Lochsa

Articles Trip Reports & Travel
41

… signals the beginning of run off. The streamflow jumped about 1,000 CFS in the last 36 hours, and with warm weather forecast for the next week, this is probably the start of the big push. Seems likely it will peak in a couple weeks, maybe three, if the temps remain seasonal.

With the big bump, the fishies have moved again.

This stretch is pretty narrow and the water was up the best part of a foot from a couple days ago, and just a bit off color. Enough more water to give the impression that it is really ripping.

I did hook one fish here, and that was a real surprise because I was there more to observe conditions than do any serious angling.

Next place was also up noticeably, but still very fishable. And the fish were in a different place than they have been on the last several outings.

When I found where they were hanging out, I hooked up seven or eight quite quickly on the FEB Salmonfly.

My last stop reflected the biggest changes, just because of the streambed width and structure.

A couple days ago, they were out of the pockets at the edges and in the main current. Today, for the most part they were back in the pockets. Fished the pointless FEB Salmonfly here and hooked up about a dozen fishies, most close in with only a couple out from the edge, but still not midstream. Didn’t even get a refusal fishing the really deep and fast water.

Thought I had a chance at landing a fish today on the pointless fly. Didn’t happen.

John

42

We spent an interesting hour with the F&G biologists up on a tributary of the Salmon river when they were tagging those babies headed downstream, lots of fun to see where they come from.

43

Would that have been on the Pahsimeroi at Ellis about two thirds of the way from Salmon down to Challis, Karen ?? The biologist we were talking to today worked down there for a couple years several years ago.

John

44

No, this was above Stanley, I think these were headed for the main Salmon that heads down to Challis, but that’s an interesting area, some of the streams go into one fork and some into another only about 20 miles apart. There’s a hatchery there that you can see those huge Salmon getting through less than a foot of water - they net the wild ones and let them go back up farther, and keep the hatchery fish in the runs. They’re pretty beatup by the time they get up there - 700 miles.

45

… followed by a really cold night, looks kind of like this.

Started out today with the TenkaraUSA Ayu. Had a fast start, with seven hitting the FEB salmonfly and three eating it. One of the “hits” was actually a miss - the fishy jumped up over the fly and missed it on the way down. This guy is one of the “eats” and 17" inches of cutthroat in fast water on a Tenkara meant heading on downstream about fifty feet to get him in some soft water for the landing.

After that, it slowed down - a lot.

Early in the day, the water was dropping but still higher than most fishies will come up through for a snack. This one did, but he was the only one in a spot that can be full of fishies.

Actually had to get the waders on to fish this run today. Left the Tenkara in the car and went with the TFO BVK 5 wt lined with a WF4F line. Great set up for fishing the big salmonfly dries.

Spent a lot of time fishing this stretch with the salmonfly dry and did get four or five trouts to come up and get it.

Knew there were more fish in there, so I changed out from the 4 wt line to a 5 and went to nymphing. That did the trick, with seven trouts and a couple mountain whitefish dining deep.

Nymphed one more place and got one more fish before I lost the nymph, a smaller version of the rubber legs stonefly.

Then I ended up at the place I had started five plus hours earlier.

Went with the “straight pin” version of the salmonfly. It got hammered pretty good in one of the pockets. Then, since the water level had obviously dropped, I started fishing out in the current. Half a dozen fishies rose to the fly and hit it. Great way to end the day.

John

46

Nice report John… sounds like a “all rounder” day with a little of this and that… 55D.

47

The real run off is about ready to go. The river won’t likely get as big as it did a couple weeks ago with those rain events, but the next few weeks will probably involve a good number of “all rounder” days. This can be the most difficult, challenging, and satisfying time to be on the water, not to mention the most dangerous.

John

48

… but not for long.

Planned to do some experimenting today, nymphing a piece of water I have only fished with dry flies, and to fish a new stretch of water, with the FEB Salmonfly.

When I got to my first destination …

… an acquaintance was already fishing there. Decided nymphing wouldn’t be the best alternative since he was on some water I wanted to nymph. I started with the FEB Salmonfly, and will start with a bit of background to what transpired. A week or so ago I gave this fellow an FEB Salmonfly. The next day his wife fished it on the Lochsa and did quite well with it. A couple days later, I gave him another one. And his wife got that one, too.

So today I told him that after I caught three fish with the one I had on, he could have it. I promptly caught four fish with it, and turned it over to him. Rigged up another one to search some of the deeper water that showed some pretty nice trouts yesterday. Nothing. In the meantime, the “giftee” was getting into some nice fish with the salmonfly.

I switched out to an FEB Skwala. Promptly picked up another five or six fish with it.

After a couple more fish came for the skwala, I decided it was time to try the other place. I gave the skwala to my acquaintance, and then decided it wasn’t right that he had one and his wife wouldn’t, so I gave him a second one for her.

The next stretch is a tough one. Fast, deep, and kind of scary with a very steep bank and a lot of smaller, loose rock to negotiate. The first step off the bank is … well, you really don’t want to do that.

The water was a bit higher than I thought it would be. So it was a matter of fishing the pockets on the edges. The times I did get the fly out over the rough stuff - nothing.

Five pockets, and five fish, all pretty much like this one, maybe a bit smaller, except the one that finally pulled free after quite a tussle.

After rather quickly covering the new water, I headed on back to where I had started. My acquaintance had started fishing the skwala just after I left. He was getting a lot of hits, but having a problem hooking up. I fished for a few more minutes, raised one fish with the salmonfly in some deeper water, then decided it was time to get home for some dinner.

John

49

I LOVE reading your fishing reports John! Thanks for sharing!

50

Maybe you gave him one of those pin flies instead of one with a hook? Sure enjoying all those beautiful pics. Is the only difference between the FEB Salmonfly and Skwala the color? Do you think that is making any difference? Seems like each one is getting its share.

51

Karen -

I offered him both the “pointless” version of the FEB salmonfly and the straight pin version, but he declined. Both he and his wife have different priorities than I do and want the regular pointy thing.

The skwalas are much smaller than the salmonflies. The skwala bodies are about .6 inches on average and the salmonfly bodies are probably about 1.6 inches on average, with some truly large specimens. About half way in between are the golden stones.

The colors are markedly different, at least on the underside - olive to brown for the skwalas ( at least the ones I’ve caught around here ), distinctly salmon orange against a mostly dark brown coloration on the salmonflies, not nearly so much orange as most people put in their patterns, and distinctly yellow against a dark green/olive on the golden stones. How “fresh” the hatch of a particular stonefly is seems to have a bearing on how much color they have - the fresher, the more color.

I have noticed that also with the nymphs - freshly molted golden stones have an almost solid yellow underside. For example …

The not so freshly molted nymphs have much less yellow on the underside, and it is mostly confined to the spaces between the segments.

The salmonfly has been the big draw to the fishies lately, and I changed over to a skwala the other day primarily because they stopped coming up for it. Maybe it has been overexposed to the locals. And, there was a large caddis around, so I thought the smaller skwala pattern might be a good alternative, and it was.

John

P.S. We had another golden stone at the house yesterday afternoon. About time to start tying them for the Lochsa again.

52

… since Saturday, about 1500 CFS, so it was back to pickin’ pockets with the pointy thing.

Pocket #1.

Pocket #1 resident.

Pocket #2

Pocket #2 resident.

Pocket #3.

Pocket #3 resident.

Pocket #4.

Pocket#4 resident.

Pocket #5.

Pocket #5 resident.

Actually picked a couple other pockets, but didn’t take pix of all the action. And several of the pockets gave up more than one fishy.

John

53

Guess maybe I misunderstood this comment first time around ?? Thought you were referring to the salmonfly, Karen, but now I’m thinking you were referring to the skwala ?? I haven’t tied any pointless or straight pin versions of the skwala, yet.

But that isn’t the giftee’s problem - he has something of a reaction problem, probably the result of some eye surgery several years ago, where he just doesn’t react quickly to what he sees. I’ve seen him miss fish after fish by being late with his hook set motion. I suspect the large majority of the fish he hooks actually hook themselves.

John

54

… and not so cool nights and the streamflow is really surging.

This is the real runoff. It will likely peak in a matter of days, and not all that much higher than this morning’s streamflow. ( Noting that I have been way off on some of my guesses time to time. :oops: )

The fishing will be really tough for a few days, but when the river starts to drop for good, the fishing is just going to get better and better.

John

55

So, you tie the Skwalas in more like a #14? We’re finally headed for the streams here in Colorado, Salmonflies are the thing right now, with goldens a little later. Actually I only know of one Skwala stream in the state, anyone know of more?

56

… Karen.

I’ve been using a TMC 2312 in size 14 for the skwalas. The 2312 is a 1X fine, 2X long, straight eye, slightly humped shank hook that I really like for these FEB stoneflies, hoppers, and October caddis. Montana Fly Company puts out an almost identical hook - their style 7231.

The “giftee” of the FEB salmonflies and skwalas told one of our mutual friends, who told me this morning, that he caught a couple of the biggest fish he has caught anywhere, on the Lochsa on the FEB salmonfly. From what he described as to the size of the fish and how they took him well into his backing before he lost them, they could have been steelhead. They are in the system, but I doubt very many would remain as high up as this fellow was fishing. It is believable, but I do tend to be a bit skeptical. While skeptical, I’m also sure that there are no West Slope cutthroat trout big enough to take anyone into the backing, and the prospect of a big bull trout taking a dry fly this time of year seems more unlikely than a steelhead dining out in that neighborhood.

I don’t know nuttin’ about Colorado. Can’t help you on that one. You might try posting that question on the FAOL Forum, or send PMs to DUB, DG, and oldfrat.

John

P.S. The FEB Skwala may well be the FOTW in the next weekly edition on the Home Page. I know Neil got the article, but he didn’t say when he was going to use it.

57

I guess my question about the skwalas in Colorado was just more curiosity - funny that they seem to be a Northwest species, but maybe I just haven’t heard about them here.

58

… as in all the pockets changed. Actually, with the river going from about 14,000 CFS late yesterday to almost 17,000 CFS this morning, all the pockets were gone.

With the river dropping quickly after peaking, down to about 15,000 CFS late this afternoon, the conditions were almost impossible.

Wafted a dry fly over a few places, and then went to the rubber legs stonefly nymph. Swam it around here for a while with no action.

But just fifty yards downstream, I finally had a kind little cutthroat come and catch the fly so I wouldn’t go home skunked. Quite nice of him, considering I had been distracted, looked away, and only felt him when I started to pick up line.

Tried this place, too.

More about that one later.

Heading home, I decided to stop where I had started earlier in the day and run the big nymph through one particular slot.

Took several runs through the slot, but finally that big ol’ thingamabobber just flat out disappeared and there was real heft at the end of the line. For long enough to see a really colorful cutt just before he came unbuttoned. Kind of like this one, which took the stonefly nymph a few minutes later in the same slot.

Had a bit of a break in the action today while I talked to the local Idaho Fish and Game enforcement officer. He did confirm that there were good numbers of steelhead in the system right now, and he wasn’t surprised to hear that the “giftee” of the FEB salmonfly had hooked a couple where he did. I think Mark will be quite pleased to get the email I sent him when I got home.

After talking to the IDF&G fellow, I ended up at the place shown in the fourth pic above. Fishing the stonefly nymph, I hooked up with a … very … large … FISH … with a nice red stripe down his side … like … a … RAINBOW … as … in … STEELHEAD. Only had him on for about ten seconds before he went bye-bye, close enough and long enough to get a good look at him while he did some of that bad mood stuff.

Tough days can be a lot of fun. This one surely was.

John

59

I think the Steelhead thing is real strange up in the headwater streams - over in that area where we watched them tag the Salmon, they say any rainbow you catch is considered a steelhead. Don’t know if that is really the case or if it is just a legal designation. Wonder if cutthroat and steelhead hybridize? You don’t seem to catch many cuttbows over on the Lochsa, do you?

60

… today while the bottom fell out of the graph.

Boy, did I misjudge what was going to happen this weekend. Thought the river would stabilize near its mid-week high, take a dip, and then head for the peak of the runoff. The weather turned cold and so did my best guess.

Started with a straight pin FEB salmonfly and raised five fish in the first place I tried. That was pretty encouraging. Headed on up the creek a little way and went at it with the regular pointy thing.

Got a pretty decent fish right away, and then one of the largest one of the day at about 17".

Nymphed up one more, smaller cutt with a rubber legs before I left this spot. Then I went back to where I started and nymphed there for few minutes. After all these years of using an indicator, today I had a first. A big ol’ cutt came up and hit a mid-size bright yellow thingamabobber !!

After that I moved on upstream a way. Went with the regular pointy thing in a nice little pocket.

Got a couple fishies on it, then changed out to a nymph to see if the action would pick up. It did.

Got four or five in that first little pocket. Kind of wondered if it was worth it nymphing where the pockets had been a few days ago because they would still be pretty much washed over by the higher streamflow. On the other hand, with the dropping streamflow, the pockets might be taking on some definition.

Headed upstream hitting pockets with the heavily weighted ( 14 wraps of .035 non lead wire ) rubber legs.

Took this guy, another 17" plus fish …

… in a deep pocket …

… which made him the surprise of the day.

Next up …

… in more interesting water …

Had a couple out of this pocket, which was the best defined one I found today …

… and one more just above the partially submerged log at the upper left of the pic above.

Ended up the day with about nine on the FEB salmonfly and another ten or eleven on the rubber legs. I was expecting another tough day, and needless to say, but I will, I was delighted with how it turned out.

Today was my twentieth day on the Lochsa this year. It was my eightieth day since May 25 last year.

The first time I fished this river in mid-summer '09, it adopted me. I haven’t regretted it for a moment.

Everyone should be so lucky.

John