanee Rig, as well as similar setups, attract strikes when trolled at around 1.5 mph. During late Spring kokanee typically move close to the surface where phytoplankton blooms become more abundant, providing a rich food source. Kokanee will feed heavily on this plankton until surface temperatures reach the high 50's. Casting or trolling spinners, spoons, or kokanee rigs works well during this period.

SUMMER. Downriggers or leaded line are the two primary methods for catching kokanee here, while trolling. Kokanee school up and hang out over deep water, usually above some type of structure. The ideal water temperature is mid to low 50's. Identify the depth for that temperature range, and the kokanee will be hanging out in that depth range. Worm harnesses and wedding ring spinner setups are popular when trolled behind a 4" dodger. Locals are tipping these baits with shoepeg white corn, PowerBait, Z-Man Scented ShrimpZ, or live nightcrawlers to helps attract bites. Experiment with depth, starting around 40' and work down to 120'. Trolling these baits between 1.2 mph and 1.8 mph is a good speed.