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Fishing ForecastFishing Report

Fun in the Fall

By October 8, 2008April 14th, 2018No Comments

Synopsis

True autumn weather is upon us. Colder days, rain and snow are in the forecast and that means a serious end to the majority of our local hatches. The good news is, the fish are still eager to fatten up for the winter so they are going to eat when the opportunity presents itself. Midges, Baetis and Mahogany Duns are present on area waters and although they are going away and the hatch windows will be shorter, there is still plenty of opportunity to catch fish.

Silver Creek

The Mahogany Dun has been one key to catching some nice fish on the Creek the past few weeks. There are still some Hoppers about as well. If you fish the Creek the next few weeks, be ready for short, but intense hatches. The bulk of the daily activity could be a few hours or even less. Baetis and Mahogany Duns often stay present well into November, but the cold weather could spell the end of any really significant hatches on the Creek this season. Keep in mind, when you are in Ketchum, there is generally a much different weather pattern down on the Creek, and so if it’s 50 degrees here and nice out, it could be 60 on the Creek with exceptional fishing.

Big Wood River

The Wood is still fishing well. When the hatches finally cease due to the cold, don’t stop throwing big dry flies! The late fall presents a second season for the Attractor Patterns in large sizes. Fish the biggest Royal Wulffs and H and L Variants you can purchase and cover a lot of water.

Use small Pheasant Tail Nymphs for droppers and if you decide to purely nymph, try two Pheasant Tails tied in tandem under a strike indicator.

It is not unusual this time of the year to see fish feeding on Midges in the evening, especially if it is calm, so now is as good a time as any to start gearing up for full blown winter fishing!

Upper Lost and Copper Basin

The fishing has slowed dramatically on the Upper Lost River system. The fish are moving back to the deeper water and the hatches have waned quite a bit. It is still a good place to spend a day if you want to fish without seeing other anglers, and you will catch fish as long as you stay on the move and cover plenty of water. We suggest staying in the lower part of the drainage.

Big Lost River

The Lost may be the best river to fish these days. Dry fly fishing continues with a little Baetis and remnant Trico action. The majority of fish that get caught are with nymphs, but many times sight nymphing is possible. Pheasant Tails, Prince Nymphs and San Juan Worms are all great patterns to throw at these brutes. If you see no rising fish, and have good sunlight, walk slow and look for big fish sitting on shallow ledges near deep water.

South Fork of the Boise

A decent opportunity to wade fish the South Fork is happening now with fishing really being dependent on the Fall Baetis. If you can time this hatch you will see and catch plenty of fish, but without this hatch, anglers should plan on nymphing and covering plenty of riffled water.