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Fishing Reports

Jimmy's All Seasons Angler / Fishing Reports (Page 74)

Big Lost River, January 2nd, 2021

Here are some improvements to access in the Big Lost River area that will benefit all anglers from 2021 into the future

Access site improvements in the Upper Snake

Wednesday, December 23, 2020 – 11:17 AM MST

The year 2020 with a pandemic has changed a lot of things for many of us. One change noticed by Fish and Game was an increase to the amount of use that occurred on department owned and managed public access sites. The increased demand for recreational opportunities made it abundantly clear how valuable our public access areas are to sportsmen and women.

Fish and Game maintains 70 access sites within the Upper Snake. This year the focus was on making improvements to existing access points which needed some attention, including several sites in the Big Lost drainage. Here are some highlights from the past year.

 

 

New vault toilets at Mackay Hatchery-

Vaulted toilets were installed near the fishing pond at Mackay Hatchery. This new amenity is located near the visitor parking area and fishing pond and makes the fishing or sight-seeing trips to the hatchery more enjoyable for you and the family. This was placed in early spring and features an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant parking pad close to the fishing pond so you won’t miss out on any of the family fun.

Mackay Hatchery Vault Toilet

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Darin Schneider Idaho Fish and Game

Dock repairs at Mackay Reservoir-

After installing the new toilet at Mackay Hatchery, the maintenance crew worked on access sites along Mackay Reservoir. They fixed the boat dock at the Mackay Reservoir-lower site by fixing the anchor that holds the dock in place and cleaning sediment from off the lower portions of the ramp while low water levels in the reservoir allowed us to work in the “dry”. In the picture below, they are repairing the dock’s wheels that lets the floating dock roll up or down the bank as water levels change, allowing the dock to self-adjust during changing water levels to maintain the position of the dock at the edge of the water.

Mackay boat dock

Creative Commons Licence
Darin Schneider Idaho Fish and Game

One of the unique challenges faced this year was the need to reposition the anchor for the Mackay dock. After several years of wind and shifting ice, the anchor and the dock had moved to a point where the dock became dysfunctional relative to where the boat ramp is located. In the picture below, they are moving the concrete anchor block and dock back into the correct position using lift bags and scuba diving equipment. Once the anchor became suspended with the lift bags,  a boat was used to drag the anchor back to the correct position.

Mackay dock anchor

Creative Commons Licence
Darin Schneider Idaho Fish and Game

Big Lost River-Lower Site updates-

Several updates were made to the Big Lost River-lower site. Truckloads of gravel were hauled in to repair roads and dead trees were removed from the campground making it easier to access and safer to use.

Stennett Access Site parking improvements-

The Stennett Access site had the parking lot extended with a new turn-around area which will make it easier to load/unload small watercraft.

Additional camping at Rothwell Access Site-

Additional camp sites were added to the Rothwell Access site with parking pads and an improvement to the roundabout, making it more convenient to pull campers into and out of the site.

 

 

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Today at Jimmy’s, January 2nd, 2021

Unfortunately we will not offer fly tying and fly casting classes for the foreseeable future. The ongoing virus situation is the reason.  When administration of vaccines reduces infections to a rate acceptable to State of Idaho health authorities to normal social conditions, we will resume these classes.  We regret this announcement, but public safety comes first.

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South Fork, December 1st , 2020

It looks like about 900 cfs coming out of Palisades Dam will be the basis for the South Fork maintenance flow through the winter.  Resulting flow at Hesie will be around 1300 cfs and at Lorenzo around 600 cfs.   Where roads and bank ice permit, there will be a good choice of walk-in wade fishing locations. Be aware that the South Fork River Road above Heise closes to motorized vehicle travel from Table Rock to Black Canyon on December 15th.  This closure protects wintering wildlife.

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It’s Time for Season Ending Tasks

Old Man Winter is knocking on our doors, and those “bluebird days” are getting rarer. Soon only the few hardiest of fly-fishers will be out on the water.  Most of us are saying good-bye to ice in the guides, ice clogged reels, frigid winds, and chilled fingers. For many of us there could be a final trip to the river where it remains accessible or to one of the diminishing number of still waters remaining ice free. True, memories from the good times of the season past will sustain us until faded by events coming in the next season.  We, of course, our lucky because Idaho Department of Fish and Game grants us the Catch and Release season on many streams and many still waters remain open even though for ice fishing. The only problem will be travel to many of these places will not be possible, so our where-to-go choice will be limited. But for those bidding adieu to the season, there remains some actions born out of prudence to prepare for either the upcoming Catch and Release or when the next general season begins. All this revolves around, cleaning, repairing, and even updating that equipment we all treasure.

Perhaps nothing in the fly-fishing equipment world suffers wear and tear like a fly line.  It is always under some kind of stress when in motion.  Any loop whether formed during casting or drifting applies a differential stress on a line.   The best action here is to unload the line and inspect it for surface breaks that eventually will expose the core or for areas of exposed core. Either one signals it is time to buy a new line. After inspection it is time to clean the line. Immersion in a warm water-detergent mixture to loosen grime deposits works, then a wipe dry with a soft fabric towel under gentle pressure from index finger and thumb works. After drying I like to lubricate with a product such as Mucilin before storage.

Fly line backing also suffers wet-dry cycles, so it is a good idea to inspect it for damage. If you are lucky enough to tackle a number fish that get into your backing, a cleaning with that detergent-warm water mixture then drying before storage is a good idea.

For cleaning that reel an old tooth brush to apply the detergent-warm water mixture followed up with lubrication works. Nothing, however, works as well as an ultrasonic cleaning. Jewelers use these as a standard for cleaning all kind of jewelry. Ask your jeweler friend to immerse your reel and separated spool in the cleaner tank and turn the cleaner on. If the jeweler allows you to watch it in action, you will be amazed to see the dirt literally flying off these into the tank’s water. After a minute or so the immersed equipment will be totally cleaned of a seasonal accumulation of grease and grime. By the way, ultra sonic cleaning also works great for cleaning lines.

Leaders and tippets should be replaced at the end of the season.   They suffer the same differential stress as the line and “wind knots”  are a death knell to any leader or tippet.

No one wants leaking waders regardless of the season. Inspection after any use is always a good practice for nipping emerging damage at the bud.  But if significant repairs are needed, now is the best time to send them to the manufacturer for doing such.

At the end of a season the contents of that fly box can be mixed up. So complete drying of each then reorganizing or placing in storage is the next step. But while doing either of these, have that nearby tea kettle going in a steaming mode.  Using tweezers, place any fly with disorganized hackle in the out-coming steam jet. Hackles will jump back into position. Allow the steamed flies to dry thoroughly, then move to storage.

Sad as it is, these actions signal a general season coming to an end. But they also are prudent for beginning the next begin season with minimum equipment failures.

 

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Small Streams, November 10th, 2020

Any stream with a reservoir is seeing flows cut back to begin storage for the next agricultural season. For example, the flow out of Blackfoot River Reservoir is reduced to 73 cfs, out of Henry’s Lake reduced to 3 cfs, out of Mackay Reservoir reduced to 57 cfs.  Of course the problem with fishing many small waters now is getting there. Maintenance on many back country roads has or will soon cease, and there will be times when highways will offer difficult passage.  All this means less information coming into the shop with respect to fishing, so look for our fishing reports being reduced accordingly.

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South Fork, November 7th, 2020

Water flow in the river has been stable (about 1300 cfs at Irwin) for almost two weeks. BWOs remain active, and rubber legs and streamer patterns will produce especially under low light conditions. But winter is coming, and next week looks like ice in the guides and reels and chilled fingers expected. Is it time to clean up the gear and store it for next year? Not quite. There will be some “half decent” weather as we move through November with decreasing BWO activity and more reliance on nymph and streamer patterns for fishing success.  So enjoy the remnant of our season, and what ever you do: don’t go for a dunking!

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Still Waters, Halloween Day, 2020

IDF&G stocking records indicate 42000 to 60000 rainbow releases in American Falls and Blackfoot River Reservoir respectively. Crystal Springs and McTucker pond have been stocked with hundreds of the same with supporting stockings coming up very soon. Ice fishing season is coming up.  It’s already here on Henry’s Lake.

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South Fork, Halloween Day, 2020

S. Fork sweeper_3

Flow out of Palisades Dam was dropped to 1340 cfs (now 1740 cfs at Heise,  660 cfs at Lorenzo) on Thursday making walk-in fishing locations more numerous. We can help with information on which are the best. Get in touch if you are considering a visit one one. Try fishing nymph patterns (with and without a bead) off drop offs, rubberlegs in a bit deeper water. End the day, as cover increases, offering streamer patterns at the top of pools and runs, and in side channels with moderate currents.  BWOs remain present, but hatches are decreased in number during these bright fall days.

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