During the late fall and winter, our local waters teem with midges. Your winter fly boxes for Silver Creek, the Big Wood River, the South Fork Boise River, and the Big Lost River should include a robust selection of midges, in duns, emergers, and pupa. Brassies, Zebra Midges, WD-40s, Griffith Gnats, Parachute Midges, Trailing Shuck Midges, and Tie-Down Midges in size 18–24 are all great imitations. For midge pupa, it’s hard to beat imitations in red or black, but it never hurts to carry a few additional colors such as purple, brown, olive, and white.
If you are nymphing rivers like the Big Wood, Big Lost, or South Fork, patterns such as Rubber Legs, Girdle Bugs, Montana Stones, Princes, Twenty-Inchers, Copper Johns, Rainbow Warriors, and Perdigons are winter staples.
Streamer fishing on Silver Creek can be particularly effective during the late fall and winter months. Let the weather and water conditions dictate how and what you fish. When it’s really cold, you should be fishing your offerings low and slow; swinging a lightly weighted leech, bugger, or small zonker can produce some quality fish. When it’s a bit warmer out, or if there’s an overcast sky, fish a baitfish pattern such as a Sparkle Minnow, and fish it a bit more aggressively.
We expect to continue to see decent Baetis (BWO) activity on all our local waters as well, particularly during pleasant, mild afternoons. Don’t be on the water without a good selection of Baetis duns and emergers in sizes 18–22.
Typically, the most productive winter fishing occurs during the nicest part of the day; noon to 4 p.m. is a good window. Concentrate your efforts then, when the fish are most active.
Keep in mind that waterfowl season is open, so be aware of hunters and use common sense when on the water.
Happy fishing, everyone!
