Been a little chilly up here on the caldera the last couple of days and looks to continue through today; the long term forecast is calling for highs in uppers 70’s, calmer winds, and minimal chances of rain.
Box Canyon: Flows remain stable out of Island Park Reservoir at around 950 cfs and should remain in that ballpark for the foreseeable future. Golden Stones have been flying on sunny days, but most our guys are finding the better fish with tandem nymph-rigs and streamers. Try a Rubber Leg Stone Nymph with a small bead head off the back — Pheasant Tails, Lightning Bugs, Copper Johns, Zebra Midges, and Green Drake Nymphs have all been working well. Don’t be afraid to wade fish if you don’t have boat; it’s not too bad getting around on foot in the canyon right now.
Last Chance Area: We’ve started seeing more PMDs the last couple of days, and the fish are on them. With the cloudy cooler weather, BWOs have been out and the March Browns are hanging on as well. Warmer evenings have seen good hatches of Caddis and some good spinner falls the magic hour before dark. We had a couple of nights last week with blanket bugs and targets up everywhere. We can only hope that’s a sign of things to come as we start to move into summer mode. We are very excited about the Harriman State Park opener on the 15th. Good flows and cool weather have us all hopeful that the bugs will cooperate this year and the trout will be up on them. We haven’t seen any Green Drakes yet, but should start to see them in the next week or so.
Warm River to Ashton and below Ashton Reservoir: After a bit of a post-Salmon Fly lull, things have really turned on down the hill. We’ve seen good emergences of PMDs, Green Drakes, Grey Drakes, as well as a few Flavs. Caddis and Golden Stones have been thick as well on warmer days. Try dry-dropper combos or a tandem nymph-rig if you find yourself in a lull between hatches.
Stop in and say hello. We’ve got new gear from Patagonia, Simms, Winston, Loomis, Hatch, as well as all your terminal tackle needs. The fly shop is open from 7am-9pm, the restaurant from 7am-10pm, and the bar is open until 1am.
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