Idaho Fish Report

Avid angler Tom Ogden fished Birch Creek on July 7. He used a fast sinking (#7) line with size 6 beadhead soft hackle patterns in black/green/pearl, tan/green/pearl, and a size 8 beadhead egg sucking leech in Canada blood color. He caught 19 fish, all very healthy rainbows between 14 and 16 inches long. Most of the fish were caught in the west one third of the reservoir (west of where a fence comes down to the water on the north side). The water temperature was 66-68 degrees and the visibility in the water was about 8-9 feet. The reservoir level is down about 20-25 feet and there's quite a bit of water coming out for irrigation. The best method was to cast out 50-60 feet of line, troll for 15 seconds to let the fly get down near the bottom, and then strip the line in. Tom did hook a few while just paddling and pumping the rod, but most were hooked while stripping. Many thanks to Tom for the report.