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Fishing Reports
CJ Strike: Fishing for bass has been good for small to medium sized fish but tricky for the big ones. I think you will have a pretty good day running around with Z Man TRD Craws and a roboworm drop shot. Crappie fishing has been a bit slow as can be typical in the summer. My recommendation is the same whether you are on a boat or from the bank – move…a lot! Catfishing and sturgeon fishing are fair. Cut bait is the key there – crappie have been working.
Boise River: Fishing has been good! Spinners and small Jerkbaits and Crankbaits have been catching some high quality fish. Drifting roe and swinging Blue Fox #4 Spinners have been catching the salmon that have been stocked. Reports of caught salmon to the shop have stopped.
Brownlee: Catfishing is ABSOLUTELY ON FIRE! Just ask the bass guys…these things are smashing crankbaits, jerkbaits, keitechs as well as your typical catfish baits. They are shallow and they are hunting! Bass fishing remains good for small to medium sized fish on Neds, Drop Shots, small boot tail swimbaits and curly tail grubs. For the bigger fish, get off shore and bust out the Carolina rigged fluke or craw.
Swan Falls - Above the Dam: Fishing remains good on this stretch of the river. Topwaters, tube jigs, Neds and a Paddletail swimbait!
Swan Falls - Below the Dam: Fishing is really good on the river stretches for catfish and bass. For the catfish, cut bait in shallow clear water and for the bass – throw the Reins Rockvibe Shad. Thank me later!
Wilson Springs: Tough fishing due to weed cover. There is still clear water though and fish can be caught on nightcrawlers and small tube jigs.
Lake Lowell: The lake is fishing well. There were tournaments out there on Saturday and Sunday with most boaters reporting several fish caught. Flipping is always a consistent producer but I’d have a topwater and a chatterbait rigged up as well. Think about it this way…Lowell is 3 parts right now; Trees, Weeds and Open Water (and I mean where the edge of the weeds reaches open water). The frog covers the top portion of the water column, the flipping bait covers the bottom and the chatterbait covers the open water. If you’re not catching them in one of these three areas…go golf LOL! 😊
Lake Cascade: Bass fishing remains fair. Look for gravel areas in 20-30’ and give a Ned a try. No report this week on perch or other species.
Owyhee River: The Owyhee fishes just fine in the heat. Hoppers, hopper-dropper combos and bring a good selection of PMD and BWO hatch matching emergers and caddis patterns.
Owyhee Reservoir: Bass fishing remains fair for 1-2 pound bass. Like other waters – the big ones are not showing up often. Neds, skirted football jigs might be a good bet. The crappie fishing remains fair but it sounds like you’ll spend some time finding them. Once you do – it’s on. A good place to start looking would be creek mouths and large shaded areas. The many bluff walls you can find on the Owyhee often hold fish this time of the year.
Duck valley: Fishing remains good here. From the shore it’s been powerbait and crawlers and for the fly guys the good ol’ mohair leech on an intermediate sinking line is what I’d be using.
Lucky Peak Reservoir: Reports for Kokanee have slowed a bit. They are still being caught but success has been mixed…early morning definitely seems to be best and I’m hearing reports of fish at 40’ to 50’.
Arrowrock Reservoir: Arrowrock seems to be out fishing it’s neighbor as reports remain decent. Fish have been deeper, between 35 – 50’. Dark dodgers with pink and orange have been working. Sounds like fish are starting to turn a little bit and don’t be surprised if you rope a couple of Pikeminnow…was sent several pics of those last week!
Anderson Ranch: Fishing for Kokanee is fair for those putting in their time. They are deeper – 35+ feet. Darker dodgers mixed with orange and pink have been productive. Bass fishing has been tricky here this year and not really improving. I personally wouldn’t target Anderson for bass right now but if you do, bust out your finesse gear. It will be a Ned rig, drop shot kind of thing most likely.
Local Ponds: Tough to fish in most cases because of the lack of open water but if you are pond hopping – that’s exactly what you are looking for – open water with an accessible weed edge would be a great place to launch your baits. Trout stocking will start to pick up as the weather cools.
Snake River - Catfishing: Catfishing is really good right now! Find some clean water and you can bet there will be a cat nearby. Cut baits and chicken in kool aid have been the tickets.
Shop News - New Classes, Mystery Boxes, Early Rod Reviews
MARK YOUR CALENDARS and join us August 17th at 6:30 PM if you want to learn how to tie your own skirted jigs and hair jigs. This class will include options to purchase vices and tying equipment at a significantly reduced cost. Come learn how to make your own secret fish catching baits! More info to follow.
Discount Bait Bins will be showing up soon! As we get ready to bring in new baits from iCast, we will be moving out other baits at really low prices.
Jordan Rodriguez with Tight Lines 208 will be teaching his Panfish School Class on August 24th in the Idaho Rod and Reel Learning Center. Perch, bluegill, crappie and more! Sign up at tightlines208.com
I have let a few Idaho Rod and Reel Ambassadors fish with the New Idaho Rod and Reel Customs LINK prototype rods and the reviews have been nothing short of awesome!! They are light, sensitive and 100% REFINED fishing tools. No fluff, no meaningless components. They are purpose built fishing tools. We will have less than 50 of each model - pre-order links will be live on our website soon! We are hoping to have these rods before Christmas.
Mystery Tackle Boxes will be available on Tuesday, August 1st. They are $35ea and have at least $50 worth of product, coupons and more. These are a huge hit and will not last the day. We will have a few trout, panfish and bass boxes.
Worth Watching
If this doesn’t get your blood pumping…
Technically Speaking...
SUMMER = OFFSHORE FISHING
Local and National Fishing News
WALLEYE!
Current Trout Stocking
Got a few KOKANEE in the freezer?
New in the Shop
Daiwa Tackle Storage and Soft Sided Cooler!
Idaho Rod and Reel Black and Leather Hats!
Catch Spotlight
Submit your own entry to be featured in Hook Points to: [email protected], Subject: Catch Spotlight
Kenzie with her PB Smallmouth and it is a giant!!
Lenae with one of the biggest crappie I have seen in a WHILE!!
The ladies CRUSHED THIS WEEK! First fish on a Chatterbait!!
New to the game and already winning. On the TOPWATER!
Look at these two dorks! Ryan and Brian…
"When life shuts a door…open it again. It’s a door. That’s how they work."
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