Jackson Hole Fishing Report

April 13, 2004

Snake River

Though fishing in the Jackson Hole Valley has remained relatively the same as with our last report, there have been two significant changes. #1...March was unseasonably mild with very little moisture, be it snow or rain. And we have seen a dramatic change in our snow pack. Our current Water Content Snow Pack is at 64%. #2...with the warm temperatures, the Snake has started to go off in color.

Easter weekend blessed us with much cooler conditions. It snowed all last Friday and nighttime temperatures have dipped into the 20’s. This should postpone run-off and hopefully extend our spring fishing season a week or two.

As mentioned earlier, the discolored water hasn’t really disrupted fishing and actually the river has been holding up quite well. Streamer fishing appears to be the most consistent but keep in mind that this is coming from the float fisherman. WELL DUH!! Floating is very conducive to streamer fishing. For those willing to walk and look for nymph and dry fly fishing, consistency will also be found.

From our fishing no one streamer has been standing out this season. It seems most streamers (within reason) have been working to some extent. Little Tip: A Jackson Hole spring phenomena is light colored streamers. I can’t tell you why but some days in the spring, white, light gray, and light tan can be killer. If you are not moving fish with your favorite streamer, give a lighter colored version a try. You just might be pleasantly surprised.

For you nymph fishermen, try smaller patterns (Pheasant Tails, Brassies, Copper Johns) at the head of riffles, and larger Golden Stone imitations (Anderson Rubber Legs, Matt’s Fur, Epoxy Golden Stones) in the slower deeper water.

For dry flies you really need to search for the right spots. It has still been pretty much Midges (Griffith’s Gnats, Suspender Midge, Palm’s Biot Midges) in grays and blacks for surface activity. There hasn’t been much action with the Little Black Stones (sometimes referred to as Snowflies) so I’m thinking we are almost to the end of these little winter blessings. Any day now we are expecting the bigger Skwalla Stones. In fact I can’t believe with all the warm weather we have had, that they haven’t shown up yet. Even though they haven’t appeared in any numbers on the surface, they are very active underneath the water. That’s the reason for the Golden Stone nymphs. Anyway, for you dry fly guys—carrying a few natural Tarantulas, Tan Chernobyls, or Trina’s Bullethead Skwallas could be a good insurance policy.

All in all it has been a good start for the Snake River fishing season. And with the current weather pattern we are expecting it to be awhile before run-off kicks into full gear.

South Fork & Henry’s Fork

As for the South Fork and Henry’s Fork, not much change over there either. They both have been fishing pretty well with the flies and patterns that we mentioned in our last report. Blue Wings (Baetis) have started to show up with some regularity but we can’t really say the fish have been on them. The fish have to start eating them sometime, so I would at least have a few patterns in my box. The same goes for the March Browns (Rhithrogena). We have had a several reports of them on the Henry’s Fork. It normally takes awhile for the fish to key in on the adults but when they do, and if you have ever been in one of these early season hatches, you don’t forget it. These are our First of the Season large Mayflies, 12’s and 14’s. Again you should have in stock some type of dry imitation.

As always, feel free to call us here at the shop for Up to the Minute information. The bitter-sweet thing about early season fishing is, as spring progresses fishing just keeps getting better. Then just when you’re getting comfortable with it and the fishing really gets consistent, the bottom drops out. The rivers turn to chocolate milk. On the bright side, it is time to leave the valley. Time to go fish some place new and uncover new secrets about this crazy sport.

Until next time,

Howard Cole
High Country Flies