Listen, Idaho, you can hear the sounds of tailgates slamming shut and the hiss of float tubes being aired up. You can hear the slow click of reels as line gets strung through rod guides. You can hear the crisp snap of a fly box being closed. Under those tones you can hear muted noises like oars being shuffled into place and strapped into boats, and the distinct crinkling of waders as they come out of a bag totally dry for the first time this year. Soon these sounds will be replaced by the swish of legs in water and the whisps of casts placed far over the water. Opening Day is upon us!
Silver Creek is the place to be for Opening Weekend! Join Picabo Angler on Friday night for the Picabo premiere of Hank Patterson’s “Mystery of the Cuttyrainbrown Trout,” showing in our airplane hangar at 8:30 p.m. Bring a camp chair and your hardiest laugh. On Saturday, the festivities continue with our Opening Day barbecue starting at 11:30 a.m.
If you are fishing Silver Creek this weekend, plan on seeing a few hatches. Callibaetis have been the most prolific as of late. Baetis is always a possibility, especially if we see a lot of cloud cover. And have a few PMD patterns, just in case…
Regardless of the hatches, you can count on Terrestrials carrying the day. Be sure to have plenty of Ants and Beetles in a variety of sizes. Large Chernobyl patterns can be good in adverse weather, and smaller flies like Flying Ants and Crowe Beetles will be effective if the water stays glassed over.
Anglers sticking around for the night fishing will find Mouse patterns effective, and Brown Drakes will be coming into the mix soon enough – probably not this weekend, but probably not far behind, either. Anglers that don’t want to be out late can opt for getting up early and fishing Streamers in the gray morning light.
The South Fork of the Boise will also be fishable on the opener. The river is at driftboat levels and Nymphing with big flies like Girdle Bugs and Salmon Fly Nymphs is your best bet. Smaller nymphs like Copper Johns and Hares Ears are also excellent choices.
Plan on runoff affecting most of our rivers over the weekend, which will make places like Silver Creek busier than normal. Please remember to be kind and share your experiences as best you can with your fellow anglers.
Happy Opening Day, everyone!