Sun Valley / Picabo Fishing Report - June 30, 2016

With almost all our fisheries producing very good activity with Green Drakes, Tricos and Salmon Flies, we thought we would head over to the Little Wood River yesterday so we could finally update the one river we've had very little reporting on. 

It only took a few minutes to realize why we have heard little to nothing about the fishing. The Mosquito population in the woods along the upper Little Wood is staggering. We geared up, went to the river and within moments we were running for the truck! 

I suppose if you had the full Alaska bug protection covering you, there is probably some pretty good fishing to be had, as the flows and clarity looked great. For now though, there are so many other great places to fish its probably best to let the blood suckers have it for a few weeks. 

There are plenty of Mosquitoes on the Wood and Silver Creek as well, but nothing like what we experienced north of Carey. Be patient, they will go away. Stay in the higher elevations for now!

John

Sun Valley / Picabo Fishing Update - June 28, 2016

With the heat this week, our favorite spinner fall has begun. Got Tricos? Hooray! The Trico has arrived on Silver Creek, and it is showing up early! Our lead guide Nick Price reported fish eating Tricos at 7:30 a.m. He said it was in full swing when he walked up to the river. 

Last night the PMD Spinners and Emergers brought plenty of targets to the surface. The calm, hot nights are a perfect recipe for bug events to beat the band. 

The Big Wood continues to drop and it looks as good as we've seen in a lot of years. Spring runoff was kind to this river. The Upper Lost spiked a little bit with the heat yesterday, setting this fishery back a few more days. 

I have no current report for the South Fork of the Boise, but the boys over at Idaho Angler in Boise probably have fresh update if you want to call them (208) 389-9957.

We have plenty of awesome Trico patterns in stock, we'll see you in Picabo bright and early!

John

Sun Valley / Picabo Fishing Report - June 21, 2016

The last week of muddy water is upon us. Stay patient people! Looking at the CFS (Cubic Feet Per Second) graphs this week, the flows are no longer making the big downward and upward swings. The graphs are now showing the flows adjusting with nighttime and daytime temperatures. This means the volume will begin to decrease at a slower pace, but the water should begin to clear rapidly.

Once again, when you decide to get out on our freestone streams. Wear a tight wading belt, fish with a friend and PLEASE leave your dog at home. Every year dogs perish the high flows of the Big Wood. Don’t let yours be next.

Looking ahead to clear water have your Green Drakes ready, as well as your Stimulators and your favorite dropper flies, like Copper Johns, Prince Nymphs, and Pheasant Tails. Try to find soft water in side channels and along the banks. The river is most likely going to fish best very low (South of Bellevue) and very high (North of Ketchum).

Silver Creek continues to fish very well. The afternoons are still where it’s at for the best hatches and most fish rising. PMD, Callibaetis, Green Drakes, Blue Damsel, Baetis Spinners, Ants and Beetles are all important to your fly box. Looking ahead, get your Trico selection in order. They are anywhere from two weeks to one month away. Baby Hoppers are also starting to appear in good numbers, so be sure to add that fly box to your bag!

The South Fork of the Boise continues to baffle us like always. Caddis are prolific at night, but not a lot of fish eating them. The big foam flies will work one day, then not another. Salmon Flies have yet to make a serious appearance, although this week that hatch should begin with some vigor. The best fly continues to be Salmon Fly nymphs fished deep, or Copper John / Small Stone Nymph combinations, also fished deep.

Finally, the Little Wood should begin to fish soon, although right now the mosquitos in the vicinity are trying to compete for your blood and they are all winning! If you go when the water drops to fishable flows, be sure to target the middle of the day and bring bug spray and appropriate clothing! Green Drakes and Stimulators are the flies for this area, just scale everything back a size or two, including leader length and fly size.

Happy Fishing Everyone!

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!

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

Brown Drake Update - May 19, 2016

Hello Anglers! 

We went and kicked a few Drake nymphs out of Silver Creek yesterday. Here are some photos of what we saw. We did not find a lot of nymphs in the upper stratus of the mud and gravel, so they are still making their way up. You will see in the pictures that the wing cases are starting to turn dark, although you can also see they are not completely dark. Notice the the top of the wing case, you can see a much more opaque color. 

Now, I can't predict a bugs life to the day, looking at these nymphs I would have to think there is no way these bugs hatch before Opening Day, and it could be as much as a week after or even two. I will try to keep this updated and we will look at the nymph again in a week. Stay tuned! Mother Nature could still surprise us! 

Thanks to Rachel Sayre for taking these splendid images.

Sun Valley Area Fishing Report - May 18, 2016

There is less than 2 weeks before fishing season opens. With spring run-off on our local freestone rivers expected to last into the first part of June coupled with a likely showing of the Brown Drake on Silver Creek will mean the Creek could be a busy place for a few weeks. With that said, and with not a lot to report on just yet, we’d like to take a minute and chat about a “busy” Creek.

First off let’s remember we are all brothers and sisters of the fly rod. That means at our core we fish for a lot of the same reasons. Fun, adventure, to reduce stress, to hang with friends, to search for quarry. Mainly we fly fish, because we love it and it speaks to us. It may be something slightly different that we get from the sport, but we can all agree to respect it, and each other’s reasons for doing it.

So when you encounter your fellow angler on the Creek there are two courses you can take. We can choose to be quiet and standoffish, which could lead to tension and no fun at all. The other route is to say hello, be outgoing and communicate with one another. Despite the stigma of a “solitary” sport, we still need to take a few minutes prior to that emersion to address our fellow anglers to make sure we maximize our time and fun as well as theirs!

Do you want to be the angler that stands in the sweet spot during the Drake and ropes one fish after another while those around you are getting skunked from being in the wrong place? The flip side is you could be the angler that catches a few really nice fish and then says to a complete stranger, “Hey, come on over here and make a cast!”

At the end of the day, the first angler can go brag and thump their chest about being a fishing hero, or they can be the second angler content in the knowledge that they caught great fish, and also made someone else’s night, or week, or month, or lifetime. Being able to catch a nice fish on the Creek is not easy. During the Drake it can be. It is worth sharing. You never know how your 2 minutes of grace can make years of someone else’s life better, more exciting, and full of fish tales! It is the right and kind thing to do.

Happy Fishing Everyone!

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 - August 3, 2015

August is upon us, and after a quick heatwave, this week’s temps are looking very comfortable. This is great news for fish and angler alike. We still have low water conditions in most areas, but this is the norm in August. This simply means we have slightly more technical fishing than the rest of the summer and the daily windows push toward the low light of dusk and dawn.

The Trico spinner fall continues all over the Sun Valley area and is fishable on almost all our waters. Silver Creek is the epicenter of the Trico and the mornings when it is not showing in large numbers, other insects and hatches are taking its place. The Baetis has been prolific in the mornings and if you don’t have Hatch Matchers in your fly box, you may be missing the single most important pattern on Silver Creek this season. The P.M.D. activity remains sporadic with some very intense hatches lately.

The afternoons on the Creek are still dominated by Damsel Fly activity, although the Hopper action is really starting to pick up. Callibaetis are still the mainstay of fish in the sloughs as well as ants. The Flying Ant action valley wide has been epic this past two weeks and we see no reason it shouldn’t remain our best bug.

The evenings on the Creek are the normal smorgasbord of all the bugs, and if you are lucky and stay late enough you can witness the Trico emergence. You’ll know you are seeing it, when the fish are going nuts on what looks like a surface devoid of insects. We also cannot say enough about how good the Mouse fishing is this season. It’s the closest we’ll get to all out “Mouse Hatch” conditions.

Elsewhere, the Big Wood continues to fish well early and late. Small mayflies in the a.m. are complimented by decent Caddis in the p.m. If you plan to fish in the afternoon, it’s a Dave’s Hopper with a Pheasant Tail dropper. Streamers have also been effective for taking bigger fish, but anglers need to also use this technique when the light is low.

The Lower Lost continues to be great with Trico and Crane Fly activity. This activity, coupled with wadable flows makes for a great experience, but you had better get out of bed early to make the drive worthwhile!

We love fishing in August! Dust off your Hopper Patterns and get ready for an epic month of casting flies!

Happy Fishing Everyone!

Silver Creek Video Primer #6

This is the last installment of Silver Creek Access Point Video Primers. The Walk and Wade section of the Nature Conservancy is among the best fisheries in Idaho and one not to be missed by fly anglers. IN this video we take a quick look at the area and summarize the hatches and events that take place here.