The rain and the wind and the clouds are making for some uncomfortable fishing right now, but the fishing remains good. Bigger fish are on the prowl under the low light of the heavy clouds, so fish accordingly. Streamers and Mice are great choices.
Temperatures will be returning to normal this week and subsequently the fishing should follow. This is not to say the fishing has been bad, quite the contrary. The fishing in the cloudy and sometimes damp weather lately produced a lot of big fish, it just didn’t produce big hatches. Perhaps the colder, windy days will “reset” the season and our hatches will begin coming off a little less early!
On the Creek this week, we are expecting our fist small Trico spinner falls mixed with Baetis. If you see temperatures getting over the 80 – 85 degree mark, this is a real possibility. The Baby Hoppers should also begin coming into play on all our area waters this week. When we say Baby Hopper that means a size 14! That is small for a Hopper, but big compared to all the other food the trout are eating.
The return to sunshine should also mean a return of stronger PMD action as well as Baetis. The mornings are a great time to fish, but be sure this season on Silver Creek the best rising fish action is taking place during the magic hours before dark.
The waters across the area continue to fall as river after river comes into shape, ever so slowly. The Big Wood and Upper Lost Rivers are fishable in some areas, and less so in others. Fish with big bushy dry flies and bead head nymphs dropped under them. The Green Drake should also begin to show in decent numbers this week as falling water and hot days are the perfect recipe to see this hatch!
On the other end of the spectrum we have rising water on the South Fork of the Boise. This is endlessly interesting as we’ve known what to expect on the South Fork for the last 25 years. This year, we know very little. Not many boaters have been over there yet, as we have zero reports. The forest fires created so many slides into the river the boating is not at all like it used to be. Those of us that have rowed the river with one eye open for the past few decades have to relearn and pay very close attention to the river now. If you go, take Salmon Flies, Caddis and Cicadas, but make sure your first trip is more about safe boating than catching a whole bunch of fish. Get comfortable with the river, then get to fishing!
Happy Fishing Everyone!
