Salmon flies are starting to hatch on the Warm River to Ashton Stretch. This is the beginning of the hatch the Salmon flies are not out in huge numbers but they are there and trout are eating dries and nymphs. You also have a good showing of caddis out and hatching. I expect the Vernon to Chester stretch to start soon and we will update the report as soon as we know.
Flows have been coming up for the past few days. The flows today are 10,500 cfs. Fishing right now is pretty much all nymphing and Streamers. We have had reports of Blue Wing Olives on the lower river by the Heise bridge but the fish rising have been sparse and inconsistent. As far as flows go and when we expect them to go up or down is weather dependent. Runoff has not started for the tributaries on the South Fork and that really could happen anytime between now and mid June. We will keep you all updated as things change and start to move into Summer fishing….It’s going to be a GREAT year!
The release from the Ashton Dam was delayed and we believe that they will start to release water today. We will keep you all updated and although I don’t think the water quality will be fishable because they don’t have to do any excavation.
So far the only Stonefly action is on the warm river. some of them have been moved down to the stone bridge below the confluence of Warm River and Henry’s Fork. Caddis, March Browns, Blue Wing Olive and Stonefly nymphs have been effective on the lower river. Through Box Canyon you will find some BWO hatches and a few caddis hatches right now. Nymphing will be your best opportunity for hooking fish through the Box Canyon.
Flows on the Lower Henry’s Fork have seemed to level out from that warm spell we had last week that raised the water levels that discolored the water. Caddis, March Browns and Blue Wing olives have been hatching and fish have been receptive to a dry fly presentation. Nymphing has also been effective. I would fish 2 rubberlegs below an indicator right now focusing on stoneflies starting to move around. Just a few more weeks till we start seeing a major move of stonflies to the bank for the Salmon Fly hatch. I haven’t heard much about the streamer activity but I assume you should be able to move some fairly large fish right now with a big fly.
Flows have been bouncing around for the last few weeks. Right now they are at 9,000cfs. As it stands we will not get a huge flush of water this spring over 20,000cfs. So this means that any damage that we can do to the rainbow population will have to be through anglers harvesting them. Right now the fishing at the Dam has been really good. Some streamer action but the majority of fish being caught have been on mysis shrimp, scuds and egg patterns. Rubberlegs and dead drifted J.J. Specials will also catch fish. For the rest of the river, Rubberlegs, and Bead Head nymphs have been effective.
Flows on the South Fork have been dropped to 9,000 cfs. There have been a lot of fisherman having good success at Palisades Dam. Mysis shrimp patterns and glo bugs have been the ticket. You gotta get them down deep and on the bottom. As far as the rest of the river is concerned glo bugs, rubberlegs and bead head nymphs have been moving a lot of fish. The streamer action is picking up but remember the water is still cold so be sure to slow down that presentation to entice a strike.
There is a blocked channel on the Lorenzo to Menan float. Its about half way into the float. The majority of the river banks to the right and the left channel is completely blocked by a log jam. I have not seen it but this was reported to us by some customers. Please check out every side channel before you float it this time of year. You don’t want to get stuck walking your boat out of a long side channel.
Flows on the South Fork were down and now they are back up to 8,000 cfs. Once the flows settle down the nymphing will pick back up. I would also expect to see some great streamer action once the water warms up in the next few weeks.
We have info about the Lorenzo boat ramp. As of right now this boat ramp is not useful for many boats. If you are launching here it is best to unload your boat on the cement and push it into the water and walk it down to bottom of the walk way and tie it up. The current right in front of the ramp is extremely fast and dunking your trailer in the water and launching will be very hard. If you are running a power boat do not use this ramp.
For individuals taking out at Lorenzo this is a 1 boat ramp right now. If there is a drift boat on the ramp when you come in you will need to wait until they finish before you pull in. If you try to pull below a boat at the ramp already you will not be able to stop and you will miss the ramp. After that your on your way to Menan.
We suggest looking at the Lorenzo boat ramp before you decide to launch or take out here. If you have questions please call the shop.
Leave the river below Chester Dam alone because of run off coming from Fall River. The river above to the Vernon Bridge (closed until general opening from there upstream to the Ashton Dam) offers some good afternoon fishing when BWO activity gets going. Overcast, low wind (if you can find such!) days are best. Caddisfly action is also giving fish reason to feed. If you fish later in the day, be sure to have streamer patterns available. During evenings large trout will be foraging, especially around parts of the river out of direct sunlight. Presenting streamer patterns during this activity gives you the best chance for encountering a trophy this time of year. Go to the Henry’s Fork Foundation web site for an update on activities at the Ashton Dam and for their outlook on construction impacts on fishing the river below for weeks to come.
Flows got bumped again his weekend to 10,000 cfs. Looks like they did it around noon on Friday. So things should have calmed down by now as far as fishing goes. You will want to fish deep. 9-10 feet from your indicator to your first fly. I would also fish with really heavy flies. Stonefly nymphs, and larger bead head nymphs that are bright and noticeable in the off color water. Look for fish to be in the slow water and they will be on the bottom. Also look for fish looking for some relief from the higher flows in the side channels and eddy’s.
Water quality is still good on the Henry’s Fork. The Fall River is putting a little color into the river below Chester Dam but it is not enough to worry about. Midges have still been hatching in good numbers, not a lot of activity with Blue Wing Olives. BWO’s should be hatching in large numbers any day now. Nymphing and streamer fishing between the dry fly hatches have also been producing fish.