We had a family vacation on Lake Pend Oreille 2 summers ago. It is a wonderful place. We rented a home on Bottle Bay, took the boat along and enjoyed the place to the max. I envy anyone getting to enjoy the area for an extended period of time.
Per Black's, there are 2 fly shops in Sand Point. One is Pine Street Pawn and Fly Fishing Shop. I checked it out when we were there. The pawnshop is set up seasonally for fly-fishing and has a very nice selection. It wasn't Kaufmann's or Creekside, but was much better then GI Joe's. The other is Outdoor Experience. I didn't get a chance to look it over. We were there in the summer. The lake fish were holding deep as per what other have said on this thread. I tried fishing for the many fish I found on the finder at depths to 20', but had no takers. I understand the real lunkers (there is that word again) hold much deeper in the summer. Options for summer fishing the area are the Pack River and the Clarks Fork. Bank access on the CF is difficult. If you have access to a boat,(sled or other shallow draft type boat, maybe jet ski) the mouth and lower river appear offer a lots of options. Not knowing the water, I did not venture up river, but tried bank fishing. This is a big river with lots of private property. Where I was able to get to the water, there was lots of evening surface activity and willing fish for droppers attached to dries. I did not fish the Pack. This is a small river, large creek. Easily wadable from what I saw from the local golf course. I was told public access was available and that the fish were small. I would expect that larger fish would move up stream seasonally. You would need to check on fishing regulations. Another option the fly/pawn shop told me about was going north to the Kootenai. I didn't try it and wish I had. I understand the Koot to be a large river with varying and strong current flows. The fish are reported to be strong and eager. For an Idaho and Montana river it is reputed to be under fished, a real sleeper. Regards, Mike Santangelo
