Medicine Lodge Creek Fishing Guides
A spring-fed creek in Clark County that never reaches a river, sinking instead into the Snake River Plain aquifer, with small wild trout and mostly private lower reaches.
Guides on the Medicine Lodge Creek
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About the Medicine Lodge Creek
Medicine Lodge Creek drains south out of the Beaverhead Mountains in Clark County, in the empty country north of Idaho Falls, and it does something most streams do not: it never reaches a river. The creek runs out onto the Snake River Plain and sinks, disappearing into the porous volcanic rock of the aquifer beneath. Hydrologically this is a closed basin, and the gauge near Small measures a stream on its way to vanishing rather than on its way to a confluence.
The creek is spring-fed in its upper reaches, which is what makes it fishable at all in a landscape this dry, and the springs give it cold water and a steadier flow than the surrounding sagebrush would suggest. The drainage area above the gauge is two hundred and sixty-one square miles, but much of that contributes only during snowmelt. Through the summer the creek is a modest, clear, weedy stream running between willows and cut banks.
Trout are present and wild, and they are small. Rainbow trout are the most common, brook trout hold in the cooler upper water and tributaries, cutthroat appear through the system, and mountain whitefish use the larger pools. Fish of ten or twelve inches are good ones here. What the creek offers is not size but solitude: this is genuinely lightly fished water where a day without seeing another angler is the normal outcome.
The serious constraint is access. Much of the lower and middle creek runs through private ranch land, and irrigation diversions take water from those reaches, thinning the stream further in late summer. The realistic public fishing is upstream on Targhee National Forest and BLM ground, and anyone planning a trip should sort out land status before driving in.
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Access
Medicine Lodge Road - the main route up the drainage, giving access to the upper creek and the public ground.
Targhee National Forest - the public land in the headwaters, holding the most reliable open-access trout water.
BLM ground in the lower valley - scattered public parcels worth identifying on a map before a trip.
Dubois - the nearest town of any size, with fuel, food and the interstate exit in.
Birch Creek - the neighbouring closed-basin creek to the east, another spring-fed stream that also sinks.
Camas National Wildlife Refuge - wetland and birding ground to the south, a worthwhile detour.
Idaho Falls - the regional centre an hour south, with tackle shops, guides and full services.
Seasons
Spring: high and off-colour with snowmelt through much of May, fishing well as it drops back in June.
Summer: the prime window, with low clear spring-fed water, rising trout and long days on very quiet water.
Fall: excellent and quiet, with cooling water, active fish and the irrigation season finished.
Winter: cold and largely inaccessible, with deep snow on the road in and the creek effectively out of play.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Medicine Lodge Creek?
As of Oct 18, 5:15 pm, the USGS gauge MEDICINE LODGE CREEK NR SMALL ID reads 26 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Medicine Lodge Creek?
Anglers target Brook Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout, White Sucker on the Medicine Lodge Creek in Idaho.
Where can you access the Medicine Lodge Creek?
Medicine Lodge Road - the main route up the drainage, giving access to the upper creek and the public ground. Targhee National Forest - the public land in the headwaters, holding the most reliable open-access trout water. BLM ground in the lower valley - scattered public parcels worth identifying on a map before a trip. Dubois - the nearest town of any size, with fuel, food and the interstate exit in. Birch Creek - the neighbouring closed-basin creek to the east, another spring-fed stream that also sinks. Camas National Wildlife Refuge - wetland and birding ground to the south, a worthwhile de...
When is the best time to fish the Medicine Lodge Creek?
Spring: high and off-colour with snowmelt through much of May, fishing well as it drops back in June. Summer: the prime window, with low clear spring-fed water, rising trout and long days on very quiet water. Fall: excellent and quiet, with cooling water, active fish and the irrigation season finished. Winter: cold and largely inaccessible, with deep snow on the road in and the creek effectively out of play.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Medicine Lodge Creek?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Idaho agency site: https://idfg.idaho.gov/rules/fish