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Fishing Reports

Fly Fish Food Jimmy's / Fishing Reports (Page 3)

Stillwaters, November 16th, 2024

IDF&G has released aged spawning rainbows in Mackay and Springfield Reservoir. They are big: ranging upward to ten pounds, but they are not pretty and they are not rugged fighters. Those that hold over through the winter will become worthy adversaries by spingtime. Leech patterns slowly retrieved seem to be a good way to attract them.

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South Fork, November 9th, 2024

With these low flows  (882 cfs at Irwin, 1450 at cfs at Heise, 750 cfs at Lorenzo) the river is tough on hard sided boats and near deadly on jet boats.  That means gel coat patches on rocks and required knowledge of main channel locations.  Palisades Reservoir is down to near one third of capacity, so water managers are intent on filling it.  Wading is a best option, and much of the river is open to it. Be gentle and limit playing time so trout have a better chance to recover.

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Henry’s Fork, November 9th, 2024

Winter fishing conditions have arrived in Island Park. The Tubs and Box Canyon are the best places to pitch streamer patterns. Afternoon BWO and midge hatches provide some top water fishing for a few hours on the lower river, and it looks like we will have good streamer fishing especially with the unsettled weather predicted for this weekend and beyond.  Dress warmly!

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Southwestern Montana, November 9th, 2024

Brown Trout are migrating to the Madison River above Quake Lake. Streamer patterns prevail for the best of luck. It is winter fishing conditions, but can be quite crowded. A less crowded choice is the South Fork of the Madison River estuary above Lonesomehurst campground. Not as many browns in that run, but they, too, run to trophy size.

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South Fork, October 26th, 2024

Flow out of Palisades Dam will drop to winter level soon. Right now gages show about 1890 cfs at Irwin, 2600 cfs at Heise and 1000 cfs at Lorenzo. These can make hazardous levels for boating and such will be the case through the winter. Trout will concentrate in deeper water and have their toughest survival times  until run-off season. Diminishing BWO activity is going on throughout the river making midge activity providing more of top water action. So begins the season for favoring such as streamer, rubber leg and jig patterns for interesting action. Consider harvesting trout and whitefish trapped in canals that are shut off from the river.

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Henry’s Fork, October 26th, 2024

Flow out of Island Park Dam is about 170 cfs. Plans are to increase it to higher levels during the winter which is good news for juvenile fish down to Pinehaven. The best streamer fishing on the upper river can be found in Box Canyon and in the Tubs. In the lower river afternoon BWO activity and evening midge activity provides some action, but presenting streamer patterns of choice to migrating brown trout offers the most exciting action.

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