Stanley Idaho, Stanley Sawtooth Chamber of Commerce » Fishing Report

Fishing Report August 25th, 2011

david — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:54:25 +0000

Our Waters

Fishing continues to be productive. The trout seem to be most active in the mornings and afternoons, and mid-day periods can be no-ticeably slower. Except for swarms of midges, most of the aquatic insect hatches have slowed down. Fish are still coming up for spruce spruce moths, although these bugs are of terrestrial origin, they can be present on the water in significant numbers. Try any standard caddis pattern size 12–14. If caddis or mayfly patterns aren’t producing fish then try common attractor patterns and grass-hoppers.

Many of the fish we catch in our area are Westslope Cutthroat, native Rainbow Trout and Bull Trout. These fish are native, natural fish and must be released. If you do not practice catch and re-lease and prefer to keep fish, there are a few rainbows with miss-ing adipose fins which can be kept.

Salmon River Fishing Report Aug 15

david — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:28:45 +0000

Fishing continues to be productive. The trout seem to be most active in the mornings and afternoons, and mid-day periods can be noticeably slower. Except for swarms of midges, most of the aquatic insect hatches have slowed down. The spruce moth can dominate the insect species available for consumption by the fish. Although these bugs are of terrestrial origin, they can be present on the water in significant numbers. Try any standard caddis pattern size 12–14 when you see fish feeding on these moths. At other times, common attractor patterns can pull up the occasional fish.

Many of the fish we catch in our area are Westslope Cutthroat, native Rainbow Trout and Bull Trout. These fish are native, natural fish and must be released. If you do not practice catch and release and prefer to keep fish, there are a few rainbows with missing adipose fins which can be kept.

Fishing report courtesy of Silver Creek Outfitters

Fishing Report August 1st

david — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:44:29 +0000

Fishing is great! Water level is ideal for both fish and fly angler. Hatches of a multitude of aquatic insect species are in full bloom, and the trout can be observed feeding on the surface. Small yellow stoneflies (yellow sally) continue to dominate the mix of insect activ-ity. Some of the preferred patterns :
Yellow or orange Stimulator, Caddis. Hopper, Bugmeister, Mad-dam X and a Royal Trude. Nymphs can be expected to produce as well, and the “dry/dropper combo” is a great way to capitalize both on and below the surface .
Many of the fish we catch in our area are Westslope Cutthroat, native Rainbow Trout and Bull Trout. These fish are native, natural fish and must be released. If you do not practice catch and re-lease and prefer to keep fish, there are a few rainbows with miss-ing adipose fins which can be kept.

Fishing Report July 26th

david — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 03:47:51 +0000

Fishing is good. The previous high water has dropped to an ideal level for both fish and fisherperson. Hatches of a multitude of aquatic insect species are in full bloom, and the trout can be observed feeding on the surface. Small yellow stoneflies (yellow sally) dominate the mix of insect activity. Some of the preferred patterns :

Stimulator, Caddis. Hopper, Bugmeister, PMX. Nymphs can be expected to produce as well, and the “dry/dropper combo” is still in style.

July Fishing Report

david — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:32:03 +0000

Given the high snow pack, our waters are high for this time of year. If you are interested in fly fishing your best options are to fish above town on the Salmon, look for really soft water, and nymph for trout or swing for bull trout. However, wade with extreme cau- tion and consider a floatation device. Idaho Fish and Game has started to stock the rivers so there are trout in the waters. As the water lowers and warms there will be the opportunity to dry fly fish with salmon and golden stone imitations.
We have had success fishing our local lakes for rainbow trout and bull trout in the last few weeks—look to fish with sinking tips or sinking lines.
Many of the fish we catch in our area are Westslope Cutthroat, native Rainbow Trout and Bull Trout. These fish are native, natural fish and must be released. If you do not practice catch and re- lease and prefer to keep fish, there are a few rainbows with miss- ing adipose fins which can be kept.

Fishing report courtesy of Silver Creek Outfitters

Salmon River Fishing Report

Ellen — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 23:07:30 +0000

April 15, 2011 Update

Steelhead season is in full swing! The fish are here in numbers and the bite is on. The average catch rate is 4 hours per fish – it really doesn’t get any better than that. Overnight temps continue to be in the teens to twenties, so we have clear, moderately low water; again, perfect for Steelhead fishing. Daytime highs are in the high thirties to forties – typical Steelhead weather. The Sawtooth hatchery has trapped 1,456 Steelhead as of April 7th.

March 30, 2011 Update

We now have 195 Steelhead at the Sawtooth Hatchery so we know that fish are throughout the system. Many are fishing Sunbeam and Squaw Creek where the fish are holding. The weather forecast is for warm temperatures Thursday and Friday so we expect the water to warm and get the fish moving again. Last night’s low was 27 degrees and today’s high is in the 40′s. The next three to four weeks should be prime Steelhead fishing here on the upper stretches of the Salmon River both upstream and downstream from Stanley. Season will close on April 30th so now is the time to get on the water!
Courtesy of McCoy’s Tackle and Gift Shop, Stanley, Idaho www.mccoystackleshop.com.

March 9, 2011
It’s getting time to be thinking about Steelhead Fishing. Sunday, March 6th, Deadwater (the ice jam below Salmon that holds the majority of the Steelhead run down river for the winter) blew out. The fish have started their migration upstream toward Stanley and, if past history is a good gauge, we will probably have Steelhead here in about two weeks. So dig out your rods and make a list of what you will be needing for this Spring’s run. The temperatures have been above freezing during the day, but still getting into the single digits many nights. As the water warms, the fish will really be running.

Both hatchery and wild Steelhead are in the system, and we can fish with barbless hooks that have a maximum of 5/8″ gap. Only hatchery fish will have a clipped adipose fin (the small fin just ahead of the tail) which identifies those fish that may be kept. Licenses and Steelhead permits are required (visit http://fishandgame/idaho.gov) for more information on the regulations and limits. Steelhead season on the upper Salmon near Stanley will be open through April 30th.

Provided courtesy of McCoy’s Tackle and Gift Shop, Stanley, Idaho www.mccoystackleshop.com

Salmon River Fishing Report

david — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:27:47 +0000

The Salmon has dropped and cleared significantly in the last 2 weeks. The upper river between the Yankee Fork and Stanley is fairly clear and offers reasonable fishing. The water below the East Fork is off color but should clear just in time for a few Large Golden Stoneflies to make their annual appearance.

MAIN SALMON RIVER – EARLY SPRING FISHING BELOW STANLEY

david — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:32:40 +0000

March 25 , 2010 Fishing Report

IT’S ALL ABOUT STEELHEAD THIS TIME OF YEAR!!

STEELHEAD UPDATE:

Fishing is beginning to pick up in the Upper River and there are definitely fish throughout the entire Main Salmon. Reports of amazing numbers of fish are coming up from the Salmon area and every day we are seeing more fish in the upper river. Numbers of anglers are also on the increase and a friendly smile goes a long way! The river is still quite low and wade fishing is definitely at its easiest at the moment. Try a nymph dropped off a skunk or just a leechy pattern on the swing.

Steelhead passed through Lower Granite Dam in record numbers this past fall and at last count the number was over 314,000. This dam is the upper most dam of the four Snake River dams that our fish must past through on their out migration and return trip to Idaho. We enjoyed a few of these fish on the upper river below Stanley last fall and this spring should be one of the best ever with record numbers of fish in the system!

SALMON UPDATE: Salmon season opened June 20 and closed July 26 this past summer of 2009. If you didn’t know it, last year and this year were the first Salmon seasons in over 30 years. Each year, Fish and Game determines the number of available Chinook Salmon that may be harvested. Word so far from Fish and Game for this year is this -”if we have a season on the upper river near Stanley, it is likely to only be a few days long.” Numbers are good for the river and a season near Salmon. Stay tuned!

General Information

Many of the fish we catch in our area are Westslope Cutthroat, native Rainbow trout and Bull Trout. These fish are native, natural fish and must be released. If you do not practice catch and release and prefer to keep fish, there are rainbows with missing adipose fins which can be kept. If you are fishing the Main Salmon River, please be sure to check the adipose fin and if the fish has one and is not a Mountain Whitefish or Brook trout, it must be released. Please handle it carefully, practice good catch and release techniques and let it go to catch another day. Consider fishing only with a single barbless hook to increase survival rates of the native fish and don’t keep the fish out of the water for over 20 seconds or, better yet keep them in the waterl. Hatchery stocked, catch and keep rainbow trout will be missing the adipose fin. Middle Fork tributaries are CATCH & RELEASE only.

Check the regulation book for exceptions and remember that many fish are protected and cannot be kept. The regulation book tells what can be kept and how to tell the difference.

Fishing Report courtesy of Silver Creek Outfitters.
800-732-5687 or email us at info@sawtoothfishingguides.com for an update.