Almost all of our small steams are rounding into good fly fishing shape. The Teton River is one that is approaching such conditions, so it is worth looking at it a bit because it will become very popular quickly. The river in Teton Valley is its most popular stretch where wading and boating will increase very soon. So will recreational boating, so on stream diplomacy will be required as well as making early AMs and evenings best times for tranquil fishing . Several launch facilities are present and will have much use when recreational boating begins. Early season aquatic insect hatches include sallies, PMDs and caddis. Not to be totally overlooked, large stone flies blown in from the canyon reach below means long drifted patterns of each can be effective. When hatches begin in earnest drifting, then lifting soft hackled patterns also become effective.
This conversation is going to be general. But because so many area cutthroat spawning streams opened to fishing a few days ago there is a particular reason for fishing these, and that is because of hosted beaver ponds. Beaver ponds provide so many advantages for trout. They offer relative overhead cover, cool water this time of the season, a rich variety of food forms from damsel flies and speckled duns on down to leeches (easy protein), scuds, and even mice and snakes. You will find these pond only on low gradient sections of small streams (no way could beavers dam the South Fork!), but some can be large enough to host a flotation device (See above photo). Now is the time for best fishing on these because as summer advances they warm like all other waters.
So where does one find these ponds? Many of the best are off the beaten track. The Willow Creek drainage is a good place to start looking. Such as Cranes Creek, Hell Creek, Gray’s Lake Outlet, lower Homer Creek, Tex Creek are good candidates. All Palisades Reservoir tribs host beaver ponds and so do Salt River tribs coming out of Idaho (Crow, Jackknife, Stump, Tincup). Palisades Creek, just above the lower lake, hosts some, and so do several Henry’s Fork drainage streams. The same applies to Teton River and Big Lost River tribs. Use Google Earth and look for their presence.
Fish in these, usually brown, brook and cutthroat trout can attain surprisingly large sizes. Browns up to ten pounds use to inhabit Cranes and Willow Creek and Gray’s Lake Outlet beaver ponds. Cutthroat in Centennial Valley streams range exceed twenty inches in length. Brook trout exceeding twenty inches still inhabit Duck Creek beaver ponds.
Other streams are now worth a visit. Bitch, McCoy, Palisades and Robinson Creeks are near run-off free. Golden stones, PMDs, sallys and PM caddis are active on these. Warm River below it spring offers Brook, brown and rainbow trout (relative solitude compared to nearby Henry’s Fork) responding to the same aquatic insects. b
With the exception of the Ashton-Flagg Road beyond Calf Creek hill and one other big exception, all back country roads are open. The other exception is getting to Bear Creek where the Bear Creek road will be closed for many weeks. The Jensen Creek road, the long way around ( Leaving the McCoy Creek Road about three miles above the campground) to Bear Creek is also closed. Thus the only ways to reach Bear Creek is though boating or hiking. Other major streams feeding Palisades Reservoir are rounding into good fishing shape with small streamer and such as woolly bugger and San Juan worm patterns being effective until aquatic insects ( caddis, golden stone flies, PMDs,etc) become more active. Other small streams in that area that are rounding into shape are the Salt River tribs coming out of Idaho: Jackknife, Tincup, Stump, and Crow Creeks. Fish within these respond to the same patterns suggested for the Reservoir tribs.
Nearly all Caribou-Targhee National forest roads are open. The Bear Creek road is the big exception. It could remain so for at least weeks. However most streams are high with run-off, meaning best fishing is ahead of us. Birch Creek is an exception and offers good fishing especially above Lone Pine where the Sorenson family has a public fishing area. It is an ideal place to take a youngster for introducing fly fishing. Small, but aggressive brook and rainbow trout inhabit the stream. Safe and easily approached, small wet flies work best, but when insect become active, top water fishing can be very good. Try dry and wet traditional patterns. All this applies also to Little Warm River, that reach above Warm River Spring where brook trout quickly respond to any small fly offered..
The road up Big Elk Creek Arm of Palisades Reservoir is open and in good shape. The creek is high with discolored water, but fish are staging in front of it just past the discolored water plume. Woolly bugger types presented on intermediate lines bring action. Best action comes through using a boat to venture to the edge of the discolored water although wading & casting from the shoreline brings some action.
.This is the only road open to access Palisades Reservoir tributaries, all of which are currently running high and discolored. The U. S. Forest Service asks that the public refrain from travel on these until they dry or are repaired. The Bear Creek Road, in particular, has significant damage that will take time and effort to repair.
Run-off from our much higher than normal snowfall last winter is beginning. Here is an example in almost the extreme. Snow pack in the Willow Creek-Blackfoot and Portneuf Rivers drainages was about 300% of normal. Today run-off measured by the USGS’s Willow Creek gage stationed just above Ririe Reservoir measured a flow of 1880 cfs and climbing. That is compared to a normal flow this time of around 250 cfs! All of our small streams will see unusually high run-off flows. These may delay good fishing on each, but will replenish depleted ground water levels which will keep good flows going, benefit resident trout and extend good fishing through the season.
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.
During the last few years winters have been near disasters with respect to providing snowfall to restore our reginal waters to normal amounts that are beneficial for resident salmonids. Consequently, those salmonid populations have dwindled a bit, and those remaining have been relatively inactive in responding to our fly fishing efforts.
Although annoying, this winter has been the most generous in decades for providing replenishing amounts of snow. Here are some examples of regional drainages benefiting from the more than generous snowfall. Estimates earlier this week concluded the amounts in the Henry’s Fork and Snake River drainages above Palisades Reservoir are around 120% of normal, and the Big Lost River’s is about 140% of normal. Other sinks drainages are at similar amounts. But not to be outdone, that of the Bear River’s is about 170%. And leading the pack, those of the Blackfoot, and Portneuf Rivers and Willow Creek are about 185% of normal. This abundance of snowfall in those four latter drainages could not be better news for the immediate future of endangered native cutthroat trout the major salmonid in each of these.
The effect of this abundance is that first ground water amounts will be restored to natural levels, then streams will be restored to the same, and still waters will move closer to natural volumes. Irrigation draw -downs will not have as negative an impact on hosted fisheries as in past years. In particular, many of our depleted smaller waters, not influenced by storage reservoirs, will “come back to life” with respect to providing better conditions for hosting salmonids and therefore being fished.
Spring time weather will determine the length and intensity of the upcoming run-off season, and can even impact the first months of fishing season. Even if a delayed fishing season occurs, the amount of water generated from the abundance of snow melt will benefit our salmonid populations in that it will begin a restoration to natural amounts. And the cooler waters will provide higher concentrations of dissolved oxygen which salmonids need to be active.
So anglers and our salmonids alike will benefit from the furious winter that is finally winding down. It may mean a delay in our best fishing conditions, but such is worth the wait when more active salmonids for a longer time are results of a winter that brought so many road closures, shoveling, and downright foul weather.
Recent cool, wet weather has made many back country roads a challenge to drive, and traveling on them can damage their surfaces. There are streams that can be reached by paved or well maintained gravel roads. Among these are lower Warm River around the campground, Teton River in the Basin, the Hog Hollow area, and at the dam site, Buffalo River, Palisades, Big Elk and lower Robinson Creeks. Few, if anyone, will be fishing these, so they offer tranquility.
Let’s take look at an Idaho Department of Fish and Game action that establishes more locations for fishing.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDF&G) ACCESS YES program reveals a tremendous effort to acquire legal trespass on private property for anglers and hunters alike. Several dozen properties around the state are in the program with many in eastern Idaho. There are several ACCESS YES properties allowing access to fishing waters in eastern Idaho. Some of these are “off the beaten path,” while others are on well-known waters.
Finding these is relatively easy. Go to the IDF&G’s ACCESS YES website section and open the Search Properties Guide. Not only is the participating properties list in the Guide, but also locations, restrictions, travel directions, and, where permission to trespass is required, owner contact information. Also present for each is a map showing location and extent of each property.
You will see that currently there are properties on such area waters as the Blackfoot River, Camas Creek, Dan Creek, the Henry’s Fork, Teton River, Willow Creek and Henry’s Lake. If you visit any of these, accept restrictions given, livestock and structures. Help keeping these in a natural or undamaged state by minimizing your impact, and by picking up to remove any trash. The IDF&G is working to increase the number of participation properties and having a minimum impact on the already participating properties will help in bringing on new ones and in extending the tenure of those already on board.
