Reports are coming in of damselfly nymphs moving on most still waters. So whether you try Chesterfield, Hawkins, 24-Mile, Daniels, or Treasureton or any other be ready to fish shallow waters and around bays and weed beds. Twin Lakes bluegills are very active now, with such as bluegill candy, popper, and spider patterns working very well for fish in shallow waters and around willow clumps.
Expect fishing on the Firehole River to start slowing as we warm up. But most other Park streams are reaching their fishing peak. Slough Creek flows are dropping, and brown drakes should make evening fish there fun. On the west side of the Park, Duck Creek and the meadow reaches of the Gibbon River have great evening brown drake hatches ongoing. The Madison River PMD hatch is ongoing. Fall River Basin streams are dropping to early summer flow levels as snow is rapidly melting & running off the Pitchstone and Madison plateaus. In the Basin yellows sallys and PMDs are attracting fish on Bechler and Fall rivers and Boundary and Mountain Ash creeks. Each of these holds big cutbows. With the Ashton-Flagg road open, one can reach Beula Lake and enjoy some of the fastest fishing the Park offers. This road being open also allows for several access points to Fall River. Stop by the shop to learn which would be the best bet at any given time.
Damselfly nymphs are just beginning to move. Looks like best days are ahead. Locations along the west side of the lake will be the best to enjoy fish taking their imitations. Also we have reports of fish schooling at the mouth of Targhee Creek. So try damselfly nymphs and such Henry’s Lake classics as the mity mite and the California leech there.
We will open on Saturday July 3rd with our usual hours of 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. we will be close on Sunday and open again on Monday. Have a great Holiday and good luck if you get out fishing.
As of last night there were no bug stones on the lower river below Byington. There are a few small yellow sallies flying around so we should see some big bugs and the rest of the hatches start any day now. In the meantime the best fishing has been with a rubber leg nymph with a san juan worm or golden stone nymph dropper.
The flow is 15,800 at Irwin and 9,000 at Lorenzo. The river has a slight green tint which is normal for this time of year. A word of caution about the river below Byington. The high flows remodeled the river so there are many new brush piles and obstacles to watch for. The North Twin Bridge has two strong back eddies. One on each side of the bridge directly below the bridge.
The stonefly hatch is always fun to predict. Its not unusual to see a light hatch in the lower river and then see it suddenly appear in the lower canyon around July 4th. That may be the case this year. We’ll keep posting updates in the meantime.