I fished this private, gin clear, creek 5/1/08 and had a blast. The fish are very shy and tough to catch but for a good fly fisherman the action on these huge fish is incredible. The owner told me thate recently added 30 inch browns. The 35 buck fee is well worth it!

Cheers, John

You can buy a day pass right on their website:

http://www.batisespringsanglers.com/

Hi, I've decided to start providing information on the Steelhead fishing in the North Central Idaho rivers as well as the Snake River and its tributaries..the Grande Ronde River and the Salmon river drainages.
Our business, Snake River Guide Service is situated in the Lewis Clark Area and we are very in tune to what's happening in the surrounding rivers.

We provide realistic information to a limited number of web sources and I feel that this outlet can become a major player in providing great info.

I hope this introduction is acceptable.
Thank you
Pat Long

McTucker Creek Management Area
By
Dave Langston



Weather in south east Idaho is always unpredictable. But this year it seems most reservoirs are taking a bit longer to finally clear of ice. Mctucker Creek ponds have finally cleared and anglers should be able to cast a line to open water.

Last year anglers reported fair to good catches of trout, sunfish and catfish with a few bass thrown into the mix. Trout were averaging 12 -14 inches with a few bigger and catfish are under a pound but anglers reported a good population of them.

Sunfish have taken over most of the ponds. The green sunfish as Idaho Fish and Game calls it is stunted (only about 2-3 inches long) and booming in most of the ponds. These guys are perfect for breaking in that first time angler; they simply won’t stay off your hook.

Bass fishing looks good this year in a few of the ponds with largemouth’s pushing the four pound mark and over. Last year just before winter, I went on a bass fishing exploration at Mctucker and found that the majority...

Bear River Oneida
By
Dave Langston



The Bear River is a hot topic, with the threat of a dam and changing of the water system anglers are voicing their opinions at meetings hoping the dam will not move in and disrupt the fabulous fishing this system offers anglers and campers alike.

If you have never been here I suggest a trip should be in short order. Browns and rainbow trout are common with walleye and smallmouth bass also providing anglers with a unique opportunity. “This is one of the most beautiful places in our part of the state, with massive canyon walls surrounding you and a river system that not only provides excellent fishing but rafting, kayaking and tubing for campers this is the perfect place to stay for a few days,” says avid outdoorsman Dave Jackman of Blackfoot.

He is right, anglers and outdoorsmen need to voice their opinions by calling Idaho Fish & Game 208-232-4703 for more information on how to stop the proposed destruction of the Bear River and Oneida reservoir system. This will also...

Smallmouths Snake River System
By
Dave Langston



Smallmouths are on the take at this time on the Snake River from Massacre rocks down to Twin Falls. With the spawn just around the corner expect fish to get more aggressive as the water starts to warm a few degrees.

Bronzeback angler Bruce Thomas of Burley reports on action below Lake Walcott. “The bite is on, it’s not exactly dynamite just yet but as the water warms in the next week or so smallies will be super aggressive. But at this point we are still doing very well,” he says.

Like all avid bass fishermen, Thomas won’t give out his secret honey holes but he did says this, “any area on the river where springs are present and mud flats are nearby with rocks outcroppings you will find bass. From Massacre rocks down to Lake Walcott and also below the lake, this is all prime habitat for small mouth’s.

Thomas does say that it is about time that rule and regulations have changed in this part of the river system. “We were about to lose one of the best small...

Sturgeon…Bliss, Idaho
By
Dave Langston



“It was fantastic and pure energy driven fishing,” says Blackfoot angler Dave Jackman. “This was the most fun I have had in years on a fishing trip,” adds Pocatello angler Bob Langston.

Recently we went and filmed a sturgeon trip with THIRSTY FISH OUTFITTERS (208) 539-0108 with sturgeon guide and expert Justin Johnson in Bliss, Idaho on the Snake River for XONTV.TV and we were not disappointed. In fact we were treated to three fish from 5 foot to 7 foot long.

“Last week we landed 9 fish in one outing with the longest just over the seven foot mark,” says Johnson. With Justin’s knowledge and rigging up with the proper bait with a small rainbow trout the momentum kept going into our trip.

Our first fish of the day struck on our first cast and within 10 minutes of the cast. “I set the hook and felt nothing but pure power,” adds Langston. After 5 consecutive jumps the seven foot prehistoric fish allowed Langston another 15 minutes of runs and then broke off. “Even...

By Chris Hunt

I suppose we looked pretty silly to motorists cruising across the Wilson Bridge just west of Jackson.

Two bundled up anglers standing in the ribbon of moving water and surrounded by snow measured in feet along the Snake River's banks likely drew a few curious stares. Add in the sideways snow storm and the bone-chilling wind, and I'm sure more than a few drivers, from the comfort of their heated cars, muttered something about "those crazy fly fishermen."

Crazy like a fox.

The Snake River in western Wyoming, from where it flows out of Yellowstone National Park south to Grand Teton National Park, through the small town of Wilson and on through the fabled Snake River Canyon en route to Palisades Reservoir on the Idaho line, never fishes better than it does in late winter and early spring, before run-off.

The few hardy anglers who know the river and its early season hot spots will be justly rewarded. In other words, sideways snow be damned. Go fishing. That's why God invented Gortex.

The river's braids below...

Staples for Spring in Western Montana
By Corey Fisher

Once upon a time, the word "skwala" was only uttered in hushed whispers in fly shops and bars around Missoula. Tales of great trout performing stupid acts of gluttony â?? eating dry flies â?? were shared with close friends and a cult of sorts began to ply local rivers at a time that most anglers were still busy attending to off season-duties like tying flies and patching waders.

March is a manic month in western Montana with shirtsleeves one moment and snow squalls the next, and wasn't always relied upon for fabulous dry fly fishing.

Things have changed. Word got out, hushed whispers became online fly fishing forum posts, the Bitterroot River became a destination for pre-run off fishing and the skwala phenomenon was born.

Now, on any given day once the weather turns to almost-spring, dozens of rafts and drift boats can be found floating preferred stretches of the river, making the Bitterroot a perennial favorite of anglers. A bunch of anglers even started...

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission is seeking comment on a proposal that would allow state officials to close waters to recreation during a fire emergency.

The new rule seeks to authorize FWP to adopt temporary emergency closures of public waters to boating, floating, swimming, fishing and other uses when firefighting efforts on or near the water creates a danger to public health and safety.

A temporary emergency closure helps ensure public safety as fire-fighting crews with aircraft scoop water with large buckets while hovering over the surface of a river or lake. Under the proposal, FWP can lift the closures as soon as conditions improve and when public safety is no longer a concern in the area.

The new rule is also necessary to prevent delays in firefighting efforts, officials said.
For more information visit FWP online at fwp.mt.gov. Click Recent Public Notices.

Comments, which must be received by April 24, can be sent to Jessica Snyder, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT...

Here's the answer to the Jeopardy category, fishes of the Missouri River: Goldeye.

And the question: What is the most common species caught in the river between Morony Dam downstream of Great Falls and the upper reaches of Fort Peck Reservoir?

That's right, goldeye. That thin, silvery fish with golden eyes that nearly everyone fishing the river in central Montana has caught. This bit of information and lots more like it comes courtesy of Mike Wente, a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks fisheries technician.
Wente spent almost every weekend alone last year from mid-April to the first week of November floating the Missouri River. When he wasn't swatting mosquitoes or sidestepping rattlesnakes, he was talking to anglers for a creel survey conducted every four years.

Goldeye composed 36 percent of the catch, followed by sauger at 15 percent.
The most common game fish caught in the upper river, Carter Ferry to Fort Benton, was smallmouth bass. And most of the anglers hailed from nearby Great Falls.

"Some of those smallmouth...

Dead rainbow trout are floating on the surface of Treasureton Reservoir where the ice has receded.

Low oxygen conditions in the reservoir north of Preston have led to a winter fish kill. A series of factors contribute to fish kills like this one. The plant decomposition under the ice uses oxygen. Oxygen can be replaced by photosynthesis, a process by which plants make food, but light is required for this process. Layers of ice and deep snow can block light from reaching the plants. When that happens, photosynthesis stops and oxygen levels in the reservoir cannot be replenished.

The bottom line is that the fish in Treasureton Reservoir are dying from a lack of oxygen.

"Shallow reservoirs with abundant vegetation are most susceptible to winter fish kills," said Dave Teuscher, fisheries biologist for the southeast region of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. "When prolonged ice cover and snow are added to the scenario, the chances for oxygen problems are greatly increased."

Fish and Game can't tell yet whether...

Written by Dave Langston

With over 10 different lakes that harbor bass, southeast Idaho offers anglers an opportunity to score on largemouth's within a short driving distance from Pocatello and northern Utah.

But, which is the reservoir that holds not only quantity but also quality fish?
Hands down, Twin Lakes offers anglers not only a chance at landing a trophy fish but also loads of smaller 10-13 inch fish on a consistent basis. Located 16 miles northwest of Preston, Idaho, Twin Lakes is a family friendly reservoir with no length limits but bag limits still apply. A daily $5.00 charge is required at the entrance.

Twin Lakes are just that, two lakes connected by a canal system. Throughout most of the year anglers in boats can access both lakes but during low water years and in late a
August the canal dries up considerably and boats may not make the trek into both lakes.
Expect bass to range in the 12-inch range with different year classes mixed in. A large bass in here typically runs up to five pounds, but I do know...

So you think you know how to age a fish, do you? Not so - even the "experts" get fooled.

Wyoming Game and fish Department fisheries biologist Bill Wengert, a 35-year veteran, found out just how tricky it can be to age a fish recently when he caught a lake trout on Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

"I was ice fishing in the Big Bend area when I caught a lake trout weighing a very skinny two and a half pounds and measuring 22.75 inches in length," Wengert said. "The fish showed no signs of any obvious hook scars, not saying it had never been caught previously, but a lot of lake trout in the Gorge are hooked-scarred. I thought that was unusual.

"As I looked closer I noticed the adipose and right pelvic fin of the lake trout had been clipped, so I knew the fish was stocked. Looking back in time to Game and Fish historical stocking records for Flaming Gorge Reservoir I determined the fish was stocked on April 14, 1983, at an average length of 8.3 inches. The fish were loaded onto a barge and transported to the middle of the...

It was an odd memorial service.

Eight of us stood in a solemn semi-circle, our heads bowed, hats in hand. We wore not black, but various shades of drab, from deep olive to pale gray. Instead of mourning a dear friend just laid to rest in a pastoral cemetery, we mourned a dusty cylinder of rubber perishing well before its time in front of our very eyes.

There, still attached to left rear wheel of the rented, metallic blue Suburban, a ragged hiss escaped from a puncture hidden between the deep threads of the almost-new tire-a steel-belted death rattle, if you will.

"Who puts two-ply tires on a four-wheel drive?" Tom Reed asked rhetorically. "That's just dumb."

"The rental company," Mike Knuth answered, a hint of irritation in his voice.

This particular irritation would be minor by the end of the three-day fly fishing tour of the Wyoming Range, a north-to-south stretch of wild, mountainous country between Hoback Junction and Kemmerer. Tom, Mike and I were showing a group of reporters the merits of the mountains on behalf...

Chinook salmon returning to Idaho this year may bring the second-best salmon season in decades along with an economic lift to some rural communities and salmon fishing to the Sawtooth Valley.

Fishery managers are forecasting nearly 100,000 Chinook salmon across Lower Granite Dam on their return to Idaho.

During a special meeting last month in Boise, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission heard an optimistic forecast for spring and summer Chinook salmon seasons.

The good news is that 83,550 hatchery salmon are expected to cross Lower Granite Dam, with most of them returning to Idaho. But only 14,150 wild fish are expected. That's a four-fold increase in hatchery fish, but a little less than twice as many wild fish, anadromous fish manager Pete Hassemer told commissioners.

In 2007, the total forecast return was 27,700 and the actual count was 29,240 at Lower Granite Dam, the last of eight federal dams the fish encounter on their way back to Idaho rivers.

The salmon return is good news for anglers, and it's also expected...

By Glen Bruderer


Idaho anglers should expect most of the same fishing opportunities in 2008 as in years past - only with more water.

Idaho fishing regulations changed very little from 2007, but the spring runoff will play a key role in how Idaho's fishing waters will fish in the spring and early summer.
There are, however, a few things that should be noted in the new rulebook.
To start with, anglers should particularly note the sturgeon rules. Sturgeon must live for 25 to 50 years to reach maturity. To get this old they need some help from anglers. Many have been found tangled in line or have been found hooked to the bottom of the river on lost gear.

"We are trying to raise awareness regarding sturgeon fishing in general and the C.J. Strike population in particular," says Lance Hebdon of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

"This population is heavily fished, and we want folks to take care of each of these special, trophy fish."

Also, remember steelhead rules are in the back of the new regulations. There are many...

Is it spring yet?
Man, what a winter. I don't know about you, but I trashed a perfectly good snow shovel this year, and when it finally broke, about three storms before winter finally quit (maybe?), I just started to ignore the white stuff.
Even as a write this on the last day of March, new snow blankets the front yard. It's a also a Monday, so wandering upstairs to grab that first cup of coffee this morning was punctuated by the vision of an inch of fresh snow covering the grass. I should have just gone back to bed.
I've also got that late winter, early spring perma-cough- that cold that doesn't quite knock you on your butt, but also keeps you from being perfectly square with the world. The other night, watching television with my family, something funny happened and I laughed twice and then broke into an hour long coughing fit.
Maybe I'm just getting old. I used to relish winter fly fishing for the solitude and the surprisingly good angling, especially here in southeast Idaho, where some streams, in my opinion,...

Spring is a magical time on the rivers and streams of Southwest Montana. Trout slowed to a virtual standstill by the frigid temperatures of winter awake from their dormant state to feed on the bounty of insect hatches that mark the changing of the season.

Beyond the borders of the Big Sky state, many anglers have heard of the famed Mother's Day caddis hatch. But the insect of choice for anglers and trout alike during the drizzly, overcast days of spring is certainly the baetis mayfly.

Commonly referred to as blue-winged olives or BWOs, these tiny mayflies are the first substantial food source trout seek out after feeding for months on even tinier midges.

"It is nice to have a good hatch and see fish rising," said Nathan Guffey of The River's Edge fly shop in Bozeman, Mont. "A lot of people have a hard time fishing midges. The fish are a lot more active with baetis, a lot more aggressive."

Popular fly patterns for the spring baetis hatch include the Sawyer pheasant tail, batwing emerger, parachute Adams and CDC...

If you landlocked guys every tried the action out here...man oh man!

This fish was caught on a Florescent High Fly about 10 feet from the bottom in March of 2007. The downrigger ball was alsmost hitting the rocky bottom!

OK that is debatable but I wanted to post this pic is me floating out on Royal Lake on the Olympic Peninsula. The hike is a difficult 4 miles and 2500 feet but it is all worth it! This pic is from late August and the Brook trout were hitting good old fashioned Elk Hair Caddis #14-18. The fish were fiesty but only 8-10 inches. The scenery on this lake is dynamo!

This pic is of a nice andromadous rainbow/stealhead my buddy Rick Bush (king of the river!) hooked last fall. This fish was feeding right at the head of a classic log jam pool. He went for a Blue Fox spinner. size #10 in pink. I know this site is for the Rockies but if you are ever out this way be sure and hit up the Olympic Peninsula!