All are beginning to warm up. Chesterfield has damselflies and speckled duns going around coves, weed beds and shallows, but fish are moving to deeper water, so #3 sinkers and such become more important. Same can be said for Daniels. As Hawkins warms action there will slow. For Springfield Res., midging with a strike indicator seems to produce best with fish rising to callibaetis duns near sundown.
Slough Creek is fishing very well after a somewhat late start. Brown and gray drakes are pretty much done for the year. Same can be said for Fall River Basin streams. On both the above waters ant and beetle patterns are almost sure-fire when fished around cover abnd overhangs. Beula and Riddle lakes still offer great fishing for those using damselfly and speckled dun life cycle patterns. Forget the Firehole until September but look for hoppers and other terrestrials to work on the Madison, Gibbon and Gallatin rivers, and Duck, Cougar and Grayling creeks.
The creek mouths and spring holes now offer the best fishing all around the lake. These may tend to get crowded, so get there early or stay late to get a favorite location. Some of the Henry’s Lake classics such as mity mouse, renegade and smaller crystal buggers are the way to go at these locations.
The river is warming up throughout its range. This means best fishing is in early morning and during evening. PMDs are getting quite small (#20-24). Hoppers are beginning to show on the lower river, so add patterns for them to those you have for beetles, ants and other terrrestrials.
Flow out of Palisades has dropped to 12200 cfs. That’s not a huge drop, but it may begin mutant golden stones moving. Meanwhile the upper river continues to be the best fishing the river offers. No real response to hoppers just appearing, but try PMD life cycle patterns, sallys, and look for a few golden stones. Fishing in the evening? Be sure to bring streamers and caddis dries/emergers. Any time you fish from a boat, be sure to have super-X patterns to sweep slightly submerged around overhead cover.
Lost on the South Fork: Four-piece Temple Fork 9′ for 4-wt rod in brown rod sock, w/o case. Call Dave Raisch 406-4593
Except for the Firehole River and the Yellowstone River above the falls, all waters offer great fishing experiences. Turn to early AMs and evening hours for the best action on the Madison River. Slough Creek is fishing very well with hopper season not far away. Same applies for Fall River Basin streams. Small streams such as the upper Gallatin River, Grayling Creek, Boundary Creek, Mountain Ash Creek, Fan Creek, and the upper Gibbon River below Virginia Cascades provide great action for those using traditional attractor patterns ( sizes 12-18). Beula Lake continues to provide the consistently fastest action in Park waters with Riddle Lake not far behind.
This great fishery is really shaping up. Wading locations are kicking into being safe, and such as mayflies, caddisflies and sallys are being sought after by resident trout. Get in touch with us to learn the best wade-in locations, strategies and fly patterns.
Great action is provided on Chesterfield, Daniels, Hawkins, Twin Lakes, and Springfield from damselfly actions. Nymphs are sure to work around weed beds, shallows and transitions. But watch for fish taking adults on the surface. Then swith to your dry patterns for a great fly-fishing kick.
Action through damselfly activity remains spotty. West side is best. Now the best action is at creek mouths, particularly Targhee Creek. A lot of fish have migrated there to enjoy the cooler water flowing in, but the number of anglers is also numerous to enjoy the active fish.
The following is a report from Parker Stenersen(age 11) who fished four days this week with his Dad and friends.
“On the upper South Fork it was slow in the morning using a pink CFO Ant, but we used a streamer on the banks and in deep swirly water to catch fish in the morning.
In the mid day you will want to find a rifel(riffle) with a deep truff (trough). The flies that have been working are a pmd dun and a pink spinner. Just hang on a rifel and if its not good but go find another and just wait there until 7:30 pm and the start using a CFO or streamer until dark. ” Parker Stenersen
Parker’s experience is what we are seeing from the Dam down through the canyon. The water is still very cool for this time of year so we are not seeing mayfly hatches until 1 pm or so.
The lower river (below Heise) is picking up finally with good action with Chernobyls on top or a Bennett’s Rubber leg nymph with a San Juan worm dropper under water.
Lost on South Fork 7/21: Cabela’s 7-piece fly rod with Pfleuger Trion 1956 Reel. Reward. Call Butch Williams 307-690-2706 or email [email protected]