Folks at Henry’s Fork Anglers (HFA) tell us that brown drakes are well past their peak, but flavs are coming on through the Harriman State Park reach of the Henry’s Fork. It’s mostly a PM event. So pay HFA a visit for the best current information, and also visit a Last Chance eatery for that hearty lunch to fuel up to meet those big afternoon rainbows taking flavs!
“Fish Early, Fish Late” really applies to the reservoirs these days. With so many being drawn down to meet irrigation demands water has warmed to a point that fish are active at times of most overhead cover (twilight) and when there is any cooling. Concentrate your efforts around weed beds, submerged springs, and inlets. Your favorite damselfly nymphs and midge pupa patterns work best, as usual, but think of trying dry damsel patterns, but when you do remember: “Fish Early, Fish Late.” Consider that speckled duns are becoming numerous to attract feeding. If you do not see rises to these, go to nymph patterns. Most consistent locations right now, you ask? Twenty-Four Mile and Daniels reservoirs seem most consistent in the lower valley. One of the better locations in the upper valley would be Aldous Lake if you do not mind walking a float tube for a bit more than a mile. Cutts there will be taking damselflies on the surface and very soon the same for speckled duns. If you prefer a drive-to location try Horseshoe Lake off the Cave Falls Road, but remember that a braggin’ fish there is a 15-inch rainbow or a 12-inch grayling. Want big water? try Island Park Reservoir, but head for Trude Springs with your bloodworm patterns. Come into the shop, and talk with us for more details.
The fishing at Henry’s lately has been pretty good. Duck creek and Targhee creek have been the hot spots on the lake as of lately, although the fish can be tough some days in both places. You really need to look for the holes/channels in the weeds this time of year. The fish will use these weedbeds as a “highway” and cruise them looking for food. Both sinking lines and floating lines with indicators have been producing. For sinking lines think smaller flies this time of year like the peacock AH size 12, Mighty Mouse size 12, Henry’s Lake scud and Henry’s Lake pheasant tail both in a size 12. Choose your sinking line depending on how deep the water is you are fishing. There is too much to explain on this post, but call us in the shop or stop by and we can get you squared away with the sinking line you will need. For fishing under indicators I would be fishing beadhead damsels in size #12 and smaller callibaetis nymphs. Change your depth up until you find the depth that the fish are feeding at.
The South fork is fishing very well right now. Bruce provided a lot of good information in his previous report, but I just wanted to add a little to it. Like Bruce said there are bugs coming off all over the place. The big salmonflies are on the upper river and have been fishing best earlier in the morning. Patterns like the CFO Pink ant size 8, Jakes Hot Cakes Salmon Fly size 6, and the Kingfisher Widowmaker in a size 4 would all be good bets. Golden Stones are hatching as well and flies like Berrett’s Golden Stone in sizes 8-12 and the CFO Yellow ant in size 8 have been producing. The PMD fishing in the riffles has been on fire all up and down the river. The fish haven’t been to picky yet, but if they are, its important to switch up your flies in until you figure out what the fish are taking. The pink comparaduns in size 16-18 have still been producing well but flies like the Quigley’s pink hackle stacker sizes 16-18, Harrop’s pink thorax dun sizes 16-18, and the CFO pink spinner size 18 would be good to have with you too. If the fish are being really finicky in the riffles try fishing a PMD hunchback emerger in a size 18 as a dropper, sometimes that really works. Yellow sallies are still coming off too so make sure you have a few of those on hand too like Kyles Yellow sally sizes 14-16 and the CFO Yellow Sally in 14-16. The fishing has been very good and will likely to continue to be good so get out there!
It is time to consider the evening brown drake hatches on Duck Creek and the upper Gibbon River. Best time for either is late evening to twilight. Duck Creek holds the larger fish, and will be the least crowded of the two. This warm weather signals a decline in salmonid activity on the Firehole River. Many of the fish will seek out cooler water where tribs enter or go into the tribs fo relief.
Damselfly hatch has begun, and fishing is picking up, but not yet terrific all over the lake. That is sure to come, and we will report it.
Green and gray drakes are winding down now on the upper river, but flavs and brown drakes are coming on. PMDs remain a major attraction for feeding trout here. Best time for flavs on the upper river is afternoon. For brown drakes best time is evening, and the lower end of the Harriman State Park reach offers the best numbers of these drakes. You will have plenty of company during these destination events, but the beauty of the area and the size of the fish makes a visit worthwhile.
Perhaps the best fishing on the irrigation reservoirs can be experienced on Daniels and Twenty-Four Mile reservoirs. Presenting damselfly life cycle patterns seems to work best on these. Try placing a damselfly nymph under an indicator and let it drift. The trick here is to stay focused on that indicator. Try the same with a midge pupa pattern. Some of the smaller still waters around the upper valley should be considered candidates for a visit. Good damselfly emergences take place on Paul Reservoir, Aldous Lake, the Harriman Fish Pond, and Horseshoe Lake. Aldous Lake requires a mile walk while packing a float tube or such, but you can drive easily to the other three. Sand Creek Ponds open for boat fishing July 16th, but we have reports of some good results from shore line fishing thanks to damselfly activity.
These are all in good shape now. This weekend we tried a great one for the entry level fly-fisher. McCoy Creek (From Alpine, WY go south on US 89 to the McCoy Road which goes back into Idaho along the southwest side of Palisades Reservoir) is a major rearing stream for cutthroat trout. This time of year a braggin’ fish there may be just over a foot long, but the creek is full of them feeding on caddisflies and PMDs right now. Take that youngster to a meadow location on this creek and present life cycle patterns of these for sure-fire action. Traditional attractor patterns (size 12-14) will also work. An ultra-light rod is ideal, and so is a floating line rigged with a 4X tippet.
For weeks now the South Fork has seen constant flows (12800 cfs) coming out of Palisades Dam. That kind of stability helps make for the great fishing we are seeing now. Water temps at the dam are around 58 deg F. but will begin rising as we head through July. Right now big stoneflies are in the Swan Valley reach of the river (get to Huskey’s, Spring Creek, or Conant early if you want convenient parking!) . Golden stones are coming out just below. Yellows sallys are everywhere, and PMDs are emerging, so the river is doing what fly-fishers expect this time of year. There are many fly patterns that work for all of these, and we stock every one of them. None is particularly better than another given equal presentation. The best question to ask while deciding to purchase at dry pattern is: “Can I see this one on the broken surface that so much characterizes the South Fork? ” Here’s another tip for fishing this great river. In areas of broken surface, and most of this river has such, it is best to use a stout leader to present flies. This is especially true if you fish from a boat. Go to a 3X tippet in your favorite brand for presenting big stonefly patterns, especially from a boat. For PMD emergers and duns use 4X, or even 3X. In broken water the fish are a lot less leader shy than in the slower moving water that resembles that in the Harriman reach of the Henry’s Fork, or Bechler River. The results of using this stronger leader will be more fish brought to the net.