Idaho Fish Report

The outflow continues to be about 100 cfs and the water level is dropping almost a foot a week.  Prop rock (in the canyon by the dam), Hendricks Arm rocky shoal and the submerged island off of the state park are getting close enough to the surface to start causing problems. So boat carefully around these submerged hazards.  With surface water temperatures in the mid 70’s the trout have moved down into the water column.  This time of year, a thermocline starts to form at approximately 15 to 18 feet down, and the trout will stage just above that. Trout anglers will need to get their presentations down to about 12 to 15 feet to have the best chance of catching them.  Leech patterns and the usual nymph assortment of copper Johns, hares ears, pheasant tails and chironomids should all be working.  Bait anglers should be using worms fished off the bottom or suspended below a bobber.  Small spinners should also be effective. The warm water has kicked bass fishing into high gear.  Bass anglers have had success with orange pumpkin and green pumpkin soft plastics as well as perch-colored crankbaits. Orange or gold has also been a good color for perch, bass and trout. Expect to catch several perch between bass and trout hookups. Wildhorse was stocked with approximately 41,500 trout this spring.  Anglers may now keep one black bass 15 inches or longer.