Brown Drake Update - May 31, 2016

A strange Drake season continues to baffle us. The bugs are here but the hatch is moving up river in the most condensed fashion I've ever seen. Anglers in the right zone are reporting epic fishing, while anglers that may be 1/2 mile a way are seeing very little.

There was a medium to fair Spinner Fall in the Picabo Bridge area last night, until one big gust of wind put an end to it. The lower Creek never really saw "The Show" that we are used to seeing. INstead a slow 4 or 5 day trickle of insects was the new norm. 

The Hatch epicenter was without a doubt the bottom end of Point of Rocks (Silver Creek East) last night. A major emergence took place in that area. Without question there will be a big Spinner Fall at Point of Rocks and the lower end of the Willows. This will be the true "Show." 

Picabo Angler will be open until 8:00 p.m. We have plenty of Drakes, Beer, Ice and Food!

Opening Weekend and Brown Drakes - May 29, 2016

THANK YOU ANGLERS! 

We wanted to say thank you to all of you for all of your generous support these past few days. Our dream of a quality fly shop focused on the Creek and Kindness could not happen without you! 

By Saturday afternoon the crowds had left the Nature Conservancy waters and the Creek blew up with a PMD hatch to beat the band. We would expect a similar event today. Think 3:00 - 4:00 in the afternoon. 

The Brown Drake continues to trickle off and baffle us like always. With warm days head for the next two weeks. and being that the hatch is following the same pattern as last season, expect major occurrences to take place every night in the coming week. I would be shocked if we didn't see the first major emergence tonight or Monday night. 

Thanks Again everyone and we look forward to seeing you all at Picabo Angler again soon!

John

Brown Drake / Opening Day Update - May, 2016

Hello Anglers! 

It's time! We are hours away from Opening Day on Silver Creek! 

The Brown Drake came off very, very light last night. No one missed anything. IN fact it looks like a replay of last year. A few days of Drakes trickling off and then the big BOOM! With the weather doing what it is doing I would expect Saturday night, Sunday night to be pretty darn good and by next week we should be in full blown Drake mode! 

Upstream the PMD and Baetis went nuts last night on the Conservancy Waters. The weather set off great hatches and spinner falls, and we expect a lot more of the same. 

This is going to be an epic opening weekend. We hope you can join us. 

Don't forget tonight is MYSTERY OF THE CUTTYRAINBROWN TROUT, HOSTED BY HANK PATTERSON. 8:30 p.m. $5 at the door!

Spring Weather and the Brown Drake

We received the following question through the interwebs today. We figured it was a very good question and one many anglers are curious about. So everyone thank Thayne, for putting this out there:

"I know we are still several weeks away from talking drakes but I was curious how conditions compare to last year for Drake timing. Has your spring been a little behind compared to last? Thanks again!"

Soooo, Drake timing. The big question! This spring Picabo has been more "normal" than it has been in sometime. We are bouncing back and forth between cold, warm, wet and dry. The saying about wait five minutes and the spring weather will change in the Rocky Mts. is spot on this year. Despite the rapid change, we haven't had any crazy events like heatwaves or weeks of rain. 

The past few seasons the Drake has gone off around May 25. Last season it went on the 23rd, then paused two days, then exploded on the 25th or 26th, just after opening weekend. It did trickle off the Friday night before the season opened!

This year the opener is on the 28th. The Drake is traditionally a June 7 - 12 kick off date when things are normal. We are crossing our fingers that is the case this year.

With that said there is no way in hell I won't have Drake patterns in my box the night of the 28th whether we've seen the bug or not. We will have our full selection out on the opener. 

(Don't forget Friday the 27th, Hank Patterson will be here showing "Mystery of the Cuttyrainbrown Trout." at 8:30 in our airplane hangar. Bring a chair! We will also have our traditional opening day BBQ on Saturday!)

Check back with us frequently. I'll go kick some Drake Nymphs up in the next few days and see how mature they look and how high up in the mud column they are. 

With 100% snow pack and a great season last year, things are looking wonderful for the coming year!

See you at the end of the month!

John Huber

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - May 11, 2015

There is one glaring question that we’ve been asked about over and over already this season…When are the Drakes going to hatch? This is not an awful question, although it is difficult to answer. All we can do is look at recent history and recent conditions and then make our best guess. Once we get right up on opening day we can look at the nymph and make a guess based on how dark and swollen the wing cases are. Beyond that, all we can say is be ready this season, as recent history and conditions suggest the hatch will occur sometime before the end of this month.

The key to that statement is watch the weather. If things stay relatively nice and warm, you can all but count on May Drakes. If the weather turns gloomy, cold, wet, windy, then expect the hatch to occur once these conditions settle. Of course the best way to be sure you don’t miss the first big night of the hatch is to sit riverside every night after the opener. Hurry up and wait, is the only surefire method one has to be sure you catch the first night.

It is important to keep in mind that the hatch generally moves up the river from the Picabo Bridge, terminating at the Highway 20 Bridge approximately a week later. It is not uncommon, the first few nights to only see the hatch low on the river. Anglers could sit at Point of Rocks or the Willows with zero bugs on the water, while the lower Creek is going off. So, unless you know the hatch has been going for at least 3 days, you better start looking and waiting at Picabo Bridge.

Finally, a word on etiquette. The Brown Drake is a huge hatch and anglers come from all over to witness it and fish it. There is never a shortage of people, so don’t be surprised to see plenty of your fellow angler. Keep in mind though, over the years, this hatch has been one in which we brothers and sisters of the fly have made into a kind, peaceful and fun event. There is no place during the Drake for boorish behavior and bad attitudes. Please keep in mind, we are all on the Creek to enjoy the same thing. No fish is worth ruining your good time, or others! Treat the Drake hatch as a time to bond with friends and strangers alike! You’ll find the fun and camaraderie something worth cherishing.

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - May 4, 2015

Partly cloudy with a chance of rain is in the forecast this week. This should bring about a return of heavy Baetis hatches to the Lost River. The only issue though, is the flows on the Lost have been cranked up beyond 400 CFS. This makes the access very spotty and congests the few anglers into the few fishable spots on the river. As of 5/5/2015 at 10:45 am, the flow on the Lower Lost has dropped to 291 cfs.

The upper Lost River is also coming up quickly, and mimicking the flows on the Big Wood. There may be some pockets to explore with streamers, but the fishery is not in the best shape for fishing. Perhaps the best local fishery we have right now that is open would be the Little Wood River. The Salmon Flies are on the cusp of trickling off in the desert stretch and that should bring some fish up.

All in all this week should be dedicated to a few things. The first is Reservoir fishing. Despite the closures and run-off, Magic Reservoir is producing the most consistently large fish we’ve seen on 20 or more years. If you want to break into Stillwater fishing, NOW is the time!

The second thing to look at would be ice-off on the Mountain Lakes. Start with low elevation lakes and follow the ice-off on higher lakes as we enter the warm summer months. This can be ridiculously good fishing if you can time it right!

 Lastly the best thing you could be doing right now is getting ready. Opening day is only a few weeks away! Get new lines on your reels, fill your fly boxes with Brown Drakes and Stoneflies, patch your waders and get new soles on your boots! There is never a shortage of things to do to get ready. Even think about getting your vehicle ready. Fresh tires, new oil, the rod racks you’ve been meaning to get are all things to work on right now.

There is a lot of excitement about the Brown Drake this year as most anglers are holding true the notion that the hatch will again come off very early. We don’t see any reason not to concur with this train of thought. Keep your eyes on our blog www.picaboangler.com over the next few weeks as we begin to kick up some Drake nymphs and take a stab at predicting this awesome event. We’ll be sure to keep everyone updated and ready for the first big event of the season!

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Silver Creek Brown Drakes

It's not time yet but we are getting close. With opening day of fishing this Saturday in Idaho including Silver Creek, expect to see light Baetis and PMD hatches throughout the day on the upper reaches of Silver Creek (Double R and The Silver Creek Preserve). Downstream of the HWY 20 Bridge, there are many Brown Drake nymphs in 6 inches of silt or less and their wing pads have darkened indicating a likely early start to Brown Drakes this year. Time will only tell but consider starting your Brown Drake recon missions a little earlier this year.

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Brown Drake Nymph. Silver Creek. May 19, 2014.  photo: nick price