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Hook Points - Idaho's Fishing Newsletter

Hook Points - Idaho's Fishing Newsletter

News, Tips, Tackle and More

Ryan Chris
April 29, 2024

Fishing Reports

CJ Strike: Lots of fish being caught at CJ right now. Smallmouth fishing has been excellent in shallow water with tubes, crankbaits and keitechs. Trout fishing has been decent from the bank over by the dam and has been an early bite with powerbait and nightcrawlers. Catfishing and sturgeon fishing has been excellent up the snake river arm and reports of a few good sturgeon below the dam. Bait of choice has been cut crappie. Crappie fishing for some has been a little tough and for others not so much. The common denominator for those that ARE catching right now has been the depth they are fishing…they have all been fishing shallow and near trees. Try a small beetle spin or VMC boot tail bait to cast up under those tress and let it sink and swing back to the boat.

Boise River: Still a lot of water in the system but it is coming back down marginally…a couple hundred CFS since last week. I have seen a few people fishing it and one customer has been catching and enjoying the solitude. He has been looking for slower back eddy pools to fish and has been drifting small worm rigs through them. BE CAREFUL!

Wave Cam — Boise Whitewater Park

www.boisewhitewaterpark.com/waveshaper-cam

Brownlee: Water levels are at 2065.8 - up 1’-ish from last week and has been stable. LOTS of fish being caught in the smaller sizes. Tons of fun for the kiddos!! Plenty of 2-3 pound fish being caught as well and fishing around Woodhead for them is a good bet. Keitechs, tube jigs, Idaho Rod and Reel Tungsten Finesse Jigs and jerkbaits!! The crappie being caught at Brownlee are really good sized right now! They are a little spread out but both bank and boat anglers are catching them as they are not far off the banks. From the bank, throw baits that allow you to quickly cover water such as a small 2.8 Keitech or a Beetle spin. From the boat, use your electronics to find schools and then move off of them a little bit. They won’t stick around very long if there is a boat on top of them when they are in the shallows. DEFINITELY use crappie nibbles. Catfishing has been very good! Cut baits, stink baits, night crawlers and dyed chicken or chicken livers will get you bit.

Snake River: Good fishing for catfish, sturgeon and bass right now. Water clarity varies by section and be careful while boating as there is debris in the water. The better bass fishing is in the clearer water and they are shallow. Keitechs on belly weighted hooks are perfect for right now! As are Idaho Rod and Reel Tungsten Finesse Jigs, Ned rigs, jerkbaits and shallow cranks.

Wilson Springs: Decent fishing at Wilson for those willing to move away from the crowded front pond. Drifting small bits of nightcrawler, salmon eggs and Ultralight Heavyweights jigs are great baits for right now.

Lake Lowell: Fishing really well and I received quite a few pics from our little bass pond this past week 😃! A little bit of everything is working and from just about everywhere…these fish move around quite a bit so be patient, cover water and keep experimenting. A good place to start is in the trees and don’t forget to hit some shallow water. Flipping baits such as the Damiki Knock Out, the Reaction Innovations Man Bear Pig or a good ol fashioned tube would be good choices. I’d have a chatterbait, a spinnerbait and/or a 3.8 Keitech on a belly weighted EWG hook ready to roll as well. For those thinking it’s too early for topwater…ummm….throw one 😉! The custom buzz baits have caught quite a few…I will try to tie a few more this week. Watch our social media platforms for those announcements.

Cascade Reservoir: Good reports coming from Cascade for perch on the troll. Trolling baits like Salmo Hornets, Rapala SR05’s and Lucky Craft Pointer 65’s helped a really good customer of ours catch some really nice fish. He was also able to mix in a few trout. Bass fishing reports have been decent but not fire. Tube jigs, Keitech 3.3’s and Jerkbaits have produced fish that I know of. Largemouth can be caught at the northern ends of the reservoir around the fork and will eat Senkos and a belly weighted Keitech. Reports for them have been few however.

Horsethief Reservoir: No report this week.

Owyhee Reservoir: Crappie are biting and they are good sized! Look in 10-20’ of water and not too far off the banks. I’d look at longer, shallower main lake points and around banks with good amounts of foliage. I love 2.8 Keitechs for crappie - I think it’s the baked in squid fart smell - they love em! White crappie jigs would be my second choice right now - with nibbles.

Duck valley: Good fishing! Trolling, kayaks, pontoons, from the bank - everything has been working. For those that like to troll - this is the time of the year to do it here!! Before all the weeds prevent it…Try shallow running Rapalas, the Lucky Craft Pointer 65’s will SMASH here and the Dynamic Lures HD Trout would be another great choice. From the bank, Powerbait! Tough to beat…

Lucky Peak Reservoir: Mixed reports and seems like the number one fish being caught here right now are rainbows - but kokes ARE being caught. Water is still off color. If it were me, I would take a look down by the dam and I’d still keep my rods on top. I’d also throw more copper dodgers due to the water clarity.

Arrowrock Reservoir: Steady performer award goes to Arrowrock last week. Fish are on top and pinks and oranges are working. Lots of rainbows keeping things interesting between salmon bites…

Anderson Ranch: Mostly slow BUT!!!…reports of a couple really good days at the end of last week came in making me think this place is about to pop off. I’d stay on top with pinks and oranges.

Local Ponds: Same Report as Last Week! Lots of spawning bass in the ponds right now. You can see the beds from the banks and it’s fun to try to catch these guarding males!! If you’re throwing a senko at them, try wacky rigging as opposed to Texas rigging as these males often move the bait out of the nest by biting as little of the bait as possible. Try more compact baits like beaver styles…

Shop News - Customs - for the Trout and Crappie Folks!, Big Baits for Bass Class, You spoke - we listened, Custom Product Updates

MEGABASS in STOCK NOW!!
BY CUSTOMER REQUEST!! Yum Dinger selection has been improved.
BIG BAITS! I have invited Skyler Talbot to come and speak to us about fishing BIG BAITS! He is a local kayak tournament angler and LOVES to throw the big glides! THIS WILL BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE WANTING TO GET INTO THE BIG BAIT GAME BUT AREN’T SURE HOW T OGET STARTED! Join us May 2nd at the Idaho Rod and Reel Learning Center from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Class is FREE! Registration will be available online.
CRAPPIE and TROUT fishers…custom rods built just for you coming SOOONN!!!
And…
Custom limited run hand tied crappie jigs will be available later this week!! A few of you have had a few of these on your boat…if you know, you know!!
Custom limited run Buzzbaits and Swim Jigs will be available later this week. Watch our social media platforms for the announcement!
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.
I am waiting for a few items to come in for the Good Fish and Good Guppies Youth Programs! They were supposed to be here 3 weeks ago!! I apologize but we will get things going quickly!
New YUM Dinger Colors In Stock
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

Local guy making a move on Youtube!! Give him a follow!! Great guy…

Technically Speaking...

Swimming jigs for Crappie!

Local and National Fishing News…and other “Stuff”

This literally helps no one…

Shooting protected wildlife is poaching, not recreational shooting, and people are watching

While most target practice is done by responsible gun owners, a concerning minority illegally kill protected wildlife. In response, Idaho Fish and Game conservation officers are stepping up patrols to ensure people abide by laws created to protect Idaho’s nongame wildlife, ranging from songbirds to bald eagles, and they could use your help.

idfg.idaho.gov/article/shooting-protected-wildlife-poaching-not-recreational-shooting-and-people-are-watching

Been watching this dude a long time!

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

Sturgeon P*RN 😃

Steelhead/Salmon Update!

Spring Chinook Fishing Seasons and Rules

idfg.idaho.gov/fish/chinook/rules/spring

One of my Youtube Rabbit Hole Finds

How to…Buzzbaits!

Looks Freaking Delicious!

Vernon’s Recipes - Crappie Now

Jalepeno Crappie by Vernon Summerlin At this writing my Tennessee garden is producing like gangbusters. If you have a garden south of the Mason-Dixon line, your okra and jalapenos (chilies) likely ripe in concert. And that’s just how I like ’em because I fry ’em in concert. First, I fry the sliced chilies in

crappienow.com/MAG/2022/09/30/vernons-recipes-10