Important reminder about kokanee salmon: Anglers may not keep kokanee salmon caught at any waterbody statewide from Sept. 10 through Nov. 30 to protect kokanee during the spawning season. Kokanee fishing will typically start to pick up a little after ice comes on in January. 

Cutthroat and rainbow trout: Cutthroat and rainbow fishing really starts to pick up as the water cools in mid-September through ice-on. This can be some of the fastest fishing of the year. This can be some of the fastest fishing of the year. Anglers can often pick up numerous small- to-medium-sized cutthroat by trolling a white or green tube jig (3–4 inches) — tipped with a small piece of worm — just under the surface about 100 feet behind the boat at 1.0 to 1.8 mph. Giving the jig a tug every once in a while, and letting it back out slowly to your set trolling distance, helps entice fish to actually hit or take the jig. When using this trolling method, keep the rod in hand and be ready to set the hook when you feel a bite, as the fish will rarely hook themselves. Tipping the jig with a small piece of worm on the hook can often produce numerous strikes from the same fish, giving you multiple chances to hook the fish, rather than potentially only having one shot to set the hook. Tube jigs can also be effective, jigging them vertically from a boat, float tube, or kick boat (either anchored/stationary, or while slowly drifting with a slight breeze) rather than trolling. The trick with jigging tubes is being able to find the best location and depth to intercept fish. Rocky points and steeper shoreline areas are good locations to target. Finding the right depth often requires a bit of trial and error. Having a fish finder can be very helpful. Another effective method for anglers fishing jigs from a boat or kick boat is casting toward the shore, and retrieving out from the shore. This method, in particular, is a good way to target larger cutthroat trout cruising closer to shore. Hard plastic minnow imitations and topwater lures can also produce fish closer to shore, particularly fished along or perpendicular to shorelines. Larger cutthroat are often caught in the fall along the shorelines with these methods. Trolling or casting frozen minnows in shallower water can also be an effective method for catching larger cutthroat, but you typically do not catch as many fish (compared to using active methods). Fly fishing, particularly from float tubes and kick boats, can be very successful in October and November for cutthroat and rainbows. Various fly patterns (typically olive or darker colors) and fly lines produce good catch rates in the fall. The trick is finding the right depth and the right speed of the retrieve. Rainbows are often caught during these fall months by anglers bait fishing from shore and bait fishing from anchored boats (typically targeting water less than 30 feet deep). Trout dough baits and nightcrawlers fished off the bottom, or below a bobber closer to the surface, regularly produce fall rainbows. Angler location is important. Again, focus on points and steeper shorelines.