Idaho Fish Report

East Lake was fun for me this week with a nice callibaetis hatch about noon to 2. The Callibaetis are ranging towards a size 18 (size 17 nails it and Tiemco makes a dry fly hook in a TMC 102Y #17) and we did best on the #18 Olive Haze. The hatch is very light colored, and a #18 PMD parachute or extended body is something you should defiantly be putting in your box for now. 

Bettle and Ant fishing remains good.

Chironomids are good under an indicator in 12-15′. This week a #14 black chironomid was best. I’d run a 3 fly rig with a Red or Chrome chironomid on the point (bottom), Black Ice Cream or Zebra in the middle and a (no bead) Flashback PT or Red/Black Zebra on the top dropper tag. Spread the flies out 2-3 feet to maximize showing the fish flies at different depths. If you have a fish finder, there is a real possibility you can see what the depth the fish are cruising at. That can be a helpful tool, and it is just a starting point in a lot of cases. 

Olive Balanced Leech is a great fly too. One of my clients this week caught a beauty on this. We rose the fish early in the day on a beetle and went back after a couple of hours to the same spot and tried the leech under an Airlock indicator and wham-O. 

I think East is down a good 2 feet and might be up to 4 feet low by my eye. Some areas of the lake have some slimy algae hanging on the rocks that will begin to go away when it gets cold up there. Other areas have seriously dense weed bed growth. Despite that there are areas that are wonderfully clear and fishing well.