Stump Creek Idaho

Dodging soaking thunderstorms was the name of the game on Stump Creek this last Friday. In between some drenching thunderstorms, fishing was quite good. Between three fisherman, we caught over 40 fish and missed a lot more. Most fish were in the 8-10" class but we caught around 15 that were 12" +. I caught around 20 fish - one 18" brown and the rest were cutthroat. A really nice 18" snapped my line. 

The top flies today were black woolly buggers (size 4-6). Woolly buggers that had a bead head, and were black with red, orange, and purple were the best. We also caught quite a few on bead head hairs ears and prince nymphs (size 14-16). A small mayfly hatch was starting to come on but the 1" of rain in 30 minutes put a hold on the hatch. 

Stripping the woolly bugger or allowing it to drag at the end of the hole seemed to provide the best action.

Below are pics of a 18" Brown caught in a deep hole under a willow bush and a nice 14" cutthroat.

Stump Creek - June 13-14

Stump Creek was still a little high for quality fishing. On Friday night I caught one little whitefish on a bead head  hare's ear but other than that the fishing was dead (which may have been due to my lack of skills not the fishing). There were no fly hatches on the river yet. The weather turned nasty on Saturday with rain, wind, and cold so I trip ended early. Stump Creek will be great in a few more weeks once the water recedes to more normal flows.

Oneida Narrows Reservoir

Last week my family went to Oneida Narrows Reservoir near Preston, Idaho. It was beautiful day and we were able to catch 10+ Smallmouth Bass on red and black beadhead wooly worms (size 4). A couple of the Smallmouths reached 14" and were about 2 lbs. We fished off the bank with a spinning rod, clear bubble and fly. A boat or pontoon would be excellent on this reservoir.

Blackfoot River Flow

It looks like another poor water flow for the Blackfoot River: USGS graph (flow is already close to its 25th percentile with the main snow pack already melted)



Without some significant rain, fishing on the Blackfoot may be poor again this year with low water. Hopefully the Idaho Fish and Game learned their lesson last year and will keep the carp trap in its place.

Blackfoot River report

On July 4th, I went fishing on the Blackfoot River. The water was very low...about 18-20 inches below normal for this time of year. The lower section of the river above the reservoir was also full of carp. I caught one 20" hybrid on a Stimulator and a 36" carp (~15 lb) on a stonefly nymph.

I have never sight casted to a carp before and it was interesting to toss out the fly in front of its nose and watch it gulp it down. After about a 20 minute fight on my 5 weight fly rod, I was able to land the carp. I tried to catch a few more carp but went without success. Trying to get my fly down deep enough to the carp in the faster water  was difficult.

Based on this experience your best bet for the Blackfoot River this year would be a bow and bowfishing kit to shoot the carp. Or to try to catch them on your fly rod. All of the best holes on the upper Blackfoot River were full of carp. Usually the Idaho Fish and Game has a carp trap in the river but it appears that this year they have either removed it or the carp found another way around. Regretfully the carp push out the trout and make trout fishing mediocre at best.

Stump Creek

On Saturday I went fishing to Stump Creek in Eastern Idaho. The water was still a little high and off color. Worse than the water...not a single hatch  of any kind on the creek. It was a little weird to be on a creek without any bugs flying around. I was still able to catch 11 trout, mostly 6-10" cutthroats with one 14" brown.

Top flies for the day were a size 14-16 beadhead hare's ear, a size 4-6 beadhead black and red wooly bugger, and a size 4 muddler minnow for the brown. I fished all the flies with split shot about 10-14 inches above the fly.

Here are a couple of pictures of the fish and the Stump Creek Valley:

Steelhead Fishing - Clearwater River

Here a couple of links for some videos of our steelhead fishing on the Clearwater River:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QKrZfcCph0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyD0y5O4Mj8

Blackfoot River - River Conditions

The upper Blackfoot River in Idaho is headed towards a dreary fishing season. The river doesn't open until July 1 and the current flow at 173 cfs is already below the 25% median. With a terrible winter for snow pack in the Blackfoot River drainage we will be lucky to have any water in the river come July 1 unless we get a drastic change in weather. When the river is low all of the quality fish head to the reservoir for cooler water. Two poor winters have taken their toll on the Blackfoot and the fishing this year will likely be poor.

Steelhead Fishing - Clearwater River

Here are some more pictures of Steelhead fishing on the Clearwater River:

Steelhead Fishing - Clearwater River

Last week, my dad, brother Kevin, and I spent a few days in Kamiah, Idaho fishing for the "B-run" steelhead on the Clearwater River. Despite an inch of rain on Wednesday night, Thursday and Friday were beautiful days and we were able to catch and land 8 beautiful steelhead. Half of the fish were wild and half were hatchery fish.

Thanks to Jarrett's Guide Service, http://wefishhere.com/, and Jeff Jarrett who provided us steelhead and spinner fishing greenies an excellent time and some beautiful fish.

Here are some pictures of the catch (my brother has my pics so I will have to upload those later):

Clearwater River

Clearwater River

McCoy Creek

Between some hot, dry elk hunting I went fishing on McCoy Creek. The fishing was pretty poor as all the holes where fish should have been were vacant for activity. I did catch two small cutthroats on small grasshoppers flies. McCoy Creek was probably a good 12+ inches low for this time of year which I am sure contributed to the poor quality of fishing.

Here are a couple of pictures of the McCoy Creek headwaters near Clear Creek:

Warm River

Saturday fishing found me at the Warm River. Fishing was pretty typical for Warm River. I caught around 10 fish, nothing bigger than 12". I caught a few rainbows, a few browns, and a few whitefish. It was a beautiful day and the nice cool temperatures by and in the river were a needed break from the summer heat. Most of the fish were caught on bead head prince and hare's ear nymphs. I caught one fish on a muddler minnow. Warm River is a beautiful, clear, cold river but for some reason trout populations aren't the best and, for the most part, the fish are all small.

Here are a few pictures:

Warm River (Canyon - looking downstream)

12" Rainbow

12" Whitefish

Warm River (Canyon - upstream)

10" Brown

USGS graph - Blackfoot River

The water levels on the Blackfoot are now below 25% of average. All the bigger fish will have left the river for the cooler waters of the reservoir. Fishing will be limited on the Blackfoot with these low flows. This is the least amount of water flow since 2001. Hopefully fall and winter will bring back some good snow.

USGS graph

Blackfoot River Report

The water in the Blackfoot has fallen another 3-4 inches and is flowing significantly lower than usual. Last year's abundance has not carried over into this year. The water temperature is also increasing. As a result I caught around 10 fish all in the 8-12" range. The big fish seem to have vacated the river heading back to the deep cool waters of the reservoir. I only saw one bigger fish that rose lazily at a hopper but really made no effort to take the bug.

Regretfully the Blackfoot may have to be scratched for the rest of the summer as high temps and low water are dominating Eastern Idaho. There are still a lot of smaller fish in the system which will provide some entertainment but odds of catching a larger fish diminish each day.

Fly of the day: A blue damsel fly was again the most productive but I also caught some on a bead head prince nymph and a bead head wooly worm (orange and black).

Here are a few pictures of the Blackfoot:

Looking Downstream

Upstream

Blue Damsel Fly Pattern

Blackfoot River Cutthroat

Here is the 22" cutthroat caught on the Blackfoot River on a size 12 blue damsel fly.

Blackfoot River - July 3 and 4

The Blackfoot River opened up this week and I was able to go fishing on July 3 and 4. Water levels are about 6-8 inches low from normal flow which means that, if the summer heat continues, it may be a short fishing season on the Blackfoot. Overall fishing was pretty decent. I caught around 30 fish the two days. Most were in the 8-12 inch range but I did land two really nice cutthroats, a 24 inch and 22 inch. Below is the picture of the 24 inch cutthroat.

The flies of the trip were black and red (orange) wooly buggers with a bead head (size 4), a size 14 bead head prince nymph, and a blue damsel fly (size 12/14).

 The grasshoppers were just starting to come out. In a few weeks grasshoppers should provide some good dry fly fishing.

Stump Creek

For the first time in a few years I wandered over to Stump Creek to try some early fishing on this small tributary to the Salt River. As a result of heavy rains and snowfall over Memorial day weekend, Stump Creek was fairly high and off color. Not too bad but enough to throw off the fishing. I caught a few cutthroats but nothing of note. It seemed that no one fly had any stimulating effect on the trout. The fish seemed non-existent although this stream contains excellent habitat. Some free range cattle may have contributed to the water's lack of clarity. Give Stump Creek a few weeks and the fishing should pick up considerably. From flipping over rocks, there appears to be a nice mayfly hatching not too far off in the future. Given its remote access Stump Creek may not be a bad place over the next month especially if you have beginner fly fishermen.

One final trip to the Blackfoot River

On Friday, I made one last trip to the Blackfoot River before winter sets in. If was a pretty slow day for the most part and the bigger fish were absent from my line. I did catch one 19" cutthroat and 5 more in the 12" range. My dad caught 10 - one bigger than 14". The water was icy cold which may have made the fish a little lethargic but it was an average day according to the moon phase calendar so 16 fish wasn't too bad.

Fly of the day: Size 12 bead head prince nymph. Nothing else worked.

Mid September Excellence

My father and I spent Monday fishing the Upper Blackfoot River for probably the last time this year as temperatures begin to dip and my annual elk hunting excursions begin. We fished for 3 hours and caught over 40 fish between the two of us. The majority of the fish were in the 10-14" range but we did catch 10 fish over 17". In one hole my dad landed 10 fish.

But the monster of the day was a 22" 5 pound cutthroat that obliterated a size 8 foam hopper. After a 10 minute fight we landed this beautiful fish but regretfully the camera was having a technical difficulty.

It was a great day and it is amazing to see the Blackfoot returning to its prior glory. Just 10 years ago there was almost no water and the river was full of carp. An outstanding turnaround for one of Eastern Idaho's best fisheries.

The flies of the day were a size 8 gray foam hopper and a size 14 bead head prince nymph. No other fly was necessary.

Three Days of Fishing

This last weekend I spent three days fishing three different locations:

1. Blackfoot River. On Monday I fished on the upper Blackfoot River and had an ok day. I caught 12 fish, three over 17 inches. I lost one big cutthroat that was probably a 24" fish. The fish were a little sluggish because the night before a heavy thunderstorm messed up the water quality. I caught the fish on a medium sized foam hopper (size 8) and a hairs ear nymph (size 16). The 21" trout is in the picture:

2. East Fork Teton River (Bitch Creek - sorry for the name). On Saturday I fished on Bitch Creek which flows into the Teton River. It is a beautiful mountain stream with big boulders and slippery footing. You'll need good shoes and be in good shape to fish this stream. I caught 10-12 fish, one 16 and one 14 incher. All fish were cutthroats. Most of the fish were caught on a size 16 prince nymph and a couple on foam hoppers. Here are some pictures of the creek:

3. McTucker Ponds. On Friday I went with my kids to McTucker Ponds and they caught 20+ bluegill and smallmouth bass each. It was a fun day for them. The fish were caught on prince nymphs and hare's ears. They really like shiny gold colored objects. It is a great place to go to get kids hooked on fishing.

Montana's Yellowstone River: From the Teton Wilderness to the Missouri
Flyfisher's Guide to Idaho (Flyfisher's Guides)
Fly Fishing Idaho: A Quick, Clear Understanding of Where to Fly Fish in Idaho (No Nonsense Fly Fishing Guides)
Fly Fishing Adventure: Idaho's Silver Creek