Still Water

Still Waters, April 20th, 2024

Crystal Springs Pond will be slowly drawn down beginning Tuesday, April 23, to help with repairs to Edwards Road near Springfield Fish Hatchery.

This fishery, located in Bingham County, is a popular family fishing water and typically supports year-round trout fishing.  Anglers should be aware that fishing will be impacted at Crystal Springs Pond for at least a week, depending on repair progress.  Fish and Game anticipates refilling the pond again by May 3, at which time it will be stocked with rainbow trout to provide spring fishing opportunity.

Most of the fish currently living in the pond are expected to still survive in the outlet; therefore, a salvage order is not being issued at this time.  For additional information, please call the Southeast Region Fish and Game office in Pocatello at (208) 232-4703.

Hawkins and Daniels Reservoirs are free of ice and open to fishing. Travel to Daniels has to be done through Malad because the road to it from Hawkins Reservoir remains closed.

Still Waters, April 12th, 2024

Mackay Reservoir is free of ice and open to fishing. Daniels Reservoir is also open to fishing but access must be made by going through Malad City then north because the Dairy Creek Road is yet to open. Hawkins Reservoir is also open to fishing. We have little information on fishing success in all these waters except for Springfield Reservoir in which fish are responding to midge activity when the taking depth is found. Nymph and fly rod jigs can also bring some fishing success there.

Still Waters, March 16th, 2024

Springfield Lake is about the only one ready for a visit. Midge activity provides the best action with pupa patterns fished at the taking depth giving results, Fly rod jigs also work. Soon any pattern resembling a dragon fly nymph will be effective.

Still Waters, November 21st, 2023

Irrigation reservoirs to the southeast are ice free for a while. However winter travel conditions may prevail on the roads going to them. This will make traveling to nearby still waters such as Springfield Reservoir and McTucker Ponds more attractive. The Sand Creek Ponds are also nearby, and remain open to fishing through November 30th. The above photo shows the character of the ponds during summer and early autumn. Within twenty miles north of St. Anthony, they are reached by a good gravel road, have primitive launching facilities and hold rainbow trout ranging to trophy size. Only midge hatches are taking place now making nymph and streamer patterns the best bets for action through using either floating or intermediate lines.

Still Waters, November 18th, 2023

To date, Springfield Lake offers some of the best still water fishing around. IDF&G has planted a number of fish including old brood rainbows, and hosts a good number of hold-overs going to trophy sizes. Midge activity has been prolific. Nymph and streamer (try fly rod jigs of various colors) patterns as well as midge life cycle patterns are effective,

Being mostly shallow, this reservoir makes floating lines appropriate for use because through their use patterns can be presented at effective depth or for top water and indicator aided fishing. Fishing on Springfield Reservoir is restricted to fishing with barbless artificial flies and lures and has a bag limit of two trout, none under twenty inches.

Similar to Springfield Reservoir in physical character, non-motorized Sand Creek Ponds north of St. Anthony offer the same fishing strategies for rainbow trout, but closes to fishing after November 30th.

Still Waters, October 17th, 2023

Blue-green algae growth has ceased on nearly all our still waters. Such conditions for this decrease include fewer sunlight hours, cooling water and air temperatures, and time result in this good situation for anglers and animals be they pets or livestock. It’s really god news for fish because decreasing blue-green algae means more dissolved oxygen in hosting water as well as a lesser impact on available food. Our irrigation reservoirs ( ie Island Park, Twenty-Four, Mile, Treasureton, Chesterfield, Paul’s Reservoir, and even Henry’s Lake) are particularly subject to this bloom because of draw-down during warmest months, but natural lakes also host these algae (Blair Lake, Aldous Lake). So expect improvement in still water fishing success coming up.

Incidentally, there is a particular indicator that large fish are present in any still water. That is the presence of snails as indicated by their shells along the shoreline. Such as Sheridan Reservoir, Treasureton Reservoir, Hebgen Lake, Little Valley Reservoir, and Aldous Lake are examples. Jack Gartside’s Wet Mouse drifted under an indicator is an excellent pattern for imitating a dead and drifting snail in such waters.

Still Waters, September 23rd, 2023

Sand Creek Pond # 4

The weather the last several days is doing wonders for fishing success on many of these. Fewer daylight hours and cooler air temps are bringing water temperatures down to levels making fish active again and reducing aquatic weed cover. Sand Creek Ponds is an example where these actions are taking place. About 15 miles north of St. Anthony, the ponds offer an easy-to-access still water fishery. Pond #4 offers the most with a boat launch, a rainbow trout population producing individuals to trophy size, and a few brookies. Speckled duns may be winding down in numbers but a few remain during warmer days, Nymph patterns of choice suspended under a indicator remain effective as are leech and scud patterns. The ponds are non-motorized and have limited bank fishing. A killing frost has likely taken place, but enough terrestrial insects remain that a floating hopper or ant pattern or dry damsel fly could raise some interest from resident rainbow trout.

Still Waters, September 12th, 2023

Island Park Reservoir

The blue-green algae bloom in Island Park Reservoir has reached amounts making water toxic for human and animal consumption and contact. Thus washing hands and equipment and keeping pets away from these waters is much recommended. However, now that shorter and cooler days are arriving this bloom will eventually break up, and submerged springs will be safer to fish. Most of these springs are off the north shoreline at the west end of the reservoir. Good fishing can take place around these through presenting midge pupa patterns in red, olive or black colors, all under indicators.

Still Waters, August 26th, 2023

There is an excellent article on the Idaho Department of Game’s News Release Page. Titled ” Collaborative Effort to Restore Bear Lake Bonneville Cutthroat Trout Receives National Award.” It describes how government agencies, conservation organizations and private land owners are combining to restore access to spawning areas and the quality of such. These efforts appear to result in increasing the wild Bonneville cutthroat population in spawning runs but also their population in the lake.

I

Still Waters, August 15th, 2023

Daniels Reservoir on a Windy Day

The Idaho Department of Fish & Game’s (IDF&G) Southeast Region office has put out a very interesting news release on the quality and quantity of trout in four popular area reservoirs: Daniels, Springfield, Treasureton and Twenty-Four Mile. The news release shows that even though summer is a ” down time” for still water fishing success, fish in good numbers and sizes are present in each. To read this informative article, go to the IDF&G’s web site and look under News Releases. Store the given info on each reservoir report for your visits during upcoming fall months.