Creek mouths remain the best locations for action. Targhee and duck creeks remain the best of these, but try in front of Howard Creek. These creeks bring not only food but cooler water having higher dissolved oxygen into the lake. Trout seek both of these, so almost any creek with significant flow has potential to be a place for action. If you are being successful in fishing, however, expect company arriving soon.
Recent rains have raised flows significantly in Fall River Basin streams. This will prolong wet fly fishing as the most effective way to encounter the great cutthroat-rainbow hybrids there. Looks like hoppers will not be important in meadow reaches for a while. These have to dry out for that to happen. Beula Lake is producing well. Float tubing is the best way to get into action from the native Yellowstone cutthroat population. You will have to carry that tube 2.75 miles up the trail to do so, but those cutts make the effort worth it.
Flow out of Palisades Dam dropped to 12500 cfs yesterday. The USGS reports a water temp at 4PM yesterday 56 Deg. F. just below the dam. So warming water and lower flows mean we are headed in the right direction for improving dry fly fishing. Currently the best way to find action remains nymphing and presenting streamers, but dry fly fishing is coming on. See Jimmy’s report for 8/3/2011 for dry and wet fly recommendations.
We are getting a lot of calls and questions as to when the dry fly fishing will finally turn on the South Fork. So here is our take on the situation. The river flow is very fishable at the present flow of 13,400 cfs. There are plenty of riffles, drop offs and structure to fish around. Water clarity is slowly improving but what we really need is for the water to warm up so that the hatches start earlier in the day and last longer. We are catching some fish on dries in the afternoons on Pale Morning Duns, Yellow Sallies and Chubby Chernobyls.
Nymphing and Streamer fishing has been excellent. We have been using a size 6 or 8 dark rubber leg with a smaller golden stone or yellow sally nymph below it. For streamers we have fishing the slower banks and drop offs with a sink-tip. Brighter colored streamers that have some flash have been the best.
Right now Sand Creek Ponds offer the most consistent fishing with damselfly nymph patterns the best way to find action. Expect speckled duns to take over soon as the best way to encounter fish. Action on Springfield Reservoir is finally picking up, but weeds are growing into mats in many places. So try dry damselfly patterns, especially if you see rises.
The choice of great small streams in eastern Idaho to fish now is almost endless. Right now it doesn’t matter which major drainage you wish to visit, the tribs will offer great fishing and a great chance for solitude. Here is a great trib in the South Fork drainage—Palisades Creek. It’s off US Highway26 about halfway between the town of Swan Valley and Palisades Dam. Park at the campground, and walk up the well-maintained trail as far as time permits. It’s a riffle and run stream hosting mostly cutthroat with a few cutbow hybrids with lots of water adjacent to the trail. Trout here range up to eighteen inches, and are they great fun in the fast water. This time of the season a dry caddis pattern, terrestrial patterns, and standard attractors will get you action. If you can, walk the five and a half miles up to the creek just above lower Palisades Lake. Here the gradient is slower as the stream flows through a brushy meadow. There are more of the larger fish here than below the lake. Next report we will feature another great small stream to consider.
Flows on the South Fork have remained steady at 13,600 cfs. for the past few days. Fishing is defiantly picking up on the river. the Nymphing is really good and the dry fly is getting better everyday. PMD’s, Yellow Sallies and Golden stones are flying around, fish are starting to key in on them. Dry Fly fishing is better in the afternoons and they have been eating in riffles and slow flat water. Rubberlegs early in the morning have been producing large fish, and streamers presented against the bank have had the same results. The water temp is steadily rising and I expect to have red hot dry fly fishing very soon. Keep posted!
In front of Targhee and Duck creeks offers the best fishing right now. Get there early to “stake your claim”. When crowds come, and they likely will, try in front of such as Howard Creek. Mity mites, small California leeches, bead head peacock leeches, damselfly nymph patterns are among the best choices.
Nymphing (your favorites with & without beads) will bring best results on the lower river. Attractors such as standard and blond humpys, royal wulffs, renegades (#12-16) will bring fish up. Be on the look out for hoppers, they should be effective very soon. For beetle and ant patterns work. And never forget to try a streamer around cover out of sunlight during evenings. When there is added cover, those big ‘bows and browns will take something looking like a minnow before they will sip a thousand #18 bugs to fill up.
With runoff out of the system(finally!), Park waters are where we normally expect them. Yes streams remain a bit high, but this is good for the fish. In the Madison River drainage, the river itself is fishing well, and so is the Gibbon. Caddis and PMD life cycle patterns work, so do ants & beetle patterns. Soon spruce moth and hopper patterns will be important to have in the fly box when you visit the Madison or the Gallatin rivers. So stock up on them now. In Fall River Basin streams remain somewhat higher than normal, but don’t let that stop you from giving them a try. Cutbows remain fat as mud through long weeks of living on annelids, grubs, etc. The big fish are still looking for them and ignore the PMDs and green drakes. Right now a twenty-inch hybrid will go four pounds–easy. When the streams drop further and insects become major in their diets, these fish will lose weight. Kinda like us switching from ice cream to sugar-free popsicles! Beware of mosquitoes in the timber and horseflies in the meadows. Want to have a twenty-five fish day without exaggerating? Pack your float tube into Beula Lake (2.75 miles) and present dragonfly and speckled dun life cycle patterns. Contact us to learn how to get there.