Henry's Fork Salmonflies!!!!

Henry's Fork Salmonfly

Fishing Report:

The Henry's Fork proves to shine in it's traditional spring fashion.  Caddis and Baetis hatches are diminishing as well as the March Browns; however, Salmonflies are all over the Warm River to Ashton stretch as well as Vernon to Chester.  Golden stones will soon follow.  The Fall River is off color and causing muddy flows below the Chester backwater.  Salmonflies should continue to creep up the river towards Lower Mesa and the Box as warmer weather progresses this week.   The Teton, Snake, Green and Salt are all high and muddy.  The South Fork flow are being dropped as we speak and should be around 13,000 cfs by this weekend.  Nymphing by the dam proves to be productive; however, expect some crowds.  Mud flow from Palisades Creek, Rainey Creek, Fall Creek and Pine Creek make fishing below Spring Creek bridge not the best option.

A Big Brown below Ora Bridge in 2012

Ora Bridge opens this coming weekend and you can bet we are excited as everyone to get up on this piece of water.  Technical nymphing will prevail as the preferred method; however, there is something about his section that everyone really enjoys.  Maybe it is just that we can't fish it all the time!  Days are getting longer and the fishing on the Henry's Fork just keeps getting better.  The Yellowstone National Park Fishing Season opens this Saturday and it looks like the Firehole will be in prime shape.  Look for Caddis, Baetis and Midges if the cooler weather persists.  If the sun pops out, there should be some PMDs to be had.  Also, Salmonflies love the Firehole Canyon, just saying!

Now to gaze into the crystal ball of the summer flows:

The Bureau of Land Reclamation managers have decided to implement the following flow schedule for our local rivers this summer:

-South Fork was raised to 18,000 cfs last week and will be dropping in flow this week to a projected 13,000 cfs by Memorial Day weekend.  While large natural spikes in the hydro-graph are needed and wanted, this is a good compromise and will allow us to get on the South Fork soon than later.  Also, this is prime conditions for the Salmonflies this summer.  Consistent flows from Palisades provide the best opportunities for consistent dry fly fishing opportunities.

-The Snake rivers flows will stay at 4,000 cfs discharge from Jackson Lake Dam all summer.  Cutthroats like water and need plenty of it and they will enjoy the larger than average flows coming out of Jackson Lake Dam all summer.

The Bad News:

"The agency projects to draw down Jackson Lake reservoir to about 18 percent of capacity. At best, the bureau will fill Palisades Reservoir to about 50 percent of capacity before draining it nearly dry to meet irrigation needs in Idaho." - Full Story Here


We have all seen what happens to flows coming out of Palisades Reservoir when it is drained into the single digits capacity level.  Mud and silt are pulled off the lake and river bottom and clarity diminishes.