Top

Fishing Reports

Fly Fish Food Jimmy's / Fishing Reports (Page 200)

Still Water 7-27-13

Fishing success is holding up well at Daniels Reservoir.  Try the upper end and east shoreline with your favorite midge pupa pattern under an indicator.  Find the taking depth, and action will come. Be sure to have some of your favorite damselfly nymph patterns on hand.  Again, late and early are the best times to fish. We have a few good reports from folks trying Springfield Reservoir. Here fish cruise the channels between weed beds looking for food subsurface and on the surface.  Presenting a dry damselfly pattern on top of channels between weed beds is effective.  Use a strong (3X-4X) leader because hook fish can dive into the weed beds in an effort to escape.

Share

Small Streams 7-27-13

Jim and Jimmy fished the upper Blackfoot River a few days ago  and had a good experience on the upper end of the Wildlife Management Area. If you have never fished this part of the Blackfoot River, consider a visit. From Interstate-15 take the Sunnyside exit and go east on Sunnyside past Ammon and up into the foothills.  Sunnyside eventually connects with the Bone Road. At this intersection take a right on the Bone Road and head south past Bone.  Just south of Bone the road splits. Take the left hand branch, the Long Valley Road, and follow around the east side of Grey’s Lake  to Idaho Highway 34.  Take a left on the highway to Wayan then a right on the Williamson Loop Road. Go about a mile and take a left on the Lanes Creek Road. Follow this road south to its intersection with the Diamond Creek Road. Here you can take a left onto this road to a parking area on the river. Or you can take a right at the intersection where the road becomes the Blackfoot River Road.  Follow it to a parking area on the left, or continue on the road to the lower end of the Wildlife Management Area, take a left to park near the river. All three of the parking areas give convenient access to the river.  Cutthroat trout are here in good numbers with a very occasional brook trout arriving from the Diamond Creek beaver ponds.  Hoppers  are out in good numbers, so what to use is obvious, but also bring a few PMD life cycle and traditional attractor patterns.  The country is beautiful so do not leave that camera behind.   Best of all, you just may be the only one fishing this classic meadow stream.

Share

Still Waters 7-23-13

Best reservoir fishing to the southeast is in Daniels Reservoir. Although a bit low in water, it offers good fishing for those presenting midge pupa and damselfly nymph patterns under an indicator.  Fish early, fish late applies.  Springfield Reservoir has weeded up, but try placing your favorite adult damselfly pattern on the surface over channels through the weed beds. You may have to stay focused the same as when fishing a pattern under an indicator, but waiting for something to take on the surface is more interesting.  Want to try a different still water location? Consider Paul Reservoir off the Humphrey Exit  from I-15 just below Monida Pass. A fifteen inch cutt will be a braggin’ fish, so select your equipment accordingly. You can fish from shore or easily launch a float tube or pontoon boat. No motors are allowed, and very few folks other than natives know of this place.

Share

South Fork 7-23-13

Flow out of Palisades Dam was dropped to 11800 cfs yesterday.  Water temperature at the dam is 64 Deg. F.   That’s warm enough for wet wading, but not good for much else.  The warmer temperature has slowed daytime fishing on the river below whether through using PMD life cycle, terrestrial patterns, or whatever . So “fish early, fish late”  applies once more. There is a real advantage to doing so in addition to better fishing: fewer anglers.  Expect more flow drops out of the dam coming as in-flow to the reservoir remains less than out-flow.

Share

Small Streams 7-23-13

Mid summer is here, and changes happen on many small waters. On streams where flows drop to the point of little overhead cover and higher in-stream temperature, fish move usually downstream to seek more cover and cooler flows in a main stem water. A good example is that fabulous little brook trout stream, Rock Creek off the Cave Falls Road. Here as waters drop and warm with mid summer, many resident brookies move down into Robinson Creek. The same also happens on lower Willow Creek.  This part of the creek provides good early season fishing when flows between 50 and 100 cfs offer better living conditions than  much lower summertime flows and warmer in-stream temperatures.  So many fish move down into Ririe Reservoir.  Streams with a more constant flow such as from springs (Birch Creek, Big Elk Creek, Henry’s Fork above Island Park Reservoir) or with upstream lakes that add sub-surface water(Palisades Creek, Fall River in Yellowstone Park) will not be impacted as much this time of year.

Share

Yellowstone Park 7-23-13

These bright, warm days make for tough daytime fishing on all streams, but on meadow streams in particular.  So in such as Fall River Basin streams, Duck Creek ( see recent article), Gibbon River, and Slough Creek timbered reaches are likely to offer the best fishing.  For Bechler River and Boundary Creek this means the forested reaches above the meadows.  For Fall River it means timbered reaches between each meadow.  For Duck Creek it means the south side above the upper meadows; for the Gibbon River the timber above Gibbon Meadows. For Slough Creek it means the under-fished timbered reach between the first and second meadows above the campground.   Hoppers are becoming important on all streams, but “fish early, fish late” applies.  When doing so, do not overlook trying a hair mouse pattern!

Share

Henry’s Lake 7-23-13

Action has become slower on the lake due mostly to warming water. The best fishing locations remain in front of Duck, Howard and Targhee Creeks, but “fish early, fish late” applies.  Try the flies and strategy Everet suggests in his 7-13-13 report.  We drove past the south side of the lake yesterday and observed no boats in front of the cliffs and in front of Duck and Hope Creeks.   That observation hints at slow action.

Share

Henry’s Fork 7-23-13

Even though the flows are slightly higher than normal, the lower river is already in the summer doldrums because of the early warm weather.  In the Last Chance-Harriman part of the upper river, all the drake hatches are over and some PMDs remain, but fishing has slowed because of warm weather and recently increased flows out of Island Park dam.  When speckled duns and hoppers become important look for fishing to pick up big time. “Fish early, fish late” applies until then.  Same applies to the lower river, and don’t overlook trying your favorite streamer during sunset to twilight or around sunrise.

Share

Big Lost River 7-2–13

With flow out of Mackay Dam still close to 500 cfs, wading is limited.  The flow is sure to drop, and make for easier wading to meet flav and terrestrial insect and later trico activity.  Floating the river to fish is possible, and caddis, PMD, flav life cycle patterns will work. Likely some golden stoneflies remain. We will post decreases in flow here as soon as such happens.

Share

Yellowstone Park 7-20-13

We offer much information about meadow streams such as in Fall River Basin, along upper Slough Creek, and Pelican Creek which is on the rebound.  Size of the fish, scenic beauty, and solitude make these places among the most enjoyable that can be visited. For many anglers seeking meadow streams, however, the problem is the long walks required to reach the best waters on these.  Let’s suggest some meadow streams that do not require hours of walking to and from.   The Lamar River above the canyon is fishing well now.  So are the Gibbon River in meadow reaches above the canyon, lower Slough Creek, and the Lewis River below the Falls and adjacent to the South Entrance highway.  Very large trout reside in each of these, and for each of these waters you need to be stealthy and knowledgeable with respect to approach. Terrestrial patterns, PMD life cycle, damselfly life cycle, patterns for diminishing brown drakes are  best for now, and in these warm, bright days the axiom “fish early, fish late” applies.  But being adjacent to major roads means that many anglers will accompany you on each of these. So we offer a meadow stream on which you cannot expect little or no company, is  in beautiful country, hosts a variety of very large trout, and requires a minimal walk.  Want to read more about this water? Go to our Articles page and read about Duck Creek in Yellowstone Park.

Share