Coeur d' Alene River | Idaho Fly Fishing Reports & Conditions

Hike a stretch of river and fish the smaller buckets in between the pools. When the hatches start the fish should be on them, but until you see fish feeding a medium sized attractor with an emerger or beadhead dropper behind it will be good for prospecting.

Fishing Report Last Updated:

6 / 17 / 2013

Choose A Different River Here

Clearwater River
Upper Henry's Fork of the Snake River, Above Ashton Reservoir
Lower Henry's Fork of the Snake River, Below Ashton Reservoir
Little Salmon River
Salmon River
South Fork of the Snake River
St. Joe River

Fishing Conditions

Fly Fishing Coeur d' Alene River is currently Excellent

Water flow: 841 @ Enaville and stable

Visibility: 60 inches

Water temperature at mid-day: 54 Degrees F

Water condition: Clear

Best time of day to fish: 9-6

Best stretch: Entire River!

Best access point: Stick to the main roads. Most passes are still closed.

Fly fishing hatches in order of importance:

Golden Stones, Salmonflies, PMD's, Caddis and a few Green Drakes.

Fish species: Native Westslope Cutthroat Trout.

Fishing season: Year Round (Prime: June - October)

Nearest airport: Spokane International Airport

Recommended fly fishing leader: 9 Foot Leader

Recommended fly fishing tippet: 5X Tippet

Best fly fishing rod: 9' 5 Weight Fly Rod

Best floating fly line: PowerTaper WF

Best sinking fly line: Streamer Stripper Sink Tip

Fly Name:	Fly Color:	Fly Size(s):
CDC Green Drake Parachute	Green	8-14
Sulphur Emerger	pmd,	14-18
Bead Head Pheasant Tail	black, olive, brown	10-18
Chernobyl Ant	peacock, black	10-16
Sparkle Dun	yellow, brown	14-16
Stimulator	Green, orange, yellow	8-14

20 incher	Peacock	8-10
griffith's gnat	peacock	16-20
Renegade	peacock	14-20
PMX	Red, yellow, green	12-16

Coeur d'Alene River Description

A beautiful mountain river with many miles of great public access a short 40 minutes from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. West Slope Cutthroat are the native species and the river is catch and release only on these pretty fish. There is some pre runoff fishing most years but the season is best from mid May through the end of September. There is an excellent gallery of photos on the photo sharing website, www.flickr.com, ...

Techniques & Tips

Water is low and clear so downsizing tippet and fly size should increase your production. Look for the big pools to still hold some fish especially in the heads of runs, but also spend some time walking between the pools fishing the smaller little buckets and riffles.

7-Day Forecast

River is low for this time of year so you might as well hit it now. Cooler water up high should keep fish healthy, but they will become more wary and tougher to catch as the summer progresses.