All the Reservoirs in the southeast corner are featuring damselfly hatches and eager fish. Want a bit of a change and a shorter travel distance if you live in the upper Snake River Plain? Try Ririe Reservoir where perch and small bass are very active right now. Come in the shop for information and ideas on how to enjoy these on Ririe Reservoir.
Fishing on Chesterfield continues to be VERY good. Yesterday 7-15 was an unreal day of fishing, get up there while its hot! There are some huge fish in the reservoir and your almost certainly guaranteed an aerial display. The fish are hitting a variety of flies including leeches, damsels, chironomids, snails, you name it. Concentrate on fishing the before mentioned bugs on floating or intermediate sinking lines. The fish are up in the water column so a fast sinking line isn’t necessary.
One thing about Stillwater, change your presentation frequently! Very rarely can you catch fish on one presentation all day. The fish are constantly moving, especially in lakes, so you need to move as well. Sinking lines early and indicators later in the day is a good regime to follow.
CHESTERFIELD RESERVOIR:
Wow, Chesterfield is “HOT”. The Damsel flies are coming off even better than ever! The lake is being drawn down a bit, but the water is still in great shape.
Intermediate lines in the morning and evening and indicators and floating lines as the day warms up are really the ticket. Fish your best Damsel pattern, but don’t forget all of the other foods in the lake that the fish are eating right now also. Callibaetis nymphs, scuds, snails, leeches, chironomids and the ever present damsel fly are all great bets.
These are some of the strongest fish that I have ever caught-what a truly fun experience!
If you want some big, crazy hard fighting rainbows you may want to head down to Chesterfield Reservoir. Fishing at Chesterfield has been red hot! I fished it yesterday 7/9 and did really well using a variety of techniques. There are so many different ways to catch fish out of Chesterfield. From midging under an indicator to sight casting to cruising fish and everything in between, its all been producing. Floating lines and full sinking lines ranging from an intermediate to a type 3 will cover all circumstances you will encounter on the reservoir. If you haven’t ever given still waters a try, give it a shot. Stop in at the shop and we can hook you up with all the information and fly patterns you will need to be successful.
Chesterfield Res. great on damselflies, mainly nymphs, but try dries on the surface are working on bays and coves. Twenty-Four Mile Reservoir described as “sweet water” with dry damsel patterns producing along with specked dun nymphs. Springfield is finally coming around, too. Try dry damselfly patterns. On all of these, midge pupa under a strike indicator will also produce.
None are spectacular yet, but best is yet to come as damselflies are beginning to move just about everywhere. Springfield seems to be the slowest of the bunch.
Reports are coming in of damselfly nymphs moving on most still waters. So whether you try Chesterfield, Hawkins, 24-Mile, Daniels, or Treasureton or any other be ready to fish shallow waters and around bays and weed beds. Twin Lakes bluegills are very active now, with such as bluegill candy, popper, and spider patterns working very well for fish in shallow waters and around willow clumps.
Best fishing is at Chesterfield Reservoir. Try black & tan leeches and halloweens fairly deep and trail them with a mercury midge (size 12) about 18″ behind. Fish are taking damselfly nymphs sporadically on Daniels and Twenty-Four Mile reservoirs. Some big trout are being caught in deeper water by the dam at Hawkins Reservoir. Use the same set-up we described for Chesterfield. Fishing with damselfly nymphs should pick up just about everywhere very soon now, so where ever you visit be sure to have these in the fly box. Want to try an out of the way place safe for youngsters and holding eager fish? Paul Reservoir in Clark County west of Interstate-15 is a great candidate. Take the Humphrey Exit just this side of Monida Pass. Go under the highway , then turn right. For twelve miles you go through ranching country and high desert. You ford a couple of small streams, climb a short grade and emerge at the dam. Paul Reservoir stretches out for about a third of a mile ahead of you, and it is full of cutts ranging to 15″. ——-Have a great time!
24-Mile Reservoir: Damsels, Callibaetis and midge nymphs are working well. Damsels are the best ticket. Fish are averaging 14 to 17 inches. Lots of small fish have been planted. Fish deeper to get past the planters. A #2 , intermediate or sink tip line work best. Deep nymphing with an indicator can also be beneficial.
We just haven’t caught any “bigger” fish in the past year. We are still looking for that 24-26 inch fish that always kept me coming back to this reservoir.
Stay tuned for more, as temperatures and conditions warm, good hatches of Callibaetis and Damsels will continue and proliferate. Look for surface activity with fish taking both adult (dry) Damsels and adult Callibaetis. This can be some superb gulper fishing—not just yet–give it a couple of weeks.
Best Fishes
Tom
Fishing yesterday on Chesterfield was overall, very good. These have got to be some of the strongest fish I have ever caught.
Water conditions are great-the reservoir is full, and for this time of the year, that bids well for the rest of the season also. the cool, wet weather has slowed the damsel
fly hatch, but I can assure you, they are on their way.
Right now the fish are still relatively deep. Use either an intermediate , sink tip, or #2 sinking line with a damsel nymph. Indicator fishing with a beadhead damsel can be very good as well.
Callibaetis nymphs are a good bet as well, with things expected to pick up even more this next week.
Best Fishes
Tom