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.