3 of us fished Brownlee Friday evening, all day Saturday and Sunday Morning. We totaled around 50 fish between the 3 of us, most of them smallmouths. Most of the bass were in the 12-14" range, with a couple of 16 inchers. Three crappie came in, along with 2 perch, one of them full of eggs and near 1lb. We also managed a 6 1/2lb sucker, and 4 cats- 1 small one and 3 more in the 10-12lb range. Also caught a good-sized bluegill.
The bass, crappie, perch, and bluegill were all caught on worms and tube jigs. The sucker and the small cat were caught on crickets, and 2 of the 3 big cats were caught on guts and pieces of the sucker. The last big cat was taken on worms.
All of the bass/perch/crappie came out of the rocky bottoms, and the cats and sucker out of a muddy cove at one of the creek inlets.
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Not bad for shore fishing! What was the water condition? Also were you closer to Steck or Woodhead area? Thanks!
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[quote cpierce]Not bad for shore fishing! What was the water condition? Also were you closer to Steck or Woodhead area? Thanks![/quote]
Water was clear and low-probably 30 feet below full. Weather was windy most of the day, and several storms blew in. We were fishing in the lower end of the reservoir, about halfway between Woodhead and the dam.
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Good to know that a person can do well from the shore at Brownlee. Thanks for the report.
Windriver
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[quote windriver]Good to know that a person can do well from the shore at Brownlee. Thanks for the report.
Windriver[/quote]
I was going to bring the boat, but we had one member of the group cancel on us, so gas, food, and bait ended up getting split 3 ways instead of 4. That being said, it ended up being much more affordable to drive a van instead of an SUV with a tow package, and not have to buy gas for the boat.
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We are headed to brownlee next weekend. I am bring some family that aren't from the area and they really want to catch some big catfish cause they never have caught catfish before. You had mentioned that you caught some good size catfish were you fishing in that arm right south of woodhead park. Any info would be great I haven't been to woodhead a whole lot i usually go down toward steck but the water is flowing so fast its hard to fish. So i am taking this as an opportunity to find some new places to fish for some cats
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The wife and I just got back from Brownlee (Steck Park) yesterday. We camped and bank fished from the 8th of June to late night the 16th. We caught some nice cats, both channel and flatheads. They ranged between 3 and 12 lbs with most about 6 or 7 lbs. With the rising water, things were a bit slow but the bites came in short spurts throughout the day and the one night we fished late the big channel cats were hitting pretty consistently. Our biggest fish came from about 3 miles or so below Steck Park during the early afternoon. We had the best luck on cut bait but caught some nice fish on worms as well. We tried chicken liver but it only attracted pike minnows (squawfish) and chubs. We also landed a few smallmouth bass on the worms but only one keeper that went 13".
In the early evenings when the wind was not blowing, the crappie would feed at the surface close to shore in 5 -10 feet of water and I found them easy pickings if I spot cast to individual fish with tube jigs. I tried several color combos but the only thing that worked was something with brown in it.
When we left, the boat ramp at Steck was just barely in the water but there is quite a drop-off at the very end of the ramp so I don't think it was usable yet. The larger ramp just below Steck was usable, however.
We're debating whether or not to go back for more or try somewhere for some trout. Any trout reports from SW Idaho?
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Welcome to BFT, and thanks for the report. It sounds like you did very well at Brownlee.
I haven't heard much on trout in the SW. There have been some reports from Magic near Twin, and a few from CJ Strike. You might look back down through the previous posts for a week or so. Seems like there was something from some of the reservoirs in your area.
Good luck, and I am looking forward to your next report.
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Thanks for the welcome!
I'll post as soon as we have something new.
The wife now wants to go to Duck Valley for the trout. [
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