Summer weather has finally arrived (at least for the most\npart) and fishing options abound across southern Idaho. Our cool, wet spring weather\nis paying dividends, as many local reservoirs are filling up with needed\nprecipitation after two years of drought conditions. As you plan your upcoming\ntrips, here are a few ideas to get you started: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ben Ross Reservoir (Bass) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This high desert gem is one of my favorite places to fish\nfor bass. And this year, it\u2019s as full as I\u2019ve ever seen it, which means there\nis plenty of classic shoreline cover for bass to hide in. Flipping plastics\ninto flooded trees, bushes and weed beds is usually a can\u2019t-miss strategy.\nRunning crankbaits along rocky shorelines or buzzing spinnerbaits along cover\nedges will also pick up fish, and topwater presentations can be effective when\nconditions are right. Ben Ross is a largemouth fishery, and it also holds\ncrappie and bluegill. Catch rates are usually steady for bass in the 14-to-18-inch\nrange. The lake has special rules (two fish limit, none between 14 and 16\ninches). There is a boat ramp, an outhouse and not much else, so come prepared\nwith hydration and everything you\u2019ll need for your trip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n South Fork Boise River (Trout) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m hearing good reports from trout anglers on the South\nFork. This trophy fishery requires single, barbless hooks (artificial flies and\nlures only), but folks are having success on stonefly and salmon fly nymphs,\nstreamers and occasional caddis flies (mostly in the evening hours). Spinners, Rapalas\nand other minnow imitations can also produce on the South Fork, which is home\nto wild rainbows and occasional bull trout. Flows have been unusually low so\nfar this season\u2014perfect for wading, but not high enough for drift boats. Keep an\neye on river conditions, as it is bound to come up eventually. <\/p>\n\n\n\n C.J. Strike Reservoir (Mixed Bag) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I feel like I include C.J. Strike on the report just about\nevery month, but it\u2019s such a steady and diverse fishery, it\u2019s hard to leave it\noff. Late spring\/early summer continues to be productive for rainbow trout,\nwhich are often targeted when trolling, but are also snarfing up panfish and\nbass lures. It\u2019s not a bad problem to have, though. Strike grows big trout, and\nthey are great eating. Panfish action has been a little hit-or-miss. Some days\nare dynamite for crappie; others are spotty or even slow. Trolling with\ncrankbaits or vertical jigging are the primary options for targeting crappie\nand perch. Bass anglers are catching plenty of fish, primarily smallmouth,\nusing drop shots, jigs, crankbaits and Ned rigs. Enjoy! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Duck Valley Reservation (Trout) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fishing has been outstanding at all three reservoirs\n(Mountain View, Billy Shaw and Sheep Creek) on the Duck Valley Reservation. Catching\nfish really comes down to two things\u2014willingness to make the drive, and\nchoosing your preferred tactics. Trolling with spoons, pop gear or crankbaits\nwill produce fish. So will casting spinners, spoons, crankbaits and jigs. Bait,\nincluding worms, shrimp and cut bait, is sure to attract some bites. And\nfly-fishing can be dynamite, especially with dark chironomid patterns, leeches,\ndamselfly nymphs and woolly worms. Billy Shaw is fly-fishing only. The rainbow\ntrout in these lakes usually average 16 to 20 inches and are great eating. A\ntribal permit is required ($18\/day). Tight lines! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summer weather has finally arrived (at least for the most part) and fishing options abound across southern Idaho. Our cool, wet spring weather is paying dividends, as many local reservoirs are filling up with needed precipitation after two years of drought conditions. As you plan your upcoming trips, here are a few ideas to get…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1836","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\/1836","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=1836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1838,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1836\/revisions\/1838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}