Coeur d'Alene, ID

While camping at Graham Creek up the Coeur d’Alene River recently my husband and I went to Steamboat Pond to go fishing. I am never very lucky in the river so I was glad for some still water to try my luck, and boy did I have luck. On my first cast I caught a 12-inch rainbow and I was hooked, if you know what I mean. I soon found out that it wasn’t so much that I was a master fisherman as the fact that the stocked pond is teeming with fish.

Standing on the dock that juts out over the pond you can watch the fish jumping all over the surface just asking to be caught. I fished with a lure and they seemed to really like it, because my husband also tried some bait fishing and they weren’t as attracted to that. Those little rainbow trout that they stock the pond with are real fighters, which makes catching them all the more satisfying.

While the fishing was amazing, we were also surprised by some other wildlife. A river otter and her three babies live in the pond and swam back and forth for us several times while overhead a bald eagle sat atop a tree stealing fish away from the osprey. We also saw a few turtles along the shoreline. This really is a great place to take your children and anyone really from beginner to old pros. The parks department has placed a nice picnic table here and also a porta-potty, so you can really spend all day with your family and enjoy a picnic too.

Steamboat Pond is located off the Kingston exit on I-90. Travel north and you will see signs for the pond about 6 miles past Bumblebee Campground. If you need a little more of a fishing challenge, try the area near Coal Creek which is just a few miles more up the road. The Steamboat Pond has a 6 fish limit, and with the catch and release rules on Cutthroat in the river right now, this is a good place to catch your dinner. My family will definitely be returning to Steamboat Pond in the near future and have put it on our list of favorite family hangouts.