Settling into Hope

Some of you may already know that I left southwest Washington and moved to northern Idaho. My wife and I settled into the small town of Hope, Idaho on the eastern shores of Lake Pend Oreille. In part I made this move for a job but also I was ready to tackle a whole new suite of fisheries that were largely unfamiliar to me. At the risky of sounding cocky I felt like I had dialed in a lot of the kayak fisheries in sw. WA. It may seem counter-intuitive to leave a place after you just figured everything out but then again I've always been drawn to the unknown and the adventure of learning something new.

I've been here just about a month and have managed to squeeze in some kayak fishing. I live about 1500' from a ramp on Ellisport Bay. I started out one sunny afternoon trolling crankbait and maglips along rocky shelves out in front of my new hometown. I found 7 Smallies in a few hours of trolling including this nearly 18" fish which also provides a good view of my hometown in the background.



Later I spent some time on the big lake in search of walleye but was instead surprised to find a very healthy population of Yellow Perch willing to take worm harnesses. Including this monster 14.5" perch. Later I combined kokanee and yellow perch to make for delicious and diverse fish taco combo.





The weather as of late has made fishing Lake Pend Oreille a bit more challenging so I've shifted to focusing smaller regional lakes. Recently I was able to complete my first trout "tri-fecta" from the kayak catching Brown, Western Slope Cutthroat, and Rainbow Trout from the kayak all in one day. I boated 6 trout between 17-22" in size as well a half dozen Largemouth Bass up to 4.5 in size.







However, fishing for giant Rainbow Trout on Lake Pend Oreille is moving into its prime. I've just started connecting with these fish but have failed to connect with a monster of the USA's largest strain of non genetically modified Rainbow Trout but I know its only a matter of time. After all, the not knowing is what it is all about.

With Lake Pend Oreille sitting right there in your reach, and some good afternoon wind, the likes of an Adventure Island or Tandem Island might be an optional upgrade to your fishing platforms.

It was great to meet you the other day. Thanks for the lure choice tips! 

It good to have another kayak fisher in the area.  I look forward to future hookups with you.   I have been thinking about the adventure island upgrade myself!


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Nice work! Learning a new fishery is one of the most fun and frustrating things and I'm sure you'll have them figured out in no time.

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Good to hear from you Tyler and that things are going good for the both of you.  It must be awesome to have a lake that close.  Good choice for a home.

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I loved the pictures.  I hope I can come up and fish Pend o'reille next year some time!

There is some monster walleye in that lake. I got to spend some time down around Bayview. I also caught a beast of a carp with a brussel sprout on a dare.