Lost River Outfitters fishing report May 22, 2018

Last year’s water was enough for two years.  This winter, you would have thought we would have to spread it out over two years.  Snow drought in December, January, and much of February made it look like that may have to be the case.  We did have a wet fall, and then late February here it came.  Back-country skiing finally kicked in, and there were some very nice powder days on Baldy.  Snowpack got up to 100% and it keeps coming.  Then it got warm and started to rain and won’t quit.  Morel season has arrived.  What does this mean for our season?  Quite a lot actually, although you may have to be patient to visit your favorite pool on the Big Wood or your favorite reach on the Big Lost and be content with some whitewater boating instead of leisurely float fishing the Salmon.

We finished our steelhead season on April 18.  Our last angler landed four deep water steelhead.  We averaged nearly three fish on the beach a day on our trips.  We had two double digit days in the mix.  The largest steelhead was a wild 30 inch buck and a 25 inch bull trout was landed.  We got our share of steelhead in the upper river this year and angler pressure was low, so it was a pleasant March and April.  We moved out of the steelhead lodge on April 16^th and are already looking forward to next year.  With last year’s huge runoff and flush there should be a nice return coming back.

I was anxious to return to the low country to see what the reservoirs had in store in late April.  Every one of our local reservoirs had more carry over water than they have in years.  Anderson was ice free in February.   Still water fishing in the spring is something that many fly guys/gals overlook.  It doesn’t take much to make the transition.  A sink line, some wet flies, a float tube and fins is about it.   Lakes and reservoirs grow some of the biggest fish on the planet and our local still waters rival any place in Montana or Wyoming.  Every still water presents a different challenge whether it is pattern, place, or method, but that is the joy in making it work.  Reports from all of our local reservoirs have been amazing, if you are in the right place at the right time.  Anderson gave up bass, bull trout, big pike minnows, a couple of landlocked Chinook, perch and a few trout so far this year.  The best bass on one of our outings was 21 inches, but many in the 14 and better.  The largest bull trout was 25 inches.  Full sink lines stripping streamers is my method.   

 Mormon has been a bright spot too.  The rainbows have been unbelievably large this year and fat.  Largest landed 23 inches and probably over 6 pounds.  Size 14 midges and callibaetis are hatching in huge numbers.  Big zebra midges or nymphs under an indicator  work in the bays.  I still like stripping streamers for the big tug there because you can fish 1 or 2x.  Full sink line and green or brown buggers with or without a hackle and a bead.  There has been traffic, but it doesn’t seem to matter.  Pick a cove and fish it slowly with a fairly quick retrieve at the end of the cast. 

 Magic has had its moments.  Midges are starting to hatch so Seagull Bay should start to fish with indicators.  I have had good success stripping perch buggers on a full sink line for both browns and rainbows.  The perch populations have exploded as the full reservoirs give them shallow bays to spawn in.  That means more food for the predacious rainbows and browns.  

 Good reports have come from the Little Wood Reservoir, Fish Creek reservoir and Mackay reservoir.  There is no lack of still water fishing to be had.  Trail Creek is open!

Our opening day on the local rivers will offer limited fishing.  The Big Wood today is flowing at 2,100, which is really not very safe to hang around yet.  Flows at Stanton are 1380.  Flows at Camas Creek are 137.  Outflow of Magic in the canyon is 1,700.  You could probably jet boat the canyon, but even that is big.  

 Silver Creek will be crowded but our fishable stream water this weekend.  It is flowing at 161 cfs.  Look for some late morning PMD’s, possible afternoon callibaetis.  With over cast skies you can always have the possibility of seeing baetis.  I would anticipate that the brown drakes should fire up the first week of June, possibly even the last few days of May given our fairly warm spring weather.  We have all of our usual custom drake patterns ready for you at the shop.  Stop in, before they are gone.  It should be a big drake year for some big browns this year.  Big water redistributed them last year and last winter many big guys showed up chasing streamers. 

 The Big Lost is flowing at 1,790 above the reservoir and 1030 below the reservoir, and 291 at Arco  Both reaches are too cold and big above and too big below for any decent fly casting.  

 The Little Wood has shown some promise this Spring.  Please treat it right as it has been dead for ten years because of too little water, too much hot water, and poor water quality.  It is such a beautiful little stream and can have amazingly pretty big browns that it needs all the help it can get.

Our Yellowstone year is pretty well booked, although if you are interested we might be able to squeeze in another June date.  We have one three day window left in late September fishing the N.E. corner of Yellowstone.  Those dates are September 21, 22, and 23.  There is plenty of water in the Park, and it is still raining there as well.  The Lamar River is flowing at 9,750 cfs.  That will spread out the cutties.  We start June 5 in Yellowstone and return June 23.  We have another trip August 5-10.  Our September runs from the 5^th to the 23^rd.  If you have not fished Yellowstone it should be on your bucket list.  We can help.  208-720-3813 is my cell if you want more information or my email is scott@lostriveroutfitters.com.

We are stocked with all the bugs, tippets and gear you need for the opener.  Stop by and say hello, share a fish story, purchase your controlled hunt permit before the end of May, pick up some fly tying hooks for your next pattern, or shop for your significant other.  We are always glad to help you find the right thing. 

Fish far and fine,

Scott Schnebly

Lost River Outfitters

May 5,2015 Fishing Report

May 8, 2015 Lost River Outfitters Fishing Report

Nice rainfall last night! It freshened the air, the wildflowers are heaving a sigh of relief, and if you get high enough up, you can even see the new snow on the Pioneers!  There have been years where May and June rains have saved us, let’s hope we are on track for one of those years!  Magic reservoir drawdown has begun.  Outflows are 924 cfs.  The reservoir has dropped nearly 8 feet already.  The upper Big Wood at Hailey is flowing at 677 cfs this morning, but only 237 cfs are going into Magic at Stanton.  Camas Creek is flowing at about 27 cfs, so it does not look like Magic will benefit much from any runoff.  Most of the upper Big Wood is already in the canals, and the water below Glendale is already diverted.

We have stuff to report, but most of it will come from past and future fishing adventures.

Salmon River

We finished our steelhead season from the Beckwith’s Lodge in Stanley on April 19^th.  My son Blake and his wife Kelly joined us for the weekend.  Kelly was the top rod catching two deep water steelhead, a bull trout, and a nice cutthroat, with innumerable whitefish to boot.  She mastered the upstream double spey with the switch rod.  The switch rod nymphing is a great method for slow, stubborn cold water river fish.  It is pretty easy to learn.  We moved into the steelhead lodge on March 24^th this year and out on April 21^st.  With the fish coming earlier every year we could have been there March 10^th.  My first trip up on February 20 produced three steelhead.  We don’t really like fishing them when they go to gravel to spawn, so finishing early was fine with us.  The Salmon River is now closed to steelhead fishing.

Magic Reservoir

I really enjoy coming back from Stanley to bob around in Magic in my float tube.  Two years ago the smallmouth fishing was spectacular.  Last year the triploid rainbows won top billing.  So far this year Magic has been stingy for me and spotty for others.  I expect that will change and hope it does soon.  It is close, a great afternoon or evening break.  The loons, grebes, mallards, geese and various other waterfowl makes for some interesting bird watching.  Stripping streamers is usually my best method on a tip or full sink.

 

Lower Lost

The Lower Lost is flowing at 225 cfs. It got bumped up to nearly 600 cfs while Susanne and I were guiding it. We still caught fish, but we had to increase the size of our nymphs.  It will hatch baetis and midges on any given day and will wake up the feeding.  Some spawning is still happening so take care not to walk on the redds and let the rainbows finish their jobs.  Nymphing with a double zebra rig size 18-20 on 6X fluorocarbon tippets is very effective before the emergence, which usually happens mid day.  In the fast water rocky reaches a stonefly nymph is very effective on 3 or 4X tippets.  If you encounter a hatch heavy enough to bring fish to the surface try fishing a size 20 black zebra under a size 14-16 adams or purple haze.  Tippet to midge should be short, about 12 inches, and fine, 6X.  Sometimes they even eat the dry fly!

Big Wood

Closed until Memorial Day Weekend.  Will probably fish in early June this year. The warm temps and consequent rains have brought the Wood up as well.

Silver Creek

Closed until Memorial Day Weekend.  Hopefully some of the diverted Big Wood waters will improve flows this season.

South Fork of the Boise

Closed until Memorial Day Weekend.  Flowing at 600 today. 

Little Wood above the reservoir

Closed until Memorial Day Weekend.  The Reservoir might be worth a look from a tube on a warm day.

Carey Lake

Bluegill, bass, and some perch have been caught.  The bird life in the spring is cacophonous.

We still have the petition to change the regulations on the Upper Lost and Copper Basin in the shop.  No word yet, but would like to continue the effort until that great watershed is protected.  Stop in the shop and put your John Henry on it!

The Idaho 2 Fly fundraiser for Idaho men with cancer is scheduled for June 13^th at Ron Sali’s 96 acre pond in Eagle.  The lake is full of big largemouth bass and trout.  The entry fee is $500.  The money goes to a great cause.  It is fun fishing, and a very inspirational event in an amazing setting. If you are interested in participating we have flyers at the shop or you can call my cell at 208-720-3813.  Dick Wilson has done a great job with this event and the two Idaho retreats for men with cancer.

We still have room for Yellowstone fishing trips this June and September.  Best dates are June 10-15 or September 16-18.  But we can accommodate any dates in June or September.  These are three-five day fishing trips.  We stay in cabins in West Yellowstone in June and Silver Gate in September.  It really is more than a fishing trip, but angling for native species in the waters flowing off the top of the continental divide is pretty special.

Spring merchandise is arriving at the shop daily.  Our fly tying room is stocked full.  Stop in and share your latest fishing tale. 

Fish far and fine,

Scott Schnebly

Lost River Outfitters  

Lost River Outfitter's Fishing report March 20.2015

Mother Nature has thrown us a curve ball.  Who would have thought crocus would bloom in mid March in the Wood River Valley?  Warm weather has played a big role in our water conditions and fishing the past couple of weeks.  Runoff has begun.  Rivers are growing, they are turbid, high and cold.  Our late winter(?) fishing is not panning out to be what we have been used to.  Snow pack is dwindling a month early and it really doesn’t seem to want to change.  A few fronts move through but are not adding much water to our drainages.  Snow water equivalents in most river systems have dropped to 80% or less in the last month.  Here is what we have found in the last few weeks on our rivers. 

Silver Creek

Closed until the Saturday of Memorial Weekend.

The Big Wood

The upper Big Wood fished pretty well last week, but that may have been the end of it, unless we get a serious cold spell, with freezing temperatures at night and cool days.  It is flowing at 412 cfs this morning and is rising.  The silt from the fire runoff is making the river muddy and last fall’s leafy debris is washing.  We may not fish the upper Big Wood now until late June.

The lower Big Wood in the Canyon below Magic has nearly doubled it flows!  Not saying much, but it is at 4.2 cfs.  At these levels it is still water fishery with midge hatches.  A size 20 zebra midge or beaded pheasant tail size 18 under an indicator usually 3-6 feet works well.  On sunny days I usually fish deeper.  On cloudy days or if there is a good midge hatch drift your nymphs closer to the surface.   The denser populations of trout are closer to the dam.  The top two pools are the best fishing due to a fish kill in the canyon reach last summer from low oxygen levels when irrigation waters ceased to flow.

Magic

Magic Reservoir is ice free and trout are beginning to roll on the surface.  The water is cold so wear plenty of under wader wear if you are float tubing.  A green or brown bugger on a sink tip or full sink is generally my choice, but there was a good report of shore fishing with a floating line working for big rainbows last week.

The Lower Lost

The lower Lost is flowing at 96 cfs as it has been for the last two months.  The Lost has been the consistent fishery in our area.  Midge hatches have been prolific after noon.  Baetis hatches started about 1 pm on Monday.  Choose tippets in the 5-6X category as the water is crystal clear.  Best bug and fish activity seems to be in the afternoons.  Zebra midges in brown, green and black are all good.  When the fish begin to pay attention to the surface try a zebra about a foot under a size 14-16 adams or purple haze.  If the baetis hatch is heavy the fish will become selective to the baetis dry or emerger.  A fan wing comparadun trailing shuck is a pretty good match.  The trout in the lower Lost are healthy 14-19 inch trout right now.  They are gathering to spawn in the shallow riffle water, but have not yet gone to gravel in numbers.  There are plenty of feeding fish in the pool water to target.

The South Fork of the Boise is at a steady 314 cfs right now.  Midges and tiny baetis are the predominate bugs right now.  The South Fork is pretty much the same fishing scenario as the lower Lost.  I would not hesitate to cast stonefly imitations into the heavier pocket water and riffle water.  That can be relaxing after dealing with 6X tippets, 14 foot leader tangles, and size 20 flies.

The Salmon River

The Salmon at Yankee Fork is flowing at 1,240 cfs this morning.  Valley Creek is about 260 cfs.  These flows are nearly three times normal for this time of year.  Valley Creek, Basin Creek and Yankee Fork drainages all have recent burns.  These streams feeding the Salmon are running murky and easily put the Salmon out as far as fishing the fly.  The recent warm weather has darkened the water considerably below Valley Creek.  The few miles of river upstream from Valley Creek to the Sawtooth hatchery are clear.  If this continues to be the weather trend it looks like anglers will have to pick a rock and sit on it all day. These are unfortunate conditions this year.  The steelhead arrived early due to a long warm fall run up and a warm winter  migration.  There have been some large B run steelhead in the mix and quite a few bull trout compared to past years.  Whitefish and some cutthroat are also available.  Expect to see more whitefish as the days wear on as they will move up river with the steelhead.

Petition for quality regulations on the upper Lost Copper Basin

We have a petition to change regulations on the upper Lost from a six trout per day limit to a slot limit or catch and release.  It is in the shop.  We would really like some more signatures if you have time to stop in.   Fishing regulations are set for two years, so this is our chance.  The upper Lost continues to see more pressure every year.  Angling pressure will no doubt increase as the road has been improved and paved and as the Big Wood recovers from the silty runoff from the burns in Warm Springs Creek and Baker Creek.  You can also send comments on any regulation you might like changed on the Idaho Fish and Game website idfginfo@idfg.idaho.gov                                                                                                                                       Comments need to be made well before the end of March as that is when the managers submit comment to the Idaho F&G Commission.

Yellowstone

Two open dates are still available in Yellowstone.

June 13-16 on the West side on the Madison, Firehole, Gibbon, and Duck Creek

Sept. 16-18 from the N.E. corner on the Yellowstone, the Lamar, Slough Creek, and Soda Butte.

Call the shop at 208-726-1706 or my cell at 208-720-3813.

Wild fish are too valuable to only be caught once!

Happy fly tying if you can’t get to the river!

Fish far and fine,

Scott Schnebly, Lost River Outfitters

PS By Susanne:

We will be moving into our steelhead lodge on Monday and will hope for some cold nights and cool days. If you 

would like to learn about steelhead fishing on the Upper Salmon, please give us a call. This is always a fun trip.

We also still have some openings for the lodge. Waking up in our lodge is worth the price of admission! It is

a peaceful and beautiful place away from the hustle and bustle of every day life.