05/23/2020
Lost River Fishing Report May 22, 2020
It has been a while and this new life we are learning to live is going to affect the way we approach our favorite sport. No one is really telling us how to act, behave, or proceed in this new environment. As anglers, we do have some advantage in that the virus does not spread well in the solitude of the great outdoors. The downside is we can’t hang out in crowded bars after your adventure to brag about, show pictures, and pass around the video of the 40 inch brown that you hooked and almost landed. A little humility is good for mankind.
One thing we did during the shutdown was fish. It was our exercise, our outdoor activity, legal, and helped our mental attitudes. We also did some backcountry skiing, gardening, house repair, and some other long neglected projects. We connected the shop phone to our cell phones and took orders which were delivered curbside or in our mailbox. For me, the fishing days kept me sane in the knowledge that the financial hit was worth all this time on the water. For Susanne it was the goal of reaching fifty days of backcountry skiing and 100 days of combined skiing that kept her motivated. And we shared activities to keep things from growing mundane.
We reopened the shop last Monday, May 18th. There are free masks at the entry table, if you do not have yours, and hand sanitizer. Please try to distance inside the store. Another shutdown is not a desired result of this. We are booking guide trips and taking people to the water. Our Yellowstone Park trips in June are still on. We are using a guide template the Park Service created. The main thing is if you don’t feel well, or normal, or if our guide has similar feelings we won’t jeopardize you and ask you to do the same. We will generally practice social distancing on the stream. Easy. Our fly rods are about 9 feet long. Good measuring stick. We are asking clients to follow in their own cars, although the Park is allowing transport of no more than 10 people. We are asking clients to bring their own face coverings. We will have hand sanitizer. We are planning on guides providing lunches, but if there are reservations, you can order take away or bring your own. As the virus mostly spreads by airborne particles we feel fairly safe in our outdoor environment.
We missed out on the steelhead lodge this year but plan to resume next year. It was a decent season for those who were bold enough to travel out of the county. Not a lot of fish, but willing.
The Spring reservoir fishing was quite good and some days spectacular. The Anderson bass were willing, Magic has been consistent with bass, rainbows, and browns if you find the right place, Carey Lake was amazing for perch and bluegill, and Fish Creek Reservoir had some big brook trout. The challenge was to pick the right day. The weather has been like a yo-yo. Some nice calm sunny days, followed by huge wind and clouds, and then some very impressive storms. I did have some great fish days on Magic when the waves sometimes broke over my head and the float tube.
The current weather system should help with the morel hunting. It has not bumped the rivers much. Flows are not big. Approximate flows are: Upper Lost 350 cfs, Big Wood 500+ cfs, Lower Big Wood 600cfs, Lower Big Lost 200 cfs +, Little Wood 125 +, Silver Creek 170+, South Fork Boise 1,200 cfs.
The rivers are clear, quite low and certainly fishable for this time of year. Unusual. This will make it great for anglers, but can be hard on our fish. Spawning is still happening in some watersheds. If you happen on a group of trout flashing in the gravels, best to leave them be, and continue on. They are making their future as well as our own.
The Big Wood is big. Probably not very wadeable in many places, but clear and fishable. The water is cold so hatches and rising fish will be few and far between. A double nymph rig with one of the nymphs being a stonefly imitation would be a good choice. It you want to rise a trout, use a large, bushy dry fly, like a stimulator, and drop a weighted nymph a couple of feet below on 4X or 5X fluorocarbon tippet and you will find them.
The Upper Lost is rigging should be about the same as the Big Wood. The Lower Lost is another story, unless it gets bumped up in the next few days, which is unlikely because this storm has been a soaker. Fish smaller nymphs on finer tippet. 5x fluorocarbon. Size 12-16 nymphs. You may even see some blue winged olives hatch if there is cloudy weather.
Silver Creek is always a guessing game opening weekend. WE hope to see some PMD’s midday, some baetis if it is cloudy, maybe some early season callibaetis if it is sunny and warm. If you do not find rising fish, nymphs will usually create some havoc with those fussy trout. A two-bit ho**er and a pheasant tail in 16-18 are generally good choices. Definitely have your 6X tippet and fluorocarbon to nymph. Low light, evening, and at dark fish a big streamer for your 40-inch brown story. So many choices in streamer flies anymore. Check out the fly bins in your fishing shop and grab what grabs you.
The Lower Big Wood is big to wade, except in a few spots, but should be good with heavily weight small nymphs. Prince, copper johns, pheasant tails, two-bit ho**ers, zerbra midges are always in my fly box for the canyon water.
Our shop staff is ready to set you up, help you find product, and pick patterns for your outing. New product is arriving daily now that we have reopened.
Please release your catch. If you want one for dinner we would love to help you catch one from one of our local ponds or reservoirs.
Enjoy your days on the water, respect the space of your fellow anglers, and stay safe. My friends who have been sick with the virus tell me it is no joke.
Fish far and fine,
Scott Schnebly
Lost River Outfitters
208-726-1706
