The summer heat is upon us and with the heat comes a few things to keep in mind. Fishing in the evening will become more important. Baby Hoppers will be heading for the shorelines where the grass is green and they can grow fast (think windy days). Ants and Beetles are going to remain great afternoon patterns. The water will start dropping and this will move fish around. Anglers will want to think about lightening and lengthening their leaders and tippets.
Silver Creek is responding to these hot days with some early-season Callibaetis hatches. They don’t hatch every day in huge numbers, but when they do, it is a show! The mornings remain with Baetis and Pale Morning Duns, with the infrequent Callibaetis mixed in. If you are fishing the Creek, do these fish a favor and fish rods and leaders that will let you land a fish quickly. Be sure to keep them in the water when you release them. Save the pictures for only the biggest fish and take good care of them by keeping them dripping in your shots. Get a quick one and let them go, or just tell a good story and don’t worry as much about photos during these low water years.
The Big Wood should become a little more difficult to fish as the heat comes on. The early mornings can be precious and the best time of day to be out there. Walk slowly and look for fish in skinny water next to the bank. Small Caddis and PMD patterns are great for sight fishing in the mornings. During the heat of the day, search deeper areas with Big Foam flies and nymph droppers underneath them. The evenings are always a smorgasbord of bugs, so be sure your fly box is loaded and be very sure you have a variety of Rusty Spinners. I can’t stress enough how important the Rusty Spinner is on the Big Wood on warm summer nights.
The Lost River system is fishing OK. The water is low and the fish are spread out. On the hottest days, anglers that have trouble with the heat should think about fishing the Big Wood instead. If you do fish the upper, take good care of the fish. Try using small attractors and streamers.
One thing to keep in mind as we get into the real heat of summer is HIGH MOUNTAIN LAKES. This is the year, if there ever was one, to hike and explore!
Happy fishing, everyone!