Small Streams 6-12-10
Birch Creek is the place to go until rain water & runoff get out of most other streams.
June 2010
Big Lost River 6-12-10
With 1280 cfs coming out of Mackay Dam we cannot recommend wading the river below. When the river drops to wadeable levels, we’ll post it here.
Henry’s Fork 6-12-10
Giant stoneflies are still hanging around thanks to our cool rainy weather, but golden stones are coming on. The older, more experienced (meaning bigger) fish will be aware of them. Best locations are from Riverside down to Warm River, Coffee Pot area, or Box (most crowded) Canyon. Don’t overlook walking in to such as Bear Gulch, Mesa Falls and Hatchery Ford. The other oncoming event is the PMD emergence. For now the lower river ABOVE Chester backwaters will be the best location for this event. Fall River is still putting runoff water into the river, so it is tough for us to recommend fishing below Chester Dam. Caddis, of course, are just about everywhere, and if you visit the river in the evening and do not have streamer patterns in your fly box you could miss an opportunity for the biggest fish of the year.
South Fork 6-12-10
Flow out of Palisades Dam was bumped up again last night to 21,400 cfs. Flow at Heise is about the same. We keep on top of the flows because so many of you are interested in impacts on access and the upcoming stonefly hatch. What is going on is the USBuRec is equilibrating outflow with inflow for Palisades Reservoir. Flows into Jackson Lake are dropping, and Buffalo Fork, Hoback & Salt river flows appear to be leveling off. The Gros Ventre River is still high. So the highest flows are probably going on now. Given several days, and the South Fork will drop back to flows that make fishing easier. Rest assured that the stonefly hatch will be on time. For the next several days we recommend the Henry’s Fork for better fishing, but we will continue placing information on South Fork flows and “fishability” here.
South Fork 6/11
The river was bumped again last night to 19,000 cfs. They are making room for all the water coming into the reservoir. If you fish use nymphs and streamers, go to the back eddys and the slow deep pools.
Henry’s Fork 6/10
Fishing below the Chester dam right now is going to be marginal at best. The Fall River is still blown out and putting a lot of dirty water and debris into the system. I have been keeping an eye on the flows and the Fall River is dropping fast I would expect fishing below Chester to pick up this weekend at the earliest. This of course depends on how much rain we receive in the next few days. I have been told the Warm River has been putting dirty water into the Henry’s Fork, but I have not had a very reliable source on that information, so check it out before you float that section and have an alternative in mind. Ora Bridge to Chester, and Box Canyon are still running good and fishing well. Golden Stones, Caddis and Pale Morning Duns are fishing well on the surface. Call the shop if you have any questions.
South Fork 6/10
Flows on the South Fork have been increased to 17,000 cfs. Flows have been increased to make room in the resevoir fo rthe increase of runoff water that has started to come into the system. As of right now the flows have not gone up this morning. I will keep an eye on the flows today to see see what happens. If they do not raise them the fishing will pick back up this afternoon and through the weekend. This level is not to high to fish and fish will be eating. The most important thing is the flows level out for a day or two.
I talked to a guide last night who had a trip yesterday and he mentioned that fishing was surprisingly good. Nymphing was the name of the game. He mentioned they had success on big rubberlegs, and san juan worms.
Southwestern Montana 6-8-10
With May rainfall averaging 135% of normal you can bet that most streams are high and discolored. Exceptions are immediate tail waters.
Henry’s Fork 6/8
The Henry’s Fork has some spots you will want to avoid right now. Below the Chester dam has been blown out, because of the record flows on the Fall River. Also Warm River to Ashton is really dirty right now because of the runoff from Warm River. You can fish from Ora to Chester, and the Box Canyon. Golden Stones are staging, PMD’s are hatching as well as the Caddis. Don’t get to discouraged things will settle down in about a week and the Henry’s Fork will be back again and ready to roll. With increased traffic on the Henry’s Fork remember common courtesy goes a long ways. Call the shop with any questions.
South Fork 6/8
Flows on the South Fork have been bumped up to 14,00 cfs. They are making room for all the runoff that is coming down into the system because of the rain we got high in the mountains. 14,000 cfs is completely typical for this time of year and the fishing will be back on once the flows stabilize after a day or two.
Nymphing and Streamer fishing is the best tactic for catching fish on the South Fork at the moment. I like to fish a rubber leg stonefly nymph with a bead head dropper. I put my stonefly nymph about 6-7 feet from my indicator and my dropper 18-24 inches below the stonely. Fish riffles, banks and seam water. Good luck and be safe out there. Call the shop for any questions you might have.