Big Wood

Temperatures are finally beginning to warm up as we approach Christmas and New Years. The cold temps the past few weeks have kept anglers off the water, giving the trout a nice long rest.
It is Midge fishing time and these little flies should begin showing in increasing numbers on all the area waters. The fish have really been sitting in the softest of the soft water lately, but as the temperatures begin to warm, there should be some movement from the slack water to the slow moving riffles. The trout have already congregated in their winter time lairs, which are going to be significantly different than the areas that were present last winter. The implications of the runoff this past spring are definitely going to be felt now, perhaps more than ever, as anglers look to find the most productive winter holes. Some of the old standby spots will still fish, but there should be some very new, very interesting winter holding waters for anglers to explore!
Expect the fishing to begin around 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. most mornings and the action should last until the sun leaves the water in the late afternoon, sometime around 4:30 or 5:00 p.m. Generally winter fishing peaks about 2:30 p.m. There will be some limited dry fly fishing through the end of the month, but most action is going to take place subsurface.
On the coldest days, fishing streamers like the Philo Beto, Olive Buggers, and Olive or Black Matukas will take plenty of fish and will also entice the biggest fish in the rivers. On the warmer days fish brassies and hares ears. Brassies come in a variety of colors, with Red, Green and Copper being the most common. The color choice will vary from day to day, depending on what color the fish are seeing the real insect in. This could vary from run to run as well. Zebra Midges in Black or Red are also excellent choices should you encounter a place with more finicky trout. If you happen to find fish rising to take Midges off of the surface you can rest assured that a well tied Griffith’s Gnat fished in tandem with a trailing shuck Midge pattern will take plenty of targets. Zdon’t forget your dry shake.
If you are new to winter fishing or just need a little direction, check out the Tips and Tactics section of Silver Creek’s website for a simple primer on how to get geared up for this exciting and fun winter activity.
Please remember the fishing can be excellent this time of the year, but cold air temperatures and water temperatures stress the fish and the utmost care should be taken when catching and releasing our local trout. Use stout tippets to land fish quickly and do not take a fish out of the water for any reason unless it is necessary. Simply get them close and use a “Ketchum Release” tool or your hemostats to remove the hook.
Enjoy the serenity and the beautiful surroundings of the river corridor this Holiday Season!

Synopsis

The snow is falling in the Sun Valley area these days as we prepare to usher in our winter fishing season. We have regulation changes happening at the end of the month, with all the rivers going to a strictly catch and release basis, and the season closure of Silver Creek above the Highway 20 bridge, which means all of Purdy’s and the Nature Conservancy waters. The Creek below Highway 20 will remain open until the end of February. Anglers looking to head over to the Lost River are going to have to make the drive through the desert and come up through Arco. We will find our fishing areas limited in coming weeks, but by no means does this put a negative impact on anything. From now through the New Year, the local rivers will see fewer angler days than at any other time of year. The fish still have to eat, and with few anglers fishing to them, there is world of great fly-fishing opportunity only minutes away.

Silver Creek

To find success on the Creek right now, anglers are going to need the cooperation of mother nature. If you see a forecast that calls for very calm conditions, and temperatures that will break 40 degrees, than you may have one last chance to find a few rising fish. Midges are really the bug of choice right now, but the serious Midge activity won’t start back up again until March, when the Creek is closed to fishing. There are still a few anglers pursuing the Browns on their spawning run, but even this action is slowing quite a bit. Fishing the sloughs might be an anglers best bet for the last few weeks of the season on the Creek’s upper waters.

Big Wood River

The Wood is seeing very little angler pressure right now. Like last weeks report, we strongly suggest swinging larger nymphs and prospecting the deeper riffles. Many fish are still looking to fatten up for winter, but their food choices are very limited. Prince Nymphs, Hares Ears, Zug Bugs and Brassies are excellent choices right now. Dropping a smaller fly like a Zebra Midge off the back of one of these bigger flies when things are slow may add to your catch rate. If you are able to find active fish, or fish sitting shallow enough to sneak up on, a Pheasant Tail nymph may also be a good choice. Check the river in the late afternoon for Midge activity. We will often find fish rising to Midges in November and December, but this won’t happen on a river wide basis, the rising fish will be found in particular areas, and rising for short durations during the day. If you see good Midge activity, but aren’t seeing rising fish, start walking and looking carefully for the runs that do have working fish.

Synopsis

Late fall fishing, or early winter fishing can be a challenging time of year for the angler, but it is a time of year full of solitude and blissful moments where big fish, low flows, late blooming insects and anglers meet during the quietest time during the season of the Quiet Sport. It is time to pack the gloves and a hat, a neck gator is not a bad idea. The hatches will wane in the coming days and weeks as we await the first major Midge hatches of winter sometime in January. Now, is an excellent time of year for the old school anglers that enjoy the meditative qualities of swinging a nymph down and across the current. Steelhead and local Trout are susceptible to this technique, and one may notice it is also the preferred technique of a great number of valley guides after the end of a long guide season. There is little to think about other than a long cast, a good mend and a feel for the strike. No real decisions to make. Just cast, mend, drift, step and repeat. Locally we can use this same technique as Steelhead diehards with Prince Nymphs, Zug Bugs, Streamers and the like. So after a great season of fishing, perhaps it’s time to take off the strike indicator, grab a half dozen large beaded nymphs and lose yourself in reflection and the sights and sounds of our area waters. Oh’, you also will catch some really nice fish using this method. Enjoy.

Silver Creek

The season continues to wind down on the Creek. A few anglers are chasing the Brown trout spawning run, the sloughs and slow water stretches are still showing rising fish when the weather dictates, and few anglers are out and about. Remember that November is the last month to fish the Nature Conservancy, and any water above the Highway 20 bridge. The lower section of the river will close the end of February. Duck hunters are on the Creek this time of the season, so be aware and look for their decoys to avoid messing up one another’s activities. It rarely happens that the two paths cross, due to the timing of the hunt versus the fishing hours of the day, but still be aware. Plan on seeing the occasional rise to Midges and tiny Baetis flies.

Big Wood River

The down and across technique described above is very applicable for this river all the way through the winter, but it can be the most effective method from now through December. Keep in mind, that as little as 15 years ago, strike indicators as we know them today in myriad form were rarely used and rarely heard of, and the swinging nymph was a mainstay of valley anglers. Essentially the swinging nymph is sunk to the bottom and then as the line tightens the fly rises to the surface. When fish see this happen in front of them, they cannot help but chase after the “emerging” insect. Use this technique with a long, but stout leader. Twelve feet, tapered to 3X is about right. Down south, anglers are pursuing the spawning Browns coming up form Magic Reservoir as well as the egg stealing Rainbows that sit behind them. There are plenty of anglers doing this, and many of the fish have taken daytime refuge under log jams and the like. If you’re interested, a quite weekday may be the best time to pursue them.