Welcome to our Boise, Idaho Fishing Home Page
Boise is the capital and most populous city in Idaho. You can find plenty of hotels and restaurants throughout the city as well as all of your modern-day conveniences. Boise also offers plenty of outdoor recreation such as fishing, rafting, kayaking and more.
The Boise River flows right through the city and it is very popular for rafting and fishing. The Lucky Peak State Park has a nice reservoir that offers fishing and boating. Boat rentals are also available at the marina.
Primary Species of Fish
A Variety of Trout
Anglers have plenty of options here for catching a variety of trout. Stay close to town and you can catch rainbow trout and brown trout. As you venture farther away from the city, you will be able to target rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, bull trout and even whitefish here. The rainbow trout are most abundant here.
Secondary Species of Fish
Smallmouth Bass, Perch, Crappie & Catfish
If you’re willing to drive a little outside of Boise, you can fish the Snake River for a variety of fish. Depending on what part of the Snake River you choose to fish, you may have to drive an hour or so. Once you’re there, you can target smallmouth bass, perch, crappie and catfish.
Boise River Downtown
The Boise River runs right through the center of Boise, Idaho. There are several public parks that give people access to the river throughout the Boise area. For people that are looking to stay close to town and do some fishing, the Boise River is perfect for them.
This part of the river is a tailwater fishery and if offers good fishing for rainbow trout and brown trout. The fishing is usually better when waters are lower here from mid-summer through the winter. In the spring, the spring runoff brings river flows way up, which makes fly fishing a lot tougher.
North Fork & Middle Fork of the Boise River
North Fork
While fish populations in the North Fork Boise River are not as high as more popular fisheries, the North Fork has its advantages and is worth the effort.
It remains a less-crowded option for anglers, who can drive, fly or hike into the different sections depending on road access. The upper section is typically hike or fly-in, and the middle section has a roaded section where car-camping and road-side fishing are options. The bottom stretch is a roadless canyon where people can hike or float to access the secluded waters. All offer consistent fish populations, and the levels of solitude and scenery make the effort worthwhile.
Middle Fork
This is a popular mountain river where anglers target a variety of salmonids within the mainstem and tributaries. Redband, bull trout, and whitefish are prized native sportfishes and may be caught readily. In addition, nonnative brook and cutthroat trout may be caught at times. This is a cold, relatively sterile river. Growth rates and maximum sizes are on the lower end of the spectrum, but catch rates can more than make up for it.
South Fork of the Boise River
The South Fork of the Boise River is one of the most famous stretches of river in Southwest Idaho. This part of the river is beautiful with tons of trees, lots of wildlife and some excellent fishing. Anglers usually will do a float trip on this section of the river as they target a variety of fish such as rainbow trout, whitefish and bull trout. This part of the river is a little less than a half hour drive from downtown Boise and it is less crowded than the downtown area. Bigger fish are usually caught in this stretch.
Snake River
The Snake River also is an option in this area. Anglers target smallmouth bass, carp, channel catfish, crappie and the occasional rainbow trout. Anglers who want to target smallmouth bass will usually spend some time on the Snake River on their trip to the Boise area.
Owyhee River
The Owyhee River is a little over an hour from Boise, but it is worth making a trip. It is a tailwater fishery with some excellent brown trout fishing. Good numbers of fish are here with some big brown trout over 20 inches as well. Anglers walk and wade this river and it is a year round fishery.