Silver Creek Preserve
The Nature Conservancy's Silver Creek Preserve is reached from US-20 on Kilpatrick Bridge Road, about 7 miles east of the ID-75 junction, with the visitor center on the hill above the bridge. There is no reservation system and no daily rod limit; every visitor signs in electronically before entering, and the preserve is open dawn to dusk with fishing from Memorial Day weekend to November 30. Dogs are not allowed. The preserve holds the spring-fed upper creek from the Stalker Creek and Grove Creek confluence down to Kilpatrick Bridge, and the water below the mouth of Loving Creek, the S-Turns and Kilpatrick Pond, is float tube only with no wading. In 2026 the pond and the downstream take-out were closed while Blaine County rebuilt Kilpatrick Bridge.
Below the preserve, Kilpatrick Bridge to Highway 20
Between the preserve and the US-20 bridge west of Picabo the creek runs through ranch land with a handful of public access points, among them the Sportsman Access site where the USGS gauge sits. The fly-only, catch-and-release rules extend all the way down to the Highway 20 bridge, not just to the preserve boundary. The Picabo Angler shop on US-20 is the local source for conditions.
Lower creek, Highway 20 to the Little Wood
Below the Highway 20 bridge Silver Creek is open all year with a 2 trout limit and general tackle, with Point of Rocks the best-known access. This lower creek is where the Brown Drake hatch happens from late May to mid June (it does not occur on the preserve) and the only part of the creek open to winter fishing, which is mostly streamers and the occasional March midge hatch.
Rainbow trout
Wild rainbows are the majority fish and they are as selective as any in Idaho, feeding on PMDs, baetis and Callibaetis from opening day, Tricos on August mornings, damsels in midsummer and fall baetis and Mahogany duns into November. Long leaders, small flies and time spent watching a fish before casting are the whole game. Stalker Creek is not a less technical alternative; it is one of the preserve's source streams and carries the same rules.
Brown and brook trout
Browns hold in the deeper bends and are the fish of the Brown Drake evenings and the fall streamer season on the lower creek; brook trout are present in small numbers. All trout are released on the fly-only water, and the tributaries outside the preserve carry a 2 trout, 20 inch minimum rule.
Season and regulations
Silver Creek is spring fed and the gauge barely moves: USGS monthly means at Sportsman Access sit between about 95 and 160 cfs all year, so this page treats 80 to 180 cfs as normal and anything outside it as a sign of drought or an unusual runoff year. Flow is rarely the reason to stay home; wind, heat and crowds are.
Highway 20 bridge (milepost 187.2) upstream to the Grove and Stalker Creek confluence, including preserve tributaries: closed December 1 through the Friday before Memorial Day weekend; open Saturday of Memorial Day weekend through November 30, catch-and-release for trout, fly fishing only, no bait, one barbless hook per fly, float tubes allowed and no rafts or boats. Kilpatrick Pond stays open through March 31 under the same rules. Mouth to the Highway 20 bridge: open all year, 2 trout, none between 12 and 16 inches. Check the current Idaho Fish and Game Magic Valley rules before you go.