It’s summer. Full on, bright, hot summer. The heat brings with it some of the most anticipated hatches of the season, and the greatest variety of quality fishing.

The Big Wood is best early and late in the day. Though there are Pink Albert’s Flavs, and (the first few) Trico’s hatching, this is the season for classic attractor pattern dry/dropper fishing on the ‘Wood. Try a Purple Haze on top and a zebra midge on a dropper. Evenings on the Big Wood have a wonderful and under-fished Caddis hatch, with the biggest fish coming out just before dark.

Hot days in Ketchum mean quality fishing in Copper Basin. The last couple years have been inconsistent fishing in the ‘Basin, but this year seems to be on the upswing, with some big Cutthroats getting caught. The golden stoneflys are out and plenty of Caddis as well. The secret to Copper Basin success is to cover lots of water, which is easy when the views are as pretty , and the river as enticing as the east fork of the ‘Lost and it’s tributaries.

In Silver Creek fishing circles, few words have as much weight and associated anticipation as “Trico’s”. Watching fish “pod up”, dozens of them clumped together, feeding rhythmically, makes even the most jaded fly fisher’s heart beat faster. Right now, the Tricos are in full swing from Point of Rocks all the way to the top of the Preserve. Mix in insanely dense baetis and tremendous clouds of Pale Morning Duns, and you have a formula for life-changing fishing.

There’s more than enough hoppers and damsels around to keep the afternoons interesting (especially with some wind). The evenings have been producing hatches of Caddis, Baetis and PMD’s almost as strong as the morning’s with some big fish coming out to play. Come on down to Sturtevants for great flies, great gear and up to the minute advice. And remember, nobody regrets the days they went fishing, just the days they didn’t.

Fishing Report by SVMG guide Paddy Mcilvoy