Silver Creek Report

[Rick J]

Three of us left Thursday July 31 from Reno and drove to Silver Creek (around 8 hour drive) and pulled into the Loving Creek (Hayspur) Camp Ground late evening and set up camp

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/SilverCreek-2008026.jpg

Got up next moring around 6:15 and drove to the Picabo Store to fill up tubes. We have mainly been fishing below the Kilpatrick Bridge between the bridge and the dam the last 10 years or so to get away from the crowds. When fishing the creek, you often had to get to a spot and stand in the creek over an hour before any hatches or you would get hole hopped and you still might get pretty boxed in. So we use tubes and float the lower end of the creek. You do not want fins - it is almost all wadable but thick silt requires you use a tube (U-boats and pontoon boats will not work - you need a round tube)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/SilverCreek-2008003.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/SilverCreek-2008005.jpg

Early there were various bugs around - mostly Callibaetis spinners that you could fish and dredge up a few fish. Around 8 the Trico duns started hatching - emergers and size 24 no-hackles seemed to work best - I can't tie no-hakcles but Silver Creek Outfitters in Ketchum carries them. Generally the spinners started dropping around 9 - wind dependent. This would go on until 10 to as late as noon. Baetis would also be showing up in the middle with some Callibaetis duns and spinners.

Wind came up often and kinda reeked havoc on the spinners plus the casting was a challenge with a 9' leader and 5'+ of 7x tippet - definitely required good technique in slack line casting to turn that bug over and find it on the water - especially a size 24 trico spinner or 26 Baetis spinner that is not an easy thing to see.

Have I mentioned I just love this klind of fishing :) If I only had to chose one it would be srping creeks!

Here are a few shots of fishing and fish:

Don with a downstream drift:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/SilverCreek-2008009.jpg

Don hooked up:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/SilverCreek-2008016.jpg
Notice the geese in the background!

Have I mentioned I hate geese and ducks :( They seem to manage to always come flying or paddling right into the pod of fish I am fishing to!!

Here are a couple of not very good fish shots - not easy to manipulate a rod, net and camera :?

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/SilverCreek-2008010.jpg

Note the size 24 bug in the jaw:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/SilverCreek-2008015.jpg

By noon things generally quit and we headed back to camp to nap, drive to town, tie flies or watch movies.

This year the evenings were not great. Past years we would get really good callibaetis hatches near dark followed by a spinner fall. Hatches were sporadic at best and generally little happened until 30 minutes before dark - you definitely had to stay out until the bitter end to get much of a shot at fish - and this was really the first time I can remember that the most prolific evening hatch were tricos - don't think I have seen them hatch at night before. Again the wind would really hammer us on some evenings.

During the heavy winds in the AM and PM I would go to a size 18 no-hackle and using a very short cast (no more tha 10' of fly line and often only 5) just float down and pop my fly right along the weed edges and this proved very successful even if fishing blind which I normally don't do much of.

Monday Don's two sons and one grand son showed up to liven things up

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/SilverCreek-2008025.jpg

The weather was sunny but pretty windy until the last couple of days when thunder storms came in and then it was cloudy, rainy and windy but some good hatches before the wind would blow things up

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/SilverCreek-2008023.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/SilverCreek-2008021.jpg.

I am pretty concerned about the shape of the creek - lots of sediment seems to be moving through, seems to be fewer and smaller fish and we observed quite a few dead or dying large browns. But all in all it was great trip - catching was not as good as some past years but fishing is alwasys good.

Our last morning (Sat August 9) we fished until around 10:30 then packed up and drove home

Last morning - early light:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/SilverCreek-2008029.jpg

[Rick J]

Here are a few more photos from Don:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/P8060034.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/P8060035.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/P8060037.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/P8060039.jpg

[Rick J]

and a couple of more - just getting in:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/P8060040.jpg

Last Light:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/P8070052.jpg

This shows the weed edges that can be so productive:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/P8070054.jpg

These callibeatis came off somewhere but we did not see them on the water most evenings:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/P8070056.jpg

What is really wild is to see that smooth water frothing with pods of fish feeding with abandon on trico spinners. :)

What is not so great is to see your fly land in the middle of a square foot of 30 trico spinners and float through the pod, the only uneaten bug on the water :( Guess that is why they call it fishing, not catching!!

[bolden]

It sure looks like you had a good time, its good to hear. Silver Creek is a special place and it is cool that you get to make the annual trip there.


What is really wild is to see that smooth water frothing with pods of fish feeding with abandon on trico spinners.

What is not so great is to see your fly land in the middle of a square foot of 30 trico spinners and float through the pod, the only uneaten bug on the water Guess that is why they call it fishing, not catching!!

Seeing the Silver Creek fish feed on tricos for the first time two years ago was one of the most amazing things i have ever seen. It is almost shocking that the fish rise so consistently, in fact the first time my dad saw it he actually thought we were fishing in a riffle. It wasn't until the fish stopped rising that he realized it was perfectly flat water.

I remember the fishing part too. It is almost beyond belief that you can drift a fly over 10 fish in one cast and not hook up. I think i caught as many fish after the hatch on beetles as i did when they were going full force on tricos.



I am pretty concerned about the shape of the creek - lots of sediment seems to be moving through, seems to be fewer and smaller fish and we observed quite a few dead or dying large browns. But all in all it was great trip - catching was not as good as some past years but fishing is alwasys good.

During the 10 or so days i spent at Silver Creek over a few periods this summer i found that the fishing was the best i have had in the past four years. I fished up in the conservancy and my dad and i landed at least a few 20" fish a day, mostly on the trico or baetis spinner falls. The best fishing ended up being after the spinner falls when we would walk all the way from the upper end of the creek to the cabin just throwing beetles.

I did fish one evening below the bridge and caught a couple small fish, but the fishing wasn't spectacular.

Anyway, i just thought it was interesting that you didn't find the fishing to be as good as years past. Obviously you have fished the creek much longer than i so maybe i just have a short term view of the fishing, plus i know that i am a better fisherman this year, so that probably has something to do with it.

Also, just for information, what you would consider to be a good day as far as numbers and general sizes?

[bolden]

Sorry, it stopped loading so i ended up posting twice.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I bought a new GMC Suburban in 1986 so Don and Rick invited me along on one of their annual Idaho/Montana trips.

We fish Silver Creek first and it was very exciting.

It was a wonderful trip for me espcially with veteran fly fishers like Don and Rick.

[Rick J]

Maybe 4 years ago, the creek really took a hit and fish numbers and sizes were down. It has made a great comeback but this year I saw fewer fish than the last two and there was significant silt build up in places which worries me.

Regarding what I would consider a good day - I think if you hook 4 to 6 fish during the active dun/spinner fall in the AM that is a good morning. If you stick it out and fish after the spinner fall to crusing fish feeding on Callibaetis (wind permitting) you can likely hook another 4 to 6 in the last hour + before heading up. If you fish blind like I did during the strong winds you can probably do even better though I normally don't cast unless I see a working fish.

The guides often put a trailer zebra midge or nymph which can add fish numbers. In fact last year, Don took an earlier trip and they used the zebra under a callibaetis and had 20 fish days.

As for size, the average fish range from 14" to 18". 19" to 21" are exceptional. Probably the biggest fish I have seen hooked were around 5# and most were browns and caught up in the S's. I remember a truly remarkable big fish that Don's oldest son caught at the bridge when he was a youg teeneager that was wonderful to see!

Bill - I remember that trip well - I believe we kinda trashed your new truck :( You got the nick name Billy "Whitefish" Kiene because between all the rainbows you hooked you hammered the white fish. I do rememeber a really hot rainbow you hooked on the ranch that I am sure got your heart pumping!!