March madness on our local waters is winding down. Most of our fisheries close at the end of this month, so there’s still a bit of time left to enjoy some great fishing.
On Silver Creek, fishing remains open on Kilpatrick Pond and downstream of the Highway 20 Bridge. Now is the time to fish big streamers to predatory brown trout, and swing dark leeches for the Creek’s resident rainbows and browns. There has been good midge and BWO on select days, so it can be helpful to carry two rigs — one for streamers and one for dries. There have been some very large trout caught on Silver Creek lately!
On the Big Wood River, midge activity will be most prevalent in the afternoons. Keep your eye out for foam lines, eddies, and slow current seams, as the tiny midges will be concentrated in these areas. Feeding rainbow trout can be fooled with long, light leaders and your favorite midge patterns in size 20 – 24. Trailing Shuck Midges, Griffiths Gnats and Parachute Adams are all effective imitations. There may be some sporadic BWO activity as well, so be prepared with some imitations in size 18 – 22. When there is little or no surface feeding activity, nymphing can be extremely productive. A two-fly rig consisting of a larger attractor pattern, such as a Rubber Legs, Girdle Bug or Copper John, followed by a small Zebra Midge or Brassie, is the way to go.
There are a limited number of days to fish our tail-waters right now. The South Fork of the Boise will be closed at the end of March, so if you want to get your casts in down there, you better go soon! The Lower Big Lost River is going to be limited as well, and while it does remain open year-round, we can expect flows to increase during the month of April. All the same flies and techniques you use on the Big Wood will work just fine on the South Fork and the Big Lost; both of these waters can see excellent spring Blue Winged Olive hatches.
Keep an eye out on weather conditions and river flows, as this time of year conditions can change rapidly. Idaho river levels can be found on the USGS website.
Happy fishing, everyone!