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Fishing Reports

Jimmy's All Seasons Angler / Fishing Reports (Page 44)

Yellowstone National Park, July 12th, 2022

All Fall River Basin streams are near base flows. Bechler Meadows drying out, and river offers some good fishing with PMDs and damsel fly life cycle patterns. A few green drakes are present in this low water year. Best fishing here is during the evening brown drake emergence. A good strategy to enjoy it is to reserve one of the campgrounds along the river or nearby and fish until twilight. Same applies to Boundary, and Mountain Ash Creeks and Fall River. Beula Lake is offering some of the fastest still water fishing in the Park thanks to its abundant leech population and speckled dun and damsel fly activity.

Beula and Hering Lakes

Fall River

Brown drake numbers in Gibbon River in meadows and Duck Creek have diminished in the last few years. Is climate change the reason? Leave the Firehole River alone until September days begin cooling back to water temperatures where resident trout have a better chance of surviving being caught and released. The Yellowstone River is now open, but thanks to road traffic getting there in time to enjoy best fishing requires a departure as soon as entry gates open in the AM. We have no information on fishing the streams (Lamar River, Slough and Soda Butte Creeks) in the northeast corner of the park mainly because of road conditions.

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Henry’s Fork, July 12th, 2022

Headlines from Dr. Rob Van Kirk’s latest water report for the Henry’s Fork follows.

Headlines:  

  • Mean temperature yesterday was 2 degrees F above average; water-year precipitation stands at 90% of average.
  • Natural flow dropped another 3% yesterday, while diversion increased to 99% of average. Water rights priorities are near the median for the date.
  • Outflow from Island Park Reservoir was increased to 1460 cfs yesterday to accommodate increased diversion into the Crosscut Canal.
  • Diversion and reservoir outflow will remain high for the next 2-3 weeks, as hot, dry weather continues.

Rob Van Kirk, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist

Henry’s Fork Foundation

P.O. Box 550

Ashton, ID 83420

208-881-3407 CELL

208-652-3568 FAX

Evenings ( try caddis and PMD and gray drake spinner patterns) and early AMs ( spinner patterns again) are the best times to fish the lower river where terrestrial insects are beginning to appear in good numbers. A bit early for these along the upper river except ant and beetle patterns should always be in that fly box Variable flow out of Island Park Reservoir impacts fishing from Box Canyon to Riverside. PMDs, Flavs and green drakes are diminishing a bit (AM and PM spinner falls bring action) except for PM brown drakes in lower Harriman offering best activity. PM caddis activity is reliable everywhere.

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Small Streams, July 9th, 2022

Are you looking for a stock of brook trout to have a summertime fish fry? Here are a few streams that are good candidates for creeling enough to do so. Elk Creek at the east end of the USFS’s Buffalo River campground is a good location, and another in the same area is Tom’s Creek which enters Buffalo River just above it on the south side. Not far way to the east Little Warm River is another good place to try,and USFS’s Pole Bridge campground make a good base of operations for gearing up. Cottonwood Creek above Kilgore is another good candidate. It can be a bit brushy, but such places are the best for finding them. Beaver Creek above the Stoddard Creek and campground Interstate-15 Exit holds plenty of brookies, but the adjacent Union Pacific mainline is a considerable danger. Modoc Creek, brushy as ever, below Pauls Reservoir is another good place to try if you do not mind a bit of thrashing through thick willows.

For all these streams, simple flies are the ticket. The brookies in all these are aggressive enough to take any small wet or dry pattern (try such as renegades, bead head nymphs, peacock woolly worms) offered, so save those elaborate and time-consuming-to-tie patterns for the Henry’s Forks, Teton Rivers and South Forks of this world.

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Henry’s Fork, July 9th, 2022

The river from Ashton Dam downstream is beginning to warm as our “dog days” are here. This means best fishing will be early AMs and evenings, Major aquatic insects are diminishing, but terrestrial insects will soon be plentiful. Wading and boat traffic on the Last Chance-Harriman section is high, but fishing is good as the usual aquatic insect hatches continue at good levels.

Plenty of water ( currently about 170 cfs) is flowing through the river at the Flat Ranch Preserve. This flow started late because of water managing efforts in this drought year. That means fewer fish were swept downstream out of Henry’s Lake than usual. Nevertheless, the river here is worth a try.

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South Fork, July 9th, 2022

All major aquatic insect hatches are moving up the river. For example, a few of the big stone flies have been seen in the Conant area. It seems like the best time of day for fishing up and down the river is early AMs and evenings. Boat traffic is increasing throughout. Flow has changed little throughout the river ( now 11600 cfs at Irwin, 11900 at Heise, 5650 cfs at Lorenzo) and remains slightly below normal for the time of year.

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Yellowstone National Park, July 5th, 2022

With the Firehole River beginning to warm to levels detrimental to fish, the Madison and Gibbon rivers becoming relatively crowded and the Yellowstone River time-taking to get to, Fall River Basin streams offer a great alternative. True, you may have to walk a ways and fight off mosquitos on the way in, but the rewards are the chance for a fish of the year ( Sallys, PMDs, Green Drake, damsel flies emerging) and a tranquility unmatched on those aforementioned Madison River drainage waters. Then there is Beula Lake for which we will offer more information soon.

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South Fork, July 5th, 2022

Flow throughout the river has been nearly constant (10700 cfs at Irwin, 10900 cfs at Heise, 5200 cfs at Lorenzo) for about a week. The activity we described in this report for July 2nd is moving upstream past Byington and into the canyon. The fun in this fly fishing game will be in finding which of the insects the fish will be keying on at any given time and location. Traffic at launch sites will now increase as will boats on the river. So the time to be considerate have arrived for all of us.

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Henry’s Fork, July 5th, 2022

We have reports of recreational floating traffic on the river; Box Canyon and the entire lower river between above Chester seem to be favored locations. Consider that these folks do not understand angling etiquette. So be patient. They have just as much right to enjoy the river as do anglers. Best time to fish around them is early and late in the day.

All traditional hatches are in full swing along the river: Green drakes, flavs, PMDs, PM caddis abound with a few golden stones. Brown drakes are appearing in evenings on lower the river at Harriman East making Wood Road 16 an up and coming favored location. AM and PM spinner falls are good times to be on the river whether it be Last Chance-Harriman State Park waters or the lower river. These times of day minimize recreational traffic. Also dry-dropper combos seem to work everywhere. Try a dry blond humpy over a bead head nymph of your choice

Headlines from Dr. Rob Van Kirk’s latest Henry’s Fork drainage water conditions report follow:

Headlines:  

  • The first 4 days of July were slightly on the warm side of average, and a few thundershowers kept water-year precipitation at 91% of average.
  • Natural flow has dropped by 1-2% per day over the past four days, while diversion has stayed relatively constant.
  • Since an outflow increase on Saturday, Island Park Reservoir outflow has averaged 991 cfs, and the reservoir has drafted at 930 ac-ft/day. Additional incremental increases in outflow are expected.
  • Water quality: Water temperatures have been optimal except at St. Anthony, while turbidity is still above average at all locations upstream of Ashton Reservoir. 

Rob Van Kirk, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist

Henry’s Fork Foundation

P.O. Box 550

Ashton, ID 83420

208-881-3407 CELL

208-652-3568 FAX

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Small Streams, July 5th, 2022

The Ashton-Flagg ( Reclamation Road) Road is open, but rough beyond the South Boone Creek crossing. Sedans can pass with care, but towed recreation trailers are discouraged from even trying. This opening gives access to some of the best and varied fishing available in the area. Numerous small streams can be approached in both Idaho, Yellowstone Park, and Wyoming. Tillery Lake and Grassy Lake Reservoir, also in Wyoming, offer great flotation device fishing. In Yellowstone Park Beula and Hering Lakes can now be reached as well as many of the Fall River meadow reaches. In Idaho, the Fall River can be reached before it drops into its canyon.

The Blackfoot River drainage above Blackfoot River Reservoir is open to fishing. A no-kill order for cutthroat trout and no bait and barbless hooks restrictions apply to the entire drainage here. Below the reservoir, high and variable flows dampen fishing success, but float fishing is possible and can be effective through using streamers, rubber leg, and woolly bugger patterns.

Palisades Reservoir tributaries, Palisades, Pine and upper Rainy Creeks and Salt River tributaries coming out of Idaho are in good fishing shape with PM caddis, PMD life cycle and traditional attractor patterns working well. Terrestrial insects are “coming into view” on each. Warm River below Warm River Spring and Robinson Creeks adjacent to the Cave Falls Road offer good fishing.

Warm River below Warm River Spring and Robinson Creek where it parallels the Cave Falls Road offer good top water fishing with PMD, PM caddis and traditional attractor or patterns working well.

So here is a narrative suggesting that our fishing season is full blown with respect to choices. Get out and enjoy!

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