Sun Valley Fishing Report

SUN VALLEY / PICABO AREA FISHING REPORT — NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Cold nights that are turning into brilliant blue sky days seem to be the norm right now. By the time we reach the warmest parts of the afternoon fish are still rising to Baetis and Midge activity. We can expect this to keep up until we get more inclement weather. In the meantime enjoy the extended fall season!

Silver Creek is fishing well. The Browns are off of their Redds and are looking to put weight back on before the dark winter months. There are still some small Baetis hatches happening after the noon hour. This activity peaks by 2:00 p.m. and then tapers off slowly. Fish are also being caught with Streamers and it really doesn’t matter what time of the day you fish these. Fish bright colors on bright days and dark colors on cloudy days.

The Big Wood just continues to impress as we enter into the early part of winter. Midge and Baetis hatches are still occurring when the wind is down. The Baetis hatches are matched well with a Gulper Special. The Midge hatch imitation is the Tie-Down Midge. Fish a Griffiths Gnat against the glare and then fish a dry-dropper with the Tie-Down Midge behind it. Keep your eye on the Gnat, as it will be easier to see. If anything rises within a foot of the fly, then set the hook! Most of the time you’ll find yourself tied to a fish at the other end. If the fish aren’t rising in the Wood, then try olive colored Buggers or Hares Ear Nymphs and Brassies fished under a strike indicator.

The lower Lost River is on par with the Big Wood these days, providing excellent fishing through the warmest hours of the day. Fish are still keyed on the color red from the washed down Kokanee dying as well as their eggs flowing though the water stratus up and down the river. The closer to the Dam you fish the more you will find this “red” effect.

The South Fork of the Boise is still a great place to go “Cast and Blast” as the Chukar population is solid this year. The Baetis hatches are getting shorter with the days, but the South Fork is still an excellent place to go for slightly warmer temperatures. The Midge and Baetis dry fly activity is wind dependent, but is the wind is down, there should be some decent, if not difficult dry fly opportunities!

Happy Fishing Everyone!

July 14, 2014 Sun Valley Area Fishing Report

Sometimes the fishing around here is so great, there just isn’t enough word count for a good report! Here we go anyway! TRICO! The heat and the cyclical nature of the Trico hatches and spinner falls over the years have met perfectly this summer. It is safe to say the SHOW is back in the Creek. Many an angler has seen the Trico madness on Silver Creek, and many an angler has decided to make the Sun Valley area their home because of it.

If you have not experienced the Trico Spinner Fall on hot summer mornings on Silver Creek, this is the time! The volume of insects can be comparable to the Brown Drakes, only smaller in size. Almost every fish in the river comes to the surface to eat this tiny mayfly, couple the intensity of the fish mopping the surface of bugs, with the technical side of trying to get them to eat your offering, and you have a recipe for fly angling at its highest level. If you want to learn more, come on down to Picabo and visit with Bob, Nick or John and we’ll set you up for a crazy morning of fishing! If you’ve been at it for a while, and need a “better” fly than the one your casting, we have a few staff favorites that will help get the deal closed on some of the Creek nicest fish. Expect a solid month of this activity. Now, would be a good time to ask your boss for an afternoon shift. Once the air temps hit 70 degrees, its game on!

Looking elsewhere, the Big Wood and the upper Lost are putting on their own morning show, with a variety of spinner falls. Green Drakes, PMD, Trico, Little Yellow Sally, Golden Stones, and more are all present on most days. Expect the action to start around 8:30 and last a solid 2 hours. After that, big flies like Cicadas, Turks Tarantula and Stimulators will still bring fish up. Normally, we’d suggest a dropper fly, but with fishing this good, anglers may want to take advantage of the fish looking hard at the surface this time of the year.

Finally, the South Fork of the Boise is fishing pretty well and we’ve seen a few rafts tackling the new rapids below the boat launch. We still haven’t seen a hard sided boat go down, but we’re sure someone has tried it. SCOUT IT FIRST! Wear you vest, and Please be safe. Oh, and take your Pink Alberts.

Happy Fishing Everyone!

June 30, 2014 Sun Valley Fishing Report

Oh, how we love fly fishing around Sun Valley in July! It is a magical month around here. We are finally free of Spring’s high water and we are not yet to the low flows of August. It is safe to say, at least this season, that July is the perfect month to fish! Add to this the fact that we are at the beginning of our Summer hatches as well, and an angler can quickly deduce that now is the time to be on the water.

On Silver Creek, the Prairie Caddis and the Trico are starting to steal the show in the morning. The Trico has been spotty as it continues to ramp up, but if you are in the right place, you should be seeing fish starting to rise by 8:30 in the morning. They could rise even earlier on a really hot day. The key is be on the water when the air temperature hits 70 degrees. Anglers can start the season with larger Trico patterns like a whopping size 18 CDC Biot Dun. If the Caddis are still out, try using a Goddard Caddis or Hemingway Caddis and fish them in a skating fashion.

During the afternoon on the Creek the Damsel action has been pretty good, and the Baby Hopper is now out in force. With the recent hard winds blowing fish could easily key on the Baby Hopper for a day. Don’t leave it out of your fly box.

The Big Wood continues to drop and settle into a Summer flow, but we’re almost there. The Green Drake is putting on a show up and down the river and Stoneflies are active also. A note on Stoneflies, we don’t see huge hatches of Stones on the Wood, with the exception of Little Yellow Sallies, but they are there in frequency and in variety. So, even if you don’t see huge hatches, the Stimulator, Turk’s Tarantula, Sofa Pillows and like flies will work very well as searching patterns on the Wood. This can also be said of the Big Lost. There are better hatches than Stoneflies, but there are few better flies to fish!

We still haven’t made it down to float the South Fork of the Boise at the new higher flows. If you have and would like to help report your findings (mostly related to how the boating is) we would love to hear from you and put your findings on our blog. You can help keep your fellow angler safe on the water! Please send your comments to info@picaboangler.com

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Opening Day of Forest Grouse Season

John Huber, Winston and Boone

My newest puppy Boone, who will begin work on the Picabo Angler Pheasant Preserve next season, took his first steps today, going on his first Grouse hunt! He is very proud of himself in this picture, although older and wiser Winston Dog on the right, may have had more to do with the limit, Boone still did a fantastic job, following the old guy around and smelling what he smelled and tracking what he tracked! At the end of the day the important thing is he learned...

Boone and Winston with an opening day limit of Forest Grouse.