Southern Idaho Walleye Fishing
Its May and that means the walleye fishing at Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir in Southern Idaho is starting to heat up. Only a few miles from the Nevada State line south of Twin Falls, ID Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir offers some of Idaho’s best walleye fishing. May and June are some of the best months of the year to target walleye here, but these tasty fish can be caught year round, and sometimes the fall give us the best chance at some of the biggest fish of the year. Over the past few years the walleye in Salmon Falls have run a little on the small size, but due to a couple of good water years in a row the fish are again growing well. Currently these tasty walleye are averaging 15-18 inches which puts them in that perfect eater size class. We also at times see some bigger fish in this area and Walleye weighing upwards of 17 pounds have been caught in this fishery in the past. With baitfish numbers up and our walleye growing well some may reach the size where they can effectively start feeding on the planter size rainbow trout in the system. When this happens we could see some really big fish available in the next few years.
We use a variety of methods to target Walleye at Salmon Dam including crankbaits, jigs, and bottom walker/ worm harness type presentations. When deciding on which method to use its all determined by where and what the walleye are feeding on. In this system aquatic insects make up a large portion of the walleye diet, so often our efforts are focused on a few of the large mud flats in the upper section of the reservoir. Our guides have spend countless hours mapping this system with sonar and know just were to be to put you on a great day of fishing. One of the main things to focus on when fishing Salmon Dam is the wind. When you get a solid wind that is crashing waves and chop on one particular bank make sure to fish that mudline that forms in the shallow water from the waves. Often times walleye will be cruising in this zone looking for an easy meal. The jig head and nightcrawler presentation is probably our favorite bit to get onto, and when this pattern develops its a great way to load up on a limit of Southern Idaho walleye fast. When we find walleye feeding in a concentrated area we slow drift(or troll) a small 1/4 ounce longshank jig head and half a nightcrawler. The bites on this setup are awesome on light tackle, and we often catch a bunch of trout at the same time.
If you are interested in this are don’t hesitate to give up a call at 208-669-1569 and our office will be happy to answer any of your questions. Most of our customers also take advantage of Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir’s proximity to Jackpot, Nevada and often include a golfing/ gambling trip in with their time of the water.
