Photo By: Alex Long
“I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.”
– Woodrow T. Wilson
What fly would Swisher or Richards pick? How would Mel make this cast? What would George do? I always fish better when I fish with friends, past and present.
Silver Creek
Between 8 and 10 am, you can expect Trico and Baetis spinner falls to occur. The timing depends on the air temp. At the moment, Baetis are the more prevalent bug along with a few PMD spinners, but Tricos are gaining momentum. If you arrive early before the bugs come down, try fishing a Callibaetis spinner, PMD, or a female Trico Dun. Of course, a small nymph is always effective before and after the hatch. Once the feeding frenzy is done, look for the damsels to be the main target for fish. The Creek will slow down during the heat of the day, especially if there is no wind. If a breeze does pick up, try terrestrials or high floating damsel patterns. As always, keep your eyes on water temps.
The Big Wood
The flows have dropped and more options for fishing and wading are opening up each day. Still, wading the mid-valley portions of the river is a challenge, so grab a staff and a friend. While the Wood around Ketchum is very wadable, it is receiving a bulk of the fishing pressure. If you arrive at an access and find other anglers, simply keep searching for your own space. There is plenty of river to spread out on. And if you run into other anglers, it is best to communicate and establish a plan for spreading out and enjoying the water. The Green Drake hatch has run its coarse; it is time to downsize your flies. Dry dropper rigs are great for covering water. The lower river water temps have been elevated in the late afternoon, so plan on moving north to find suitable temps for trout.
Big Lost below Mackay
The flows seem to be steady at around 400 CFS. At this level, fishing access is fair and wading pushy. If you decide to give it a go, you will find decent Baetis, PMDs, yellow sallies, and golden stones hatching throughout the morning and dwindling in the afternoon.
Upper Big Lost
The upper reaches are getting low, but should remain fishable for another week or so. Below Wildhorse the flows are decent and below the North Fork on the main stem is wadable and dropping. Tactically speaking, search the water using a dry dropper rig. When you do find fish, but get refusals, quickly switch to a smaller fly in size 14 or 16. The bigger fish often only give you one chance, so make your first cast count.
Salmon
The Salmon river is steadily dropping, and fishing well. Water temps are high, so please keep the fish wet and release them quickly. Dry fly action remains good until the day heats up, and then the nymph game takes over. As per usual, foam dries and larger nymph droppers work great. You may start to see some spruce moths as well.
South Fork of the Boise
The flows are holding at around 1620 CFS. This is a floatable level, and there are some wade fishing opportunities along the road though limited. There is still the possibility of seeing large stoneflies, but caddis, Pink Alberts, Flavs, and crane flies are also present. Hoppers are also taking some fish.
Local Ponds
It is time to take the family to Lake Creek, Penny Lake, or Gaver’s Lagoon. All the ponds have been stocked and will receive regular stockings throughout the summer season.
Silver Creek: Caddies | Baetis | Tricos | Callibaetis | Terrestrials | Damsels | Zebra Midge in black, red, or olive | Small Pheasant Tails | Streamers
Big Lost: Caddis | PMDs | Golden Stoneflies | Midge | Rubber Legged Stones | King Prince | Streamers
Salmon: Chubby Chernobyl | Rubber Legged Stones | King Prince | Streamers
South Fork of the Boise: Salmon Flies | Caddis | Baetis | PMDs | Midge | Rubber Legged Stones | King Prince | Streamers
| Silver Creek | 89.8 cfs |
| Big Wood | 235 cfs |
| The Lost Below Mackay | 411 cfs |
| Salmon | 795 cfs |
| South Fork of the Boise | 1620 cfs |
