<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our late-arriving spring created interesting fishing conditions\nin May, but it has been a productive month for anglers willing to adapt and put\nin the work. The cold, wet weather set a few fishing cycles behind by a week or\ntwo, but ultimately, the extra water should benefit Idaho fisheries. As you plan\nyour trips, here are a few tips and reports to keep in mind: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lake Lowell (Bass) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lowell is about as low as I\u2019ve ever seen it this early in\nthe season \u2014 the result of a years-long drought catching up to us. The bad news\nis much of the flooded trees and vegetation where anglers typically concentrate\ntheir early-season efforts are either high and dry, or holding much less water\nthan usual. On the positive side, the fishing hasn\u2019t suffered much. Catch rates\nhave been decent to good for anglers pitching the remaining submerged cover,\nbuzzing frogs and spinnerbaits over last year\u2019s weed beds, or knocking\ncrankbaits along the rocky dam areas. The fish are the typical Lowell bass\u201414 to\n18 inches, and 1.5 to 3 pounds. Big fish are extremely rare these days, but if\nyou\u2019re a boat angler in the Treasure Valley, you can\u2019t beat Lowell for\nconvenience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Arrowrock\/Lucky Peak (Kokanee) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It looks like we\u2019re in for a pretty good Kokanee season in\nsouthwest Idaho. Arrowrock and Lucky Peak have both been producing decent catch\nrates\u2014Arrowrock, in particular, has some really nice fish up to 18 inches long\nthis year. Anglers have been catching Kokanee and occasional trout by trolling\nthe usual flashers and pop gear trailed by hoochies, wedding rings and Kokabow\nspinners tipped with corn. 1 to 1.5 MPH is the right speed, and fish can be\nanywhere from right below the surface to 30 feet down (and they\u2019ll likely head\ndeeper as summer wears on). Lucky Peak is pretty low, but Arrowrock is\nrelatively full, and both reservoirs have workable launches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n C.J. Strike (Mixed Bag) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Old, reliable C.J. Strike just keeps churning out fish month\nafter month, year after year. Late spring marks the tail end of prime trout\nfishing season, and as usual, there are some beautiful rainbows averaging 14 to\n18 inches, with 20-inch fish possible. Drifting bait near the dam or trolling\nwith pop gear, spoons or crankbaits are effective methods for targeting trout.\nThe crappie are starting to wake up, too, and anglers are reporting good catch\nrates of 10 to 14-inch slabs. Vertical jigging or trolling with cranks or\nlong-lined jigs are good ways to catch crappie. Bass fishing is also solid, and\nit should only get better in the months ahead. Pitching shoreline cover, using jigs\nand drop shots in deeper water and running crankbaits, spinnerbaits and jerkbaits\nalong points and rocky shorelines are all effective tactics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hagerman Valley (Mixed Bag) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Spring and early summer are a great time to check out the\nHagerman Valley. Known as a haven for big rainbow trout, Hagerman offers boat\nand bank fishing in the Snake River, as well as a labyrinth of ponds and creeks\nat the state fish hatchery. Whether you prefer to fish with bait, flies or\nlures, the trout fishing here is usually reliable and often outstanding.\nSturgeon, bass and tilapia are also common catches in Hagerman. The area offers\na host of family-friendly campgrounds, hot spring pools, parks, museums and restaurants,\ntoo. It\u2019s a great place for a weekend getaway! Tight lines! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Our late-arriving spring created interesting fishing conditions in May, but it has been a productive month for anglers willing to adapt and put in the work. The cold, wet weather set a few fishing cycles behind by a week or two, but ultimately, the extra water should benefit Idaho fisheries. As you plan your trips,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1811"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1814,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811\/revisions\/1814"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}