Fishing the Sun Valley area this week is as good as it gets. The holiday crowds have departed. Our rivers are beginning to clear and our hatches are in full swing. If you like fly fishing, this is prime time. Get out there and fish!
The brown drake hatch is in full swing on Silver Creek. A few days of trickling off was ended Sunday when the first major emergence occurred. The bugs have been seen throughout the lower Creek from Picabo Bridge to Highway 20. Late-morning emergence has been happening around 11 a.m. but obviously the real show starts in the evening hours.
If you’re headed down to catch this hatch and surreal occurrence in nature, stop on in and see us. Picabo Angler is open until 8 p.m. every night. We have your brown drake flies, beer, ice and food!
The Pale Morning Dun (PMD) hatch on the Creek has also been world class. The Nature Conservancy water was a busy, busy place on Saturday. By 4 in the afternoon, it had cleared out, though, and about that time the day’s first major hatch occurred. This has continued with the warmer weather. Baetis (BWO) spinners have also been bringing fish to the surface and most of this action has been in the morning hours.
The Big Wood continues to clear and get a great scrubbing. Ash from fires in previous summers has finally been picked up and moved into Magic Reservoir. Green Drakes are about to pop, so be ready with the proper flies. We sell the Colorado Green Drake and the Green Drake Film Critic, which are both incredible flies for the Big Wood. Until we see the first big Green Drake hatches, fish large Stimulators, like the Picabo Stimulator with a dropper fly underneath. The Epoxy Back Green Drake is an excellent choice for this.
The South Fork of the Boise is fishing relatively well for the early season. Nymphing is the game until the Salmon Fly hatch begins. Focus on Girdle Bugs, Copper Johns and large Prince Nymphs. If you want to fish dry, try big black foam patterns like Fat Alberts or Sparky’s Spider.
The Upper Lost should begin to fish well and fall into its normal pattern of repeating the Big Wood hatches a week or two after they have started on the Wood. The hot days may dirty our rivers a bit one last time but, if so, it won’t last long. Keep those fly boxes ready!
Happy fishing, everyone!