Joe’s Fishing Hole: Fishing in the rain produces good catches |

Of course, the forecast is calling for showers over the weekend into Monday with it clearing up on Tuesday. If you have good rain gear, fishing in the rain can be very productive so anglers with the right stuff should head out this weekend. For those who choose not to, this would be a good time to get some honey-do’s done so that next weekend is open for fishing as the 10-day forecast is looking good.

Trout have moved into the shallows at our reservoirs and shore anglers are doing well. The trick is to not cast too far from shore. Often 15 to 20 feet is all you need to go. A few have been caught within 10 feet of shore in two feet of water.

NDOW will be holding free fly tying classes starting Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. They will be held virtually online. This is a progressive fly tying class that will take place every Wednesday night except during holiday weeks until mid-March. The class will end with an introductory fly fishing class in the spring.

There are some fly tying kits available for loan on a first come first served basis and supplies for the class are provided free of charge by NDOW. For more information or to reserve a space in the class call 777-2305 or email to jdoucette@ndow.org.

WILDHORSESurface water temperature mid-week was 48 degrees on Tuesday and the water is almost clear of algae. Trout fishing has been good while bass fishing has slowed for numbers but is doing okay for size. Shore anglers are now doing as well as boaters and float tubers. Both Hendricks and Penrod arms have been producing trout. Chironomids, leech patterns and wooly buggers are doing the best for fly anglers but the usual nymph assortment of copper Johns, hares ears, and pheasant tails have all been working. Bait anglers should be using worms or PowerBait fished off the bottom in shallower water or suspended several feet below a bobber. Small spinners should also be effective. Boaters have had success with flashers tipped with worms. Bass anglers have had success with crayfish pattern crankbaits and crayfish colored soft plastics fishing structure and coves. Orange or gold has also been a good color for perch, bass and trout. Expect to catch several perch between bass and trout hookups. Anglers may keep one black bass 15 inches or longer. The lake is at 50% capacity and both prop rock in the canyon and the island off the state park are just barely above water. Both are still boating hazards.

SOUTH FORK RESERVOIR The surface water temperature mid-week was 50 degrees and the weeds are mostly gone, but there is still matted algae hanging around. Bass fishing has been slow to fair for numbers but good for size. Trout fishing mid-week during the full moon was good with anglers reporting fish 16 to 22 inches using chironomid and leech patterns fished from shore and float tubes. Other flies that have caught fish include wooly buggers, leech patterns, red copper Johns, hares ears and chironomids (midge larva) patterns. Ice cream cones, red butt buzzers, red and silver zebra midges, red brassies and frostbite chironomids are all working. Fishing at Jet Ski Beach has been fair for trout. Anglers are also having some success with spinners, worms and PowerBait fished from shore. Rainbow trout-colored spinners have also been effective. Blade baits, crankbaits and soft plastics have caught a few bass. In an electro-survey performed by NDOW earlier this week, quite a few fat keeper largemouth bass were contacted as well as some very nice trout. When fishing for bass this time of year, get deeper and fish more slowly.

JIGGS/ZUNINO RESERVOIRWILSON RESERVOIR Very little change here. With surface water temperatures around 50 degrees, fishing for trout has been fair to good while bass fishing is just fair. Time to switch to blade baits and crankbaits for bass. For the bait anglers, worms seem to be working better than PowerBait for trout. Spin fishermen should be using blue or green spinners with silver blades. Fly rodders should have some success with leech and wooly bugger patterns. Nymphs include blue copper Johns, hares ears, PT’s and chironomids. The boat ramp is out of the water and is unusable. Cartopper craft only advised. With recent precipitation, roads may be muddy.

RUBY LAKE NWRBeautiful fall days have made trout fishing productive in the collection ditch. Bass fishing is pretty much done in the south lake with the colder mornings having some skim ice at the main boat ramp. While dry flies may catch a few fish in the ditch, nymphs and streamers are the ticket right now. If you are bound and determined to try some dry fly action flies should include smaller sizes of hoppers, elk hair caddis or yellow stimulators fished with a dropper to increase your chances. Right now leech patterns, balanced leeches, crystal buggers, #14-16 hare’s ears, and #16-18 PT nymphs under an indicator are probably the best bet. Other flies working include the usual small nymphs, olive soft hackles, red or blue copper Johns, and prince nymphs. On warmer afternoons if there appears to be a hatch, Griffith’s gnats and blue winged olives should be tried.

JAKES CREEK/BOIES RESERVOIRSurface water temperatures have dropped into the high 40’s and the water level is low with some mats of algae still making shore fishing difficult. A good wind should help clear them out. For best access a cartopper or float tube are still the best bet. Expect slow fishing for bass and catfish. The usual worms and PowerBait, as well as small spinners, rooster tails, and panther Martins should work. Fly rodders should be using black or olive wooly buggers or leech patterns, hares ears, PT nymphs and chironomid patterns.

COLD CREEK RESERVOIRTrout fishing has been good. The same flies, lures and techniques that work at South Fork should work here.

CAVE LAKESurface water temperatures are in the mid 40s and fishing continues to be good for 8 to 10-inch rainbow trout using worms, PowerBait or small spinners. Worms suspended below a bobber seem to work the best. A few small brown trout are also being caught. Fly rodders should be using small nymphs, chironomids or buggers.

COMINS LAKEThey are in the process of taking the coffer dam out from the newly poured boat ramp, but that may take a few days. Combined with some dirt work that needs to be done around the ramp, it may be next weekend before it is usable. There are still some weed mats floating around and surface water temperatures were 45 degrees earlier this week. Fishing has been slow for bass but good for 14 to 17-inch trout. Anglers will catch trout on nightcrawlers, spinners, nymphs and wooly buggers. Chironomid patterns under an indicator are effective here this time of year. Bass fishing is slow using crankbaits and spinnerbaits fished slowly for the best chance at a bass. Minnow imitations and large streamer patterns should work for northern pike. Anglers, please note that NDOW has placed radio tags in several Northern Pike. These pike will have an orange floy tag near their dorsal fin and a small antenna coming from their stomach. Please return these fish to the water for research purposes. If the pike doesn’t have the transmitter tag, please humanely dispatch the fish. Do not put it back in the lake. Anglers may catch an occasional Bluegill but NDOW is asking that those fish not be harvested since they are the founder population of what could be a fun pan fishery.

ILLIPAHSurface water temperatures are in the mid 40s and fishing has been good. Best flies right now are leech or wooly bugger patterns. Brown Trout may still be targeted at the inlet end of the reservoir but that is ending any day. Fly rodders will also do well on bead head pheasant tails, wooly buggers, chironomids and parachute Adams. Spinners, PowerBait, and nightcrawlers will do well for the spincasting crowd.

The road is still open and fishing continues to be good here though there has been some ice in the mornings. However, with this weekend’s wet weather, the road my close for the winter. With cooler temperatures, fishing a worm below a bobber has been good. Good flies for stripping include mini leeches, crystal buggers, slumpbusters and wooly buggers (size 10 or smaller). Nymphs such as PT’s, hares ears, zebra midges, soft hackles and chironomids fished under indicators should be productive. Small dark colored spinners with contrasting bright spots have caught trout as well.

With the recent snows, access to the alpine lakes is getting more difficult. With colder temperatures at the higher elevations the lakes are starting to freeze over and fishing is pretty much done for the year. There will be no more fishing reports on the backcountry lakes until next spring.

Flows at area streams are around 50% of normal for this time of year. With the cooling temperatures, dry fly fishing is pretty much done, though the fish may still take an occasional dry. Caddis flies are a good bet this time of year for dries. Swinging small soft hackles where flows permit it is also effective. Brookies and brown trout are at the end of their spawn but still active and brightly colored. As of October 21, the East Fork of the Owyhee was flowing at 15-18 cfs, the Bruneau River at 9.7 cfs, the Jarbidge at 1.6 cfs though this may be due to ice, Salmon Falls Creek at 44 cfs, Lamoille Creek at 4.1 cfs, the South Fork at 9 cfs, Cleve Creek at 4.3 cfs, Steptoe Creek at 2.4 cfs and Kingston Creek at 3.1 cfs.