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Despite winter being on our doorstep, the fishing remains pretty good.
A few hours of dry-fly activity are still the norm when the wind is down and the temps are slightly up in the afternoon. Anglers can find fishing all day long using Nymphs and Streamers, but time your dry-fly fix for the hours between lunch and dinner.
Silver Creek is as beautiful as ever with fall coming to a close. The Baetis hatches are still there and a few hours a day are the norm if weather conditions permit. Fishing brightly colored Baetis in a size 22–24 is your best bet.
The browns are slowly coming off of spawn, and those that are completely finished will be voracious. Streamer fishing the Creek in low light is going to be productive. If you do catch a post-spawn brown trout, try to land it quickly and release it gently as their reserves are pretty well used up when they finish spawning.
The Big Wood continues to show what makes it such an awesome fishery as angler numbers drop and the fish continue to eat and try to pack on the calories before winter. They feel the chill in the water and know food is getting scarce. Some of the harder-to-catch fish are becoming easier by the day. Streamer fishing and Nymphing will get you the most opportunities. Try olive-colored Sculpin patterns when Streamer fishing and try Copper Johns and Hares Ears when you are Nymphing.
The lower Lost River, despite a lot more anglers on the water, is still fishing very well. Bright-colored rainbows are taking micro-Nymphs and bigger Nymphs fished on the gravel-bar shelves found throughout the river. Try to fish these buckets with just enough weight to quickly take your fly into these drop-off zones the fish love so much.
Baetis on the South Fork of the Boise continues, but these fish are smarter by the day. Tough dry-fly fishing is the norm right now. Although rewarding, the fish will make you work for a strike. If you are struggling with the Baetis hatches, try some deeper pools with bigger flies like Zug Bugs, Girdle Bugs and Copper Johns. Don’t forget the “cast and blast” opportunities for you chukar hunters out there!
Lastly—and like we said last week—stay prepared for winter conditions when you fish from this point forward through the winter. A fun day is a safe day.
Happy fishing, everyone!
