During my lifetime of fly fishing I have had the opportunity to fish many rivers and streams throughout the West. Some of these waters are famous trout rivers and streams of the Northwest while others are little known or known only to local fly anglers. I have some special rivers I like to fish that are outstanding rivers and grow huge trout, and I fish quite a few little creeks that I think are the best of the best. I fortunately have the benefit of being able to travel the Northwest much of the fishing season and feel fortunate to fish many rivers and streams, each one uniquely different and rewarding. One thing all these fishing hot spots have in common is the presence of other anglers, crowded boat ramps and full campgrounds. However negative that may sound, most often it's worth it to have the opportunity to catch beautiful native trout. For me it was the beginning of a fly fishing quest.

Eighteen years ago I started my quest for a body of water where no human had ever cast a fly to, where the fish were wild and had never seen a human much less a wading boot. Most of my fly fishing friends thought I was crazy, saying those places just don't exist anymore. I figured that living in Idaho I could probably find that little creek within a few years. Well a few years came and went and I had given up looking for something that I no longer believed existed. It just sunk in that there just isn't any trout water in the lower 48 that just isn't getting fished.

I think in the back recesses of my mind, somewhere among the cobwebs and empty spaces, I still thought that someday I might be fortunate to discover some little creek untouched by the dry fly. Occasionally I would spend a couple of hours at a time looking over all my maps and day dreaming about some of the little blue lines I saw coming out of those topographical mountains. Sometimes I even made a trip to some of those mystery creeks I spied on the map only to see anglers, signs of anglers or a parking lot full of cars before me.

Just when I think I've forgotten about my little virgin stream I pick up a magazine and read an article about some lost forgotten river somewhere on our earth or I'll pick up a book written by some well known fly fishing author and read about their adventures on some little stream they say must remain "unknown". Now I understand the reason for keeping their little "unknown" a secret but these authors have a knack for describing streams, fly fishing and trout with such clarity that leaves me with my tongue hanging down which is probably why they do it for a living.

Finally after a pretty cold February and a windy cold March it's time to hit the rivers hard before the spring runoff hits. The clock has been set back an hour and all the flies have been tied and the days are now longer and warmer so there are no more excuses to get out and fly fish. Just because we have a time change and some warmer days doesn't mean the fishing is going to be warmer or easier it's just that at least you can get out now and catch a few trout on a regular basis after a long dormant winter. Some of us hearty anglers have been out whenever possible during the winter with mixed results but there are no excuses now.

Two of my local waters here in Southwest Idaho are showing incredible fishing at this writing. The Owhyee River and the South Fork of the Boise River are giving up huge trout at a consistent level the last few weeks. At the SF Boise your traditional nymph gear will bring you plenty of white fish and a few native rainbows during the top of the day and over at the Owhyee you can still find plenty of brown trout rising to midge pupa in cruising pods up and down the river.

On a recent fishing trip the Owhyee River I experienced what most anglers this time of year experience on that river, crowds of anxious fly anglers. More like a hatch of anglers buzzing around all the likely spots. As I was driving up the river you could just feel the anxiousness of a few of these anglers as they scanned their spot on the river hoping no one would materialize and take their spot before they could get down to the river to ply their trade. However my strategy on the Owhyee during a heavy angler hatch is to fish the sections of the river where no one else wants to fish.

I was fishing with my friend Chris, who had taught me a few years before, that fishing these slow slack waters where very few others anglers fish can produce very large brown trout. Using a weighted size 4 black Woolly buggers striped aggressively through suspicious water proved too much for the meat eaters that lurk in these backwater sloughs. Chris and I did have a go at midging some slurping trout, when we did find them, with mixed success but our main strategy was attacking those carnivorous browns who need more of a meal than what a size 20 midge pupa can provide. We managed to release 16 browns that day with the smallest being only 23 inches.

The moral of the story here is that sometimes you can be successful in crowded water by doing something totally different and aggressively fishing water that most anglers will pass up. Nobody likes to fish to rising trout more than me but sometimes you just have to change with the conditions. With the water level at 30 cfs on the Owhyee right now the conditions were perfect for getting a crack those large brown trout hanging out on the bottom.

I have come out with two new nets this year; the River Runner and the Tear Drop. I had a lot of demand for a tear drop type net so after couple of months of engineering and trials the new nets are finally available. The River Runner is a square hoop made from oak, mahogany and poplar and is made in a square shape. It comes in both a rubber net bag and as a cradle net version. The Tear Drop is also made from oak, mahogany and poplar woods but is only available at this time with a rubber net bag.

Of course the hottest landing net on market right now is the Merlin Cradle net. I currently make two models of the Merlin Cradle Net. Only Merlin Nets makes a landing cradle for river and stream use that can hang from the vest of any fly angler. Modeled after the musky and pike cradle nets of Northern Minnesota, the Merlin Landing Cradle in effect does the same thing; it cradles the fish instead of netting the fish. Most landing nets are U shaped; when a trout is landed it ends up at the bottom of the net in an unnatural U shape. This causes the trout to start flipping and flapping until the fish and your flies are entangled in the mesh net bag. What a Merlin Cradle Net does is it keeps your trout up at the very top of the hoop where the angler can remove the hook, take photos and release the fish without the stress related to old style U shaped nets. You also don't get your flies caught deep in the mesh net bag.

If you are interested in more information or photos (Sorry none are available for publication just yet) just drop me an email on www.idahoriverfishing.com or mgsandifer@gmail.com

June 12, 2011

The Owhyee River is still high at 2700 cfs and I wouldn't recommend it just yet.  However, if you want to avoid the crowds the the Owhyee usually attracts this might be a time to try it.  Use weighted nymph rigs in obvious tailouts and slicks.  Keep your eyes out for rising fish in the slow water as you might be seeing some BWO's or PMD's.  In the late afternoon look for the caddis to start coming off.

April 5, 2011

The river flow is currently at 7210 cfs so forget about it!

March 25, 2011

The Owhyee river flows have just been raised to 222 csf just the other day while I was fishing there.  I spent the day leap frogging just ahead of the muddy flows picking off a few browns just before the muddy water arrived.  Then it was down the river another mile to fish that section until the next wave of muddy water hit.  The fishing was great.  Lots of midges and baetis.  The BWO fishing was incredible with hungry browns gorging themselves on the duns and emergers and of course the fishing shut down when the muddy water arrived.  I would give this river a week or two to settle in before going again. However who knows how much water the powers that be will let out.  This river could be unsettled for quite a while so keep you eye on it.