We’ve had reports of good fishing early in the last few days before the wind kicked in. Yesterday it was strong enough to send many boats off the lake. Creek mouths were good locations with Targhee Creek leading the pack and Howard Creek coming on.
We just received an order from Hareline and there is some great new stuff in the shop. We have new colors of rabbit, flashabou, and a brand new product called Senyo’s Wacko Hackle that I think you guys are really going to love. It is designed to be used on steelhead flies like intruders, but in other colors it could be used on streamers and even braided out and used on smaller nymph patterns. This new material will give your flies a great new look. Check out the Steelhead flies tied with Wacko Hackle in the image below, they look awesome!
None of the other new materials we received have pictures online yet, so you will have to come in and check them out!
Browns have begun their migration out of Hebgen Lake into the Madison River and on up to spawning grounds in the Gibbon and lower Firehole rivers. The same will soon begin on Lewis River Channel and the Yellowstone River. So break out the streamer patterns. Cooling weather is beginning to improve fishing success on the Firehole River. Trico activity is making for good fishing along the Madison River and in Fall River Basin. So keep those trico patterns handy for a while.
Island Park Reservoir, mostly on the west end, has been drawn down to levels where sand bars and mud flats are exposed or close enough to the surface to present a hazard to boaters. Nevertheless good fishing can be had near spring holes such as Grizzly Springs. Getting there pretty much requires long distance boating, so be careful of the submerged conditions on the way there and back. When you get there, try bloodworm patterns under an indicator and experiment to find the taking depth. Springfield Reservoir is producing for those folks presenting midge pupa patterns around spring holes. Expect company on these and the few other still waters offering good fishing because so many such as Twenty-Four Mile, Daniels, Chesterfield and Condie have been drawn down to levels where conditions are unfavorable for fishing.
The river below Mackay Dam is in great wading shape now. Trico spinners and egg droppers are still providing AM action. Later it is on to terrestrial patterns and traditional attractors followed by caddis life cycle patterns.
Now that cooler weather is here mayfly hatches, though still significant, are not the only game in town. If you tend toward the river in Harriman State Park this time of year, a good strategy for presenting larger flies are long, drag free as possible, drifts. Present in this manner around bank side cover, sweepers (which are relatively rare here), rocky shorelines, and timbered shorelines. Terrestrial patterns are best for using this technique, and those, especially hopper patterns, tied with traditional materials seem most effective within these. Don’t expect to catch a huge number of fish using this strategy, but do expect to encounter some of the larger fish here.
Fishing is picking up now. Creek mouths remain the place to go for action using mity mites, peacock leeches, crystal buggers and black coppers. But with cooler weather here and more to come, fishing all around the lake should pick up even more. Folks are concerned about the size of fish being caught, but the better news is that with so many fish in the lake there will be plenty for all anglers to enjoy.
It’s a tough time of year for fish in many of our smallest streams. We visited Jackknife Creek with 2-weight rods a few days ago, and became concerned with the low water we saw there. The creek has a large drainage, but like so many smaller streams the dry, warm summer has limited surface water throughout the drainage. We managed to catch some beautifully colored cutts, but only in deeper runs and holes having water flowing through. We originally intended to fish beaver ponds along the creek. But these hosted huge algae blooms, thus fish were absent because of lowered dissolved oxygen. Concerned that we would be stressing fish, we ended our fishing early. Such an experience can be expected now on many of our smaller streams at the end of this dry summer. Let’s hope for a good snow winter followed by a summer with more precipitation than this one to give trout populations better living conditions next year.
Hey guys, nothing major going on in the shop today. We did get in some new 2013 Fly Fishing calendars with some awesome photography, so next time your in be sure to check those out.
On another note, our photo gallery is looking pretty dated. I am sure all you guys have been getting into some awesome fish this summer, but we haven’t received hardly any pictures to throw up on the site. So………….. as an added incentive we are going to have a little contest with the photo gallery! From Sept 7-14 send us your favorite fishing picture from this summer. We will pick a winner and they will receive two dozen flies! To be eligible for the contest, send your picture to [email protected] and title your message “photo gallery contest entry” be sure to include your name in the message as well. We are all looking forward to seeing some pictures so start sending them!
The flow has dropped to 9000 cfs from 9600 earlier in the week. We will continue to see these drops throughout the Fall. We are starting to see good hatches of Mahogany duns and some blue wings and the cooler nighttime temperatures we are experiencing now will make these hatches better. The cooler nights are actually making the water cooler downriver at Lorenzo where the water is 59.5 F versus the temp below Palisades Dam which is 62.4F. Some years we have seen better hatches downstream due to the cooler water temps.
Fishing with Chernobyls should improve also with each water drop. Early Fall is also the time to start using streamers more.
Finally we received info from Idaho Dept of Fish and Game on the whitefish mortality. We’ve included their press release below.
NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE USE
September 4, 2012
PARASITE IDENTIFIED AS LIKELY CAUSE OF RECENT WHITEFISH DEATHS IN UPPER SNAKE REGION
IDAHO FALLS – Recent sightings of dead mountain whitefish have been reported from across the Upper Snake Region, including the Henrys Fork, South Fork Snake River, Teton River and main Snake River as far south as Firth. Exactly why these fish are dying has been a mystery until now. Preliminary results obtained by IDFG’s Fish Health Laboratory in Eagle show that the parasite Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae (also called PKD or Proliferative Kidney Disease) may be behind the deaths. This rare parasite has not been documented in Idaho’s wild fish before, although it has been reported in both wild and hatchery trout and salmon in North America and in Europe. This may be the first time the parasite has been detected in any whitefish species. The life cycle of the parasite is not well understood, but involves a freshwater sponge as well as a fish. Transmission and disease signs are linked to elevated water temperatures, which have been common in area waters this summer. There are no known health risks to humans or other warm-blooded animals.
Although a likely cause of fish mortalities has been identified, new questions are arising as a result of this information. For instance, IDFG does not know the level of impact the current outbreak may have on mountain whitefish populations, or if the parasite will also affect other species, such as trout. Currently it appears only mountain whitefish have been affected. Also unknown is why only younger whitefish have been affected, if the kill occurs periodically, or if this is the first time an outbreak has occurred. Scientific literature indicates fish that survive an initial infection develop strong immunity to the parasite. Additional samples will be collected and analyzed to verify the preliminary test results, and to look for the presence of this parasite in trout. Structured sampling this fall will provide an insight into how extensive the kill has been on the South Fork Snake River.
For more information concerning this matter contact Upper Snake Regional Fisheries Manager Dan Garren at 208-525-7290 or at [email protected].