Big stoneflies are hatching in good numbers on the river at least as far as Burns Creek. Golden stoneflies and yellow sallys are coming out, too. So it is time to enjoy this great event in a year when low water may have impact on fishing later in the summer. Flow out Of Palisades Dam remains at 12800 cfs, the same as it has been since mid-June. Flows will likely drop later this summer.
We fished the river in Bechler Meadows Thursday. Purple camas bloom is at its peak. Fishing was tough considering the effort we put in. Water is quite low for this time of year, but some fish responded to wet flies. Good dry fly fishing should begin soon beginning with isoperla and PMD activity. Hopefully green drakes and brown drakes will appear next. And yes, mosquitoes are out in the usual good numbers making DEET a valuable commodity. Bring a raincoat because t-showers are common this time of year. We were hit by one that dropped air temps about 25 deg. F and made rain go sideways. So glad I was wearing a pair of Simms Goretex Pac-Lite pants to ward off wind and rain. What a terrific product for when weather acts up! Come in and look these over.
We will be in Bechler Meadows tomorrow, so expect a report on the results of fishing the river. Right now run-off is leaving all Fall River Basin streams, so we will be looking for the emergence sequence beginning with isoperla stoneflies, PMDs, green drakes and on to brown drakes. The Ashton Forest Service Office tells us the Flagg Ranch Road is open at least to the Targhee, Bridger-Teton National Forest border at the far end of Grassy Lake. Now it is possible to walk into Beula Lake to enjoy cutts responding to damselflies.
Now is a good time to go back to the Cardiac Canyon reach with dry golden and giant stonefly patterns. The giants and golden hatches went through big time a few weeks ago, and fish have had a chance to digest those eaten. Fish remain conditioned to look for these, so a good strategy for such as Hatchery Ford, around the Mesa Falls area, and Bear Gulch is to present them. You may not get into quite as many fish as during the peak of these hatches, but you will surely have good results. Cardiac Canyon keeps you away from crowds on the Harriman-Last Chance reach above looking for responses to green drakes, caddisflies, and PMDs and from the crowds on the river below responding to the gray drake hatch. Speaking of green drakes, they’re ramping down on the lower river and yet to make a major appearance in the Last Chance-Harriman part of the river.
Fishing remains spotty. Give it more time towards the end of the month and danselflies will begin hatching big time. Then things will change for the better.
Big fish are where you find them. We have a report (pictures and all) of a 27-inch brown coming out of the Portneuf River above Lava Hot Springs. Here are a few other small streams that hold big browns: Robinson Creek, Camas Creek, South Fork of the Madison River (Montana), Duck Creek, Grayling Creek, and Gibbon River (Yellowstone Park), Warm River, Stump Creek and Crow Creek ( all in season), lower Grey’s River (Wyoming). The same could be said for Willow Creek, Cranes Creek, and Gray’s Lake Outlet up until the early 1990s when drought and other actions diminished them. There may be a few left in these waters, but nothing like in years gone by.
Fishing on the Madison River below Hebgen Lake is really shaping up. Big stoneflies are beginning to hatch early, caddisflies are giving great PM fishing and PMDs are emerging big time. Streamers are working during low light conditions. And because insect activity is beginning earlier than normal, crowds are down.
Chesterfield Reservoir is down at least ten feet from full pool. But fish are taking damselfly nymphs with enthusiasm. But enjoy fishing there soon because further draw-down is coming and could warm this reservoir enough to slow fishing. Twenty-Four Mile Reservoir offers the same good fishing through using damselfly nymphs but the threat of for draw-down is much less. Fishing is good on Daniels, Hawkins and Treasureton reservoirs for the same reason: damselfly activity.
We packed float tubes down DeLacey Creek trail to Shoshone Lake two days ago and were met by eager juvenile lake trout trout that would not quit hitting. A few good sized (up to 15″) brookies joined in, but the browns did not. If you are looking for back country fly-fishing that is sure to produce a great experience, and this big lake offers it, here is what you need: good enough physical shape to back-pack a float tube, fins, INSULATED waders, fly-fishing gear, raincoat, etc., six miles round trip. Here’s what works: get out in the lake and present small leech (black in size 10 is best) or scud patterns (orange in size 14 is best) on top of weed beds through using a full sink line. The lake trout average 17-21″ and in the cold (47 Deg. F.) water put up a credible fight. The Park Service encourages keeping these fish, but carrying out five fish this size makes the walk out tougher. So take out the results of using that filet knife, and put the rest back in the lake. Elsewhere in the Park, fishing on the Firehole River is holding up very well (see our last report on fishing Yellowstone Park waters). PMDs are making great PM fishing on the Madison River, and a few golden stones are showing up there. Run-off is beginning to leave Fall River Basin streams. Streams in the northeast corner of the Park are high but beginning to drop in flow.
The flows on the south fork have stabilized at 12,800cfs at Paslisades Dam and 14,000 at Heise. This should be the flow for much of the summer. Run off has peaked according the Bureau of Reclamation and Palisades Reservoir will not fill this year which points to an early stonefly hatch. Traditionally the hatch starts the last week of June but I’m sure we’ll see it start earlier. We floated from Byington to Lorenzo yesterday and had very good fishing with a pair of Bennett’s brown rubber legs. The fish were holding below the drop offs and troughs in the riffles. We did not see any stone adults but we saw a hand full of yellow sallies and green drakes. Some of the fish had bulging bellies from eating stone nymphs.
We’ll keep you updated on the status and progress of the hatch. Meanwhile the fishing with nymphs and streamers should be very good. The river is the perfect “south fork green” color for this time of year.
