Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - May 11, 2016

Spring continues with several days of sun followed by several days of rain, otherwise known as normal! It’s about time we had a normal winter followed by a normal spring. It suddenly feels like the 1990s again! The reservoirs are filling while the rivers get a good scrubbing. The benefits to the fish will be outstanding.

The fishing in the reservoirs continues to be good. Catch rates at Magic are averaging about 2 fish per hour for fly anglers. These fish are footballs and are a joy to hook and fight. Fish in Magic include Rainbows, Browns, Smallmouth Bass and Perch. Anglers fishing near West Magic are doing well. Look for the line of demarcation, where the mud meets the clean water. This is often a productive zone.

Little Wood Reservoir is really full and fishing pretty well. The fish are slightly smaller than Magic fish, but the catch rates can be outstanding when the conditions are right. Try the bay behind the dam and along the dam itself. Rainbows are the mainstay with the occasional Brook Trout.

Mackay Reservoir is always a favorite in the spring. Although best fished from a boat, the back of the reservoir where the old river channel gets covered by rising reservoir water can be excellent fishing and on a good day it can be fast and furious. Rainbows and Brook Trout are the targets.

The Lost River remains open, but the flows continue to fluctuate wildly. Do not go over without checking the flows first! The river fishes and wades best below 200 CFS, but right now the fluctuation if hurting the fishing more than the higher flows. It remains to be seen how this effects the spawning activity, but it is something to keep an eye on.

Opening Day is coming so stay tuned to our website www.picaboangler.com as we begin to head out on the Creek to give you up to the minute updates on conditions, hatches and especially the Brown Drake. Don’t forget the night before Opening Day we will have Hank Patterson here hosting movie night in our airplane hangar. Bring your camp chair, tickets are $5 at the door, bring your friends, have a beer and enjoy “The Mystery of the Cuttyrainbrown Trout.” A lot of the movie was filmed here in Picabo! It will leave you laughing and ready for the midnight Opener after the movie lets out!

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - April 19, 2016

There is a lot of water moving through the valley, the reservoirs are filling and anglers are anxiously awaiting the May 28th Opener! With the winter season ending and 100%+ snowpack, anglers can expect some of the best conditions we’ve had in a while. IN the meantime, the flows are high and dangerous. Please stay away from the banks of these rivers and without question leave your dog at home if you go have a look.

The Lost River remains the best and just about only game in town. It is a great game though! We have been seeing prolific Baetis hatches in the afternoon hours. This means have a nice selection of dry flies and Pheasant Tail Nymphs.

Reservoir fishing is slower than we would hope, but that is due to all the water getting dumped into them. Not a bad problem to have! Try your best to find clean(ish) water and fish it hard. Magic Reservoir is probably best near East and West Magic, while Mackay Reservoir seems to always have a nice spring fishery near the back of the reservoir where the water comes in. Anglers are doing pretty well with Smallmouth Bass fishing on Anderson Ranch Reservoir and of course Carey Lake is open and a good local spot for Bass and Bluegill.

With the melting snow, very adventurous anglers can begin looking at the Alpine Lakes. We are nearing a day when the trails will open enough, and just enough ice will melt near the inlets of these lakes to produce some of the year’s best Mountain fishing. This is all elevation dependent, as some lakes may not Ice off until June. Google Earth is a great place to start when making the decision to explore the mountains to our north. If you are interested in fishing alpine lakes, or your just looking for a good fishy read, check out Gary Lafontaine’s famous book Fly Fishing the Mountain Lakes. It is an incredible book about fishing alpine lakes, exploring them, goat packing into them and of course diving under the ice to see how the fish react to flies dragged across clear as a window ice.

No matter where you decide to go please be safe this time of the year. High flows, muddy roads, crazy weather all come into play in the spring. Try to fish with a friend and enjoy this awesome time of the season!

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - March 29, 2016

With only a few days left in the season on many rivers, it is time to get creative! The Big Wood River is closed to all fishing on April 1st. Silver Creek is also closed to all fishing. Both rivers will open back up May 28th this year. Plan on the Big Wood being muddy for the opener as spring runoff should peak sometime in May. Silver Creek should be phenomenal on the opener!

In the meantime, the Lost River remains open to fish all year. Reports have been getting increasingly better on the Lower Lost. When the wind is down the Midge and Baetis fishing has been excellent. When the wind comes back up the fishery can be downright difficult. When this happens switch to Nymphing techniques and cover the water thoroughly and be prepared to use a variety of flies. Be sure to have some Pheasant Tail Nymphs to cover the Baetis and plenty of Zebra Midges for the Midge days.

Places to consider for the next few weeks include Carey Lake. This is an excellent time of year to catch a mess of Blue Gills for a fish taco fry. Small nymphs stripped through the water is all one needs. If you are in the area, the Little Wood in the desert stretch can be an o.k. place to wet a line and catch a few trout. It’s never gangbusters in this stretch, but it is beautiful and a great place to spend an afternoon.

Carp fishing in the Snake is going to get better and better as the weather gets nicer. Get your Google Earth on and search for the shallow water flats found all over the Snake River reservoirs. Try to pick the calmest days so that you can see the fish working.

The Reservoir fishing in both Mackay and Magic should be getting really good. Warming water gets those reservoir fish hungry and thinking about the pre-spawn. They will want to fatten up. Fish near the river mouths and even near seasonal Creeks. Anderson Ranch Reservoir and the Little Wood Reservoir are also great places to check out and catch a variety of fish.

Reservoirs can be fished from a boat, float tube or just off the bank. If you head out on the water, take a friend. Beware of the wind, and have proper floatation and emergency flares and whistles, just in case. Always check the weather first and have fun!

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - April 27, 2015

The early summer like conditions this week are going to make for some fine conditions for fishing. Perhaps the best way to enjoy this early season warm weather, when most of the rivers are closed, is from a boat. Even a float tube or canoe can open up a world of possibilities in our local lakes and reservoirs.

The best scenario for fishing this week involves sunscreen, maybe a driftboat and a cooler full of cold drinks and food. Now tow this set up to Magic Reservoir, Little Wood Reservoir, Mackay Reservoir or even Anderson Ranch Reservoir for a fun day of fishing trout or bass.

Keep in mind, most reservoir fish are big, most reservoir fish fight hard, and most reservoir fish live and feed in the top twelve feet of water. This is where the light is, and thus this is where the food is. You can use and intermediate sinking line, or just use your floating line with a really long leader. Taper your leader to 2X or 3X. One of the best flies to use in the spring are leeches. Retrieve them slowly and hold on tight. Wholly Buggers, Krystal Buggers, Zug Bugs and Seal Buggers are among our favorite Stillwater flies.

Reservoirs are big and can be intimidation to fish with a fly. Concentrate your efforts on areas of inflow right now, or areas that have submerged channels. A good rule is to look at the dry bank and then in your mind’s eye take the contours and cover you see on the land and extend it underwater. This is a good way to discover those underwater channels. Look for dry creek beds that enter the reservoir and then try to position your boat of float tube over them. Cast very near the shore and retrieve the fly with your rod tip on the water.

The Little Wood Reservoir has good numbers of Rainbow Trout and the occasional Brook Trout. Magic Reservoir has good sized Rainbow and Brown Trout as well as Smallmouth Bass and Perch. Mackay Reservoir has decent numbers of sizable Rainbows and Brook Trout. Anderson Ranch Reservoir has Rainbows, Bass, and a fair amount of bi-catch as well!

Be safe if you go. Dress warm for float tubing and boaters be sure to have life jackets, etc. One thing we know is a consistent on these reservoirs is the wind. It will blow hard at any given time, so even on a calm day, be aware of how far you are traveling and the wind direction. Be safe and have fun!

Happy Fishing Everyone!