Week of March 25, 2009
A dead computer contributed to lack of reports over the winter. Will be able to post them from now on.
South Fork of the Boise
The South Fork closes on March 31. Don’t expect a 50 fish day if you travel to the South Fork, but you might catch the rainbow of your career. Midges and spring baetis are on the menu if you find risers. If not fish a weighted double nymph rig of your choice in the deep water and off the riffle shelves. A stonefly nymph in black or dark brown will produce if you don’t want to mess with the risers or there is no hatch.
Yellowstone Park
We had a great last year guiding in the Park. If you have never fished Yellowstone you owe it to yourself, and we would love to help you out. Our trips are 3 to 5 day excursions. June and Sept. are our favorite months. In June we fish the Firehole, the Madison, the Gibbon, Duck Creek, the Gallitan on some years and some lessor known streams. In September we concentrate on the Lamar Valley fishing Slough Creek, the Yellowstone, Soda Butte Creek, Trout Lake and the Lamar River. We already have bookings in September so if you are interested let us know as lodging can be difficult if you wait too long. It is our international domestic trip.
Mountain Lakes
Skiis, snow shovel and ice auger????
Big Wood River
Closes March 31. The Wood has fished well all winter. This last week will probably not change much, as it has cooled and is freezing at night. Expect to see some midge activity. The dry or emerging midge can be frustrating, but also provide some fun, challenging fishing. Try a small adams with a dry griffiths gnat, LRO midge emerger, or get wet with a zebra midge dropped from the adams. 6X must be fished on the midge. Girdle bugs or stonefly nymphs have been working all winter in black or brown, in sizes 8 or 10.
Capnia, the flightless black stonefly is also around. A size 14 black rubber legs nymph with a black or olive zebra midge in a double nymph rig is also very effective. Fishing two of your favorite weighted small nymphs is always a go to set up. Take your time on the back cast or you will spend most of your fishing day, reworking aerial macrame. Best fishing from about 11 am to 5 pm on the Big Wood.
Big Lost River
The Big Lost also closes at the end of March. This is one of our favorite times to fish the Big Lost. The set up is nearly the same as the Big Wood. The trout are generally larger right now, and some are beginning to spawn so you should be aware of the redds and avoid them. You will want to be on the water by 10 am as surface activity can start as early as 11 am. With the drive around through Arco departure should be by 7:30 or 8:00.
Spring baetis is the great hatch on the Lower Lost now. It can last from 1 to 3 hours. It is a big fly by baetis standards, about a 17 or 18 with a tall slate wing and olive body. Drys, emergers, and nymphs in the baetis category on 6X tippet are the key. The high-vis baetis is one of my favorite dry imitations for this hatch. The midges will mix with the baetis so if you have trouble hooking up and are fishing risers, a good trick is to fish an unweighted size 16-18 dark pheasant tail on 6X flourocarbon with an adams indicator. The pt nymph is close enough to the baetis nymph and the rather large midge pupae to be very effective. The lower Lost is probably the best trout stream in Idaho, treat it well, and enjoy.
Little Wood River (Desert)
No reports, but the ice should be gone by now and a large prince nymph might give you an idea of the trout population in this dessert stream. By May look for the giant stones to begin hatching and we will know if we have a fishery this year. It has suffered for the last five years from low flows due to dry conditions and over use of upstream waters that once made this one of our best dry fly brown fisheries in the state.
Silver Creek
Closed Feb. 28
Carey Lake
No good reports. With the ice gone the bluegill and bass must have left the hot springs pool and dispersed in the lake.
Salmon River
Warming water on the Salmon have started the spring migration into the Stanley Basin. Fishing for steelhead has been good on the mid river on warm days around Salmon and Challis, for the past month. They are now above Challis and easily reachable on a day trip from the valley. We were up over last weekend and had two very good days, even hooking three fish above Torrey’s Hole. The better fishing was around Clayton or below. The water temp last Friday reached 46 degrees and we watched migrating fish. The Pahsimeroi hatchery reports nearly 374 fish as of March 24. The Sawtooth opened the weir on March 20, in anticipation of returning fish. It will be a good season with about 25,000 more steelhead returning to Idaho than the 10 year average. We are hoping for the adult return of the giant run of large, wild four year ocean fish we experienced in 2003. The lodge record was set that year with a 38 1/2 inch buck fish. There were a great many large wild fish that year and their progeny could show this year. Bob Sevy, who has lived on the Salmon most of his life, told me over the weekend that he hooked the biggest fish he has ever seen on the Salmon. We experienced cookie cutter hatchery and supplement fish over the weekend, but fun none the less. On warm days you can have success swinging flies, on cold water days better success can be had by nymphing. Our steelhead patterns are stocked, so stop by the shop on your way up.
Closing Notes
We are running about 90 to 100 percent precipitation in our local watersheds. With a wet spring we should have normal runoff and good summer water conditions. Support your local conservation groups so you don’t have to travel to South America or New Zealand to experience the best of Idaho.
Fish far and fine,
Scott Schnebly
Lost River Outfitters