The lower river is discolored from construction activities at both Ashton and Chester dams. To keep up on these activities go to the Henry’s Fork Foundation (www.henrysfork.org) home page and look at the “Latest News” box for updates.
No hard frosts yet in much of the area means that many of these waters continue to offer great fishing. Stay with the terrestrial, attractor, caddis, BWO and trico (if any emerging) life cycle patterns. Some of these streams (Salt River tribs, Robinson Creek, etc) will host brook or brown trout runs, so bring streamers. South Fork and Palisades Reservoir tribs are having hecuba hatches. These big late summer drakes will attract fish and provide some great late season dry fly fishing.
This is the fishing hot spot in the entire region, but there are specifics for enjoying it. First, go to the creek mouths. Targhee, Howard and Duck creeks are the best locations. Get there REAL early to “stake your claim”, especially on week ends. REAL early means sunrise! “Stake your claim” in shallow water because most fish are at three to five feet in depth. Fish your favorite nymph or soft hackle pattern under an indicator at this depth. Floating lines are best for this method. Expect lots’a company ( there were at least twenty boats in front of Howard Creek at mid morning last Saturday). So allow room for fellow anglers and be patient and polite. Weed beds are still numerous in the lake and water temps hover in the mid fifties in degrees F. Thus it will take some real cooling off before weeds break up.
The South Fork is really starting to pick up right now. Flows have stayed steady at 9,000 cfs. The Mutant Stones have begun hatching again and fish are up eating them. Throw Chubby Chernobyl and CFO Ant to emulate these bugs. Don’t forget to twitch them. PMD’s have been hatching in the later morning and in the afternoon. I have found great success by adding a dropper on my dry fly when things seem to slow down a little. Tungsten Zebra Midges, and Redemption Nymphs have been working well. If we get a rainstorm a BWO and Mahogany Dun hatch will emerge. There are still a lot of little fish being caught and the bigger sized fish we are used to catching this year are strong and healthy fighters. Truly a fun river to fish right now. With Fall coming the colors will really begin to pop and camping on the river should be top notch.
Trico activity on the such as the Madison River, Bechler River, and Boundary Creek is going good. Add that to the still abundant terrestrial insect population and plenty of dry fly fishing can be found on Park rivers and streams. Hebgen Lake browns and ‘bows are beginning their migration into the Madison River upstream and the same with browns going into Lewis River Channel from Shoshone and Lewis lakes. Beula Lake is still producing some of the best action in the Park with damselfly nymphs, small bead head nymphs, small leech patterns, and scud patterns around shorelines working well.
Fish appear to be moving into very shallow waters in Chesterfield Reservoir to feed on scuds, damselfly nymphs, and other things in weeds. Tailing fish are the clue to this, and they can be spooky. The upper end of Daniels Reservoir is producing for those presenting damselfly nymph patterns and midge pupa patterns under an indicator. Surface action seems to be slowing on Sand Creek ponds as the speckled dun emergence is past its peak. On all these reservoirs look for action with wet flies to pick up after a few good frosts.
Terrestrial and dry attractor patterns are still working on all these. Best fishing starts mid days and extends to late afternoons. Exception may be trico emergences on such as the Birch Creek diversion or Boundary Creek. Robinson Creek is one of most interesting small streams in our area. It hosts brookies, browns, cutthroat, and rainbow trout as well as whitefish. Best access for it is off the Cave Falls Road. The road connecting the Fish Creek Road on the north and the Cave Falls Road on the south to serve Teton View and Pot Pouri estates offers walk-in locations that require at short hike into the canyon. Off the Cave Falls Road in Targhee National Forest, the creek can be reached from the road serving the LDS Church’s Rock Creek Girl’s Camp and from a steep trail down from Horseshoe Lake. One can also access Robinson Creek in Yellowstone Park from Bechler Ranger Station or on the west boundary off the end of Fish Creek Road. This time of year terrestrial patterns are sure to bring action until frosts begin in earnest, then going to nymphs and small woolly bugger types will continue action. Robinson Creek is a good example of a small stream holding surprisingly large fish. Deep holes can host a few browns over twenty inches and rainbows almost as big. So if you fish it, especially in lower reaches, don’t be surprised.
Flow below Mackay Dam is low enough (270 cfs, or so) for good wading. AM trico activity is making for great AM action. Plenty of terrestrial insects are present making for plenty of daytime activity.
Fishing in front of creek mouths is as good as it gets. This attracts crowds, but it appears everyone is catching fish, mostly brook trout. Use intermediate lines and even floating lines for the shallowest water. The flies we suggested in the last (9/8) report are working. Also look for a few fish taking speckled dun and caddis emergers just about any time.
The last few feet of draw down of water from Ashton Reservoir should be completed this week. Turbidity in the river below the dam continues because of by-pass tunnel construction which will continue through the week. The river is cutting a new channel in the upper end of the reservoir adding fines to the river below. After draw down and tunnel construction are completed, look for improved water quality in the river below. The Henry’s Fork Foundation (www.henrysfork .org) publishes progress and observation reports on the Ashton Dam construction regularly.