Big Wood River, ID
Ketchum, above Cold Springs Bridge
Outing Information
- Date
- Start/End Time
- 12:30pm to 5:30pm
- Best Fishing Time
- 12:30pm to 3:30pm
- Rating
- Good
- Classification
- Public
- Water Temp
- 38.0°F
- Water Clarity
- Slightly Stained - 3' to 5' visibility
- Water Level
- 133cfs
- User
- Jason Hansen
Pictures
Fish Caught
Rainbow Trout
| Caught | Avg Size | Pattern | Optional Fields |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 14" | #10 Olive Whitlock's Near Nuff Sculpin | |
| 3 | 10" | #16 Copper John | |
| 4 | 10" | #20 Black Parachute Midge Emerger | |
| 1 | 10" | #20 Griffith Gnat | |
| 10 | 10.8" |
Weather
| Skies | Morning | Afternoon | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mostly Sunny | X | ||
| Mostly Cloudy | X | ||
| Cloudy | X | ||
| Precipitation | |||
| None | X | X | |
| Wind | |||
| None | X | ||
| Very Light - <5 knots | X | ||
| Light - 5 to 10 knots | X |
- Air Temp High/Low
- 45.0°F / 35.0°F
- Wind Direction
- -
- Weather Front
- -
- Barometer
- -
- Moon Phase
- 98% Full (Full)
Other Patterns Tried
- #16 Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear
- #22 Black Parachute Emerger
Hatches
- #18-#22 black Midge Diptera
Insect Seining
No seining information for this outing.
Fishing Partners
Eric KafkaKarl Sloth
Waypoints
#043 - Big Wood - Cold Springs Bridge 43 39.091 lat, -114 20.951 lon Google MapsNotes
Eric, Karl and I started fishing upstream maybe 100 yards from the Cold Springs bridge in Ketchum. There was a nice little slower run where fish were rising next to a downed tree. Karl started off there while Eric and I fished upstream in a little faster water. There were occasional fish rising but nothing with real consistency. I tried walking upstream further but there were a couple guys fishing. I came back down and Karl had caught a couple fish from the slower water on a hackle-stack. Karl moved up and I started fishing where he was with a griffith gnat and a PME dropper. I caught 1 or 2 but missed a ton of fish.
After awhile I walked downstream to see what was available. There is a great 90-degree bend that results in a lot of slower, deeper water at the elbow. There were a few fish rising in that water but not as many as I would have expected. I then went downstream to the huge hole under the bridge and spotted a few fish but didn't make any casts. I then went back up to the bend and decided to make some casts into the slack water with the occasional risers. It was then that I noticed in the slightly-choppier water, before it flattens out in the slack water, that there were tons and tons of fish heads and dorsal fins slopping about. It only lasted maybe 10 minutes, but fish were frolicing on top catching midges. I landed a few fish in that time and missed a few more.
The rises slowed down and I decided to walk downstream to cross and fish the other side of the bend. I tried different nymphing techniques, including the Hang and Bob, and caught a few fish but noticed the fish would nip at the copper john on retrieves but I was able to only hook a couple.
Karl and Eric were downstream, one standing on the tall bridge spotting fish and the other fishing. Karl had a bite but neither of them caught anything. I put on a Whitlock Near Nuff Sculpin and had them spot fish for me. I ended up catching 2 nice 14" rainbows on slow retrieves with the sculpin, then also caught a 10" rainbow on a copper john dropper. The skies continued to turn gray and made spotting fish much more difficult.
Eric and Karl left and I fished for another 45 minutes or so, nymphing various runs, without success.