Hook Points

A Quick Note from Ryan!!

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Fishing Reports

CJ Strike: Had a couple of negative-ish reports this week but overall, folks are catching! Trolling has been king for crappie and has resulted in several mixed bag catches as well. Trout and perch are starting to show up with a little more regularity. Water temps are still warm but length of day is changing and that is a big factor for these fish in regard to indicating fall seasonal changes - we lose roughly 2 minutes of daylight per day right now. Reports indicate that there are both deep and shallow options for panfish. Which means there are options from the bank! I would highly recommend a two pole set up if you are fishing from the bank. The first set up would be my passive rig…for me, that’s a crappie jig or drop shot style set up under a float. The second set up would be some kind of underspin, jig head and minnow bait like a Keitech Easy Shiner - something I can cover water with actively. For multi species trolling, FLICKER SHADS are on fire. Try the larger size 7’s or a jointed bait for a little different action. What color? Depends on who you talk to which means pick your favorite! I like the perch patterns or anything with purple. Bass fishing has been good for numbers of smaller fish but a bit tougher for good numbers of the 2.5 pound and up fish. Like with the panfish, there are both shallow and deep fish to be had. Early in the morning, see what a popper or walking bait will do for you - whopper plopper just might be the ticket as well. As the sun starts showing up, those same fish might move out into 8-10’. A fluke, wacky rigged senko or crankbait might be a good option for those. If you are out looking for deeper fish, drop shots, Ned rigs, deep crank baits and the ol’ ball and chain - Carolina rig. My fluke is going to be anything dark, crank will be a Spro Rk Crawler or something from Duo Realis, Roboworm or Strike King Dreamshot for my drop shot, TRD Craw for my Ned and Green Pumpkin/Watermelon Lam for my Senko.

Boise River: Good reports from a customer using a 3” Easy Shiner on a jig head! Great idea! Shrimp under a float will get you bit as will a Lucky Craft Pointer 65 and try the Shad Rap in gold and dark brown or orange colors. Lots of crayfish on the move right now…

Brownlee: Sitting at 2052.6 right now - down 2.5’ from last week. We are on the old ramp if you launch at Spring which means no dock. Harmful algae bloom warning is in effect. Fishing is excellent right now for 1-2# bass and some decent sized crappie are being caught. For the crappie, trolling is a great idea. I was there last week for a few hours and saw several schools around bluff walls sitting in 10-20’. The mouths of multiple coves had small schools of crappie as well. It is these smaller schools that we found some of the larger crappie in. We caught a few on Keitech 3.3 Fat Swing Impacts to see what they were and then moved on to looking for bass. The algae while disgusting, does not seem to impact the bass and I think because of it, I found several fish shallower than I was expecting. It provides shade and cover - and they are under it! Backs of creeks had some fish as did points around bluff walls. The IRR Tugnsten Finesse jig put on an absolute clinic for me!! 30+ fish in a matter of a couple of hours…I paired the 1/2oz Smallie Bug with a Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver, Green Pumpkin Red and just put a beat down on some bass! I’d have a tube jig as well. Its getting close to Fall - crayfish are on the move guys.

Snake River: Good reports coming from bank anglers on the river. Texas rigged craws, Neds, IRR Tungsten Finesse Jigs, drop shots with a Texas rigged (I like the Owner Cover Shot hook) 6” worm and a whopper plopper are great ideas. The bait doing the absolute most damage that we know of right now is a Rapala Crush City Ned BLT or Z Man Finesse TRD rigged on the Idaho Rod and Reel Tungsten EWG hooks!! Snag less, get bit more…great combo!

Wilson Springs: No report.

Lake Lowell:  Good stuff coming from the lake right now. The frog bite, while a little hit or miss, is still happening and guys are getting bit on them - just not all day. Flipping a Rapala Crush City Clean Up Craw is my best recommendation! It would be a rare day that you’d catch me out on Lowell without a Chatterbait as well. Something with Chartreuse in it! Here’s a quick strategy if you’re struggling out there…get to the weed edges and spend some time running the Chatterbait just on the outside of them - don’t skip the isolated weed patches!! Throw the frog down those weed edges and ESPECIALLY around any point or little cuts that you see!! Mix it up! Chatterbait then frog! If that’s not working, run the weed edges again but this time flip 3-5’ into the weeds from the edge. I recommend a 3/4oz weight and peg it. Let it sit on the bottom, move it a couple of times slowly up and down, then flip again!

Cascade Reservoir: Smokey! Fires around the lake and there are planes pulling water from the lake. Steer clear of the areas that the planes are using!! Anglers are still on the water and reports remain mixed. The best fishing right now seems to be for trout with Flicker Shads, Salmo Hornets and Shad Raps. One customer highly recommends anything jointed. Bass have been a little tricky and some of the best catches that I am hearing about are on offshore sandy points and rocky points with the IRR Tungsten Finesse Jig!! That thing is just a must have right now and will only get better on into September. We should have a restock on a few popular colors this week if everything goes right!!

Horsethief Reservoir: No report.

Owyhee Reservoir: I would say that this is the first week in a while where the reports from Owyhee were that everything was pretty tough. It’s been a great fishery this year so I guess we just need to cut is some slack 🤣! Catching crappie hasn’t really been much of an issue all year hear as there are bajillions of them - size has been the issue. I am seeing and hearing about plenty of 9-11” fish being caught right now on Keitechs, Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimons and the Northland plastics. I fished here last Saturday to help a friend practice for an upcoming bass tourney and saw SEVERAL crappie schools in less than 10’ of water. I caught a few just to see what sizes were in them and found everything from 5” to 10”. Just gotta wade through em! For the bass, I’d have multiple finesse rods ready to go…drop shot, Neko, Ned and a tube rod would be on my boat. I’d also have an IRR Tungsten Finesse jig as that caught multiple big fish this week at the “O”. I’d also have a Carolina rig and while the deep cranking bite hasn’t been fire, I’d still have one with me. I like anything in the blue/chartreuse or black/chartreuse right now.

Owyhee River: No report this week but definitely a spot I’d target for trout catching!

Duck valley: CAN BUY PERMITS ONLINE!!! FINALLY!!!

From the Reservation Website:

July 28, 2025 – Billy Shaw Reservoir remains in good condition with healthy water levels and clear visibility near the shoreline. Aquatic vegetation like moss is present along the bottom, supporting fish and insect life. Wildlife activity is high, with large numbers of ducks, pelicans, and dragonflies observed throughout the day. 

Fishing conditions appear calm but active, with anglers seen kayaking and casting along the shore. Visitors are continuing to enjoy the lake with light recreation, including music and fishing. While it's a long drive, Billy Shaw continues to be a peaceful and worthwhile place to visit, offering a healthy environment for both people and wildlife.

Lucky Peak Reservoir: Quite a few spawning Kokanee caught this week. Season is winding down for most for a few months…back at it in October!

Arrowrock Reservoir: Lots of small smallies being caught and a few bank anglers reporting some trout catches with nightcrawlers and powerbaits.

Anderson Ranch Reservoir: Ramps are out of the water from what we are hearing. Lots of spawners here as well.

Payette Lake: Seeing mostly red kokes from Payette and a few Lakers! That’s pretty cool to see but this fishery is winding down as well in regard to Kokanee fishing.

QUICK THANK YOU TO ALAN WITH KOKABOW TACKLE FOR THE KOKANEE REPORTS TODAY!! THIS GUY JUST CONTINUES TO WORK SO HARD TO HELP THE COMMUNITY CATCH THESE FISH!

If you would like to book a trip with Alan, he is guiding through Fish and Fur Outfitters. Cost is $250 per seat - 2 person minimum and I can tell from first hand experience - if you want to learn how to get in the game - its worth every penny! He guides on Anderson and Payette Lake!

Local Ponds: The fall pond season can be a good one! Water temps will drop and allow IDFG to stock trout again and the moss starts to recede a bit making bank angling viable. We should start seeing more reports come in!!

Reel Life Rewards Helps Students!, CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAYS!!, Free Trout Class this Week!, Tariffs, STEELHEAD!!!, Tungsten Arriving!, Tatula Elite Spinning Reel Drawing Winner, VERY Unique Class Coming!! Something never done in our area!!, Major Announcement??, NEW HEAVY TUNGSTEN FOOTBALL JIGS!

• ^{PLEASE READ!!! I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!!}

• ^{EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE “REEL LIFE REWARDS”!! A BRAND NEW PROGRAM FROM IDAHO ROD AND REEL DESIGNED TO HELP MOTIVATE STUDENTS TO DO THEIR BEST AND GET GOOD GRADES! Participants will receive weekly motivational thoughts, quotes, study strategies and other great life helps! They will also have access to Participant Only events and will earn prizes from Idaho Rod and Reel for their good report cards!! SIGN UP WILL BE LIVE ON THURSDAY! Watch our socials for the announcements! “It is the mission of Idaho Rod and Reel to share our love of fishing and serve in the community that supports our shop.” I like to remind people that Idaho Rod and Reel is A SERVICE business - we want to contribute positively to the community! Selling tackle is good - but helping others is gooderer} 😄 

• ^{We at Idaho Rod and Reel are so grateful to each of you for allowing us to continue to do what we do!! Starting Wednesday and going through Friday, we will be handing out free baits to the first 25 customers that walk through our doors! Watch our socials for the baits that we will be giving away! WILL NOT WANT TO MISS THIS!}

• ^{We will be raffling off the Daiwa Tatula Elite Spinning Reel on Tuesday morning!! Good luck to all those that participated!!}

• ^{SAVE THE DATE!!! Join us on August 20th as we host Jordan Rodriguez with Tightlines 208 for a free class on trout fishing!! Trout of this World will be held in the Idaho Rod and Reel Learning Center. Sign up at idahorodandreel.com! This is A FREE CLASS and the fall/winter is an awesome time for TROUT FISHING!!}

• ^{OVER $10,000 in Steelhead tackle is on its way with tons of new stuff already on the shelves including rods from G Loomis, Shimano, Daiwa, Okuma and baits from BnR, Death Roe, Yakima Baits, and soooo many more!! We are expecting an amazing run this year!! Be a part of it!!}

• ^{If you are on Tik Tok - check out Tin Rig Fishing - that’s ME!!! Follow us and watch for some really cool How To’s, Reviews, Tips and Entertainment!}

• ^{We have more Tungsten product arriving this week. This will include more EWG Ned Heads, drop shot weights and more jigs.}

• ^{Check out the new Idaho Rod and Reel Tungsten Football jigs! These are available in 1/2, 3/4 and 1oz. Great colors specific to our fisheries!}

• ^{NEW TARIFF PRICES ARE IN EFFECT FOR MANY ITEMS! Idaho Rod and Reel spent thousands of dollars on pre-tariff effected items so that we can keep our prices low for as long as possible. If you are looking for new rods and reels - get them now before we replace with items affected by the tariffs!}

• ^{WE ARE WORKING ON A VERY UNIQUE LEARNING OPPORTUNITY!! CAN’T WAIT TO TELL YOU ABOUT IT!!}

• ^{Link and Imperium Rod Update! I know several of you are waiting for the restock so I will keep updating as they become available. We were waiting for all of the Fuji components from Japan. It sounds like all that has arrived and installation has begun! Hopefully we start seeing shipment notifications soon! We are going to do everything we can to keep the price down on these! The tariffs are hitting the fishing industry hard…}

• ^{Hope to be making a huge announcement this week…we will see how it goes!}

• ^{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

VERY entertaining…my FAVORITE fish!

Technically Speaking...

Bead Set Ups for Steelhead!

Local and National Fishing News…and other “Stuff”

Yes!

FIRE SEASON!!

Local Fish Stocking Reports

Steelhead Dam Counts

Bass Fishing when it’s HOT!! Matt Allen says its easy…

C RIG!! Ball and Chain! Carolina Rig!

Fall Crappie - its coming!

CHECK OUT IDAHO ROD AND REEL’S NEW WEBSITE - idahotacklebox.com!!

Trolling for Trout with Rapalas!

Thoughts on the Flicker Shad!

I’ll have some tied up SOON for you!

Know what your fish eat!!

The KING of trolling baits?? Bold…

New in the Shop

G Loomis GCX Steelhead Rods!

Idaho Rod and Reel Tourney Tungsten Football Jigs!

Catch Spotlight

Submit your own entry to be featured in Hook Points to: [email protected], Subject: Catch Spotlight

Jon keeping the Hook Points streak alive with a beautiful redband and a big ol’ gill!!

Father and son, Lance and Bronson are on ‘em!! Take a kiddo with you!!

Chris and Salmon is like Green Pumpkin Purple…just goes together!

Lalo and his buddy had a good day throwing Cipher products on LIVE!

Scott doing Scott things! Wacking smallies!

I had a great time with Kekoa and his son Esiah on the boat at the CAST for KIDS event!! Great catch Esiah!!

Josh went back home for a few days and did what he does best - smash walleyes!!

Sage with MY FAVORITE FISH!! I’M NOT EVEN A LITTLE JEALOUS!! yes I am…

Lisa found a rainbow!!

Paul with a new PB!! 4+ pounder!

Brian with his first Lake Trout!! Congrats man!

For Kokanee Guide Services - check out my good friends!! You will love your trips with them!!