Top ‘patriotic’ places to go fishing this 4th of July

Ahh, yes. July 4th. The Fourth of July. Independence Day. Fireworks and Freedom Day. No matter what you call it, the fourth day in the month of July marks the peak of summer when grills are sizzling, cul-de-sacs are buzzing, and parents everywhere are already feeling the extraordinary force of back-to-school week stronger than ever. 

But if you thought that’s all the Fourth of July represents, you’d be sadly mistaken. It’s easy to get wrapped up in all the pomp and circumstance of such patriotic traditions as hot dog chugging and emergency room visits and forget the true meaning of the national holiday — a day of unshackling ourselves from responsibility and thus feeling free…to go fishing. 

The Fourth of July falls on a Friday this year, which only pours more gasoline on the angler’s burning desire to get out and fish. (No need to come up with a clever excuse to get out of work when most of the country and your boss are already out fishing, too. In fact, a seasoned angler would just forego an excuse altogether at risk of tipping off their boss and losing that crucial head start leaving town.)

Idaho is one of the younger children born into the U.S.A. Joining the Union just a day shy of Independence Day in the year 1890, early Idahoans celebrated their newly minted state and independent nation they just became a part of in perhaps the most honorable way imaginable. 

Nowadays, when you search Idaho Fish and Game’s online Fishing Planner, you quickly find that Idaho’s founding fathers weren’t just patriots, but anglers! All across the state are patriotic tips of Uncle Sam’s bucket hat to the red, white, and blue lakes where anglers can celebrate their freedoms from the bank, the boat, or the dock. Here’s a few spots to get you started.

A quick disclaimer, we chose these spots based on their names, not their accessibility or the quality of their fishing, so buyer beware, but we assure you there are fish in all of them. 

It’s hard to classify a 55,000-acre reservoir as a “fishin’ hole,” but American Falls Reservoir is a must-fish destination for the American angler. Located just west of Pocatello in the Southeast Region, this reservoir is home to record-breaking trout, as well as smallmouth bass and perch. It’s the largest of Idaho’s Snake River reservoirs, but unlike others that tend to favor warmwater fish, American Falls also supports a trophy trout fishery that includes rainbows, browns, and cutthroat trout.

Its shoreline has a variety of bays, inlets, and coves that provide a fishing experience similar to smaller waters, which anglers in small craft can enjoy. An accurate depiction of this can be seen in Emanuel Leutze’s iconic 1851 oil painting “Washington Crossing the Snake River.”

The reservoir is often drawn down very low by August, so fishing is best in spring to mid-summer before the water gets too low. The town of American Falls is at the southwest end of the reservoir, where there are several boat launches and fuel services available. There’s also services and a boat launch available near Aberdeen, midway up the reservoir on the west side.

Meanwhile, across the mighty Salmon River at the base of Marshall Mountain, you’ll find Union Lake. As with hundreds of landmarks found across Idaho, Union Lake no doubt got its name in the years following the Civil War when thousands flocked to the Idaho Territory in the late-1860s. Northerners and Southerners alike often wound up in the same towns, leading to tense altercations that could only be settled by fishing. Union Lake still stands today as a 19th century memorial where ex-Confederates were outfished by the Yankees.

Now don’t be discouraged by its size. Union Lake is an alpine lake at around 6,700 feet, the headwaters of Union Creek, which meanders its way eventually linking up with the Salmon River. Like most alpine lakes in Idaho, you’ll want to be just as diligent packing extra legs as you do packing extra flies and tapered leaders.

You can leave your trekking poles and GPS sat phones at home for this next one. Eagle Island State Park is as All-American as it gets. It’s not hard to find, it’s got sandy beaches and boggy swamps, and you’ll have to take out your wallet to pay the Idaho State Parks entrance fee.

But don’t let a modest park fee dissuade you from checking out this easily accessible fishing spot this July. This 545-acre day-use park west of Boise also features a popular swimming beach, a grassy picnic area, a waterslide, and more than five miles of trails for those looking for a place to ride horses, hike, walk your dog, or play disc golf—the official sport of America.

Be sure to check out the Eagle Island State Park website for more information on park fees and hours of operation.

Freedom Park Pond. Just saying it alone is enough to summon a bald eagle. A mere freckle on the back of the undulating Snake River, Freedom Park Pond is just under an acre in size, but is a heavy hitter if you’re looking to do some trout fishing. 

Roughly a thousand rainbows were stocked here back in June, allowing anglers young and old a chance to pad their catch percentage. With the town of Burley just a stone’s throw away, you and your family have all you need for a no-stress Fourth of July weekend. That principle goes out the door though if you have toddlers. 

Perhaps the crown jewel of Idaho, fishing in the Stanley Basin is enough to make any intrepid outdoor enthusiast excited, whether you’re an angler, a glamper, or a dirt bag river rat. The Stanley Basin is iconic, not just for its granite sawblades for mountains, but because of the waters (and fish) that reside at their bases. 

High atop that list is Fourth of July Lake. The lake is by no means the only destination fishery in the Stanley Basin (it’s just the only one with a patriotic name, okay?). Although a proper Idaho mountain lake, Fourth of July Lake is fairly easy to get to if you don’t mind a brief hike. The trailhead by the same name is a popular jumping off point for backpackers and sportsmen and one of the most beautiful gateways into the White Cloud Mountains Idaho has to offer. Visitors will find no shortage of activities, alpine lakes, and other visitors. 

If you’re looking for a true alpine lake experience, you might want to consider Washington Lake, this one found at a pleasant 9,400-foot elevation band. Washington Lake #2 (as it's labeled in our Fish Planner) is home to rainbow and cutthroat trout.

Accessing Washington #2 is also darn patriotic. Heading southeast from the popular 4th of July Trailhead off Highway 75, an angler can expect a 3-mile hike along a well-maintained trail. Washington Lake #2 and its cabinet of other alpine lakes amid the scenic White Cloud Mountains are just a handful of hundreds of lakes bubbling with trout.

If you do manage to make it up to the 17.8-acre lake, you can expect to find (and catch) some very hungry trout who have propagated this lake since it was first stocked by Washington himself in 1776.

Nestled in a remote stretch of the Albion Range south of Burley, an all-American angler finds themselves in a chapel of patriotic reverence. Like so many of the fishing spots mentioned in this story, one has to wonder: What fly-casting, worm-dunking red-blooded American first stumbled their way up a 9,000-foot mountain in their muck boots before greeting some unmarked, unfished lake? No sooner did that freedom-loving fisher unpack the cooler they, too, carried up the 9,000-foot mountain, attached a hook to their line, and commenced the timeless sport of baiting and waiting. 

As they did so, they listened to the shimmering needles of Douglas firs and the fluttering spades of aspen leaves. They heard the sporadic glurp of rising trout out on the water, none the which the least bit tempted by a bare treble hook that got its bait picked as soon as it hit the water. The angler occasionally glances at the rod tip, hoping it bows to the unnamed lake. But nothing except the clouds drifting by and the frenzied swatting hands at mountain mosquitoes occupies this basin.

Just then, the angler’s pole dips once…twice…then dances wildly. The angler jumps up and does the same. After reeling in the 12-inch cutthroat trout and knocking over their beer in the process, the angler hoists the trout up, framed by a backdrop of clouds and tangled monofilament line and bobbers — a fisherman’s windchime. 

His heart raced just as it had during the climb up the 9,000-foot mountain. He smiles. Free from all the day-to-day responsibilities, the ticking of the work clock, the shrieks of feral toddlers and the scowls of disinterested teens. Free from the overgrown lawn and the leaking O-ring under the bathroom sink. Free from the one-act plays of dramatic friends and acquaintances. Free from all that. 

The angler yanks the pulltab off another can. “I think I’ll call this Independence Lake,” they say.

And that, as far as I know, is how the lake got its name.