Fishing Forum

The dog days of August don't seem to slow down the smallies in the Snake River. I had two friends come visit and we fished the Snake between Homedale and Swan Falls for 5 days this past week. We caught 403 smallmouth and SAW hundreds of nice channel cats. The majority of the smallies were caught on Zoom Flukes. The channel cats were thick in 2-3' of water, mainly in the riffles along the grass beds. This 19.25" smallmouth was the best one landed. It was caught in 12' of water using a drop shot rig with a leach type plastic bait. My Boykin Spaniel doesn't seem impressed with the fish.

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Nice fish, and great dog!

We have been fly fishing for smallies and carp on Strike lately and doing really well. I love this time of year...
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Nice smallie. Looks like a great time. Ya gotta love those flukes.
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Looks like a great time. How do you fish the flukes if you don't mind me asking?

Windriver
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I usually rig mine a bit different than most people. I nose hook the bait, from bottom to top, or horizontally, using a #1 or 1/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hook. I then twitch, twitch the bait, let it sink, and then repeat. Just try to make it look like a crippled or dying minnow. The speed of the retrieve depends upon how active the fish are. One of the guys fishing with me retrieved his faster than I ever do (like a Zara Spook walk the dog) and did real well. Pearl is always my starting color, but I doubt that it really matters.
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Thanks. Do you use any weight?

Windriver
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Good on ya!!!!!! That's a pretty good distance!!! Very nice smallie, by the way. I used to drive to swan falls, drive to the end of the road with gate set up my tent trailer, and walk about 1 mi and just have a ball with my dog Sparky, before him Bud, and before him Jessy. [] I guess with gas prices, my dog having a shoulder injury this year, and getting just plain old and the distance, I haven't gone. It's always been my #1 trip.
Anyway, did you find any one section more productive than another? PM is ok.! I miss it, still might go in the fall if Sparky is 100% which is doubtful. It will take a full year. I could always go alone, but it just ain't the same.[frown]
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I don't use a weight. I cast mine with a casting rod and reel, but my friends both used spinning gear.
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super impressive smart weed ! do you have a jet boat to fish these areas?
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Oh so you had to throw the whole "seen tons of cats" in didn't you. Man your killing me. I am trying to get ready for a Muzzleloader antelope hunt. I wanted to float from Walters ferry to homedale this summer on a catfish safari. Here I am getting ready for a Antelope hunt and now you got me thinking cats again. You could have at least caught one and posted a picture. [fishin]
BTW NICE smallie and dog. I am an AKC hunt test judge for spaniels. Ron
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Yep, I read about the 403 sm with some interest, then got to that tons of channels part and had to use a stick to push my eyebrows back down. Never been there, and I also want to know if you need a jetboat or not. Not is what I'm hoping for.
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I don't think a guy needs a jet boat. I planned to float it with a pontoon. Ron
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Just for Ron and Mudsucker.

This one was earlier in the year and he took one of my smallmouth tubes. He weighed 9 pounds. On this trip we were astounded at the number of cats we saw in the shallow grass beds. I don't know how you would fish them in the fast shallow water, but one of these days I'll try.

You really do need a jet boat to fish about anywhere between Homedale and Swan Falls. There are some holes you can fish OK, but you can't run to the next pool due to gravel bars and grass beds. My boat is not one of those river runner jets:

My boat is a G3 18' with a 90/65 jet and a tunnel hull. It is made for fishing.

Finally, I don't think there are any bad places to fish the Snake. At least I haven't found them. There are places that are better than others, and there are places that have more traffic than others. I tend to stay away from the latter. Fudge the Boykin and previously Bert the Boykin fish with me every trip. They are great dogs.
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I think I will be ok once I quit breathing in this paper sack.
I need to focus. Elk hunt on the 1st of sept. Antelope 25th of september. If I don't mess up I might get another cat trip in. AAHH who am I kidding. I don't see how I will be able to go chase cats before October. Maybe a October cat hunt. That means no Deer hunt. Well I am going to have to invent some time somewhere.
Man Smartweed your messin with my mind![cool]
Ron
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Awwww. I went to Brownlee, someone stole all the water. I hear about your spot, and I need a jetboat. I tried Milner once, the next guy over caught three fingerling channels. I tried McTucker once, caught bass only. I guess the search continues.
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wow ! would you consider guiding at all ? i would love to catch some of those fat smallies !
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Nice smallie smartweed! I've always thought it would be great to to have a "bass style" jet boat to fish the Snake since I live just off hwy 55 between Caldwell & Nampa. Maybe one of these days I'll have the $$$ to do it. Looks like you have a great set up. Do you ever fish downstream of Homedale?
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Forgiven, you must live just across the lake from me. I live on Lake Shore Drive, on the south side of Lake Lowell.

I want to fish all of the Snake, from Farewell Bend to American Falls, but areas that are only 15 minutes away keep calling me. It's hard to justify the drive.

I wanted to get Ron's head out of his paper bag, so I drifted the same area this morning. I found NO catfish in the grass beds where they were so thick last week. I thought I had saved the hyperventilating, until I found about 50 cats over a gravel riffle about 1/2 mile downstream. Sorry, Ron.
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Yep smartweed, I live just across the lake from you. In fact I live in a sub off Lake Ave.

Theoretically (if you have enough fuel) you should be able to run from Brownlee Res to just below Swan Falls Dam without a portage couldn't you? No diversion dams or bad rapids or anything?
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Y'all are making me jealous, my bass boat won't make it thru that part of the Snake.

Unless I want to kiss my lower unit goodbye. [cool]
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