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Fishing Reports

Jimmy's All Seasons Angler / Fishing Reports (Page 29)

Still Waters, May 9th, 2023

The latest stocking information for IDF&G’s Upper Snake and Southeast Regions follows. We post this here because it applies mostly to still waters. Many of these are great locations for family fishing. Some of these still waters host hold-over trout from previous stocking which can grow to trophy sizes. Some not yet stocked cannot be reached until roads open.

Ashton Reservoir – 38,751 rainbow trout

A scenic 400-acre reservoir on the Henry’s Fork, this waterbody is known for rainbow trout and is also home to the state-record brown trout.

Birch Creek – 4,750 rainbow trout

A productive spring creek in a high-desert basin, this small stream is ideal for kids and less experienced anglers. Rainbow trout are stocked heavily around access areas, and wild brook trout are fairly common.

Blue Creek Reservoir – 2,000 rainbow trout

This reservoir is located approximately 15 miles north of St. Anthony and is part of the Sand Creek Wildlife Management Area. Fish will be stocked when access/road conditions allow. There are additional ponds in close proximity that will also be stocked and provide additional fishing opportunities. These include:

  • Sand Creek MWA Pond #1 – 3,500 rainbow trout
  • Sand Creek WMA Pond #4 – 2,700 rainbow trout

Henrys Fork – 10,000 rainbow trout

World-famous for trout fishing! The river is suitable for wade fishing, bank fishing and fishing from a boat.

Mackay Reservoir – 4,200 rainbow trout

In the high desert of the Big Lost River Valley, fishing is popular from a boat and from shore on this 1,100-plus-acre reservoir.

Ririe Reservoir – 18,000 rainbow trout and 3,600 tiger trout

This waterbody provides an exceptional and diverse fishery. Springtime is ideal to troll for kokanee and rainbow trout.

Teton River – 1,000 rainbow trout

This river drains the west slope of the Teton Range and provides excellent fly fishing opportunities for all skill levels. Fish will be stocked in the Rexburg area. Check out this video showing the magic of fly fishing! 

Trail Creek Pond – 450 rainbow trout

Also known as Victor Kids Pond, this small, scenic pond is located in the lush Teton Basin. One of the most consistent kids fisheries in the area, it is easily fished from the bank, with trails and picnic tables around the perimeter.

Bannock Reservoir – 1,000 rainbow trout

Located within the Portneuf Wellness Complex near the County Fairgrounds in Pocatello, this community park offers good trout fishing. Multiple docks provide fishing access around the 5-acre pond.

Bear River below Oneida Dam – 3,000 rainbow trout

These fish will be stocked in the very scenic Oneida Narrows reach of the river below the dam. This popular section of the river offers the longest continuous public access along the entire Bear River.

Dike Lake – 1,500 rainbow trout

Located adjacent to the Blackfoot Reservoir Campground, this waterbody gets stocked once a year. This yields high catch rates for a limited time, so catch ‘em before they’re gone!

Dingle Gravel Pond – 1,000 rainbow trout

This pond is located adjacent to the Bear River east of Dingle in Bear Lake County.

Kelly Park Pond – 500 rainbow trout

Located in Soda Springs, accessing this pond requires a short walk, but it offers a great kids fishing opportunity. Lace up the boots, grab the fishing poles and take the kids on a nature walk!

McTucker Pond – 1,500 rainbow trout

Located near Springfield, there are many places for kids to fish from docks or the bank.

Montpelier Rearing Pond – 500 rainbow trout

This little fishing spot is tucked into a scenic high desert canyon in the hills east of Montpelier. It’s a great spot to take kids fishing.

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Henry’s Fork, May 9th, 2023

Headlines from Dr. Rob Van Kirk’s SWE Report Filed Yesterday for the Henry’s Fork Drainage

  • Temperatures and snow melt were lower yesterday than earlier in the week but still above average.
  • Natural stream flow increased yesterday to average but is likely to level off today, depending on location and amount of rainfall.
  • At an average outflow of 695 cfs, Island Park Reservoir gained 421 ac-ft yesterday and is 86% full, compared with 93% full on average.

Water quality

Turbidity continues to increase across the watershed in response to snow melt and increasing stream flow. Turbidity is particularly high right now in Fall River and other tributaries such as Robinson Creek. Water temperatures dropped back to average yesterday at all locations except Island Park Dam, where ice cover has kept temperature at 39 degrees F. Our water quality data show no signs of open water on the reservoir yet. Ice melted last year on May 6, the latest date of ice-off we have observed since installing our water quality instruments in 2014. This year’s ice-off date is likely to be 4-6 days later than that

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Rob Van Kirk, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist

Henry’s Fork Foundation

P.O. Box 550

Ashton, ID 83420

208-881-3407 CELL

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South Fork, May 6th, 2023

Flow out of Palisades Dam has leveled at about 4500 cfs for several days, but is certain to rise as weather warms and downstream irrigation demands increase. Tributaries below the dam are releasing discolored run-off into the river.

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Still Waters, May 6th, 2023

Still water fly fishers are yearning for so many waters to open and offer good fishing. Here is some info we have gathered on status of the most popular of these.

Ice is leaving Chesterfield Reservoir. See picture above (courtesy of Dave Whitworth) taken last Wednesday. At that date, it was about 80% iced over. Road to the boat dock is open, and ice should be gone for the upcoming week.

Twenty-Four Mile Reservoir is likely totally iced over, and the road to it can be damaged by travel. So it is in best interest to wait until ice leaves and the road dries out.

Blackfoot Reservoir remains iced over. Contact Bingham and Caribou county web sites for road conditions.

The Dairy Creek Road leaving just below Hawkins Reservoir and making a short cut to Daniels Reservoir is open, but rough in places. It is being fished ( mostly Utah anglers) but offers spotty fishing to date.

Hawkins Reservoir has been stocked with hatchery catchable rainbows, and fishing action is picking up.

Springfield Reservoir offers spotty fishing with early AMs and evenings being best time for action. Try midge pupa patterns under indicators at these times.

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Henry’s Fork, May 6th, 2023

Ground water flooding impacts access at the Vernon Bridge.

Headlines from Dr. Rob Van Kirk’s SWE Report Filed Yesterday for the Henry’s Fork Drainage

  • The month of April was cooler and slightly drier than average.
  • Watershed SWE peaked last Monday, at 119% of the average annual peak; 94% of this year’s peak SWE is still on the ground, compared with 87% on average.
  • Natural flow is increasing in response to snowmelt; moderate rainfall is expected later in the week.
  • Last week’s freshet exported 321 tons of sediment out of the Island Park to Pinehaven reach, compared with about 30 tons had the freshet not occurred.

Here is some interesting info from Dr. Van Kirk on the effects of the freshet performed for four days in late April.

Over the four days of the freshet operation, 321 tons of fine sediment were exported from the river reach between Island Park Dam and Pinehaven. Based on pre- and post-freshet numbers, we expect that about 30 tons would have been exported over those four days had the freshet not been done. For reference, the average annual net export of fine sediment from the reach over irrigation years 2016-2022 is 650 tons. So, the freshet moved half of the average annual sediment budget in three days. Freshet-related turbidity has dropped to near pre-freshet levels, but now increased stream flow from natural snow melt is increasing turbidity again, especially in the lower watershed.

Meanwhile, warmer water temperatures are accelerating aquatic insect development, although hatch timing remains later than average and even later than last year over the lower watershed. We expect rapidly warming conditions over the next few days, but the cooler forecast for late in the week could slow down progress toward average hatch timing ( His info on aquatic insect hatches helps explain the relatively slow recent fishing on the lower river).

Rob Van Kirk, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist

Henry’s Fork Foundation

P.O. Box 550

Ashton, ID 83420

208-881-3407 CELLG

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Small Streams, May 2nd, 2023

Our snow-water equivalents (SWEs) range from about 130% of normal in the Snake River drainage above Palisades Reservoir and Henry’s Fork drainage to 375% of normal in the Blackfoot River, Portneuf River, and Willow Creek drainages. These combined with what weather-wise looks like a fairly normal run-off season suggest that the upcoming fly fishing months will abound with cool stream flows that will benefit trout activity. It’s all great news! True, this means streams will be high with run-off a bit longer than many fly fishers would prefer, but getting to such waters may also be interesting. With so much snow yet to come off, back country roads that approach so many of these waters may not become passable until later than normal. So road maintenance agencies ranging from municipal to federal have issued closure statements cautioning the public on traveling such only after they are cleared of snow and dried enough not to be damaged by traffic.

We at Jimmy’s All Seasons Angler will watch both road and water situations and provide on this website information that will help fly-fishers decide which streams to visit and when roads to them are open.

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Henry’s Fork, May 2nd, 2023

Headlines from Dr. Rob Van Kirk’s SWE report filed yesterday for the Henry’s Fork drainage.

Headlines
• Temperatures and snow melt were well above average yesterday, but current SWE is 10% above the average annual peak and 27% above average for the date.
• Natural stream flow has increased 22% in the past two days and is 72% of average for the date.
• Precipitation over the next week is now forecast to be heavy, with much cooler temperatures.
• My forecast for April-September total natural stream flow is 105% of average for the watershed: 102% in upper Henry’s Fork, 103% in Fall River, and 106% in Teton River.

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Main Stem Snake River, April 30th, 2023

From the Henry’s Fork confluence downstream flow is increasing because run-off has begun in tributaries and because of the increased flow out of Palisades Dam. The USGS maintained flow graph for the river below American Falls Reservoir looks like a step function as flow is now around 6000 cfs and and will be increasing to satisfy downstream irrigation demands. So look for better fishing days on the river as we warm to where we should for the time of the year.

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