South Fork 10-27-15
Flow out of Palisades Dam was dropped to 900 cfs yesterday. This will be the winter maintenance flow until next irrigation season. Flow at Heise is now about 1600 cfs.
October 2015
Henry’s Fork 10-24-15
With only 88 cfs coming out of Island Park Dam, wading in Box Canyon is as easy as it gets. Streamers and stonefly nymph patterns are the best choices for fooling its big resident cutbows these days. On the lower river migrating brown trout means presenting streamers is the best way to encounter them. There are several locations on the river where doing so is possible. Visit the shop, and we can suggest locations where the best streamer fishing has been going on throughout the lower river.
Upcoming Saturday Fly Tying Demos
It is the time of year when we begin planning our winter fly tying demo schedule. It’s a fun time of year for us contacting candidate tiers and those for which we have requests for repeat demos. This year we offer you a chance to suggest a tier for one of the demos. If you want to suggest one, get in touch with us. Our first demo will be Saturday, November 21st, then every Saturday into March, 2016, unless a holiday interferes. So watch our web site in the upcoming weeks to see who will be featured in this activity which has become an event on the regional fly fishing scene.
Still Water 10-24-15
Even though water is low in both places, fishing at Chesterfield and Twenty-Four Mile Reservoirs remains good. You will have to track through some mud to reach water at Twenty-Four Mile. Daniels Reservoir still offers the best still water fishing in the irrigation reservoirs. Weeds are breaking up on Springfield Reservoir making for more water to try. Midge pupa under at taking depth under an indicator works very well on all these, but water and atmosphere cooling off signal to fish to get “more for the bite.” That means leech and nymph patterns become more effective.
Henry’s Lake 10-24-15
Seems like fishing success varies day to day here. It may be best to watch the weather and pick a day when storms are predicted. Henry’s Lake has a history of fishing best this time of year when bad weather arrives. Be sure to dress and drive for the occasion, and remember that ice-up is about a month away.
Mainstem Snake River 10-24-15
Flow out of American Falls Dam is about 400 cfs. This low flow will concentrate fish and make streamer fishing exciting. It will also bring crowds of anglers to the river below the dam, so arrive early to enjoy that kind of fishing! Above the dam to the Henry’s Fork confluence flow is about normal and water is being turned off in most canals and therefore remaining in the river. Brown trout are moving, also making for good streamer fishing but with less crowding than below American Falls Dam. If you enjoy top water fishing, BWOs are emerging in some locations. Stop by; we can recommend some worth trying.
South Fork 10-24-15
Flow out of Palisades Dam is currently a subject of interest. There is a proposal to reduce it to 600 cfs for a few days to perform repairs on a canal head gate. Currently flow out of Palisades Dam is just over 1400 cfs making for great walk-in and wade fishing. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, however, will eventually reduce flow out of Palisades Dam to 900 cfs, the winter maintenance flow, and likely no lower. As the river flows downstream to the Heise area, it picks up flow from Palisades,Rainey, Pine, Burns, and other creeks thus increasing water to the benefit of the fish population.
Henry’s Lake 10-21-15
Fishing has been good around the lake. Fish are concentrating near shorelines, and because lake water is cooling off significantly, the outlook is great for continued good fishing.
Henry’s Fork 10-21-15
Not much has changed with respect fishing success in the past few days. It’s been good up and down the river. Riverside Campground is now closed, so access there is not possible including launching and taking out boats.
Yellowstone Park 10-21-15
It’s brown trout season in the park with all streams hosting brown trout having migrations to spawning areas. Gallatin, Gardner, Gibbon, Lewis, Madison and Snake Rivers are being targeted for productive streamer fishing. Some of us fished the Beaver Meadows of the Madison River yesterday and experienced not only brown trout migrating out of Hebgen Reservoir, but rainbows doing the same. Even the weather participated with overcast skies, no wind, and a drizzling rain. Overflow of fly-fishers from the Park’s West Entrance Highway participated making fishing somewhat crowded, but the further away one traveled from access points the more solitude could be realized. Word was out that the Firehole River BWO hatch was going on big time. So for those folks favoring dry fly fishing for fish to moderate size, this was and likely remains a great location until the park fishing season closes end of the day the first Sunday in November.