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Author: Bruce_Staples

Fly Fish Food Jimmy's / Articles posted by Bruce_Staples (Page 220)

Small Streams 8-25-10

August 25, 2010
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Small Streams

Want an experience that combines good fishing and gentle water with spectacular scenery?   Float the Teton River in Teton Valley. There are several public boat launch sites along the river here, so you can plan a trip based on how much time is available for you.  Terrestrial and PMD life cycle patterns will get you into fish throughout.  Don’t forget a camera!

The Blackfoot River above the reservoir is producing now, especially for those presenting terrestrial patterns. The river is at base flow, and slower moving water warms up most quickly.  Also slower water here tends to hold more weeds making wet fly fishing a bit tricky.  So concentrate your efforts along riffles and runs where trout have better oxygenated water.  Chances are the larger trout will be holding here.

Want to get that youngster into some fast fishing before going back to school?  Birch Creek in the family area above Lone Pine is the ideal place to try.  Traditional attractors and dry caddis patterns in sizes 10-16 will bring action for sure.

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Main Stem Snake River 8-25-10

August 25, 2010
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Main Stem Snake River

With flows on the river close to normal, good walk-in and float fishing prevail.  As we said in the last report, evenings are best for pitching  streamers and for enjoying the caddis hatch.  Look for snowflake duns to begin hatching on the river below Blackfoot  in a week or two.

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Henry’s Lake 8-25-10

August 25, 2010
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Henry's Lake

We’ve had a few nights where air temps have slipped a bit below freezing around Henry’s Lake.   So things are heading in the right direction to kick-start good fishing.  Work on the Duck Creek crossings (convert culverts to bridges) has been delayed until  mid September, so for now travel all the way around the lake is possible.

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Big Lost River 8-25-10

August 25, 2010
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Big Lost River

Flow out of Mackay Dam is a bit over 300 cfs.   Tricos in the morning and terrestrial patterns in the afternoon will get you into action in the river around Mackay.

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Henry’s Fork 8-25-10

August 25, 2010
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Henry's Fork

Some of the best fishing on the river can be experienced on the Harriman reach where callibaetis and trico mayflies provide action.   Terrestrial patterns including hopper and ant patterns are a must, and the South Fork strategy of trailing your favorite hopper with a cinnamon ant pattern (#14) is sure to produce.   As with many meadow reaches the Harriman section also hosts deer flies and horseflies.  Don’t overlook this presence, and consider that a standard humpy, size 16-12 can imitate these pests.  After you swat  those pests, drop ’em in the river, then listen for a downstream rise. That is proof fish will take them!

If you fish from Riverside to Warm River use those terrestrial and caddis patterns, but also include traditional attractors.   Below the Warm River confluence fishing gets tough as the water now at base level has warmed going through the canyons.   Best strategy for the lower river is to wait for the cooler days coming soon. Then look for a great revival of fish activity.

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South Fork 8-25-10

August 25, 2010
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South Fork

With flows coming out of Palisades Dam just under 9000 cfs, the river is in ideal shape for fishing.  Fishing banks remains the most productive strategy.  Try hopper and chernobyl patterns trailed by a cinnamon ant (#14-#12), and place them close to grassy  banks, undercuts, and overhead cover.   If you want to fish riffles, late afternoon are best when caddis begin emerging.  If you do not get surface action, try soft hackled patterns in size 12-16 such as partridge and orange, partridge and green or badger and orange. Let them drift down a few inches to working fish. When your fly arrives in the area where fish are working, lift your rod tip to raise the fly toward the surface.   An evening PMD spinner fall can bring some action to riffles.

Many fly fishers have forgotten how effective a #12 or #14 renegade is on the South Fork.   Too bad: because fished as a dry fly or emerger it fly remains extremely effective up and down the river.   Try it in riffles or drop it against the same features you fish with hoppers or chernobyl types.  So for many folks it may be out of style, but for those few in the know it remains a stalwart pattern.  Maybe you should give a try especially if you believe that fish get use to seeing patterns that are presented over & over again!

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Still Waters 8-21-10

August 21, 2010
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Still Water

Fishing in many of our irrigation reservoirs is slowing because of draw down making fish run deep to remaining cooler waters.   So natural lakes, especially at higher elevations, make better destinations until we cool off in the fall months. Candidates to try now are Horseshoe Lake with its put and take grayling population, Aldous Lake with its cutts in a gulper mood because of mid day speckled duns, and Paul Reservoir with its put and take cutthroat population.

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Southwestern Montana 8-21-10

August 21, 2010
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South Western Montana

Terrestrial insects are making for good action all around.   In particular, the spruce moth population is up and makes for great dry fly action on the Madison and Gallatin river drainages.   The Beaverhead River features good PMD and caddis activity, which along with terrestrial insects are bringing big fish to the surface.  Hebgen Lake gulpers seem to have active and inactive days according to report reaching us.

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Yellowstone Park 8-21-10

August 21, 2010
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Yellowstone Park

It’s terrestrial season on most of Park streams.   Want to see how good your skills are with terrestrial patterns?  Here’s a few ” graduate school for fly fishers” waters this time of year:  Duck Creek,  meadow reaches of  Bechler River, meadow reaches of Fall River, Slough Creek, Soda Butte Creek, Lewis River below Lewis Falls and between Lewis & Shoshone lakes, and the meadow reaches of the Gibbon River.  Want to try some small Park streams with good chances of action and the same with respect to solitude?  Try Polecat Creek just west of the South Entrance,  Cascade Creek, a tributary to Fall River off the Ashton-Flagg Road, or Winter Creek in the upper Gardner River Drainage.   If you prefer still waters, we have been saying it all along:  Beula Lake offers some of the fastest fishing in the Park.  Speckled dun and midge activities make for gulper action. Any time now flying ants will be around, and every fish in the lake will be near the surface looking for them making for even better gulper action. You can find action almost as fast on Riddle Lake, too.

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Big Lost River 8-21-10

August 21, 2010
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Big Lost River

With flows out of Mackay Dam dropping near 300 cfs, the river below is in good wading condition.  Right now caddis and terrestrial patterns presented in the afternoon are working well, and the trico hatch is just around the corner.

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