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Silver Creek’s vibrant
life plays host to hopeful anglers
By Roger Phillips
The Idaho Statesman
- It’s late
evening near Sun Valley and a row of anglers stand on the grassy banks
of Idaho’s Silver Creek, their fly rods rigged and ready. They’re
awaiting the evening hatch of brown drake mayflies that will rise from
the water as a swarm and hopefully drive trout into a feeding frenzy.
- A few anglers
wade into the cool, clear water. A stream of bubbles gurgle to the
surface as air is dislodged from the moss and sandy bottom. The
anglers whip their fly rods back and
forth, paying out
line with each false cast. The mayflies start emerging, tiny dragons
flying tight circles in an aerial dance. Some land back on the water,
and the surface swirls with rising trout. Other anglers follow, and
soon there is a chorus line of fly rods as anglers cast toward the
swirling trout; their concentration focused on the intricately tied
mayfly imitations on the end of their lines. A fly rod arcs and
pulses violently as a trout thrashes and splashes when it feels the
sting of a hook. The angler plays the fish, and after a brief
struggle, he lands and quickly releases it. The other anglers
unconsciously increase the pace of their casting, not wanting to miss
the action. The sun starts to fade behind the sage-covered hills and
the sky becomes whorls of pink and blue. Silver Creek is alive, a busy
melding of the elements of air and water as fish rise to intercept
insects dropping from the sky and anglers, half in the water, half in
the air, try to intercept the trout. The crystalline waters of Silver
Creek originate high in the mountains that drain into the Big Wood
River. Some of that water goes underground and then percolates to the
surface to form Silver Creek after becoming saturated with minerals
that spark an explosion of life.
-
Silver Creek is a
haven for fish, birds, mammals and reptiles, which makes it a great
place for nature watching. But the creek’s fish are what make it
famous. Silver Creek has wild rainbow, brook and brown trout with
densities of up to 5,000 fish per mile, and with the abundance of
food, they grow large. Fly anglers travel long distances to challenge
themselves on the waters of Silver Creek. On a recent weekday, anglers
from six states were trying their luck. Large trout lie in the gentle
current like wise old men contemplating their next meal. Anglers try
to deceive them into the thinking their offerings of feather and hooks
are the same as the insects floating on the water or drifting beneath
the surface. During an explosive bug hatch, trout often lower their
guard and gorge themselves on insects.
-
At other times, it
takes every trick in the fly-fishing book to get them to even open
their mouths. Silver Creek meanders through rangelands, farms and
marshes near Picabo. The Nature Conservancy owns the 882-acre Silver
Creek Preserve, which is open to the public with a suggested
$5 donation. Only
catch-and-release fly fishing is allowed here. The preserve also
includes Sullivan Lake, a former beaver pond now made semi-permanent
by a dam. Downstream from the preserve, many anglers use float tubes
to float through private lands closed to the public, then take out at
a bridge near U.s. 20.
-
Farther downstream
there are other public access areas owned by Idaho Department of Fish
and Game or kept open to the public through agreements with private
land owners. Here the creek bisects open fields and alternates between
grass and willow-lined banks. Most of it is wadeable. The different
sections offer different types of fishing and tactics. Insect hatches
will occur in certain areas at certain times of the year, and anglers
key in those to increase the odds of landing some of Silver Creek’s
fat trout.
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OUT &
ABOUT Spokesman Review, 8-05
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