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Archive for July, 2009
Weekend of Fishing and Huckleberry Picking Dry Fly Fish Idaho
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We at Dry Fly Innovations have built our business on fishing public waters and being shoulder to shoulder with our fellow fishing enthusiasts. This past weekend I had to break tradition and fish a private section of the Little Weiser River. I showed up in Indian Valley on Friday evening around 6:00 pm and met up with a family friend named Wendy and we headed to a section of river that my in laws own. They do not own the water of course, but they do own the land on both sides of the river, which gave us a huge advantage because no one fishes it except for Wendy and my father-in-law. The water was beautiful and was flowing nicely; I thought it would be pretty easy to land a few fish in a short amount of time.
Was I wrong! There was nothing hatching on the surface and the Little Weiser looked like a ghost town. There was nothing feeding on the surface and the only bug in the air was mosquitoes and let me tell you there were a bunch of them. I first tied on a little Bare Belly Caddis (Gray) just to see if that might be the ticket. I fished this fly for about 30 minutes and had no rises or refusals so I knew right away that this was not the fly for this particular evening. I immediately switched to a Blue Dunn stimulator and walked up the river a little ways around a bend and found a gorgeous little run of water and I casted into it and nothing happened. I made another cast and bam out of nowhere a fish came right up and took the stimi. The fight was on and after about 30 seconds I landed a little rainbow (8 inches). Naturally I casted right back to that hole and nothing came to it. Nothing came back to my fly the rest of that night. The fishing conditions were tough because there were no hatches and stimulators were not attracting any fish. Nonetheless, it was a fun night on the river; the Little Weiser won that round.
On Saturday my wife Jessica and I headed to New Meadows for a family function and after that we headed to Burghdorf hot springs about 30 miles from McCall. We got there around 7:00 pm and we found a nice little camp spot that was conveniently placed about 30 yards from the Payette River. I immediately rigged up my pole and went to fishing. There was a monster caddis hatch going on and it looked to me like about a size 18-20. So I figured the Bare Belly Caddis (Gray) needed another shot on the weekend so I put that fly on and started fishing. First cast hit the water and it was not on the river 10 seconds and wham a rainbow came up and took my caddis. I got the fish to me and it was about 8 inches so I took the hook out and let him go. Casted back out on the next cast another fish takes my caddis. Fought that fish around and landed it. I fished the same hole for about an hour may be a little longer and in that time I landed roughly 25 fish all small rainbows ranging from about 6-9 inches. The Bare Belly Caddis (Gray) came through with flying colors.
The next day (Sunday) we went to the hot springs and swam for a few hours and then we headed down towards McCall. On our way back the upper end of the Payette Lake looked real fishy, but when I headed down to the river on both sides of the trail all I could see was huckleberries everywhere. I went back to my truck and grabbed a couple gallon size bags and put my fly pole away and started picking huckleberries. My wife Jessica is not big on fly fishing unfortunately, but she enjoyed her afternoon picking and eating huckleberries. Though it was not fishing, it sure was enjoyable being waist high in huckleberry bushes. If you want to plan a fun weekend of fishing and picking huckleberries I strongly advise you to head to McCall and go to the upper end of the Payette Lake. There are millions of berries to pick and plenty of good fishing holes that you can hit in the same area. Go enjoy the vast beauty and joy of the state of Idaho!
Big Wood Idaho Dry Fly Fish Idaho
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We recently returned from the Big Wood River near Fairfield, Idaho. We left early in the morning to try and fish both the Wood and Silver Creek over a two-day period. We arrived at the river around 7 am and decided that since the Wood was closer, we would start there. We pulled into a river access called sheep bridge and hiked down a small bluff to the river, and the river looked gorgeous!
Fishing the deeper side of the fairly narrow channel, we were targeting the big rainbows and browns that haunt these waters. There were plenty of large boulders and brush piles that fish love to hang out at so we focused mostly on those kinds of areas. Initially we tied on a Black Gold Hardback, thinking that since we had no idea what hatch might be going on, that it should get something’s attention. It took a little while, and we were about to tie on something else when all of a sudden bang! Fish on the line. We reeled her in and had a lovely 10-inch rainbow. It was plump and healthy and shiny, the only real problem was that it was kind of on the small side. So like usual we set it free and continued on.
We fished that stretch of the river from morning until around 10 am (before the extreme heat and lack of shade sent us packing) and caught well over 15 fish. Once again, the only problem was that they were all around the 8 to 10-inch mark. There was one fish that was a bigger, nicer fish. We had just switched to an CDC Caddis, thinking that maybe that was what the monster fish were looking for. After a couple of casts, we had a wonderful take and a longer fight. By the weight of the fish on the line and how it was fighting, we could tell this fish was bigger. And it was. After a fun fight, we reeled in a 13-inch rainbow that was just beautiful! Shiny sides, plump like her little friends, and all around healthy. We admired her a moment and then let her go.
We then decided that since it was only around 10 and the heat wasn’t quite were it was going to be, that we should go hit Silver Creek and see what we could do there. So we drove over, then walked the half-mile to our preferred holes and started casting. There was a hatch coming off but the problem here was that it was such a tiny mayfly, you couldn’t tie to it. The size of the actual bug combined with the fact that the water is crystal clear makes it incredibly difficult to fool a fish. We changed flies a couple of times and made cast after cast to feeding fish and never had a swirl. So an hour or so, we were on our way.
At this time it was somewhere around ninety to ninety five degrees outside, which usually lays the hatches low, so we went back to camp and ate lunch and took a snooze. The plan was to hit the river again in the evening when the hatches resumed.
When seven o’clock rolled around we rallied and went right back to where we were that morning and fished the exact same stretch. Since it was still brutally hot, we both decided waders were unnecessary. On the river there was the beginnings of a caddis hatch coming off the water, but it hadn’t quite started yet. We tied on a Adam’s Caddis and fished away. It didn’t take long before our line was snapping and “There he is!” could be heard echoing down the river canyon.
It was fish after fish, but again with the same problem as in the morning, they were all in the 8-10 inch range. Again we caught a couple nicer fish, another rainbow around the same size as the one in the morning, and two larger browns. The browns were ranged from 13-15 inches and were just stunning. Healthy and fat seemed to be a theme for the fish in this river.
We fished until it became too dark to film and again caught somewhere near 15 fish. It was a fun days fishing, even when you factor in the massive amount of mosquitoes. We decided that fishing wasn’t going to change on either the Big Wood or Silver Creek so we camped the night and went home in the morning. It was a great trip and our flies performed exactly as we could have hoped!
DFI How To – Dry Fly Fish Idaho
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We have just started another video series much like our fishing moments! We call them DFI How To. In each video we go into detail on how to complete a task that most amateur fishermen (myself included) don’t really know about. So if you are interested or just curious on how we at DFI do things, check out our DFI How To videos!
You can view them by visiting our Fishing Moment page and following the link there, or you can click on any of the above links as well. Just for fun, you can click HERE as well!
Any feedback you would like to leave is more than welcome on our blog, thanks!
Healthy Bull Trout Population 7/10-12 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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July 10-12, 2009 (Geoff Brumley writes…)
This summer has been quite hectic with various trips for weddings, bachelor parties, and back packing trips for Dry Fly Innovations. Needless, to say my wife has been stuck at home because I have been gone for the last four weeks and she could not take the time off to go on any of my trips. We finally had a chance to go hang out and have fun in the mountains just the two of us. Our destination was to head towards Lowman, Idaho and hit up the hot springs at Pine Flats.
Fortunately for me, my wife Jessica feels the same way I do when it comes to camping right next to someone and having to pay for it. So we took off on Forest Service Road 582 heading towards Red Mountain and we found a beautiful spot right next to Clear Creek to camp. The first thing I did is walk onto a log that was sticking out into the water and I could see that there was a massive caddis hatch going on and the little stream was alive with fish. I told Jess I have to go fishing or at least try while that caddis hatch was going strong. I quickly put my pole together, tied a new tapered leader with about 4-5 feet of tippet, and picked a nice juicy Adams Caddis (Green) and headed straight for the log.
The very first cast I made drifted for about a second and out of nowhere a fish came up and took it. I set the hook and landed that fish and I realized it was a Bull Trout (4-5”). I carefully took the fly out of the fish’s mouth and put it back into the water. I made another cast in the same hole and wham another fish came out of nowhere and took my caddis. I landed that fish and it was another Bull Trout (4-5”) and at this point I start to wonder if there is anything else in this little stream besides Bull Trout. I fished for two hours that night and caught several fish and every single fish was a Bull Trout ranging from (2-6”). We had to quit a little early because Jessica lost my last Adams Caddis fly and they were not too excited to go after Black Gold so we decided to call it an evening.
We took off the next morning and headed up towards Bear Valley throughout the flatlands and I was looking for a place to fish but the mosquitoes were just too thick and ferocious. So we headed back down and I found a beautiful little stretch of water that I just had to fish and I tied on a little CDC Caddis (Gray) and made my first cast and like clock work a fish came up and took that fly. It was another Bull Trout (4-5”). At this point I just could not fish that stream any longer because all there was in there was Bull Trout and they are an endangered fish in all Idaho waters. It was unfortunate, but it had to be done.
It was a great trip and we had a blast, but the most important thing that we witnessed on this trip was how healthy and vibrant the Bull Trout are doing. There was a lot of small Bull Trout in Clear Creek, which leads me to believe that this species is doing well at least on that little stretch of river that flows from Bear Valley all the way to highway 21. It was great to see the fish are doing well, but it cut our fishing a little short because there was no sense of fishing anymore if all there was in the stream was Bull Trout. So Jessica and I focused our attention on something else just as enjoyable and that was going to the Pine Flats hot spring for a good swim. It was a great trip and we had a lot of fun in Lowman, Idaho.
Your Fish Stories Dry Fly Fish Idaho
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We at DFI would love to hear about your own fish stories! Please feel free to post a tale or two about your successes and what you used to achieve them. If you have photos, please email them to us and we would love to post them for you. Fly fishing is an experience, and DFI wants everyone to know that they can be a part of it. There he is!
Red Mountain 7/4 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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As is tradition, we at Dry Fly Innovations have always made a fourth of July trip to Red Mountain and all the lakes under its peak. The trailhead is about 20 miles from the town of Lowman, Idaho and from Boise it takes about 3 hours to reach. We arrived at the Red Mountain trailhead bright and early at 8AM. If you ever plan to hike into the lakes there it is essential to leave in the morning while the air is still cool and the sun still lower. The five mile hike is fairly short, but let me be the first to tell you that it is all up hill…ALL up hill, especially the first 2 miles.
We made it up the mountain in good time and set up camp on the highest of Red Mountains lakes. The campsite, situated next to one of the most pristine springs of all the world, looked as if it had just thawed from the winter snows. Even so, we were there and we weren’t going to leave; besides the lake was brimming with rainbows and cutthroats.
As I filmed, Geoff and Nate started catching 10-12 inch cutthroats and slightly smaller rainbows. We moved about the sides of the lake watching for cruisers and cast specifically to them. These fish are on feeding mode and ‘cruise’ the sides of the lake in search of food. We would serve up black ant, beetle, or mountain emerger, all on #16-18 hooks, and they would take them, one after another.
We caught enough for dinner, let some go, and accidentally dropped a few more back into the water! It was a good time, and as far as I was concerned, as long as I didn’t go hungry I would be happy.
At all of our campsites, not just Red Mountain, we use a unique fire box to cook our fish. Made out of the same materials most use for a fire pit, we have engineered the perfect method for cooking on an open bed of coals. Look for the video we filmed on how to construct such a useful contraption. (See How To’s on our web page).
The second day I fell ill. Being sick in the high mountains is not something I would ever recommend, but we were there and we fished on anyway. Second day fishing is much tougher than the first, which can almost be considered a rule. The fish are wary and much more reluctant to commit to a fly. We fished all day and only picked up just enough for dinner. It took an extreme amount of patience and a bit of luck to get the trout to go for the fly. We would lay in waiting behind trees and shrubs waiting to ambush the wary cruiser as he made his way around the lake. If they saw you they were as good as gone, and in the clear waters of the mountains, that happens often.
Once again, the black ant proved to be the most successful fly and because of it, we did not starve. We cooked and ate our fill and shoved off to bed. The third day we hiked out early and headed home. Red Mountain is a bit of a buttkicker when it comes to walks, but the fishing is always fun and worth the effort.
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Mountain Emergers
$1.80
- Color:
- Black, Gray
Beetle
The most realistic beetle pattern available. It has a peacock belly, a sculptured body, and exactly 6 moose hair legs. DFI beetles are killer flies in almost all waters.
$1.80
South Fork Boise River 7/2 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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It was Thursday July, 2 on the South Fork of the Boise. It was a busy day with lots of boats and high water, with limited access to fishing holes for waders.
Dr. Jack Matunas and I began fishing a stretch of water a couple of miles above Cow Creek on a big riffle with a side channel. I had done pretty well a few days’ earlier on small caddis patterns and sure enough the willows lining the banks were still full of them. We tied on two varieties of caddis to start, a Curley caddis in gray and an Adams caddis in green.
After working the Curley in the side channel a short time I changed flies to a #20 CDC Caddis in green. All of a sudden Jack hooks a nice rainbow on the riffled edge of the main current and I hook a fish behind a brush pile on the side channel. We land both our fish and admire them together in the nets, two gorgeous fish one about 16 inches and the other about 18. We started the day with a double.
We continued to fish up through the hole casting to large rainbows sipping pinks and small caddis. We landed several large rainbows together, and then split. Jack fished the rest of the riffle and I fished the same side channel serving the fly down to feeding fish. The side channel was slow moving, deep and strewn with brush piles and overhanging brush. It would remind of fishing Silver Creek.
I started hooking some really nice rainbows and without the hard current they were fairly easy to bring to the net. I was about half way through the run where I spot a monster rainbow feeding against the other bank. He was directly in front of a brush pile with a canopy of over hanging brush above him; it was nearly an impossible place to cast. Even if you hit his feeding slot perfectly the current would drag the fly and it didn’t look natural so the fish wouldn’t take. I continued to cast to the fish from above without success, so I moved down straight across from the fish only about 15 feet from his lair. After about 15 short casts I finally settle the fly against the far bank, it drifted naturally over the fish and he subtly raised his head and sipped the fly. I set the hook and he explodes out of the water in a dazzling jump. He runs at me and jumps again within 8 feet of where I’m standing; then runs up river and jumps again. We did battle up and down the channel for a long time, but I finally got him in the net, a spectacular 20+ inch fish with brilliant dark colors.
Jack and I continued to work small caddis patterns for the balance of the day with slow steady success. In between windstorms and light rain we managed to land about 25 rainbows, a beautiful collection of large, healthy, over fed fish.
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