Living on River Time

Every fisherman has their favorite time of year.

For some their favorite time of year is that one week they take off work to go to a special place, one they’ve planned their whole year around. Sometimes it’s a local camping trip or an extended adventure to a far-flung place they’ve never been. For me, this special time of year is the fall.

In the fall the water is low, the sun is no longer biting the skin, the day campers and hikers have retreated indoors, and the fish realize that another cold winter is coming. All of these things culminate into long days of fishing for eager fish who’ve had little to no pressure put on them by other anglers.

One of my favorite things to do during the fall is fly fish for Kokanee. Here in Idaho, we are lucky enough to have the massive Boise River watershed close by. Most people prefer to troll in the summer for Kokanee in the deeper lake waters to fill their freezers. But waiting until the fall means watching them charge up the gin-clear waters of the Boise. Even though these fish rarely get over 22 inches in length, they have all the same attitude of their Alaskan cousins.

There is no cooler feeling than seeing a fish charge at a fly in an attempt to kill it. I really believe that Kokanee are in the leaderboards for just this reaction and their brilliant colors. Watching an angry bright red missile chase a big red marabou intruder is guaranteed to get your heart racing!

This time of year, I make a trip up to the Boise River in an effort to find that one-week period of time where the Kokanee are still moving and haven’t paired up to spawn yet. I pride myself in knowing the fish I hook during this window are not “flossed” or foul hooked in any way.

Multiple days of scouting, throwing intruders, studying the reactions of the fish, and getting flat-out denied or ignored, is a patience-testing process. This year alone I managed 8 day trips over the course of late August to early September. All that time scouting to find the one week a year when these fish lose their minds for a well-swung red intruder.

As an added bonus, this year Amanda and I also took a day to fish for the Bull trout that inhabit the same waters as the resident trout and Kokanee. Once the Kokanee have settled down, paired up, and begin to spawn, the Bull trout often sit behind the Redds and gorge themselves on eggs. I bet you’re thinking you know where this is going. But any normal person could float egg patterns in an attempt to fool a Bull trout putting on weight for the winter.

Instead, we fished pike patterns. 6-8 inch long streamers we tied for a float trip to Alberta was more than enough to make these fish get airborne. Typically, it is near impossible to see Bull trout in the deep runs that are filled with red Kokanee. Nonetheless, Bull trout don’t seem to pass on a big chunk of meat when they get the chance. They are opportunistic in that way, like how bears or eagles are drawn to salmon.

All of this led to some of the most fun Amanda and I had had all year. It also led to some of the most aggressive trout takes we’ve ever experienced. Perhaps it was the perfect cloudy fall day or the lack of pressure, but we managed a very rare 20 fish day of nothing but Bulls. To top it all off, Amanda caught and landed her first Bull trout on her own, which was also the biggest she’s ever caught. Needless to say, the day was filled with smiles.

For more information on Bull Trout fisheries and rules in Idaho visit:

Idaho Department of Fish and Game: https://idfg.idaho.gov/press/casting-bulls-fishing-idahos-bull-trout

For more details on Bull Trout as a species visit:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: https://www.fws.gov/pacific/bulltrout/

For some tips on correctly identifying Bulls in Idaho visit:

Idaho Statesman: https://www.idahostatesman.com/outdoors/fishing/article201023944.html

*ALL species were caught and released while keeping with sustainable fishing practices. #keepemwet friends!