I want to thank all of the people who shared time with us at the show, for purchasing our product and teaching me many valuable fly tying techniques and unique fishing strategies.  You were awesome; and I know that could have selected a large handful of people at tour booth that could have fished with the so called “Experts” and gave them a hell of a run for there money!

Thank you for the lesson!!!!!

Nate Brumley

We parked on the midge water just below the dam and just like clock work there were Brownies working the surface.  Geoff snuck into position on the high side the run and the second cast…bang!!  He’s into a big old brown, with a lot of spark.  Up and down and across the hole the battle raged on until a beautiful 18 inch fish slid into the net.  We snapped a few photos and admired her a minute, and slid her back for another day.

Geoff dried the #22 BWO Emerger, ginked the shuck and engineered back into position.  He targeted another fish and the cast was perfectly served.  There was a moment pause, then a big mouth encompassed the hook.  A gentle hook set, an instant jump and then a bolt of electricity zinging across the slick.  The war was on again!  Life is a beautiful thing with a fly pole in your hand, the right hook on your tippet, and a 20 inch Brownie thrashing at the end of your line.  The fish begrudgingly slid into the net and filled it up.

And so the morning went picking a fish here and there and the hatch staying strong with targets at the surface to serve a fly to.  Things all of a sudden, like someone flipping a light switch there were no fish feeding anywhere on the slick.  We figured it to be a perfect time for lunch and let the fish regroup for the afternoon show.  The show never happened and the fish stayed down, so we moved down river in search of rings.  All the schools of fish we saw feeding in the morning has disappeared and the Owyhee shut down.

We hit a few runs of water with small numbers of fish feeding and we picked up a few more fish, but the hot fishing of the day was over by 2:00.  Oh the Owyhee, it can throw you more curve balls than a pitching machine and occasionally it throw you a split ball.  You never anticipate a hatch to come off early in the morning on the Owyhee in the winter, but by golly it did.  We should have been there at daylight!

I turn back to the river and there’s at least 2 dozen “brownies” feeding on the slick below me.  I position well above them and move down waiting for the first dimple to appear on the surface.  The rule on the Owyhee in the winter is never cast blindly to a fish, you only serve to a feeder in perfect position.  And perfect position is below you, in casting range to a fish that just surfaced.  Then serve the fly 2 feet ahead of its feeding zone and let the current naturally drift the offering to the fish.  The idea is to never let your fly line, your tapered, or your tippet come in contact with the fish; only the fly.  If you think it’s a perfect cast and he doesn’t take, wait until he surfaces again than re-serve.  There are times I’ll wait for 5 minutes to make on cast, but it’s specifically targeted to one fish in the proper position.

And so the day went.  I was systematically moving through runs of fish, hooking one brownie after another.  I fished the park below the dam for 9 fish, the youth camp for 4 fish, and below the tunnel for a half dozen more.

It’s always about the fly and the hot ticket fly right now is the BWO Emerger shown below.  We tie this fly in a #22 and #20 using biot bodies for that beautiful striated abdomen.  Your box should hold this fl especially in a size #22.

Dry Fly Innovations offers the No Hackle Blue Wing Olive in two sizes (#22 2XLong, and #20).  There is one important aspect about any BWO that has to be mentioned and that is this fly can only be used in late fall and throughout winter.  This particular hatch does not come off in the spring or summer, which makes this fly especially important if you are a die hard dry fly fishing enthusiast who fishes until the ice comes.  You can dry fly fish the No Hackle Blue Wing Olive throughout Idaho and all the northwest on all low elevation rivers.  If you are skeptical about dry fly fishing in the late fall and winter than take some No Hackle Blue Wing Olives and try your fate on the South Fork of the Boise River.  If there is a BWO hatching on the water and fish are feeding on the surface then you are prime for great day with the No Hackle Blue Wing Olive!

The “Majestic” covers you with terrestrials ranging from Flying Black Ants, Beetles, Cinnamon Ants, and Red & Black Ants.  It also comes with an array of caddis patterns from Hardshell Caddis’s, Adams Caddis, and the best fishing fly of 2009 the CDC Black Biot Caddis.  The “Majestic” does not stop there, it also has Damsel flies, Yellow Jackets, and gorgeous little stimulator patterns.  That’s just a few, but we cannot forget Dry Fly Innovations signature single upright wing mayflies that are true to nature as the real fly itself.  When you come to dry fly fish Idaho in the high mountains this summer make sure you have peace of mind and grab a “Majestic” box from Dry Fly Innovations.  It is the only box you will need to catch fish at your fishing destination!

I arrived at the river around noon.  It was 40 degrees with a slight wind, absolutely perfect fishing conditions.  I arrived at a big slick above Cow Creek and there were numerous big rainbows at the surface feeding on midges.  The tie on fly was a #22 Goose Biot Emerger with a black shuck.  There were a pod of rainbows feeding on the leading edge up river so I snuck in above them to casting range and waited.  A large fish rose in the lead and I cast to him.  No take.  I waited, he rose again and I served the fly.  Second cast of the day…..bang and the battle was on.  A couple of jumps, a few long runs and a gorgeous18 inch rainbow in the net.

The fish I landed had put the six or eight fish he was feeding with down, so I waited.  In a few minutes they began to surface again at mid river.  After selecting my target fish in the lead the cast was made about two feet in front directly in his feeding zone.  Bingo… fish on, fought and landed.

So it went on a spectacular day on the South Fork.  The fish continued to move away from me down river.  I’d move down and hook the fish on the leading edge to keep my line off them.  Later on they refused the dead drift, so I’d select a leading edge of feeding fish and swing the emerger across in front of them.  That method hooked a pretty nice group of fish.  Later still the fish refused the Goose Biot so switched to our BWO Emerger #20, and that change landed another group of fish.  I fished the run until the fish totally quit feeding about 4:00 pm, and then moved down river.

I never tied an adult midge or BWO on all day.  It was all about the emerger.  Here are the patterns.

It was a near perfect set up, the fish were feeding out from and below a big brush pile on the bank and if I could get to the brush pile without scaring the fish I’d be completely hidden.  I very gently moved into position and the fish continued to feed.  I made it and the fish were still there.

I watched the group of fish for a few minutes and noticed a large rainbow about 3 fish in and in the lead, he was in perfect position.  I made a nice soft cast about 2 feet above the fish and let the #22 BWO No Hackle float naturally to the fish.  There was no hesitation, he slowly surfaced and sipped the fly.  A gentle hook set, and the fish roars out to deep water and jumps; then runds down river like a bolt of lightning.  After a royal thrashing up down the hole a big beautiful rainbow lay quietly in the net.  Awesome!!  After removing the hook I revived him and admired him for a long time; then watched as he slowly turned away.  I absolutely love winter fishing!!

Turning back to the river, there were no fish feeding anywhere in casting distance as in the case almost every time you hook and land a fish on a slick, the other fish all went down.  No problem, I simply hung out behind my brush pile and waited.  Just like clock work in about 5 minutes the fish began surfacing again and I selected another rainbow to serve the fly.

For 3 hours I hooked big rainbows on a combination of flies.  The BWO No Hackle #22 started strong, almost every fish that I could get positioned on was hooked, but the hatch changed and the fish began working just under the surface.  Emerger time, so I change over to our BWO Emerger #22 3XLong and bang the fishing was on again.  A dead drift method into feeding troughs worked really well to start with and a little later swinging the fly through fish zones worked really well.

Later in the day after I had exhausted the slick I moved down river to a favorite riffle below Cow Creek and tied on an adult upright wing BWO.  I was able to land a few more fish there.  All in all it was a pretty good winter fishing day.  I ended up landing 16 gorgeous rainbows and lost quite a few also.

Shown below are the South Fork Arsenal of BWO:

Around 2:00 in the afternoon a few BWO began to pop, but there weren’t enough of them to bring the fish to the surface.  So there were a few fish taking across a long stretch of water, but nothing close enough to serve a fly to.  I slowly worked my way down through the hole and all of a sudden, bingo a fish rises about 20 feet away down stream in perfect position to cast to.  The tie on fly was a #22 3X long no hackle BWO.  I served the fly about 2 feet above his rise and let it float naturally to his position.  Bang!  He took and a nice gentle set seated the hook for a long fight.  After few minutes beautiful big rainbow was in the net.

That was the story for the rest of the day, I tried quite a few locations around Cow Creek, but the hatch was sparse and intermittent.  Luckily I was in position on three other fish that surfaced and everyone of them took the offering and ended up in the net.  I’m really sure if the hatch was more abundant it could have been a pretty big day.  But hey that’s dry fly fishing Idaho in the winter!!!

The four fish landed were caught on the following flies:  2 on BWO no hackle #22, 1 on BWO Emerger #22, and 1 on BWO upright wing adult #20.

The “Ultimate” fly box was designed specifically for any angler wanting to dry fly fish Idaho or any other river and stream throughout the northwest.  From small caddis flies that come off in early spring to big stone flies, hoppers, and stimulators that are effective throughout the summer fly fishing season.  The “Ultimate” has you covered for any challenge that you will face when you are dry fly fishing Idaho.  When you get your vacation scheduled and you are making a run to dry fly fish Idaho, pick up your “Ultimate” fly box and let it work its magic before your eyes.

Around 2:00 in the afternoon a few BWO began to pop, but there weren’t enough of them to bring the fish to the surface.  So there were a few fish taking across a long stretch of water, but nothing close enough to serve a fly to.  I slowly worked my way down through the hole and all of a sudden, bingo a fish rises about 20 feet away down stream in perfect position to cast to.  The tie on fly was a #22 3X long no hackle BWO.  I served the fly about 2 feet above his rise and let it float naturally to his position.  Bang!  He took and a nice gentle set seated the hook for a long fight.  After few minutes beautiful big rainbow was in the net.

That was the story for the rest of the day, I tried quite a few locations around Cow Creek, but the hatch was sparse and intermittent.  Luckily I was in position on three other fish that surfaced and every one of them took the offering and ended up in the net.  I’m really sure if the hatch was more abundant it could have been a pretty big day.  But hey that’s dry fly fishing Idaho in the winter!!!

The four fish landed were caught on the following flies:  2 on BWO no hackle #22, 1 on BWO Emerger #22, and 1 on BWO upright wing adult #20.