Fly Fishing Photography

Silver Creek

Andy Ziemba and a late night bent rod.  Silver Creek

Almost midnight.  Silver Creek

After the sun goes down there is a period of time when the color blue takes over.  "Blue Hour," Silver Creek

A bend in the Creek and the "Blue Hour."

Nikon D3s, Nikon 14-24 f2.8 afs lens

Well, our summer season is getting an early start out of the gates.  Brown Drakes on Silver Creek are just getting going and it is only June 1st.  If I have it correct, drakes started last year around June 18th.  It is a hatch worth seeing and is one of my favorites to photograph.  Yeah, it gets pretty busy on the water but once the sun goes down and the bugs get ramped up you never really notice. 

Last night there were a bunch of Lesser Nighhawks making their who, who, who, who call and it was debated how the bird makes the sound.  Is it thier wings or vocal chords?  As it turns out it is their wings.  Here is a clip from Avian Web .Com:

 

"The male performs a dramatic aerial display during courtship, flying first at moderate height, then diving straight towards the ground. When he is about two meters from the ground, he will turn upward. Near the end of his steep dive a deep booming swo-o-o-onk sound that is caused by air rushing through his wingtips as he flexes his wings downward. The intensity of this sound is said to be more or less proportional to the speed attained. This dive is usually part of a courtship display, but can also be directed at rival nighthawks and intruders (including people)."

Silver Creek, Idaho

Silver Creek

The above image is a 5 frame pano taken last night on Silver Creek.  It felt like summer.  Night hawks were whooping and fish were rising and there were a few caddis and lots of midges and it was green and there were even a few mosquitoes to swat at.  Brown drakes are just around the corner.  Silver Creek opens to fishing on May 26th along with most of the rest of Idaho.

Nikon D3s & Nikon 24 pc-e lens

Big Lost River

big lost riverBig Lost River.  March

fly fishing photographyLost River & Storm.  Pano

The above images represent two recent days on the Lost.  Spring weather for sure.  Colder than it has been but highs are looking like they could hit 60 in Mackay on Saturday.

Nikon D3S & Nikon f2 35 lens

Big Wood River, Idaho

big wood riverRelease.  Big Wood River

Nikon D3S & Nikon 35 f2 lens

Here's the opening paragraph from, Hole In The Sky, a memoir by William Kittredge, a college professor of mine at The University of Montana:

"Maybe children wake to a love affair every other morning or so; if given any chance, they seem to like the sight and smell and feel of things so much.  Falling for the world could be a thing that happens to them all the time.  I hope so, I hope it is purely commonplace.  I'm trying to imagine that it is, that our childhood love of things is perfectly justifiable.  Think of light and how far it falls, to us.  To fall, we say, naming a fundamental way of going to the world--falling."

Big Wood River

big wood riverTaking In The Moment.  Big Wood River, Idaho

big wood riverLetting One Go...  Big Wood


The temps ranged from around 11 degrees when we got started on the Wood today and by 4 PM had sky rocketed all the way to 23.  It felt cold.  Good stuff though, both on top and nymphing.  This has certainly been one of the best Januarys I can recall.

Nikon D3S & Nikon 14-24 f2.8 lens

Silver Creek January Sunset

silver creek idahoJanuary.  Silver Creek, Idaho

Nikon D3S & Nikon 50 f1.8 lens

The Big Wood River should be good stuff all week as we are slated to have temps near 30 degrees.  The midge fishing has been about as good as it gets for January.  Plenty of rising fish on many days and good nymphing too.  If you want the Big Wood to yourself, now is a great time to be on the river...

September & The Big Lost River & A Quick Sun Valley Fishing Report

 

 

Big Lost River, Idaho

Thunderheads and just a hint of Fall color.  It's the slow change from Summer to Fall.  Overnight lows in the upper 30's and highs somewhere in the mid 70's.  Look for hatches and conditions only to improve as daytime highs begin to cool.  Crowds on the river have already waned substantially post Labor Day Weekend.  Tricos and baetis and a few remaining crane flies on the Big Lost.  The current flow on the Lost is 267 cfs.  Silver Creek too should be getting better and better as the day time highs cool.  The 1:16 PM callibaetis event is becoming more and more consistent while as usual the baetis have gotten SMALLER.  Bring the smallest baetis you have along with a bag full of patience...  Damsel flies, beetles, flying ants and hoppers too.

 

Camera: Nikon D3S

Lens: Nikon 24 PC-E

Sun Valley Fishing Report & Wild Rose Images

Wild Roses

Camera: Nikon D3S

Lens: Nikon Micro 105 f2.8

 

The Fishing:  Lots of positive changes as the Big Wood has dropped considerably and despite the swift water is fishing, at long last, really well.  The current flow is 855 cfs with the historic mean for this day at 600 cfs.  It's still high but we are getting there.  The clarity, incidentally, is good, even below the confluence of Trail Creek.  There are lots of bugs though; Green Drakes, Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies and a few # 12 tan caddis.  Large Royal Stimulators and Green Drake patterns have been working well in any of the soft water for which there is more and more of daily.  The Green Drake thing won't last much longer...  The Lower Big Lost has dropped to 793 cfs with the historic mean for today at 625 cfs. Golden Stones and PMD's if you can find soft enough water...  Silver Creek is slowly starting to fish better in the AM.  Tricos are starting to appear throughout the Nature Conservancy section and they often happen in conjunction with baetis and pmd's.  The Green Drakes on the Creek seem to have finished.  I fished Silver Creek this morning and the bugs, at least where I was, were all but done by 10:30 AM.  Every day has been a little different and I would expect inconsistency for about another week before the tricos really start, hopefully, going like clockwork.  The evening fishing on Silver Creek has been the best time of day to be there.  Pmd's, baetis & #16 or smaller olive caddis.  Bring mosquito repellent!