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.
Fishing on the lower river has slowed, but a good bet for action remains trying beetles and ants. Fishing on the upper river is great with beetles and ants another great choice. Warming days means evenings and mornings can offer some of the best fishing. PMDs are smaller and a few flavs remain. PM caddis are always present. Hoppers will become important soon.
If you have not heard we have a new state record for rainbow trout. This fish from American Falls Reservoir Tuesday, 7/26, weighed just under 35 pounds and was taken on a jig in about fifteen feet of water. It was just over 41 inches in length. The weight of this fish is nearly double that of the previous state record and begs the question of how many fish in the reservoir weigh between the old and new record. Certainly there are even larger rainbows than the new record in the reservoir. Other than that, damselfly life cycle patterns are working everywhere in still waters, and speckled duns are beginning to show up. Particularly good fishing can be had at Sand Creek Ponds during afternoon hours. Again damselfly life cycle patterns with speckled duns are beginning to show there.
Fall River Basin streams remain high, but fishing with sink tip lines and weighted flies will bring results. Hatches are ongoing, but are compressed. Green drakes, PMDs, and sallys bring afternoon action. No hoppers yet, but ants and beetles are worth trying afternoons. Beware of mosquitoes especially in timber during evenings and horseflies in open areas. Beula Lake continues to provide great action. Try damselfly life cycle patterns.
Once again we suggest contacting us about which small stream to fish this time of the season. There is an almost endless choice here, and most will offer great fishing now that run-off is mostly out of the system. We have small streams where cutthroat are the dominant trout, others where browns dominate, others where brookies take over, and others where rainbows rule the roost. We even have some where you may encounter grayling. Some of these streams are riffle and run, some are meadow streams, others feature beaver ponds. So pick your species or type of water you enjoy and get in touch with us.