When To Go Although the Big Wood is a freestone river, there is some good winter fishing. You can plan a ski trip to Sun Valley and squeeze in a little midge fishing on warmer afternoons. The blue-winged olives will usually get started before the ski season ends. The best fishing occurs as run-off subsides in late June or early July, when you can find green drakes, red quills and golden stones all hatching in unison. Just be prepared for challenging wading as the flow can still be quite strong, even though it may be low and clear enough to fish.
Fishing continues strong through the summer.
Sun Valley and Ketchum are popular resort areas in summer and winter, but tourism really slows down in the fall. Visitors can find more lodging options in town at this time as well as more room on the river. Area Attractions Sun Valley Resort is one of the premier ski resorts in the country and was the site of the first modern chairlift back in the 1930s. Summer activities include golf, tennis, horseback riding, trap and skeet shooting, indoor and outdoor ice skating, swimming, biking and rollerblading. Like other ski resort towns, Sun Valley offers an array of activities to keep a family with diverse interests content.