Blue Lake, Idaho: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Set in Kootenai County, Idaho, this is Blue Lake. Country round the bank runs to open valley. Surface area runs to roughly 341 acres, so plan for one area rather than the whole. The shoreline runs about 3.7 miles, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. It is low-lying compared with other Idaho water we list. Head to Saint Maries, 13 miles away, for anything you forgot. The big place round here is Spokane, 37 miles distant. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Blue Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Across Kootenai County, recorded fish include rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, sockeye salmon and channel catfish. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. The near bank of Blue Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect August near 65°F and January near 29°F on the long-run figures. A long season, with weather mattering more than the month. In a normal year the cover is thin and short-lived. The hot months push the fishing to dawn and dusk. Plan around that when you fish Blue Lake. The week either side of a change of season often fishes hardest.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. A pier half a mile from here gives a platform over deeper water. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Thompson Lake, 2.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Blue Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.