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Archive for August, 2010
South Fork Boise Report 8/17 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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Wow!! The South Fork (dry fly fish Idaho) is fishing brilliantly right now!! The pink mayflies are coming off in the mid afternoon, dark caddis is popping after sundown and the hopper fishing is awesome between. There’s giant rainbows sipping bugs in the foam lines and riffles; and smacking hoppers off the grass brushes and steep bouldered edges. If you haven’t hit the South Fork of the Boise River (dry fly fish Idaho) lately you should make the run.
We fished the river from 2:00 until dark (8/17/2010) and had a monster day for not only numbers of fish, but size. There were at least three fish over 20” and a few nets full of fish 16-19”. They are fat, feisty, and looking up for the right fly. The pink hatches are #18 (dry fly fish Idaho) in the mid afternoon and #16 (dry fly fish Idaho) at sundown to dark. We caught a few more fish on the Tantalizer Pink Emerger (dry fly fish Idaho) than the adult, but they produced well.
Flies that caught fish 8/17/2010
#8 Bullet Head Hopper- didn’t land a lot of fish on this bug but 2 of the 20” fish were netted on this pattern
Bullet Hopper
$2.35
#20 Emperor Caddis Black (Late Evening)
Emperor Series
Our #1 fishing fly for 2009 was the “Emperor” caddis series. We fished this series of flies at all elevations, from May through September and they are truly super flies. We featured the “Emperor” black caddis in a video we shot in the Idaho Wilderness called “Fishing the High Country,” and it took the place of our Black Flying Ant as the #1 fly for alpine lakes. Every place we fished, these flies it put on a show!!!!
$1.90
#18 Adams Caddis Green (Early Evening)
Adams Caddis
A gorgeous high-floating fly tied in body colors gray and dark olive with the classic grizzly and brown collar. Fish him in fast water and very aggressively. He floats like a cork and catches fish like a worm.
$1.95
- Color:
- Gray, Green.
#18 Pink Tantalizer (late in the day a #16)
Tantalizer Series
The “Tantalizer” Series of emergers maybe the most significant break through in dry fly fishing in years. This fly has tested magnificently over every species of trout at every elevation. It’s a super fly that was so successful we featured the Pink Tantalizer in a video we shot on the South Fork of the Snake River last fall.
$1.90
#18 & #16 Pink Mayfly (Single Upright Wing)
Pink Quill Wing
$2.05
#16 Get Her Done Caddis Green (Early Evening)
"Get Her Done" Series
The “Get Her Done” Caddis Series could be the hottest new patterns on the market today. The days of the elk hair caddis are over once you use this life-like masterpiece. We had phenomenal results in the testing period on these flies and we’ve tied them in all the predominant caddis colors. These flies are a must in your fly box and a game changer on the surface of the water.
$1.95
Owyhee River 8/12 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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Wow!! Can you spell butt kicking! Well that was my experience on the Owyhee (8-12-2010). I got to the river around 1:00 pm and fished until dark. I tried big bugs, small bugs, and everything in between and all of them produced the same result. There was very few fish at the hook.
There was a hatch of blue dun mayflies size 18 (dry fly fish Idaho) that came off around 2:00 pm; and I had the fish in front of me, but it was a small size run of fish. After catching a half dozen fish—the largest one being 12-inches long, I decided to move on. It was interesting because I never saw one large brownie feeding in that stretch of water.
I searched the river for hatches up river almost to the dam with no large concentration of fish working, so I fished riffles and holding water to lure a fish to the surface. I’d pick up a fish occasionally, but again it was smaller fish. I did land one large fish below the Ginger Bread House on a #20 Black Emperor Caddis (dry fly fish Idaho) and I lost another nice fish there.
There were a few large fish that did a courtesy porpoise at a Bullet Head Hopper (dry fly fish Idaho) and a large Black Gold (dry fly fish Idaho), but they false took and settled back to the bottom. I tried other patterns over those fish, but none of them committed to the hook.
I finished the day at the river crossing a mile or so above the hot springs, and as the sun disappeared, a few large fish began surfacing to small caddis. So naturally I changed back to the Black Emperor Caddis (dry fly fish Idaho) and immediately hooked a large, feisty brownie. After a lengthy fight, I got him in the net, shot some photos and watched him slowly swim away. I dried the fly and waited for another fish to peek his head up and right on cue another large fish surfaced tight against the far bank. I positioned below him on a quarter angle and served the Black Emperor Caddis (dry fly fish Idaho). Without hesitation he rose in slow motion and ate my bug. Daylight was waning as I netted the fish, and as I was wading across the river to take a picture of him, I took a nose dive over a submerged boulder. It was a bad one, totally submerged, water down the waders. To make things worse, when I fell forward, the fish slipped out of the net. That put an end to my day’s fishing, because wet fly boxes have to be opened, drained, and the drying process must start immediately. In all I think I caught 12 fish all day and 9 of them were 12 inches long or less. I only landed 3 quality fish.
***NOTE*** I saw a few Mahogany mayflies which means the fish will begin to key on that bug as we move into late August and September
Flies that caught fish
#18 Blue Dun Mayflies
Blue Dun Mayfly
$2.05
- Wing Color:
- Clear Wing. Quill Wing.
#20 Black Emperor Caddis
Emperor Series
Our #1 fishing fly for 2009 was the “Emperor” caddis series. We fished this series of flies at all elevations, from May through September and they are truly super flies. We featured the “Emperor” black caddis in a video we shot in the Idaho Wilderness called “Fishing the High Country,” and it took the place of our Black Flying Ant as the #1 fly for alpine lakes. Every place we fished, these flies it put on a show!!!!
$1.90
#16 Blue Dun Stimulator
Blue Dun Stimulator
$1.95
#16 Black Gold (AKA South Fork Killer!!)
Black Gold Stimulator
$1.95 — $2.25
St. Joe River, Day 2; 8/9 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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I started early into the canyon that I located the previous day at Milepost 60. The shade was still on the water and my tie-on fly was a Gray Hatching Emerger #16 (dry fly fish Idaho) that would imitate the large gray mayfly I’d seen the day before. After hucking a fly to holding water for 10-15 minutes, it wasn’t the right fly to lure the cutties out of bed. So I changed to a #12 Bullet Head Hopper (dry fly fish Idaho) and began slapping it down in the riffles. The fish liked the bug; and even though there are a lot of false takes, I was hooking a lot of nice fish also. I decided to size down into a Tan Stimulator #12 (dry fly fish Idaho) thinking the fish would eat that fly a little more readily. The Tan Stimulator (dry fly fish Idaho) proved to be very deadly fly in hard riffle so I fished between two successful riffle runs with good success.
I entered another stretch of great hopper water with steep grassy edges, southern exposure and rocky. This time I tied on the larger #8 Bullet Head Hopper (dry fly fish Idaho) and began delivering it to the soft holding edges along the slope of the river bank. The fly would float splayed out along the gentle edge and a cutty would show up out of nowhere and bang the bug.
For 5 hours that scenario repeated itself. I caught a lot of fish, but I still had not hooked anything larger than 15”. The river was producing fish, but I felt like there should have been bigger fish there. I hiked up out of the canyon and broke for lunch. After huckleberry French toast and ham, it was time for the afternoon fish.
I had staked out a couple of riffles along the road for filming purposes, so we devoted the balance of the afternoon to filming and fishing. It was a cool place to film because the clarity of the water and the angle of the viewing from up above. I went back to the #14 Bullet Head Hopper (dry fly fish Idaho) pattern in the riffles and spent the remaining time hooking feisty cutthroats. The one mistake I made was not planning more time on the Joe. There is a ton of fishing water and not near enough time to fish it in two days. I never did land a giant fish, but a lot of 12-15” fish; but I know with more time, I may have figured out a recipe to hook a bigger fish. It’s an awesome river, a fantastic environment (must view Hobo Cedar Grove Botanical Area!), and very scenic!
 Check out the Hopper! |
 Hobo Cedar Grove Botanical Garden |
Flies that caught fish:
Beetle #12
Bullet Head Hopper #12, #14
Tan Stimulator #12
Black Ant
Cinnamon Ant
Red Ant
Black Gold #12
Emperor Caddis – Green
Gray Hatching Emerger #16
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
Bullet Hopper
$2.35
Tan Stimulator
The perfect fly when fish are feeding on that large tan caddis or bright golden stones in larger sizes. You'll love fishing this fly, always bone dry and riding high. Sizes #16, #14, #12, #10. This was our #1 fly on the Metolius River in June, 2010 and has proven deadly in its testing period over a large variety of water.
$1.95 — $2.25
Ants
An enormous percentage of a trout's diet above 6,000 feet is ants. Fish cruise the edges under the canopy in search of these crunchy, high-octane morsels. The four ant patterns displayed are the ultimate weapons in the most prevalent color selections. They have tightly wound oblong body segments, beautifully crafted wings, and present themselves exactly like the natural. They have no deer hair shells over the tail so they are tough and won't fray or break like many commercial flies. You will catch more fish with less refusals using DFI ants!
$1.80
- Color:
- Black, Cinnamon, Red.
Black Gold Stimulator
$1.95 — $2.25
Emperor Series
Our #1 fishing fly for 2009 was the “Emperor” caddis series. We fished this series of flies at all elevations, from May through September and they are truly super flies. We featured the “Emperor” black caddis in a video we shot in the Idaho Wilderness called “Fishing the High Country,” and it took the place of our Black Flying Ant as the #1 fly for alpine lakes. Every place we fished, these flies it put on a show!!!!
$1.90
Hatching Emerger - Black or Brown
These emergers come in only #20 hook.
$1.80
- Color:
- Black Brown
St. Joe River 8/8 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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After yanking a spoon around for two days fishing Mackinaw (dry fly fish Idaho), it felt really good to have a fly rod in my hand. And add to that a spectacular crystal-clear river made it even better. We traversed the river from St. Maries on FH-50 through Calder and onto Avery. It was all my wife could do to keep me from fishing some of the beautiful runs of water for 50 miles. We located a shady little camping spot in a cedar grove, set up camp, and by 2 pm, we found ourselves at Milepost 65.
I located a deep riffle with boulder edges and holding water around deep submerged boulders. The tie-on fly was a Beetle #14 (dry fly fish Idaho) because cutthroats and beetles have a historic love affair. I served the beetle along the boulder edge, and it hovered between the cover of deep water and the gentle current of the bank. And just like clockwork, the old cutty stuck his head out and ate the fly. There’s just something fabulous about a fighting cutthroat in gin-clear water. You see his every flash of red and silver as he reluctantly slides into the net. And so it went on day 1 at the Joe. I puddle jumped from hole to hole, and every one of which produced more fish–an array of gorgeous cutthroats 8-15” long.
The main highway runs besides the St Joe River (dry fly fish Idaho) for 70 miles, so you’re continuously fishing a line of water then jumping in the rig and driving to the next one. I located a canyon that would be my target for the 2nd day. There were no major hatches of anything on the first day except for a mayfly hatch at about 6 pm on the first day. But the larger fish were not keying on the mayfly hatch.
Flies that caught fish:
Beetle #14
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
PMD Parachute Mayfly #18
Product Not Found
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Black Gold Stimulator #16
Black Gold Stimulator
$1.95 — $2.25
“Get Her Done” Series Caddis Gray #16
"Get Her Done" Series
The “Get Her Done” Caddis Series could be the hottest new patterns on the market today. The days of the elk hair caddis are over once you use this life-like masterpiece. We had phenomenal results in the testing period on these flies and we’ve tied them in all the predominant caddis colors. These flies are a must in your fly box and a game changer on the surface of the water.
$1.95
Adams Caddis Green #18
Priest Lake 8/6-8/7 “Hodacking” for Mackinaw (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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Well it’s not your classic dry fly fishing, but it’s what you do when the fish are laying on the bottom–162 feet from the surface of this giant lake. It’s a unique style of fishing, done with copper lines, open-faced reels, and salmon poles. You reach the bottom by feeding line by hand for the first 100 feet, then releasing the spool and dropping the silver spoon to the bottom of the lake (dry fly fish Idaho). At that point wearing a metal glove, you thread the copper line between your fingers and yank the spoon off the bottom, and then you let the spoon flutter back to the bottom. Repeat this yanking motion until the fish smacks the hook. Then set the hook by hand by holding the line tight until someone reels the slack and transfers the pole to you. At that point, you fight the fish from the bottom and re-spool over 300 feet of line back to the boat. About half the fish you hook in this process are lost. I thought about tying a Black Gold Stimulator (dry fly fish Idaho) off the spoon, but I was assured by my brother that that method would not work, so we stuck to “hodacking” for an afternoon and morning fish.
By golly! The method works. There is a real feel about this technique of fishing requiring a lot of touch. I was a little rusty, but I ended up catching 3 five-pound fish. It was a good time but I kept thinking how we might be able to lure one up to the surface, but the fish graph said it was impossible.
Mill Creek 8/5 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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I was born and raised fishing the small tributaries off the Salmon River, and Mill Creek (dry fly fish Idaho) is the classic small mountain stream. It has perfect spawning water for small cutthroat trout. The best you can do is catch a small batch of eating fish to keep their populations under control. The water is crystal clear and the fish are “booey,” so you’re sneaking up and using the brush line to conceal yourself. Short casting to potholes and free-flowing riffles is often a challenge, and snaking the line into small chutes and feeding troughs.
If the presentation is good, you’re generally rewarded with a fat little cutthroat (dry fly fish Idaho) at the end of your line. It’s a really fun type of fishing, even though you’re not landing large fish, but quantity of fish. So we caught our limit of cutthroats (dry fly fish Idaho) and moved on to our next destination–Priest Lake Idaho.
Mill Creek area
Flies that caught fish:
Black Flying Ant #16
Ants
An enormous percentage of a trout's diet above 6,000 feet is ants. Fish cruise the edges under the canopy in search of these crunchy, high-octane morsels. The four ant patterns displayed are the ultimate weapons in the most prevalent color selections. They have tightly wound oblong body segments, beautifully crafted wings, and present themselves exactly like the natural. They have no deer hair shells over the tail so they are tough and won't fray or break like many commercial flies. You will catch more fish with less refusals using DFI ants!
$1.80
- Color:
- Black, Cinnamon, Red.
Beetle #14
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.