Fishing Report 10/12/2012

In October temperatures drop, crowds subside, and the fishing remains strong.  This is the time of year where you can have the river all to yourself, while enjoying the changing leaves and rising heads.

The Big Wood is still fishing well, despite low water.  A dry dropper with a mayfly attractor and a small nymph is a good bet, but keep your eyes open for Baetis or Midges.  Watch foam lines for sipping fish.

This is one of the best times of the year on Silver Creek.  Pressure is low, and the Baetis hatches remain strong.  The hatches have been starting between 10:00 and 11:00, but don't be surprised to see some Baetis in the afternoon.  Here is a shot a Baetis caught fish from Wednesday.

The Lost has been great over the last couple of weeks.  A dry dropper with a bushy dry and a small nymph has been hard to beat, but afternoon Baetis has been by far the most fun.  Look for heads in the foam lines, and you might find some of the biggest fish in the river coming up to eat naturals.  

Follow up on the South Fork of the Boise Fish Kill

The South Fork of the Boise was recently drawn down from over 1,800 to 300 CFS in a matter of days.  I posted a little over a month ago about a study conducted by "Whitefish Ed" regarding the effects this drastic change in water levels can have on juvenile fish in the South Fork.  This year, TU, Fish and Game, and a few good samaritans teamed up to net stranded fish and put them back in to the main channel.  Despite a huge effort by all involved, an estimated 7000-8000 fish died due to the drawdown.  It seems ridiculous that the river can't be drawn down slower or kept at slightly higher base flows.  Below I've pasted a link to Ed's full report.  Give it a read, and see what you think.  There should be a an easy way to limit the casualties of fish every fall.
http://www.west-fly-fishing.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=706538#Post706538

Super Mountain Khakis deal today only!

oh, boy! Our Mountain Khakis rep just talked me into a great deal for our Trunk Show: Today only, all Mountain Khakis merchandise 20% off.............hope he helps me write the fill-in order!
Come in have lunch on us AND get a great deal on Mountain Khakis! Going on right now Lost River Outfitters

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 !

Local Fishing Report 09/20/2012

Fall is officially here, and the fishing on our local rivers remains strong.  With the crowds of August gone, the Big Wood is fishing well again.  General mayfly patterns are working well on the wood.  When they won't come up to eat the big bugs, try a small Baetis or Trico fished behind your larger dry.

Silver Creek is also a good bet right now.  Trico hatches have subsided, but we've seen good numbers of Baetis and Callibaetis around 10:00 O' Clock.  Once the bugs are gone, try hoppers, ants, and beetles mid-day.

The fishing in Copper Basin has slowed down, due to low water and colder temps.  However, if you want to give it a try, there are definitely still fish to be caught.  General attractor are still the best bet in copper basin.  Fish faster and deeper water than you would earlier in the year.

The Lower Lost is fishing very well.  Fish are still willing to eat Crane Flies, and Cranes will sometimes bring the biggest fish to the surface.  If the Crane bite slows down, try a dry-dropper combo with a big dry and a small nymph.  There are also Tricos hatching, so throw a few in your box and look for heads.

Photos From this Year's Frank Church Trip

This year marked the 13th annual trip my Dad and I have made into the Frank Church Wilderness.  Every trip has been incredible, and this year was no exception.  The weather was perfect, the fishing was great, and some of the biggest fish we've ever seen showed up this year.  I always use this trip as an opportunity to take a lot of photos.  Here are some shots from the trip.  Enjoy!

Are Fluctuating Flows on the South Fork of the Boise Killing Fish?

It appears that the answer is yes.  If you spend any time on Westfly, Silver Creek, or a number of other Idaho streams, you may have run into "Whitefish Ed".  Ed did a personal investigation regarding the affect of quickly changing water levels on the SFB and juvenile trout.  What he found: lots of dead rainbow trout.  Before looking at Ed's study I never read too far in to what effect these fluctuating levels were having on the fishery (other than how the river fished).  If you care about the South Fork of the Boise take a look at this blog post and Ed's thread on Westfly.  This provides some definite food for thought and possibly some reason for change.  Either hit the hyperlinks above or copy and paste the links below.
http://www.southforkboise.org/?p=1036
http://www.west-fly-fishing.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=689991#Post689991