Sun Valley Area Fishing Report: October 20th, 2014
Beautiful fall days with intermittent clouds means Baetis! This time of year expect to see Baetis on the Creek, Baetis on the Wood, Baetis on the South Fork, Baetis on the Lost, maybe check your bathtub, there could be Baetis in there as well!
The Fall Baetis is a wonderful little bug. With the emphasis on little not wonderful. O.K., they are wonderful in the sense that they bring up all the fish in the river when they blanket our local waters in the fall. They are little though, very little. Size 22 and 24 are the norm. On freestone rivers like the Wood and Upper Lost anglers can get by with Gulper Specials, Parachute Adams, Standard Adams, or any of your favorite BWO patterns.
When you head for the South Fork, Silver Creek, and the Lower Lost, be prepared for more technical patterns. Think Baetis Cripples, CDC Fan-wing Biots, and any Rene Harrop pattern. We really like the extended body patterns in the fall, fished on an open loop so they can swing freely on the surface.
Now, a word about the color red. The fall is spawning season for two major species in our area; Brown Trout and Kokanee. Both of these fall spawners are dumping a lot of red and even orange colored eggs in the rivers. Furthermore the red skinned Kokanee die after they spawn, also filling the rivers with little bits of red and orange flesh as they decay. These are both great food sources for trout, and be sure that fish begin to key on the color right about now and for the next few weeks. With that said, be sure if you can’t find a hatch condition with rising fish, then Nymphing with the color red can lead to banner days on the stream. Keep in mind here that the color is what they care about. A San Juan Worm fished under an indicator is as effective as any Egg Pattern. Some of our favorite red flies include the San Juan Worm, Red Copper John, Red Brassies and Red Zebra Nymphs.
Finally, be prepared right now. Bring extra dry clothes when you travel to fish. Have fingerless gloves and a hat. Put your rain parka in your vest or bag. Have a full tank of gas when you travel out of the valley as well as tire chains. Most of all stay on top of current conditions and don’t get caught in our first winter storm, whenever that may be!
Happy Fishing Everyone!