The first big event of the season, the brown drake hatch, has come and gone and I hope you had a chance to experience what was quite a spectacle of nature. If you missed this one, not to worry there’s plenty more to come just around the corner!

With the brown drakes gone, the focus on Silver Creek turns back to the preserve waters and fishing here has been good. We’ve seen some nice hatches of pmd’s especially during fair weather periods and the fish have been receptive to most pmd patterns, presentation as always being critical. The creek tends to be a bit more forgiving in the early season with the fish becoming increasingly educated as the season progresses. In addition to the pmd’s, we’ve seen some baetis, callibaetis and a few green drakes in the mix. Beetles and damsel nymphs will round out your selection for the creek.

After quite a spike in flow on the Big Wood the levels are dropping and the clarity is improving. I have confidence that we’ll see reasonable fishing levels coincide with the emergence of the green drakes. When the flow drops to 800 cfs and below the river starts to become pretty fishable. Follow this link; http://waterdata.usgs.gov/id/nwis/rt to check water flows around the state. With the current water flow hovering around 1000 cfs there is some fishing to be had. It takes a bit of exploring but if you’ll find some fish if you make the effort to find some side channels and slower moving water along the edges of runs. Most large bead head nymphs such as prince and stoneflies will suffice. My best guess is we are a couple weeks away from some green drakes and dry fly action on the Big Wood, but then only a fool would make a prediction on fishing!

It’s still early and we can certainly count on some outstanding fishing soon. July will promise fireworks on the local waters. Stay tuned and stop by our convenient locations in both Hailey and Ketchum for the latest reports.

Fishing report provided by Jim Santa