Weekly Fishing Report

This report highlights a few of the best places to fish, what anglers are using and what they are catching. The information is compiled from regional Fish and Game fishery managers, local tackle shops and anglers.

There’s a lot of good fall fishing in the Southeast Region.

The Blackfoot Reservoir has some nice trout to be caught with very light fishing pressure.

The Snake River below American Falls Dam will close after Saturday, October 31. Water levels are higher than normal for this time of year, but this is still a great time to fish below the dam.

Chesterfield Reservoir is producing the best catch rates in the region for 14- to 18-inch trout with an occasional lunker.

The region’s reservoirs are refilling. Some of the best are Daniels, Hawkins and Twenty-four Mile reservoirs. The fall color leeches – Halloween and Canadian brown mohair – are working well, as are prince nymphs and hare’s ear nymphs.

Reservoir storage levels for this time of year are excellent – setting us up for a good 2010.

In the American Falls Reservoir all the boat ramps are in the water. There’s probably still some lunkers lurking out there as well.

Midges are working well, and so are blue winged olives.

The fishing is still good in the Bear River. But reports from the Blackfoot River are mixed – the water quality and levels are good, but the catch rate is down. Cooler weather is expected to bring up the catch rate.

The Portneuf River is low and clear, and the river has dropped to its winter level. The fish are spooky.

Perhaps the best fishing for the moment is the Snake River below American Falls Dam, where big streamers are catching big fish. But don’t put it off – this stretch closes at the end of October.

Folks traveling to Idaho to fish should make sure their boats are free of aquatic nuisance species. They also will need an Idaho Invasive Species Fund sticker from Idaho Parks and Recreation - $10 for motorized boats registered in Idaho, $20 for out-of-state boats and $5 for nonmotorized boats. (Inflatable, nonmotorized boats less than 10 feet long are exempt.)