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Hook Points

Idaho's Fishing Newsletter

Ryan Chris
December 03, 2024

Fishing Reports

CJ Strike: Good reports still!! Crappie and perch are being caught in 15-40’ but are schooled up and should be fairly easy to find on your electronics. The perch can be a bit trickier to see because they tend to hug the bottom a bit. Jigging raps, small plastics tipped with crappie nibbles and even just a simple jig head with a bit of nightcrawler can do really well right now. Trolling has also been effective but more so for trout than anything else. A Flicker Shad or Salmo Hornet are great choices for trout right now. Don’t forget the lowly wedding ring…still a very productive, inexpensive and easy to use trolling bait. Bass fishing has been fair for most, totally dead for some and really good for a few. The key is timing and depth. This time of the year as the water temps drop, most fish will start to move out deeper to get ready to “shut it down” for the winter. However, they don’t all do it on the same day…there are still some shallow-ish fish available. Looking in 15-25’ is not a bad idea at all. Get around some hard cover, an offshore hump or better yet - an offshore hump with some hard cover - and run a 3.3 Keitech, drop shot or a jig and see what happens. A jerkbait is not a bad option as well - especially something weighted just a bit to help keep the bait in the sweet spot longer…see the video psoted below for more info. If you are looking for a new jerkbait to throw, I grabbed several of the new Lucky Craft Staysee 110’s for myself!

Boise River: Lots of steelies being caught! If you aren’t one of them, don’t give up! There are definitely fish remaining. Smaller marabou jigs (like 1/8oz) have been effective as well as just a simple jig head with Looney Cooneys shrimp. I know of a few fish caught on soft beads - peach and pink are the colors I have heard of. In terms of locating the fish, they’re often shallower than most are thinking. As a general rule, they like access to current but aren’t always sitting in it and the same goes for deeper water - they want access but aren’t always just sitting in it. I think after they are in the river for a bit after being dumped in, I definitely see and find them in just traditional “trouty” areas. But think like a lazy trout…not a “gets up at 4:30am and heads to the gym” trout 😆! Don’t let the steelies draw your attention away from the browns…they’re eating as well! Stocking Locations:

Glenwood Bridge, Americana Bridge, Below the Broadway Avenue Bridge behind BSU, West Parkcenter Bridge, Barber Park

Brownlee: Water is up 3’ from last week - 2063 right now. 2077 is full so plenty of water in the system. For those asking, Spring ramp is definitely open and can even launch on the new ramp - dock is not in the water. Crappie fishing has been solid once the schools are located. I find that the deeper schools right now are actually a bit easier to pull fish out of. There are some decent bass in 25ish feet and I think that keeps the crappie in those depths on their toes…once you find them, try a small 2.8 Keitech, small hair jig or hand tied crappie jig and I’d have a crappie nibble or two on the hook. With some schools in 35+ feet, vertical fishing can be VERY effective…enough distance between the boat and the fish likely has something to do with that - jigging raps are perfect for this style of fishing. For the bass, I’d have a minnow bait like a Keitech 3” Easy Shiner or 3.3 Fat Swing Impact paddle tail, a Tungsten Finesse Jig, a 3/8oz blade bait and a 4.5” Roboworm on a drop shot. I’d offer the same advice for Brownlee as I did for CJ…not all fish have moved out into their deeper winter haunts.

Snake River: Good bass fishing on the river right now if you’re throwing the right baits. As with Brownlee and CJ, not all the fish have moved out to their winter homes in deeper water. Explore the 8-12’ depths with Keitechs, jerkbaits, drop shots and the absolute champion bait I wouldn’t be without is an Idaho Rod and Reel Tungsten Finesse Jig with a UV Speed Craw trailer.

Wilson Springs: Lots of little guys being caught here right now on powerbait and nightcrawler.

Lake Lowell: No report.

Motorized and Non-motorized boating are allowed April 15 to September 30. Human-powered boats are allowed 200 yards in front of the Upper and Lower Dams between October 1 and April 14. The rest of the lake is set aside for migrating and wintering wildlife.

Cascade Reservoir: We’ve got ice! Still thin but with some cold nights ahead - we should have good ice soon. Best bet is to contact Tackle Toms in Cascade and use their automated ice report.

Horsethief Reservoir: No report.

Owyhee Reservoir: Very few reports this week. We did hear of some bass being caught on jigs in 20-25’ of water on flats that are close to deeper water. No crappie report.

Owyhee River: Some ice starting to show up. In the open water, give cooked shrimp under a float a try!

Duck valley: No report.

Lucky Peak Reservoir: One report this week from an angler that caught several small rainbows trolling Flicker Shads and a Pink Kokabow dodger with a white Kokabow spinner.

Arrowrock Reservoir: Really good trout fishing being reported. Kokabow dodgers and lures are always good here. If you are interested in catching some trout, start your troll closer to the bank and start working out. They should not be very deep right now though you will inevitably mark fish deep. I’d be on top trying to catch the ones interested in feeding…

Anderson Ranch Reservoir: Roads are still open and Kokanee are on top and eating! Or at least chasing Kokabow Dodgers and lures. Really good report on orange and silver this week during the overcast times and pink and silver when the sun is out!

Local Ponds: Decent reports for stocked trout in several ponds. Take a look at the stocking report below and target the ponds that have been stocked most recently. Nightcrawlers and powerbait!

Shop News - Fish with Cody Meyer!, Food Drive, Some Limited Edition Christmas Boxes, Black Friday Imperium Raffle, Link and Imperium - NEW MODELS!, Tower Grill

THIS IS A REALLY COOL OPPORTUNITY!! We are raffling off a one day fishing trip with Bassmaster Elite Series angler, Cody Meyer! For every $100 you spend in the shop from now until Christmas, you will receive a raffle ticket to join Cody Meyer on his boat and to fish/learn with quite literally, one of the best in the world!!
Our annual food drive is still going and will up until Christmas. Bring in a canned food item and I will trade you a hat! We work with a few local food banks and churches that provide meals for folks during these cold months of the year.
NEW LINK AND IMPERIUM RODS ARE ON THEIR WAY! ALL NEW MODELS including a 7’5” Heavy casting, 7’6” ML Casting for throwing smaller swimbaits, 7’1” ML Spinning Rod and an Imperium ULTRA LIGHT ROD! Pre-ordering will be available soon. EVERY PRE-ORDERED ROD will INCLUDE 2 TICKETS FOR THE CODY MEYER RAFFLE!
Please help! Idaho Rod and Reel will take a portion of our profits generated during the Thanksgiving/Christmas season to help families in our valley that fins themselves in a tough spot this year. If you happen to find yourself in a tough spot, or know someone that is, we’d love to talk to you about helping put a few packages under a tree or a nice meal on a table.
Christmas Mystery Tackle Boxes will be PACKAGED in DAIWA CINCH BAGS THIS YEAR! If you’re significant other never knows what to get you for Christmas - or the angler in your life is tough to shop for…We will start taking orders for our Christmas Mystery Tackle Boxes! These are hand curated boxes meant to make Christmas shopping for that tackle junky in your life simple and fun! There are $50, $100 and $150 available but we will build to whatever dollar amount fits your budget. Each box comes with a FREE RAFFLE TICKET for an Idaho Rod and Reel Link or Imperium Rod that will be raffled off a few days after Christmas!
There will be a limited run of Christmas Mystery Tackle Boxes that include all hand tied baits…only a few will be available. This includes something for Steelhead, panfish and bass anglers!! I am incredibly confident that these will not last long at all, once available. Watch our social media for the announcement and pictures! You’ll want to be quick on this one…there will be custom hand tied chatterbaits, football jigs, finesse jigs, steelhead jigs, crappie jigs, HAIR JIGS and more.
Limited run HOODIES, T’s and BEANIES coming soon!
We will be raffling off the Idaho Rod and Reel Imperium spinning rod for those that visited the shop during our Black Friday sale TUESDAY! Winner announced Instagram and Facebook.
A fun collab with the Tower Grill in Nampa coming soon!!
If you are interested in ordering Tungsten products in bulk and saving some money, contact us and we will get you the order form! The more we have that participate, the lower the price we can get!
The FIRST EPISODE OF TACKLE TALK TUESDAY will launch this week!! I hope! Its recorded, now I just gotta edit the dang thing!
IN STOCK NOW: BnR Soft Beads, Damiki Vault Blade Baits in ¼ thru ¾ oz, Booyah Flash Point Jerkbaits, Roboworm 4.5” and 6” Straight Tail Worms, Lucky Craft Pointer 65 Trout Lures, Z Man Ticklerz and Fattyz Worms
Bait and equipment reviews coming…along with some How To’s….
Is there something you’d like to see in the shop? Email me at [email protected]…one random suggestion just might end up winning you a prize.

Worth Watching

12 Lures…I have NEVER Fished 😆

Technically Speaking...

After our Black Friday sales, I KNOW we have some new braid users…

Local and National Fishing News…and other “Stuff”

Cool!

Eyes in the Sky: Using drones to monitor Chinook Salmon populations

Each year, Idaho Fish and Game licensed drone pilots take to the sky to survey Chinook salmon spawning grounds. Navigating trees, wildfire smoke, and curious birds, we collect images of the streambed along 170 miles of historic Chinook spawning habitat in the upper Salmon River and its tributary streams.

idfg.idaho.gov/article/eyes-sky-using-drones-monitor-chinook-salmon-populations

Current Trout Stocking

Fish Stocking Forecasts

td {width: 33%; max-width: 33%; } This report highlights the monthly fish stocking schedule. Unless noted, fish listed below are all 10 to 12 inch rainbow trout. Stocking of all waters is tentative and dependent on river/lake/pond conditions; dates may change due to weather or staffing constraints. The table below shows schedules for all known forecasted stocking and up to the last month's recent stocking schedules. It may take two weeks for stocking data to appear as Historical stocking information. Your patience is appreciated.

idfg.idaho.gov/d7/fish/stocking/forecasts?rid=3

Steelhead Dam Counts

Steelhead Dam Counts

idfg.idaho.gov/fish/steelhead/dam-counts

Steelhead Reports

Upper Salmon River Fall 2024 Steelhead Fishing Update (11-26-2024)

idfg.idaho.gov/article/upper-salmon-river-fall-2024-steelhead-fishing-update-11-26-2024