Opening Day was 10 days ago and thus far reports
have been mixed, not at all unusual for this time of year. Little Black
Stones (16 and 18) and midges have been the predominant hatches with
some Skawalas showing up on the nicer days. If you find rising fish, a
Griffith's Gnat is as good a bet as any. Spin fishermen are doing
particularly well on Panther Martins, Roostertails and Rapalas.
The usual assortment of streamers has been turning the
larger cutthroats. Try JJ Specials, Woolly Buggers and sculpin imitations...try
to get them deep for best results.
Current releases out of Jackson Lake Dam stand at 280 cfs, so we are still
at winter flows. Jackson Lake is 35% full and Palisades Reservoir is at 38%.
Depending on who you talk to it will supposedly take three years of
approximately 120% of normal snowpack before these impoundments will fill up.
However, there are many factors involved and such forecasts are not much more
than educated guesses. Fortunately, most of the major storage reservoirs in the
Upper Snake River basin are in good shape, including the all important American
Falls (81% full). Hopefully this will help lessen demand for water from Jackson
Lake and Palisades and allow them to fill as much as possible. Snowpack in this
area currently resides at 94% of normal which is not too bad though, of course,
we'd still like to see more.
Overall, the fishing has been pretty good and should only
improve as we approach runoff season.
Guy Turck
April 1st may have been season opener here in Jackson, but
over in Idaho the lower Henry’s Fork and South Fork are year round
fisheries. Winter fishing is always “iffy”, but as temperatures moderate
and spring arrives, these rivers can really turn on. Lately Henry’s Fork
has been the more consistent, but things on the South Fork are starting
to come around.
These two rivers are in close proximity to each other, enabling an angler to
fish both in the same day. Also, they are similar fisheries in that they have
the same hatches, and you can use the same flies. An added bonus is that they
are a short, leisurely drive from Jackson.
Here are some hatches that should be happening right now, and based on past
history what should be coming up in the near future. Dry fly fishing can be
surprisingly good at this time. Currently, it’s midges and little black stone
flies. For those of you unfamiliar with the little black stones, sometimes they
are referred to as snowflies. They are often mistaken for midges. Unlike their
larger cousins, these tiny Plecoptera actually hatch right in the water similar
to the mayflies, making them an important food source. The near future should
bring Baetis followed by Skawalas, then Western March Browns (rhithrogena), and
if the rivers hold before runoff, you may even be able to fish some Caddis.
Keep in mind that at some point this spring, these multiple hatches will be
going on simultaneously, launching the bittersweet confusion of summer fishing.
So here we go. For dries:
For a midge pattern you don’t need no more than a Griffith’s Gnat. Also, any
of your favorite midge patterns will probably be effective, but concentrate on
blacks and grays sizes 18 to 24. Two patterns that have been working well for
us this year here at HCF have been Stalcup’s Parachute CDC and the Multi-Midge.
Sprinkle your fly box with a few black caddis patterns in a size 16 through 20
to imitate the little black stonefly.
For those upcoming hatches, your repertoire could include Sparkle Duns,
Burk’s Silhouettes, CDC Bubbleback Emergers, and plain old Parachute Adams in
18’s and 20’s will cover the Baetis category. Skawala’s are another little
known stonefly, except for in a few isolated western rivers where they can kick
off the stonefly madness. When the fish turn on to this bug, I think that
you’ll find that your favorite stonefly pattern, if tied in an 8 to 12 in dirty
brown or olive color, will work well. One of HCF’s favorites is Trina’s Egg
Laying Skawala. Somewhat the same thing goes for the March Brown. Fish will
take time to turn on to this hatch, but when they start feeding just about any
Western March Brown pattern in sizes 12 and 14 (and later in the season 16’s)
will do the trick.
So if you’re in the area this spring, plan on getting out to enjoy what can
be some extraordinarily good fishing.
Until next time…
Howard Cole
High Country Flies
