Anglers Visit Hagerman WMA for Spring Fishing Opener

HAGERMAN, Idaho (KLIX) – Anglers of all ages visited the Hagerman Wildlife Management Area Tuesday for the spring fishing opener. Vehicles lined the dirt roadway as anglers grabbed their fishing poles and tackle boxes and headed to the water in hopes of catching their limit.

Clear Springs Foods donated brood stock for the March 1 opener, said Doug Megargle, regional fishery manager with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. They weren’t your average catchable trout – some of the fish weighed 5 to 20 pounds.

Riley and Oster Pond No. 1 opened Tuesday, while the other ponds at the WMA are still closed due to waterfowl management in the area. They won’t open for fishing until June.

Other places anglers might find success this month include Dierkes Lake, Dog Creek Reservoir and Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir, Megargle said. Dierkes Lake and Dog Creek are tentatively scheduled for fish stocking this week with 2,800 and 3,150 catchable trout, respectively.

Ice fishing is slowing in the region, but there might still be some opportunities for the determined ice angler to try his or her luck at Salmon and Magic. But be careful, Megargle said – there are extensive sections of soft ice at Magic and the reservoirs are filling up with runoff.

“It has rotten ice and iffy conditions,” he said. “Essentially, we’re in a transition period, going from winter to spring. A lot of people are dusting off their fishing gear experiencing spring fishing. … Now’s the time the hatchery trucks start rolling.”

Tentative Fish Stocking March 7-11, Numbers

Frank Oster Pond No. 1, 880
Riley Creek, 880
Roseworth Reservoir, 10,000
Salmons Falls Creek, 570
Filer Ponds, 345
Snake River/Niagara Springs, 380
Crystal Lake, 380