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Fishing Reports
CJ Strike: Steady week of fishing at CJ and I would be expecting things to only be trending upwards this week. While we have cooler temps - they are consistent and so I am expecting this to be a decent week of fishing. For trout, I’m trolling…Flicker Shads, the Lucky Craft Pointer 65’s (several new models in stock and this has been a VERY hot bait…) and Jointed Shad Raps. For bass, start looking shallow with 8-10’ diving crankbaits in oranges and fire tiger colors, lipless in the same patterns, Keitech swimbaits and Idaho Rod and Reel Tungsten Finesse Jigs. Sturgeon fishing has been excellent…crappie and trout have been the baits of choice and if you haven’t tried the BKK circle and big game hooks, you are missing out. Super slick coating and just razor sharp. I don’t think there is a better hook out there! Crappie were not hard to find when I was there last Wednesday and as equally easy to catch. I caught several on a 3.3 Keitech and even reeled in a few decent sized perch on crankbaits while I was throwing for bass. So if the question is “How do I catch crappie and perch at CJ?” the answer is - go bass fishing 🤣 !
Boise River: Flows are on the rise and fishing the river will change. Fishing run-off rising rivers is a little tricky but totally doable. If the water is rising and murky, the place to look is on the banks…the sunlight can still penetrate it, the flow is not as strong and the fish can see because its shallower. No doubt some fish will sit in deep eddies. These can be tricky to catch on light gear as you generally need heavier weights to get down to them. As the water rises, there will be an increased availability of aquatic worms which make nightcrawlers a good choice. While it wouldn’t be on my top place to fish list for a bit - it will still be fishable.
Brownlee: Water levels are at 2027 and have been all over the place for the last few weeks. It has been fishing a little tough but I expect Brownlee to kick off pretty quick. Water temps are right and length of day is getting to where it needs to be to get these fish up shallow. Shallow sloping banks with mixes of mud, gravel and boulders should be your targets. Crankbaits and lipless baits with a bit of Chartreuse would be on my boat - the water will be off color. A drop shot and a jig would be my deeper water strategy. Catfishing reports were really improving towards the end of the week. Lots of bass guys chucking crankbaits were catching flat heads…troll ‘em and ya might find a big kitty. They are apex predators and they love to hunt. Crappie fishing should be getting better and better. From my own personal experience, the schools were not difficult to find and fish were in a very accessible 15-25’. My pick this week would be any of the Z-Man Finesse baits and Finesse Shroom heads…and crappie nibbles.
Snake River: Great fishing reports from the river last week. It’s on the rise as the last week was warm and run off is finding its way into the system. Take a chatterbait, a shallow crankbait and a few Idaho Rod and Reel Tungsten Finesse Jigs…cannot emphasize enough how good that little jig is. Lots of success photos from that bait last week. Some will be posted down in the Catch Spotlights! Another lesser known bait in our area but very effective is the Hook Up Baits. Come in to the shop to see a good selection of these. Those that know about these - KNOW ABOUT THESE.
Wilson Springs: Powerbait, Dynamic Lures HD Trout and Ultralight Heavyweights jigs!!
Lake Lowell: Some fish being caught along the dams on Chatterbaits, senkos, swim jigs and Texas Rigged baits. A bit of a sleeper bait is the Zoom Z-craw Jr…
Lake Cascade: No report this week.
Horsethief Reservoir: No report.
Owyhee River: Water levels are on the rise again. The water is cold and a little off color. Nymphs, aquatic worms and streamers can still work. Look shallow! Jointed rapalas and Hook Up Baits can catch ‘em too.
Owyhee Reservoir: Reports starting to drip in about bass and crappie being caught. The reservoir is close to full and I am hoping this bodes well for bass fishing this season. Try a chatterbait, a skirted jig or a drop shot. For the crappie, try a beetle spin or a Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swim On with a small jig head.
Duck valley: SAME REPORT AS LAST WEEK! HOWEVER…This is one of my top destinations right now. ONE OF MY FAVORITE TIMES TO FISH DUCK VALLEY IS RIGHT NOW!!! From the Tribal Website:
March 18, 2024 –Warm weather from the weekend carries over Monday and Tuesday, as spring officially makes a return this week on March 19, 2024, until Wednesday, when partly cloudy skies set the stage for more precipitation that looks to move over into the next week.
The ice at both Sheep Creek and Mountain View reservoirs has been open for two weeks, and any ice remaining is quickly and steadily thawing. Trout activity has been phenomenal for shore casting and fly fishing, with both styles producing excellent results with a wide variety of baits. The Mountain View and Sheep Creek reservoirs are now watercraft accessible as both have over 95% open, ice-free top water.
Please be advised Billy Shaw will reopen very soon on April 1, 2024.
Lucky Peak Reservoir: Lots of water in the system. Fishing reports have been fair. Right now the hot bait is time…folks that are putting it in are getting limits. Pinks and orange dodgers have been effective. Good customer caught some really nice fish on a green dodger with a pink hoochie.
Arrowrock Reservoir: Same water and fishing conditions as Lucky Peak though a good customer thought it was fishing better than Lucky Peak. He had good success on pink/white dodgers with orange squids. Fished green but could not keep the trout off of it!
Anderson Ranch: Pretty darn full so easy to access the reservoir from Curlew. Same report as LP - decent fishing but gotta put in some time. Pinks, oranges and BLUE were the colors I hear about working well. Long lining has been working early and then down to 30’ by the afternoon.
Local Ponds: Good reports for bass and trout on the local ponds! Ned rigs, texas rigged creature baits and wacky rigged senkos should be what you need for the bass and for the stocked trout - Powerbait and Nightcrawlers.
Shop News - Upcoming Classes, 1900 Miles in 2 Days, Good Fish and Good Guppies, New Products
This is going to be your best fishing season yet if Jordan Rodriguez and Tight Lines 208 has anything to do with it!! He will be offering 2 new classes to be held in the Idaho Rod and Reel Learning Center. Sign up at tighlines208.com for:
1) All About that Bass! April 11, 6-8:30pm - Cost is $50 and INCLUDES TACKLE!
2) Let’s go Trolling! April 24, 6-8:30pm - Cost is $60 and includes a STARTER KIT WITH KOKABOW TACKLE!
Curious about throwing big swimbaits for bass?? Class coming very soon!!
Hopefully by now, you understand my commitment to making this your very best fishing season! In case you weren’t sure how serious I was…Cody Murray and I put over 1900 miles on a rental van in 2 days to pick up a company that we just bought! More details to follow but we HAVE ZERO intentions of being like any other tackle shop in our valley. 100% Commitment to your success and love of the game!!
Please follow us on our NEW YOUTUBE CHANNEL! We will be uploading new content this week specifically targeting fundamentals of fishing. This channel is designed specifically to help you fish IDAHO!
Sign up for the Idaho Rod and Reel Good Fish Youth Program is LIVE!! Please visit idahorodandreel.com and select on the Youth Programs tab to sign up! This program is 100% FREE - all expenses are covered by the shop. This program focuses on leadership and self discipline skills that uses fishing and the outdoors as a conduit to deliver the message. Love to have you involved!!
Please check out the idahorodandreel.com ONLINE STORE! We are adding products daily. Local shipping is very affordable and free on orders over $75.
Emails for the Good Fish and Good Guppies program going out this week announcing newsletters and events coming up!
Hey Trout Fishers!! The trout area is an area of the shop that we would really like to improve. If you have bait suggestions, I would LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! [email protected] MIGHT BE A SURPRISE GIFT CARD OR TWO HANDED OUT RANDOMLY FOR SUGGESTIONS!!
New trout baits from Lucky Craft! New Hellgrammite baits from Great Lakes Finesse and New Multi Species baits from Hook Up Baits!
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
Hmmmm…Livescope
Technically Speaking...
Maybe?
Local and National Fishing News…and other “Stuff”
These are ALL AROUND US!! Ask the Fly Fisherman…
Repeated by Request from Last Week! Dworshak Stuff!
If you’d buy these, LET ME KNOW!! STRONGLY thinking about tying and stocking…
Current Trout Stocking
Kokanee Fishing Report
Steelhead/Salmon Update!
I shouldn’t watch these…but I do 😛
CHATTERBAITS!!
New in the Shop
Hook Up Baits - Don’t Sleep on the Sink!
Idaho Rod and Reel Tungsten Finesse Jigs PB&J
Idaho Rod and Reel Tungsten Finesse Jigs, Idaho Craw
Lucky Craft Pointer 65 - Brook Trout
Great Lakes Finesse Hellgrammite
Catch Spotlight
Submit your own entry to be featured in Hook Points to: [email protected], Subject: Catch Spotlight
Nice job Paul and Phil!
Eric with a smallie from the bank!
Shop manager Brian Purtell with a really weird looking bass…
Craig and Dan with a successful trip! Craig said he will be dropping fillets off at my house tomorrow! No he didn’t…but ya can’t blame a guy for trying 😆
Kekoa with a good one!
Uncle Paul got his nephew on his first bass!! That’s just good uncling right there!
John with a good pond bass!
Ponds are warming up!!
Igor putting his bass class notes to good use!
If you look away from the VERY HANDSOME photo bomber, you’ll notice that Lance caught a bass…
Even a blind acorn finds a squirrel every now and then. Or something like that.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”