Variety of productive locales hide in the U.S. interior

By DAVE WILKINS
Capital Press

Whether trolling a lake, bank fishing or casting a fly in the middle of a stream, anglers can find some of the best freshwater fishing right here in the West. Here are a few great spots.

Spring Creek

Fly fishing is practically a religion in the Northern Rockies, and many an angler has made the pilgrimage to Silver Creek. Even writer Ernest Hemingway fished here.

"It's literally one of the most famous fishing spots in the world," said Ed Mitchell, a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

Anglers from as far away as Europe and Asia come to Silver Creek in south-central Idaho and Henry's Fork on the Upper Snake River in Eastern Idaho for the chance to hook a beautiful rainbow or brown trout.

Silver Creek is spring-fed and stays at a constant temperature year around.

The fishing at Silver Creek is "probably as good now as it's ever been," Mitchell said.

"The fish are big, and the bug life is really prolific."

Contact: Silver Creek Outfitters, www.silver-creek.com

Deschutes River

Trout is the No. 1 game fish in Oregon, and there are few better places to find them than the Deschutes.

Rainbows indigenous to the river are often referred to as "redsides" because they're believed to be hybrids of cutthroat and rainbows.

The Deschutes is also a great place to catch chinook salmon and steelhead.

Bait anglers can try their luck from Sherars Falls downstream to the railroad trestle below Buckhollow Creek on the lower Deschutes, state fish and game officers advised in a fishing report released in late April.

"This stretch of river is one of the best opportunities in the state to catch spring chinook from the bank," the report said.

Contact: www.flyfishingdeschutes.com

Kern River

Central California is well known for its abundant agriculture, but this river is proof that freshwater fishing in the Golden State is alive and well.

"A hike into the wilds of upper Kern River will introduce you to the most brilliantly colored wild rainbows on earth," wrote John Ross, author of "Trout Unlimited's Guide to America's 100 Best Trout Streams."

With its major tributaries, the Kern River offers more than 100 miles of wilderness fishing. There are more than two dozen local species here, including trout, bigmouth bass and catfish.

The California golden trout are native to the South Fork Kern River and Golden Trout Creek, and they're among the most brilliantly colored trout you'll ever see. The California Legislature named them the official freshwater state fish.

Contact: www.kernriverflyfishing.com 

Lake Chelan

A popular resort area in north-central Washington, Lake Chelan has also become a hot spot for year-round fishing.

It's the largest natural lake in Washington, stretching more than 50 miles from the town of Chelan to Stehekin.

You'll find kokanee, chinook salmon, cutthroat trout, lake trout or Mackinaw, bass and other game fish here.

The state lake trout record has been broken three times at Lake Chelan in the last few years. Good fishing for nice-sized kokanee is usually available from mid-April through June. The daily limit on kokanee this year is 10 fish, which are not included in the trout daily limit.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has been stocking triploid landlocked chinook salmon fry in Lake Chelan for the past five years. These fish are now abundant enough to provide a legitimate opportunity of catching one, state fisheries officers said.

Contact: www.lakechelan.com

Idaho: Dworshak Reservoir

If lake fishing is your thing, paradise awaits you in North Idaho.

Dworshak boasts excellent populations of kokanee salmon, rainbow and cutthroat trout and smallmouth bass.

The best kokanee fishing of the year can be had in April, May and June, with fishing usually starting to get good in mid to late March.

A kokanee population survey conducted last fall by the state fish and game department revealed high numbers of fish, so anglers should expect some good fishing this spring.

The last few years have also seen intense interest in the bass fishery at Dworshak, state fish and game officers said.

In 2006, at least two smallmouth bass, each weighing more than 9 pounds, were caught in the reservoir. Both fish shattered the old state record by more than a pound, with the biggest fish pushing the record to 9 pounds, 11 ounces.

Contact: Orofino Chamber of Commerce, www.orofino.com/pointsofinterest.htm