20 1/2 pound brown

[Kodiak1]

There have been several threads recently about fishing in the Boise area, and more specifically the Boise River. Several posts have suggested getting away from the city area. Those of you who have been around for a while will remember Ed Hodges who noticed a large fish while walking across "Friendship Bridge", the walking bridge that connects BSU and Julia Davis Park. He ran home and returned with a rod and reel. Soon after, he hooked a brown trout that the Fish and Game weighed in at 20 pounds, 6 1/2 ounces. It was a spawned out female, and the F & G stated in the Statesman that it would have weighed about 1-2 pounds more two weeks earlier. The fish was 35 inches long, with a 21" girth. It took 15 minutes to land. More recently, another brown was spotted off the same bridge, and was considered to be another monster. How many larger cities can boast of this kind of fishing in the center of the city? So, the moral of this story is that you shouldn't overlook your own back yard!!! Mike
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[Untangler]

I remember that. He was apparently quite a fisherman and that wasn't luck

I had a ground floor office on the south side of the river by the Americana Bridge for about 13 years. I kept hip waders and a rod rigged up and fished it at least 4 times a week (sometimes for only 15 minutes) year round. There is a real nice long seam in that stretch. I also explored the heck out of it from Barber Park to Star and found all kinds of honey holes. A buddy & I used to canoe from the office complex in Eagle to Star Road and there was some great fishing in that stretch.

Mike, you are right about overlooking this treasure because I haven't fished it much at all in the past five years and I live about a mile away. I guess I got occupied exploring other waters but it sure is convenient and it is pretty cool that there is a fishery of that quality right in the middle of a city.
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[Westslopecutt]

I'm not sure if that Brown that you're referencing is the same one but I do remember a picture and story of a monster someone landed from the Boise river here in town in the Idaho Statesman during the year that I moved here(1989). I've been fortunate enough to catch some nice Rainbows over the years, but the biggest non Steelhead I ever hooked was at the outlet of Lucky Peak dam near Discovery park. That was probably at least ten or twelve years ago and I haven't really fished that area much since then. I do remember that the late fall conditions were optimal that particular year in terms of the flow. It's really hard to fish near Discovery park when the flow from the dam is at or above the normal discharge CFS. I've never had much luck in town itself but I agree 100% that for a city the size of Boise, it's pretty much unique in that regard. There was also a picture of a really big Rainbow caught in the Boise river in the Statesman more recently, like within 5 years ago. I remember that story because the IDF&G believed that the fish could have been a new state record for a non Kamloops Bow but that the teenage angler that caught it had cleaned the fish with the intent of eating it so there was no way to verify the true weight. This of course was before that monster and current state record that the woman angler caught below American Falls last year.

I've read that the Bow River through Calgary can be an excellent trout fishery, but I've never been there so it'll have to remain unverified until I am able to try it myself. The way that the economy is going, good fishing close to home will undoubtedly become more and more popular. I did notice that I enjoy the peace and serenity while fishing in the North, Middle and South forks of the Boise much more than hearing the endless traffic noise while fishing near the downtown area. I suppose if I were catching fish like the Brown that you've mentioned, I might be more willing to endure all of the traffic noise while I'm fishing.
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