I am trying to plan a three day vacation this July on a
lake/reservoir that has good fishing and a shaded campground. I want to take my younger siblings to a good place this year since they really haven't experienced good fishing as of yet. So the only two solid requirements are good shade and good fishing. Any ideas?
Idaho's panhandle is too far away for my situation. I was originally thinking about Pali
es since I've never fished it before but I heard the fishing isn't all that great during the summer. Again, any suggestions are very welcome.
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Where are you located and how far are you willing to drive?
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pali
es is a great place any time of year. now i have never done great on the lake its self but there are streams any way you go that hold great fishing. the wyoming side if fabulas and the southfork below the damn is spectacular.
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Twin Lakes is a pay for camping lake, but it does have panfish which are usually easier for younger anglers.
There is a line of cottonwoods around the lake that provide some shade. Camping isn't fancy at all!
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the preston area resivores are great, but i would pic somewere other than twinlakes to camp some of the other res. have free camping and in my opinion better camping. and any res in the preston area is within about a 20 min drive.
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I have to agree with Jigs on the camping at Twin. Camp elsewhere and visit if the fishing at one of the other res. isn't good.
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I really appreciate the amount of feedback I am getting on this post. I welcome all your opinions.
I actually have been to Twin Lakes half a dozen times...I love the fishery. I was thinking of a camp area with a little more privacy however. Besides Lake Condie what other lakes around Preston are there?
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I live in Boise. One brother is in Salt Lake. A couple siblings are in Rexburg and the rest are in Malad. A somewhat secluded place with some good scenery and shade would be ideal. I would say as long as it is within the state of Idaho and somewhere between Twin Falls, Idaho and West Yellowstone, Montana it would be great. And like I said, decent fishing......I know most places in that stretch of the state are without trees, but if someone has a good suggestion I would really appreciate it.
Thanks again.
P.S. My dad prefers trolling...not absolutely necessary but something to think about.
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If you want beautiful camping, Redfish Lake is awesome. The fishing isn't great, but there are a lot of small lakes around there I hear great things about. You could try different one's each day. I'm not the best judge on where to fish in this state as I am on this site trying to get idea's myself, but I have been to Redfish and it is beyond beautiful up there.
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I hear Redfish is beautiful. We are looking for something similar but with good fishing reports. I think we are just going to have to settle with few trees. I plan on doing some more cyber scouting. Thanks again for the post.
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I would plan a trip to yellowstone park-if you can handle all the regs/rangers....if you have a boat-reserve a "back country" campground on yellowstone lake. If you fly fish-leech patterns with sinking line...if you fish spinners-blue fox in gold -size 3-4 or Jakes "money clip" gold with red spots or white with red spots. We normally catch 20-30 cuts/day along with a hand full of lake trout.
You'll have to call almost the same day they open it to reservations...I believe that's in March but can't remember-other guy in my group always books our spot.
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with your rather large target area I would recommend the warm river campground east of Ashton ID. It has trees, is a nice campground, has warm river flowing through it (which has pretty decent stocked trout fishing), you're about 45 minutes from Henry's lake, half hour or so from Island Park Res. and about 10-15 minutes from Ashton Res for trolling. Plus practically on top of the North Fork of the Snake river for river fishing and about 30-45 minutes from the Teton River (depending on the part you want to fish) which can also be very good. Plus there are several small streams that can produce smallish, but fun trout. Just an idea. There are also other camping areas closer to most those waters if you wanted to be more focused. Island park Res has several with trees. Henry's has a few , but usually not as many trees. hope it helps some.
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If you do Redfish, you can troll in Stanley Lake, another beautiful lake just a few miles away. The fishing in the river at that time is terrific. Mike
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You guys are really cool. My mom doesn't really know how to camp so she brings everything and anything. Hence, it is important that the campsite be situated very close to the lake...preferably next to the shore. Half the family will be at the campsite and the other half will be fishing off and on by canoe and a small motorboat.
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i was going to say redfish but it seems everytime someone is asking for a good place i blabb on about the stanley bason. if you have never been there that would be my choice. there are endless lakes to camp and fish. fishing from a boat in that area is something i am not very experienced in i normaly fish the lakes around the inlets. but have seen many troll and catch fish. and as said the rivers and streams in that area can be amazing.
as for the preston area there are over a half dozen res in that area. glendale (bass, trout, crappie, bluegil) foster (trout, perch) johnson (tiger musky, trout, bluegil) lamont (musky, trout) condie (bass) tresurton (trout 20inch and over only) twin (family water) Weston (trout,bass,perch) deepcreek (trout), winder (trout,bass) if i missed any i am sure someone will let me know. as for camping none have any camping which i would consider great but you could camp up willow flatts which is up the cub river. its about a half hour ride from preston but good campgrounds and facilities. or you could camp up the narrows which is probly a 20 min drive and has good campspots and its right on the bear river. which is good for trout, walleye, and smallmouth.
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By the way, how come Henry's Lake can end up skunking you one day and the next it is the best fishing you have ever experienced?
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Well, with the new guideline of being essentially on the water I would recommend trying the buttermilk campground on Island Park Res. Very nice campsites, has a boat ramp onto the reservoir, and it has trees. Not sure how far in advance spaces book though. I do know that trout in the 4-5+ lb range are caught there regularly.
As for Henry's and why it can be great one day and not the next... Haven't a clue. Let me in on it if you figure it out some day.
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Is Island Park Reservoir any good during the summer?
I fished there a couple times and didn't fair so well. I was trolling with spoons and rapalas by the North end of the lake and the island called Bills Island.
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Also, if you go to Preston area, dont go to Glenndale on weekends particularly, I made the mistake once and wont do it again to camp. All the locals including all of Logan who dont go to Twin go to Gleendale. Its free and pretty well kept toilets and area but the crowd is unreal.
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I'm kind of reluctant to suggest this because I have never fished there myself, but have you considered Lake Walcot? I think that there is a park by the dam with lots of trees, and I think that they have camping too. You can look at it on google earth. It also seems to have a dirt road on the north side that goes to several "fishing/camping" spots in the willows or trees on the edge of the res.
Does anyone have some fishing info on this one?
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