All About Fishing in Caldwell, Idaho

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Fishing In Or Around Caldwell

Best Bait, Easiest Fish to Catch & 3 Best Places

You might think that title is a little misleading, but it is limited to fishing near Caldwell. We employed the expertise of Howard Davis of Howard’s Tackle Shoppe to assist in finding the best places, best bait, and easiest fish to catch.

Best bait

Davis named night crawlers as one of the best baits to use. In fact, it would be difficult to find a freshwater fish that doesn't eat live worms and night crawlers are among the best. Using a set of gang hooks to portray a live worm in its natural habitat is an amazingly effective method of catching more fish. (See the attached article on catching night crawlers for tips.)

Crickets are also very effective live bait, and chicken liver is hard to resist for some fish. Artificial or plastic worms can also be successful if it is improved with a scent enjoyed by fish.

“Garlic is one of the best scents you can use,” says Davis. “Shrimp or salmon scents are also very useful. We have literally thousands of lures with scents in the store. Nibbles that dispense a scent are very popular.”

Easiest Fish to Catch

According to Davis, the easiest fish to catch are crappie, bass, and perch. Trout, bluegill, and catfish are also favorites for many local anglers, but crappie is the first choice by Davis.

A fishing line that is less visible to the fish you are attempting to catch is essential when using live bait. A light line of monofilament fishing line from two to six pound test is ideal. Using a crappie jig (red & white) is a favorite lure and adding a scent doesn’t hurt.

3 Best Fishing Places

“I would have to say the best places to fish around Caldwell are Brownlee Reservoir, C. J. Strike Reservoir, and Owyhee Reservoir,” states Davis. “There are also lots of ponds in the area and many of them are stocked with a variety of trout, bass, bluegill and catfish, but those three reservoirs are the best places to catch fish.”

So there it is: Everything you ever wanted to know about fishing in or around Caldwell. If you want to go farther in your quest for the perfect fishing hole, visit the Idaho Fish & Game website at fishandgame.idaho.gov.

Fly Fishing For Free

Top 3 Places Near Caldwell

If you’ve considered fly fishing, but at first glance it seems very complicated, don’t let it hold you back. Terms like “line weight, tippet size, loop control and matching the hatch” can confuse even the most dedicated conventional fisherman. Some will tell you that you’re not a true fly fisher unless you tie your own fly. Don’t listen to them.

“Fly fishing is really not that difficult to learn,” says Bob Anderson, one of the staff members at Angler’s Habitat in Caldwell. “If you can swing a hammer, you can cast a fly rod. As with golf, if you first learn with an instructor at your side, you can save yourself many years of frustration.”

Anderson says that to get started in fly fishing, just buy a fly rod and a few flies. Letting it become an obsession in your life or a spiritual experience will come later. He’s been a fly fisher for many years and he’ll take the time to talk to you whether you are an expert of a novice.

Another good way to learn about fly fishing is to watch any of a dozen videos (possibly hundreds) on You Tube. A better way, according to Anderson, is to take advantage of a free 20 minute casting lesson offered by Angler’s Habitat. It’s offered to anyone who wants to give fly casting a try, as well as to those who have been casting for years and want to work on distance or accuracy.

Being a novice at fly fishing, I asked the inevitable question. “Where are the three best places to fly fish near Caldwell? I wanted to know where to go within a reasonable time (an hour) from Caldwell. Here’s what he told me:

1.) BoiseRiver downtown

2.) OwyheeRiver

3.) BoiseRiver southfork, near Mountain Home

Knowing how to tie a fly and learning to match your hatch will probably enhance your angling experience. It may even help you land a trophy-size rainbow trout. But it’s not required to wade into a stream start catching fish.

“One word of warning,” says Anderson, “like golf, fly fishing can be addictive and you will never master it. There are always new and exciting challenges. Unlike golf, fly fishing is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable pursuits. So if you have a stressful life and you’re looking for some relaxation, its time to give fly fishing a try.”

Fishing with bait

4 Easy Steps to Catching Night Crawlers

Night crawlers are popular fishing baits. If you want to catch your own, here’s the things you’ll need: flashlight (preferably with red light), small garden hand shovel, plastic coffee container.

1. Make an area wet in your backyard where you can dig and suspect that night crawlers may live.  Use a sprinkler or hose to make the ground wet and squishy to make it easier to grab the worms at nighttime.  They’re called night crawlers because they usually only come out onto the ground at night.

2. Grab your flashlight and container and go where you drenched the area with water.  It is best to use a flashlight with a red filter.  Regular flashlights will blind them, but you can still use them if you don’t shine it directly on them. Night crawlers are very photo-sensitive and usually go back into their holes when a flashlight shines directly on them.

3. When you see a night crawler, pick them out slowly and gently with your index finger and thumb.  If you slowly and steadily pull them up they will come.  If you try to pull them out quickly, it will result in breaking them in two.  If you have trouble unearthing them, pour more water on the area to moisten the soil or use a small garden hand shovel.

4. Once you free a night crawler from its hole, place it in the container with some soil.

Copyright 2012 by S. R. Morris