Humbled at SF Boise

[eagleflyfshr]

Flows at the South Fork of the Boise have been in the low 600s so time to go wade it, right?? Report is afternoon Pink Albert hatch, clear water, finicky fish. Found a great area, nice seam with a reverse current into a deep pool. Closer examination - lots of fish. OK. Started in the morning - no hatch, but the fish were active. Tried everything I could think of - attractors, caddis, hoppers, nymphs, PMDs, PAs, LCs, etc. No takers. A few Pink Alberts started lifting off so stayed with the PAs. Nothing. They completely ignore all of my offerings. Well, let's increase our finesse, so I switch my 5x (5#) tippet to a 6x (3#). First cast with an 18 CDC PMD emerger, a little drift along the seam, and Bam! One of the big girls hits and takes off. Lasts about 6 seconds and Gone! So much for my 3# tippet. Thinking it's just a poor knot, I try it again, this time with an 18 Pink Albert. A few casts and Bam! Same thing, a few seconds of action and so much for my 3# tippet. Oh well. Had to settle for a few 10 inchers that didn't break off my tippet.

Lesson: a summer of care free still water fishing requires me to work on my finesse fishing before I try to tangle into large wild rainbows with very light tippets. I am humbled by the experience.

Still, it was nice to know that the SF Boise continures to have a very healthy population of large wild rainbows. And with smaller fish plentiful and fry in the shallows, it apparently remains self sustaining.
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[windriver]

Thanks for the report. I need to go somewhere like that so I can sharpen my skills again. I have been kid fishing all summer.

Windriver
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[Untangler]

Don't feel bad. That river has humbled me many, many times....I have also had some of the best fishing days of my life there. It is so frustrating to be casting right on feeding fish and not having them take. I can't tell you how many times I've switched just one size in a fly and it makes all the difference (generally going smaller). Light tippets make it even more interesting - I use high quality 6x - the key is to straighten it out before you tie on and be delibrate when tying your knots. Over the past several years, I've started fishing that river with unconventional methods, hitting small pockets and channels that nobody else fishes and using all kinds of crazy flies - even saltwater flies - as well as fishing fast water with the Czech nymphing technique. It is amazing how well it works. Those fish get hammered day after day in the same stretches with the same flies matching whatever hatch is happening. Showing them something new can often be the difference. Thanks for the report.
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[eagleflyfshr]

Thanks for the feedback. It had been a few years since I fished the Boise SF. I stopped fishing it because of the increasing pressure it was receiving - and in Idaho, so many waters to fish and so little time. It was very encouraging, though, to see healthy numbers of fish in the water in varying sizes - actually good that they are so picky. You have definitely given me some useful hints for my next visit. Questions on your Czech nymphing technique: are you just using a light 9' rod, and anything special about your nymph tie on arrangements - heavy/light, light/heavy/light or other? Strike indicator? Thanks again!
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[Untangler]

I use the heaviest fly in middle and two lighter ones at the ends and buy the pre-tied leaders from Cabelas because I am too lazy to tie my own...they are a little expensive (about $9) but they last a good while. The key is to get the flies to the bottom quickly and have no drag during the drift. It's similar to the technique I learned as a kid which we called "high sticking". I fish 15'-20' in front of me at most - the length of the rod + the length of the leader + the length of my arm. It works well in fast, deep water and/or around rocks where you can get close to your target water without scaring fish. There is no real casting but be careful because three flies can tangle up quick. I lob the flies upstream, lift the rod tip as they go by in front of me and then drop it again on the swing - whatever works to keep the flies drifting with the current and not dragging. Try to keep the fly line out of the water because it causes drag. I don't use a strike indicator...when the line stops drifting naturally it could be a fish. I use a 9' 6wt for sentimental reasons but longer rods may work better. It is a great way to fish the water that nobody else fishes - it's hard to believe on that river but it exists. Good luck.
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