Personnel are monitoring water temperatures throughout the Park to detect any waters where a closure may be necessary to protect hosted trout . Because we are a Park fishing license vender we receive up front information on any closures. If we hear of any, (hopefully we will not) we will surely post them in this report. For now, best days to fish almost all streams will be when thundershowers threaten, and your best bet should be placed on terrestrial patterns.
If you are a still water enthusiast and not happy that many of our reservoirs are at unpleasant temperatures for trout, maybe it’s time to think about visiting our high mountain lakes. There are only a few, such as upper Palisades Lake in this part of the state. But to the west, Copper Basin is loaded with lakes. Even closer, there are some lakes at the head of Antelope Creek just above Moore, Idaho. A few lakes are in the Lost River and lower Lemhi mountain ranges. Come in and get information because we have visited some of these.
Flows out of Mackay dam are decreasing, now at 437 cfs. Looks like the river below will be safe for wading (with caution) in time for the trico emergence.
Fishing on the upper river is best when terrestrial patterns are presented. Evening caddisfly swarms also bring action. With flow out of Henry’s Lake decreasing, larger trout are going to move downstream and out of the Outlet reach of the Henry’s Fork. Look for them to be present in the Tubs and on down through Coffee Pot to Island Park Reservoir. Streamers presented in the evening would be the best way to encounter these fish.
Please wear that life preserver you are required to have in your boat when on the water. Another tragedy happened on the South Fork. A lady drowned Thursday above Heise when a boat ran into difficulty on a side channel. Life preservers were in the boat at the time of the incident. Had they been worn it is likely that the futures of the persons involved would not have been impacted by this tragic turn.
Sage is always at the top of the list when it comes to fly rod innovation and the new CIRCA rod we just received today is no exception. The new CIRCA is designed as a slow action rod for people who really like to feel the rod they are fishing. Although not for every situation, this rod will be an incredible dry fly rod and one worth adding to your collection. We have two CIRCA rods in the shop, an 8’9 3wt and a 8’9 4wt. We would love to show you all these rods and even take them out to cast. Come by the shop and check them out.
CIRCA rods are a technologically advanced collection of slow action rods that will appeal to the angler with a slower, more deliberate casting tempo, while realising a fast recovery, accuracy and overall high performance.
Using Konnetic ™ technology, the CIRCA collection has more carbon fibres packed into a smaller diameter blank, resulting in a radically narrow taper throughout the length of the rod. This results in a consistently slow, yet responsive action from butt to tip.
The casts are methodically smooth and graceful, yet crisp and purposeful. Sensitivity gives the angler precision for the control needed for delicate presentations and is said to be the ideal rod for ‘matching the hatch’ style fisheries and conditions.
CIRCA features include:
The collection will be available in six different four-piece models.
Only the upper river is a Henry’s Fork destination now. Terrestrial patterns will be your best bet, and so will visits early in the day and late in the day. Don’t forget that hair mouse! Because flow out of Henry’s Lake is ramping down, big fish in the Outlet reach will move downstream. Might be worth trying big streamers in The Tubs, especially early and late in the day. When we begin to cool off in September, return to the lower river which will improve for fishing as we move through the fall season.
The current hot dry weather will impact these waters especially those with little overhead cover. Some your best fishing will be around good dense overhead cover such as willows on smaller streams such as Bear, Big Elk, Birch, Beaver, Palisades and with an overhead canopy of trees with or without willows or brush like Bitch, Robinson and Tincup creeks and Warm River. On such as the Teton River in the basin and the upper Blackfoot River with only occasional overhead cover fish early and late in the day.
The flow out of Palisades Dam was reduced to 12,500 cfs early today. This action is could slow things for a day. The hatches and patterns are pretty much the same as listed in earlier reports. It will be interesting to see if today’s drop is an indication of future drops or if the level will stay constant as the Bureau of Reclamation said last week. We’ll report what news we get.
Reports and our experiences on the south fork have been all the chart from good to slow. The folks who are fishing different techniques through out the day have been the most successful. In this bright hot weather you may have to rely nymphs fished deep if the fish are not taking dries during the day. Streamers against the bank early in the morning and evening caught fish for us this weekend. There has also a good caddis hatch at night that has been getting the fish to the surface.
Beginning August 1 the Park closes The Madison River within the Park, the Gibbon River below Gibbon Falls and the Firehole River below Kepler Cascades to fishing. Water temps on each are approaching 80 deg. F. Look for these streams to be re-opened to fishing when water temps cool to more hospitable levels for trout. High water temperatures on other streams could result in more fishing limitations within the Park.
Consider that the higher one goes in elevation the less likely water temperatures will reach dangerously high levels for trout. Within the Park the waters at highest elevation are in the Yellowstone River drainage above the Upper and Lower falls, the Lewis River drainage above the canyon, the Fall River drainage from Beula Lake and above, and Bechler River in the upper canyon. All of these are over 7000 feet in elevation. Including these with the Gibbon River drainage above Gibbon Falls and the Firehole River above Kepler Cascades makes for plenty of water for concentrating fishing efforts with less impact on trout survival.