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April 2010

Jimmy's All Seasons Angler / 2010 / April (Page 2)

South Fork 4-20-10

We screwed up and the road to Cottonwood is not open. It will not open until the Palisades Ranger District, which actually manages the road to Cottonwood, officially opens it for summer travel. This date varies from year to year depending on snow, weather and road condition. When the road does open the Palisades District will announce it through the media and their web site. If you have any questions you can contact them at 523-1412.

We apologize for publishing incorrect information and now have a thorough understanding of how the road is managed and by whom. When the road does open we will post it on the fishing report.

We have  much news for the South Fork.  First, the USBLM opened the road to Cottonwood and Burns Creek on April 15th. All boat launch sites are open.  Flow out of Palisades Dam is up to 1450 cfs  (2060 cfs at Heise) making float fishing safer,  but walk-in wade fishing remains a great alternative.  As water moves down the river at these still low flows ( no significant runoff yet) it warms considerably.  The result is that BWOs are emerging on the lower river, so add their life cycle patterns to your fly box when targeting that part of the river, particularly in the afternoon.  Use the info Tim posted in the 4-14-10 South Fork fishing report for best success chances.   Keep those streamers and rubber legs in that fly box, too.   For the upper river and its colder water (canyon and upstream to the dam), those rubberlegs and streamers should be in your fly box, and add red or white zebra midges in smaller sizes.

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South Fork 4-14

We have received a solid conformation that Blue Wing Olives have been hatching on the South Fork from Wolf Boat ramp down to Menan. Lorenzo to Menan has had fairly high numbers of BWO’s hatching. Look for them in the foam, and the back eddy’s. Fish a size 18-20 and I would suggest fishing it behind a size 16 Parachute Adams.

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Today at Jimmy’s

Shop Talk

I got to go fishing up in Montana this last weekend. We had a great time when the weather was warm. Fished on Saturday and got blown off on Sunday. If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Yellowstone River in Paradise Valley it is a magical and wonderful place to fish. The scenery alone is worth the trip. Here are a few photos from the trip.

DSC_1813

The Yellowstone River

Sculpin

Yellowstone Sculpin

Streamers

The Flies

Spencer W. Yellowstone Brown Trout

The Final Result!

New Merchandise

We have received some new fly tying materials. First thing you will notice when you walk over to the thread rack is we have redesigned it and moved things around. Also we have added 62 new types of spooled material. Thread, tinsel, and wire. Among the new spooled items we have added the Montana Fly Midge Body Thread. This thread allows you to tie midges with a sparkle body made, helps you keep the body nice and sparse. We also got some Uni-bobbers they are Thingamabobbers built small enough to use as a post for tying. Shark Tooth tippet cutters are also available for purchase.

Expo

The expo is this weekend and we will have a booth. Workshop sign up will still available here at the shop until Wed. We also have tickets to the Fly Fishing Film Tour still for sale until Wed. After Wed. you can sign up and purchase Expo items at the Shilo Inn.

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Henry’s Fork 4-12

No March Browns to speak of but we expect them anytime soon. Blue Wing Olives and Midges are hatching really well. Nymphing is also producing good fishing when the dry flies are not hatching. Expect the flies to hatch in the afternoons. Fishing has been really good on the Henry’s Fork, this would be my first pick for fishing on a day off.

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South Fork

We have had some customers asking about flows. Typically during this time of year we see and major change in the South Fork flows out of the dam. I talked to the Bureau of Reclamation this morning and was informed that flows on the South Fork will increase as soon as they decide to turn on the Great Feeder Canal. Due to the cold wet spring we have been having runoff is very slow and most of the moisture is remaining in the mountains. Everyone (anglers and farmers) is hoping for a delayed irrigation season due to the lack of snow we received. I was also informed me to expect flows around 2000 to 4000 cfs by the end of April. So all of this moisture and snow and cruddy weather that we have been receiving that is kinda getting annoying is actually really good for us as far as delaying the irrigation demand and keeping water in our system. This will translate to better dry fly fishing in August.

When flows increase on the river fishing will be put off for a day or two but will resume as soon as things get a little settled out. Fishing on the Upper section of the South Fork will be your best option if you are fishing on a day they increase the flows. When the water increases no dry flies will be hatching. nymphing and some streamer fishing will be the name of the game. We will keep you posted as things change.

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Today at Jimmy’s 4-09

Shop Talk

We got a new shipment of trout beads. We have received some new Simms Fishing shirt and have a sale on them right now. Buy one selected Simms fishing shirt and you receive a Redington long sleeve sun shirt for free. Its a great deal come in the shop and check it out.

I posted this in the South Fork Fishing report and feel I need to post it here as well:

If you don’t like catching whitefish and you find yourself in a whitefish hole, just move. The trout and whitefish are not mixed this time of year and the trout are not as active as the whitties. I have been hearing a lot of customers tell me that people are killing whitties by throwing them on the bank. Jimmy’s All Seasons Angler does not encourage this type of behavior! Whitefish have just as much right to be in the river as Cutthroat because they are native fish. Whitties are not competitive with trout, they just happen to eat the same food and are actually considered a part of the trout family.  You will be ticketed and fined if you are caught by fish and game doing this. I can’t imagine any of our customers would think of doing this but we have had enough customers come in and talk about it I felt I needed to talk about it.

Most of us view whitefish as a trash fish, but they deserve the same respect as trout. Sure they don’t fight as hard and are easy to catch, but they eat the same thing as trout, they taste good and also indicate a healthy river system. You can actually have fun catching whitties try sight fishing to them, try getting them on a streamer…they eat those! Try catching the big ones you see swimming on the bottom. If we can bring ourselves to chase Carp, why do we turn our nose up at Whitefish? If you have something to say about this post comment on it.

Expo

The fly fishing expo is next week. Come say hi at our booth. We will have selected Flies on sale from Rainey’s Fly Company, and some of our new fly tying product displayed that we have mentioned in previous posts.

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Henry’s Fork 4-09

Blue Olives have been hatching on the warm days, expect them in the afternoon hours. No word on the March Browns but they should hatching anytime, and I would have some with me just in case. Nymphing is the name of the game for the majority of the day, rubberlegs and beadhead nymphs. Many people are having great success below Chester Dam, down to Del-Rio Bridge. Warm River to Ashton is fishing as well. However I have not heard if the self ice has melted at the Ashton boat ramp yet. A few weeks ago it was about 4 feet high. I would call ahead before you launch your boat.

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South Fork 4-9

Fishing on the South Fork remains steady as far as catching goes. Not much has changed here but we feel the need to update the report. Mostly because people are getting out and fishing on the weekends and we want to provide you with as much info as we can.

Nymphing is your best tactic for catching fish. Rubberlegs with Zebra Midges, small bead head nymphs, San Juan worms and trout beads as a dropper. Midges have been hatching moderately, fish can be found rising to them in the afternoon hours. Streamer fishing is tough going because the water is really cold. If you see the water temp get above 40 degrees swing streamers through big holes and strip them really really slow.

If you don’t like catching whitefish and you find yourself in a whitefish hole, just move. The trout and whitefish are not mixed this time of year and the trout are not as active as the whitties. I have been hearing a lot of customers tell me that people are killing whitties by throwing them up on the bank. Jimmy’s All Seasons Anlger does not encourage this type of behavior! Whitefish have just as much right to be in the river as Cutthroat because they are native fish. Whitties are not competitive with trout, they just happen to eat the same food and are actually considered a part of the trout family.  You will be ticketed and fined if you are caught by Fish and Game doing this. I can’t imagine any of our customers would think of doing this but we have had enough coustomers come in and talk about it I felt I needed to talk about it.

Short floats are you best option, when drifting. Dam to Huskies, Irwin to Conant(this is a long day), and Wolf to Byington, are the best floats for a day of  fishing. Wading fishing is the most effective way to find fish this time of year. The river is still low and you can access most of the river by foot.

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Still Waters 4-06-10

Ice is just beginning to leave Daniels Reservoir.   Springfield remains the only reservoir free of ice to date.   Midge life cycle (floating lines) and small leech (intermediate lines) patterns remain the most effective patterns.

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