Bird Hunting in Idaho, Feb 16,2013

Feb. 16 Hunting

A couple of weeks ago I reported that with the bird season over until Spring Turkey season,  it was time to dust off the tying vices, patch your leaky waders, and go test your new Christmas fly rod on the river.  The only hunting left was for bunnies.  Most of you probably don’t want your prized pointers running rabbits.  Your dogs are probably bored and feeling jilted and wondering why they don’t get another day in the field. 

Just to remind you, there are a couple of local bird options still open.  Preserve hunts may not be every hunter’s cup of tea, but after doing two different preserve hunts with my Griffons last week, my thoughts are that they do fill a void and serve a purpose.   O.K. you have not hiked a thousand feet up a rocky sage covered mountain to a covey of chukar and a creeping dog to kill only the laggard bird while the rest of the covey flies across an impossible canyon leaving you with the decision as to continue up the ridge or chase the covey down and then back up again.   You do get to dig into your wallet and write a check for the released pheasants and the privilege of walking the farmer’s fields.  Defray the cost and share it with a couple of friends or, if you are feeling flush, treat a hunter in need.  There is also the possibility that you will encounter birds that have been in the field for a while and have learned the ropes.  The canned hunt is not as easy as it sounds.  They really are not faux pheasant.  They run, most fly very well and far, best of all they must smell really good because the dogs love to find them!  My young Griffon, Tucker, had three knock dead points in a ditch row running through corn stubble in a few inches of snow last week.  I was on top of every point and could not see the bird.  The flushes were great, Tucker was rewarded, and I decided to keep my wild dog after all.  The next day Tucker’s dad, Max, locked up in a wheat field with a big wind in his nose.   He crept about thirty feet, but locked several more times.  Max finally stopped the bird while my hunting partner closed from about eighty yards and made a fine shot in the blustery wind.  The old dog was pretty proud and trotted by his son, Tucker, head high, as if to say, “That’s how it’s done kid.”   Hey, you make them work for miles over barren ground some days.  Give your dog a treat.  Susanne calls it an Easter egg hunt for the puppies.  It is a bit more than that, but you know there will be something out there, go find it!

If you are interested in a guided bird hunt or if you just want to do it yourself give us a call at the shop and we will help set you up.  208-726-1706. 

The Ca Bull Elk Ranch has some great birds.  They fly very well.  They also have some exotic black pheasant, and are big birds.  They would like some of you to join them at their new property at the end of Burmah Road.  Gail and Cal are in the process of moving their birds and elk to their new ranch and would like to have you help ease that burden.

Jeff and Julie Ward’s Seven Mile Ranch in Shoshone has some of the best pheasant covers you can imagine.  He has two hundred pheasant left before the preserve season ends April 15.  Flushing dogs are great for the willow covers and pointers in his habitat fields of 16 inch tall wheat.  

Oh, and another plus, the birds are tasty and tender.  I can provide recipes.

Don’t wait until next year.   It is just too far away for both you and your dogs.

 Keep the wind in their noses and the sun at your back,

Scott Schnebly/Lost River Outfitters

Fishing Report....winter fishing in Idaho

Lost River Outfitters Fishing Report Jan. 30, 2013

It’s coming!  Although we have had  quite some cold temperatures this December and January with both Silver Creek and the Big Wood freezing over, our weather is beginning to moderate.  On our last chukar hunt in Oregon last weekend Zac and I experienced slushy, melting snow and an abundance of robins.  Days are growing longer, the sun is higher and warmer, and this week’s daytime temperatures are forecast to be at or above freezing every day.  The pesky guide ice should be almost non-existent in the afternoon.

Our winter fishing opportunities are not as diverse as they are in the summer months, but are generally more productive than any other time of year.  Trout are concentrated in the deep slow water lies right now and the only real challenge will be fly choice and presentation.  Fishing upstream on the Big Wood into the slow deep bucket water with a stonefly nymph size 8 or 10 tied with 4X fluorocarbon tippet six or eight feet from an indicator will work wonders.  Two smaller weighted nymphs a brassie, or copper john, with a zebra midge trailer on 5X and 6X fluorocarbon about 9 feet from your indicator is the choice if the fish are picky to the big nymph.  Look for rising fish in the softest water in the pool if midges begin to hatch.  An indicator parachute adams with a zebra midge, dry midge or midge emerger is the go to set up in that case.  If you find one trout in the winter, you have usually discovered the mother lode. 

Silver Creek is open until the end of February.  Although you can experience some midge hatches, streamer fishing is the most effective way to find fish at this time of year.  It was frozen last week in the morning, but  it should have quite a bit of open water this week.  Black leeches and our own Philo Betto Sculpin are very effective flies fished on a floating line.

Pick a warm day and head to our favorite stretch of water, the lower Lost River.  Winter is the best on that tailwater stream.  Winter flows are just over 100 cfs.  The water temperatures are fairly stable, and midge hatches mixed with the big size 17 baetis can happen on any day starting in the early afternoons.  Make sure to carry some 16-18 pheasant tail nymphs and zebra midges and look to the heads of the pools if you see any hatching occurring.  In some of the deeper rocky pools a stonefly nymph is also a producer.  This is our most consistent dry fly water with both baetis and midges in the late winter months.  It generally peaks in March.

For steelhead this time of year the Clearwater or the Little Salmon are really the only two choices with a fly until it warms a bit more.  Check water levels before departure however.  They can both blow out.

Zac recommends ice fishing at Magic with any color jig tipped with a night crawler for perch or rainbows.  The canyon below Magic is close if you want to hone your skills on a still water fishery with small nymphs under an indicator.  Carey Lake can also be fun for a few bass and many bluegill with your beginning fly fishing partner.  A prince nymph size 12 about 18 inches under an indicator works wonders.

Bird season is nearly gone.  Set up the vices, tie some bugs, and then pick a warm day on the water.  It only gets better from here on.  If you need help finding or tying a pattern, are planning a trip to the flats, need help matching a spey line to a rod, need a double haul or spey casting lesson, interested in a Yellowstone trip next June or September, want to book a steelhead trip for your group at our lodge in Stanley this spring then stop by the shop.  We can help with all of your fishing needs.

 

Tidy loops and tight lines,

Scott Schnebly

Lost River Outfitters

208-726-1706

PS from Susanne: If you don't insist on going out with Scott, we have a special on local winter guide trips: On Mondays and Tuesdays we are giving a $25 discount off our already low winter rate! Help out a starving fishing guide, invite a friend and head out on the Wood with Zac, Frank, Cody, or Chase! Maybe you'll even catch me looking up from the computer while writing orders and convince me to go out there and give you some pointers!

Give us a call at the number above or e-mail me: susanne@lostriveroutfitters.com to get this great deal!

Here are some pictures from our trip to BC in November just to make you jealous.

Take care and see you on the river!

When it's too Cold to Fish

Yes there are times when it's too cold to fish.  Last week the wind combined with the cold to make conditions firmly on the side of miserable.  What happens when the thought of stepping in to the river makes you shiver?  Grab the shotguns and go hunt some waterfowl.  Frank, Cody, and I took off early Sunday morning to go do some jump-shooting.  We spotted birds in a pond we were interested in hunting.  We were too far out to tell what they were, but there were definitely birds on the water.  With hopes of loads of ducks, we snuck up to the edge of the pond, and a sea of geese were hugging the bank right in front of us.  After a momentary pause, due to shock, the birds got up and the shooting began.  We ended up with a couple of limits of geese in just a few seconds.  The highlight of the whole trip was watching Frank's lab, Cash, break ice to retrieve goose after goose.  The birds are headed for the smoker, and we're still talking about those few seconds of chaos.  Here are a couple shots of the aftermath.

Mountain Khakis Trunk Show Friday and Saturday!

Come on in to Lost River Outfitters for our Mountain Khakis Trunk Show!
Today and tomorrow, Ron Mosher, our rep, will be here to introduce the Fall 12 line. We have tons of great merchandise, including the new Field Pant for all of you upland bird hunters.
We'll also have a nice selection of summer merchandise freshly shipped from Mountain Khakis at 25% off!
All shorts are now 40% off as well.
There will be Swag and free beer, and tomorrow, Saturday, we'll have a BBQ right outside our store.

We'll be looking for you!

                                                     Come join the fun see you there!

In case you've never been to Lost River Outfitters, we are on 371 N Main St in Ketchum, right next to the Bank of America  and across the street from the Pioneer!
Our store is fully stocked with new fall/winter merchandise including great winter footwear.
As always, we boast the best fly selection in town and our friendly and knowledgeable staff can point you in the right direction of where and when to fish and what to use.
if you need some added help, we'd love to take you out on the river and show you how it's done as well!
See you at Lost River this weekend !

Tucker, the wire haired pointing Griffon, is a Dad!

Scott and I have 2 wire-haired pointing Griffons, Dad, Max, and son, Tucker. If you are a regular at Lost River Outfitters, I'm sure Mr Vivacious, Tucker, has greeted you, perhaps even a little more enthusiastically than you would have expected.
On Max's tenth birthday, June 6th, Max became a grand-pa! On Easter Sunday Tucker bred Windy( sp!), and the result was 9 pups, 5 girls and 4 boys. The dam is owned by Bill Whitaker who works for the Ketchum Ranger District and lives on Gannett Road. Both dogs are AKC and NAVHDA registered, and will have hip and elbow certifications. (Tucker's cert. is in progress, he had to turn 2 before that could be done, but Mark Acker looked at the x-rays and said that his joints look great!)
I will try to see my furry grand-babies today and will take a bunch of pictures, but here are a few to get you started. Note that Griffon pups are born snow-white with only their liver spots and heads, if their heads will be brown, as contrast. As their brown undercoat grows in, the white hair will be the wiry hair.
Griffons are a member of the Versatile Hunting Association. They will point and retrieve, do both upland and waterfowl. They were originally bred to be hunters of fur and feather. They make excellent family pets. They do not do well in a kennel only situation, as they are very dependent on human contact. They are both sensitive and extremely smart. Our older dog, Max, has a huge vocabulary, I'm sure Tucker will be there as well. He is still too busy being playful and and full of mischief.
If you would like more information about these pups, please send an e-mail to: susanne@lostriveroutfitters.com
Here is what the AKC has to say about my favorite breed  : Griffs