Fly fishing the North Fork Coeur d'Alene River

I had the opportunity to travel up into the Idaho panhandle to look for some Westslope Cutthroats. The rivers here in North Idaho are so very different than those in Norcal. They have gentle slopes of smooth river rock with easy moving currents. The banks lined with pines and that crystal clear water and unbelievably pretty Cutts made for an unbelievable day of fishing.
Thanks James for coming out to fish with me. I hope we can do it again!
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OUTLINE
0:00 Drone Footage
2:35 First new Species, Mountain Whitefish
4:18 Second new Species, Westslope Cutthroat
9:46 Moved to the Little North Fork Coeur d'Alene River
17:07 The best Cutthroat of the day
25:00 Fishing Report
Music graciously provided and performed by Dirtwire.
Songs: Sain Reign, Lord Almighty and You.
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[@cascadeflyfisher1489]

Exciting adventure !!!

[@cascadeflyfisher1489]

Beautiful cuttie

[@RosinFlyFishing]

Nice looking river! It is always fun exploring new water and congrats on the whitefish and cutthroat!

[@driftstone]

Thanks man! I'm actually feeling super pumped to go on some new adventures now. I need to get to plannin'. I'm genuinely excited to see what your new rivers look like!

[@familyflyties3913]

Loved the waters you are fishing. Such clear and beautiful running waters with nice fish. I love seeing the active top water hits around 22 min in.

[@driftstone]

Yeah, they were feeding aggressively there, sadly, I couldn't connect with them. It was a beautiful river system! Can't wait to go back up there!

[@CalledCollectiveMedia]

Heck yeah! That looks epic. West slopes are a species I have yet to check off the list! Great work Eric!

[@driftstone]

Thanks Cole! They're definitely worth hunting, they're super pretty!

[@FreeFormFlyFisher]

Beautiful cuttie and the under water shot was primo. Nice video brotha

[@driftstone]

Thanks man, that water made the fish look so bright and vibrant.

[@FlyFishDan]

Nice to see you up in my neck of the woods! Can't wait to try that river myself - cheers!

[@driftstone]

Man, I'm jealous you have access to all this awesome nearby. I can't wait to go back.

[@tightliningmd]

Gorgeous intro and very relaxing. Good to see you in something other than sandals lol. Red dart is a money fly. Big river there, definitely tough to pick water apart in featureless systems that are that large, so I give you credit for having such a good day. The little north fork is more up my alley :) Enjoyed the video and thanks for sharing!

[@driftstone]

Haha, I feel the same way about wading boots. They feel like i'm wearing a cast. I'm with ya, the Little NF was my favorite too. I'd probably want to hit the main NF with a driftboat if I were to go there again, or go way up stream.

[@mr.striper6296]

What a blast.

[@driftstone]

Thank you sir!

[@TroutFlies]

Congrats on the Cutts (and the whitey)! Clearly you could feel bigfoot watching you. Thats why you were whispering.

[@driftstone]

Haha, I bet you're right about bigfoot, there was this feeling I couldn't shake :D

[@tomlevine9889]

Took my son to the Flaming Gorge in late June. Flows were 5X normal, but we caught 40-50 fish on San Juan worms. All 12-16" mostly browns, some rainbows and some rainbow/cutthroat hybrids. Unbelievably fun and tiring. Didn't make it to the Pit or McCloud as hoped. Going to Crooked River in central Oregon in a couple weeks. Great video, fun to watch you have success and struggles like the rest of us. Hope to see you out there soon.

[@driftstone]

That's awesome, the Green is legendary fishing. With catch rates like that, I can see why you'd get tired out :D The gorge the Crooked river flows through is insane, have fun up there. One of these days I need to explore Oregon more.

[@cascadeflyfisher1489]

This fall I’m going home and gonna hit kelly creek and the north fork of the clearwater

[@driftstone]

That sounds amazing! You could spend a lifetime fishing in Idaho!

[@cascadeflyfisher1489]

@@driftstone for sure and never fish it all

[@cascadeflyfisher1489]

Next you need to do the st Joseph

[@driftstone]

Yep, 100%. That's the next one on my list when I go back up there.

[@Dogatemyhomework927]

Beautiful structure. Is it slippery?

[@driftstone]

Not a bit, the rocks did not have any algae on them.

[@straithill5965]

Why does it look like you are not using fly line? Really long leader?

[@driftstone]

When I was euro nymphing, that rod has a long 20' leader so the line rarely comes off the spool. The indicator drifts had a standard leader

[@straithill5965]

@@driftstone Thanks. Thanks for your videos!

[@driftstone]

And thank you watch enjoying them. Helps keep the stoke high 😂