If you are a top water fishing enthusiast, the Firehole River offers some of the best fishing in the entire area with BWO ( see above photo) activity being the reason for such. Swinging traditional soft hackled patterns ( partridge & olive, partridge and tan, etc) works as well as anything. Afternoon dry fly fishing using small (#20, #22) BWO dun and spinner patterns of choice is also effective.
Brown trout runs in the Madison and Lewis River drainages are peaking with those in the Snake and Gardner Rivers coming on. Unsettled weather coming up should enhance fishing success in these runs, but be prepared for increased chances for snow and drops in air temps.
Brown trout fishing success is happening on the lower river, and upcoming unsettled weather should enhance this happy situation. However, top water action continues because of BWO and mahogany dun, midge and caddis activity and fish feeding on these. Evenings are a good time to enjoy fish responding to this activity. Early sunsets make it convenient to head home or to a favored restaurant or ‘wateringhole” to enjoy a hearty dinner while savoring the day’s fishing success.
Brown trout are migrating throughout the river with streamer fishing the name of the game.
One thing with which we should be concerned is the quagga mussel infestation in the river around the Twin Falls area. Methods to poison these have been applied, but total elimination success is yet to be determined. Meanwhile, the river is temporarily closed to sporting activity, and a total fish kill has happened in the infested area. Why bring this situation up here? Simply because this infestation can happen anywhere. If you have fished this part of the river, wash your belongings ( boats, clothing, gear ) that have been submerged if you intend to use such to fish anywhere above Shoshone Falls. Certainly, we do not want these critters to be discovered in our waters!
Some of our small streams offer good fishing this time of the season. The Teton River in the Basin is an example where recreational boats: plastic, inflatable, and made of anything else have reduced to a minimum. A few duck hunters may be around. BWO and mahogany may fly and PM caddis activity make for good top water fishing most days. With frosts becoming deeper, terrestrial insect activity is reducing.. Whether you tie you own or purchase hopper patterns, remember that their body color changes with the season to match that prevailing in the terrestrial surroundings., Fish are conditioned to take well placed hopper and ant patterns when presented with drag-free drifts along vegetation overhangs. So don’t put away those hopper-dropper rigs yet. Watch the weather predictions as snow is possible in the Basin next week.
Expect that snow line to drop as we move into November!
Flow out of Palisades Dam was reduced yesterday: now about 2300 cfs at Irwin, 3700 cfs at Heise, and 1200 cfs at Lorenz. This action will concentrate fish in deeper water except during feeding activity on aquatic insect emergences. Unsettled weather predicted for the next several days should enhance BWO and mahogany activity (if wind is not very vigorous) and make streamer fishing pick up.
Are you a Salmon River steelhead fishing enthusiast ? You can keep current of conditions for doing so by opening IDF&G’s update reports for this activity on the Press Releases and Articles page of their web site. For example the page has a report on Salmon River steelhead fishing issued today, 10/17/23, on conditions and fishing success.
The Press Releases and Articles page also has current information on the quagga mussel situation on the Snake River in the Twin Falls area.
Mormon Girl, an almost forgotten streamer pattern from Jackson Hole
Flow out of Palisades Dam has been constant for a week: about 2800 cfs at Irwin, 3600 cfs at Heise, and 1500 cfs at Lorenzo. On a windy day, like today, expect a reduction in numbers of mayflies hatching. It makes no sense to do so if they are blown away before finishing the task of mating and laying eggs! So switch to such as rubber leg, fly rod jigs, and streamers until the wind dies down.
Blue-green algae growth has ceased on nearly all our still waters. Such conditions for this decrease include fewer sunlight hours, cooling water and air temperatures, and time result in this good situation for anglers and animals be they pets or livestock. It’s really god news for fish because decreasing blue-green algae means more dissolved oxygen in hosting water as well as a lesser impact on available food. Our irrigation reservoirs ( ie Island Park, Twenty-Four, Mile, Treasureton, Chesterfield, Paul’s Reservoir, and even Henry’s Lake) are particularly subject to this bloom because of draw-down during warmest months, but natural lakes also host these algae (Blair Lake, Aldous Lake). So expect improvement in still water fishing success coming up.
Incidentally, there is a particular indicator that large fish are present in any still water. That is the presence of snails as indicated by their shells along the shoreline. Such as Sheridan Reservoir, Treasureton Reservoir, Hebgen Lake, Little Valley Reservoir, and Aldous Lake are examples. Jack Gartside’s Wet Mouse drifted under an indicator is an excellent pattern for imitating a dead and drifting snail in such waters.
Wait for the wind to die down if you are fishing top waters anywhere on the river for BWO, caddis, midge, and mahogany activities. Wind is one of the worst enemies of aquatic insects that go to the surface to mature and lay eggs. Simply said; with windy conditions, they blow away before completing their purpose. If winds dies down during evenings, that is the time of day to see an increased density of these insects being active, and salmonids will respond this time of day.
Headlines 10/9
Headlines from Dr. Rob Van Kirk’s Henry’s Fork Drainage Water Status Report filed Yesterday, 10/16/2023
The new water year started out near average in temperature and wet, continuing the pattern that started in early August.
More precipitation is expected tomorrow through Thursday.
At an average outflow of 341 cfs, Island Park Reservoir has gained 284 ac-ft/day over the past six days and is 67% full, compared with 48% on average.
The upper Snake River reservoir system is filling slowly and is 43% full, compared with 39% full on average.
For several years it has been a tradition at the shop to offer wintertime Saturday fly tying demonstrations (demo(s)), free to the public. True, these were suspended during the covid crisis, but on being revived during the winter of 2022-2023 an enthusiastic public attended.
Realizing that this event is in demand by the fly fishing public, Fly Fish Food Jimmy’s will continue this Saturday tradition with noted fly tiers demonstrating their abilities at the tying vise. Each of these tiers will also offer tying technique and “how, where and when“ information on fishing the patterns demonstrated.
For each Saturday, beginning November 4th this year, and offered into March, 2024, this web site will announce the scheduled tier, information on patterns they intend to tie, and an outline of materials to be used do so. Demos begin at 10 AM and extend to around Noon. Being adjacent to Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays respectively, demos will not be offered on Saturday, November 25th and Saturday, December 23rd.
Our November 4th demo features Clark (Cheech) Pierce. Cheech presented a worthy demo years ago at the shop, but since that event has accumulated vast knowledge on materials usage, much of which is original and new to the fly tying world. Look for Cheech to also give information on using each demonstrated pattern as well as answer questions on technique and pattern selection. Look for more information on Cheech’s demo later this month.
