The Drake Magazine

I'm excited to have a featured photo essay in the new, summer 2016, issue of The Drake. It's on mouse fishing Silver Creek at night.

John Huber of Picabo Angler under a full moon on Silver Creek in the new issue of The Drake.

Silver Creek Opener

Yesterday was opening day on Silver Creek and it was a beautiful late spring day met with heavy rain at times and even tornado warnings. Despite the tornado warning, the wind wasn't too bad but the rain and hail was very heavy at times.

This monster storm cell slipped in from the east which is a bit unusual, but looking toward the west in the image above the sky doesn't look too daunting.  Rest assured though, the rain and hail did come down and about ten minutes after this pic was taken the skies unleashed.

Silver Creek Opening Day

Tomorrow is opening day on many of our local Sun Valley area waters including Silver Creek. It rained very hard this morning in Picabo and it is slated to rain again tomorrow. Think of the rain as crowd control...

John Huber letting a cast run to the far side. Silver Creek, Idaho.

Winter On Silver Creek

We have had a lot of rain over the last week, it's sunny now, and that has caused the flows on both the Big Wood River and Silver Creek to go up. When it comes to fishing Silver Creek in February, the last winter month to fish the Creek, that's a good thing. We want the water high and off color for streamer fishing...

Silver Creek. February

Release

John Huber holds a winter Silver Creek Brown Trout

Phoebe Bean & a Silver Creek Rainbow

John Huber

Release. Silver Creek.

A fall release.

Release. Fall. Silver Creek, Idaho.

Below is a quote from the author David James Duncan in the documentary film, Damnation. He is talking about hatchery steelhead and salmon versus wild:

“The wild fish are genetically diverse whereas a hatchery clone is a bunch of first cousins fucking first cousins you know. So you end up with a bunch of badeeps. They are immediately being inbred out of existence. It really is like trying to replace, Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart with Yanni, Yanni and Yanni. No diversity.”
— David James Duncan

Silver Creek Tricos

While The Nature Conservancy section is closed on Silver Creek from 10 pm to 10 am, there is still fishing to be had downstream of the Killpatrick Bridge. The Pond is deeper and the water is actually approx 4 to 5 degrees cooler below the dam than the water entering the Killpatrick Pond. While Silver Creek is near or at an all time low as far as flow goes, the Killpatrick Pond Project could not have come at a better time. With the the old dam that was a top release now removed along with the deeper water due to dredging, the pond and the portion of Silver Creek downstream of the dam is no longer seeing a warming of water and in fact the water as previously mentioned is even colder below the Killpatrick Pond...

Below is an image of a frenetic pod of fish rising to Trico Spinners on the Double R section of Silver Creek.

Brown Drake Spinner Fall

Last night's Brown Drake spinner fall was a spectacle. We usually have one super heavy night and last night was it.

John Huber searches for a riser in the midst of a crazy Brown Drake spinner fall.

Waning light and spinner fall madness. Ray Gadd.

From dun to spinner. A Brown Drake sheds a layer.

Spinners

Guide hat and Drakes.

Brown Drake Spinner.

Silver Creek Brown Drakes IV

Here are a few more images from the last few evenings on Silver Creek...

Nick Anderson finds a target during a decent post 9 pm emergence.

John Huber and an after dark Brown.

Silver Creek Brown Drakes III

The Drake thing this year in addition to coming off early is creeping upstream at a snails pace. There was a small emergence and spinner fall late this morning as we had a little cloud cover. Hopefully tonight is a good as last night...

Brown Drake & Negative Space. Silver Creek, Idaho.

Brown Drake. Silver Creek, Idaho. There were not many bugs in the grass this morning but I did find a few including this one.

Silver Creek Brown Drakes II

Below is what happens when you get a couple of guides together and there really are no bugs but there are a few beers in the cooler and a pretty great night otherwise. It was about 39˚ when we left the water around 11 pm and the bugs essentially didn't happen where we were. This could be a long drawn out Drake year...

Another version of utilizing a fly rod when there is no hatch... Silver Creek.