Birch Creek Family Area above Lone Pine and the diversion are fishable. Water is clearing and dropping. Small bead head nymphs and small peacock woolly worms will produce. As we warm up as promised next week, look for an increase in top water activity.
Many of these are shutting down for the upcoming winter season. With stormy conditions roads to many will be tough, but some remain fishable. Birch Creek and the lower Teton and Blackfoot rivers to name a few. Streamer patterns would be best on the lower Teton and the lower Blackfoot. Birch Creek’s BWO hatch will go on for a while and midges will continue through the winter.
Many of these have shut down because aquatic insects are packing it in for the winter, fish have migrated down to larger waters that offer more cover, and certain roads are not maintained once winter sets in. Candidates to try include the lower Blackfoot and lower Teton rivers and Birch Creek and Warm River (watch road conditions)below Warm River Spring. Water is low on the Blackfoot and Teton. Streamers are working well on both rivers, while traditional attractors in small sizes and BWO life cycle patterns work well on Birch Creek and Warm River.
Many of these are shutting down now. With lower flows and fewer insects available, fish move to bigger waters during winter months where there is better cover and more abundant food. But some good fishing remains. Concentrate your efforts on deeper waters. The lower Blackfoot River has many deeper pockets and holes where a well placed streamer is sure to bring results. The same can be said for the lower Teton River and Robinson Creek. On streams pretty much influenced by springs, good caddis and BWO emergences continue. Examples are Warm River just below Warm River Spring and Birch Creek in the family area.
Flow in lower Blackfoot River is at normal levels for this time of year. Expect good wet fly fishing throughout. The river below Warm River Spring has a great BWO hatch and a few October caddis. Streamers are effective on the lower Teton River. Action on many smaller waters is slowing down as base flow levels are approached and insect activity slows. Birch Creek in the family area is an exception with ongoing BWO & midge hatches and a few October caddis.
Flows out of Blackfoot River Dam are still high (400 cfs) for best fishing, but are sure to drop soon. Streamers work well on the South Fork of the Teton River. Some smaller streams remaining good fishing include the Salt River tribs, Birch Creek, Robinson Creek, and Warm River. Look for BWO life cycle patterns to do well on all these, but remember the closure on Warm River from its confluence with the Henry’s Fork upstream to the railroad tunnel. So the best water to fish here is from Warm River Spring downstream into the canyon.
With no killing frosts yet, terrestrial insect patterns are great choices for all our small streams. Never overlook a cinnamon ant pattern this time of the season. Flavs are providing action on Big Elk Creek and Palisades Creek. With shorter days and less time for water staying at best temperatures for these mayflies to emerge, expect action to take place for fewer afternoon hours. On other streams BWOs and/or tricos provide great action. Warm River, Birch Creek, Teton River, Robinson Creek, and Little Lost River drainage streams are some. But keep those terrestrial and attractor patterns handy on all of these! Flow out of Blackfoot River Dam has jumped from around 250 cfs to around 600 cfs, so fishing is slow on the river below.
Fishing the Blackfoot River above and below the dam is picking up. Flows below are around 270 cfs, above around 60 cfs. Above the dam terrestrial insect patterns and streamers provide the best action. Below the dam where gradients are higher, caddisfly life cycle patterns, traditional attractor patterns and streamer patterns bring action. The lower Teton River is another great location to consider. Hopper and other terrestrial patterns work just fine with streamer patterns presented in the evening a good bet to bring action. Robinson Creek hosts good fishing with caddisfly life cycle, traditional attractors, and terrestrial patterns bringing action. Warm River BWOs and caddisflies provide action from the spring down to the Henry’s Fork confluence. The Birch Creek family area, Beaver Creek above Spencer, and the Little Lost River remain great places to enjoy lightweight gear and a great early day trico emergence. There are several more small streams to visit before frosts become severe, so get in touch with us to get information on these.
South Fork tribs, Bear Creek, and Big Elk Creek remains good fishing with afternoon caddis and terrestrial insects bringing action. It’s pretty much the same on the Salt River tribs. Terrestrial patterns are working well on the lower Teton River and Warm River where BWOs are coming on strong. The upper Blackfoot River, especially the wildlife management area is a great choice for fishing terrestrial and streamer patterns, and the flows on the river below the dam are dropping to stable levels. Look for terrestrial, traditional attractor, caddis life cycle and streamer patterns to be effective there. Birch Creek remains one of the best for action where any dry pattern in size 12 or smaller will draw attention from family fishing area trout which, by the way, are all wild fish. Beaver, Medicine Lodge, Sawmill creeks and Little Lost River will also offer action for those using traditional attractor and caddis life cycle patterns.
This is a great time of year to begin fishing the Blackfoot River below the dam and through the canyon at such places as around Corral Creek, Graves Creek and Trail Creek Campground. Flows will stabilize as irrigation demands for stored water decrease. With more consistent flows action will increase. Caddis life cycle and terrestrial patterns will be best bets for action with some isolated BWO hatches. Don’t overlook pitching streamer patterns as there are some very large cutts & bows in this part of the river.
Look for good terrestrial pattern fishing on such streams as the lower Teton River, the Salt River tribs, Little Lost River, Sawmill Creek, Birch Creek and South Fork tribs. Kokanee are thick in Big Elk Creek but do not interfere with cutts taking PM caddis and terrestrial patterns. Caddis life cycle and attractor patterns will work on all of these waters.