Idaho Fish Report

Down the street the Metolius is always on our list. The area from Allingham to Gorge, the Canyon Pools, Idiot Hole, Wizard Falls to Bridge 99 and Bridge 99 to Candle Creek are good places to access the river now.

Normally below the hatchery would be snowed in by now. But so far, low elevation snow has been fleeting and driving to Bridge 99 is a snow free event.

3 main hatches occurring now: BWO’s are coming off about 1 PM. This time of year it’ll last 10 minutes to an hour +. Keep an eye out for gentle sips and be ready with duns, cripples and emergers on a 6x tippet.
Midges are another important hatch in the winter (year round actually) and indeed in the the winter will be one of the only times you might see fish really keyed on the tiny insects. Be ready for that with Zebra Midges, Winklers, Century Drive Midge and Griffiths Gnat’s.

October Caddis and their close cousins are hatching well this week and the pupa is going to be your best choice. But an Orange Stimulator or bigger Orange Elk Hair Caddis is a good searcher and one that occasionally gets crushed! Worth the effort to fish it.

Nymphing has been producing well and the typical Golden Stone with a dropper is always tops on our list.

Euro style is great too, with heavy Jigs and Perdigons taking fish from the depths.

Finally, winter is great for Bull Trout and streamer action remains very good. Swinging big streamers on a sink tip is your best bet. Some good action can happen on a big streamer dead drifted under a large strike indicator. BT’s will also readily eat Red or Blue Nymphs under an indicator.