Owyhee River Trout
Find Owyhee River trout just 50 miles from Boise, Idaho, the Owyhee River draws fly fishing anglers from all corners of the world. This premier brown trout fishery provides some of the best opportunities to fish dry flies, streamers and nymphs to some very large (Trophy) fish. The Owyhee River is a fairly small river and limited to walk and wade.
Who needs Argentina when you’ve got Owyhee River Trout!
The Owyhee River fishes year round, weather permitting, and is located in a high desert canyon, so in the coldest months it may ice up. The best fishing for Owyhee River trout is found during the spring (great skawala hatch) and summer, traditionally June, July and September have been our most productive months. While the brown trout dominate the food chain on the Owyhee, the rainbow trout population holds its own. Though not plentiful, the rainbows here are as fat as footballs and tough to land. Rainbows in the 18 inch plus range are not uncommon. These large trout can be as finicky as any spring creek fish. Guiding on the Owyhee river is limited to walk and wade, as the river is a small tailwater fishery with good access. Wet wading is not realistic as the water coming out of the dam is very cold. The vast smorgasbord of insects provide the food source for the abundant fish population. Not only are there great numbers of fish, but also great numbers of large fish. The average size of the brown trout are 17-21 inches with a few monsters at 2 feet plus. Vacationing, meetings, business in Boise, Idaho? Looking for things to do while spending time in Treasure Valley? Spend an exciting day reeling in Owyhee River trout with professional, experienced fishing guides. Enjoy catching 18-21″ trout? Our guides often know them by name! Join us on the Owyhee for a full day of fun!
Been fortunate to be on many guided fly fishing trips across the country and Andrew is the best I've ever spent the day with. He was extremely knowledgeable about the river, hatches as well as where the big fish hang out. He never looked at his watch one time he was only interested in me having a great day and because of Andrew I had an amazing day.
EJ PfisterSeptember 20, 2019
Spawning Fish
Due to our own environmental and social concerns, we do not guide on the Owyhee during the spawning period of October and November. Join us on the Grande Ronde for some fabulous dry fly steelhead fishing! Most often, brown trout choose spawning sites with gravel bottoms and highly oxygenated water flow. By whipping her tail, the female digs a shallow pit in the gravel bed of a riffle, then deposits 4,000 to 12,000 eggs into the nest, or redd. After the male deposits his milt into the pit, fertilizing the eggs, the female moves upstream to make another. While making another redd, the displaced gravel covers the eggs downstream, thus protecting them throughout the winter. The eggs develop slowly over the winter months, hatching in the spring. Both the female and the male may spawn at the same site several times. Please keep our resource available for the next generation, tread lightly!
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With Dreams On the Fly
My wife and I fished with Andrew Catt on the Owyhee River on May 15th. Andrew was very helpful before our trip sending us map information and drive to information, as well as letting us know what we needed to bring with us. We had a beautiful day, with near perfect weather, the river, although slightly off color was a beautiful high desert setting. We had deer walk up to us while we were in the water, watched Osprey's fishing with us, and even got a great chorus of Chukker Partridge singing to us from the rocky canyon walls! Andrew was a terrific guide, continuing to work very hard, all day long to try and "break the code", using numerous different techniques and fly patterns to get the fish to eat. My wife and I are avid fly fishers, and have been I have been fly fishing for 60 years, so we understand that some days the fish just don't want to co-operate! Susie, my wife, was able to land two beautiful Brown's, on nymphs under an indicator, and I landed one on a dry fly, and blew the opportunity to land a very nice fish, that I'm sure was over 20"! Andrew set me up in the perfect spot, even helping my 70 year old legs wade in some difficult water. I threw a number of different patterns to this fish, getting numerous refusals, until we put on a suspended midge pattern, and after trying for over 30 minutes, the fish finally ate my offering! Unfortunately, I was so excited to see it finally happen, I set too soon, and just gave the fish a sore lip! Beside working his tail off to get us into fish, we stopped mid day and had the best shore lunch I have ever been provided by a guide! The day was great, the company was great, the scenery was great, the food was awesome, the fishing was very interesting, and the catching was "So So" but I would certainly give great marks to our guide! John and Susie Schultz
john schultzMay 18, 2018
Fun day on the water with Andrew. Andrew was patient and helpful with his instruction to my beginner wife. Had her making some beautiful casts in short order. He was also helpful with little tips for me to help correct some of my bad habits with casting as well. Excellent shore lunch that showcased his experience as a chef. Hard to beat good company, good food, and good fishing.
Chas McConnell-SoongJune 13, 2018
