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!