Pike Fishing - Where and When?

[RobertH]

I'm from Western Washington and would like to do some pike fishing this summer in either Eastern Wa or No. Idaho. Any suggestions of good places to go and where to get detailed information about specific fishing locations, when the best times are, and maybe some lodging suggestions. We have a boat (both a small rowboat with motor and a 16' boat.)
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Bob

[kevinb]

Hey Bob,

I'm no pro but will try to help you out as best as I can.
Spring time might be some of the best fishing. You can find tons of pike stacked up in the shallows during the spawn.
Some big females,followed by smaller males. Some good things to keep an eye out on is bulrushes. Pike seem to really enjoy hiding in here before the water gets to warm and be sure to fish the sloughs on the Pend Oreille river.
These areas will hold pike most of the year,however,the big pike typically head back out to deeper/cooler water
once the summer time temps go up. In the hotter months I look for more dropoffs or points that are very close to dropoffs. Its really hard to say what baits will produce the best,they all seem to work at some point. Spinnerbaits,cranks,swims,jigs,bucktails and so on,one lure that is often overlooked is the spoon,spoons are a must
have in the tacklebox in my opinion. Rapala Husky Jerks are another great producer.

A few places to lodge/camp are The Outpost Resort on the Pend Oreille http://outpostresort.net/
Camp Coeur D'Alene(located in Wolf Lodge Bay) on Lake Coeur d'Alene. My family and I stayed here back in August,a nice place and treated very well. http://campcda.com/
Lake Killarney has a decent campground but might be considered "Primitive" The campsites are small but are right on the lake. I believe they are operated on a first come,first serve basis but I can't confirm that.

I'm limited on time at the moment and I'm sure I left out more info but theirs plenty of folks on here that can jump in and help you out. Hope this is useful,good luck and welcome to Washington Lakes.

[sparky1doug]

Kevin sent you on the right path. North Idaho has a great number of places to go for Pike, Coeurd'Alene Lake being the crown jewel, However the Cd'A River drainage is the home to many lakes which produce very well, Kelarney Lake is part of that chain. Eastern Washington has the up and come'er the Pend Oreille River that features the Box Canyon Res. it holds a heathy population of Northerns and LMB and SMB. If you want to follow whats going on, you should join the Muskie Forum from time to time. We talk Muskie and a little Pike every now and again.

[BARCHASER10]

If you are interested in Walleyes, one of my best friends lives in Columbia City OR. I fish with him 3-4 times a year on the Willy and the C for springers, URBs and whatever is running. He is also a serious Walleye fisher and he does real well on the C near Camas and in the Multnomah channel. I fished with him one day last June for Walleyes in the MC after we fished for springers on the Willy. We only fished a few hours near St Helens and we got four, 2-4 pounds. Only time I ever fished for Walleyes. The guys that fish for Walleyes around there dont talk about it much, but there were several other boats fishing around us for Walleyes.

[Fish-N-Fool]

I live in Idaho and fish all the local lakes and rivers incuding the Hayden lake, CDA lake and Chain lakes and the best place by far IMHO for Pike fishing is the P.O. River in Washington, so you wouldn't even need an out of state license. I fish out of the Oldtown boat launch across from Newport, Wa. most of the time just over the Wa/ ID boarder. There is some great fishing there for LM & SM bass and Pike, if you know there to go. We got some real monsters in this area last year with 6 fish over 30" and 1 over 40". This stretch of the river can be very hazardous to navigate if you don't know it , (lots of dead heads and hidden rocks) so be carefull if you take your own boat, If you buy the gas I'd be happy to take you out in my boat. The best time is mid-May till the end of June, but you can catch fish till late September.

[Kfedka]

I live in Idaho and fish all the local lakes and rivers incuding the Hayden lake, CDA lake and Chain lakes and the best place by far IMHO for Pike fishing is the P.O. River in Washington, so you wouldn't even need an out of state license. I fish out of the Oldtown boat launch across from Newport, Wa. most of the time just over the Wa/ ID boarder. There is some great fishing there for LM & SM bass and Pike, if you know there to go. We got some real monsters in this area last year with 6 fish over 30" and 1 over 40". This stretch of the river can be very hazardous to navigate if you don't know it , (lots of dead heads and hidden rocks) so be carefull if you take your own boat, If you buy the gas I'd be happy to take you out in my boat. The best time is mid-May till the end of June, but you can catch fish till late September.

I offer to buy you gas if you take me out!:bounce:
Fished it three times and got skunked on pikes, did catch some smaller bass though.

[Fish-N-Fool]

I offer to buy you gas if you take me out!:bounce:
Fished it three times and got skunked on pikes, did catch some smaller bass though.

Sure Kfed, If you are a catch and release fisherman for the bass I would be happy to take you out and show you the river.

[kevinb]

Just to add further,Heyburn State Park located on the south end of Cd'A is another great option for camping,very clean and has a boat launch but it books fast.
Lake Coeur d'Alene has many campgrounds,some are operated by state and county and some are private party.
Hayden Lake has a couple on the north end but I don't know much about them. I'm attending a pike tourney
out here and I'm curious about there setup. I'll report back.
Anyhow,hope this is helpful. Good luck!