High water reigns supreme on the Madison and Gallatin drainages. Most small streams are high and many discolored as the cool, wet weahter slows run-off. Big nymphs can work on the Madison below Quake Lake. Try to find quieter water, like behind rocks. Midging is the most effective way to fish Hebgen Lake. Also try streamers and wooly buggers from boats and shorelines.
Almost the entire Park had snowy weather this weekend. That means no real change in water levels whether in the Madison, Lewis, or Fall river drainages. Firehole River offers the best fishing with PMDs, BWOs, and caddis life cycle patterns bringing action. Better days are ahead when we warm up!
Cool, rainy, and in some cases snowy weather, has kept water levels up on many of these. Birch Creek remains about the best of these. Robinson Creek is high & clear meaning nypmhs might work. Same with Warm River where BWOs provide action up and down the river. Consider the middle Portneuf River where PMDs are resulting in action. Look for a really great choice of small streams later this month when we warm up and water levels drop to more seasonal levels.
Fishing has slowed since opening day weekend because fish are moving to deeper water away from shorelines. This means switching away from intermediate to faster and deeper sinking lines for presenting streamer, woolly bugger, and leech patterns. Trolling these flies will also be an option until weed growth gets going. Right now cool, cloudy weather has slowed this growth. We are all looking forward to when the damselfly emergence improves fishing late this month.
Big news here is that PMDs and gray (just getting started) drakes are emerging on the lower river between Ashton and Chester backwaters. Both of these will make afternoons and evenings the time to be on the river, especially when weather improves. Get in touch with us for best fly patterns and strategy. A few golden stones are around on the lower river in the same area and from Warm River to Ashton. Caddisflies are everywhere. The river below the Fall River confluence at Chester Dam is high and diascolored making for tough fly-fishing of any kind. Not much is happening at Last Chance. The cool wet weather has put a damper on the giant stonefly emergence in Box and Cardiac canyons. It snowed at Last Chance yesterday. Fish in Box Canyon are responding to bead head nymphs and streamers.
Most crowded location is on the Madison River from Hebgen Dam to Cabin Creek because of good fishing and easy access. To get away from here, try still waters such a Hebgen Lake with its early and late day midge emergences and streamer fishing. Cliff Lake is slowing as fish move away from the shallows, but streamers presented deep in Wade Lake remain effective. Cool, overcast weather helps keep fishing success going on all of these.
No real change here with respect to fishing conditions. The cool, wet weather slows streams getting free of run of loads. The Firehole is perhaps the best fishing with BWO, PMD, and caddis emergences. Damselfly nymphs will work in slower waters here. The Madison River remains high, but streamer patterns on reaches where the river exits the Park will bring responses from rainbows returning to Hebgen Lake. Gibbon River, Duck Creek, Cougar Creek, and Grayling Creek are running high. Fall River Basin streams are weeks away from being fishable. The Ashton-Flagg Road remains closed, so access to upper Fall River and Beula Lake is not yet possible from the Idaho side.
Giant stoneflies are crawling in Box Canyon, and adults are emerging from there on down to Warm River. Current problem is the cool, rainy weather is keeping them from flying and laying eggs. You can see bugs laying low almost everywhere. When skies clear, the sun comes out, and they warm up, there will be some GREAT fishing with those big floating patterns. Don’t be concerned so much with “which pattern to use”, be more concerned with putting them in the right location such as around stream banks, overhangs, rocks, and logs. It’s been a while since nymphs have been available at locations in Cardiac Canyon (Hatchery Ford, Mesa Falls, Bear Gulch ), so when adults become active here, you will want to be at one of these whether you float through or walk in. Bring caddis life cycle patterns to these locations as fish will respond to them too. PMDs are showing in good numbers on the lower river, so add them to the BWOs, caddis and golden stones for attracting feeding trout.
With Henry’s Lake slowing down it is a gift to have these places with great fishing ongoing. Chesterfield, Daniels, Hawkins and Twenty-Four Mile have been offering very good fishing for quite some time. On all these concentrate efforts around shallows, such as the upper end, around the trees, and along the east shoreline at Daniels. Try the coves and around willows and tules on Chesterfield, and the upper end bays and drop-offs at Hawkins. Use damselfly nymph patterns, small leech patterns and midge pupa under an indicator (experiment to find taking depth). Twin Lakes bluegills remain active. Use bluegill candy, foam spiders, midge pupa, and small clousers. Weston Reservoir has been producing nice trout and some perch over by the cliffs, but remember float tubes only here. Treasureton Res. is still recovering from the fish kill two winters ago. Springfield seems to be the slow one of the bunch, but early and late day midge pupa at taking depth will bring some action.
Flow out of Palisades Dam has been stable at just under 11000 cfs for four or five days now. Stable flows bode well for fishing. So keep on pitching streamers close to banks, into backwaters, and through side channels. Do the same with big nymph and rubberleg patterns. Try medium sized (10-12) bead head nymphs in riffles and around transitions. All these are working well up and down the river for float fishers. Wading is still a bit tough for getting access because of the flow level. No big stoneflies yet, but when they become active late this month, we’ll let you know here. And remember to use caution on the lower river because of changes in flow patterns.