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Put down that snow shovel and pick up that fly rod! High pressure invades the Wood River Valley this week, making for some sunny and some partly cloudy conditions.
If you are visiting and fishing, the sun is great, but it also means cold winter days. Hand warmers and toe warmers are a great way to make your day on the water more comfortable. Use the hand warmers in the backs of your gloves to keep the blood headed to your fingers warm. Fingerless gloves are a must for productive winter fishing. Picabo Angler uses and sells the Kast brand of fishing gloves. These are by far the best on the market. If you haven’t been fishing due to cold fingers, come see me at the shop and we will fix that!
Midges remain the winter bug the fish are keying on, so make sure you have the usual lineup of flies, including Zebra Midges for subsurface fishing and Tie-Down Midges for the top.
With a lack of winter precipitation this week, it may be a good time to try branching out and looking at the Lost River and the South Fork of the Boise River—the only caveat being very few anglers have been fishing these places, so we don’t have a clear picture of the fishing, the parking, and access in general. A shovel and some creativity may be needed in some areas.
If you go on the road to fish, please take a friend with you, and ALWAYS tell someone where you are going. Even a benign area may be dangerous in the winter months. This is very true of the canyon areas along the Big Wood River. It may be best to stay out of the area below River Run bridge these days, and even some of the hillsides north of Hailey and south, as well, like Colorado Gulch. There is a lot of avalanche danger in these areas.
Watch the reports for the skiers. If they are being told to stay out of the backcountry due to extreme avalanche danger, you should avoid fishing at the base of these steep-sided mountains.
Since we are on the safety train here, let’s go ahead and mention sunscreen. Wintertime is cold, but the high-altitude rays are still strong and you can still come home with a sunburn even on the coldest day. Cover up from the cold and sun.
Happy fishing, everyone!