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Hook Points - Idaho's Fishing Newsletter

Hook Points - Idaho's Fishing Newsletter

News, Tips, Tackle and More

Ryan Chris
July 15, 2024

Fishing Reports

CJ Strike: Hot weather has not kept the fish from biting and CJ is fishing well. While finding big bass has been relatively tough, small to medium sized bass have been plentiful for most - though expect slower parts of the day. Fishing has been good in the morning, tough in the heat of the day and then improves as it cools and the sun starts going down. Shade is a big deal…maybe I should say “less light” during the heat of the day. Look in 25’ for smallmouth when the sun is straight over head. They can be found a bit shallower on overcast days as well as early and late in the day. Carolina rigged craws and tubes, drop shots that look like crappie (Roboworm Hologram Shad) and our IRR Tungsten Finesse Jigs are going to get you bit. Try a Z-man Big TRD as well…Crappie are in the narrows and moving around a bit. Some reports of fish in 10’ but most are saying between 15'-25’ - deeper for the better fish. Trolling flicker shads and shad raps continues to be a great way to catch a mixed bag and probably the hottest bait I heard of for crappie this week was actually a trolled chartreuse wedding ring!

Boise River: Great fishing right now and lots of stuff is working. The Dynamic Lures HD Trout patterns continue to be a top performer and we will have several new designs from them in stock this week! Ultralight Heavyweights Jigs, Berkley Power Nymphs and just simple 1/8oz trout spinners. The river will be impacted by the Lucky Peak draw down…we will have our eyes on it to see exactly how.

Wave Cam — Boise Whitewater Park

www.boisewhitewaterpark.com/waveshaper-cam

Brownlee: 11’ from full at 2066’ and dropping. Fishing has been good for small to medium sized bass with a couple decent ones showing up! Current is important right now - look at Google Earth and find areas with creeks flowing into the reservoir. Main lake points and out in 20-30’ is where I’d be looking. Take a look at the CJ Strike report for smallmouth baits and techniques that I’d recommend. The crappie have been a little trickier to find at Brownlee. The pods are smaller and a little more spread out now. I have found them around just bout every inside bend on the main lake points - think of it as the current blocked side of the point. Sandy areas are often overlooked - I think because of their lack of obvious features but at Brownlee, I find a lot of crappie around them - and bass not too far away. Flicker shads if you’re trolling, Keitechs if you’re casting and retrieving and jigging raps if you’re fishing vertically.

Snake River: Fishing well for bass and cats. You should be able to catch bass on top with regularity using a whopper plopper or popper. Any soft plastic minnow will have success as well - a fluke, a keitech or even just a curly tail grub. The IRR Tungsten Finesse jig is the champ on the river however…maybe throw a Great Lakes Finesse Snack Craw on one and see what happens 😉 Catfishing has been good…chicken dyed with Kool-Aid and small chunks of cut sucker will work.

Wilson Springs: No report this week.

Lake Lowell: Good reports coming in from Lowell in regard to consistent action - not crazy action - but consistent. If you’re struggling, try throwing the smaller Jackall Kaera frog or flipping a shakey head or long worm. If you haven’t tried a Tiny Child Rig, I think it could really help you! Take a look at the video attached below.

Cascade Reservoir: Fishing for perch has become a bit tough but they are still being caught. Trolling has been the best method - fish have been close to the bottom and out in 15-25’ depending on who you talk to and what part of the reservoir they have been on. It seems like the mid lake fish have been deeper and the fish up north, closer to the Gold Fork have been a touch shallower. A good buddy had a heck of a day just trolling a wedding ring with a piece of Nightcrawler attached from his float tube on the Tamarack side of the lake. Bass fishing has been hit or miss. Some ok reports for largemouth being caught around docks in the morning and then vanishing about as soon as the sun comes up. Smallmouth have been caught around main lake points on topwater early and then on Carolina rigs and Ned rigs mid morning throughout the rest of the day.

Horsethief Reservoir: Mixed reports this week. Bank anglers seem to be struggling just a bit as the temps have warmed. The guys getting on them have been on the move with spoons, spinners and wedding rings.

Owyhee Reservoir: Crappie fishing has been a little bit tougher - especially for the bank anglers - as the fish seem to have moved off the banks a bit. One customer told me that they caught several crappie on offshore rock piles in less than 10’. Another customer had success cruising around the main lake just scanning their electronics for schools of crappie and found them next to nothing in some cases - this is summer crappie fishing…the darn things move around and suspend. Suspended fish are often the hardest to find and catch. Take a look at the video below and see if it helps ya catch a few more! Bass fishing has been ok for some and downright tough for others. The guys struggling are fishing the heat of the day - the guys that aren’t are on the water early. There are some fish up shallow but most reports are from guys running crankbaits in the 12-18’ of water and Carolina rigging main lake points.

Owyhee River: Closed a bit due to smoke, it is back open and fishing is good! Rapala Countdown minnows are effective in the deeper, calmer water - Dynamic Lures HD Trout are awesome in the shallower riffles and pools as they only dive roughly 2-3’.

Duck valley: No report this week. I would suspect lots of shallow vegetation…

Lucky Peak Reservoir: Same report as last week in terms of depth - 30-50’ depending on the time of the day. Fish are gonna start changing colors (I’ve been sent a few pics already) - that means start looking around current. The Army Corp of Engineers will be lowering the water by almost 125 feet starting at the end of July to work on a boat ramp. I have attached a news report on that below. We will keep our eyes on this!

Arrowrock Reservoir: Good fish being caught at Arrowrock though I am not hearing about a ton of limits being caught. Colors have been pinks and purples with one customer reporting a REALLY good morning on just silver. Bass fishing is excellent at Arrowrock - just not for giants. Topwater can be really fun here - fish the shaded side of the reservoir early in the morning and have fun!

Anderson Ranch Reservoir: Decent reports from Anderson Ranch and plenty of fish were caught at the memorial tournament over the weekend. I’d love to be able to tell you what the hot color was but after talking to quite a few of the guys that fished it…it was all the colors 😆 ! Time on the water was the secret…fish were deep and I know several were caught close to the various creeks out in 30-50’ - one guy told me he went as deep as 65’. Yikes!!

Local Ponds: I haven’t heard ANYTHING regarding trout in ponds. Guys are still catching pond bass - both from kayaks and from the bank. Bank anglers will likely need a selection of snagless topwater baits and Texas rigged baits to be able to be reasonably efficient with all the vegetation in most ponds. For the kayak anglers, get on the weed edges and cast parallel - and don’t be scared to grab a heavy tungsten flipping weight and throw back into some of the mats!

Shop News - Ladies!! - Classes and YOUTH EVENT, New Products Coming!

Congrats to all of our Grand Prize Winners from our Customer Appreciation Month Drawings! I cannot stress enough just how grateful my staff and I are for your support!!
CHECK OUT THESE CLASSES and EVENTS COMING UP!!
LADIES!!! THIS ONE IS JUST FOR YOU! Fundamentals of Fishing Class will be held on Wednesday, July 24th at the Idaho Rod and Reel Learning Center from 6:30pm to 8:30pm! We will cover essential rigs for catching trout, bass, crappie, catfish and sturgeon and we will discuss the fundamentals of catching the different types of fish. THIS IS A LADIES ONLY CLASS!! No Fellers Allowed! (Except for me…I’m going to be teaching 😄) Sign up will be live at idahorodandreel.com under the “Classes” tab. Delicious SNACKS AND DRINKS PROVIDED! And we might just give away some cool stuff 😉 THIS WILL BE A CATERED EVENT AND SHOULD BE A GREAT NIGHT!!
BRING THE KIDDOS!! Join us for an in-store, all-day event for the kids! On Wednesday July 31st, we will have an area set up for the kids to make their own baits!! They will be able to enjoy some snacks, tie jigs, make trout spinners and more! We’d love it if you can RSVP on our website but it is not a requirement to attend!! Any kiddo (age 17 or younger) will enjoy 10% off any rod, reel or baits all day long! Let’s get those kiddos excited about fishing and show them another great way to enjoy it!
I will be at iCast from Wednesday thru Friday. Stay tuned for new baits, videos and information!
NEW BAITS from Lunker City are here but were accidentally delivered to my house 😜…they will be at the shop on Wednesday!
FULL SHAD RAP AND FLICKER SHAD RESTOCK LAST WEEK! We are loaded…
MASSIVE Trout spinner restocking on Wednesday!
CRAPPIE and TROUT fishers…custom rods built just for you coming SOOONN!!!
New Daiwa Kage Rods are FLYING out of the shop! These things are absolutely on fire! Just beautiful rods! Come take a look for yourself.
Custom Rods…something very cool is coming 😉
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

Cool Sturgeon Video

Technically Speaking...

Half Hitching Sturgeon Bait - Lots of questions about this recently!

Local and National Fishing News…and other “Stuff”

Live in Idaho Waters: Native Sculpin

These 9 Idaho native sculpin are important for a variety of reasons. Some species are pretty rare or only found in isolated water bodies making them an even more unique part of Idaho’s natural heritage.

idfg.idaho.gov/article/live-idaho-waters-native-sculpin

F&G opens opportunity to comment on negotiated rulemaking pertaining to methods of take for gamefish

Idaho Fish and Game has begun the process of negotiated rulemaking to consider expanding methods of take for certain gamefish species (specifically, walleye, pike, and lake trout) in response to a petition sent to the Department in May 2024.

idfg.idaho.gov/article/fg-opens-opportunity-comment-negotiated-rulemaking-pertaining-methods-take-gamefish

Get out of the crowds and the heat!

Ain’t No Mountain (Stream) High Enough: A guide to finding the perfect backcountry creekside fishing camp

It doesn’t matter how small or narrow a creek is. Chances are, there are fish to be caught and memories to be made. If you’re new to the concept of seeking out new mountain streams this summer, here are a few pointers to help find the perfect backcountry creekside fishing camp.

idfg.idaho.gov/article/aint-no-mountain-stream-high-enough-guide-finding-perfect-backcountry-creekside-fishing

Lucky Peak Boat Ramp Repair Coming Soon!

U.S Army Corps of Engineers lowering Lucky Peak water levels

During the fourth week of July, crews will lower the lake 125 feet for the September Turner Gulch Ramp project, boating season will shorten by several weeks.

www.ktvb.com/video/news/local/us-army-corps-of-engineers-lowering-lucky-peak-water-levels/277-c5ad5936-6814-4876-8307-dc35122cf70e

Summer Crappie from Gene the Fishing Machine

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

Tiny Child Rig