Lake Waha

A 94-acre lake with limited public access - most shoreline is privately owned. The IDFG access site provides a dock and boat ramp for boaters. Water levels can fluctuate greatly. Good for kokanee, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, and stocked rainbow trout.

Species: Kokanee Salmon, Yellow Perch, Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout. Difficulty: intermediate. Some experience pays off here.

Best timing: Spring and Summer and Fall. Spring fishing keys on warming water and emerging insects. Summer fishes best at first light and late evening; midday is technical. Fall is prime — heavy feeding before winter, fewer crowds.

Regulations: Clearwater Region Bag Limits. Trout limit 6. Always confirm with the current IDFG rule book before fishing.

Clearwater context

The Clearwater drainage is steelhead country — specifically B-run fish that spend an extra year at sea and arrive at trophy sizes from October through March. Dworshak Reservoir holds the state-record smallmouth and an outsized kokanee fishery. Above the reservoir, the North Fork stays cold and productive year-round; the Lochsa and Selway feed in as wild and scenic westslope cutthroat strongholds. Lewiston, Orofino, and Kamiah are the staging towns.

Plan for the experience level the fishery rewards.