Thank You!

  It's New Years Eve but theres something more important for me. I'm about to come up on the 1000th page view for this blog. I've had people from Russia and Germany view. Also, I don't track my own page views so its fair. We're getting about 7 page views averagely for a day which means its grown alot (I know its not a ton but I never expected I would get any readers)! In the end all I wanted to do was say Thanks!

Gear Review: San Juan Chest Pack

  The fishpond San Juan chest pack is one of my favorite chest packs. Even though its no giant it still holds lots of gear. It costs about $50.00 . Its 180 cubic inches. 
  On the front it has a mesh pocket for easy access items such as tippet and weights. On the front pocket it has fishpond's signature zip-down fly bench. Some people don't like it but I think its cool. In the main pocket it has one loose fitting mesh pocket and a large zippered compartment for important items such as licences and phones. 
  The San Juan is really good in external attachment points. It has two tabs to put zingers and with little loops under them for nippers or forceps. There are also two other loops, one on top of the main pocket and one above the front pocket.
  For wearing it the San Juan has a belt loop which people tend to dislike (can't argue). It also comes with two length-adjustable straps for wearing around your neck and waist. The straps seem abrasve and scratch at my neck but I fixed that with some Mossy Oak Duck Tape.
  Overall the San Juan is a 10 out of 10. For a video review go to the following link: https://vimeo.com/channels/fishingthenorthwest

Featured Video of the Week: December 24, 2012

Really stinks how Blogger won't let me directly put videos from Vimeo on here but I'll just use the link. http://vimeo.com/55573000 . You're definitely going to see more of Montana Wild's videos here.

Featured Video of the Week: December 17, 2012

  Turns out I have a cold, but at least I remembered. Here it is:

Featured Video of the Week: December 10, 2012

Sorry its really late again, I had a really bad Sinus infection... Here it is:

  The first time I saw this it brought tears to my eyes. The reason I picked this is that Bryan Huskey, a skilled photographer from SCO, was our guest speaker at the Magic Valley Fly Fishers "Christmas Party". He showed us the original version of this video, and interview with Pete and Doc and finally a video of Pete and the Doc after his surgery. Bryan also informed us that Silver Creek Outfitters will probably be making a DVD of the Doc and Pete fishing.

Featured Video of The Week: December 2, 2012

   

  I really love all their videos. It's like a mix of how-to's and just filming the fishing. They also have some pretty sick footage!                                                    

Featured Video of the Week: November 26, 2012

  No matter what time of year it is, I've always heard Montana Brown trout love streamers, but I've always known fall is the best time for streamers, Strip'n Trip'n proves this. Here's the video:

Featured Video of the Week: November 19, 2012

  Sorry this video is overdue, I was sick on Monday. Anyway, Here it is:

Featured Video of the Week- November 12, 2012

  I'm trying out a new thing. I will have a featured video of the week on every Monday. You can put suggestions in a comment or e-mail me at salmon_marlinfish@yahoo.com. Here it is:

I've always loved everything about the Jensen Fly Fishing videos. Also, check out their website and order one of the DVDs. Here's the link: http://www.flyfishalberta.com/jensenflyfishing/

Fly fishing on the Big Wood River

  At this time of year near Sun Valley, most people are putting the bikes and rods on the racks and getting their skis out, but the day I went it was surprisingly warm. I was there on November 4th, probably one of the nicer days of Idaho Autumn. I was all ready to be casting tiny midges and baetis but I was just unlucky. I always try to avoid stripping streamers in rivers and creeks just because it seems like matching the hatch is more "Sportsman-like", but as usual, streamers are sometimes the only thing that work.
  The most pressured access point is probably Boxcar Bend, but not today. I was the only person there, which was odd. Normally, during the fall lots of people will be chuking streamers for 17" fish. I hiked down and tied on a size 18 midge. After about 45 minuets and no strikes I thought a bigger meal might entice them so I threw on a size 16 hares ear. After another hour of silence I decided to use a streamer. All I know is that it has an orange tail, an olive chennile body with a copper rib, and a wing made out of a sort of speckled dun/white hackle fibers. On the third cast into a deep pool, BOOM! A 13 incher slams onto it. He fought so hard I thought he was 18". After a bit of a tango with some wood and the freezing cold water, I finally landed it. It was a nice cutt-bow, and his colors were so dark it looked like someone had painted a red stripe across the lateral-line. After this, I went to a bit of a riffle, where I caught a 16" rainbow. It was sad because he was badly injured ( not by me) and he was very scrawny. After this I went into town and got a salmon sandwich at the "Burger Grill".
  The grill was right next to LRO so I decided to ask for some advice from a "friend" who works there. He said that my best bet was streamers but big nymphs and some Griffiths' Gnats would work good too. I decided I would just stop at the next bridge. Once I got to the river I saw some 20" fish. I immediately tied on a #8 olive bugger. I only had one hit during the 1 1/2 hours I was there. It was getting late so I decided it might be best to go home.
  The Wood is a really good fishery in the winter, and it had huge midge hatches. Remember to layer up and bring 5mm waders.

Review of Rio Powerflex tippet

  This tippet material is tied-for-first (in my book) with Orvis tippets. Its probably the most popular among trout anglers in the U.S. I love it because it doesn't get crimped or bent when pinched and it comes at a good price. You might think that a $2.00 spool of tippet is the same as Rio's $5.00 spool of powerflex but there's a difference. It comes in spools of 30m and 0X to 8X for the average freshwater fisherman and up to 60 pound for saltwater anglers. If you want to land fish without losing flies then I suggest going with Powerflex.

Review of Sportsman's Warehouse Fly Fishing Leaders

  How much better can they get? The world may never know. My point, these are pretty much the best leaders I've ever used. I believe that they are actually made by Cortland but I'm not sure. They come in everything from 7 1/2'-12' and 0X-7X. The leaders also come at a really good price. I believe most of them are around $2.59. I strongly suggest you order some.

Helios 2 "Tech-Specs" and Relasing

  By the time I complete this post its probably gonna be about 3hours away. I freaked out when they announced the H2, so you can only imagine me now. Anyway, their having a sweet give-away at orvisnews.com .
  It's going to be 20% lighter in hand than the original ZG (zero-gravity) Helios. The rod will be 20% stronger than any other rod they have ever developed. Even in the multi-piece rods, it will have more refined tapers for smoother casting. The tip-impact strength will be 100% stronger because of a different material integrated into the tip. For style it will have a midnight-blue blank with accenting thread wraps. Some other really nice features are that it had REC Recoil Guides, REC California buckeye burl freshwater reel stats, UV-inhibiting paint coating, and super-grade cork grips.
  Get ready to FEED YOUR ADDICTION because the Helios 2 is going to be EPIC!!!

How To: Silver Creek Idaho (Part1)

  Before you start fishing Silver Creek, you need to know what time of year you're going to be there. Once you've figured this out, you look at Ketchum On The Fly's hatch chart so you know what aquatic insects will be present. After this, I would suggest you call or go to local fly shops such as the Sportsman's Warehouse in Twin Falls, the Picabo Angler in Picabo, and any fly shops in Ketchum/Hailey/Sun Valley. Any of these people will probably be willing to give up some knowledge. They can usually tell you which section is best for a certain fish species or insect and lots of other helpful information.
 Next, the gear you might need. Here's a list of every thing you should have:
Forceps
Pliers
Nippers
Floatant
Leader straightener
Hook Hone
Extra heavy leaders such as 6-15lbs. in 7.5' (night fishing for browns with large streamers and mice)
5X Leaders in lengths 9'-15'
6X Leadesr in lengths 9'-15'
7X Leaders in lengths 9'-15'
8X Leaders in lengths 9'-15'
5X-8X tippet
Fly fishing Vest or chest/sling/tri- pack
Fingerless gloves
A VERY large net
and a CRAP-LOAD of Flies
  I know it seems like a lot but it's really stuff you should already have if you think you can face the awesome challenges of Silver Creek.
  Once you get to you parking spot, test the wind to see what size flies and leaders you're going to use. A 6X is a good all around but it may be different. If there is no wind or even a slight breeze whatsoever then go with the 7X or 8X. After you've assesed all of that previous mumbo-jumbo, now your ready get all your gear ready and string up your rod. Once you're about 50 feet away, walk as quietly as you can. Now that you are on the bank, observe everything around you for the next 5-30 minuets. I suggest observing the stream because it helps you size up to your opponent.
  Now you are ready to get fishing. I don't suggest wading unless its an absolute must. Down-stream presentations are the most popular because the fly arrives in front of the fish before anything else. The most crucial factor is patience.
  Oh and also, make sure your fly looks exactly like the real thing. Parachutes are not the best because  it just doesn't look like the real thing.
  Thanks for reading, and look out for a part two.

Silver Creek Chronicles Overview

   I LOVE SILVER CREEK!!! What I'm trying to say is that I am going to start a new post series. These are basically titles that I put on a certain post. For example, you probably see a lot of: ,"Bait Review:" posts. I am going to do the same with Silver Creek.
  Some information on it: Its a Spring Fed "Fork" of the Big Wood. As we all know, water takes the path of least resistance. The Big Wood doesn't want to flow through the lava beds so it goes under and creates Silver Creek. The Fishing Facts: It has 6,000 fish per stream mile. It's World famous because it is so hard. It had rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout, and Mountain Whitefish.
  I'm only 11 so I'm no Tom Rosenbauer (excuse my spelling) but I'm beginning to get the hang of it ( on Silver Creek, I'm actually pretty good. Its just the fish are so smart there). I'm already planning my next trip (that's what my dad says, I'm planning my next four) and I'm going to try to hit the legendary Brown Drake and Trico hatch at least twice for both of them.
  I kind of have a bucket-list for things to happen at Silver Creek. I want to catch my first Brown Trout (and possibly mountain white fish and brookie too) there, I want to catch any fish over 25", and believe me, they get bigger then that, I want to go into my backing there, because all the other lunker's I've caught we're fat and lazy.
  Thanks for reading! It might be a couple more months until I go again but when I do I'll make sure to get some video.

Bait Review: Berkley Powerworms

These are some of the best soft plastics in the powerbait line-up. They have a scent but I found that it doesn't matter. The action is irresistable and the colors are the best part. The best colors I have used are Blue/blackflk/pink firetail. This is the color that I caught my PB 9 pound 4 oz. Largemouth Bass. These are good for Carolina rigging but I've also caught fish texas rigged and threaded on a jighead. The ones I use are 7" but they also make 10" and 4" models.

Bait Review: Dry Creek 3 1/2 inch tube

I've only purchased one pack of these and I can tell you. These are some of the best baits in the world. any color and they work. they are super soft and life like but they are also super strong. These are best for jigging but any way you can think of will catch fish. These have tons of salt but also have a good anise-type scent. If you pick up a pack of these I can guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Bait Review: BBB Summer Craw

These baits were designed for flippin'. I thought they would work great as a jig trailer but I found a favorite spot for pitching and flippin'. I have fished with these before and they are extremely durable and life like. They look like most other craws on the market but come with a key scent. Overall these are some of the best flippin' craws I have ever used.

Bait Review: BBB Punch Buggy

These are very good baits that you can do anything with. I was Texas rigging them on a 4/0 hook. I had a few fish bite but I'm not very good with a Texas rig. There are many colors, but craw imitation colors are the best for me. Overall these are some of the best craw baits I have ever fished with.

Tips, Tricks and Secrets: Fly Fishing for Panfish.

There are many type's of panfish, but to name a few, pumpkinseed, black/white crappie, bluegill and various sunfishes. These fish often feed on other small fish, bugs, and leeches. To start you out, a 3 wt. rod is good, just because bluegill are often heavy for their length and they fight pretty hard. A three weight reel with WF-F (Weight Forward-Floating). Some flies that will be good are #8-12 Clouser minnows and Swimming Nymphs. Scud Patterns are often good but a family of flies that are my favorite are the buggers. There are Woolley Buggers, Jig-Head Buggers and many more. Small surface poppers are also good.
  Lakes that you will want to fish are shallow, warm water lakes with large quantities of panfish and bass.
Because panfishing isn't too complicated, I won't be making a follow-up post to this.

Bait Review: Roboworm Fatworm

I have bought a few packs of 41/2 inch straight tail fatworms in the Prizim Shad color. These are perfect for shaky head and dropshot but also are good for Texas rig. I find that they have a good rainbow trout looking color but also have a good shad imitation color. I have caught fish dropshoting but haven't tried shakyheading. They usually last 5 or 6 fish before they can't be used anymore and fall apart. Overall these baits are the VERY best for the money.

Fishing at Salmon Falls Creek Reservior

Jackpot, NV: The Truck Stop For All Your Adventures (Along with Elko, Wells, Carlin, Winnemucca, and Battle Mountain). Some info about Salmon Falls, Its long, fifteen miles, its narrow and its famous for Walleye. I'm not talking good for Idaho, I'm talking Minnesota good. It also has  brown trout, chinook salmon,kokanne salmon  (landlocked sockeye), Yellow Perch, Black Crappie, Channel Catfish, and is a very good smallmouth bass fishery. Water is often extremely cold until june or so then it warms up from the southern end. My go-to bait there was a tube, but I had a few hits on Wordens Rooster tails. I think they were walleye's but it may have been a trout or kokanne. My dad caught the first bass ever, His first fish in Idaho and the first fish that either of us had caught at the reservior. I saw lots of people trolling and jigging from boats. After that I was using a rattlin' Rapala in size 05 chrome blue color. I a huge three pound smallie casting along the shoreline. After that I hooked two more smallmouths but they threw the hook. Then, I decided to cast far out, and because it was windy, I knew I was going to get a walleye. On the third cast I got the fish and after I landed him  he cut the lure off and fell back into the water. I jumped in to get him and got lucky. I brought him to my dad who took a few pictures and then released him. After that we left. 
   I can't wait until I get a boat and catch kokanne by trolling.

Fishing on the Silver Creek Preserve

Silver Creek is a world famous spring-fed tributary of the Little Wood River. The best section for fishing is near the Unincorporated town of Picabo. The fish in Silver Creek are among the biggest and hardest in the world to catch. I was using a 5X tippet and I thought that I would get less bites but land more fish, but a 6X is what I should have used, but In the end I only caught one small fish. Here's the story. I was up the 26th of August and wondering, spin fishing still waters such as Magic, C.J. Strike, or Salmon Falls Creek Reservior, or, should I fly fish on moving waters such as the Big Wood, Henry's Fork or Silver Creek. Because I am the only one in my family who fly fishes and taught my self I didn't think I was ready for the legendary Silver Creek, and after all, I'm only eleven and started 4 months ago. I decided my dad would still have fun, and we decided we would go on the 27th of August. That morning I woke up at seven, did some last minute research and set off. I was very ill-prepared, with only two Parachute Adams, a few big Stoneflies that could imitate hoppers, and one #10 detached bodied may fly. It was mostly Baetis and some Tricos, but it was windy so terrestrial fishing was good. Once I got there, I looked at the bridge and there were probably 30 Rainbow Trout and about 15 brown trout. I read some stuff about the insects, Ernest Hemingway and I noticed that it said there were over 6000 fish per mile of stream. I went to sign in at the Nature Conservancy cabin. and got to fishing. I walked past a few people and guides and they said that it was too hard and "If I can't catch anything, well, than good luck to you." said one of the guides. I fished on anyway, using a Pink Albert Parachute and I got many bites but only managed to hook one fish. It was a small rainbow, about six inches. I released him with only a memory. After this I lost the two other Parachutes I had, went to a local fly shop and got a few foam hoppers some parachutes and a few flies that I forgot the names to. I fished for a few hours and still caught nothing.
Next time I go I'll be sure to use a hopper-dropper with a Bead Head Pheasant Tail Nymph and have more parachutes. Also I will remember to use a 6X.

Bait Review: Berkley Havoc Devil Spear

This is the reason I don't buy Havoc like I used to. I thought these were the best baits ever but I had never seen anyone catch a fish on them. Supposedly they imitate baitfish. I will admit these are not the worst baits ever, but I fished them non-stop and didn't get a single bite and the baits tore pretty easy when I was bringing them through weeds. These are okay but I wouldn't suggest them.

Bait Review: Berkley Power Tubes

These tubes are the baits you need for Smallmouth. I like the pumpkin-seed color, because tube are meant to look like craws and you want a craw color, but the camo and smoke colors are also good. The other colors they come in are white, pumpkin/chartreuse Green Pumpkin. They are three inches long and come with a crawfish type scent. These are very good for smallmouth and largemouth but also work for trout.

Bait review series overview

I'm going to start a series of posts that are going to review baits. I'm going to review everything form Powerbait to Rapala. Its going to tell if there good or bad, the best colors and all the other specs.

Tips, tricks and Secrets: Fly fishing for bass

For this addition Of the tips tricks and secrets, I'll be " Starting your motor" on your journey into fly fishing for bass. The two types of bass you are probably going to catch are Smallmouth and Largemouth. Smallmouth love cray fish but will feed on frogs, baitfish and bugs. Largemouth love crayfish, baitfish, and frogs but will also eat snakes and lizards. As far as I know, they have yet to make a fly that looks like a snake or lizard, but large Woolly Buggers Clouser Minnows, And the clouser swimming nymph are good. Woolly buggers in a rusty or black color imitate craws and baitfish, and the Clouser minnow is self explanatory. There are many other patterns that imitate crayfish and an infinite number of bait fish patterns, but the tricky one is frogs. What imitates frogs? To answer your question, a popper. A popper is much like a frog in many ways. The disturbance on the water, and after you pop it it kind of does a little nod like a frog does when it kicks. You want to fish poppers on very calm days, because on windy days the surface disturbance will be hard to detect. Poppers are tied weedless, usually, and fishing them through reeds is good. They can also be fished on lilly pads and other typical bass cover.

For Rods you will want a six, seven, or eight weight, not because the size of the fish, but the size of the flies you will be casting. 

After this, I can't tell you much more, and I suggest you seek information from your local fly shop, take a class, or go with a guide service.

Smallmouth fishing on the Snake River

Let me get this clear. The only thing you ever need for smallmouth is a pumpkin-seed power-tube. It doesn't matter how you rig it, tube jig, or on a plain hook as long as the only thing that pokes through the plastic is the eye. You can use a straight shank or EWG if you poke the eye through the head of the tube or you can traditionally rig it on a tube or round jig-head. I used a canoe to get where I needed, then docked and fished from shore. I caught fish near undercut rock banks and weed flats. Here are some pics.

My top 10 states for trout fly fishing

I'll tell you now, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming don't have redfish like Louisiana, so don't feel bad if I don't mention your state. Also, remember, this is the states I've been to, and each state is known for something different that the other.
In any random order, Idaho ( Big Wood River, Silver Creek, South and Henrys fork of the Snake, Various forks of the Boise, Clearwater, and Salmon rivers, Kelly Creek, and last but not least, Lochsa River), Montana ( Rock Creek, various Yellowstone creeks and rivers, Madison, Boulder and Jefferson rivers, and many other out-of-the-way creeks and rivers in the middle of the mountains), Wyoming ( Wind river range, Tenton wilderness creeks, the Green River, Platte, Firehole, and Gibson rivers and many high-mountain streams and lakes), New York for its great native brook trout on many small streams and larger rivers like the Delware, Colorado  for its many high elevation freestone streams and rivers like the Eagle, Blue and Upper Colorado rivers, and many other mountain lakes and streams that you can pull of the side of the road and fish. and the other five that I'm to lazy to mention are Oregen, California, Alaska, Utah, and Northern Nevada.

Fly Fishing at Niagara Springs State Park

This is by far in my top 3 places for fly fishing in southern Idaho, behind Clear Lake and ahead of Billingsley Creek. The species in the creek include rainbow trout, various species of invasive carp, and I even saw a small white sturgeon that swam upstream from the river. I was using the streamer pattern "Slumpbuster" which is commonly used for bass and panfish, but because there were sculpin and dace in the stream, and there was not apparent hatch, I thought a streamer of some type would be good. Because of the construction on the western bank a float tube or waders is best, but if the water levels are low enough and you're willing to get wet then you can hop from rock to rock to get to the best angle for casting. I often find fish on the western side hiding under the shadow of a large tree. I didn't think I would need a pair of waders, but I recommend you bring them if you can. I caught a small rainbow on the Slumpbuster, and I suspect a Woolly Bugger would work too. 
Like I said, Its a good place to go, even for the spin fisherman, and there is also a lake in the area (remember, it costs to get to the lake).

Tips, Tricks and secrets: Basic Fly fishing for rainbow trout

First, telling you right now, get personal instructions or watch videos on how to cast. I will be using terms that you won't understand if you haven't watched videos or had instruction. Another thing that I should tell you, I've only been fly fishing for a month but I'm telling you now, fly fishing is no harder that spin fishing or golf. Some fly fisherman try to make it sound and look harder than it really is, but they just want to look like the best.
Starting into the reel topic ( I know my puns are horrible) I'll be helping you select a rod and reel. A combo with backing line and leader/tippet is best for the beginner. You want probably a five of six weight. A 4 weight is a little small for most trout in the streams you'll be fishing at first, and a six weight is a little big for most trout that you'll catch at first. Like I said, you want a combo, just because it will usually be cheaper and when buying the reel alone, it will often not come with backing, line, and leader.
The first 10 flies you'll need are: #8 Woolly Bugger, # 12 Hare's Ear Nymph, #6 Slumpbuster, # 12 Adams, #12 Parachute, #14 Elk Hair Caddis, # 18 Zebra Midge, # 6 Giant Stonefly (this also immitates a large hopper), # 6 Golden Stonefly nymph, And a Golden Stone (dry).
These flies will get you far on your own, but I suggest using a Woolly Bugger at a local trout pond.
This concludes part 1 of fly fishing for rainbows.

Review of Big Boy Baits

I just received my baits a few days ago,  I ordered a pack of money sticks, Junebug, and trick flukes, Cucumber. I was very satisfied with the baits as I caught some nice bass and a huge white crappie. I'm still fishing with them and they have no tears or rips. The only down side is that I should have ordered more, because it take a while to ship, but its definitely worth it. If you want to catch more big fish, Then order these baits. Now ofcourse, if you want to catch small fish, order from those big brands.
Check out all the baits at http://www.bigboybaitco.com/

Shout Out to all the readers

Thanks guys and gals for reading, Its really grown since April.  Hope my tips help you. Some upcoming posts, discussions and polls are going to be: Tips, Tricks and secrets: Largemouth Bass (cont.), Tips, Tricks and secrets: Basic Fly fishing for rainbow trout, and Tips, Tricks and secrets: Fly fishing for Bass and Panfish. I'll be asking which weight fly rod is best for browns, bass, panfish, cuttthroats, and lots of other Q&A about what strength of rod/reel. Thanks for reading, and check out the Braggin' Board.

Tips tricks and secrets: Smallmouth Bass (cont.)

Other things that work great for small mouth are craw cranks, topwaters in the spring, crawdad cranks, craw scented-colored tubes, and live bait. The live bait that would typically be used during the spawn is probably a bluegill, shad but you could use a big swimbait. With swimbaits you should try to make it look like it's raiding the nest and eating the eggs/fry.Smallmouth Bass will go for any minnow imitation that looks like a danger. Remember though, with minnows in the spring, they shouldn't have extremely erratic action because the water is still a bit cold. In the summer, bass will often hide under docks because the fry can now take care of them selves and its cooler in cover. They usually come out at night or when they see a big meal.

Fly fishing at Clear Lakes County Club, Buhl Idaho

Clear Lake is one of the best fly fishing spots I've been to in southern Idaho. For me it only cost 3.50 to fish ( I think its based on age). Its fly fishing only, so sorry spin fisherman. There is a stream leading out to the river and I've fished there a few times, I see large yellow trout swimming and I can see some rainbows faintly. I was using an EHC (elk hair caddis) and within 7 or 8 casts I had hooked into a large yellow. The current was making him feel like he was 20 inches. I had him right up next to me and then SNAP he broke off. I call him Walter and I can still see him because the fly is still in his mouth. I tried fishing from shore, but in the summer when the reeds are growing there a dock and that was probably the best place to fish from. It's best if you have a float tube or in the winter, waders. Overall this is probably my favorite place to go fly fishing that I've discovered in my month of living in Idaho. Also, Its a great golf course.

Lost River outfitters Ketchum, Idaho (review)

This is by far the best fly shop I've ever been to. There was lots of clothing and other apparel, flies, tying materials, fishing tools and best of all the fishing report was up-to-date and the lady there was very helpful. When I asked her what was hatching down on the Big Wood, she told me the drakes hatching at night and that brown-orange foam hoppers were good if the drakes weren't hatching. I bought some detached bodied mayflies, some brown-orange hoppers, a fly that I forgot the name to ( it had pheasant tail feathers and a shuck for a tail, a coppery type chenille and a copper wire rib for a body, at the front it had peacock herl and a bit of deer hair facing the opposite way it would on an elk hair cassis, and a green hackle at the front) and an iridescent parachute adams.   Like I said before, this is the best fly shop I've been to and if you're going through Ketchum then I suggest stopping there.

Tips, Tricks and Secrets: Largemouth bass

Largemouth Bass


Largemouth bass are probably considered the most sought-after game fish along with crappie. Back 50 or so years spoons were probably used widley because they were heavy enough to cast a long ways and back the when fishing wasn't connected to science they thought it was a good imitation of a minnow. They would also use crank baits (lipped diving plugs) but these have one action usually, wiggle like a swimming minnow. They are very effective when bounced of structure. Then came along the line of plastic worms. These things were killer in every water no matter what. They also created other soft plastics like swimbaits, craws, finesse worms and all kinds of other things. These were pretty cheap and effective. With swimbaits, the size of the bait means the size of the fish. Small swimbaits can catch large and small bass. In clear, colder waters people might use a HUGE rainbow trout imitation. Bluegill and panfish swimbaits are good in clear water when bass are not feeding but are chasing. If you drop it right out there and then make it come right up next to the fish they will get annoyed and chase the panfish away. Lizard and other creatures are good even if the imitate something that doesent swim. Other minnow imitations include flukes. 
There are hard plastic lures called jerk baits. These work for pike and muskie, bass, and even brown and bull trout. They imitate a struggling minnow and the action is often created by the fisherman who is twitching his rod. There are lipless crankbaits, top waters which have a propeller blade that creates bubbles and looks like a dying minnow. Back into the soft plastics there are tubes, which if vertically jigged work for crappie, and with bigger tubes, they imitate crawfish and usually have a raw jig embedded in the tube. There are wiggle snakes which are long worm type bait that are usually retrieved slowly.  
This concludes largemouth bass fishing part 1. Thanks for reading and a part two is on the way!

Tips, Tricks and secrets: Smallmouth Bass

Smallmouth Bass

Considered the best fight for their size, smallmouth fishing is becoming popular in the west. Although, largemouth bass are probably going to remain popular because of the bass masters,  Smallmouth is probably the favored fish of the north-western states with colder waters such as Idaho and Utah, although there are many good smallmouth lakes in southern Utah, New Mexico, And even southern Colorado.  

Although a boat is good for huge reservoirs like Salmon Creek Falls, Flaming Gorge and other big lakes along rivers like the Snake, Green and Colorado rivers, I have caught many smallmouth on shore. 

Smallmouth are known for hiding near rocks and spawning in gravel or under rocks. A rocky shore and a muddy bottom often baffles shore fisherman because they have no way of telling where the structure is. Most Smallmouth will be in lakes with clear water, so this isn't usually a problem, but if it isn't clear enough and you cant see what I call " rock bars" than it may be best to walk along the bottom. Speaking of clear water, smallmouth have good daytime vision and hearing so they are often found in the center of a rocky bay. 

Smallmouth love crayfish because they live in the same area, rocks. Smallmouth will like bait fish imitations such as crank baits, But the best is usually a soft plastic crawfish rigged Texas and dragged across the bottom. Jigs with curly tail grubs are good, live minnows are also good. Bass poppers are popular among fly fisherman. 

This pretty much concludes our smallmouth part 1. and once I learn some more I'll share the secrets.

Tips, Tricks and Secrets: Trout

TROUT

Trout are fun to catch on flies, and I believe that fly fishing was created for catching trout and other species that eat bugs, and then later developed into a sport where a wide variety of species could be taken. I will later to a part on just fly fishing/tying but for this post we'll be talking about bait/lure fishing.    

Trout in lakes like power-bait but in streams, its a different ball-game. In streams, spinners a popular, but streams are best for fly-fishing. Spinners such as rooster tails, and panther-martins are widley used. Trout eat other trout minnows and other species of minnows so that is a good choice where there will be bait-fish. Simple 2-way eagle claw spinners that have a hook with four colored beads and a small spinner blade work great for clear and semi-clear water. Worms are classical, but catch everything in the lake/stream. I was fishing in a small pond and fished with out a bobber because I didn't know at what depth the fish would be at but I still caught three rainbows.

I will have another fly fishing section just for trout.

Review of Mitchell Epic 2100 Spinning combo

I recently bought a Mitchell spinning combo, the Epic 2100. Its a spinning combo that I got at Sportsman's Warehouse. The rod is 6 feet long and made of IM-8 graphite. It is medium action. The reel is cast aluminum and holds 6-12 pound line. I found that it works best if you spool it with eight pound mono. You can turn the handle so that the line comes off instead of on but it creates something that is kind of like backlash on a bait caster. It has a screw and above it a collar grip to tighten the reel to the rod. Over all on a scale of 1 to Abu-Garcia ( just kidding, 1-10) its probably an 8.
Sadly, yesterday while I was on a canoeing trip the tips of the rod broke right off. I was pushing the canoe and it hit a reed and snap it was gone. The thing is, the reel alone would've cost forty dollars so the rod was basically free.

Review of Cabelas Wind River Fly combo

This is gonna be my first review. I recently received on of these fly rods. It came with no dents or other problems. The one I ordered was a 905-4 which means 9 foot, 5 weight, 4 piece. It also had backing, WF (weight forward) line, leader, and tippet. I don't know how to test the quality of the backing because the fish I've caught aren't very big. The line rates to be 7 out of 10 because, well, it comes in the combo. The tippet is probably a 4 out of 10 but I'm not the greatest caster.  The reel is cast-aluminum and its good quality and the rod is good also. I've caught small ( I mean like 10 inch small) rainbows on it and it held up well, of course that's not much of a fight.Overall I was satisfied.

A Question for you guys

Ok so I recently came across some birthday money and I'm looking into a bait caster. The most I want to pay is around $110.00 but I'm willing to pay a little more. I've looked at Cabelas and Bass Pro and living in Idaho, I could go to the bass pro in Salt Lake or the Cabelas in Boise. I want a rod/reel combo and I've liked Abu-Garcia and the combo's that Bass Pro makes themselves. I have never owned a bait caster but I've used a friends before. Like I said I have no idea so tell me in the comments what you think is good or email me at salmon_marlinfish@yahoo.com.

Intro

This web page is gonna teach you how to improve you fishing skills for most freshwater species. It will have reviews, pictures, rigging tips and everything else you'll need to become a better fisherman.