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Fishing ForecastFishing Report

Pleasant Places

By October 20, 2006April 14th, 2018No Comments

Synopsis

The dry fly hours for anglers have dropped off quite a bit in recent days and weeks. The fish are still aggressive and on the bite, but nymphing is pretty much a requirement when fishing before the noon hour. With cold mornings becoming the norm, there really isn’t much reason to get started before 11:00 a.m. Anglers can expect to cast nymphs early, then look for risers in the afternoon. If you can’t find any heads coming up, it is still worth searching big attractors like Royal Wulffs and H and L Variants in the biggest sizes available. Using these with a dropper is a great idea.

Silver Creek

Late afternoon is the time to be on the Creek, with the best dry fly fishing falling around the 2:00 p.m. hour. Baetis and Mahogany Duns are really the only two choices an angler needs to make. Callibaetis on a warm day, in the slow water sections of the Creek may also produce some nice fish. This time of year it is important to move slow and look for the individual risers as apposed to looking for significant pods of fish. Don’t forget to try the sloughs this time of the year when the action on the main river is slow. When you go to purchase or tie Baetis imitations make sure you get the smallest version you can get. They are truly a microscopic insect this time of the year.

Big Wood River

The Wood is fishing well with smaller nymphs like Pheasant Tails and Zebra Midges. Fish these on long, light leaders and be ready for subtle strikes. Dry fly anglers need to begin looking for fish sometime after lunch. This action will be from the Baetis flies, but if you stay into the evening and the wind is down it is not uncommon to find fish rising to decent Midge activity this time of the year. Use your winter Midge tactics if you witness this phenomenon. It is still possible to take big fish with big bushy dry flies if you are willing to cover a lot of water and search. Be patient and keep the faith and a big Royal Wulff or Variant might just surprise you. Even a big parachute Adams can still draw the attention of the rivers big bows.

Lost River

The Big Lost was dropped to about 60cfs in the past few days. The low water makes the fish vulnerable so please take care when fighting and releasing fish.

Upper Lost and Copper Basin

Not a bad place to fish, as nobody is really up there and the fish have seen little to no pressure the past month and a half or so. Big attractors with nymphs dropped below will take fish. Just be well prepared to walk from one deep spot to the next, as the holding water becomes very limited this time of the year.

South Fork of the Boise

Low flows mean those anglers with Spring Creek tactics will find some decent fishing. Baetis and Midges are the name of the game and starting in the afternoon is recommended. Nymphing deeper slots can be affective as well. Move slow and look for discreetly rising fish. This river can produce huge baetis hatches on any given day between now and Thanksgiving so be ready and cross your fingers in hopes of seeing one of these events.