Better days are coming as many of our area still waters, especially those of shallow depth, are experiencing the summer doldrums. Daytimes begin cooling faster and shorten significantly as we get to the end of this month. Cooler water will mean more fish returning to shallow areas, and therefore more easily encountered.
Becker (300 fish), Riverside (300 fish), Jim Moore Pond (900 fish) and Rexburg Nature Park Pond (300 fish) were stocked with catfish on July 24th. Bottom fishing is the way to catch them, and for sure they are good eating!
We have reports of Sand Creek Pond #4 water temperatures in the low 70s in degrees Fahrenheit. Consider how tough this condition is on fish being hooked, played, then released. The bigger the fish, the tougher high water temps are on them.
Summer time warm-up has begun, but will really get going with the predicted heat coming next week. This means fishing early and late in the day just about anywhere is most productive. Growing aquatic vegetation makes dry fly and indicator fishing the most practical methods. Speckled dun life cycle patterns, deep, slowly trolled streamers (Type 2 or intermediate lines) , and midge pupa under an indicator and at the taking depth are best bets for action during these times. We have not received much specific information on regional still waters. Sand Creek Ponds are now open for fishing from non-motorized boats. Plenty of fish are being caught, but not many are trophy size.
Chesterfield Reservoir is providing some very nice ‘bows for those folks presenting damselfly life cycle patterns. Wind can interrupt this activity, and also make some dangerous conditions.
The Harriman Fish Pond is “mossing up” making surface and indicator fishing the most practical approaches. As with Springfield Reservoir, seeking out channels between weed beds for using these methods is a best strategy.
The Snow Creek Road is open, but rough, at least to Teardrop Lake.
Some of our nutrient rich smaller waters are beginning to have seasonal aquatic plant growth ( “moss up”). Hawkins Reservoir and Springfield Lake are among these, but indicator and dry fly fishing is not impacted, especially on staying in/over larger channels between weed beds. Harriman Fish Pond, however, mosses up almost totally making channels tough to find under windy conditions. Chesterfield seems to be fishing well with damsel flies emerging in sheltered bays on wind-free, which also sport aquatic plant growth. We have not received much information on Twenty-Four Mile Reservoir fishing success.
Damselfly activity is making for good fishing on Chesterfield Reservoir. Seek out sheltered coves for the best activity resulting from life cycle patterns of these. With respect to safety, watch out for wind that can up in an instant here. Island Park Reservoir is full but needs to warm up for best fishing. Condie and Twin Lakes have been producing good results for warm water fish.
Add the Harriman Fish Pond to list of still water fisheries worth visiting. It has been stocked with 10-12″ rainbows, but some large holdovers are present. No speckled dun or damsel fly emergences yet, but midge activity ongoing. Try snail and leech patterns.
Chesterfield, Hawkins, and Daniels Reservoirs currently seem to offer the best fishing. Midge pupa under an indicator when finding the taking depth, slowly trolled leech patterns, and damselfly nymph patterns presented near sunken vegetation seem to be best methods to give action. Be careful of windy conditions especially on all of our larger still waters.
Chesterfield is coming around in offering good fishing. Chironomids are providing some action. So are small leech patterns fished deep. Water temps are in the hi 40’s in Degrees Fahrenheit, so it will take a stretch of good weather to bring on better fishing. No word yet on fishing at 24-Mile Reservoir, but Hawkins is good ( Leeches & Midge life cycle patterns), but gets crowded during this long weekend.