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

Feb 23,2015 fishing report

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!

First Fishing report for 2015

January 19, 2015 Lost River Outfitters Fishing Report

Comfort has returned for the mid winter angler.  Around the holidays the mercury dropped to zero and below at night and barely 10 degrees in the daytime.  Result was shelf ice to begin, then anchor ice from below, then flowing slush, and finally even the fast flowing Big Wood River froze over in many places.  Except for the Nature Conservancy water, Silver Creek was a solid ribbon of ice. You could make it work if you found open water, but only to say you did, at 4 below zero.  Temperatures have moderated to just freezing night time and at or above freezing daytime.  Pleasant.  Although we have not experienced a huge storm yet this winter we are building precious water.  Snow water equivalent is around 103% as of today and precipitation to date is just under 100%.  That is for the Big Wood, Big Lost and Little Wood drainages.  The small storms are adding up.  We can hope for a big dump or just keep the small ones coming.  Statewide we are looking better than we have for a few years. Here is the first fish report of 2015.

Big Wood

Although the Big Wood water gauge in Hailey is still ice affected, I would venture to say that it is flowing below 150 cfs.  Water clarity is good.  There is some slick, sticky, mud from the flash floods of last August and September so take some care in wading.  Nymphing is still the best fish catching technique to be had on the Wood until the midges begin in earnest.  Big black or brindle girdle bugs, weighted, or a small weighted double nymph rig.  4X can be used with the size 10-12 stonefly imitations and 5X-6X with the baby nymphs.  Brassies, Anato mayfly nymphs, copper johns, zebras, two bit hookers, beaded pheasant tails are all good choices for the small flies.  Keep your indicator 8-9 feet from your bugs.  You get better depth and drift presentations that way.  There has been some spotty midge rising, but not enough to get me to change over yet.  It also appears we have a smaller population of catchable trout in the Wood this winter probably because of some attrition due to the dark water issues it has suffered the last two falls with thunderstorm floods on the fire ground.  There are still some nice fish to be had, but be very content with a dozen landings in an afternoon rather than the four dozen hookups you have had in past years.  Best time is still 11:00 to 4:00 pm.

Lower Big Wood below Magic

The lower Wood is flowing at 2.2 cfs, which is about normal for this time of year.  This water also froze solid during the cold weather over Christmas.  The fish in the canyon were stressed last summer due to low, warm water conditions. They are fine now with the oxygen levels higher now in the cold flows.  Although streamer fishing is effective for the larger rainbows and browns in that reach, I prefer hanging a scud imitation, midge imitation, or small weighted nymph under an indicator for more constant results.  The fish in the pools are constantly moving to forage and will find your hanging nymph.  Just try to figure out the proper depth and you will have good success.  On bright days I go deeper, on cloudy windy days shallower.  Generally the nymph should be 3-6 feet beneath your indicator.  You probably want to concentrate on the pools close to the dam.

Silver Creek

The Silver Creek water gauge is also ice affected.  Silver Creek was bank to bank ice over the holidays.  The channel should be open enough to cast streamers today.  Black Buggers and Philo Betto sculpin imitations are our favorites this time of year for both browns and rainbows.

Lower Lost

The Lower Lost is flowing at 88 cfs today, which is good winter flow.  It was down to 55 cfs after irrigation season.  It is too early for baetis to show, but midges should start to attract attention on most days.  Afternoon is usually prime time in the winter on the lower Lost.  Until you see some surface activity you can dredge the deeper pools using a small double nymph rig with one being a green, tan, or black zebra or use a size 10-12 golden stone or black stone imitation.  This set up is very similar to the Big Wood.  When there is surface activity a Wullf adams or purple haze in size 14 with a size 18-20 zebra dropper 10-18 inches down, fished into the heads of the pools in the riffle water can be effective if not deadly.  Presentation can be critical, be aware of drag.

South Fork Boise

The South Fork is flowing at about 305 today.  It is easy to cross and move around at this level.

Reports are that fishing is a bit spotty this winter, similar to the Big Wood.  There have been some large trout caught this winter, however.  Use girdle bugs in the rocky faster reaches drifting the seams and slower moving currents and fish small weighted midge imitations into the heads and riffles and you should have success.  Try to pick a sunny day the inversions have created some cold days in the canyon.

Steelhead

Our spring steelhead season is shaping up to be a good run this year.  Nearly 165,000 fish have crossed Lower Granite dam.  We had a very good fall trip to Riggins this year, hooking over 50 steelhead during the first week of November.   Most of the rivers in northern Idaho have risen this past week making fly rodding a challenge.  The Clearwater is flowing at 9-10,000 right now and is much better at 7,000 cfs.  The Snake is flowing at 27,700.  The Salmon at Riggins is 5,140.  The Little Salmon is at 345 cfs but is very nymphable at that level.  Just add a couple more splits to your Skykomish Sunrise or large Prince nymphs.  Pick a warm day and head to Challis or Salmon and you should be able to swing one up.  Sink tips will help get the fly closer to the fish in the cold water conditions.  We are now booking the Stanley Steelhead lodge for March and April.  Give us a call if you might want to bring a group or your fishing partner for a memorable adventure on the Salmon River surrounded by the spectacular Sawtooth Mountains.

Fish far and fine,

Scott Schnebly

Lost River Outfitters


News from the store:

  We have just received new merchandise from Patagonia, new Nano Air Hooded Jackets, jackets , and vests.....these new items are great for high aerobic output activities such as skate skiing, snow shoeing, back country skiing. The great new face fabric is breathable! Come check it out. Everyone who owns one of these great jackets loves them! For the non-aerobic portion of your adventure, all you have to add is a wind proof shell and you now have a toasty warm jacket. This is a new exciting layering piece.

Don't forget to book your steelhead fishing adventure at our Stanley Steelhead Lodge! Space is limited , so the time to boo this is now.

Our other fun adventure trip is a multi-day trip to Yellowstone Park. Lodging fills up fast, so plan theses trips now. We like to go to the West side of the park in June and go to the NE corner in September.

Also do not forget about back-packing/fishing trips to the Pioneer mountains. We bring back packing float tubes and can hire mules to pack in all of our gear. We can do ladies only trips or trips for families or children.

For winter excitement we offer winter guide trips with all gear and flies included in the price. If you like to combine a fishing day with a ski day, we'll gladly pick you up at the bottom of River Run.