Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Fishing Report by Bill Mason


Fishing has been decent but the weather continues to make things limited and inconsistent on a day-to-day basis. The good news is that in tracking the remaining water content over the past week, the rain and only the rain is the main cause of our high water. There is not much left to come down. If the weather cooperates, we could see a fairly dramatic drop on many of our water systems. They may be a bit tough to wade but they should be very fishable by the end of the week. This is an educated guess so keep your fingers crossed.

SILVER CREEK—When the hatches have been present, they have been strong and the fishing has been quite decent. The problem remains their consistency from one day to the next. You can point your finger (your choice at what appendage) at the weather as the culprit. Pale Morning Dun (E. inermis) and the Beatis spinner (B. hageni) are the main players with a few and very scattered Green Drakes in the upper end of the Preserve, thrown in for good luck. Para PMD's #18, Lt Olive Parachutes #22 and a Mason Quill Spinner #22 plus a few Para Green Drakes pattern should do the trick if one or all hatches appear. So far, Callibeatis has been very sparse but you should always carry a few Thorax Specked Duns #16 and Partridge Spinners #16 just in case.

BIG WOOD RIVER—Still very high but clear enough to fish in select places. I do think we will see a significant drop in water levels by the end of the week. But even with that, wading on the side of caution is still be the order of the day. I wouldn't look for much surface activity until the following week. Consequently, you'll net the best results with big nymphs—perhaps tied on to a car bumper to get the fly down. Regular and Bead Head Prince Nymphs #8-12, Copper John's #10-12, Gold Ribbed Hares Ear #10 and Golden Stonefly Nymphs #8 should yield some fish. Although I don't expect to see them until after July 1, I'd be on the lookout for a few Green Drakes (D. doddsi) in back channels.

BIG LOST—Water is still very high in the upper river but also could drop rapidly in the next week. Unfortunately, because the river is very confined within its stream banks (except in Pole Creek area), fishing will probably be tough until after the 1st. On the lower river, the irrigators are now having a field day and water level are now of such that wading may be impossible.

WARM SPRINGS/TRAIL CREEK—These two are tough to predict. Both should be difficult to fish because the water may be clear but it is moving at such a high rate. Neither would be my first or second choice.

PENNY LAKE/LAKE CREEK/GAVER'S LAGOON (Hasper Hatchery)—All regularly planted and have good quantities of fish for the bait and fly fishermen.

SOUTH FORK OF THE BOISE RIVER—Very high, and that means boating and floating only. No reports on the Salmon Fly but it's still early.

HENRYS FORK/SOUTH FORK OF THE SNAKE—The Fork's water levels have dropped to 900 cfs meaning that levels are being dam regulated. So the fishing in the Last Chance/Ranch area should be just fine. Caddis, PMD's and Green Drakes should be spot-on but no reports on how many "heads" are being found. South Fork is now running BIG, BIG, BIG. Tough fishing at these levels.




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