Shop’s still bustling this afternoon, so I’m going to get right to it. 4th of July has come and gone, but it’s still pretty busy around these parts. Drive safely out there! Thanks to Mikey Ya-Ya for bringing the fireworks. Despite a brief rain delay, things went off with a bang. We had a slight decrease (100cfs) in outflow last week, but she’s back up to 1600 cfs, or so, as of this writing. It’s been very hot and dry aside from the occasional afternoon squall, but even those have been few and far between. Look for flows to remain at this level, a touch higher or lower, for the near future. Upper reservoirs are still in pretty good shape although IP Res is dropping quickly. Here’s a link. For the last week or so, I’m really having to remind myself not to forget where I live. Despite some difficult conditions and tough fishing, we’ve had some killer sunsets and lightning shows, great gatherings, Caldera-beautiful hikes, and just enough heads up to stave off the melancholy.
Box Canyon (1600 cfs, about 1800 below the Buffalo): Golden Stones and Gray Drakes remain your best bet for surface action. Running Stonefly nymphs and small bead heads is the most productive method if you’re looking for numbers of fish. Have your usual Box Canyon buffet: Perdigons, Daggers, Micro Mays, PTs, Zebra Midges, etc. Keep adjusting the depth of your rigs if you’re not hooking fish. Don’t simply assume the flies aren’t working; with these flow bumps fish are moving into new areas. We’ve done a few late evening/cloudy day streamer runs as well with decent success on Zonkers and other various leech, sculpin, and baitfish imitations. It’s high in there, so just be careful and pay attention.
Last Chance and The Ranch: I almost just left this section blank. Seriously. Tough sledding out there this summer, folks. Not much has changed since last week. We are seeing a smattering of PMDs, Flavs, Tricos, Callibaetis, Caddis, and Gray Drakes. Morning spinner falls have proven to be the best time for rising fish (somewhere in the Ranch) as well as the magic hour before dark (somewhere in the Ranch). It remains very section-oriented with small pockets of bugs and/or fish. Look for the cars, and that will tell you where anglers are finding a modicum of success. I’ve covered almost every inch of Harriman, Wood Road to Last Chance, the last ten days or so and have simply taken the rod for a walk more than not. Seeing lots of one and done trout. If you’re finding ’em, CONGRATS! If not, you’re not alone. I’ve heard some reports of Black Ants out and about, so have your Terrestrials handy — and still a few Brown and Green Drakes as well, so don’t put the Drake box away quite yet. Keep on keeping on. I feel your frustration and wish I had some answers beyond theory. Loads of other places to fish if you need a break like I do. It’s simply time to adjust the game-plan for many, but rest assured, I will be checking the river to and from work daily hoping for a Caddis rise or a spinner sip.
Warm River to Ashton: WR to A is still the most consistent section of river in the Henry’s Fork system. Guides are doing pretty well running a Golden Stone or a Chubby of some sort up top and a variety of Daggers, Perdigons, PTs, Lightning Bugs, etc underneath. Use the same nymphs if you want to run rigs under an indicator. This is a great stretch for beginners and those not concerned with size of fish though there are some brutes in here.
Below Ashton (2000 cfs @Ashton, 999 @St Anthony (that tells you something about irrigation drawdown right now)):The dry fly game has been fairly inconsistent down off the hill most of the Spring. Be on the lookout for Golden Stones. Have your PMDs , Spinners, and Caddis. It’s so stinking dry around here, we should probably start seeing Hoppers in numbers soon. The guides have been scratching out a few fish on a variety of smaller nymphs especially earlier in the day. Afternoon temps have been pushing 90 in Ashton. The Lower River is approaching time to simply leave it alone until we see cooler water temperatures arrive down the road a piece. If you are fishing this section, all water really, please play fish quickly and take the appropriate time to revive and release.
The Madison (913 cfs at Hebgen and 1070 at Kirby):The Madison is back to a bit more “normal” flow for this time of year and is still fishing pretty well, hence the crowds. We’ve had several guide trips and pleasure outings over to the Maddy recently with good success on Golden Stones, Salmonflies, Caddis, PMDs, Ants and Beetles. Dry-dropper and tandem small nymphs will do the trick as well.
Yellowstone NP: The Madison, Gibbon, and Firehole remain on “Hoot Owl” restrictions, so no fishing after 2 pm on these waters. Honestly, it’s best to leave these rivers alone unless you’re prowling around up in the headwaters or feeder creeks of the Firehole and Gibbon. While things are slow here on The Fork, Yellowstone’s waters are coming into shape and fishing well. I had good reports from the opener on the upper Yellowstone from Coach and Bill Brady. They found themselves in the middle of a good flight of Golden Stones and landed a few quality cutthroat of 20+ inches (Yes, I saw pictures, even though a 12″er looks big in Coach’s hands (HAAAA)). I’m heading up there next week and will report back! Slough Creek and The Lamar are prime right now barring any storms that can turn the Lamar off. The Gallatin and Gardner remain solid freestone pocket-water options as well. If you’re heading to the park, take a variety of Golden Stones, Yellow Sallys, Green Drakes, PMDs, Caddis, and other small attractor patterns as well as Ants and Beetles. Fishing the shallows of Yellowstone Lake should only get better in the coming weeks as the Callibaetis emergence and spinnerfall get going enticing those cruising cutties to the surface.
Stillwaters:Gulpers are starting to do their thing on Hebgen Lake when the Callibaetis and Tricos are cooperating. We’ve had good luck on Damsels and Caddis as well. Hanging Chironomids and Callibaetis nymphs under a larger dry or bobber can be quite productive if the dry fly fishing is slow. I’ve had good success in the past leading and then twitching or slow-stripping a pair of PTs and other Callibaetis nymphs in front of fishing that aren’t quite gulping, those one and two-timers. Just hang on and be ready to lose a few flies as the takes are anything but subtle. Henry’s Lake is all about being out there in the wee hours in front of the springs and creek mouths. Usual fare here: Renegades, Leeches, Damsels, Scuds, Chironomids, Mighty Mouse, etc. These are good flies for all local stillwaters not mentioned above. I’d maybe have some Spruce Moths as well.
See ya next week. We are open here in the shop from 7 am to 8 pm. We’ve got some cool new-to-us stuff from Yeti and wet-wading shoes from Grundens to check out, and we are loaded up on S/A lines again. Cheers!
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