Sun Valley Fishing Report - August 15, 2016

Callibaetis! Anglers, you don't have to get up early to catch the only hatches of the day anymore! The Callibaetis has come to the stillwater sections of Silver Creek in large numbers. The action has been starting around noon and peaking around 2:00 p.m. By 4:00 p.m. the action is over for the day. These hours are always able to change day to day, but as a guideline, eat an early lunch and get to the river in the heat of the day. Bring your float tube as the best fishing during Callibaetis hatches centers around the Kilpatrick Bridge area. If you don't have a tube, we will rent you one, or you can check out the bank fishing on Sullivan's Slough! 

We have a huge selection of Callibaetis and we pick our patterns specifically for the Creek!

John

Sun Valley / Picabo Fishing Report - June 21, 2016

The last week of muddy water is upon us. Stay patient people! Looking at the CFS (Cubic Feet Per Second) graphs this week, the flows are no longer making the big downward and upward swings. The graphs are now showing the flows adjusting with nighttime and daytime temperatures. This means the volume will begin to decrease at a slower pace, but the water should begin to clear rapidly.

Once again, when you decide to get out on our freestone streams. Wear a tight wading belt, fish with a friend and PLEASE leave your dog at home. Every year dogs perish the high flows of the Big Wood. Don’t let yours be next.

Looking ahead to clear water have your Green Drakes ready, as well as your Stimulators and your favorite dropper flies, like Copper Johns, Prince Nymphs, and Pheasant Tails. Try to find soft water in side channels and along the banks. The river is most likely going to fish best very low (South of Bellevue) and very high (North of Ketchum).

Silver Creek continues to fish very well. The afternoons are still where it’s at for the best hatches and most fish rising. PMD, Callibaetis, Green Drakes, Blue Damsel, Baetis Spinners, Ants and Beetles are all important to your fly box. Looking ahead, get your Trico selection in order. They are anywhere from two weeks to one month away. Baby Hoppers are also starting to appear in good numbers, so be sure to add that fly box to your bag!

The South Fork of the Boise continues to baffle us like always. Caddis are prolific at night, but not a lot of fish eating them. The big foam flies will work one day, then not another. Salmon Flies have yet to make a serious appearance, although this week that hatch should begin with some vigor. The best fly continues to be Salmon Fly nymphs fished deep, or Copper John / Small Stone Nymph combinations, also fished deep.

Finally, the Little Wood should begin to fish soon, although right now the mosquitos in the vicinity are trying to compete for your blood and they are all winning! If you go when the water drops to fishable flows, be sure to target the middle of the day and bring bug spray and appropriate clothing! Green Drakes and Stimulators are the flies for this area, just scale everything back a size or two, including leader length and fly size.

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Sun Valley / Picabo Fishing Update - June 17, 2016

A super cold and windy day sure made fishing tough yesterday. The only anglers that saw great hatches were the ones that fished the last hour of light. Things are returning to normal today. Temperatures are supposed to be near 80 degrees. 

Warmer temps should bring back the Green Drake and Blue Damsels on the Creek, giving afternoon anglers something to imitate. 

Baetis Spinners, PMD, and Callibaetis also remain big players along with Ants and Beetles. Anglers willing to stay late are going to catch more fish as the afternoon hours seems to be where it is at this season! 

The Wood and Lost are still dropping and clearing. Higher temps should bring them up a touch, but they may be fishable in a few areas. If you try the freestone rivers this weekend, PLEASE BE CAREFUL! Wading belts should be mandatory, fish with a friend and be sure to let people know where you are going. Most importantly - LEAVE YOUR DOG AT HOME - until the water drops to manageable flows. 

Have fun, but be safe.

John

Sun Valley / Picabo Area Fishing Report - June 15, 2016

A massive hole has been left in the Sun Valley fly fishing community. Dave Faltings from Silver Creek Outfitters passed after a hell of a fight against ALS. Dave will be entered into fishing lore as a true legend. A guy that could bring Steelhead to his dry fly, while the rest of us tried to get a strike any way we could. If Dave met you, he knew you and remembered you each time he saw you. His prowess as a fly angler only being surpassed by his prowess as a kind hearted friend to many. If you knew Dave, take some time this week to catch a fish in his honor then sit quietly and reflect on how we can all be more like him. We may never get there, but people like Dave are rare, and anything we can do to emulate him will make us, and the people around us, better.

Silver Creek was loved dearly by Dave. If you go to fish this week, plan on cooler temperatures bringing the Baetis hatches and Spinner Falls to the forefront. Hot weather bugs like the Green Drake, Callibaetis, and Blue Damsel may come into play, but it will be late afternoon before temps are right for these insects. PMD action should continue to show late in the day and some in the morning. Ants and Beetles are still hot patterns and should remain so for the better part of the summer. Expect the action to move toward the Ant and away from the Beetle as summer progresses.

The Big Wood is dropping in a hurry and the cool temperatures this week should provide us a fishery! Plan on Stimulators with Prince Nymph droppers, or Colorado Green Drakes with Epoxy Back Green Drake droppers. If the water clears and stays clear the Green Drake action should explode with the warm days forecast for Sunday and early next week.

The Upper Lost is following the same path as the Big Wood. Normally the Lost would clear after the Wood, but with the higher elevation and cold nights this week, we can probably plan on some fishing up there by weeks end.

The South Fork of the Boise should be coming on this week. Salmon Flies and Caddis are due on the river and the current Cicada situation looks very good! Midweek fishing will help you avoid the crowds on the weekend. If you have a strong skill set on the oars, start on the lower river. If not, stay up high.

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Sun Valley / Picabo Area Fishing Update - June 14, 2016

Clouds and wind have made the Creek anyone's guess today. A slow morning should be followed by a great afternoon. Yesterday's biggest hatches began around 5:00 p.m. Although most anglers show up on the Creek in the morning, the afternoon hours have had the best fishing ever since Opening Day several weeks ago. 

If you have the time, show up on the Creek around 3:00 p.m. and stay until dark for the best fishing of the day. If you are restricted to morning and afternoon fishing then load up on all the options; PMD, BWO, Ant, Beetle, Green Drake, Callibaetis and Damsel Fly. 

The Mouse fishing is as good as ever if you plan to stay past dark! We'll see you in Picabo!

John

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - Opening Day Forecast, 2016

Listen Idaho, you can hear the sounds of tailgates slamming shut and the hiss of float tubes being aired up. You can hear the slow click of reels as line gets strung through rod guides. You can hear the crisp snap of a fly box being closed. Under those tones you can hear muted noises like oars being shuffled into place and strapped into boats, and the distinct crinkling of waders as they come out of a bag totally dry for the first time this year. Soon these sounds will be replaced by the swish of legs in water and whisps of casts placed far over the water. Opening Day is upon us!

Silver Creek is the place to be for Opening Weekend! Join Picabo Angler on Friday night for the Picabo Premiere of Hank Patterson’s “Mystery of the Cuttyrainbrown Trout.” Showing in our airplane hangar at 8:30 p.m. Bring a camp chair and your hardiest laugh! Saturday the festivities continue with our Opening Day BBQ! Starting at 11:30.

If you are fishing Silver Creek this weekend plan on seeing a few hatches. Callibaetis have been the most prolific as of late. Baetis is always a possibility especially if we see a lot of cloud cover and have a few P.M.D. patterns just in case…

Regardless of the hatches you can count on Terrestrials caring the day. Be sure to have plenty of Ants and Beetles in a variety of sizes. Large Chernobyl patterns can be good in adverse weather, and smaller flies like Flying Ants and Crowe Beetles will be effective if the water stays glassed over.

Anglers sticking around for the night fishing will find Mouse Patterns effective, and Brown Drakes will be coming into the mix soon enough. Probably not this weekend, but probably not far behind either. Anglers that don’t want to be out late can opt for getting up early and fishing Streamers in the gray morning light.

The South Fork of the Boise will also be fishable on the opener. The river is at driftboat levels and Nymphing with big flies like Girdle Bugs and Salmon Fly Nymphs is your best bet. Smaller nymphs like Copper Johns and Hares Ears are also excellent choices.

Plan on run-off effecting most of our rivers over the weekend, which will make places like Silver Creek busier than normal. Please remember to be kind and share your experiences as best you can with your fellow anglers!

Happy Opening Day Everyone!

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - August 17, 2015

August continues to provide dramatic weather and excellent fishing! Although, upon first glance at the Wood River Valley, first time visitors may see the Big Wood running dirty and smoke in the air. This is simply “smoke and mirrors” trying to hide wonderful fishing everywhere else!

Silver Creek continues to put on epic morning shows that consist of Trico Spinner Falls, but each morning other bugs and sometimes all the other bugs join in. Don’t head to the river without Trico, Baetis, P.M.D. and Callibaetis. In the afternoon the game is Hoppers and Callibaetis. The evening brings back all the bugs except Trico, and the Mousing remains as god as we’ve ever seen it. We’re only a few short weeks from Mahogany Duns, so get your patterns now. Most area fly shops stock very little of this fly, so the best patterns to be had are available now, and may be hard to find in a few weeks.

Trico continues on the Lower Lost as well, but don’t leave your Hoppers, Crane Flies, and Ants at home! The flows have been sporadic, but mostly fishable. Expect to see plenty of your fellow angler, but a weekday and an early start will get you on the fish.

The Big Wood continues to run muddy, then clear, then muddy, then clear…I’d continue but “word count.” When it is clear, Hoppers, Streamers, Rusty Spinners, Caddis and Trico are all must have flies.

The Upper Lost is fishing well if you are willing to walk. The falling water levels make the holding water spotty and far between. Small Attractors, Hoppers, Ants and some Trico will continue to take fish.

The South Fork of the Boise remains relatively quiet. Pink Albert is the hatch and some excellent Hopper fishing can be had out of a boat. Water levels remain near 1800 CFS, which is excellent for boating, although new rapids remain in place, so scout the river once if you haven’t been down since the fires there.

A word about Ants. This must be the most prolific Flying Ant year we have ever seen. Take this bug on any body of water right now and you are in business. We can only chalk this up to some natural / cyclical event. In any case we don’t care why it is happening, just that it is. Fish that seemingly won’t come to the surface, have been rocketing off the bottom to ingest size 16 /14 cinnamon and black Ants!

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - June 29, 2015

Green Drake madness continues throughout the Sun Valley area! Valley wide we are seeing great hatches and spinner falls of the Green Drake. On the Big Wood expect to see the Drake hatching strong mid-valley with a push up into Ketchum and North by weeks end. The timing of the hatch this year is generally 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. The Drake loves to hatch in the heat of the day, and with all the “extra” heat this summer the timing of the hatch has moved to an earlier time. Normally 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. would be more like it. The Green Drake can also be found first thing in the morning, before the sun gets on the water. Look to fish the spinner fall of Drakes over very fast, choppy water. One of the best techniques for fishing the spinner fall is to drown your dry fly at the bottom of the heavy water where you see them flying. Fish it with an indicator or sight fish it, looking for the flash of the fish eating just under the surface.

Anglers will also find Green Drakes on the Little Wood River and the Upper Lost River, as well as Silver Creek. On the Little Wood and the Lost, expect to see some bugs, but not like you would find on the Big Wood. Our favorite flies for this event on all the rivers except Silver Creek is the Colorado Green Drake and the Cripple. On Silver Creek the Green Drake is brighter in color and the fish really prefer the Harrop patterns like the Last Chance Cripple or even a nice extended body fly.

This is really a fun time of the year as we can finally rig up big, bushy dry flies and wet wade the rivers, searching for fish as we go! It is a brief amount of time that we can do this, so get out there every day this week, every evening after work, or whenever you can squeeze a few moments on the rivers.

The “other” hatch that is happening right now, and not being talked about as much as the Drake is the Damsel Fly action. This has really been gaining momentum on the Creek the past few hot days and this action should last well into the summer. Coupled with the morning PMD, Callibaetis and the first few sightings of Tricos, the Creek is about to come into the summer season in all its glory, and with all its awesome challenges!

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - May 25, 2015

The opening weekend is behind us, and what a weekend it was! Rain nor sleet, nor hail, not even tornado warnings were able to dampen the spirit of anglers all over Silver Creek. Crazy weather systems have finally settled into a more normal pattern, but what was left behind in the wake of the weekend storms was water! Silver Creek went from nearly record low flows to nearly record high flows in a matter of days. Making it even more interesting, the Brown Drakes began trickling off Friday night before the opener, and teased anglers to the water’s edge every night since. The weather prevented a major hatch, but get ready because the Drake is on! Brown Drakes love the hot weather and the forecast is for more of just that.

Elsewhere on the Creek - Callibaetis, Baetis and PMDs were all present at times and with the sun this week, the PMD should begin to take center stage up and down the river. If you are coming down to fish the Creek, stop on into Picabo Angler and check out our new layout, our new product and our HUGE fly selection ordered specifically to help you have the best chance to catch fish on this wonderful, yet technical river!

The South Fork of the Boise fished well over the opener and should be at driftboat levels by midweek. Girdle Bugs, Prince Nymphs or any of your favorite Stonefly Nymphs will produce fish. Keep in mind this river is going to be in a state of change this season, as higher flows mover things around. Please boat safely and with caution.

The Big Wood has mostly been unfishable lately, but should begin to clear and fish very well, very soon. Big Stimulators with bead-head droppers is the way to go when the river clears. This is the same on the Upper Lost River as well as its tributaries. The flows remain high, and tough to wade on the Lower Lost River, but with some exploring anglers can find some nice pockets to fish. Plan on Nymphing if you go.

The Little Wood River north of Carey is clear enough to fish and should produce some fun fishing with general Attractor Patterns and your favorite Stonefly dries like Royal Stimulators.

Finally, like we always say, the Brown Drake hatch is here, so let’s all be kind to one another and enjoy the laughter and fun being had up and down the lower stretches of the Creek. Help your fellow angler and enjoy this hatch as much for its surreal nature as the fishing opportunity it brings!

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - September 3, 2014

The early fall is upon us as day time temperatures have set a course for the 70’s. This means it is time to get serious about transition. The Mahogany Dun, Western Red Quill, October Caddis and Fall Baetis are about to start showing up. We may not see these insects this week, but you had better get them in your fly box.

The hatch heard around the valley this week is the Callibaetis. This speckled wing mayfly has been setting the afternoon fishing on fire when the wind allows. The slower parts of the Creek, mainly the float tube sections are the place to find the biggest numbers of this insect. Generally the best part of this activity begins shortly after lunch.

The Hopper fishing on the Creek is also getting better and better. When the wind picks up during the Callibaetis, don’t hang up the fly rod. Just beef up your tippets and blind fish Hoppers into the wind chop and along the banks.

Ants and Beetles remain a strong fly to fish on the Creek and as the fall progresses, the Ants will become the dominant fly of the two. Every fall we see the Ant hatches pick up a lot of fish. The Ant fly can be a great choice when you are totally stumped.

The Big Lost is continuing to fish Very well this summer. The Trico and Baetis are still the mainstay below the dam and through the town of Mackay. The Upper Lost also continues to produce nice fish on small attractors. The Ant fly is deadly on the Upper Lost this time of year.

The South Fork of the Boise has not been showing its true colors lately with meager hatches of Pink Alberts. With the return of the sun, perhaps this hatch will pick back up. The river was given a good flush the past few weeks, and hopefully these increased flows will have moved some of the debris blocking the river channel in multiple places.

Grouse hunters had a banner opening day. Lots of hunters reported shooting limits and the rest of the fall looks just as good. The flip side to this great hunting is the major lack of Doves. There have been a few decent reports of good Dove hunting, but they are spotty. Moving forward hunters will be treated to more openers as Chukar, Huns and Sage Grouse seasons are right around the corner!

Happy Fishing and Hunting Everyone!

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - August 25, 2014

When was the last time you broke out your fingerless fishing gloves, a neck gator and a hat when you were fishing Idaho in August? Who would have thought it would come to pass this season? Ideally we are trending back to a more normal August this week, but at this point we could have a snow-nado for all I know!

So, short of a Snow-nado, forest fire, flood or some other trick Mother Nature has rolled up her sleeve, perhaps we can get back to some summertime hatches and world class fishing. Silver Creek has benefited a great deal from the cloud cover and the extra water in the system and with the return of the sun we can expect the return of the Trico spinner falls, the Hopper action and Callibaetis afternoons. This may ramp back up slowly, but the fish should be hungry and ready to take advantage of some lighter conditions and more consistent hatches.

For those of you with guns and dogs, the beginning of the Upland season starts this week. Grouse opens on Saturday and the word is that there are a lot of Grouse this fall! This is a great bird to hunt in the cool forest early in the morning while we wait for temperatures to come down. Hunters can avoid rattlesnakes and overheating dogs by taking advantage of this time of the day at this time of the year.

Dove hunting opens on Monday! If you haven’t checked yet, Idaho Fish and Game announced this:

The Fish and Game Commission has approved liberal limits in response to new harvest strategies for North America's most abundant game bird. The daily limit for mourning doves will be 15, and the possession limit will be 45. The season will last 60 days, from September 1 through October 30.

The new harvest strategy approved by the Pacific Flyway Council is designed to conserve mourning dove populations while minimizing annual regulatory change. While this may be confusing to Idaho hunters in the first year, in the long run the goal is to provide more consistent seasons and limits in the future.

Great news for Dove hunters and foodies alike, as Dove is certainly one of the best tasting game birds out there. We are coming quickly into the finest time of the season for outdoors people in Idaho. So get out there and cast and blast this weekend. Be sure to have all your licenses updates and be sure to have your migratory bird stamp for Doves!

 Happy Fishing and Hunting Everyone!