Fishing Report

Oct
31

The Monsters Come out For Halloween

Well this day on the river was not what we expected it to be. Randy and Brian fished the Upper South Fork on the 30th of October thinking that the streamer fishing would be outstanding. The river is running higher than it has in the past few years at this time and we figured that this would mean good things for us. It was not. The streamer fishing was not good. Every thing seemed right. The clouds were out, the temp was cool, the water looked perfect, and it is late October. Everything was perfect. But the fish were not hitting the buggers the way that they should have been. After hours of fishing and only landing a handful of fish we moved on to nymphing. This proved to be a smart tactic. We caught several nice fish and this one monster brown. The Upper South Fork is defiantly the place to find those huge Browns and Rainbows that we all dream of. Get out and do some fall fishing. This is the best time of the year!

[flv:/Videos/report-halloween.flv 480 368]

0 Categories : Fishing Report, Idaho, South Fork, Video

Sep
30

Fall Fishing Has Arrived

by Matt Berry

Nearly a month of warm sunny weather has finally come to an end. Today Fall has arrived in the mountains and with it all the seasons great year end fishing attributes. This is the time for blue wings, streamers, giant browns, and no crowds! For most guides this is the time of year we have all been waiting for. For myself and my friends and clients Joe Stauffer and Chuck Pittman the first day of this Autumn was marked by a great day of fishing on the Henry’s Fork. We were lucky enough to find several rainbows willing to play, two of which were 20″ and one beauty that was 24″ X 12″. It was a great day and I am sure will be the first of several real Fall fishing days over the next two months.

1 Categories : Fishing Report, Henry's Fork, Idaho

Aug
7

South Fork Fishing Report: Early August

by Matt Berry

The South Fork of the Snake has been showing it’s true colors for the past few weeks. From the Dam all the way to Rexburg there has been outstanding fishing day in and day out. The trout are looking up for golden stones, mayflies, caddis and hoppers. They are also eating a long list of bead head nymphs. The fish are just plain eating and most days there are a number of things that will work to produce large numbers of beautiful trout. The water in which the fish are feeding is as diverse as what they are eating. The riffles are stacked with feeders. The banks have browns lined up to smack a dry as well as suspended cutthroat that will sip one down, and the back waters are full of hungry little buggers. This is the time to fish. Most people look to the salmon fly hatch as the best fishing of the year, but these past few weeks and the rest of the summer ahead may very well be the best time of the season.

0 Categories : Fishing Report, Idaho

Jul
12

The Day We Will Never Forget

by Matt Berry

As I write this post, I still can not believe what happened to Ed Isbey and myself on the South Fork yesterday. It was one of those days that every angler dreams about but never really thinks will ever come to pass. I also need to say that I feel very lucky and fortunate to have been able to be on that great river and share the experience with my great friend and brother Ed.
I have been guiding since 1996. My mentors are some of the greatest guides that have ever lived. My father Randy Berry, John Pehrson, who have both guided for 50 years and Tom Fenger who has guided for over 30 years at Teton Valley Lodge. These three have been my idols my entire life. I have tried to glean every thing I could from their years of experience and knowledge. The three of these men have guided anglers into so many big fish over the years it is mind boggling. They are the dream team of guides.
The fisherman In my boat was Ed Isbey. Ed is an accomplished fisherman who has been coming to the Lodge for nearly 30 years. He loves to go for big fish and almost always gets them.
Well lets get to it. On Saturday the 11 of July Ed and myself were slated to fish the Upper South Fork, from the Dam to the Swan Valley Bridge. We were held up in the morning and could not get out of the Lodge until 11:00 am. As we approached the river we spotted my father and his guests floating down stream and we placed a cell phone call to him for some river intel on what was working. He informed us (that part is a secret), and we proceeded to launch our boat and start fishing. Things stared off well with Ed landing several nice fish in the 18″ to 20″ class. As we got a little further down the river some big fish stared hitting our flies. Then it happened. The big one hit. At first I did not think it was anything special. Maybe another 20″. But then it rolled over in the water and a huge side of meat was revealed. The fish made a run straight down stream and Ed played it beautiful. The monster then made a run for the bank, which was fortuitous because the current had broken and there was some soft water in which to fight. That’s when we knew we had some thing special. As the fish came to the surface the only thing that went through my mind was “There is no way we are going to land this fish, and no one will believe how big it was.” After some breathless moments and some skillful work by Ed the fish was ready to come in. There was only one problem. As the fish neared the net it was apparent that it would never fit. The first attempt proved unsuccessful. The fish fell dangerously out of the net. We both thought it was over. Again I tried to net it but with the same results. Finally on the third attempt, with the front half of the fish in the net I grabbed his tail and lifted with both hands and got him in the boat.
After several expletives, of which I am not proud, we dropped the anchor and got out to nurse the fish back to health, take some measurements and a few snap shots. The result was a whopping Cuttbow 29″ long by 16″ girth and a weight of 9 lbs! We were as happy as any child on Christmas morning.

After much reflection and a short lunch we headed back out on the river. We did not fish quite as hard as we were both still in a bit of shock. But the big fish were still out. With in the next hour the river blessed us with a 24″ brown and a 26″ X 15″ brown. All these fish were caught on dry flies and all were released healthy back to fight another day. IMGP0338

26" 7 lbs Brown

Never have I seen a day like that and I don’t plan to see one again in my next 30 years of guiding and fishing. I can only hope and dream.

0 Categories : Fishing Report, Idaho

Jul
7

Water Is Down, Fish are Up

by Matt Berry

A huge 25.5 inch Cuttbow caught on a #16 Dry Fly. Wow!

This Season has been marked with high water in the Teton and South Fork. Through the month of June the water was very high on both of these rivers making the dry fly fishing marginal at best. By the 4th of July however the worm had turned and we are now seeing great dry fly hatches on both of these world class rivers. From here on out the water will be at great levels and with all of our reservoirs full the temperatures will great as well. July August and September are going to produce incredible hatches on both of these rivers. The fish are looking up. Put on a dry fly and LETMRUN!

0 Categories : Fishing Report, Idaho, Water, Weather

Jun
11

June 10th Fishing Report

by Matt Berry

Fishing here in Eastern Idaho is outstanding. Despite some crazy weather changes in the past two weeks the fishing has lived up to Salmon Fly hatch expectations. At the end of May temperatures were in the 80′s and this past week has brought lots of rain and even a June snow storm. Through out it all the fish have been looking up on the Henry’s Fork. As of today the big orange Salmon Flies are mostly gone, but the Golden Stones are still emerging and fish continue to feed on the big dries. We have started using a few nymph droppers in the past few days as the temperatures have not been conducive for bugs to fly. This tactic proved exceptionally productive yesterday though the cardiac canyon producing a high number of fish.
Meanwhile over on the South Fork the fishing is very good as well. Over the week end the cold temperatures and snow had us thinking twice about driving up to Island Park so we headed over to Swan Valley and found great success on the South Fork. Fish are not looking up on the South Fork but they are eating. Feeding on stone fly nymphs, caddis nymphs, and others, the fish are there for the taking. The river is in great shape and Palisades Reservoir is filling fast with plenty of water for the rest of the summer.
These two photos were taking in successive days, one on the Henry’s and the other on the South Fork. We are so lucky to fish in a place with so many opportunities for world class fishing. It is truly found in every direction.