Want a good still water experience? Try Reservoir Lake north and east of Clark Canyon Reservoir. Get out on the lake with your choice of boats or float boat and look for shallow water and weedy areas. Not a big body of water, it has a good population of brookies up to 14″ . They take damselfly nymph patterns, midge pupa and leech patterns with abandon. It’s a great place for action and to take an entry level person.
Streams are shaping up nicely. Grayling Creek is fishable. Duck Creek is fishing well. Use damselfly nymph patterns. Watch for evening brown drakes beginning in about a week. Same will happen on meadow reaches of the Gibbon River. Fall River Basin streams are dropping, but wet flies remain best. Some rises to yellow sallys. Hare’s ear nymphs #10 fished just below surface work well. Look for PMDs to begin emerging soon there. The Firehole River is still producing for those using BWO, PMD, and caddis life cycle patterns. The Madison River PMD hatch goes on. Green drake emergence on the Lewis River meadow reaches below Lewis Falls is getting going. Some are also emerging on meadow stretches between Lewis & Shoshone lakes, but pitching streamers there is best bet for action. Shoshone Lake is great fishing if one gets out to submerged weed beds and uses full-sink line to present scud (olive) and small leech patterns. Ashton-Flagg Road is not officially open on the west side. Needs to dry out on highest stretches before Beula Lake can be reached from the Idaho side.
Discolored, but flows are dropping. Best way to fish is from a boat and throw streamers on sink tip lines.
Big exception for being in great shape are Teton River drainage streams coming off the Grand Teton Range. Bitch Creek, especially, is putting discolored water in the river. Robinson Creek green drakes are emerging, so are PMDs, caddis and a few golden stones are left. On Warm River, PMDs and yellow sallys are emerging, a few goldens are around , and the PM caddis hatch makes for a great time to try light weight equipment. Want some pan-sized brookies? Try the upper reaches of Buffalo River, Tom’s Creek and Partridge Creek. No reports yet on the Little lost drainage, but most Salt River drainage streams coming out of Idaho (Jackknife, Tincup, Stump creeks) are in great shape. Use golden stone and yellow sally adult patterns, PMD and caddis life cycle patterns. Fall River giant stonefly emergence is way up the canyon and approaching the Cave Falls area. The Ashton-Flagg Road is not officially open –needs to dry out on the highest (middle) stretch.
Still looks like a milkshake, but flows are dropping.
Little fished Reservoir Lake north and west of Clark Canyon has been a hot spot for those fishing small leech patterns. Cliff and Wade lake have also been good fishing. Try midge pupa under a strike indicator.
Best dry fly fishing by far is on the Firehole River during this late spring. Caddis, BWOs PMDs and a smattering of small stoneflies make for action. Madison River PMD hatch has resumed. Duck Creek is good fishing for those using small leech patterns. Fall River Basin streams are dropping. Best still water action is on Lewis and Shoshone lakes. Get out to weed beds and use full sink lines to get scud and damselfly nymph patterns down to foraging browns and juvenile macks. Trout Lake opened on June 15th. No reports on it yet, but damselfly nymph patterns work well until “weed-up”. The Ashton-Flagg Road remains closed from the Idaho side to our knowledge, so no reports available on Beula Lake.
Flow out of Mackay Dam is just under 900 cfs making wading difficult and in some places dangerous.
We hear that fish are beginning to move to deeper water. This means get out on the lake and troll streamers, try midge pupa or even scud patterns. In a few weeks Damselfly nymphs will be the name of the game, then look for spring holes and shallow water.
Action on such as Chesterfield, Daniels, Twenty-Four Mile, Treasureton, Springfield, and Hawkins will pick up as weather warms. Damselfly nymphs, working sporadically now, will be the best choice. For now midge pupa under an indicator will work. Some success can be had using brown leech patterns in deeper waters. Twin Lakes with its active bluegills would be a great place for a Father’s Day trip with the family.