All of those in southeastern Idaho, that is from Bingham County southeast are doing great. Here’s another bunch of candidates if you must get that boat out. On any of these: Chesterfield, Daniels, Hawkins, Springfield, Twenty-Four Mile, Twin Lakes; go for structure. That is bays, inlets, and coves. Also look for shoreline vegetation. Damselfly nymphs, leech patterns, scuds, and midge pupa all in your favorite patterns presented at taking depths all are proving effective.
Recent rains have kept many these high. With more rain expected this weekend some will stay that way. Warm River, Buffalo River, Tom’s Creek, Portneuf River, and Birch Creek should remain fishable. PMDs, Caddis and a few BWOs will be the fare for top water fishing.
Rain has kept streams high, but this bodes well for a good seson extending into late summer and autumn. The Madison River drainage is probably best bet for moving water with PMDs, a few gisnt and golden stones, and caddis on almost all waters. The Lewis River between Shoshone and Lewis lakes is a great palce to try streamers. Here and below Lewis Lake the green drake emergence wiil begin in about a week. Trout Lake opened on the 15th, and it hosts the largest cutthroat-rainbows in the Park. Scuds, midges, damsels and small leech patterns are the best here until it mosses up with the onset of warmer weather. In the southwest corner of the Park, runoff reigns supreme and will for a while yet. The Ashton-Flagg Road is days away from opening all the way through. You can use it now to access lower reaches of Fall River in the Park, but run-off makes the river almost unfishable.
The best activity here would be to go to the tying bench and produce damselfly nymphs for the emergence beginning around the end of the month. If you need to get out, head for deeper water to try midging or presenting scud patterns.
With the South Fork at “High Tide” this river offers some great float fishing alternatives for this weekend. Here’s what’s going on if you like dry fly fishing and need to get that boat out. First, the river is in great shape. From Riverside to Hatchery Ford look for caddis, PMD’s, a few golden stoneflies, and even a few green drakes. From Warm River to Ashton look for big time PMDs, afternoon green drakes, evening caddis and some gray drakes. From Ora Bridge to Chester Backwaters look for PMDs big time, afternoon green drakes and evening caddis and lots’a gray drakes. Predicted cool rainy weahter won’t hurt the fishing a bit. You can even do well through walk-in wade fishing on all of these. With respect to the river below Chester and the Fall River confluence, you can almost float a battleship. Fall River and Teton River are making very generous contributions. But don’t forget the Henry’s Fork Days event at the Last Chance rest area. Stop in for breakfast, to hear incredible fishing tales, and meet folks. Who knows; maybe some upper river green drakes and PMDs will appear to enhance that event.
With over 1200 cfs coming out of Mackay Dam, it’s best to go somewhere else!
A few damselflies are moving on nearly all these in the southeast. This includes Daniels, Chesterfield, Twenty-Four Mile, Hawkins and Springfield reservoirs. Allow a few days of warm weather and they will really begin moving on all of these. Meanwhile, stick to the transition waters, fish the coves, inlets, and weedy areas with scuds and small leech patterns. Your favorite midge pupa under a strike indicator with an almost painfully slow retrieve will produce on these. Experiment to find the taking depth. The upper end of Daniels is a great example of where to fish.
Firehole River, Duck and Cougar creeks are the best so far. The Firehole is best for dry fly fishing with PMDs, BWOs and caddis. There are a few PMDs on Duck Creek, but the best approach here is with nymphs, small leech patterns and the lowly San Juan worm. Same for Cougar Creek. Responses to the PMD emergence on the Madison River is improving. Fall River Basin streams will be high for a while as much run-off is yet to come down. Use a full sink line to put down scud and small leech patterns around weed beds on Shoshone Lake. Walk the Lewis Lake shorelines to pitch streamers on full sink lines, or use streamer tip lines to present streamers in the river above.
Slow is the word, but get those damselfly nymphs ready for the end of the month. Your best pattern for success now would be scuds in various colors as the weed growth has begun and harbors a growing population of these insects.
The lower river is coming alive with insects and fish are responding. Here’s the menu: PMDs, sallys, caddis, golden stones and midges ongoing and attracting fish throughout. Just beginning to emerge are green and gray drakes. The greens are beginning mainly on the Warm River to Ashton reach where the canyon walls hold daytime heat longer. The grays are beginning to appear mainly from Chester backwaters to Ashton Dam. Give both of these some more time and warming weather to attract fish big time.