All tributaries to Palisades Reservoir and those going out of Idaho into the Salt River are in fishing shape. The same goes for Robinson Creek, Beaver Creek, and Medicine Lodge Creek. Big Lost River is stocked with rainbows near Arco , but high water remains coming out of Mackay Dam. Birch Creek family area remains one of the best places to take a youngster fishing. So there are plenty of small stream fishing options in our ares.
Green and grey drakes, flavs and PMDs are coming out on the lower river, fish are hitting these very well, and word is out. This shifts fly-fishers from the upper river as well as bringing in those in waiting. So both places are well attended. Looking for a Henry’s Fork location with fewer fly-fishing attendees but with good fishing? Try the river in the Nature Conservancy’s Flat Ranch. It’s really the Henry’s Fork according to the USGS even though the rest of us call it Henry’s Lake Outlet.
Here is some useful technical information on the South Fork from Bryce Oldenmeyer of the Henry’s Fork Foundation.
Flow update: In response to cooling temperatures and decreased inflow, discharge from Palisades Dam was decreased 2,400 cfs this (Friday, 6/21) afternoon. Current outflow from Palisades Dam is 11,400 cfs. Flows are expected to stay around this level for the next 7 to 10 days.
Snow and reservoir overview
Average temperatures the last seven days have melted most of the snow at sites above Palisades Reservoir. Out of the eighteen SNOTEL sites above Palisades Reservoir, Togwotee Pass (elevation 9580 ft) and Two Ocean Plateau (elevation 9240 ft) are the only SNOTEL sites with snow. Togwotee Pass has 8.1 inches SWE (92% of median for the date; 32% of peak) and Two Oceans Plateau has 7.8 inches of SWE (66% of median for the date; 26% of peak SWE). Cooler temperatures are forecast for the next 3-4 days and runoff is anticipated to slow over the weekend. Even after temperatures are expected to return to average next week, it is likely that runoff will continue to decline as the remaining snow proceeds to melt.
The Upper Snake River system is currently 96% of capacity and expected to fill by the end of the month. Palisades Reservoir is 95% full (1,139,623 ac-ft of 1,200,000 ac-ft) and Jackson Lake is 97% full (822,279 ac-ft of 847,000 ac-ft).
With respect to fly-fishing, giant stoneflies are beginning to emerge along the river below Lorenzo. With warming weather they will soon advance up the river and become numerous enough to interest resident trout.
Damselfly activity is making for good fishing on Chesterfield Reservoir. Seek out sheltered coves for the best activity resulting from life cycle patterns of these. With respect to safety, watch out for wind that can up in an instant here. Island Park Reservoir is full but needs to warm up for best fishing. Condie and Twin Lakes have been producing good results for warm water fish.
The lower river offers the most consistent fishing with green drakes, PMDs, golden stones, and caddis all offering action for dry fly enthusiasts. If nymphing is preferred, rubber legs with small bead head droppers, or bead head nymph patterns by themselves and evening time streamers suffice. Best fishing here is above Chester Dam because Fall River contributes run-off. With less variable weather fishing in the upper river would become more consistent.
Palisades Reservoir is at 85% of capacity. With plenty of snow remaining in the mountains above, full capacity is not far away. How this impacts flows in the river will be set by the Bureau of Reclamation, but we will report here on what happens.
The Yellowstone River opened to fishing last Saturday (June 15th). The river is running high & clear, so woolly bugger types and streamer patterns are likely to bring best results. Firehole River continues to offer the best stream fishing in the park with BWO, caddis (including white millers) patterns offering best chances for action. A few PMDs are showing up there. Duck Creek is in fishing shape with streamers being effective. Be aware that mosquitoes are showing up big time with all the park’s standing water, so have that DEET handy.
Harriman State Park opens today and you can bet that the river within is well populated with fish, fly-fishers, and flying insects (PMDs, increasing green drakes, wind-blown stoneflies, & caddis). A less human-crowded alternative is the lower river where green drakes, PMDs, golden stones, caddis and left-over giant stoneflies are providing good fishing.
Most rivers are running high and discolored. The Firehole River is an exception where white miller and soft hackle patterns produce best. The Gibbon River in the canyon offers good fishing when traditional wet and dry attractor patterns are presented. The Madison River also offers some success through presenting caddis life cycle, BWO life cycle, and streamer patterns. Trout Lake opens for fishing today and offers a chance for big cutthroat and cuttbows. Packing in a flotation device is not needed for success here because much of the shoreline is open. Yellowstone Lake is offering good fishing near shorelines for lake trout (kill ’em) and some cruising cutthroat when streamer and woolly bugger types are presented. The same goes for Lewis Lake. You will walk through snow patches on going into Shoshone Lake. But by packing in a flotation device your reward will be great fishing through presenting leech and streamer patterns around submerged weed beds. The Ashton-Flagg Road will take several days to be passable, so access to Beula Lake and high and discolored Fall River and Mountain Ash Creek is several days away. Bechler Meadows remains submerged with icy cold run-off water.
Over the past few days the flow out of Palisades Dam has been raised to current 13700 cfs (14200 cfs at Heise, 6900 cfs at Lorenzo) which is almost normal flow for this date. Palisades Reservoir is at 85% of capacity, and a ton of snow remains in the mountains above it. So expect more flow increases to come. Meanwhile, stay with the fly pattern strategy we have suggested in recent fishing reports.