South Fork 7-27-11
The flow dropped another 900 cfs to 15,500 this afternoon………….
Author: cheeseburger
South Fork 07-26-11
Just wanted to give you an update on the conditions. The flow has dropped below 17,000 to 16,400 cfs. At 16,000 and below the river is within its banks and the islands are not submerged anymore. There are a lot of goldens and sallies hatching and we have had some reports of success on dries. The inflows into Palisades continue to drop steadily so conditions will continue to improve.
Henry’s Lake 07-26-11
The fishing has been very good at Henry’s. Most fishermen are using Henry’s lake Renegades, mighty mouse, and damsel patterns. As usual some of the best fishing has been in the bays near the creek mouths. Henry’s is a water that is not easy to predict. The fisherman that know it seem to have the most consistent fishing and the rest of us suffer through the slow periods. When we get continuous good reports from Henry’s we know that the fishing is excellent.
South Fork 7/25
In our efforts to continue to keep you updated on the water flows and fishing conditions for the South Fork. Inflows are dropping very fast and the flows from Palisades Dam has been dropping as well, this morning the flows were at 17,400 cfs. We expect to have these flows to continue to drop this entire week.
Dry Fly fishing is beginning to pick up in the riffles. I heard very good reports of fish eating mayflies this weekend. The riffle fishing will only get better and better as the water drops and those gravel bars get exposed. There are very good hatches of Yellow Sallies and Golden Stones on the water as well. Nymphing is still the best fishing technique for catching fish, however this should change soon as the dry fly fishing continues to improve.
Henry’s Fork 7/25
Fishing during the middle of the day has slowed on the Lower Henry’s Fork. There is still good fishing during the evening hours. If you don’t mind nymphing, Warm River to Ashton is nymphing well with rubberlegs, and an assortment of beadhead nymphs. Fish are still rising to Golden Stones putting a nymph dropper below the dry fly is also a effective fishing technique. There are still good hatches of PMD and Caddis throughout the entire river system. Will not be long before the fish will be keying in on Hoppers.
South Fork 07-23-11
The inflow into Palisades is dropping fast and the Bureau of Reclamation has reduced the outflow from Palisades to 20,400. There will be another drop today of 1000 cfs. If we continue to see the inflow drop 1000 to 1500 cfs a day it is probable the Bureau will drop flows in the South fork and we will have very fishable flows week.
If you fish in the next couple of days I would continue to use nymphs below the drops. With each decrease in the flow there will be more holding water and the riffles will start to appear. I would also would not rule out trying a dry later in the day. The hatches have been steady through this high water so with the river coming into shape we should have the good fishing we have waiting for.
Small Streams 7-21-2011
A request we receive many times is: “Where do I take my entry level friend or family member. All they want to do is learn how to catch fish” ? We always answer this question with suggesting a small stream. Small streams are less intimidating, more approachable, safer, and fish tend to concentrate in them. Afternoons are the best time to be on these as they warm up to levels where fish will be chasing both aquatic and terrestrial insects. In these smaller waters fish must make the most of opportunities, so they are always ready to feed, and this time of year so much of what they are after is on the surface. We can recommend which small waters at any given time will be worth the experience for an entry level person. Get in touch or come in to get some ideas on where to try.
Still Waters 7-21-2011
Some of the best still water fishing in the region opened up on July 15th. You can now fish from a boat or float tube on Sand Creek ponds, and fishing has been excellent. Damselflies are emerging in big numbers and speckled duns are appearing. Paul Reservoir is another still water off the beaten path that is fishing well. Exit the Humphrey Exit off Interstate 15 above Spencer. Coming fromthe south, go left back underneath Interstate-15, take a right, and follow the gravel road to the west about twelve miles. The reservoir is a gentle place to fish, great for families. Eager cutthroat ranging to 15-16 will be taking damselfly nymphs, speckled duns, and small leech patterns. There are other still waters that are lesser known that we could suggest to you for a get-away. Get in touch or come in and discuss these possibilities with us.
Henry’s Fork 7-21-2011
Fishing on the lower river continues to slow especially below Ashton Reservoir & Dam where waters warm up before being released to the river below. Begin thinking terrestrial insects there. Hoppers are not important yet, so beetle and ant patterns will bring fish up. Fishing on the upper river has picked up and the same strategy; presenting beetles and ants is a good way to get interest from fish now that the big mayfly emergence peak is past.
South Fork 7-19-11
The flow below Palisades Dam was reduced to 20,400 cfs from 24,000 over the weekend. The inflow into Palisades is also dropping fast. We floated the canyon yesterday and caught fish on nymphs and san juan worms. There were a lot of yellow sallies and some golden stoneflies in the air. We saw pale morning duns in good numbers too but we saw very little surface action. The water clarity has improved and really isn’t bad at all. With the amount of bugs we saw I expected to see some fish next to shore in the slower current. (We did try dries along several of the better looking banks but had no takers.)We have caught fish on dries with this color of water so my guess is that we need to see the water drop into that 16,000 cfs range.