WEST MAGIC, Idaho — Water levels at Magic Reservoir have fallen to just 7.6% of capacity, forcing the Big Wood Canal Company to shut off water flow and prompting Idaho Fish and Game to issue an emergency fish salvage order.
WATCH: Magic Reservoir is at 7.6% capacity. Idaho Fish and Game has issued a fish salvage order on the Big Wood River below Magic Dam.
Magic Reservoir has reached critically low water levels following Idaho's snowless winter, leaving the Big Wood Canal Company with no choice but to shut off water through Magic Dam. The canal company reduced flow to 100 cubic feet per second as of Sunday, July 5, with a complete shutoff planned for July 8.
As the Big Wood River faces the prospect of drying up below the dam, Idaho Fish and Game is asking anglers to help salvage as many fish as possible before the water disappears.
David McClure, a Jerome neighbor and longtime visitor to the reservoir, said the decline has been visible for years.
"We camped 4 or 5 years ago at Myrtle Point and we walked 10 feet off the road, and we were in the water... now we're about a mile from Myrtle Point... it's bad," McClure said.
Jon Jund, a Twin Falls neighbor who has been visiting Magic Reservoir for decades, said the current conditions are unlike anything he has seen in more than 40 years.
"I've never seen the reservoir this low since probably the mid-'80s," Jund said.
Effective July 5 and continuing through Oct. 1, Fish and Game has removed bag and possession limits on portions of the Big Wood River below the dam — approximately 1.25 miles downstream of the dam, extending to the state Highway 75 bridge.
The salvage order also includes the Richfield Canal from the upstream point of diversion from the Big Wood River to its confluence with the Little Wood River near Richfield.
Fish and Game says any method of catching fish is approved, with the exception of firearms, explosives, and electrical current. The salvage order does not apply to the water behind the dam.
For Jund, the order was not a surprise. He said it is starting to feel like a yearly occurrence at Magic.
"Well, it's better than letting them die, because they won't live without water," Jund said.
Despite the dire conditions, McClure said fishing in the reservoir itself remains active, with low water levels appearing to concentrate fish and increase their willingness to bite.
"There is still a lot of fish out here... I just talked to that one guy, he said he caught 17... we've caught about 5 — released them and kept one of the bass so far," McClure said.
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