Fishing report first week of March

Fishing report March 1, 2014 Lost River Outfitters

Let there be water!!  What a change we have seen in the month of February in our water supplies and snowpack.  The high pressure off the west coast has broken down and given us a nice series of storms.  Both our snow water equivalent and precipitation to date have gone from below 50% in our central Idaho drainages to around 70%.  The Big Wood snow water equivalent is at 83% and rising today.  Snow water is what fills our reservoirs.  We are still behind, but in much better shape than anyone could have imagined in mid January.  The Salmon drainage is over 100% in snow water equivalent.  Eastern Idaho and Yellowstone are in the +90% to + 100% snowpack.  Our low elevation snowpack is slim, but we have had lowland rains which should help our water tables.  The high country is looking great, with backcountry skiing in full swing.  It looks like it will keep coming and we are thankful.

Some of the dreary days have given us time at the tying bench to replenish our trout flies, prepare for spring saltwater trips, and fill fly bins for spring steelhead season.  In the mean time temperatures have been mild. We have enjoyed some great winter fishing days.  Here is what has been happening on our local rivers and what to expect in the near term.

Big Wood

The Big Wood is fishing quite well.  The floods of last September did not kill the bugs or all of the fish.  The trout are looking quite healthy and starting to bulk up for the spring spawn.  Midge hatches have grown heavy enough to make the trout selective in some pools.  Water levels have risen due to the warm days and some early runoff, but not enough to change the river much.  Large Stonefly imitations are still working, but a double nymph rig seems to be more consistent.  An Anato mayfly nymph, brassie, or copper john with a zebra midge trailer has been an effective combination, in sizes 14 and 18 respectively.   If you encounter a pod of rising fish trail a dry midge from a larger dry so you can pick out the rise to your midge.  We like the LRO midge emerger as the trailer.  The trout will eat it wet or dry and many of the fish are picking out the emerging midge rather than eating the fully emerged adult.  Don’t forget your 6X tippet.  Fluorocarbon on your nymph rigs seem to result in more eats.

The inflow of the Wood to Magic has been spotty.  Some days are better than others.  Water levels have tripled in size in the last week, so maybe some fish will move up from Magic.

The outflow of the Wood from Magic has had triple the flows it normally has, still only 5 cfs, probably due to some rain and melt on the dessert.  Those fish will eat midge pupae, scud, and small nymph imitations readily.  Please release your fish in the lower Wood, they are all we have to replenish that potentially trophy fishery after the low water kill of last summer.

Silver Creek

Closed until Memorial weekend.

Lower Big Lost

This is the time for the lower Lost to shine.  Midges and Baetis hatches combine to make one of your most memorable winter trout days.  Flows are 84 cfs, which is enough to move your fly through a drift.  Imitations need to be good on fine tippets as they will get a very good look at your imitation. The winter baetis is big for baetis,  size 17-18.  I like sight fishing the feeders with a large baetis imitation, small adams, or gulper special with a trailing size 18 pheasant tail on 6X fluorocarbon.  It pretty much covers your bases during the hatch periods.  A dry fly on top or a baetis nymph or midge pupae just sub-surface.  Large stonefly nymphs in the faster rocky reaches are also good, if you just want to relax and watch the bobber.

South Fork of the Boise

Flows are at 307 cfs right now.  I would not expect them to move for some time.  The Boise drainage is below 100% and Anderson Reservoir has lots of room to fill.  The hatches on the South Fork are midge and micro baetis at this time of year.  The trout can be challenging when working the micro stuff, but the reward of a 20 plus inch bow is worth the effort.  Girdle bugs in the rocky moving reaches will also produce under an indicator.  Frank showed me a picture of a 30 inch rainbow taken last week on the South Fork.  Streamers with your new switch rod might produce the fish of a lifetime.  It is worth the trip into the canyon and to see the effects of the fires if you have not made it down this year.

 Salmon River

The Salmon below Yankee Fork is flowing at 456 cfs already.  That is about 80 cfs above normal for this time of year.  Steelhead are moving upriver with the ice receding and the increased flows.  Fish are being caught at Challis, and still in Riggins.  They are still coming over the Snake River dams.  Although the run is a bit below 10 year average, we should see our share in the upper river by early April.  If you are interested we still have room at the Steelhead Lodge in Stanley in the month of April.  We would be happy to host you or your group on a steelhead trip for the longest running steelhead in the world!

Yellowstone Park

Closed.  We are booking June and September trips right now.  It is imperative to do it early as lodging can be an issue. 

Open dates are:

June 9, 10, 11.  June 12, 13, 14,  June 15, 16-booked,  June17, 18, 19.

Sept. 13, 14, 15, Sept. 16, 17, 18, Sept. 19, 20, 21, Sept. 22, 23, 24, Sept. 25, 26, 27, 28-booked.

Let us know if you might want to do a Yellowstone trip this year.  Water levels should be good.  It is more than just a fishing trip.  June dates we fish the Madison, the Firehole, the Gibbon, and Duck Creek.  September trips we fish the Lamar, the Yellowstone, Slough Creek, and Trout lake.  We organize the lodging and suggest transport arrival and departures. 

Fish far and fine,

Scott Schnebly

Fishing report 1/21/2014

Fishing report Jan. 22, 2014

To say our fishing has been and will be weather affected is an understatement this past year.  If the weather pattern doesn’t change it will carry into our summer and possibly future years.  A two thousand mile long, four mile high, high pressure system has been sitting off the Pacific coast for a year now.  If you recall, the last real wet westerly system we had in Idaho was in December of 2013.  Since then our storms have come from the north.  Typically they go east of Central Idaho and are fairly dry by the time they reach us.  The airflows over the summer came as monsoons from the south and with the thunderstorms creating lightning and our huge fire season.  September gave us big rain from the monsoonal flows, which, on top of bare burned ground, created mud flows into many of our watersheds.  Some of our rivers flowed black to dark brown for weeks.  The South Fork of the Boise was closed, the Big Wood unfishable, and the doomsday predictors said everything in the rivers died.  All the bugs and fish were gone.  Recovery would take years.  Happy to report that is not the case.  Long term the carbon in the streams will be good.  We should have more plant growth, more food for the insects, and therefore better growth for the fish.  The Yellowstone fires in the 1980’s were a good example of that very thing.

In the mean time we are only about 50% precipitation of average in Idaho.  We need water for our fish and crops, and winter sports.  Hopefully the weather pattern will change.  We are not the only western state affected.  Here is our mid winter fishing report.

Big Wood River

The September floods did result in some dead fish.  It seems whitefish were found dead as well as some trout.  We could have lost some young of the year fingerlings as well, which will show up in a couple of years.  This winter guide season has been productive however. Some afternoon days producing 20-40 fish for those who don’t mind nymphing.  There has been some rising to midges in soft water, with hatches heavy enough for the trout to be selective in some instances. Midge hatches should increase in February. A few of the rainbows are thin, no doubt due to the stress of the flood and dark water, but many are fat and healthy.  Due to low snowpack the river is easily accessible and many days on the water have been above 32 degrees, so iced guides not much of a problem.  Below Magic Reservoir fish have survived near the dam.  They are thin due to the stress of having spent the latter part of the summer in warm water and probably competing for food.  Those fish are the seed to repopulate the system when water flows return to a more normal state.  Please treat them gently and release.

Silver Creek

If you are in the area you should stop by Kilpatrick Bridge to see the progress of the Silver Creek project.  We should see the waters below the pond improve in water quality and fish populations as a result.  It is pretty an amazing change already.  Although the water gauge says frozen, the creek is not.  The best approach is streamer fishing this time of year.  Try a black leech or bugger or a Philo Betto to entice the larger browns and rainbows this time of year.  Floating lines are fine.  We should see some midge hatches in February, with occasional rising.

The Lower Big Lost

The Lower Lost is flowing at 75 cfs today.  It was too low when it was first shut off flowing in the high 50’s.  The pools were ponds and all of the fish that would take were stuffed into the riffle water at the heads of the pools.  Nymphing the moving water is the most productive this time of year.  Pheasant tails, zebra midges in the riffle waters with 5 and 6X fluorocarbon is a good choice.  In the faster rocky runs a stonefly nymph is always a good choice.  Look for the midge hatches to improve as the winter goes on and we can always count on the March baetis for a good dry fly fix.

South Fork of the Boise

 This is a different river after the floods.  If you get a chance, it is worth a drive into the canyon.  Boulders the size of trailer houses came down the mountain and changed the river.  I had a chance to fish it a few weeks ago and although it suffered the same fate as the Big Wood, there were some very healthy and large trout, and even a number of whitefish to the nymph.  There is some rising to midges and look for the tiny baetis to bring fish to the surface in the very soft pools.    

Steelhead

Although our steelhead run is not big this year, it is better than twenty years ago.  Somewhat less than 110,000 fish have reached Idaho so far.  Reports are that the Snake and the Clearwater are giving up some winter fish to some hardy spey casters.  We are booking the Stanley Steelhead Lodge now, and have taken a number of early dates in late March and April.  If you have specific dates or requested guides it would be a good time to call the shop and get on the book.  208-726-1706

Lost River Events

Fly tying classes

Fly tying classes begin in February.  There is a sign-up sheet on the counter.  Cost is $20/class.  Materials provided.  Beginner to steelhead intruder classes offered.

Fly fishing film Waypoints

Benefit for the Nature Conservancy’s restoration project. Fly fishing film, Waypoints, will be presented by Lost River Outfitters and Waterworks-Lamson at the Next Stage Theatre on Jan. 24^th at 6:30 pm.   Raffle prizes include Smith sunglasses, a Waterworks reel, Ex-Officio shirt, men’s and women’s Scottevests, men’s and women’s wool base layer from First Light, a gift certificate from Enoteca, among others.   Raffle tickets are $5.00.   

A beer and wine reception begins at 6:30.  Tickets are $10, or six for $50 and are available at Lost River Outfitters.

Yellowstone Park Fishing Adventures

Yellowstone Park Fishing Adventures

We are booking our June and September Yellowstone trips now. Some dates are taken.  If you have not fished Yellowstone Park it you owe it to yourself. It is our domestic “international” fishing adventure, and is much more than just a fishing trip.  We make lodging arrangements and can help with your airline connections. If you are interested send me an email at scott@lostriveroutfitters.com and we will get you a photo album, details, costs and answer your questions.

Fish far and fine,

Scott Schnebly   

News from the store:

The new Patagonia Women’s fishing line is in!

Patagonia is introducing a new W’s wader, fishing jacket, and other W’s specific clothing items and we have the waders and jackets in stock!

The drop seat wader has many great features! One of the greatest innovations is the drop seat, making it possible to attend to Nature’s call in relative privacy and without removing your jacket! Come on in and check them out!

I will post more about these waders on our next blog! And, we’ll have another ladies night soon!

We also have the new Winston Boron III LS in stock now! Not only does this rod cast like a dream, it is also the sexiest rod Winston has come out with!

Stop in and cast this great new stick! We’ll gladly take you outside and let you try it! It’s always fun to cast a new rod, and the boys and gals in our shop would love to go out into the sunshine and let you play around a bit!

I am at the OR Show in Salt Lake right now and will report back next week.

Remember, if we don’t have what you’d like, we’ll gladly order it for you!

Susanne   Susanne@lostriveroutfitters.com

 w's wader video

Fall is for Steelhead

Come September, all of the Idaho steelhead junkies start checking Columbia river fish counts religiously. We start tying flies and gearing up for fall trips. Once October rolls around, the Clearwater and Salmon start filling up with anglers looking to "swing up" a summer run steelhead. While this year's steelhead counts are well below the 10 year average, Columbia and Snake river tributaries have fished better than they did last year.

The Clearwater fished very well (by Clearwater standards) in early October.  Some buddies and I spent three days swinging flies around Orfino, and we hooked (and even landed) a few fish.  The biggest surprise on that trip was the incredible number of Chinooks in the system. We saw Chinooks rolling through many of the runs we fished, and I even managed to land one on a floating line and a sparsely tied spey fly.

 

The Salmon River has fished very well this year downstream of Riggins.  The stretch that gave up very few fish last year showed some mercy in October with multiple hookups a day for some.  The fishing downstream of Riggins has slowed down, but there are still fish being caught.  With cold, November water temperatures, it's time to put on a sink tip and fish slightly larger flies.  

The fishing on the Salmon River around the town of Salmon has been very slow.  If things warm up, that area should get a good push of fish, and fishing should improve. Unfortunately the catch rates have been bad so far. 

Our fall steelhead season is far from over.  If you haven't tried swinging flies for steelhead, now is as good of a time as any to start. Just be careful; the tug is the drug!

-CM

Fishing report Feb 18,2013

Feb. 18, 2013 Fishing report

Let me diverge a bit first.  In the mid 1980’s a long time client stopped by the shop and told me he had some dates that he would like to book for the summer, but he had left them at his office.  When he returned to California he would fax them to me to see if they would work.  “Fax?”  I must have sounded really stupid.  “You don’t have a fax, he asked?   Come on, join the twentieth century.  O.K. I will call you with them.”  One fax machine was purchased rapidly.

In the mid 1990’s I got a computer to help with our bookkeeping.  Someone hooked up a modem, put me on the internet and gave me an email address.  It was late winter.  A few days later I received an email.  I managed to find the open window and a message appeared.  It was terse and to the point.  “I am looking for three guides for July 14, 15, and 16 for three couples while we visit Sun Valley.  Can you accommodate?”   With typing being one of my more stellar achievements in seventh grade, I penned an “absolutely can” answer under the reply window. I hit send, and it went away to somewhere, supposedly to a gentleman in North Carolina.  Sure it did.  Lo and behold a three word answer returned.  “See you then.”  Please understand me that almost all of our other bookings for someone wanting a guide were followed by one to six phone calls confirming such, and then asking what rods to bring, what flies to bring or tie, what hatches to expect, what the water conditions would be like, which rivers would they fish, did we have private water, beginner water, expert water, what clothes to wear, what waders to bring hip or chest, float or wade.  Not this time.  The three couples showed up at the shop the evening of July 13 and asked for their marching orders for the next day.  At the time I was worrying about how to pay the guides for a no show.  Worries abated and I became a believer in cyber space, resulting in a better, faster computer.

I am still somewhat of a skeptic.  In the last few years Facebook, blogging, and twittering have arrived.  It all sounded like something you would like to avoid in grade school.  Instead of trying to write a weekly fish report, just blog about your recent trip to the river or field was the latest advice.  I have been trying.  I don’t have Facebook, or blogging, or twittering accounts, I jot something down and forward it to my computer wizard and I guess it goes somewhere.    Susanne said she got 100 times more hits for paying $5.00 to Facebook about our Valentine’s Day sale at our shop in Ketchum.   “Big deal”, I said, “what good is that if someone in Florida reads it and isn’t in Sun Valley, Idaho.”  Answer: ’Well, they could very well visit some day and remember us.’  Lo and behold, again.  A couple from New York city googled Fly Fishing in Sun Valley.  They had Found Lost River Outfitters and read a “blog” I noted about a couple from Brazil that I fished with the previous week. They called the office on Wednesday, booked a trip with Lost River for Friday and, althoughthey were dropped off at the wrong shop by their host, managed to find us, were fitted with waders, taught the basics of winter fly fishing. They hooked over sixty trout, and finished the day with a beautiful 21 inch buck fish.  I have a fax machine, my computer is plenty fast these days, I guess I eat crow.  I am glad the fish aren’t changing as fast as our marketing plan.

Our weather is making for some really nice conditions on the rivers.

 Silver Creek is low and clear flowing at 70+ cfs.  Be stealthy and cast medium sized streamers.  Philo Betto is my favorite.

 The Big Wood is flowing about normal.  Midges are showing with some rising trout for those of you who like casting micro dries to targets.   A 12 or 14  brassie with a zebra midge trailer on fine fluorocarbon tippet is a good choice for numbers of fish.  You might even get a trophy whitey. 

The Lower Big Lost will fish much like the upper Big Wood, but the fish are generally larger and more lively as the tail waters don’t experience nearly the temperature fluctuations that the upper Wood does. 

The Salmon will give up a steelhead to a swung fly if you are up for the drive to Challis. 

Tight loops and lines, 

Scott Schnebly/Lost River Outfitters