Fly Fishing Wood River Idaho
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone Stream
Species
Rainbow Trout
Brown Trout
Brook Trout
Location
Central Idaho
Size:
Medium
Nearest Towns
Ketchum
Season
General season Memorial Day
weekend to the end of November.
Some areas open year-round for
catch and release
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of Idaho
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Fly Fishing Gear and Trout Flies
Stream Flow Data:
USGS Real Time Data
Seasons:
Fly fishing is good throughout the season but the water levels will vary considerably.
Spring:
Spring time varies from year to year
depending on the snowpack but is
usually good for the most part.
Summer:
Summertime is the time when the big stoneflies hatch and the most popular time to fish the river.
Fall:
Fall is the best time for wading anglers to fish.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Big Wood River, Idaho – Fishing Report – October 29, 2024 Good conditions exist. The stream is still flowing below a normal level and clear. Good late season hatches are taking place. Check back with us. We update the Wood River fishing report weekly.
Rate: 160 cfs
Level: 1.60 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 60
Clarity: clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data At Hailey ID
Weather:
Strategies, Techniques and Tips:
Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Light Green and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Mahogany Duns, size 18, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
Green Sedge Caddis: 14/16 larva, pupa and adults
October Caddis: 6, pupa and adults
Sandwich Hoppers, size 4,6,8,10,12
Black Carpenter Ants, size 16/18
Japanese Beetles, size 14/16
Fly Fishing On The Big Wood River In Idaho: The Big Wood River’s name comes from the many cottonwood trees that line the banks of the river. It is a nice freestone stream that has a good population of rainbow trout. The stream has several access point most of which are off of Utah Highway #75 which follows the river for most of its length. Fly fishing the Big Wood River is convenient and easy to do, but the catching isn’t always so easy. The river headwaters start near Galena Summit in the Sawtooth Mountain Range. It flows between the Pioneer Mountains and the Boulder Mountains and Smoky Mountains before entering beautiful Sun Valley. Its North Fork enters the main river about ten miles north of Ketchum. Its East Fork, flowing from the Pioneer Mountains, joins in on the flow below Ketchum at Gimlet. From Sun Valley the river flows into Wood River Valley and finally into Magic Reservoir. Fly Fishing Big Wood River is affected by two things – the snow pack and irrigation needs. Irrigation for agricultural needs can drain the lower end of the stream of much of its water affecting the water temperatures and fishing. On wet years Where there is lots of rain and a deep snow pack, fishing remains good for the entire year. When there is a deep winter snow pack, the runoff can last until near the end of June. The rainbows and brown trout in the Big Wood River have a lot of food to choose from and can be very picky at times. There’s lots of aquatic insects and plenty of baitfish and sculpin. Mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies are plentiful. Matching the hatch or what is about to hatch is often necessary if you expect much success. The headwater sections of the river are quite different than the larger section that flows through the valley. Most of the upper part is fast, pocket water and on a rather steep decline with the exception of some meadow type areas with smooth flowing water. The lower section is more of a classic run, riffle and pool configuration.The Big Wood River is one of the easiest to fish streams with plenty of wild trout in the state of Idaho. It can be tricky at times, but paying attention to what is the most plentiful and available food for the trout to eat, and matching it with an imitation, will usually work well. Add to that a little caution in staying hidden from the trout and making good, upstream presentations, and you will usually see consistent action from the trout.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Big Wood River: Most of the trout above Ketchum are rainbows. There are some browns on the lower end of the stream but they usually only average around ten to twelve inches. The river starts in the high mountains north of Sun Valley and is a steeply declining stream in most places above the North Fork confluence. It is fast moving pocket water with smaller trout. Below the confluence it begins to level out some and the flows become more normal. The huge rocks become few and far between and the streambed is make up mostly of cobble and smaller stones. The stream takes on a more classic freestone appearance with long pools, riffles and runs and of course, its defining cottonwood trees along its banks.The section of the river from the confluence of the North Fork downstream for about twenty-five miles to Bellevue is the most popular area to fish. There is a diversion dam below Bellevue that diverts the flow into a channel so that it can be used for agriculture irrigation. This diversion takes a lot of the water during the hot summer and creates some very low water conditions from that point downstream to the reservoir. This low water situation can make this section of the stream unproductive at times. Brown trout are more common in the lower end of the river below Bellevue. Above there, rainbows represent most of the trout. There are only a few brown trout in the middle and upper portions of the river. There is a tailwater section below Magic Reservoir. Access to this water is very limited. It is purely controlled by the amount of water diverted for agriculture irrigation. If the snow pack is good and the rains come and provide what locals call a wet year, fishing can be good below the dam. During dry years it is hardly worth fishing. This problem with the flows keep the tailwater from being a prime destination. The freestone section of the Big Wood is a very good trout stream with plenty of hatches and plenty of trout. It has great access. It is not large enough for drift boats and most all of it can be waded with ease. What more could anyone ask for.
Big Wood River Hatches and Trout Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Big Wood River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726. Like many trout streams, the Big Wood River has excellent hatches of Blue-winged Olives that are about the most consistent hatches that occur. They start in March and last until mid June and then hatch again during the fall months of September through the first part of November. The Green Drakes hatch starting around the first of June and can last until mid July. The smaller Western Green Drakes or Flavs, start hatching about the first of July and last until the middle of August. Another consistent hatch is the Pale Morning Dun or PMD hatch that starts occurring about the middle of June. It can last through the month of July. Tricos begin hatching in the slow to moderate sections of the Big Wood River in mid August. They can last through September. The Great Red Quills hatch during the same time period or from mid August through September. The little Mahogany Duns start hatching the first of September and can provide good fishing for the entire month. Stoneflies are an important part of the trout’s diet in the Big Wood River. Different species of Golden stoneflies can hatch all the way from May through October, peaking at different times depending on the species. Yellow Sallies, or Little Yellow Stoneflies hatch from about the middle of June, through the middle of July. Caddisflies are also very plentiful. The Spotted Sedges are the most plentiful species. They start hatching about the first of June and last through the middle of August. The next most abundant caddisflies are the Green Sedges. They hatch from about the first of July until the first of October. The larvae of these caddisflies, or Green Rock Worms, produce all season. There are some Short-horned Sedges and other species of caddisflies that hatch but not in heavy concentrations. Midges hatch throughout the year. Fish can be taken year round on imitations of their larvae, pupae and the adults but most anglers use them during the cold water times when few other insects are hatching.Terrestrial insects such as grasshoppers, ants and beetles become important about the first of July. Imitations of them can be effective through September. The Big Wood River has plenty of sculpin, minnows and baitfish. Streamer imitations of work during the entire season, especially when there is a little color to the water. They also produce during low light conditions. Perfect Flies have been used and tested on this river on several occasions. They not only are the most realistic trout flies you can purchase, they are the most effective at catching trout. We have imitations of every type of trout food on the Big Wood River. Please give them a try if you haven’t already done so.