Synopsis
Like the shot heard around the world, the Brown Drake hatch happened and was attended by many an angler. Accomplished anglers and novices alike, enjoyed the short, but very intense hatch and subsequent spinner falls. A few expletives were thrown to the wind, sometimes directed at the fish and sometimes toward other anglers – as shoulder to shoulder fishing was the norm. My favorite night was sharing a big pod of fish with local Realtor Joanne Zwingenberg, as we caught fish from both sides of the river, casting to the same spot. Joanne landed her first few Silver Creek fish ever! Congrats Joanne! I made a new friend and great contact should I ever need to sell my home. Essentially a single word, either a good one or a bad one, when fly-fishing crowded waters can make the difference between a new friend or new foe. Please, please always opt to make a new friend! The memory will last a lot longer than that of a fifteen inch fish.
Expect another great week of fishing around the Valley as we are about to experience another great Drake event on the Big Wood and Upper Lost River.
Silver Creek
Like predicted, the Brown Drake hatch was river wide, short and intense. There should be some smaller events of this bug over the weekend, but don’t expect anything like the hatch from last Friday and Saturday and the enormous spinner falls and hatches combined of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
There is still a lot of fishing to be done on the Creek, as Baetis, Pale Morning Duns, Callibaetis and now the Prairie Caddis are getting plenty of attention from the fish. Angler numbers have dropped and should stay minimal until the 4th of July week, so this is an excellent opportunity to fish the Creek. Mornings and evenings are going to be the key now as the sunny weather stays with us. Get up early and stay up late to experience the best fishing. In the afternoon, look toward the sloughs and ponds for a little Callibaetis activity.
The Prairie Caddis have finally come out with the warm days, and a Goddard, or Hemingway Caddis are both excellent choices to imitate this insect. Fish about a size 16 with the Goddard Caddis and a size 14 with the Hemingway Caddis.
Big Wood River
The Wood picked up some color this past week, but don’t expect this to last long, we should have an excellent fishery in a matter of days. The river is dropping fast enough that we should see great fishing and Green Drake action by this time next week, or even sooner. It is common to see this bug in the heat of the day as the river drops and turns from glacier green to perfectly clear. Load up with Green Drake Cripples, Duns and Epoxy Back Nymphs. Check our website for the latest CFS trends on the river and be ready for the next “big event†on our area waters.
There is still fair fishing to be found on the Wood right now, side channels and places like Hulen Meadows pond offer decent high-water fishing. Stimulators, Prince Nymphs and Woolly Buggers are all excellent high-water patterns.
Upper Lost River / Copper Basin
The warm weather has spiked the flows in this area as well, but we should see a big drop this week, much like the Big Wood. This is a nice place to take a drive, see wild flowers and cast a fly here or there, but no true fishery here to speak of yet. Give it another week or two. Once this comes into shape, the Green Drakes should show in good numbers here for a week or two.
Big Lost River
The Lost is over 700 CFS and there is little opportunity to fish in this area. A few spotty areas might produce, but you may want to put that gas toward other fisheries right now. A lot has been said this season about gas prices affecting anglers decisions. Don’t let it, just grab an extra friend and GO Fish somewhere!
Little Wood River
No Report above or below the reservoir. Could this be a sleeper fishery?
South Fork of the Boise
No increase in the flows on the South Fork. It is still boatable and wadable at 600CFS Expect Caddis and Salmon Flies to be coming on strong this week!
