Keep those off-season fishing mechanics sharp by getting out on your local stream or river this winter.

Ask just about anyone if standing in two feet of 33 degree water while snow somehow finds its way down the back of their base layer sounds like their idea of a good time, and you’ll probably get a resounding no. This time of year, it’s tempting for anglers to stash the rods and hang up the waders ‘til next spring. And that turnkey fireplace beside the 55-inch flat screen doesn’t make the decision any easier.

But for those willing to don their thickest neoprene waders, set up shop on an icy riverbank for a few hours and fuss with frozen guides, there are still several opportunities to sharpen one’s angling skills, take in Idaho’s beautiful winterscape, and hook a few fish.

The benefits and strategy of winter stream fishing

There are several benefits to fishing rivers and streams during the coldest part of the year. For starters, you may have the whole stretch of river bank to yourself. For a handful of folks, fishing plays second fiddle to other winter hobbies like fly tying, skiing or making a pot of chili in the slow cooker. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find a nice stretch of river where you won’t have to worry about summer crowds.

Seek out slow, deep water where trout and whitefish will most likely be holding, expending as little energy as possible. Look for slow pockets or pools on the edges of faster moving water, where food will be floating past in the main currents.

Slow and hungry

Just because fish are moving slower in the winter doesn’t mean they’re not still looking for an easy meal. Insect hatches are sparse in winter, but that doesn’t mean they still aren’t around as a food source for slow-moving fish. Fish can be frustratingly picky this time of year, so presentation and food size is vital.

As a general rule of thumb, use smaller bait and flies than you would in spring and summer.

The same goes for tippet. River flows in winter slow down dramatically and tend to be lower and clearer. That means it’s even easier for fish to see right through a poorly-executed presentation. It might be wise to downsize your tippet from what you usually run in the spring and summer, such as a 4X to a 5X.

Technique, technique, technique

Once you got your rig set up, it’s good to try different techniques that you might not have tried before in the warmer months.

Dead drifting is critical in winter because trout won’t chase a fly in cold water. To dead drift, simply let the slow-moving current carry the fly either on the surface (dry fly) or just beneath the surface in the upper column of water (bait, nymphs, midges). If you see dimples on the water, it may be fish feeding on drifting insects, which will likely be tiny midges or mayflies.

Occasionally stream fish will rise for dry flies, such as small midges or olive mayflies, during the winter. Save yourself a few extra grams of weight and keep that box of dry flies at home. A small midge emerger or a tiny olive mayfly emerger will be the only dries you’ll need.

If fishing for trout or steelhead, try swinging a fly by keeping the fly in the upper part of the water column. Steelhead and trout will often feed upwards, so a well-placed fly swinging across the upper portion of the water just may catch their eye.

If the fish aren’t going for small flies like midges and stoneflies, it may not hurt to lob a streamer out there to test the waters, so to speak. Streamers can look like a big, easy meal when presented slowly, but don’t expect trout to vigorously chase them like they do in summer.

Hit the snooze

The only thing sweeter than netting a jumbo fish in the middle of winter is netting a jumbo fish in the middle of winter after 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Unplug the alarm clock. Disable your phone’s sleep reminder. Brew that extra pot of bold roast, and slam that extra waffle. Winter fishing means one thing to many anglers: sleeping in. This time of year, fish will be right there with you, figuratively speaking.

With most winter fisheries, fish won’t be getting after it until mid- to late-morning. Unlike peak summer conditions, fish will be most active during mid-afternoon on sunny days, and even longer into the afternoon on cloudy days.

It’s easy to see how excited one might be about submerging their southern hemisphere in icy water all for the hopes of catching a fish, but rest easy (and long) knowing that those fish will still be waiting for you when you hit your local river or stream later in the morning.

Where to start

Now that you’re well-rested and know what to try on fish, here’s where to find them. See Fish and Game’s Fishing Planner to learn more about each location.

Boise River: Don’t overlook this river during late season because low winter flows actually make it more accessible and wader-friendly than during summer. It has healthy populations of rainbow trout, whitefish and brown trout. But don’t expect gullible fish because they experience a lot of fishing pressure.

South Fork of the Boise River: This popular stretch below Anderson Ranch Dam doesn’t get any less popular during winter. Water coming out of the reservoir provides stable conditions and thousands of trout per mile make it a destination for late season anglers. Trout and whitefish tend to be above-average in size.

Payette River (Banks to Horseshoe Bend): This section of the Payette River supports a tremendously diverse fishery, including mountain whitefish. Whitefish will readily take a well-presented bait, fly or lure, they’re scrappy when hooked, and they’re tasty, yet admittedly, a little bony. Anglers have many access points along this stretch of river.

Big Wood River: This river has long been popular during winter for catch-and-release trout fishing. It rarely freezes, and if you fish it on the right day, you can catch trout on dry flies. Bring your midge and baetis patterns.

Malad River: This spring-fed stream is a fun winter fishing spot because it’s easily accessible from the Hagerman area and has lots of trout. Bring your light tackle because they tend to run small, but they’re plentiful and fiesty.

Lower Lochsa, and Selway rivers: All provide good opportunities to catch whitefish during winter, and also have catch-and-release trout fishing.

St. Joe River: This river provides winter fishing opportunities for cutthroat trout and whitefish.

North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River: Lower section also has fishing for whitefish and cutthroat trout and is accessible during winter.

Snake River below American Falls: This section of the Snake has produced some excellent trophy trout fishing in recent years, and there are plenty of others. The relatively mild climate and dam release keeps this fishing accessible and productive during winter.

Snake River (Tilden to Shelley): This section is slated to get nearly 40,000 rainbow trout stocked in November. Several thousand fish will be released near Tilden, Blackfoot, Firth and Shelley.

Portneuf River: Upper section is your best bet, and Fish and Game provides several access areas so you can get to the river.

South Fork of the Snake River: This has year-round trout fishing and there’s no limit on rainbow trout. There’s also lots of opportunity to catch whitefish during winter.

Don’t forget to buy a new fishing license for 2022, and so you don’t have to worry about it a year from now, three-year licenses and Fish and Game’s new auto renew are also available, so all you have to worry about is where you’re going fishing next.

One fun thing about being an outdoor writer is that I get to test a lot of new gear. It amazes me how many new items come out every year. I have seminars at all of the big shows in January: the Dallas Safari Club Convention & Expo, the SHOT and the Safari Club International Convention in ‘Vegas. So of course, 99.999 percent of the manufacturers will be there displaying their new gear for 2022 as well as their old tried and true products.

If you just met an outdoorsman/woman and don’t know what to buy them for Christmas, don’t panic, Santa’s little helper is here to help you out. In some ways, outdoorsmen are easy to buy for. We love our gear. And if we just had the latest greatest item, we’re convinced that we will finally be successful. BUT — it does have to be the exact item or you might as well burn your money and give them a bag of rocks because it will have the same effect.

But the good news is, you don’t necessarily have to spend a bundle to light up their eyes. Everyone has a budget. So I will list some economical gifts on up to the blow-their-socks-off items. So with the above said, here are some items that tested out well for me over 2021 or items that have stood the test of time.

— Fishing lures. Make sure you get the exact ones/colors that he prefers.

— Browning Hiking socks. Great for hunting, fishing, backpacking or hiking.

— 5.11 tactical pants. Katy and I both love these. They’re nice looking, durable and functional.

— XGO base layers.

— Axil electronic hearing protection.

— Smith’s knife sharpening gear. I use their fine diamond stones. They’re the best.

— Smith’s electric knife sharpener for the kitchen.

— Otis Lead Free Wipes.

— Flashlight — the ASP Dual Fuel Raptor.

— Hi Mountain Seasoning — they make awesome jerky and sausage seasoning packs. The best on the market.

— Real Avid cleaning rods.

— Caldwell Sandbags.

— Trulock shotgun chokes.

— Alps Mountaineering Taurus 2 tent, Blaze +20 sleeping bag, Nimble air mat and Dash backpacking chair.

— Versacarry holsters.

— Boyds’ Gunstocks, they make some cool wood stocks.

— Blackfire Clamplights, great for working on your truck in the dark or in camp while backpacking.

— Chard Jerky Gun.

KNIVES

— Knives of Alaska Professional Boning Knife.

— KOA Elk Hunter.

— If you want some economical folders, check out the line up from Smith’s Consumer Products.

— For a nice kitchen set check out the Smith’s Cabin and Lodge Cutlery Set.

— Spyderco Counter Pups, great kitchen knives.

— Benchmade Claymore, nice assisted opening knife.

ULTIMATE GIFTS

If you want to cut to the chaff and blow him/her out of the water here are the ticket items.

— Mantis X10 Elite Shooting Performance System. The Mantis X10 is a great tool to help you become a better shot.

— Diamond Blade Knives. They have too many cool ones to list but check out their Summit, Heritage or Surge knives. DB has won numerous awards.

— AR: Who doesn’t love an AR? For an economical AR check out the Anderson Mfg. AM-15, M-LOK, 5.56.

Henry’s lever actions. How can you not love lever actions? Check out their .22, .22 mag, 30-30 and 45-70. All super cool!

— Airguns are super popular. Check out the Umarex Synergis or the Umarex .25 cal. Gauntlet. Love these guns or another fun one is the Umarex Steel Force BB gun. It shoots 6-round bursts.

— Boots. I love the Danner Recurve Moc Toe and my daughter likes the La Crosse Lodestar.

— Caldwell Stable Table and Hydro Sled.

— 5.11 Atmos Warming Jacket.

— Riton Optics 10×42 binoculars and their 3-9×40 or 4-16×44 scopes.

STOCKING STUFFERS

Here’s where you can impress them with little economical items that they’ll love.

— Flies. I get them cheap from flydealflies.com.

— Adventure Medical Kits first aid gear. This is the gear I use.

— JSB pellets for their airguns.

— Aquimira filtered water bottles.

— Mountain House backpacking meals (these are almost gourmet!).

— Ammo: Very specific what caliber, manufacturer and grain he shoots. Testing some Nosler ammo right now.

— Mister Twister plastics and jigs.

— Pautzke Fireballs.

— Swab-Its cleaning gun cleaning swabs.

— Clamtainers, plastic ammo containers. Great for flying.

— Talon Snap pistol cleaning kit.

— Freedom Baby ABC, an outdoors ABC book for kids learning their alphabet.

— IOU that you’ll go fishing/hunting with him. This will be the best gift you could give him.

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop. He can be reached via email at smileya7@aol.com.

I titled this article cooking pheasants but really it will apply to not only pheasants but also turkey and grouse. If you read my articles then you know that two weeks ago that I was in South Dakota pheasant hunting. I didn’t want to use the same ol,’ same ol’ cook-in-a-crockpot-with-mushroom-soup recipe so I thought I’d try something different.

When I boned them out, I pulled the breast and cut off the legs and bagged each separately. As a side tip, if you’re flying with meat, you don’t have to use a cooler. I usually wrap the bag of meat in clothes in my luggage and they stay frozen fine. It was no different this time. I threw them in my luggage at 2 and when I got home at midnight they were still frozen. In fact, the next afternoon when I pulled them out of the fridge to cook, they were still crusty.

Let’s start with the breast. I laid them on a cutting board and used a thick bladed Smith’s knife to slice them into thin strips. Cut them cross grain. I then laid them out and sprinkled them with the Hi Mountain Apple Blend Turkey Jerky seasoning. I then flipped the slices and seasoned the other side and then put them in a bag and squeezed the air out.

I like to season my jerky and marinate my meat in a plastic bag. That way every few hours I can flip the bag over and gently massage it for a couple of seconds and be ensured that it is getting evenly marinated.

I let it marinate for nearly 24 hours and then pulled it out and slapped it on my jerky air dryer. It dries unevenly due to all of the slices not being cut uniformly as well as the tray on bottom dries faster than the top trays. I’ll rotate the trays every hour or two and be watching for any small pieces that are done.

As they finish, I pull them off. Once again, I was reminded that Hi Mountain makes the best jerky and sausage seasoning in the world. This batch isn’t going to last long.

Now for the legs. I put them in a bag and poured in a bottle of Tony Chachere’s 30-minute Chicken Marinade. I also threw in a dash of Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing and pressed out the air and put in the fridge to season overnight.

The next day I put them on my Camp Chef pellet grill on high smoke, which is high smoke but low heat. Then I had to run over and pick up an Anderson Mfg. 5.56 that I had ordered. I have some Bowden Tactical after market parts and a Riton Optics scope that I’m going to trick it out with. I’ll be writing about that soon.

When I got home I pulled any jerky that was dried and turned up the heat on the smoker to get the legs ready for dinner. By now the legs were a golden brown and looked awesome. I only cook real potatoes and think instant potatoes are a communist plot but while shopping I had grabbed an instant pack of butter garlic instant potatoes. I cooked them and threw in some chopped onions and a spoonful of chopped garlic.

Kolby had a dozen tomatoes left over from the season that were on the edge. I made some homemade tomato soup which is easy. Cook the quartered tomatoes in a pan. When stewed put in a blender. Throw in a spoonful of chopped garlic and blend for a few seconds. Then return to the pan and throw in some chopped onions and chopped cilantro and a couple of cups of half & half or whole milk and stir.

We were now ready to eat like kings and queens. As you know if you’ve ever hunted pheasants, they’re the roadrunners of the game bird world. I don’t think that anything you do will keep them from being a little tough but gee, these had a great flavor and were great. We ate some more the next day for lunch after church.

So if you have a freezer of game birds you might want to try these methods on them. And yes, you can make jerky out of waterfowl.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and takes a minute to give thanks for living in the best country in the world and for your many blessings.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop. He can be reached via email at smileya7@aol.com.

As hunters notch their deer and elk tags, grind up burger, and line up their fleet of duck decoys, it’s easy to forget about one customary fall tradition. While the general fall turkey season has ended across much of the state, the chance to serve a wild bird at your next holiday feast is still an opportunity in Idaho’s Panhandle and Clearwater regions.

“Hunting turkeys in the fall can be just as exciting as in the spring,” said Jeff Knetter, Fish and Game upland game and migratory game bird coordinator. “Plus in some places, you will likely have the woods all to yourself.”

Fall turkey hunts in Idaho have expanded over the years as turkey populations have increased. Quality hunting can still be found on both public and private lands in the Clearwater and Panhandle regions.

The general season in the Panhandle runs through Jan. 31 in management units 1, 2 (except Farragut State Park and Farragut WMA) 3, 4, 4A, 5 and 6. In the Clearwater, the season runs Aug. 30 through Jan. 31 in management units 8, 8A, 10A, 11, 11A, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18.

During fall seasons the daily bag is equal to the number of valid tags possessed. Either sex turkeys may be taken during the fall. The maximum number of tags one hunter can possess in one year is six.

A reminder that airguns are also legal methods of take, as long as the projectiles are .30 caliber or larger.

See the 2021-2022 Upland Game, Turkey, and Furbearer brochure for full turkey hunting seasons and rules.

Hunting on private land

Finding a place to hunt can be as easy as looking at a map or asking a landowner for permission.

Private land hunting in particular is an excellent way to harvest a wild turkey just in time for the holidays. Because it is not uncommon for several hundred turkeys to congregate on or near private property where livestock is fed or crops are being stored, the damage and nuisance they can cause can quickly become a headache for landowners. Providing additional harvest opportunity, particularly in the fall and winter when the birds are concentrated, is the best way to address landowner concerns.

“Many landowners will welcome hunters because they want turkey flocks reduced on their lands,” Knetter said. “But it’s critical that hunters always ask for permission first, and if allowed to hunt, always follow the landowner’s wishes.”

It always seems to be a bit of a joke (at the hunter’s expense) when turkeys take to private lands during fall turkey season. If you happen to see a rafter of turkeys (yes, that is what a group of turkeys is technically called), consider politely asking the landowner if they’re having any bird-related issues on their land and if they would let you assist in alleviating this issue.

Fall hunting strategy and safety

Fall turkey hunting and spring turkey hunting are two separate animals. Hunters will need to adjust their hunting tactics during the fall season, as there is little or no gobbling activity and turkeys congregate in small groups. The basic hunting strategy is to find and break up a group, scattering them in all directions. Hunters then wait as near as possible to the spot where the group was first encountered. Younger birds will usually return within an hour while an old gobbler may take three to four hours.

Fall turkey hunting also presents some unique safety concerns as turkey hunters dress in complete camouflage, make the sound of a turkey and often conceal themselves in dense vegetation. They also share the woods with camouflaged big game hunters in some areas. Hunters must always be certain of their target and what is beyond before pulling the trigger.

To the victor go the spoils

So you successfully bagged a fall turkey – now what? The next step is processing the meat and finding a clever (or cleaver), or perhaps tried and true, way to serve your hard-earned bird to your friends and family. There are several ways to utilize the five most useable cuts of the bird: the breast, the tenderloins, the wings, the thighs and the drumsticks.

Set it and forget it with a slow-cooker. Or maybe go with a classic herb-rubbed turkey breast. Remember wild turkeys are different birds than the store bought varieties, and you will probably want to cook them differently.

And for the traditionalist looking to wow their guests this Thanksgiving or Christmas with a classic, golden-brown whole bird that didn’t come from a grocery store, you can’t go wrong with a perfectly brined, oven-roasted turkey recipe.

Hunting fall turkeys in Northern Idaho is a great opportunity to get outdoors, to take youth or new hunters out for an experience to remember, and one last chance at putting some game in your freezer or on your dinner table. By understanding the rules and regulations you can take comfort knowing that you’re participating in spring turkey hunting the appropriate way. Best of luck.

Hunter reports are critical to effective big game management, and hunters are needed to do their part

Now that October big game seasons are over, Idaho Fish and Game needs all big game hunters to take a few minutes to fill out their mandatory hunter reports regardless of whether they harvested.

You can help effective wildlife management and do it quickly and easily at gooutdoorsidaho.com or by calling 877-268-9365. The phone option is available 24 hours per day and seven days per week. Please have your hunting tag number when calling. If you don’t have it handy, you can find it in your online account.

If you plan to keep hunting, please remember everyone who bought big game tags must report so wildlife managers can get critical information needed for managing big game herds and proposing future hunting seasons. If harvest information is lacking, biologists have to err on the side of caution, which typically means more restrictive hunting seasons.

By promptly reporting results, license and tag dollars can also be better spent for on-the-ground wildlife management. If you don’t report in a timely manner, Fish and Game will send postcards as reminders and may call individuals to get the information. That’s labor intensive and expensive, and the money could be better used for enhancing big game herds.

Here’s more information about mandatory hunter reports:

The rules say I have 10 days after my hunt ended, what if I miss that deadline? The rule is intended to ensure timely compliance with hunter report requirements so Fish and Game has your information in time to use for developing future hunting seasons, but your report is still needed even if your hunt ended more than 10 days ago.

What if I plan to hunt late seasons? Some deer and elk hunts extend into December. Big game managers are not asking you to report before you’re done hunting, but the sooner after you’re done, the better. If you’re not sure if you’re going to keep hunting, you can file your hunter report and change it later if you harvest an animal.

Are you going to give away my favorite hunting spot? No. All we ask is what unit (or units) you hunted, and if you got an animal, in which unit you harvested it.

Earlier this year if you asked Idaho Fish and Game how the trout were doing in Island Park’s Warm River, you might have gotten a shoulder shrug.

That’s because the last time the river was surveyed was in the mid 1980s, nearly 40 years ago. To get a better handle on this unique spring-fed tributary of the Henrys Fork River, nine Fish and Game biologists and technicians conducted an abundance survey last month about a mile downstream from the Warm Springs that feeds into Warm River. Some of the findings of the survey surprised John Heckel, fisheries biologist.

“I was kind of surprised at the abundance of juvenile fish,” Heckel said. “It’s great rearing habitat. It’s super clean water. There are a lot of invertebrates so there’s a lot of bugs in there and then there’s a lot of cover with the weeds. There’s quite a bit of timber in there too and those kinds of in-stream habitats are great protection for juvenile fish. There were thousands of juveniles.”

The survey crew found an estimated 1,200 fish per mile using a recapture abundance calculation method. Using the same analysis broken down by species, biologists estimated 772 brown trout, 753 rainbow trout, and 55 mountain whitefish per mile, Fish and Game said in its survey report. Most of the fish were less than 8 inches long. A handful of brook trout also popped up in the survey, but in small numbers. Nongame species found included Paiute and mottled sculpin.

The staff used a towed barge electrofishing setup and two backpack electrofishers to sample the fish population.

“When you think of a typical trout fishery that is a spring (fed) creek, you often find some really big trophy sized trout in spring creeks, but we didn’t capture any that were over 18 inches,” Heckel said. “It doesn’t mean that they’re not in there somewhere, but I guess I was a little surprised we didn’t capture any bigger fish. That reach of river we surveyed does seem like a nursery area.”

Heckel believes mature brown and rainbow trout are migrating up Warm River from Henrys Fork to spawn and only a few big fish remain as permanent residents.

The crew also conducted a survey upstream of Warm Springs in the Pole Bridge Campground area where the stream is smaller, using backpack electrofishing.

“That was 100 percent brook trout at Pole Bridge,” Heckel said. “You’re getting more into the headwaters at that point. So if folks want brook trout fishing, the upper Warm River has a lot of fishing.”

Heckel said Fish and Game doesn’t expect to let the river go another 40 years before its next abundance survey.

“It’ll be good to monitor this on some kind of a cycle,” he said. “We have to work that out. It probably wouldn’t be an annual survey because it’s not a large, well-known river that gets a ton of pressure, but it would be good monitoring so we have some up-to-date data to tell people and to monitor the health of the fishery.”

Heckel speculated that the river’s lack of access points along the nearby roads and its being in grizzly bear country may hold back some anglers.

“You know, that could be the reason why not many people fish it, is because of that grizzly bear presence,” he said. “We found a lot of scat on the road driving in there and on the bank of the river when we were doing the survey. So, it’s there. They’re in there pretty thick.”