Sun Valley Fly Fishing

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - May 30th, 2017

The fishing is fine on Silver Creek these days! After a wonderful opening weekend we were able to see just how positive the influx of water has been for the Creek. Anglers reported decent numbers fish being caught, but more than anything was the overwhelming volume of anglers talking about how big and how strong the fish in the Creek are right now. The months of flooding water must have put a lot of forage in the river for these fish. One angler after another keeps asking why the fish are so much bigger than last year!

The fishing is starting mid to late morning, although it should be earlier over the next week or two as daytime temperatures rise. We have been treated to Baetis hatches, PMDs and Callibaetis. The Brown Drake hasn’t appeared as of this writing, but that could change, so be ready!

The river should be very quiet the next few weeks as we await the 4th of July holiday. Anglers can find some fishing on the South Fork of the Boise, the Owyhee and the lower Henry’s Fork as well, but Silver Creek is certainly fishing the best of all of these.

The evenings on Silver Creek have seen very few anglers and this should be the norm until the Brown Drakes start, but even then, anglers that want peace and quiet will find plenty of both on the Silver Creek Preserve stretches of the river in the evenings.

If you come to the Creek, dress warm under your waders, as the water is nice and cool this season. If you have a float tube, it will open up a lot of water for you, as the depths are making fishing from the bank and tubes a little easier than trying to wade some spots.

If you are headed to the South Fork of the Boise, plan on big flows, and right now the best thing is to keep very experienced oarsmen on the sticks. The river is powerful at high flows and it’s narrow enough, there leaves little room for error.

Fishing the South Fork of the Boise with big Stonefly Nymphs will produce a few strikes. Red Copper Johns are also a good idea and you may get lucky enough to find a rising fish or two in the back channels. Ants are a great bet if you can find these subtle risers.

We’ll see you in Picabo for the Drake Hatch soon! Get ready!

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Second Christmas Comes to Picabo on Saturday!

Opening Day on Silver Creek is May 27th! That is this Saturday! There is nothing better than Opening Day in Picabo, it feels just like Christmas Morning, so why not Second Christmas in Picabo, Idaho! 

Join Picabo Angler for Opening Day, this Saturday for our free BBQ at 11:30 - until it's all gone! There will be art by Ed Anderson and Bern Sundell as well as Fly Casting with our guides, and a whole lot of friends, fun and a celebration of Second Christmas 2017 in Picabo!

WAIT! Let us not forget Second Christmas Eve!!!! That's right, on Friday, May 26th from 5 - 9 we will have special guest Hank Patterson here to speak about his talent and how he has mastered the Creek, we think....! We will also have the brilliant musician Travis Ward from Boise. We will have Art from both Ed Anderson and Bern Sundell. Idaho Angler will also be in attendance to talk all things Owhyee River and Boise River The casting course will be set up as well with our guides on hand!

We will have several great raffles for Reel Recovery and the admission to see Hank is free, with donations gladly accepted!

We are excited to see you! 

Brown Drake Update - May 30, 2016

The Brown Drake emerged with some vigor on the Creek last night. A fair spinner fall was followed by a very late emergence on the lower stretches. Expect the Drake action to peak sometime in the middle of this week. 

Point of Rocks saw some Drakes last night, but the center of the action remains slightly down stream. This could change tonight as a hot day is going to turn the river into shuck stew at dark. I don't think there is going to be a bad place to be tonight. 

Like always, we ask that everyone please be kind, communicative and generous with fellow anglers. It's a great chance to back log some great karma!

Have a ton of fun!

John

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - Opening Day Forecast, 2016

Listen Idaho, you can hear the sounds of tailgates slamming shut and the hiss of float tubes being aired up. You can hear the slow click of reels as line gets strung through rod guides. You can hear the crisp snap of a fly box being closed. Under those tones you can hear muted noises like oars being shuffled into place and strapped into boats, and the distinct crinkling of waders as they come out of a bag totally dry for the first time this year. Soon these sounds will be replaced by the swish of legs in water and whisps of casts placed far over the water. Opening Day is upon us!

Silver Creek is the place to be for Opening Weekend! Join Picabo Angler on Friday night for the Picabo Premiere of Hank Patterson’s “Mystery of the Cuttyrainbrown Trout.” Showing in our airplane hangar at 8:30 p.m. Bring a camp chair and your hardiest laugh! Saturday the festivities continue with our Opening Day BBQ! Starting at 11:30.

If you are fishing Silver Creek this weekend plan on seeing a few hatches. Callibaetis have been the most prolific as of late. Baetis is always a possibility especially if we see a lot of cloud cover and have a few P.M.D. patterns just in case…

Regardless of the hatches you can count on Terrestrials caring the day. Be sure to have plenty of Ants and Beetles in a variety of sizes. Large Chernobyl patterns can be good in adverse weather, and smaller flies like Flying Ants and Crowe Beetles will be effective if the water stays glassed over.

Anglers sticking around for the night fishing will find Mouse Patterns effective, and Brown Drakes will be coming into the mix soon enough. Probably not this weekend, but probably not far behind either. Anglers that don’t want to be out late can opt for getting up early and fishing Streamers in the gray morning light.

The South Fork of the Boise will also be fishable on the opener. The river is at driftboat levels and Nymphing with big flies like Girdle Bugs and Salmon Fly Nymphs is your best bet. Smaller nymphs like Copper Johns and Hares Ears are also excellent choices.

Plan on run-off effecting most of our rivers over the weekend, which will make places like Silver Creek busier than normal. Please remember to be kind and share your experiences as best you can with your fellow anglers!

Happy Opening Day Everyone!

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 - May 6th, 2016

The sunny side of spring is upon us! This means big, muddy waters, dangerous currents, and limited fishing. The good news is the rivers are getting a long overdue scrubbing from bottom to top. The elevated waters should go a long way toward removing more of the ash from the fires in our recent past.

Reservoir fishing remains strong and anglers heading to Magic, Little Wood and Anderson Reservoirs will find some nice sized fish willing to eat flies! Be sure to watch the weather for the wind forecast so you don’t get caught in the wrong place in your float tube or small craft. The evenings of the reservoirs should be getting really productive, really soon.

The mountain lakes have iced off on the valley floors. Stanley Lake and Redfish hold a few nice sized fish for anglers willing to play the war of attrition. You never catch a lot of fish in these lakes, but if you work hard, you can catch some big ones.

The higher lakes aren’t open yet, as most of the trails are still being used by backcountry skiers instead of day hikers. Once the trails get mostly open it will be time to have a peak. At the rate we are going that could be mid-June!

The Lost River remains open for fishing, although the flows have been cranked up. They may come right back down to decent levels for fishing, but keep an eye on the gauge. Go to the water data portion of the USGS website for up to the minute flow graphs.

When all the rivers reopen, keep in mind that spring runoff should still be occurring. Make your opening weekend plans in advance and plan on fishing Silver Creek, the South Fork of the Boise from a boat, or maybe the Lost River, depending on flows. Spring Creeks and Tailwaters should be your focus as the month moves forward.

If you are looking for something to do the night before Opening Day, Picabo Angler will be showing Hank Patterson’s latest movie “Mystery of the Cuttyrainbrown Trout” at the shop May 27th at 8:30 p.m. Bring your beach chair for viewing and your tent for crashing on the banks of Silver Creek after the event! Tickets are $5 at the door.

We are only 3 weeks away from Opening Day of the general fishing season in Idaho. It will go fast, so make sure you are ready for it.   

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - February 2, 2016

This is one of those weeks or two week periods where we like to say, “They don’t call it Sun Valley for nothing!” Bright, sunny days should not hamper the fishing as the fish still have to eat. What it does mean is that stealth is as important as any part or your fishing repertoire.

We are at a point in the winter season, where most fish have seen at least a few winter flies. They will continue to eat the Midges, but with less abandon, while they search for the true flies and trailing shucks amongst the foam lines.

The sky may be sunny this week, but you may want to layer up just so that you can creep up the snowy banks on your hands and knees in order to get the best casting position available. This holds true when Nymphing in shallow water, thin riffles and tail outs of pools. It is even more important is you are going to stalk rising fish.

For one reason or another it is an easy thing to let your guard down in the winter. Perhaps the easy nature of the fishing, at least in early winter, or perhaps it’s the starkness of it all. In either case, take a fly angler, put them in a dark green parka and silhouette them against the snow.  It is easy to see why you need to stay behind the rising fish while keeping a low profile.

Bright days on the Big Wood River generally means shorter fishing windows because of colder temps. If you are eager to get out the door before the temps hit a reasonable mark think about using the clear skies to travel.

If you don’t have the whole day, think about hitting Silver Creek with Streamers. The Waterfowl Hunting season is over and the Creek is very quiet right now. The Creek is open to fish downstream of Hwy 20. Think about fishing the Willows and Point of Rocks. Snow Shoes are not a terrible idea if you want to get well into the access points.

If you have more time, look at the South Fork of the Boise and the Lower Lost Rivers. The South Fork can have some decent Midge hatches, and is a good place to go for big fish. The lower Lost is similar, although maybe a bit more Nymphing in the bright sun. It is also a great place to catch huge Rainbows!

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report--December 11th

More warm days, some cloudy weather and a little bit of snow melt will all contribute to good fishing this week. Thus far it has been a very mild winter for our local fish populations. This is probably not a bad thing after a stressful summer for them. With the ash from the fires of two years ago in the Big Wood, the drought that hit Silver Creek hard and the flooding and landslides that covered the South Fork of the Boise, perhaps it’s not a bad thing that our fish get a little bit of a reprieve and some time to catch up on fat stores for the rest of winter.

Nymphing and Streamer fishing are still the name of the game. Think about primarily fishing nymphs and tandem rigs of nymphs when the sun is out. When the cloud cover gets heavy, especially on Silver Creek, get your Streamers out and plan on catching the rivers biggest fish!

The rivers get busier during the holidays, so if you like your winter solitude, try to get out there this week and this weekend. It is also the time of year when Fly Fishing Guide Rates drop quite a bit. Down here in Picabo we run half day trips for $300 for 1 or 2 guests, all inclusive. We also offer a great opportunity to fish some great private water.

While the warm weather persists, it does open up a great opportunity for Chukar hunting the nearby ridge lines. There are plenty of birds out there this year, and the low hills are also full of Hungarian Partridge. If you’ve never upland hunted, this would be a perfect week to get out there and give it a try. You may need to find a friend with a hunting dog, but hey, it’s Sun Valley, we all own hunting dogs!

The Ducks and Geese are a little scarcer and spread out lately. Once we get some colder days again, the waterfowl hunting should pick back up. In the meantime, small water techniques are probably the best. Use very few decoys, call softly and be VERY well concealed in whatever blind you are using. It is tricky hunting right now, be very comfortable temperatures. For the best action head down to the Snake until we freeze back up and the hunting returns to Silver Creek.

Happy Hunting and Fishing Everyone!

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!

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - September 29, 2014

Mahogany Duns and masking hatches are something I write about every year. It is that important to anglers on Silver Creek, and it is also a glaring example of something we fly anglers hear all the time, but don’t see all that often.

The masking hatch, simply put, is a hatch of insects that you can see very well on the water, but in fact the fish are eating and keying on a much smaller bug, or as is the case with the Mahogany a larger bug but a difficult bug to see due to its dark color. In fact the best way to see the Mahogany Duns is to look at the water with the glare in order silhouette their dark bodies.

We see this a lot with Micro-Caddis and Flying Ants as well. These are insects that hatch in huge numbers, the fish love them, but we rarely see them on the water very well, as our eyes are drawn to more abundant bugs or brighter colored ones.

So, with this said, when you are on Silver Creek this week, be prepared to see A LOT of Fall Baetis throughout the day. You may even see Trico and Callibaetis, but the one to watch for is the Mahogany Dun. It is a true Mahogany color, it is about a size 14 and it is a plump insect. Everything a fish getting ready for winter needs. This bug will come in waves so be ready for it!

Morning Hoppers are not a kind of Hopper, but the time of day to be throwing Hoppers right now! Before the hatches start and before most anglers arrive on the Creek is the time to be casting your big Hopper patterns. The biggest fish are still out cruising from the night before and haven’t gone to hidey-hole on the bank for the day. They are out and about for one reason, and that is to find something BIG to eat before the bright light of the day begins.

Finally, the Brown Trout population in Silver Creek is getting ready to spawn. This means fish looking to eat before they spawn, and fish that will be voracious after they spawn. Spend some time Streamer fishing this week and you may be pleasantly surprised. Even in the middle of the day!

Enjoy the fall colors and enjoy one of the greatest times of the year to be a fly angler!

Happy Fishing and Hunting Everyone!