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!

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

Fishing Report Aug 27,2013

Fishing report Aug. 26, 2013 

As probably all of you know we became the #1 priority in the nation with our Beaver Creek fire in mid August.  It was a déjà vu of the Castle Rock fire of 2007.  Smoke, evacuations, and fire conditions pretty much shut down the entire valley for a week.  The firefighters again did an amazing job with a virtual inferno over very dry forest, sage and tinder.  The fire is about 90% contained and not visible from the valley, except for the burn scars.  The valley corridor from East Fork north looks the same. The monsoonal air flows have also been a blessing clearing the air and giving us much needed rains over the last three days, with more rains predicted for the week.

 Even during the fire there was some great and smokeless fishing to be had if you were willing to cross Trail Creek summit and venture into the Big Lost River.  Many days on Silver Creek were clear in the afternoons when the southerly winds kicked the smoke out.  The fish have had a nice break as angling pressure was nearly non-existent. We stayed open, with more limited hours, all through the fire and swa quite a few local anglers who took advantage of the un-crowded fishing conditions.

Now that the fire Is behind us, we hope that our clients will return to the valley to enjoy our favorite fishing season, fall!  Cooler temperatures are here and fall fishing should begin to pick up soon.  Here is what you should expect if you venture into the valley in the next week or so.

           Big Wood

Very low water conditions with flows less than 130 cfs.  We fished 14 foot leaders tapered to 6X yesterday and a size 18 and 20 adams to raise fish.  There was a spotty trico spinner fall, some nice fish would rise to the dry fly.  When rises slowed a size 20 zebra midge under a size 16 attractor purple haze received attention. Don’t forget to throw a hopper into the faster water! The fish are definitely looking up for this big bug and it’s always fun to catch fish on hoppers! Expect  to see some larger fish begin to    show as size 10 hecubas begin to hatch and baetis on cloudy afternoons in early September.  

thank you, firefighters!fire video 

           Silver Creek

Flows and temperatures  are pretty normal on the Creek.  Although trico hatches have been       sporadic, you should look for some surface action on trico and baetis in the late morning if you visit the creek.  Also some callibaetis size 18 are still around.  Dry blue damsels and hoppers will get some attention in the afternoons.  

            Big Lost/Copper Basin

 Unfortunately we have seen evidence of a lot of harvest on these waters again this summer.  There are a few pockets of fish left in the upper river, but they are far and few between.  There are plentiful whitefish as they are protected, but many of the nice cutthroat and rainbow that we saw early season have been taken out.  A madam X size 10 with a dropper nymph size 16 on about two feet of 5X fluorocarbon tippet will fool some of those fish that are still there.   We did catch 4 grayling of spawning size in the upper reaches of the Lost in early August on a guide trip.  Please release the trout, although there is no protection on the trout and the Idaho Fish and Game department still believes there would be no trout in the system if not for their planting efforts. There is plenty of natural spawning in that system to replenish it with wild fine spot cutthroat, west slope cutthroat, rainbow, and cut bows.  It is one of the most pristine systems we have that is easily accessible and needs our protection.

             Lower Big Lost

              The lower river below Mackay reservoir is fishing well with nymphs.  Midge hatches have been strong so bring your size 18 and 20 zebra midge box and there also have been tricos early in the morning. Double nymph rigs produce the best in this system right now.  Tippets with this rigging should include 6X fluorocarbon.  By late September we should start to see some fall baetis and the return of surface feeding. 

  

              Yellowstone Park

               If you are interested in a trip to the Lamar Valley and some amazing fall fishing we can hook you up.  I leave on Sept. 9^th and return on Sept. 21^st.    We could still organize your fall trout trip.  You will fish the Yellowstone River, the Lamar River, Slough Creek, Soda Butte Creek and Trout Lake on your trip.  Minimum trip is three days.  We will organize your lodging.  Call Scott at 208-720-3813 or Susanne at 208-720-1994 or send us an email for further details.

             High Mountain Lake Fishing and Backpacking

              Fall is the time to head out into the mountains! With the summer crowds diminishing, you can have some of the high mountain lakes all to yourself! Check out our Outcast Trinity backpacking float tubes! They only weigh 7 lbs, pump up in less than 10 minutes , and come in a nice pack that has enough room for food, clothing, and even waders! We are licensed to guide hiking and back-backing trips to the lakes in the headwaters of the Big Lost. This is one of the most fabulous experiences! The fish are ready to beef up for the winter and will eat just about anything you throw at them. We can also arrange to have the whole camp packed in, so all you have to carry is a day pack. This also makes it possible to have ‘real’ food and even a libation under the stars! Give Susanne a call on her cell 108.720.1994. She likes nothing better than spending a couple of nights under the stars!

            Steelhead

Fall steelhead season is approaching.  The numbers are not huge, but they are coming into Idaho over Lower Granite Dam right now.  Stop in the shop for a spey lesson or to check out the Air flow rage lines which will make your spey casting easier than you can ever imagine.

             Synopsis

              We have dodged the fire bullet once again thanks to another great incident commander, Beth Lund, and her awesome Incident 1 Team!  We also need to give a great round of applause to all the fire departments who sent fire engines for structure protection! We had fire trucks form all over Idaho and all over the country! We can’t thank all of the fire personnel enough for saving our towns, our valley, and the busiest weekend of the whole year: Wagon Days! Come help us celebrate the end of the Beaver Creek Fire and the beginning of a great fall fishing season!

               We have some great deals on clothing and hard goods! Don’t miss out on our awesome end of summer sale! All summer clothing and footwear is 30-50% off! Only on Saturday, Parade Day, we will discount ALL non-sale clothing items by 10%! We will also serve snacks and libations from 11:00AM to 3:00PM! Come join us for a fun-filled day of retail therapy! Our sale has already started, so if you are in town, check it out now before the crowds return!  

             Here are a couple of reminders of the Beaver Creek Fire......                                                             

          Fish far and fine,

          Scott Schnebly

           Lost River Outfitters