Lost River Outfitters February 2015 Fishing Report
Wonky weather. The
West needs it and the East Coast doesn’t want it any more. It has been the longest mild weather run that
I have seen in my tenure in Central Idaho.
Since early January we have experienced high temperatures 10-20 degrees
above normal. The low snow is nearly
gone. Trees are budding in
Shoshone. Grass is greening up south of Hailey. Robins have been seen arriving. What’s up?
Is it time to go all electric solar and wind? It is probably past time.
We have seen a drop in snowpack that will affect us if
nothing changes shortly. The Big Wood
drainage is at 94% precipitation and 90% snow water equivalent. The Big Lost is at 85% precipitation and 90%
snow water equivalent. The Salmon drainage
is at 101% precipitation and 95 snow water equivalent. Remember how our run off works? The low snow helps fill the reservoirs and
the high snow run off keeps them full.
This is beginning to look a lot like the last couple of years. Hopefully we will see a change.
How has this affected our passionate local winter fishing
folk? The last couple of weeks you have
needed to dodge some high dark water and heavier than usual flows on the Big
Wood and Silver Creek. The lower Lost,
lower Big Wood, and South Fork of the Boise waters fisheries are clear and
cold. The upper Big Wood from Bellevue
to Ketchum has gotten a bit stingy.
The upper Big Wood
Flowing at 214 cfs today, down from a high of 275, with
normal flows this time of year usually below 150. Higher flows have meant some turbidity. The melting snow and increased flows chilled
the water some and slowed feeding activity.
During a blanket midge hatch this last week on a guide trip we saw no
rising fish. Offerings should be large
stonefly nymph imitations in size 8-12 or a set of heavy bright nymphs to reach
the bottom dwellers, 4X with the big bug and 5X with the small nymphs.
The lower Big Wood
There are not as many fish in the lower Big Wood Canyon as
usual, but they are looking healthier than they did last fall. Stick to the top pools near the dam. Flows
are normal winter levels at approximately 3 cfs. The lower runs experienced a heavy kill
after the water was shut off last summer.
A weighted pheasant tail, zebra midge or both hung below an indicator on
5 or 5 1/2XTrout Hunter fluorocarbon leader works well in the slow clear waters
of the Canyon. A streamer can seduce a
nice brown at times if you are trophy hunting.
The lower Lost
Winter flows below Mackay dam are nearly normal at 96 cfs
today. It is a bit early to see the
winter baetis hatch, but with the warm temperatures they may start any
day. Expect to see some feeding on
midges. The winter midge on the lower
Lost is big. A size 20 is a good
imitation. The LRO midge emerger works
well on surface feeding fish. We hang it
off a small purple haze or parachute adams as it is a film fly and the larger
dry works as a strike indicator.
Sometimes the larger dry fly is taken.
If there is no surface activity, nymphing with a double zebra midge, or
pheasant tail size 16-18 with a zebra dropper right up into the riffle water
works wonders on feeding fish.
Silver Creek
Silver Creek is flowing at 115 today, down from the highs
after the rain storm of two weeks ago of nearly 200 cfs. You have about a week to catch your last fish
on the Creek before Memorial Day weekend.
It closes at the end of February.
There have been some midges hatching, but streamer fishing is usually
most effective. Many folks cast black or
olive wooley buggers. I am partial to
our Philo Betto streamer which imitates a sculpin pattern. We had great success on four guide trips with
Philo in the last two weeks. Both browns
and rainbows eat it dead drifted, twitched, treadled and stripped.
South Fork of the Boise
Flows in the South Fork are normal for this time of year at
310 cfs. There have been some really big
rainbows caught this winter, some over 24 inches and fat! Nymphing is usually the best option for
numbers, but the tiny baetis and midges will bring fish to the surface. Girdle bugs in the rocky fast reaches will
produce fish if you are patient. Small,
16-20 double weighted nymphs fished into the riffles on the long runs will be
effective as long as one is a zebra midge.
Midge selection should include black, olive, and tan.
Salmon River Steelhead
The upper Salmon has dropped to 542 cfs this morning, about
300 down from its highs with the warm rains.
It is running cold at 37 degrees, but clear. It is still early for the upper river fish to
show, but a trip down towards Salmon/Challis is worth it. We caught steelhead, bull trout, cutthroat
and whitefish on a recent trip north. We
still have room at the steelhead lodge if you or your group want to put
together a few days this on the river in March and early April. The steelhead run is good this year with over
160,000 fish over lower Granite into Idaho.
It will be a good spring run!
Yellowstone
We are booking Yellowstone right now. Lodging is the issue so if you want a trip
let’s put it together now.
Open June dates on the Madison, Firehole, Gibbon, and Duck
Creek from West Yellowstone are:
June 13, 14, 15, 16 open
June 18, 19 booked
June 19,20, 21 booked
June 21, 22, 23 booked
Open Dates in Sept. on the Yellowstone, Lamar, Slough, Soda
Butte from Silver Gate are:
Sept. 16, 17, 18 open
Sept. 19, 20, 21 open
Sept. 22, 23, 24 booked
Lost River notes.
Public hearings on rule changes for the next two year
including fisheries. February 24 in
Hailey at Community Campus. Stop by the
shop to sign the petition for quality regulations on the upper Lost and Copper
Basin.
Our Winter Sale in full swing including Patagonia, Mt.
Hardware, Mt. Khaki, among others
Our fly tying room is stocked with new arrivals weekly.
Free rentals on winter guide trips.
Stop by to see what is new on the fishing front in Central
Idaho and beyond.
Fish far and fine,
Scott Schnebly
Just a quick note from Susanne. Since I failed to get this
posted over the weekend, you might be laughing at us because temps this morning
were CHILLY. When I took the dogs out, it was only 12 degrees.
Please keep in mind that booked Yellowstone dates are Scott’s
personal openings. We could easily add another guide and accommodate you or
your group. Both Zac and I would love to take you on a Yellowstone adventure.
My personal favorite is going in September. The Lamar Valley is hard to beat
for scenery, wildlife viewing, and great fall hatches.
Skiing is great right now! Don’t let tales of low snow deter
you from coming to Sun Valley this late winter/early Spring! Up high there is
plenty of snow, Baldy is in fine shape, and the back country got a bunch of
snow when it rained in the valley.
If you are planning a ski trip to Sun Valley in late March
or April, let us help you catch a steelie while you are in town!
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