Jackson Hole Fishing Report

The Snake River is in full runoff and is not fishable for fly fishermen. Spin fishermen still have somewhat of a chance of catching fish on Panther Martins, Mepps and Roostertails. However, even spin fishermen shouldn't expect much since the river is so muddy.

Unseasonably warm weather over the Memorial Day weekend and extending into this week has the snowpack disappearing very rapidly. Currently the snow-water equivalent of the Snake River basin stands at 56% of normal. The 10 day forecast for Jackson Hole shows temperatures remaining warm, especially at night, so at least for the short term, the rapid melt-off should continue. This trend would also indicate that the Snake River will clear and become fishable sooner than in recent years. A good guess at this point would be mid-July and maybe even a bit sooner.

Jackson Lake is 65% full and is expected to actually fill up sometime this summer. For how long we don't know since the Bureau of Reclamation is planning fairly high (though not as high as last year) releases out of Jackson Lake Dam throughout the summer. Look for the Snake River to fish the best it has since the 2000 season.

Just over an hours drive to the west, the Henry's Fork is fishing well. The salmon flies are spread throughout the area and where they are present the fishing has been good. Those of you who have fished the Henry's Fork during the salmon fly hatch over the years know that on the Henry's Fork, the hatch usually doesn't move upstream in any sort of consistent manner and can jump from location to location with no warning. Having said that, salmon flies and golden stones have made for fine fishing from Box Canyon all the way down to the Warm River area. Nice trout have been taking dry flies as large as size 4.

Until next time…