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.
